Check out the latest posts from AGM Leaders

Bridging Realities Through XR Technology

By Arlene Wszalek, EVP, Strategy & Innovation

Pixel Perfect? Assessing AI Imagery

By David Atlas, Assoc. Creative Director

Learning Opp!

Help me, AlliedGPT

• AlliedGPT can help you come up with targeting ideas when you enter the product/brand into this prompt.

• Summarizing an RFP has never been easier with this prompt. Just upload the doc, and the tool will provide a summary, timeline and more.

• AlliedGPT can provide a hypothetical-based media mix recommendation if you use this prompt. Enter the budget, date range, market, intended audience, KPI and tactics, and you'll receive an allocation by tactic.

TL;DR

• Disney made a $1.5B investment in Epic Games, the gaming developer behind Fortnite. (Yahoo)

• ESPN, Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery plan to launch a joint sports streaming service later this year. (CNBC)

• Roblox is introducing its Multilingual Translation Model, which will break down language barriers between players by translating text in real time. (Roblox)

• Google renamed its Bard chatbot to Gemini, released a dedicated Gemini app for Android, and is folding all its Duet AI features in Google Workspace into the Gemini brand. (The Verge)

Agency updates

• 

  Our Field team executed an ’80s-era tour on behalf of Focus Features’ "Lisa Frankenstein," bringing talent Kathryn Newton and Cole Sprouse to the American Dream Mall where hundreds of fans lined up for a Q+A and meet-and-greet opportunity.

• 

  Our Multicultural team executed an influencer dinner for streaming client ViX in celebration of the "LALOLA" series premiere. Miami Latinx influencers enjoyed a surprise visit from the star of the show, Barbara de Regil. The special night was organically shared by influencers, boosting social chatter and tune-in.

Interesting campaigns / creative

• 

  DoorDash will deliver every product advertised during the Super Bowl to one lucky winner. (Marketing Dive)

• 

  McDonald’s launched a cryptic poster campaign to promote a secret collab, encouraging viewers to use a QR code to find out more. (The Drum)

• 

  Avocados From Mexico launched a tool to generate guacamole recipes using AI. (Marketing Dive)

• 

  Burger King is taking its "Have it Your Way" promise to the next level with a contest fueled by generative AI. (Marketing Dive)

Audiences

• Nearly half (47%) of TikTok’s users said they get news from the app, a 17 percentage point increase from July 2022. (Morning Consult)

• 

  Half of US adults planned to watch the Super Bowl, and Taylor Swift fans were more likely to watch. (YouGov)

Platforms

• 

  47% of US digital media professionals think social media will face serious challenges in the next year, including ads delivering alongside unsavory content and decreased access to consumer data and cookies. (Insider)

• YouTube TV subscriptions hit 8M, making it far and away the biggest internet-streaming subscription TV service in the US. (Variety) What's more, viewers globally are watching a collective average of 1B hours of YouTube content on TV screens each day. (TubeFilter)

• Expedia signed up as Netflix’s first global ad partner and will run ads localized for different languages and cultures. (Marketing Dive)

• 

  More than a third of marketers worldwide will increase their brand marketing investments this year. (Insider)

• Europe’s public broadcasters launched a new free streaming service, Eurovision Sport, in 50 markets. (Deadline)

Content

• Following her Grammy's performance, Tracy Chapmans's "Fast Car" shot to No. 1 on the iTunes Top Songs chart, and her 1988 debut album also sat at No. 1. (NPR)

• The Grammys saw 16.9M viewers on CBS, up 34% from last year's show. (The Wrap)

• The global music industry had a record-setting 2023 with more than 4T on-demand audio song streams. (Axios)

• Nickelodeon's football fans will be able to watch Super Bowl LVIII announced by SpongeBob SquarePants live from Bikini Bottom. (CNN)

Tech & AI

• Disney is beta testing a new AI-based advertising tool for its streaming services that matches commercials with appropriate scenes in movies or shows. (Pymnts)

• Meta will label AI-generated images on Instagram and Facebook in the coming months. (ABC)

• Google is joining an effort to help spot content made with AI - a sort of “nutrition label” that identifies when and how a file was produced or altered. (NYT)

• OpenAI hit the $2B revenue milestone in December and believes it can double that in 2025. (Reuters)

Location-based entertainment

• The 2026 World Cup final will be held at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, on July 19th. (ESPN)

• Disney plans to invest billions of dollars into expanding the capacity of its theme parks and cruise lines. (Yahoo)

• The UK government has said it will back the plans for a new Universal Studios theme park in Bedfordshire. (Blooloop)

• "Moana 2," originally planned to be a Disney+ exclusive, is set to debut in theaters on November 27th. (Variety)

Travel & hospitality

• Wynn Resorts saw its operating revenue grow to a record $1.84B in Q4, citing November's F1 race as a contributor. (Hotel Dive)

• An estimated 500K fans flooded the Las Vegas Strip for Super Bowl LVIII, and Harry Reid International Airport added 60 extra flights to handle the influx of visitors. (CBS)

• 60% of adults 18-25 worldwide that are active on TikTok turn to the platform as their first choice for travel inspiration. (Hotel Business)

Mental health

• Here's some advice from experts on how to banish negative thoughts.

• Your breathing patterns have more impact than you think. Try these 5 breathing exercises to help manage stress.