AGM Magic

  • Allied Global Marketing brought holiday magic to Central London with our second annual Allied Arms pop-up pub event, transforming an evening into a memorable celebration of partnership and success. The carefully curated atmosphere provided the perfect setting for our London team to connect with clients, fostering meaningful conversations and strengthening professional relationships as we toasted to the achievements of the past year and the promising opportunities ahead. The event exemplified our commitment to creating distinctive experiences that go beyond traditional corporate gatherings, setting the tone for another year of innovative collaboration with our valued clients!

Help me, AlliedGPT

AlliedGPT is customized with AGM-specific prompts to maximize efficiency and relevance. Here are some prompts to try this week:

  • AGPT can provide personalized feedback on your work. Just go to Ask Anything and share your project details with a request for specific feedback types (encouraging, constructive, critical) to get motivating input on your strengths and areas for improvement.

  • AGPT can help break down big goals into manageable steps when you go to Ask Anything and provide your objective along with a request for actionable steps and realistic timelines.

  • We’re always on the hunt for more AGPT Innovators! If you or a team member have used AlliedGPT in an inventive way to improve a process, solve a problem, increase productivity, or create something amazing, please let us know.

TL;DR

In a hurry? Here's our pick of the top news items of the week.

  • NBC Sports is planning to live-stream an alt-cast matchup between the Houston Texans and Kansas City Chiefs on Saturday, December 21 that will blend live action and video game elements from EA Sports’ Madden NFL franchise. (Variety)

  • Google launched Gemini 2.0, its latest AI model that can generate images and audio, is faster and cheaper to run, and is meant to make AI agents possible. (The Verge)

  • Prime Video is testing a new AI-powered functionality called AI Topics to help consumers find relevant shows and movies more quickly. (Amazon)

Agency updates

  • To promote the launch of Netflix’s new animated film "That Christmas," our Brand Experience team brought magic to Soho Square with an interactive pop-up experience. The event featured a replica VW camper van from the film serving hot chocolate and mince pies, Sprout Shy handing out limited edition posters for those with a keen eye, and photo opportunities inside a giant inflatable igloo. The activation was a festive hit.

Interesting campaigns / creative

  • Duolingo partnered with Netflix for a campaign encouraging consumers to learn Korean in advance of the release of season two of the streamer’s popular “Squid Game” series. (Marketing Dive)

  • Kleenex and Amazon have partnered for “KleenEX: The Breakup Calculator,” an online activation meant to help newly single individuals move on from their exes. (Marketing Dive)

Audiences

  • Hub Entertainment Research data shows that the average household is using more individual sources (13.1) to get their entertainment than ever before. (Streamable)

  • 15% of America now listens to six hours or more a week to podcasts, and fans are looking for more "watchable" options. (Insider Radio)

  • New Parks Associates research finds US apartment residents consume digital content at a higher rate than residents of single-family homes or condos, driven by higher use of smartphones and gaming consoles. (Parks Associates)

Platforms

  • Walmart completed its $2.3B acquisition of TV maker Vizio, a move designed to expand its advertising business. (Variety)

  • Social platform Bluesky now has more than 25M users, up from 15M users just a month ago. (The Verge)

  • A US federal appeals court ruled that a congressional ban on TikTok can go into effect in the next few weeks - that is, if the incoming Trump administration doesn’t decide to upend the court’s decision. (Vox)

Content

  • Fortnite has set a new milestone, drawing 14.3M concurrent players for its "Remix: The Finale" virtual concert featuring performances from Snoop Dogg, Ice Spice and more. (Music Business Worldwide)

  • Comcast plans to launch another streaming service in 2025 that will be the streaming home of all of CNBC’s linear programming. (Tech Radar)

  • Americans' time spent watching television hit a nine-month high in November, as viewing levels grew 5% MoM to reach the largest monthly total since February. (The Wrap)

Tech & AI

  • Amazon announced its own set of Nova AI models and is partnering with Anthropic to build a huge AI compute cluster. (The Verge)

  • Google is rolling out the ability for users to talk with the AI “hosts” of its podcast-like Audio Overviews. (The Verge)

  • Google's virtual assistant Project Astra is expanding its testing program to more users, including tests that use prototype glasses. (The Verge)

Location-based entertainment

  • The now-concluded Taylor Swift Eras Tour saw a total of 10,168,008 people purchase $2,077,618,725 in tickets, averaging about $204 per seat. (NPR)

  • The Winter Music Series will return to AGM client Dollywood’s Dreammore Resort & Spa, kicking off January 24. (Amusement Today)

  • Google's list of most searched-for museums in 2024 sees London's British Museum and Brazil's Museum of Art of São Paulo Assis Chateaubriand topping the list. (Art Net)

Travel & hospitality

  • The number of Aussies travelling overseas has jumped 12% from last year, with the biggest growth coming from Japan (+73.8% YoY), Vietnam (+35.4%), Indonesia (+26%), the USA (+13%) and New Zealand (8.2%). (Karryon)

  • Cruise operators like Royal Caribbean and Carnival are increasingly focusing their development energies on "private destinations" - exclusive seaside resorts wholly controlled by individual cruise line companies. (Skift)

  • Many international travelers will soon need to register for an online authorisation before touching down in the UK or many EU nations. (BBC)

  • Premium cabins have emerged as a critical post-pandemic revenue stream for airlines, contributing nearly half of all passenger revenue while representing a relatively small portion of total seats. (Skift)

Gaming

  • Gaming advertising in Australia overtook news media's ad revenues for the first time this year, climbing to more than $2B. (Mi3)

  • A number of Fortnite players are owed a refund for buying unwanted in-game skins, according to a ruling from the US Federal Trade Commission. (NME)

  • PC Gamer released its 2025 trend forecast, highlighting AA/A (mid-market and indie) games as the biggest audience driver for next year. (PC Gamer)

  • The Metaverse In Gaming market was valued at $21.6B in 2023 and is expected to grow to $390.6B by 2032 thanks to a rise in immersive experiences. (Globe Newswire)

Mental health

If your team has a significant accomplishment, campaign, or initiative to share in an upcoming AGM Knowledge issue: Click here and fill in the form to make that magic happen.

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Version to use with Marketo etc.