Main Character Energy: Building Communities on Gen Z’s Favorite App
Brands no longer have purely transactional relationships with their customers. Today, they’re in group chats, hosting community events, and offering more than just a product, they’re building meaningful connections. Community is now at the heart of successful marketing, and one of the best places to do this is on TikTok where many buzzing communities live.
Josh McCoy, Associate Partnerships Director at NewGen sits down with Brett Estrella at Cash App, Nidhi R. Mehta at Samsung’s B2B and B2C Display Division and Content Creator and Magician Elie Haoui, to explore why community management is essential to brand recognition on TikTok and how creator partnerships can amplify those efforts.
Key Takeaways:
- Why community management is essential to TikTok social strategy
- Which platforms drive strong community engagement
- How to collaborate with creators to expand reach and impact
Josh McCoy is Associate Partnerships Director at NewGen, leading the commercial department in its New York headquarters. Josh has been at NewGen for 4 years, working across client service and commercial teams, leading on US clients including Samsung, Cash App and more to help brands connect with their audiences and build communities on social.
Brett Estrella is Branded Content & Partnerships Lead at Cash App (part of Block, Inc., a global technology company with a focus on financial services), where he has worked on owned organic content, creator partnerships, and sports/entertainment partnerships since 2022.
Prior to Cash App, Brett worked in Sports & Entertainment Sponsorship Development at Excel Sports Management, leading the agency's gaming representation practice and sourcing large-scale partnerships for their client roster of traditional professional athletes, teams, and leagues.
Nidhi R. Mehta is the Sr. Manager of Social, Influencer and Content for Samsung’s B2B and B2C Display Division. She has built her career on the art of storytelling – first as a scripted television writer and producer, and later as a brand marketer, earning her MBA in Entertainment, Media & Technology from NYU. Her work with Samsung and other industry leaders such as ABC, CBS, ClassPass, Capital One and Fiserv has given her a unique perspective on what truly connects people to brands. With a passion for creating content that resonates and inspires, Nidhi focuses on driving lasting impact by blending creativity with strategy.
Elie Haoui, better known online as Elie Magic, is a world-class magician, comedian, entrepreneur, and content creator based in Cleveland, Ohio. With over 2.2 million followers across TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube, Elie has gone viral for his mind-blowing street magic, hilarious Dorm Tours, and high-energy challenge videos. He has performed thousands of live shows, collaborated with major brands, and even launched his own coffee shops, Milk + Honey. Whether on stage or on screen, Elie’s mission is simple: blow your mind and make your day.