Return on Creators

Co-Founder & CEO

The Roc Crüe

Leading new agency initiatives
Cultivating new and existing partnerships
Guiding forward-looking strategy and execution

Head of Strategy

Trndsttrs

Guiding Strategy. Getting out of the team's way. Helping brands crush on TikTok Shop.

Trndsttrs Media is a Gen Z owned & operated agency that helps brands connect with modern consumers.

We are social media marketing gurus, content creators, social influencers, and trendsetters 🚀.

Founder & CEO

Seven years ago, I was just a kid with a hunch.

Brands didn't understand Gen Z. 

I saw the gap and knew it had to be fixed.

But the thing about being an 18 y/o dropout with no experience, clients, or money?

No one gives a shit.

I had to go prove it.

I scratched. Clawed. Worked like hell to just get a chance.

I got a shot and took it.

Trndsttrs was born. 

The idea became a team.

A team that would prove our thesis brick by brick. 

The stakes grew and so did the team.

We helped McDonald's navigate COVID. 

We launched your favorite brands on TikTok and hacked the algorithm.

We changed the vertical content game forever. 

We helped brands break through the noise. Built creator partnerships that mattered. And ran campaigns that didn't sell into culture, but shaped it.

We built, pound for pound, the best Gen Z team in the world.

But here's what they don't tell you about building something from scratch:

You don't just learn how to solve problems. 

You learn to spot the ones that keep coming back.

For years, we solved the same problem over and over again.

Every campaign, every deal, every strategy—it all pointed to the same gap.

The brand <> creator ecosystem is broken.

We worked around it. We filled the gaps ourselves.

Until one day, we realized we weren’t just filling the gaps.

We were building the solution.

Now I find myself building RoC (return on creators).

Not a new idea—it’s the culmination of everything we’ve built, everything we’ve learned, and every challenge we’ve solved along the way.

This is our moonshot. Beaten and battered grapes forming our magnum opus.

I'll continue to operate with Trndsttrs as the premier social commerce agency—partnering with a select group of brands to drive results on the fastest-growing commerce platforms in the world.

Jake Bjorseth

Closed The Biggest Deal of My Life This Weekend 

She's been with me in building two companies.

Dropping out of college to pursue this crazy dream.

Starting our influencer operation from the ground floor into the thing we're the absolute best at today.

Following me and that dream from her family in Kansas City to Los Angeles and now Florida.

She's the only one that's been with me through it all.

Missing dates I couldn't find the time for.

Rarely any budget for birthday or anniversary gifts.

Dealing with the chaos of the entrepreneurial life we chose.

I owe it all to her.

Amanda, now let's go get you a new last name people can't pronounce and go build one last venture together:

A family.

Social Commerce + Creator Marketing | Mom's Favorite Son

Vine is back. Sort of. 

And it says a lot about where the internet is going.

I spent this morning thinking about something wild:

A decade-old app just resurfaced…

And somehow, it feels more relevant than half the platforms that launched this year.

Vine (now revived as “diVine”) brought back 100,000+ of its original 6-second videos.

And it’s taking a hard stance: no generative AI uploads. Only real humans, real cameras.

This hit me for one reason:

We’re officially entering the era where nostalgia is a strategy.

Consumers don’t just want new features anymore.

They want a feeling.
 
They want the internet they grew up with.

They want identity back.

And the comeback of Vine tells us something brands need to pay attention to.

Short-form didn’t win because it was short.

It won because it felt raw.

It felt human.

It felt like creativity had constraints again.

Today, platforms are bloated.

Feeds are flooded with AI sludge.

Authenticity feels algorithmically filtered.

So of course an old format suddenly feels refreshing.

Here’s the real takeaway:

The next wave of social isn’t going to be “more.”
 
It’s going to be less.

Less polished.

Less synthetic.

Less optimized for machines.

More human.

More native.

More emotional.

Brands that embrace this shift will cut through the noise instantly.

Not by trying to out-AI everyone.

But by returning to constraints that force creativity.

If you’re a marketer, creator, or brand leader… ask yourself:

Are you chasing complexity?

Or are you building for the internet people miss?

Times I've Been Asked If I Had A College Degree:

0

Times I've Been Asked About Case Studies:

3,000+

Meritocracy: holding of power by people selected on the basis of their ability.

Don't take for granted just how unique this moment in time is.

For thousands of years, your success depended on who your parents were.

For the last century, it was your college and degree based on grades you got at 16 years old.

Today, it's... what you can actually do.

Mamdani's campaign for NYC mayor was a marketing masterclass.

What opposition will claim as "the kid who promises pizza for lunch and kool-aid in the water fountains" is dismissive of the true strategic brilliance.

This campaign was a mirror image of Trump's 2016 run.

The policies vastly different, but the strategies identical ->

1. Simple Messaging
Trump didn't present a complicated immigration plan. He promised to "build a wall" and "have Mexico pay for it". 

It was a visual example able to be explained by supporters in one sentence.

Mamdani's message was incredibly simple:

Lower Rent
Free Buses

Not a convoluted policy on property taxes on corporations, rent subsidies, etc... 

2. Social First
Mamdani was everywhere. His face inescapable across social media.

Trump's 2016 was the first of its kind: a social-first political strategy leaning on Meta, not programmatic.

Mamdani's team from design to creative to messaging to marketing was always social first. 

3. Community Centric
Whether it was bodegas, clubs, or even a UGC-driven scavenger hunt, Mamdani's team took to the streets.

The online content is only a signal to forge the grassroots movement IRL that you really need to win votes.

Meeting culture where it is time and time again.
--
This will not be the last populist election we see. 

Changes are this is yet another trailblazing example of what is to come.

Label it what you want, but the real story here is a marketing one, not a political one.

My passion for entrepreneurship and marketing is all a facade.

A trick played by my own brain against my subconscious.

And all of this you see is nothing more than the outlet for the real motivation.

For some, that intrinsic motivation is money.

Attention for many more.

More nefarious things, but helpful, for others.

For me, I know all too well the hidden desire that makes me tick.

Competition.

I've had an obsessive need to compete, and win, since as young as I can remember.

Nothing could ever just be a fun game to play.

Sports, activities, school work, video games...

I didn't care what it was, I needed to win.

I used to find ways to cheat playing freaking Uno with my family.

I spent 20 minutes last night watching a Youtube video on strategies for the card game "Spades" so I can crush my buddies this weekend.

It's a problem... 

But it's who I am.

And it ain't changing.

Maybe I need a therapist.

Or maybe I need a business that lets me work with hundreds of brands getting the chance to compete everyday across every category.

If you're a founder, I know the same is true for you.

There is some intrinsic motivation behind it all that is the real reason you do what you do.

Find that motivation.

Cut the crap trying to convince yourself you were born to sling enterprise software or CPG products on the internet. 

Lean into that intrinsic motivation and design your life for it.

You'll be glad you did

TikTok isn’t the Silk Road.

It’s Rome.

The Silk Road was a trade route.

Rome was a world order.

TikTok isn’t just connecting culture and commerce…

It’s centralizing it.

Here’s the real analogy:

Rome didn’t just influence the world, it dictated it.

All roads led back to Rome.

And all influence led out of it.

TikTok operates the same way today:
👉 Trends begin there
👉 Narratives spread from there
👉 Products are validated there
👉 Purchases happen because of it

Not because TikTok is “randomly powerful.”

But because of its origin.

A cultural empire disguised as a social app.

Most platforms distribute influence horizontally.

TikTok funnels it vertically.

It’s not a marketplace of ideas,

It’s the epicenter where ideas are minted, ranked, and exported.

Creators orbit it.

Brands depend on it.

Consumers treat it as truth.

And whether we like it or not…

Every road in modern culture now leads back to TikTok.

The companies pretending TikTok is just another platform are the ones falling behind.

The ones treating it like Rome, the undeniable center of cultural gravity, are the ones winning.
—

If you want to understand where culture, commerce, and attention are heading…

Don’t study trade routes.

Study empires.

Bay Cities

Sales Executive - Bentonville Division

Develop schedules for project completion that effectively allocates the resources to the programs.

Manage and communicate changes to the project scope, schedule, and costs using appropriate verification techniques internally(graphic/structural design, management, pre-production and customer service) and externally (clients, retailers, vendors).

Review and turnover programs with sales executive, CSR and operations and all other staff that will be affected by the project activities.

Assess problem situations to identify causes, gather and process relevant information, generate possible solutions, and make recommendations and/or resolve the problem.

Set priorities, develop a work schedules, monitor progress towards goals, and tracks details/data / information/activities.

Assess situations to determine the importance, urgency and risks to makes clear decisions which are timely and in the best interests of the organization.

Support sales growth and revenue with new and innovative display programs that aline with existing and potential clients retail marketing/sales goals.

Proactively and thoroughly researches matters relating to account assignments, contracts, opportunities/quotes, booking transactions, and/or accounts receivables.

Focus on driving process improvement initiatives across the sales organization that will enhance sales force productivity and efficiency

Project Manager - Employee Owner

Developed thorough understanding of Bay Cities capabilities, products and services. This included training in the following departments: design, pre-production, production, customer service, accounting and sales.

Support driving sales growth and revenue with new and existing customers through generation of leads and opportunities.

Identify prospective clients online and in CRM to target appropriate contact people and captures relevant information. Collected, tracked and summarized performance and customer data.

Build and maintain relationships with sales force to understand and serve their needs as a first-line of support on all leads, systems, and applications.

Proactively and thoroughly researched matters relating to account assignments, contracts, opportunities/quotes, booking transactions, and/or accounts receivables.

Support keeping selling tools up-to-date, accurate and detailed. These tools included but are not limited to forecasting, customer/account plans, opportunity plans, and CRM.

Drive planning efforts for customer visits, sales training events and Sales Meetings; Assisted the sales team with developing sales forecasts; Assists with customer meetings and sales calls.

Sales Associate - Employee Owner

BJ's Restaurants, Inc.

Server

Western Dental Services

Developed strong marketing relationships with various business entities and vendors to establish local area marketing programs and launch new marketing and sales leads. 

Provided regional marketing support to over 90 California, Arizona, and Texas offices in the areas of literature, direct communication, and local advertisements to promote overall brand image.

Participated in the launch of marketing campaigns and managed online and offline research projects.

Traveled to regional offices to implement marketing strategies and branding efforts. 

Managed event planning and staffing for over 50 small and large events.

Maintained sports partnership with USC Fox Sports, which included event staffing, booth activation, purchase and maintain promotional materials, and managed advertising creative.

Worked directly with upper level management to successfully implement marketing and operational campaigns and programs that enhance both patient and employee experience.

Marketing Specialist

Yard House Restaurants

Locations:
•	Newport Beach, CA - Store Opening Team
•	Brea, CA - Training Location

Skills strengthened:
•	Teamwork 
•	Strong work ethic
•	Staying high energy
•	Customer service & relationship building
•	Finding efficiencies in process steps
•	Sales in fast paced & high intensity work environment

Pottery Barn

Worked in multiple roles including in sales in the design center, stockroom, and visual merchandising.

Design Studio Specialist/Stock Associate/Visual Merchandising

Chip and Pepper

Helped open the company's flagship location at Fashion Island Mall in Newport Beach, Calif. The 900-square-foot store features the company’s entire collection of premium denim and sportswear along with the C&P University line of tees, knits, and twills from the Los Angeles–based twin brothers Chip and Pepper Foster, who are also the company’s principal design team.

Retail Sales Associate

Server Trainer

Hollister Co.

Management impact/stock associate team of over 50 employees by delegating daily tasks and floor set projects, while maintaining company standards and initiatives.

Managed visual and display merchandising standards.

Managed cross-functional teams to successfully implement seasonal and monthly store refresh events which included visual merchandising, lighting, display marketing and inventory control.

Trained team associates at offsite locations to improve functionality and efficiency in merchandise management.

Implemented brand and marketing strategies to achieve higher sales.

Worked with management team to reduce store shrink from  25+% to less than 3%.

Stock Manager

Impact Manager

Brand Representative

Walmart🛒Sam's Club |📦Merchandising Displays & Packaging📦|❤️Sales & Marketing |🌄Outdoor Enthusiast & Endurance Everything🏃| Employee Owner❤️EBITA | #TheRetailDude

With over a decade of experience in retail merchandising and execution, I help CPG brands make an impact at Walmart, Sam’s Club, Costco, and beyond. From endcaps to pallet programs, I work closely with brand CEOs, Founders, and Marketing/Sales executives to execute in-store merchandising strategies that drive velocity, impulse purchases, and brand awareness.

I’m passionate about sharing insights on how brands can maximize their retail presence—whether through strategic packaging, off-shelf displays, or shopper marketing activations. My approach is rooted in innovation, data-driven decision-making, and a relentless pursuit of "What if?" thinking to bring ideas to life.

👟 Outside of retail, I’m an ultra-runner, constantly pushing limits and testing endurance—just like in business. Success in both comes down to strategy, consistency, and execution.

Let’s connect and talk about winning at retail.

𝙏𝙤𝙥 𝙍𝙚𝙩𝙖𝙞𝙡𝙚𝙧𝙨: 
Walmart, Sam's Club, Costco, Kroger, Walgreens, Home Depot, Lowes, and more

𝙋𝙧𝙤𝙜𝙧𝙖𝙢𝙨 𝙀𝙭𝙚𝙘𝙪𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙏𝙮𝙥𝙚𝙨:
Direct Import(DI), Multi-Vendor, Pass-Through, DSDC, Single Supplier, Feature Trains, Signage Kits, Collect/Prepaid, Cross-Dock, Materials Only

𝘾𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙜𝙤𝙧𝙮 𝙀𝙭𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚:
Toys, Electronics, Stationery/Craft, Apparel, OTC, H&W, Grocery, Consumables, Lawn & Garden, Entertainment, Beauty, Baby, Craft, Seasonal (Annual Event, BTS, Holiday, Easter)

𝙋𝙧𝙤𝙙𝙪𝙘𝙩𝙨:
★ Custom Point of Sale Displays: Pallets, Floorstands/FSDU's, Trays, Endcaps, Trendpods, In-store Signage
★ Protective Industrial Packaging: Retail Ready, Subscription Boxes, Trays, RSC Boxes Influencer Kits
★ Specialty Items: Set-up Boxes, Slide Boxes, Trade Show Booths
★ Retail Product Packaging: Baypack, Folding Carton, Gift Sets
★ Augmented Reality/AssemblAR
★ Digital Printing: Variable Data, Customized, Personalized

𝙎𝙚𝙧𝙫𝙞𝙘𝙚𝙨:
★ Concept Design
★ Material Manufacturing
★ Retail Planning & Strategy
★ Project Management
★ Supply Chain Logistics
★ Packout & Fulfillment

Contact me at joshual@bay-cities.com

Joshua Linden

The 5 Things Brands Miss When Prepping Off-Shelf Merchandising Displays (Walmart, Target, Lowe's Companies, Inc.’s, Costco Wholesale…)

After years of working across shopper marketing, display execution, and retail programs, I keep seeing a handful of preventable mistakes pop up again and again. The kind that cost brands velocity, margin, and even their feature space.

Here are five big ones I see and how teams can get ahead of them:

1. Messaging That Stops at the Shopper

Your artwork and messaging can’t only speak to the customer.
It also needs to speak to the store associates who receive, build, and place the display.

Clear callouts like “Set by: ___”, “Place in: Seasonal / Action Alley / Beverage Aisle”, or simple build icons go a long way. If associates can’t quickly understand what it is and where it goes, your display risks ending up in the wrong spot… or not making the floor at all.

2. Timelines That Don’t Match Retail Reality

Retail calendars are non-negotiable.
 
Seasonal resets, feature windows, and promo cycles move fast, and many brands underestimate how early they need:

Final artwork
Approved dielines
Forecasted quantities
Confirmed ship windows
Carrier appointments

If you’re late, you’re not just missing a date, you’re missing the entire opportunity.

3. Skipping ISTA Testing or Doing It Too Late

ISTA testing is one of the most overlooked steps… until product shows up crushed, leaning, or compromised. At that point, it’s too late.

Make sure your display + product configuration is tested in advance before you scale up production. Even small changes in product weight, corrugate, or glue patterns can make or break stability through a real supply chain.

4. No Physical or Digital Mock-Ups

Mock-ups aren’t a “nice to have”, they’re essential. Teams often skip building a prototype because they’re rushing to hit a date. But mock-ups stress test everything:

Does the product actually fit the way you imagined?
Does the shopper shop it intuitively?
Do associates know how to build it?
Does it survive a warehouse floor?

Catching issues early saves money and headaches later.

5. Assuming the Store Will “Figure It Out”

This might be the most common one.

Brands often assume their display will magically land in the perfect spot, perfectly built, right on time. But store teams are overwhelmed, understaffed, and juggling dozens of priorities.

If your display doesn’t arrive with crystal-clear instructions, correct labeling, easy freight routing, and the right timing… the odds of a flawless execution drop fast.

At the end of the day, off-shelf space is the best billboard you can buy in retail. Make sure it counts.

If your team is needing to strategize, plan, or execute shopper marketing displays, I’m always happy to connect and see how we can support your retail efforts and share what we’re seeing across the industry.

#ShopperMarketing #Retail #CPG #TheRetailDude #Walmart #Target #Costco #Displays #Merchandising Bay Cities

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The Battle

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Joshua Linden

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The Battle

Jake Bjorseth

Joshua Linden

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Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Jake Bjorseth's LinkedIn Performance

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Performance ScoreJake Bjorseth's LinkedIn Performance