Lab Weekly - 10/14/2022
Meta teams up with Microsoft to build a metaverse for work; New Floor 9 episode on the power of direct mail; Plus, the latest news from Netflix, Roku, and Roblox, as well as must-know stats roundup
Want this newsletter in your inbox every Friday morning? Sign up for our mailing list here
Why Meta Is Teaming Up With Microsoft To Build The Metaverse
Meta, owner of Facebook and Oculus, hosted its annual Meta Connect event on Tuesday and unveiled its latest go-to-market strategy for its metaverse ambition: teaming up with Microsoft to drive adoption among enterprise users. Still, the question remains: would working in the metaverse be compelling enough to make people want to use it beyond office hours?
In case you missed it…
Reassessing the Cloud Gaming Narrative
Decoding what the demise of Google Stadia means for the future of cloud gaming
Roblox Opens for Ad Business
Here’s what marketers need to know about the metaverse-aspiring game and its new ad platform. Also, now that Roblox has opened the in-game ad floodgate, will its competitors follow suit?
The Future of On-Demand Commerce
From mobile wallet integration to automated delivery bot, to the micro-fulfilment centers that are powering ultra-fast local grocery delivery services, the innovations in on-demand delivery is key to meeting consumer expectations and future-proofing the brand experience you offer.
Episode 144: Direct Mail 2.0
This week on Floor 9, we welcome a panel of experts on direct mail, including Dave Fink, Founder and CEO of Postie, Paul Tracey, VP of Advisory Services at Matterkind, and Lauren Banks, Brand Marketing Specialist at USPS. Moderated by Ryan Miller, Senior Manager of Partnerships at the Lab, our group of industry insiders dive into the unique capabilities of direct mail as a media channel, dispel some common misconceptions about direct mail among marketers such as addressability and sustainability, and how modern direct mail companies (like Postie) have digitally enhanced a century-old marketing channel.
As always, you can follow the Lab on Twitter @ipglab and on Medium for our latest insights.
Click here to listen and subscribe! If you enjoyed the episode, please consider giving us a five-star review on Apple Podcast. Thanks for listening!
Netflix With Ads Will Be Available November 3rd For $7 Per Month [Variety]
Netflix will be kicking off the holiday season with a bang, as the company announced its new "Basic with Ads" plan will launch on November 3rd for $7 per month, available to viewers in 12 countries, including the US, UK, Australia, Brazil, Mexico, and so on. Netflix also confirmed that, at launch, the ads will be 15- to 30-second spots, and will play both before and during shows for an average of four to five minutes per hour. Netflix said there will be broad targeting capability for those ads based on criteria like your country and the genres of content you watch. Notably, Nielsen is tracking the performance of these ads in the US through its digital rating system.
Beyond the disruption of commercial breaks, the ad-supported tier also comes with other compromises. For one, viewers will be limited to a "720p/HD" resolution, lower than the standard 1080p resolution for most lower-end non-4K TVs in the market today. Adding insult to injury, about 5% to 10% of titles will be unavailable on this ad-supported tier, due to prior licensing agreements Netflix had with the content owners. Finally, users of this tier won’t be able to download content for offline viewing either.
While the $7 per month pricing, which falls on the lower-end of the $7-to-$9 range that Netflix was reportedly eyeing, is no doubt a substantial discount from its standard ad-free plan (currently $15.5/mo) and premium plan ($20/mo), and therefore should be appealing enough to cost-conscious new subscribers, the significant drawbacks of the ad-free tier should dissuade current subscribers to downgrade. While that sounds like a win-win scenario, and one that Netflix is obviously aiming for, the various limitations on the ad-supported tier could also further annoy and alienate subscribers who would tolerate a trade-off of commercials for a discount on the subscription fee, but not the aforementioned other compromises that actively undermine the viewing experience.
Related: Netflix names Microsoft as partner for new consumer subscription plan [Reuters]; Netflix launches a new ‘Mystery Box’ feature to help kids discover new content [TechCrunch]
Roku Launches Smart Home Products With Partners Wyze And Walmart [The Verge]
Does smart TV serve as a natural hub for smart home devices? Roku seems to think so, as the company known for its OTT streaming boxes and sticks has announced a range of smart home products aimed at existing Roku users. Partnering with Wyze, a budget-friendly smart home gadget maker, and the retail giant Walmart, Roku is decidedly going after an affordable, mass market appeal in line with its current market positioning.
The initial lineup will include a video doorbell, smart lighting, and smart plugs, among other smart home basics, and they will all be accessible and managed through a Roku Smart Home mobile app available on iOS and Android. At launch, users will be able to view a video feed from the Roku video doorbell via the Roku TV operating system. Roku also says the lineup will be compatible with Google Assistant and Roku Voice, with support for Alexa coming in early November.
Related: Samsung and Google partner to speed up Matter-enabled smart home setups [TechCrunch]; Roku to force some apps to adopt new streaming, billing features [Fierce Video]; HBO Max, Roku team up on 'House of the Dragon' promotion [Fierce Video]
West Elm To Replicate Furniture, Decor On Roblox [Marketing Dive]
Another week, another brand activation in Roblox to connect with the Gen Z audience! This time, it’s upscale furniture and home decor retailer West Elm, which created a branded Home Design experience that features a virtual furniture store, coffee shop, and merchandise boutique. Players can customize their virtual “homes” on Roblox with over 150 digital products, replicated to be nearly identical to the physical goods. There is also a West Elm Neighborhood component, where users can acquire digital homes and outfit them with virtual West Elm products, Moreover, there will even be West Elm branded avatar accessories that Roblox can collect and wear elsewhere in Roblox. Most Gen Z won’t be able to afford West Elm furniture yet, but there’s nothing wrong with building brand affinity and awareness with a younger audience that will one day grow into a prospective customer.
Related: Roblox says policing virtual world is like 'shutting down speakeasies' [Reuters]; Fifa and Roblox launch new metaverse world ahead of Qatar 2022 [SportsProMedia]\
YPulse’s Ad/Marketing Effectiveness report found that TikTok is the top place Gen Z is seeing ads that is influencing them to make a purchase, with 21% of Gen Z respondents listing it as the place that they last saw an ad that led to a purchase. Both Millennials and Gen Z are more likely to be influenced by ads they see on social media and YouTube than cable TV
According to data from DappRadar published on Oct. 7, the Ethereum-based virtual world Decentraland had 38 active users in the past 24 hours, while competitor The Sandbox boasted 522 active users in that same time, CoinDesk reports. Both companies have over $1 billion in valuation.
U.S. consumers love subscriptions. New data from the National Research Group found that while 44% of consumers have tried to cut back on spending at the grocery store amid ongoing high inflation, only 18% did so with their streaming subscriptions. 51% of consumers say that subscriptions now make up a “significant” portion of their regular monthly spending.
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!
If you liked this edition of Lab Weekly by IPG Media Lab, why not share it?