Lab Weekly - 06/17/2022
Examining the state of VR as a media channel, Plus, our analysis on the latest news and stats roundup
Hello! Welcome back to another edition of Lab Weekly. This week, we took a long overdue look into the state of Virtual Reality to access the reasons behind its arrested development. We also get into some the latest news in the world of OTT streaming, featuring shoppable ad units from Roku & Walmart, and Apple’s new content deal with the MLS. Lots to dive in, hope you enjoy!
The Arrested Development of Virtual Reality
On Facebook’s push for its Oculus headsets, why VR is still nowhere near where it should be as a media channel despite the metaverse hype, and what it will take to get there eventually.
In case you missed it…
Apple’s 2022 WWDC Event: Must-Know Highlights for Brands
As Apple products continue to command global consumer attention and shape digital behavior, brands that wish to stay ahead of the innovation curve know that the WWDC announcements often offer a sneak peek into the future.
The State of the Creator Economy
As new creator tools and features continue to pop up during the Newfronts week, we dived into the latest data from our proprietary Futurecaster survey to glean some fresh insights on the state of the #CreatorEconomy, along with some best practices that brands can tap into.
The Intersection of Creator Economy and Retail Transformation
With the ascension of social commerce and the collapse of the purchase funnel, creators are playing an increasingly important role in product discovery and consideration. Savvy creators are increasingly leveraging the increasing number of social commerce tools and marketplaces to monetize their content and drive purchase, forming the basis of community-driven commerce that will rewrite the rules of engagement and conversion.
Walmart Partners With Roku In Exclusive Ecommerce Deal [AdAge]
Walmart has reportedly reached an exclusive deal with Roku, which will allow Roku users to use their remotes and stored payment information to buy products directly from the retailer's ads on its CTV platform. Walmart will supply the initial batch of shoppable ads on Roku, which will not require users to be redirected to Walmart.com or asked to capture QR codes on their phones to complete orders; Instead, they simply can transact on the screen with their remotes while their shows are paused.
Roku recently came under fire for abusing its market share in the CTV market by raising its ad revenue share for ad-supported streaming channels to 45% from 40% and requiring linear channels to use Roku's ad insertion technology and CDN. However, as long as it can keep its users happy and deliver more value-add products like this to brand partners, it may be hard to argue that it has earned the right to set its own terms within reason.
Related: FuboTV now integrates gambling into live sporting events [The Verge]; eBay is launching an interactive live shopping platform [TechCrunch]
Apple Scores Ten-Year Major League Soccer Deal {Deadline]
All Major League Soccer (MLS) games will be streamed exclusively via the Apple TV app starting in 2023, via a 10-year, $2.5 billion deal. Following the announcement, there seems to be considerable confusion among Twitter users and sports media reporters regarding the difference between Apple TV+, the Apple TV app, and the Apple TV box. In particular, it seems like people aren't aware that the Apple TV app is free and widely available. Given that the 2026 World Cup is coming to North America, with the majority of the games set to play in the U.SIt would seem that Apple is placing a long-term bet on the growing popularity of soccer in the states to drive interest in its TV app.
Live sports are one of traditional TV's last big draws, but deals like this one are making it easier than ever for sports fans to cut the cord. Having every match on one platform also solves the "where's the game?" issue that tends to plague fans of other sports. MLB games, for instance, are now split between regional sports networks (RSNs), ESPN, Apple TV+, and more.
Related: Disney+ will stream a live musical special from Epcot hosted by Idina Menzel [Variety]; Netflix announces games tied to its popular shows, including ‘The Queen’s Gambit,’ ‘Shadow and Bone’ and more [TechCrunch]
Coinbase To Lay Off 18% Staff Amid Crypto Meltdown [WSJ]
Grabbing headlines again this week is yet another round of crypto meltdown, which saw Bitcoin price crash to an 18-month low. Binance has been sued over the collapse of the TerraUSD stablecoin, which triggered the initial round of meltdown last month, shaking the market confidence in crypto products, Now, Coinbase — one of the biggest cryptocurrency platforms — cut over 1,000 jobs in preparation for the difficult times ahead. Some analysts have predicted that this week officially marks the start of a “crypto winter” that, if not recovered from by the end of the year, may cause a freeze on market interest that could last for years.
Related: OpenSea says its latest update could ‘significantly’ lower fees [The Verge]; Crypto game Axie Infinity promised NFT riches, gave ruin [Bloomberg; El Salvador's Bitcoin investment suffers amid crypto meltdown [CNN]
By the end of 2022, U.S. ecommerce sales value is set to cross the $1 trillion mark for the first time, according to the latest retail forecast from Insider Intelligence. That propels ecommerce’s share of total US retail sales to 15.0% in 2022, up from 14.6%, where it sat for the last two years.
YouTube has revealed that Shorts now has over 1.5 billion active, signed-in monthly users, TechCrunch reports. For context, arch-nemesis TikTok had racked up 1 billion monthly users as of September 2021, but of course, that’s not an Apple-to-Apple comparison considering YouTube’s enormous 2.5 billion monthly active user base.
If you find our insights valuable and would like to have a deeper conversation on technology and media innovations, or need to sound smarter in a client meeting or a pitch, please feel free to reach out to our Group Director Josh Mallalieu!
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