Lab Weekly - 09/09/2022
Apple Event recap and learnings; Plus, the latest news from Instagram, CVS, and Disney, as well as must-know stats roundup
Hello, welcome back to another edition of Lab Weekly, where we bring you the latest and hottest news at the intersection of media, culture, and innovation. This year, the new iPhones are coming a bit early, and as always, the Lab is here to decode the latest announcements from Apple and extrapolate implications and lessons for digital marketers. Let’s dive in!
Apple Event Recap: Fall 2022 iPhone 14 Launch Event
From building bridges to AR interfaces to making niche products aspirational, here’s what brands can learn from the latest Apple event
In case you missed it…
The Rise of Conscientious Consumption
From alternative meat to non-alcoholic beverages, value-driven consumers are pushing forward food and beverage innovations
The Future of Play: Emerging Toys & Play Trends of 2022
From the comeback of physical toys to the continuing popularity of digital playgrounds, the future of play is hybrid and educational
The Backlash to OTT Streaming is Here
The rising subscription prices, the incoming flux of ads, and the studios second-guessing their release strategy are turning some consumers against streaming
CVS To Buy Home-Healthcare Company Signify For $8 Billion [CNBC]
CVS is doubling down on house calls with its latest acquisition. The pharmacy giant announced Monday that it is set to acquire Signify Health, a healthcare startup that offers at-home healthcare visits via a network of over 10,000 contracted doctors and clinicians. Signify currently has about 2.5 million patients using its platform, which would further boost the customer base for CVS’ healthcare services, allowing the company to further serve customers beyond its brick-and-mortar locations.
The announcement came just weeks after the abrupt end of Amazon Care, the in-person and virtual primary care services that Amazon was expanding nationwide earlier this year, following its acquisition of One Medical, which offers a membership-based primary care service that includes house calls and virtual care options.
As more consumers adopt telehealth services coming out of the pandemic, we expect more brands in the healthcare industry and adjacent spaces to acquire telehealth startups so as to expand the services they offer and better serve customers in a well-rounded, omnichannel manner.
Related: Walgreens finalizes CareCentrix home care investment as rivals bid on Signify Health [Forbes]; How Signify Health fits into CVS' healthcare strategy [Fierce Healthcare]; Amazon Care's end surprised employees, patients — but not industry experts [Becker’s Hospital Review]
Instagram Scaling Back Shopping Features Amid Commerce Retreat [The Information]
Instagram is planning to drastically scale back its shopping features as it shifts the focus of its e-commerce efforts to those that directly drive advertising, the Information reports, citing an internal memo. While Instagram has not publicly commented on this strategic pivot, it does corroborate with earlier reports on Instagram, and its Meta sibling Facebook, halting their respective tests of live commerce and affiliate commerce programs after lukewarm responses.
I wrote a year ago that it seems Instagram was destined to become a digital mall, and now it seems like the user backlash against an overly-commercialized Instagram feed, forcing the company to roll back some of the new TikTok-inspired features. Interestingly, TikTok also recently opted to scale back its social commerce efforts after its initial push into live commerce seeing poor response in Europe, forcing it to abandon its expanded rollout plans.
Amid a challenging environment that saw its Q2 revenues decline, it seems that Meta has decided to go back to basics, aka the tried-and-true direct-response ads. Rather than seek to drive incremental revenues via direct social commerce sales, it is focusing on how social commerce can bolster its ad business. However, cutting back on developing social commerce features is certainly not a future-proof strategy in the long run, and it is certainly not gonna help Instagram beat the rising alternative social networks.
Related: Twitter launches its ‘close friends’ circle feature globally [TechCrunch]; Pinterest’s plan to better compete with TikTok, Shopify and Instagram [CNBC]
Disney Explores Membership Program Like Amazon Prime [WSJ]
The Disney “super bundle” is finally coming together! According to the Wall Street Journal, the house of mouse is exploring an Amazon Prime-style subscription service that will offer a variety of perks and discounts across its product portfolio to its most loyal customers. Following through on a direct-to-consumer strategy unlocked by the launch of Disney+, the entertainment conglomerate will soon have a new direct pipeline to sell merchandise and theme park tickets to Disney households in a neat bundle.
In addition, this Disney super bundle will provide the company with crucial targeting data, such as which franchise or character each household loves and would pay a premium for additional products and experiences. For example, a fan of Star Wars based on their Disney+ viewing data may get recommended to try out a Star Wars-themed immersive hotel at a member’s discount, and vice versa.
Disney already has a special program for superfans, the D23 Official Fan Club, which costs $99.99 to $129.99 a year and comes with access to exclusive events and merchandise. That program offered members a discounted three-year subscription to Disney+ in 2019. No words yet on whether this new membership program may replace this existing fan club program, or be a standalone service. Regardless, it’d be an interesting strategic pivot for Disney’s across-channel monetization efforts.
Related: Disney “interested” in new NBA deal, CEO Bob Chapek says [Deadline]; Walmart unveils rewards program for Walmart+ members [Marketing Dive]
Latest research from MAGNA Global digs into the effectiveness of ative advertising on TikTok, as well as ads repurposed from broader marketing campaigns on other platform, Digiday reports. Vertical ad recall hit 44%, whereas horizontal recall was 35%. More importantly, the study showed purchase intent for vertical ads reached 8%, while horizontal hit only 3%, proving that there was a huge difference in the performance of the same ad, depending on whether it was vertical or horizontal. If you’re part of the IPG family, check out the full report here on Atlas (SSO required).
Apple says the number of Apple Podcast subscribers grew by 300%+ since June 2021 and 25%+ of the top 100 shows in its Top Shows chart now offer a subscription, Digiday reports.
Disney’s total number of streaming subscriptions reached 221 million, the company shared during its Q2 quarterly earnings call. A breakdown of the subscribers reveals:
152.1 million subscribers to Disney+, up 10% from the prior quarter
22.8 million subscribers to ESPN+, up 2% from the prior quarter
46.2 million subscribers to Hulu, up 1% from the prior quarter
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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