Lab Weekly - 11/15/2024
Battle for the AI Narrative; Plus, the latest news on xxx, & more must-know stories and cool stats
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The Battle is On for Control over the AI Narrative
This week, the AI hype cycle has entered a strange new stage. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman publicly predicted that artificial general intelligence (AGI), which matches or surpasses human capabilities across a wide range of cognitive tasks, might be coming in 2025, while three widely circulated reports from The Information, Reuters, and Bloomberg all point to a slow-down in AI development.
So, is the AI bubble about to burst, or are we about to welcome our new AI overlord?
In case you missed it…
Prime Innovations in Streaming Land
How Amazon’s Prime Video’s latest additions reflect the larger streaming market, and the one competitive advantage it has over all other streaming services
The Homebody Economy
The many reasons for young people to stay home, and how brands can cater to them at home and beyond
The AI Agents Are Coming — Is Your Brand Ready?
Exploring what moving on from AI chatbots to agentic AI systems might mean for brands
Amazon Unveils ‘Haul,’ Its Ultra-Discount Temu Rival [Fortune]
After months of speculations, Amazon has unveiled its ultra-low-cost marketplace “Amazon Haul,” which takes a page directly from the playbook of Chinese ecommerce apps like Temu and Shein to sell low-cost goods shipped from (mostly) China. In exchange for a longer wait time on delivery, shoppers can haul a wide range of products, including apparel, home goods, electronics and other items, all priced below $20 each.
To fully compete against Temu and Shein, Amazon is leveraging its brand to ensure U.S. consumers that they won't be getting scammed here as they might elsewhere with an “A-to-Z Guarantee” promise. Also interesting to note that there is no mention of needing a Prime membership here, since that fast delivery is not on the table here, although all orders over $25 will include free shipping. At the end of the day, Amazon has a cutting edge logistics operation to tap into. The question remains, if/when the US closes the “de minimis"loophole, would that help Amazon or hurt them as well?
Related: TikTok is integrating with influencer shopping app LTK [TechCrunch]; Door-to-door saleswomen are fueling Shein’s rise in Mexico [Rest of World]
Meta To Open Pop-Up Retail Store For Ray-Ban Meta Glasses [The Verge]
These Meta Lab pop-ups mark an intriguing approach to blending AR technology with immersive retail experiences. These temporary spaces not only allow customers to engage hands-on with the Ray-Ban smart glasses, but also tie the product to culturally relevant themes, like Southern Californian lowrider culture. This approach could be instrumental in creating buzz and testing market receptivity before committing to permanent retail locations.
This move also comes at a time when Apple is reportedly “sharply scaling back” its in-store demo for Vision Pro headsets, per The Information. Whereas Apple eagerly integrated the Vision Pro into its existing retail infrastructure, of which Meta essentially has none, these pop-up shops are clearly low-risk testing stones to see if Meta needs to build out its own retail operation in order to sell its hardware products.
Related: China’s Baidu joins Meta in race to make AI-integrated smart glasses [Financial Times]; Meta faces pressure in EU to ask before using data to target ads or train artificial intelligence [WSJ]
Amazon Prime Video to Stream Diamond Regional Sports Networks [CNBC]
After a lot of back-and-forth, Diamond Sports Group has entered into a multiyear agreement with Amazon's Prime Video to offer its 16 regional sports networks (RSNs) as add-on subscriptions. This partnership allows Prime customers within each team's designated geographic area to access live games and related content through the newly rebranded FanDuel Sports Network. This deal effectively makes Prime Video a carrier for local MLB, NBA, and NHL games in certain markets, creating a stronger alternative for sports-loving cord-cutters.
As more streamers invest in sports content, we expect to see more deals with RSNs pop up. Given that the rights after non-exclusive (aka: cheaper for Amazon), might someone like ESPN step in to offer these games as well? Such collaborations would not only enhance content accessibility for consumers but also offer RSNs new avenues to reach broader audiences beyond traditional cable subscribers, all at the expense of making cable TV more irrelevant.
Related: Get ready for more commercials on Amazon Prime Video next year [FastCo]; Amazon is shutting down Freevee, its ad-supported video streamer [Variety]
Situational Awareness:
Meta reportedly to launch the first ads on Threads in early 2025 [Information]
This move is perfectly timed for Meta — with the rise of Bluesky, as well as Perpexity introducing ads to its AI answer engines this week, we are seeing increasing experiments in alternative search and social channels. It seems that no matter how much the competitive landscape shifts, advertisers would not run out of new channels to explore any time soon.
Apple to Launch AI-Powered Home 'Command Center' as Soon as March 2025 [Bloomberg]
So far this falls under the “likely rumor” category, but it is intriguing to consider what Apple can do to unify their smart home strategy in the era of the Matter standard. Both Amazon and Google have released stationary display products that are meant to serve as smart home hubs. Apple’s approach to make it a wall-mount display speaks to a larger priority to make sure its a home fixture, while also seeking for a more tangible use case for Apple Intelligence.
Google rolls out its Gemini AI-powered video presentation app [The Verge]
Some of Vids’ key features include letting Gemini auto-insert stock footage for you, generating a script, and making AI voiceovers. Google says that the tool can help turn customer support articles into videos, make training videos, etc. It will be interesting to see how many brands and creators embrace this as an automation tool.
Pizza Hut creates a 3D-printed add-on for PlayStation to keep pizza warm [Mashable]
This is a fun idea to tap into online virality and the gamer community. Too bad that people can’t get it at any Pizza Hut location, as it is released only as a 3D print pattern for those who have the tools to print it. Availability is often what separates an effective stunt campaign from just a gimmick to get likes and shares.
Disney's streaming business is hitting its stride, as the company says that its streaming platforms turned a profit for the second quarter in a row, Quartz reports. Paid subscriptions for Disney+ rose 4% to 122 million year over year and Hulu subscriptions grew 2% to 52 million.
Meanwhile, in the latest earnings report, Netflix says its ad tier has garnered 70 million users globally, up from 40 million in May 2024 and 22 million in January 2024; 50%+ of sign-ups are for ad plans in supported countries, Variety reports.
Forrester is predicting overall steady but not spectacular growth for sales in the U.S. this holiday season. According to a new study by the market research firm, total holiday retail sales in the U.S. will grow 3.7% year-over-year and reach $1 trillion in 2024, up from $964 billion during the 2023 holiday season, CSA reports.
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