Lab Weekly - 06/30/2023
Post-streaming strategic pivot for Hollywood; plus, the latest news about AI, EV charging, and ad-blockers, along with some must-know stats on digital marketing and innovation
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Panic in the Streaming Land
Hollywood is losing faith in the streaming model, and scrambling for solutions to cut costs and raise ARPU. What comes next? Four things to consider…
In case you missed it…
Outlook 2023: EMEA POV
Our network of EMEA team, led by Kate Walkom and Deb Cho, dissects how the four Outlook trends are developing in Europe and the Middle-East, and shaping the future of media and technology in the EMEA region.
WWDC 2023 Recap: Apple Sets Its Vision for the Future of Computing
What brand marketers need to know about Apple’s new “spatial computing” device, as well as other announcements from WWDC
Gen Z’s Impact on the Future of Sports
Thomas Trudeau from our partnerships team dives deep into Gen Z’s viewing behaviors and preferences on sports content, the impact it has on sports broadcast rights, and how brands can best leverage emerging sports to reach younger audiences.
Microsoft Brings AI-Powered Shopping Tools To Bing And Edge [TechCrunch]
Microsoft has added a trio of AI-powered shopping features to Bing and Edge, as it continues to double down on the integration of AI into its products, and making the Bing search more shopper-friendly. The new features include a Buying Guide, which will generate a comprehensive category-wise list of products based on the user’s search query; a Review Summaries feature will provide an overview of reviews for the product searched; and a Price Match feature will notify users of price drops on products they have searched for.
All three features tackle some interesting use cases around using generative Ai tools to improve the ecommerce experience, especially for product discovery. Yet, it remains to be seen how Microsoft plans to open up these shopping-related AI features to advertisers and brands, so that they can reach customers during key moments in their shopper journey. It will also be interesting to see how the Review Summaries feature impact the traffic to product review sites a la Wirecutter.
Related: DeepMind claims its next chatbot will rival ChatGPT [TechCrunch]; Hennessy, Nas mark 50 years of hip-hop with AI-driven celebration [Marketing Dive]
Volvo To Adopt Tesla's EV Charging Standard In North America [Engadget]
Over the past few weeks, several EV brands have decided to adopt Tesla’s EV charging standard. Besides Volvo, other EV makers that have decided so include Ford and GM, Swedish electric automaker Polestar, VW subsidiary Electrify America, and US upstart Rivian. Currently, there are two main EV charging standards: Tesla's and Combined Charging System (CCS). All non-Tesla EVs sold in North America today are equipped with CCS, along with support for some third-party charging networks such as Electrify America, EVGo, and ChargePoint. By adopting Tesla's standards, other EV brands will help to make the EV charging market more competitive, making it easier for EV drivers to find a charger that works with their car.
Tesla opened up its North American Charging Standard (NACS) standard last November, publishing the technical specifications and inviting charging network operators and other automakers to use its plug design. For other EV brands, Tesla’s charging standard offered a hard-to-resist shortcut by allowing the automakers to piggyback on Tesla’s extensive Supercharger network that is already in place. This could help speed up the adoption of electric vehicles by making it easier for drivers to find charging stations and charge their vehicles quickly. In return, Tesla gets to earn some good will and solidify its market-leading position.
Related: Mercedes-Benz is first to get approval to sell partially autonomous vehicles in California [The Verge]; Rivian’s latest acquisition aims to make EV route planning better [TechCrunch]
YouTube Threatens To Block Viewers If They Continue Using Ad Blockers [Engadget]
Talking about countering ad-blockers in 2023 can feel a bit anachronistic, considering the media industry has largely moved on to thornier issues like generative AI or the profitability of the streaming model. Perhaps reflecting the troubling times in the streaming industry, YouTube has decided to test a new pop-up that will warn users that their access to YouTube will be blocked after three videos if they continue to use ad blockers. A YouTube spokesperson characterized this new feature as "a small experiment that urges viewers with ad blockers enabled to allow ads on YouTube or try YouTube Premium." In other words, pay up or watch the ads — the same message that all the major streamers are sending to customers.
Related: YouTube is getting AI-powered dubbing [The Verge]; Roku will stream live Formula E races for free [The Verge]
Social and casual games continue to drive the growth of the gaming industry. The latest study from PwC found that US social and casual gaming revenue grew 3.6% YoY to $37.1B in 2022, representing 68.6% of game and esports revenue; traditional gaming revenue fell 0.8% in contrast.
The Verge polled 2,000 US adults about how they’re using AI and found 57% of them know of ChatGPT, 46% for Bing Chat, 45% for My AI, and 38% for Bard. However, only about 33% have used the tools, with Gen Z dominating the usage.
TechCrunch reports that WhatsApp Business has crossed the milestone of 200 million MAUs, up from 50 million in 2020. The app recently added a tool that lets users create “click-to-WhatsApp” ads without a Facebook account.
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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