AGENCY WORK HIGHLIGHTS

• The field marketing team delivered a truly fantastic campaign in 30+ markets across North America for FANTASTIC BEASTS: THE SECRETS OF DUMBLEDORE. Highlights included crème-de-la-crème 1920s-themed influencer events, eventized IMAX screenings, and digital scavenger hunts at high-trafficked venues from zoos to comic conventions. While two Kowalski Quality Baked Goods food trucks toured the U.S. to raise awareness, Team Canada’s campaign included a brick-and-mortar Kowalski pop-up shop. The shop sold Niffler Tarts and Sorting Hat Cupcakes and brought consumers in droves. Check out a segment HERE that was featured on Breakfast Television, a Canadian national morning show as well as on MSN Canada.

INDUSTRY UPDATES

Ad Vendors / Platforms / Data

• TikTok's ad revenue is expected to reach almost $12B this year, up from about $4B in 2021. More than half of that is expected to come from the US. (Ad Age)

• This year, adult TikTok users will spend an average of 38 minutes per day on the app, the most of any social media platform. Twitter ranks second with a daily average of 35 minutes, and Facebook is third with 31 minutes per day. (eMarketer)

  

Awards / Festivals

• The Tribeca Film Festival has announced its opening film: the Netflix documentary Halftime, which is about the second half of JLo's career. The premiere is set to take place on Wednesday June 8 at the United Palace in Washington Heights. (THR)

• “Dopesick," “Only Murders in the Building,” and “The Underground Railroad” are among this year’s nominees for the Peabody Awards. Other nominees include Oscar Winners “Summer of Soul” and “The Queen of Basketball,” and Emmy winners including “Bo Burnham: Inside” and “Hacks." (Variety)

• Carrie Underwood set a record at this years CMT Awards, bringing her total wins to 25. She won video of the year for the 10th time. Taylor Swift’s “Love Story (Taylor’s Version)” won trending comeback song of the year, and George Straight won CMT performance of the year. (Billboard)

Cinemas / Theatrical

• Paramount's "Sonic the Hedgehog 2″ earned $71M at the US box office, the best opening ever for a movie based on a video game. (Deadline)

• Comfort going to the movies hit a new high again this week, as 3 in 5 Americans now say they feel OK seeing a film in theaters. (Morning Consult)

  

• AMC Theatres has made a deal with Bow Tie Cinemas to acquire and operate seven of Bow Tie’s locations in Connecticut, upstate New York and Annapolis, MD. The deal gives AMC an additional 66 screens to add to its 7.5K in the US and Canada. (Deadline)

Gambling / Casinos

• Fifth Street Gaming and Ojos Locos Sports Cantina announced their agreement to collaborate on the first U.S. hotel-casino dedicated to the Latino community. The hotel-casino will continue to offer a robust calendar of concerts featuring Latino artists, as well as Mexican rodeos and food festivals. (Yogonet)

• New Zealand is beginning to return to normal following the COVID-19 pandemic, allowing international travel beginning May 1st. SkyCity casinos is preparing to return to pre-covid levels of traffic. (Casino.org)

• Kentucky lawmakers were unable to pass legislation that would legalize sports betting. Polls from February showed 66% of Kentuckians supported sports betting. (Casino.org)

Live Events / Attractions

• Last week the Cannes Film Festival announced 47 films from around the world that will be in its lineup this year. The all-star lineup includes four Palme d’Or winning directors, including Japanese master Kore-eda Hirokazu (Japan) and Swedish helmer Ruben Ostlund (“Triangle of Sadness”). (Variety)

• YouTube is offering a new shopping option during its Coachella livestream. During any performance, viewers will be able to click on a link on their phones or scan the QR code on their television screens to purchase artist merch through Coachella's store without leaving the livestreamed concert. (LA Times)

• Tinder is bringing back its Festival Mode as in-person music events return. People can now use Tinder Explore to match with people up to a month before festivals start. (Engadget)

Music / Audio / Podcasts

• Spotify is testing a personalized feed on its home screen which introduces users to new music through canvas loops (those GIFs that appear when you’re listening to certain songs). Every day the feed will recommend 15 songs which users can then add to playlists and share to social media. (Tech Crunch)

• Thanks to Bad Bunny, Anitta and many more Latinx artists, U.S. Latin music revenue soared in 2021 with a 35% increase to $886M, the highest amount in history. (Variety)

• Deezer, the rival music streaming service of Spotify and Apple Music, is once again considering going public in 2022. The move is an opportunity for the French platform to gain from the rapid growth of the global streaming market over the past decade. (Music Business Worldwide)

NFT / Blockchain / Crypto

• The Bored Ape Yacht Club is getting its own film trilogy. The first of three installments for the series of animated short films, titled “The Degen Trilogy,” will premiere at NFT.NYC in June. (CoinDesk)

• When it comes to the metaverse, people are most concerned about their personal data. About 55% of U.S. adults said the tracking and misuse of their personal data is a major concern while 44% are concerned about cyberbullying and online abuse. (Morning Consult)

• Half of adults said they considered lower-priced technology to be an important factor when deciding whether to try to enter the metaverse. Two in five said more available content would push them into using it, while a nearly equal share said if their family and friends used the metaverse, it would make them more likely to do so. (Morning Consult)

  

• Meta began testing tools for selling digital assets and experiences within its virtual reality platform Horizon Worlds. The tools will be available initially to a select group of users who are creating virtual classes, games and fashion accessories within Horizon Worlds. (Reuters)

• About half of the public is interested in the idea of seeing live music in the metaverse, while 38% of adults said they would likely attend a live sporting event. 48% of people are not interested in any events at all. (Morning Consult)

• Nearly half of men are interested in the metaverse, compared to roughly 3 in 10 women. 70% of women say personal safety in the metaverse is a concern, while 73% are worried about online abuse and 64% are concerned about sexual harassment. (Morning Consult)

• The Los Angeles Rams unveiled a new digital hub for engaging fans. The Virtual Rams House will host gameday chats and is the first virtual venue in the sports industry. (Marketing Dive)

• There was a 4-point drop in Bitcoin ownership among men over the last month (21% to 17%). Conversely, Bitcoin ownership among women showed a 3-point increase (7% to 10%). (Morning Consult)

OTT / Streaming

• After 30 seasons on the ABC network, Dancing with the Stars will move to Disney+ this fall, making it the first live show on the streamer. (THR)

• FIFA has launched FIFA+, a free, ad-funded streaming platform where consumers can view live soccer games from domestic leagues around the world.(THR)

• CNN+ will soon see budget cuts due to slow adoption. Fewer than 10K people are using CNN+ on a daily basis two weeks after its launch. (Streamable)

• Amazon’s IMDb TV AVOD is being rebranded as Amazon Freevee beginning April 27. The platform’s new name is to help better reflect the cost of its service and distinguish it from the IMDb website. (THR)

• National Geographic is launching a new subscription deal called National Geographic Premium With Disney+ that combines a Nat Geo digital membership, print issues from the publication and the streaming service Disney+ into one offering for $10.99/month or $109/year. (THR)

• The city of Maple Heights, Ohio argued in front of the Ohio Supreme Court that a 2007 state law requires Netflix, Hulu, and other streaming services to pay a fee to municipalities to compensate the local governments for use of cables and internet wiring that run on public property. The court's decision could lead to increase in prices across streaming platforms. (Streamable)

• YouTube and MLB have renewed their streaming deal for the 2022 season. There will be 15 regular-season games being shown exclusively on the platform beginning May 15th. (The Verge)

• HBO Max saw the most growth in US market share of “interest” in Q1, gaining 2% market share of user interest and putting it at 14% total. Netflix remains at the top with US customer interest in their shows but lost 2% market share of user interest, putting it at 23% total. (Cord Cutters News)

• Netflix introduced a "Double Thumbs Up" button as an additional way for users to indicate what types of series and films they want to see more of. Netflix already has “Thumbs Up” and "Thumbs Down" buttons, but the new feature is to allow users to convey when they really love something. (CNN)

• By 2023, at least half of European Netflix and Amazon Prime Video subscribers viewing time could be spent streaming non-English content. In Q3 2021, European streamers spent 22% of their time watching non-English content. (Streamable)

• Amazon and local Australian streamers Stan and Binge have pledged to increase their Australian content. Stan is on track to have Stan Originals account for 30% of their premium content by 2025, which is about 30 local productions. (Variety)

Retail / Lifestyle / Travel

• Staff shortages, pent-up post-COVID demand and the Easter long weekend are causing huge queues at airports across Australia, with Sydney particularly affected. Staffing issues are expected to persist for some time. (Sydney Morning Herald)

• Leisure travel is outpacing pre-pandemic levels despite a 10.7% increase in airline fares from February to March. Pilot shortages threaten chaos for the onslaught of travelers if airlines can’t meet demand. JetBlue already cut 10% of its summer schedule. (Axios)

• Amazon is taking a step to offset its rising costs, adding a 5% “fuel and inflation surcharge” to fees it charges third-party sellers who use their fulfillment services. (NBC)

• Delta reported a $940M loss over the three months ending March 31st, but it returned to profitability during March, despite soaring fuel prices, and expects to report a profit in the second quarter. (WSJ)

• Peloton is increasing the price of its content with the all-access plan rising from $39 to $44 in the US and from $49 to $55 in Canada. The increase comes after shareholder Blackwells Capital said Peloton failed to deliver on promises to transform the business. (Reuters)

Social Media

• Elon Musk has decided not to join the board of Twitter after buying a 9% stake. He then made an offer (via text message) to buy Twitter for $43.4B. Twitter is adopting a so-called “Poison Pill” plan to protect the company from Musk acquiring more shares. (THR)

• Facebook is now looking to facilitate dedicated NFT communities as Meta is ready to unveil its NFT trading and display plans. Meta is also considering how it can facilitate in-app transactions with its own, internal digital currency. (Social Media Today)

• Twitter began testing its new ‘unmention’ option, which will enable users to remove themselves from conversations if they no longer feel comfortable being involved. (Social Media Today)

• TikTok is rolling out its augmented reality effects tool, Effect House, to all creators and developers after launching a closed beta test last fall. Effect House allows creators to make their own AR camera effects that can be used by other TikTok users in videos. (The Verge)

• Snapchat introduced a new product called Dynamic Stories that aims to make it easier for news publishers to upload their content in real time as stories break. More than 40 news publishers from around the world began using the product last week. (Axios)

• Reddit updated its search feature to index comments. Users will be able to pull results from replies to posts, making it easier to find something specific outside of general Reddit posts, communities, and people. (The Verge)

Video Games

• Sony and KIRKBI (the investment company behind LEGO) have invested $1B each in Epic Games to advance the company’s vision to build the metaverse and support its continued growth. (Epic Games)

• Nintendo Switch Sports will be released on April 29. Players will be able to play a variety of sports including tennis, bowling, and volleyball by waving a controller. The game also features online play and expanded living room options that support four people bowling simultaneously. (Axios)

• Irish Spring designed a shower called The Irish Spring Nice-Smelling Gaming Shower, allowing users to get clean without taking a break from playing video games. The effort supports a new body wash line featuring a refreshed brand look. (Marketing Dive)

• 62% of gamers have used or are planning to use cloud gaming services in 2022. The most popular cloud gaming service for US gamers is currently Xbox Cloud Gaming. (Telecom Paper)

Interesting Campaigns / Creative

• Absolut will have a metaverse popup at Coachella. The three-floor installation, known as Absolut.Land, mixes the brand's real and virtual presence. A Decentraland building is made to look like a bottle of Absolut that visitors can explore, and people visiting the tent will be able to tend bar in the virtual world. (Marketing Dive)

  

AND NOW THE GOOD STUFF

• The UK government published its national AI strategy, which outlines its long-term vision for the technology and its impact on society.

• Rodney Brooks, the creator of the Roomba, throws cold water on the idea that AI will surpass human intelligence in the near future.

• A unique look behind the curtain at how one VC fund increased returns.

• How Peloton uses design and gamification to keep people on the exercise platform.

• If you think gentrification is about new coffee shops and high rents, you are missing an essential aesthetic element.

• Watch out for the Trisolarians! Scientists might have found the first-known planet orbiting three stars at once.