Lab Weekly - 11/04/2022
Unpacking the immediate aftermath of Elon Musk’s Twitter takeover; Plus, the latest news from Snapchat, Amazon, Disney, and Netflix, as well as must-know stats roundup
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Unpacking the Immediate Aftermath of Elon Musk’s Twitter Takeover
Already a controversial figure for some of his recent tweets, Musk’s erratic M.O. has not inspired much confidence from either users or brand advertisers. While Twitter becomes a slow-motion train wreck, other tech companies are seizing the moment to reshape the social media landscape. This week alone, we have had a series of interesting social media updates that reflect the circumstances around Musk’s Twitter takeover.
In case you missed it…
Why Meta Is Teaming Up With Microsoft To Build The Metaverse
Will working in metaverse be compelling enough to make people want to use it beyond office hours? Meta certainly seems to believe so.
Why Uber is Expanding Its Ad Business
Examining the digital economy and the push for revenue diversification through advertising
Want Loyal Customers? Build a Super Bundle
The state of play for existing super bundles, and the key ways that brands are deploying super bundles to enhance customer loyalty
Disney+ Adds Exclusive Early Access To Holiday Merch For Subscribers [TechCrunch]
This week, Disney made a noteworthy move in expanding its bundle anchored by Disney+. Access to new merchandise products, such as Star Wars lightsabers and Black Panther masks, will be offered to Disney+ subscribers for a week before they become available for non-subscribers. Subscribers can access the collection directly from the web, and Disney is also adding QR codes to a “shop” tab right on the streaming service for the relevant shows and movies.
Disney CEO Bob Chapek recently shared that the content you watch on Disney Plus could one day influence your experience at the company’s parks, so we may not be far from Disney+ expanding into a true cross-category super bundle that enables Disney to deliver personalized customer experiences in an omnichannel, data-driven manner. This streaming-merchandising tie-in is certainly a step in that direction.
Related: Disney wants to use your viewing history to personalize your park experience [The Verge]; Stranger Things is celebrating “Stranger Things Day” with merch and offline events [Uproxx]
Netflix With Ads Launching As Talks Continue With Studios Over Content [WSJ]
Netflix’s ad-supported tier officially launched this week in a dozen of global markets including the U.S. and UK, officially kicking off a new era for the global streamer. So far, reception to the new tier appears to be somewhat mixed: the ad-supported tier reportedly isn't working on Apple TV devices, and some have complained about the unpredictability of the ad load and content availability. That said, it is launch day and some growing pains are to be expected for a company that has never had an advertising business before. Haggling with studios for the rights to play ads against the licensed content, however, could turn into a chronic issue for Netflix, especially as the streaming market becomes more saturated than ever. Time spent on ad-supported streaming services are growing, which accounted for 46.5% of time spent viewing connected TV apps in the United States in 4th quarter 2021, per data from TVision Insights. Studios are going to want to license their catalog content to as many ad-supported services as possible to maximize their revenue, while also holding back their tentpole content for an exclusivity window on their own streaming services (if they have one.)
Related:Netflix launches official Discord bot that lets you host co-watching parties [The Gamer]; Netflix acquired Seattle-based games studio Spry Fox [TechCrunch]
Snap And Amazon Partner On AR Shopping [TechCrunch]
AR commerce got a big boost this week as Snapchat inks a partnership with Amazon Fashion that enables Snapchat users to try on and buy branded glasses and sunglasses via AR lenses. Eyewear has been a staple category for AR-enabled virtual try-ons, so it makes sense that eyewear would serve as the starting point for this AR shopping partnership. Given time, one could easily see how this may expand into other product categories.
That said, there is some room for improvement in terms of the discoverability of these shoppable AR lenses. At the moment, users can find them on the @amazonfashion public profile within the Snapchat app. When customers find a style they like, the item can then be purchased in the Amazon Fashion store via a link displayed on the screen. If Snap were to get serious about scaling its AR shopping efforts, then these shoppable lenses need to become more easily accessible to users.
Related: Strava partners with Snapchat for new augmented reality experience for athletes [Canadian Cycling Mag]; China aims to ship 25 million virtual reality devices by 2026 [Reuters]
Microsoft recently shared that Xbox Game Pass accounts for 15 percent of Microsoft’s overall Xbox content and services revenue, a sign of the increasing usage of the cloud-based gaming service. Microsoft announced earlier this week that PC Game Pass subscriptions increased by 159% year over year during Q1 2023.
TikTok has jumped over Netflix to become the second most popular app in the United States among people under 35, according to new research Omdia shared with Marketing Dive. The service’s popularity is heavily skewed by age; among those over 35, TikTok is only the sixth most popular service. YouTube remains the market’s most popular service.
Roku handily topped Wall Street estimates for Q3 2022, as the company added 2.3 million streaming accounts during the quarter to reach 65.4 million accounts worldwide, Variety reports.
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