Industry Updates

Ad Vendors / Platforms / Data

• Uber is partnering with Rokt to serve riders targeted offers when checking out of their Uber purchase, such as a discount offer from Hulu. (AdAge)

• US OOH ad spending totaled $2.62B in Q2, just behind the record $2.69B set in Q2 2019. (Media Post)

  

• Tesco became UK’s largest digital advertising network after adding 100 OOH digital advertising screens to its existing 400. (Retail Gazette)

• In the first half of 2022, Condé Nast saw an 11% increase in advertising YoY and 13% growth in digital advertising specifically. A majority of the company's advertising revenue is now digital. (Axios)

• Microsoft has put more ads in Outlook mobile for iOS and Android, adding them to single-inbox mode instead of just in the “other” tab. (The Verge)

• Alphabet reported the highest 2021 ad revenues of any tech company, followed by Facebook. Apple’s move to limit the way apps track user behavior may have kneecapped competitors like Meta. (Axios)

  

• Over 43% of digital media subscribers become inactive the day after they subscribe, up from 39% in 2021. (Axios)

  

• Digital OOH ads are now available in Google DV360, letting users advertise on screens in stadiums, airports, bus stops, shopping centers, elevators, taxis and more. (Google)

• India has lifted business restrictions on American Express after the firm demonstrated “satisfactory compliance” with local data storage rules. (Tech Crunch)

Awards / Festivals

• Film Independent's Spirit Awards will replace its gendered “best actor" and “best actress” awards for gender-neutral categories - “best lead performance” and “best supporting performance.” (THR)

• The Game Awards' 9th annual show will take place December 8th in-person at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles. It will also stream for free on 40+ digital platforms, and will be showing at IMAX's The Game Awards: The IMAX Experience. (Deadline)

• Next year’s Tribeca Film Festival will take place in NYC from June 7th-18th. The 2022 festival was attended in-person by more than 150K participants. (IndieWire)

Cinemas / Theatrical

• Top Gun: Maverick became the sixth-highest grossing movie in US box office history, surpassing Avengers: Infinity War with $683M in North America. (Variety)

• Rogue One: A Star Wars Story returned to IMAX theaters, six years after its initial release. Viewers got a first look at Disney's next streaming series, the Rogue One prequel Andor. (Yahoo)

• MoviePass will relaunch on Labor Day with pricing ranging from $10-$30/mo, with each subscription tier corresponds to a monthly number of movie credits. (Insider)

• With fewer releases this year, US box office revenues are down 31.2% compared to the same period in 2019. (NY Times)

• Avatar will return to theaters worldwide on September 23rd, just before the release of the sequel, Avatar: The Way of Water. (THR)

• Crunchyroll's Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero topped the charts in its debut weekend at the US box office, bringing $20.1M in ticket sales. (AP)

Gambling / Casinos

• OpenBet has partnered with StatsBomb to enhance its SportCast product. It plans to use SportsBomb's data and trading analytics to deliver advanced and premium pricing products. (Gambling News)

• BetMGM and SportsGrid announced an extended and expanded sports betting content partnership in which BetMGM’s will provide insight for Ferrall Coast to Coast, Pro Football Today, In-Game Live Primetime, and other SportsGrid broadcasts. (Gambling News)

• Australia’s Northern Territory Racing Commission is requesting cryptocurrencies become a payment method in sports betting with the understanding that volatility must be better understood for the sake of consumer protection. (Gambling News)

Live Events / Attractions

• The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra has cut 10 concerts after seeing its average attendance fall to 40% of capacity last season, down from 62% in 2018-19. (NY Times)

• The Broadway box office dropped 19% WoW, with Hamilton and Into The Woods being the top earners. Attendance also fell 15% WoW due to a decrease in productions. (Deadline)

• A musical loosely inspired by Martin Scorsese’s “New York, New York” will open on Broadway in April 2023. Tony winner Susan Stroman will direct and choreograph the musical. (Indie Wire)

Music / Audio / Podcasts

• One in ten Spotify users engages with the app every day. The next closest competitor is YouTube, with 4% of users engaging daily. (Sensor Tower)

  

• iHeartMedia will host metaverse concerts in its Fornite world called iHeartLand. The concert series, which will include a main stage and mini-games, will kick off with a Charlie Puth concert on September 9th. (THR)

• Spotify is Gen Z’s preferred podcast destination, but YouTube is not far behind. (Morning Consult)

  

• YouTube added a podcasts Explore page, making it easier for users to find podcasts. Categories on the explore page include Music, Sports, and Comedy. (Search Engine Journal)

• Users of SiriusXM Platinum now have access to Stitcher Premium content at no additional cost, though it’s $4.99/mo without the bundle. (Tech Crunch)

• While over 40% listen to podcasts to help them focus, 60% of podcast listeners listen to podcasts as background noise. (Twitter)

• Almost a quarter of children aged 12-15 listen to podcasts, up from 11% in Q1 2021. The top performing genres are comedy, gaming, stories, sports, and education. (GWI)

Crypto / NFT / Metaverse

• Dentsu Creative launched Dentsu VI, a virtual brand character and personality to use in the metaverse and across digital platforms. (Marketing Dive)

• Nike and Dolce & Gabbana have generated the most revenue from NFT collections of any traditional brands in the space. (Ad Age)

• A NFT artist created a set of parody portraits of U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson and sent 52% of proceeds to charity. (Tech Crunch)

• Meta rolled out its new metaverse ID system, designed to replace personal social media account logins. All users of Meta’s VR devices will be required to sign up for a Meta account to log in and access the metaverse. (Tech Crunch)

• Afterpay has partnered with New York Fashion Week to release limited-edition NFTs that come with exclusive merchandise and in-person experiences. (Marketing Dive)

OTT / Streaming

• Netflix's kids programming and original movies will remain commercial-free when the streaming service launches its ad-supported tier. (Bloomberg)

• Amazon and DirecTV have partnered to bring Thursday Night Football to bars, restaurants and other OOH venues this season, making Amazon's NFL broadcast available in more than 300K venues in total. (THR)

• HBO's House of the Dragon is the most-watched cable/streaming premiere of 2022, with viewership surpassing that of Netflix's Stranger Things 4. (AdAge)

• YouTube TV will add a new picture-in-picture feature called Mosaic Mode, allowing users to watch up to four channels at once in a grid. (Streamable)

• Paramount+'s Secret Headquarters became the most-watched original movie ever on the platform in the first seven days since its release. (Collider)

• Warner Bros. Discovery laid off 29 European staff, including top execs. The cuts were expected following the merger and the announcement that the company was looking to find $3B in savings. (THR)

• Universal is sending Halloween Ends day-and-date to theaters and Peacock. However, Peacock's free, ad-supported tier will not carry the film. (THR)

• Starting September 19th, next-day premieres from NBC will be available on Peacock as part of the plan to consolidate NBC-branded content. (The Verge)

• Hulu will receive exclusive US streaming rights to upcoming Roadside Attractions films as part of a deal that will see films from the distributor hit Hulu during the post-theatrical pay one window. (THR)

Retail / Lifestyle / Travel

• US travel brands spent about $560M during the first half of the year on TV advertising, up 151% YoY, and they plan to spend 27% more on media spend than initially expected in the second half. (Marketing Brew)

• Americans currently spend $314/mo on impulse purchases, up from $276 in 2021 and $183 in 2020. About 73% of US adult's purchases tend to be spontaneous, a 14% increase YoY. (CNBC)

• Walmart+ launched Walmart Rewards, giving users cash back that can be used on future Walmart purchases. The added perk is to encourage consumers to sign up for Walmart+ instead of Amazon Prime. (Tech Crunch)

Social Media

• TikTok is testing a new ‘Nearby’ feed designed to display local content to users. (Tech Crunch)

• Instagram is testing a BeReal clone feature that challenges people to post candid photos within two minutes. (Tech Crunch)

• Reels are generating the most reach on Instagram, but the most commonly posted type of content remains image posts, at 42% of all posts. (Social Media Today)

  

• BeReal reached 10M daily active users, rising from just 10K about a year ago. (Social Media Today)

• Twitter will soon introduce an automatic reply filter that lets users hide harmful and offensive replies, though other users will still be able to see them. (Search Engine Journal)

• TikTok is the fastest growing platform for US influencer marketing spend, jumping from 2% spending share in 2019 to 16% this year. Instagram is still the platform with the most spend, having 45% of spending share. (eMarketer)

  

• Twitch lifted its exclusivity agreement that denied partnered streamers the ability to stream on other services. Partners will now be able to stream on YouTube, Facebook Live, and other platforms. (The Verge)

• Twitter’s former head of security has accused the company of cybersecurity negligence in an explosive whistleblower complaint filed in July. (Tech Crunch)

• Twitter is testing a new profile badge for people who have verified their phone numbers. This new badge will allow people to add context and credibility to their accounts. (Tech Crunch)

• Pinterest's invite-only app Shuffles is the fifth most downloaded lifestyle app in the US thanks to its recent viral popularity on TikTok. (Tech Crunch)

Video Games

• Google is testing a feature giving users the option to play cloud games from search results. The feature works for Google’s own Stadia cloud gaming service, Amazon Luna, Xbox Cloud Gaming, and Nvidia’s GeForce Now. (The Verge)

• Netflix is looking to hire cloud gaming specialists in its recent job listings which include a Security Product Manager with experience handling “cloud gaming challenges" and a Rendering Engineer who can support Netflix’s “cloud gaming service." (Tech Crunch)

• PlayStation is being sued for £5B in the UK over ‘rip-off’ games. The claim alleges Sony abused its position as the market leader to impose terms and conditions on games' developers and publishers. (BBC)

• The Trade Desk will soon help advertisers buy ads in console games, mobile apps, and PC games. In-game advertising could be a $100M business for the company in 5 years. (Insider)

• Google Play Games has expanded its beta testing to international markets including Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Thailand, and Australia. (The Verge)

Live Sports

• HBCU Go entered a broadcast deal with CBS stations for the 2022-23 sports season, making its programming available in 12 US TV markets including 70% of Black households and 60% of homes overall. (Twitter)

• Prime Video added DVR for Thursday Night Football, letting users watch a game at any point after the telecast starts. (Streamable)

• The European football market saw revenues grow by 10% YoY to €27.6B in 2021, despite absence of fans from stadiums during the season. (Advanced TV)

• 3 in 5 NFL fans won't attend games because it's too expensive. Still, nearly 7 in 10 fans believe the price of an NFL ticket is reasonable. (Morning Consult)

  

Interesting Campaigns / Creative

• HBO Max partnered with Snapchat to create a Lens for House of the Dragon. Users can see dragons flying in the sky when using the Lens and, while in selfie mode, can transform their face into a fire breathing dragon. (AdAge)

  

• Chipotle released a Water Cup Candle that smells like lemonade. It's inspired by customers who fill their free water cups with… not water. (Insider)

  

• A 3D art execution titled CITY is running on SILVERCAST'S 30K sqft digital spectacular. The dancing figure featured channels the vital creativity of art that can transform this world into a more beautiful place. (OOHToday)

  

• HBO Max is running a melting OOH venue in Brazil for House of the Dragon. (LinkedIn)

  

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.