Dan Wu

thoughts on video, social, marketing • storyteller, director and producer • agency/prodco founder @ Dual Native (acq.) • exploring new opportunities

[Dan Wu @itsdanwu]

After an exciting start to the year (lil company exit), I'm looking for my next opportunity!

I've spent the last 3 years running a creative production studio, crafting campaigns centered around both scripted and unscripted video content for B2B brands

Primarily looking for in-house marketing roles at companies where content, video and experimentation with new formats + tools are core to strategy

Would love to chat and connect with any working in new media, storytelling or marketing! DMs open 🙏

https://t.co/bUlzql1Qve

[Dan Wu @itsdanwu]

you have AI agents

[Dan Wu @itsdanwu]

@adamjohnsonCHI Jewel stans have been real quiet since this report came out…😂

[Dan Wu @itsdanwu]

It was only a matter of time before packaged goods were being slapped with a “GLP-1 friendly” label

“Peptide friendly” coming soon I’m sure

[Dan Wu @itsdanwu]

Acorns just launched a new six episode limited content series, “Money Therapy”, which highlights money saving faux-pas through the eyes of some memorable characters (e.g., prediction market bro, Buy Now Pay Later girl). Initial thoughts based on teasers:

the good:
- creates problem awareness for key personas
- having multiple personas/characters creates a “test and learn” opportunity - which characters pop off more? Go more viral and resonate with audiences? Double down
- the writing and talent are good
- limited the creative / production scope, which minimizes budget and reduces risk
- each episode provides plenty of clipping / meme surface area

some things in question:
- creatively, the format and setting leaves something to be desired. Everything is a trade off and this is just the flip-side of some of the pros above, but it’s clearly branded content and just feels a little contrived. I think great writing and talent can overcome this though

Overall I’m exciting to see a brand take a creative risk and move into creating their own IP

[Dan Wu @itsdanwu]

@frogmonkee hmmm interesting, I'm gonna keep my eyes peeled. I feel like it's really hard to control

[Dan Wu @itsdanwu]

Clipping is algorithmic arbitrage

Every time a new distribution channel emerges, companies figure out what sort of arbitrage exists. SEO did this to Google in the early 2000s — keyword stuffing, link farms, content volume, etc

Clipping is doing it to social media now. Brands trojan horsing paid media as organic content, bypassing some of the systems the platforms have put in place to capture this spend - (e.g., Meta's Creator Marketplace, TikTok's creator tools, etc)

The tension here though is that clipping works because it doesn't look like an ad. But if clips start to get "processed" as ads and introduce disclaimers, etc - the authenticity goes away, and performance dies

Curious to see how Meta/TikTok evolve over time to capture the economic opportunity here

[Dan Wu @itsdanwu]

everything is an ad

[Dan Wu @itsdanwu]

@tommylower 🙏🏻🫡

[Dan Wu @itsdanwu]

https://t.co/NIYv1OLzDu

[Dan Wu @itsdanwu]

the video guy is writing things, look out!!

little rant on how the proliferation of ai and algorithms has forced brands to think short-term and barage audiences with basically just ads

[Dan Wu @itsdanwu]

https://t.co/NIYv1OLzDu

[Dan Wu @itsdanwu]

As someone who works with camera for a living, I agree with my guy @jonwu_ - digital cameras are fantastic for folks looking to get into photography. And if you *really* like it and want more out of the process, explore film.

My go to is the Ricoh GRiii 📸

[Jon Wu @jonwu_]

idk who needs to hear this but stop trying to get into film

just buy a fujifilm camera

it's cute to tote around a vintage nikon. it's not cute to spend $2 or $3 a shot when you're just getting into photography

get a fujifilm. it doesn't matter which one, if you like it you can upgrade later

x100
x-t5
x-t50

target $1,000 for camera + lens. sounds like a lot but that's only 300 shots on a film camera. 10 rolls.

add a few film simulation recipes. start with "Reggie's Portra" (google it). follow the steps. punch it into the camera.

set it to auto and just blast away. you'll see immediately that it's vastly superior to the iPhone camera

fujis are especially good for people photos, the color rendering on skin is magical

your wife will especially appreciate this purchase. this is an approved hobby

good luck

[Dan Wu @itsdanwu]

bro we’ve built a team of marketing agents that can create AI generated UGC avatars that fit your target demographic and from there they create UGC ads with that feel organic but sneak in product placement at the last second and we know it works bc our agents have come up with the best hooks by analysing over ten billion of the top performing ad creative out there and once the ads are live our agents then analyze them and scale the winners so that more

[Dan Wu @itsdanwu]

@ashnichrist he’s really one of us fr

[Dan Wu @itsdanwu]

@pet3rpan_ Sold my WoW Classic account with a kitted out level 60 night elf Druid ✨

[Dan Wu @itsdanwu]

@ashnichrist Standing by 🫡

[Dan Wu @itsdanwu]

@0xkydo Go Kydo Go!! IMO this is some of the best uses of AI generative video - VFX/clean up/compositing work on live action footage that would take hours and could be quite costly. That VFX skillset is now accessible for any editor

[Dan Wu @itsdanwu]

@tommylower 🙏🏻🙏🏻

[Dan Wu @itsdanwu]

@ashnichrist Killer content Ashni!!