April 18 2023 - Humanity Rejoices as AI finally Solves World's Most Pressing Problem: Creating the Perfect Kit Kat Ad

👋Happy Tuesday. First of all, yes, ChatGPT wrote today's headline, a little wordy but I'll take it. Anyways, that's not the point. We're trying something new today, so let's get into it–

Joe's Quick Take

• Adobe launching new AI features for Premiere + After Effects, showing their continued focus on AI in creative tools. Their models are trained on Adobe Stock, circumventing some existing debates over ownership. Figma has a big role in this conversation as well, assuming the deal goes through.
• If Samsung actually drops Google as default search on devices, it could be the first real blow to Google's dominance in search. Worth watching as Microsoft is strongly positioned with OpenAI and seems to be consumer favorite at the moment.
• WGA strike seems all but likely
• Meta's pivot to AI will likely please investors, as they are doubling down on AI ad tools + releasing fun open source projects. Their sales team is going hard and offering discounts as well, likely to please advertisers working with limited/reduced budgets.
• Apple/Goldman Savings Account with 4.15% annual interest rate is bananas. They recently launched Buy Now, Pay Later –  as more merchants like Kroger accept Apple Pay – their financial services products are maturing. Add in long term product roadmap (potential: VR, Glasses, TV, Car?) – Apple will be well positioned to transact, basically anywhere.
• Netflix Games has another big hire, continuing their focus on gaming.
• In Things That Don't Surprise Me: Spotify dropping the paywall on some Gimlet shows and Lululemon exploring the sale of Mirror.

Okay – now the news.

Adobe has announced that it will be adding AI video tools to Premiere Pro and After Effects. The new feature, known as "Firefly for Video", will enable the generation of backgrounds, soundtracks, sound effects and visual effects, while offering text-based color enhancements, logo animations and storyboard creation. The tools will be powered by Adobe Sensei, and are set to be rolled out later this year.

Apple and Goldman Sachs have launched a new US savings account with a 4.15% annual interest rate, significantly higher than the national average of 0.37%. The new account is being offered to users of Apple's credit card product and has no fees or minimum deposit requirements, with a maximum balance of $250,000. This move comes as depositors have been pulling cash from banks offering low returns and shifting towards higher-yielding products. The new savings account deepens Apple's financial services offering, which also includes a buy now, pay later program

Alphabet lost $55 billion in market value after a report by The New York Times claimed that Samsung is considering replacing Google with Microsoft's Bing as the default search engine on its devices, which would put around $3 billion of Alphabet's revenue at risk. Google has long held an essential monopoly on the search with about 90% of market share.

The Writers Guild of America, which represents thousands of television and movie writers, has overwhelmingly approved a strike, giving union leaders the right to call for a walkout when the writers' contracts expire on May 1. The union's leaders say the strike is crucial because writers' compensation has stagnated over the last decade despite the rise in scripted television series in the streaming era. Hollywood executives have begun preparing for a strike, but the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers said a strike authorization “should come as no surprise to anyone.”

Meta is offering advertisers discounts of up to 25% to test its TikTok-rival feature, Reels, and using artificial intelligence-powered ad delivery and measurement tools to boost ad sales. The company has stopped trying to lure advertisers with the metaverse and instead is focusing on AI tools. The change in strategy is a reflection of a weak ad market, where some smaller digital media firms have seen revenue drops of 20% to 25% in Q1.

• Angry Birds creator Rovio Entertainment is set to be acquired by Sega for nearly $800 million. The deal comes amid a slowdown in mobile game sales since the pandemic, with Sega hoping to capitalize on Rovio's success to accelerate its expansion by taking advantage of the companies’ combined fan bases. The acquisition is expected to be completed in Q3 2023.

• AI-Generated Music Is About to Flood Streaming Platforms
• Deloitte's 17th Digital Media Trends Survey found that watching TV shows and movies at home is no longer the top entertainment preference. Instead, younger generations are dividing their time between video games, user-generated content, and traditional entertainment. Overall subscriber churn among streaming services is around 40% over a six-month period, while among Generation Z and millennials, that rate jumped to 57% and 62% respectively.
• Netflix Games has hired Joseph Staten, a former director at Bungie and Microsoft who worked on the Halo series. Staten will be the Creative Director for an unannounced project described as a "AAA multi-platform" game with brand-new IP.

• Spotify is dropping its paywall for some of its Gimlet Media podcasts as it re-evaluates its exclusivity strategy, looking to boost the ad sales potential of its shows. The move is aimed at broadening the horizon of Spotify’s podcasts, allowing them to reach a wider audience by licensing them to other platforms. Spotify has struggled to achieve the same dominance with podcasts and audiobooks as with music.
• According to a report by HubSpot and BrandWatch, Instagram is the top social media platform for marketers, with 51% planning to increase their ad spend on the Meta-owned platform due to its best source of ROI, engagement, and quality leads. Nine out of 10 social media marketers said their online community building was essential to success, while 80% said they would have a creator or influencer as the face of their brand in 2023 to drive discovery.

• McCann Worldgroup has appointed Nathan Brown as its Global Chief Audience Architect, a newly created position, effective May 1st. Brown's main responsibility is to build an audience planning global practice that can provide a deeper understanding of people and their behavior across devices, content, and platforms.
• Innocean USA has hired Tony Kalathara, former creative director at Meta, as group creative director. Kalathara brings over 15 years of experience in delivering creative work for brands, including Cannes Grand Prix-winning campaigns such as “Google Home of the Whopper” and “Burning Stores” when he was with DAVID Miami.
• AKQA has promoted Roman Ptakowski to the role of managing partner in North America, with a particular focus on delivering experiences in partnership with clients. Ptakowski has worked with AKQA for nearly five years, and during his tenure, the Atlanta team has grown from 35 people to over 100, working with clients such as Delta Airlines, Chick-fil-A, UPS, and Coca-Cola. AKQA aims to double the number of people working at its studios in the US over the next five years, with recent promotions and hires reflecting the strength of opportunity in the region.
• BASIC/DEPT has promoted Steve Denekas to Chief Creative Officer from VP creative. Denekas will not only be responsible for driving creativity for clients but also for fostering a creative culture across the entire agency. He has been with the agency since 2018, and his work has spanned a number of global clients, including Levi’s, Google, Patagonia, KFC, Nike, The Met and Herman Miller / Design Within Reach.
• Andrew Keller, former global creative director at Meta, has been appointed global chief creative officer of WPP's Open X team dedicated to serving Coca-Cola. In his new role, Keller will use the expertise he gained working brand-side and focus on building experiences for Coca-Cola brands that are centred on building communities, while helping to drive creativity and experimentation at the agency.
• Ann Wool, President of Translation, is leaving the agency effective from May 5th. Wool joined Translation in 2020, and during her tenure, the agency has picked up consecutive Ad Age A-List appearances and a Small Agency of the Year award. Translation is currently searching for a replacement.
• Sir Martin Sorrell has revealed that he underwent successful keyhole surgery to remove a tumour in February and will have preventive cancer treatment while continuing to work. He said, "My conclusion is that I should have preventative treatment over the coming months. Otherwise, business as usual."
• PS260, a film editorial house, has acquired Ideas & Stuff, a Brooklyn-based design and animation studio founded by Marcos Pacheco.

via WundermanThompson

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