Hi social pro 👋
We’re back with another edition of In the comments with… - our ongoing spotlight on the operators, strategists, and analysts shaping how brands understand audiences through social.
This week, we’re sitting down with Cameron Blasi - a media intelligence leader forced on the creator economy, and someone with a sharp take on why reach is the most overrated metric in social data.
Let’s get into it 👇
— Brett
Hi Cameron! Tell us a bit about who you are and what you do
I translate media intelligence into brand growth. By blending cultural trends, platform strategy, and creator partnerships, I help brands turn raw analytics into clear, actionable go-to-market strategies.
Right now, I'm especially focused on evaluating creator partnerships to ensure they deliver both measurable performance and perfect brand fit.
How did you end up in this field?
The beginnings of my career are rooted in media analytics. I started out as an Enterprise Analyst at Meltwater right as the martech space was exploding, which was the perfect place to cut my teeth.
Over time, I followed where the data and the industry were moving, which led me to narrow my focus into the creator economy. I realized that's where I could make the biggest impact.
You scaled a creator analytics practice inside an agency. What did that teach you about the gap between what the data shows and what teams are willing to act on?
The ultimate gap in any data analytics role is storytelling. Being able to look at data and sell the vision is what forces teams to take action.
What's a widely-held belief about social data that you think is wrong?
Many brands still treat performance totals as the holy grail of social data. Reach is cheap but trust is expensive. What truly drives business success isn't just how many people see or interact with a post, but audience authenticity and creator sentiment.
What do comment sections reveal about audiences that dashboards or traditional analytics often miss?
They're basically the internet's subtext. While the post tells you what a creator wants you to see, the comment section tells you how the audience is actually reacting to it.
You work across social intelligence, brand storytelling, and crisis monitoring for the same clients. How do you think about using the same data differently depending on which mode you're in?
Since the data itself doesn't change, the strategic narrative has to. I look at this through three distinct lenses: emotional hooks for brand storytelling, consumer sentiment for social listening, and identifying pitfalls for crisis management.
What shift is happening in social right now that more teams should be paying attention to?
We're seeing a massive shift away from only working with mega-influencers toward niche-macro partnerships.
From a consumer perspective, the traditional celebrity endorsement has lost its weight due to widespread ad fatigue. Audiences are increasingly seeking out creators with verifiable subject-matter expertise.
Favorite platform to analyze?
Right now, it has to be Reddit. It's an absolute gold mine for audience insights, despite being underutilised by most traditional martech tools that struggle to capture its data effectively.
Who should we talk to next?
If there’s someone doing interesting work in social intelligence, social listening, or audience insights - or if that someone is you! - we’d love to hear about it.
Nominate someone (or yourself) to be featured in the next In the comments with… interview 👇
Just reply back to this email or shoot me a dm.
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