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TL;DR

• Anthropic introduced Claude 3.5 Sonnet, an updated version of its Claude 3 AI chatbot that is twice as fast and more powerful. (Bloomberg)

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  Next year, Netflix will open a new in-person experience, Netflix House, in two cities: King of Prussia, PA, and Dallas, TX. (Variety)

• Almost half (44%) of US streaming subscribers have seen the cost of at least one of their services increase in the past year, prompting 45% of those consumers to cancel their subscription. (Forbes)

Agency updates

• Michelle Healy (Paid Media) and Alyssa Caridi (Strategy & Innovation) were panelists at The Broadway League's Road Marketing Summer Series: AI Insights for Marketing Mavericks. Their virtual presentation discussed how AI can be used to enhance digital marketing campaigns and can be viewed here (22:08).

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  Our Field marketing team led a multi-city press tour for Kevin Costner to promote Warner Bros. Pictures’ "Horizon: An American Saga - Chapter 1." Costner visited Dallas, Atlanta, Philadelphia, and Chicago while completing regional press and traveling press from 15 additional markets. The team also coordinated special activities, including a Key to the City ceremony in Irving, TX; a photo op at Fort Worth's Best Hat Store; and military base appearances in Chicago and Fort Worth.

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  For the release of Focus Features' film "The Bikeriders," our Partnerships and Field teams kicked off promotional campaigns in collaboration with key partners: Schott NYC Leather Jackets, Mad Rabbit Tattoo Care, Señor Lechuga Hot Sauce, and Zippo. Additionally, product donations from Liquid Death were utilized for the premiere and related press events. Activities included limited-time product collections, sweepstakes, and social media support for the events. The Field team also organized "Ride to Events" across various locations, offering motorcycle enthusiasts free drinks and promotional items. Special accommodations such as reserved parking, seating, and exclusive concessions were provided at these events for attendees who arrived on motorcycles to watch advance screenings of the film.

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  Earlier this month, the US Games Team brought together mobile publisher, Zynga, and automotive lifestyle and entertainment brand, MotorTrend, in a collaborative partnership promoting the 92nd 24 Hours of Le Mans motorsport race. The campaign efforts promoted the official MotorTrend broadcast of 24 Hours of Le Mans and Zynga’s "Custom Street Racing 2" in-game Le Mans event and collaboration with Lamborghini. This cross promotion was supported through social, SMS push notifications and on-air support.

Interesting campaigns / creative

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  "Longlegs" shared a phone number for fans to call if they want to hear “the man downstairs,” which sounds a lot like a serial killer version of Nic Cage. (Uproxx)

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  Australian SVOD Binge mixed CGI with OOH across the country for the new season of "House of the Dragon." (AdNews)

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  HBO Max promoted "House of the Dragon" in New York with a giant inflatable dragon clutching the Empire State Building's spire. (NBC)

Audiences

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  Two-thirds of travelers globally, especially younger travelers, are more interested in travel now than they were before the COVID-19 pandemic. (McKinsey)

• A third of US streaming viewers have had to create their own streaming subscription account over the last year due to stricter streaming service rules. (Forbes)

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  YouTube Premium is ranked as a must-have service by 75% of US users, a fraction of a percent behind Spotify. (Yahoo)

Platforms

• TikTok’s new “Symphony” marketing management platform will let brands deploy virtual influencers to sell their products for them in the app. (Social Media Today)

• TikTok furthered its integration with Adobe Express, adding 1M+ songs and sounds from TikTok’s Commercial Music Library to the app. (Social Media Today)

• Spotify is now letting non-hosted podcasters upload videos to the platform. (Tech Crunch)

• CVS’s retail media network is turning on self-serve advertising for the first time through a deal with The Trade Desk. (Adage)

• Spotify launched a new Basic streaming plan in the US for $10.99/mo that includes all of the benefits of a Premium plan but without the monthly audiobook listening time. (Tech Crunch)

Content

• The Queen music catalog is being acquired by Sony Music for £1B (around $1.27B). (Variety)

• London's Prince Charles Cinema cancelled a private screening of a film entirely written with AI following a public backlash. (BBC)

• Netflix is ramping up production in Indonesia, increasing its output from 6 titles in 2023 to 10 in 2024. (Bloomberg)

• The WNBA is averaging 1.3M viewers per game, tripling last season’s average of 462K viewers. (CNBC)

Tech & AI

• Meta is dividing its Reality Labs department into two teams, "Wearables" and "Metaverse." (Media Post)

• McDonald's ended its partnership with IBM, shutting down its AI-backed ordering tests at more than 100 US drive-throughs, after an influx of errors. (NYT)

• OpenAI co-founder Ilya Sutskever launched a new AI company devoted to "safe superintelligence." (AP)

• Amazon extended generative AI-powered product listings to Europe, letting sellers in France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK use the feature. (Tech Crunch)

Location-based entertainment

• Cedar Fair and Six Flags announced a merger and set Charlotte as the headquarters for 42 parks. (Attractions Magazine)

• Magic Kingdom's 'Tiana’s Bayou Adventure' is set to open before the end of the month. (Local 10 News)

• "Inside Out 2" generated $155M at the box office over its opening weekend in the US, the second-highest animation opening ever. (CNBC)

• A cruise ship with some of Broadway's biggest names will sail from Florida to Mexico next spring. (Yahoo)

Travel & hospitality

• Domestic travel represents the bulk of travel spending, and intraregional tourism is on the rise. (McKinsey)

• Restaurants are adopting robots that cook, deliver meals to diners and take away dirty dishes - but with mixed success. (Axios)

• The Bellagio and the MGM Grand will start live streaming roulette and baccarat games to international markets. (Casino.org)

• Europe's biggest food delivery firm, Just Eat Takeaway, struck a deal to offer Amazon Prime members in Germany, Austria and Spain free delivery of food orders above 15 euros. (Reuters)

Gaming

• Apple paused work on its Vision Pro successor, focusing on releasing a cheaper model. (IGN)

• Nintendo announced a slew of new games, including a Princess Zelda standalone game, "Echoes of Wisdom." (Eurogamer)

• Last year's most played games in terms of monthly users were largely older, established titles such as Fortnite and Call of Duty. (BBC)

Mental health

• Try out "slow fitness" exercises, which can boost both your physical and mental health.

• If you find yourself experiencing SAD in the summertime, here are 11 ways to cope.