This week’s round-up of the latest mergers and acquisitions, partnerships, and account moves include Disney, TikTok, Big Red Group, The Thoughtful Agency, Energy PR and more.
Deal Desk rounds-up the latest moves across the global affiliate and digital marketing industry and why it matters.
This week, Disney and TikTok collaborate in a content-sharing deal; Big Red Group appoints The Thoughtful Agency as its affiliate partners; and Energy PR expands its AI search offering.
Disney and TikTok announce content-sharing deal
The Walt Disney Company has partnered with TikTok to bring fans and creators together through content sharing.
The deal, which will pilot in the US in the coming months with a view to expand to other markets later, will see content from TikTok creators that portray memorable and iconic scenes from Disney films and shows become available on the Disney+ app.
TikTok will be able to offer their creators access to Disney assets from hundreds of films and series.
For the launch, short-form videos from creators who have opted-in to the programme will go live on both TikTok and Verts on Disney+ – the Mickey Mouse-maker’s vertical videos. It will feature characters and stories from across Disney’s portfolio including Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, FX and more.
Asad Ayaz, chief marketing and brand officer, at The Walt Disney Company, said: “The best storytellers are fans first. That has always been true at Disney, and today, fans are celebrating our stories in entirely new ways.
“This collaboration creates a new bridge between the stories we tell and the creativity they inspire, giving creators a bigger stage to share what they’ve made, and audiences more to discover on Disney+ every day.”
Dawn Yang, global head of entertainment, TikTok, added: .“Creators are at the heart of everything we do at TikTok. Their creativity extends the life of films and shows into conversations that fans discover and share.
“Together with Disney, we’re bringing the authentic creator expression of the TikTok community to Disney+, inviting audiences to experience the shared creativity that makes fandom so powerful.”
This launch coincides with the media and entertainment conglomerate signing a multi-year deal to stream all the Formula E races globally, across 144 markets on Disney+ as well as ESPN and ESPN+ in the US.
Leaders take
The Disney and TikTok partnership is a first-of-its-kind deal and shows the direction the media and entertainment industry is heading in. It’s no longer just about having great films and TV shows to stream, it’s about how to regularly engage with subscribers and build a community.
And obtaining broadcasting rights to stream Formula E also leans into that. Demand for live sports broadcasting is growing as it draws fans in and helps keep subscribers engaged for longer periods of time because they commit to the season.
Both these deals lean into the notion of fandom and building a community across multiple channels – that’s why it matters for marketers.
Big Red Group appoints affiliate agency
Big Red Group, one of the biggest experience networks in Australia and New Zealand, has appointed indie shop The Thoughtful Agency as its affiliate partner.
The group is recognised for providing experiences across travel, lifestyle and corporate gifting.
This new partnership will see The Thoughtful Agency oversee the company’s affiliate marketing strategy across its portfolio of brands, which include RedBalloon, Adrenaline, Experience Oz and Everything New Zealand.
John Brois, president at Big Red Group, said: “We are delighted to welcome The Thoughtful Agency as our affiliate-marketing partner. Their proven expertise in performance-led affiliate marketing is a perfect complement to our industry leading marketing team and ambition to extend our reach and deepen engagement across our brands.
“We look forward to working closely with their team to scale our affiliate channels and deepen our position as the market leader for amazing experiences across Australia and New Zealand.”
Chris Perkins, affiliate and partnerships director, The Thoughtful Agency, added: “Affiliate marketing is a key channel for driving scalable growth while maintaining strong brand experience and delivering sustainable, efficient and effective results.
“Partnering with Big Red Group has presented an exciting opportunity to apply our performance-led, brand-first approach for affiliates – bringing together strategy, data and brand-led execution to create impactful campaigns.”
Leaders take
The Big Red Group bringing on The Thoughtful Agency specifically to carry out its affiliate and partnership marketing strategy highlights the importance of it as a key channel for driving growth at scale. It signals to major brands that partnership marketing should no longer be an afterthought, but a central part to a digital marketing strategy for driving sustainable, efficient and data-driven growth.
Energy PR expands to officer AI search service
UK-based agency, Energy PR, has expanded its offering to include AI search.
The launch of the new service aims to help brands improve their visibility across AI search platforms such as Google’s Gemini and OpenAI’s ChatGPT.
To support the launch, the agency is offering a limited number of free AI visibility audits for brands.
Susannah Morgan, managing director for the firm, said: “Search behaviour has shifted. We’re seeing more and more purchasing decisions influenced by AI. So how visible brands are in AI search results, alongside how positively they’re described, are now serious marketing priorities.
“We’re excited to launch AI Search PR, our industry-leading digital PR offering built to solve one of the most critical issues that senior marketers face today. Since earned media is responsible for 84% of AI citations, we’ve developed this bespoke service to build the reputation and authority that brands need to succeed in this new era of search.”
Leaders take
In the first four months of 2026, 68% of Google searches ended without a click, data from SparkToro found. Majority of the queries are answered directly within AI chatbots. This is nothing new – affiliates can no longer rely on traditional SEO practices and they have to adapt.
It is no surprise then that agencies are also understanding the importance of adding this to their service offerings. Brands and operators alike will need to assess their AI visibility soon if they want to ensure their marketing strategies are on point.
Other notable deals
Acast acquires Backyard Ventures in a $20m deal. Backyard Ventures is a US network whose roster includes over 200 creators across audio, YouTube, social media and newsletters. This move would strengthen Acast’s position as the biggest pure-play podcast company globally.
Luma, a multimodal general intelligence platform, has struck a deal with emotion analytics firm Dumbstruck to build Creative Intelligence for advertisers. The aim is to give advertisers the ability to turn audience insight directly into optimised, market-ready assets.
JCDecaux has renewed its landmark advertising contract with German city, Hamburg, for 15 years. Subject to parliamentary approval, the contract will cover out-of-home advertising (digital and analogue) across the city.
