March 27 2023 - Can't Stop, Won't Stop

What is brandtrackers?

In short, this started as a private Slack channel where I would track the business of brands through the lenses of creativity, marketing, advertising and technology.

Most of our readers are busy creatives, marketers, advertisers, strategists, technologists, producers, etc... AKA no one has time in the morning to check every news site, and since I'm obsessively curious about what's happening in the world, I figured I'd just read everything and sum it all up so you don't have to.

brandtrackers is a roundup of the most important news for the creative industry

A daily newsletter – boring, what else ya got?

We're not just a newsletter, we're a community.

• Our Slack group of industry professionals have a place to share and discuss. This creates relevant, stimulating discussions in real time. It’s a casual space for conversation and connection.
• You are going to get all of the Joe Nash spice🥵 Hot takes, deep dives and maybe even an interview or two. Let’s see what happens.

I get it. What happens next?

BEFORE WE GO ANY FURTHER, I NEED YOU TO DO 2 THINGS

• Please share this newsletter with 3-5 friends and ask them to subscribe!

www.brandtrackers.xyz  (<--just copy/paste and share!)

If brandtrackers can grow, it has a shot at staying alive. That would be rad.

• Also make sure you (+ your friends) join our Slack channel. Be nice, have fun — it’s an amazing group of folks who are passionate about their crafts.
  

Thanks for listening, thanks for being a friend and thanks for supporting.

Now, let's get to the news.

Good morning 👋 Happy Monday. Lots to discuss in today's roundup. AI continuing to dominate the news cycle, Web3 is getting a pump from the bank runs and brandtrackers is LIVE!

📅Upcoming Cultural Events

• MLB Opening Day - 3/30/23
• MegaCon - 3/30/23

📈Markets

👀Top News

Apple rumored to have shown upcoming Apple AR/VR headset to executives in the Steve Jobs Theater last week

Apple is rumored to have held a secret gathering in the Steve Jobs Theater last week to showcase the company’s upcoming mixed-reality AR/VR headset to a group of roughly 100 highest-ranking executives, according to Bloomberg journalist Mark Gurman, who says the staff were given a preview of the new device ahead of its rumored public unveiling in June.

Gurman says the device was demonstrated for the group, adding that demonstrations were “polished, glitzy and exciting” as the device nears the final stages of its development.

Microsft reportedly orders AI chatbot rivals to stop using Bing’s search data

Microsoft has warned some Bing-powered search engines that it will revoke access to the company’s search index if they continue to use it as the foundation for their AI tools, according to Bloomberg.

Epic is merging its digital asset stores into one huge marketplace

Epic Games’ next big plan for the metaverse is to unify all of its disparate asset marketplaces under one brand, Fab. The new store will include assets from the Unreal Engine Marketplace, Quixel Bridge, Artstation Marketplace, and Sketchfab, and Epic will give creators 88 percent of earnings on the store, like it does for the Epic Games Store.

Army Pulls Recruiting Commercials After Jonathan Majors' Arrest

Majors, who authorities said was arrested Saturday in New York on charges of strangulation, assault and harassment, was the narrator of two ads at the heart of a broader media campaign that kicked off at the start of the NCAA's March Madness college basketball tournament.

Watch the ad here before it disappears again

Dept combines four UK agencies under one brand

Under the changes content-at-scale specialist Feed, marketing tech agency Byte and brand and design studio Shoptalk will be unified under the Dept brand.

These teams already work together on 80% of Dept’s UK client portfolio, including eBay, Just Eat Takeaway, Heinz, Nikon, Twitch, and Arm.

AI

• Microsoft reportedly orders AI chatbot rivals to stop using Bing’s search data
• Adobe needs your help to ‘do the right thing’ with AI art
• Microsoft, Google, Amazon Look to Generative AI to Lift Cloud Businesses
• Levi’s will ‘supplement human models’ with AI-generated fakes
• Former Google China President Announces the Launch of New AI Company as ChatGPT Rival
• What Google Bard Can Do (and What It Can’t)
• How AI Chatbots Are Helping Some People Have Hard Conversations

Agencies/Creative Companies/In-House

• Dept combines four UK agencies under one brand
• WPP snaps up influencer marketing agency Goat
• UNIT9 Films Partners with Creative Studio Woodblock to Strengthen Design and Animation Offering
• How Aflac’s March Madness Campaign Leveraged In-House Creative and Channel Diversification
• School Reports: VCCP overtakes Adam & Eve/DDB as biggest creative shop by billings
• AI-Fueled Brand Campaign from DEPT Asks You to ‘Prepare to Pioneer'
• BASIC/DEPT® Expands Headcount with Three Senior Hires

Brands - All

• How Liquid Death and Jeff Tremaine Opened a Can of Jackass with Wild Grannies
• Lego Group builds towards global media review
• Uber Eats to Take Down Thousands of Virtual Brands to Declutter the App
• Army Pulls Recruiting Commercials After Jonathan Majors' Arrest

Business & Economy

• First Citizens to Acquire Failed Silicon Valley Bank
• Short-form video needs better monetization, creator funds aren’t the way to do it
• First Citizens to acquire failed Silicon Valley Bank

AR/VR

• Apple rumored to have shown upcoming Apple AR/VR headset to executives in the Steve Jobs Theater last week
• Epic Games Unveils Metahuman Animator, A Potential Game Changer For Automated Facial Animation And Lip Sync
• Bored Apes owner Yuga Labs launches 2nd Trip Otherside metaverse experience
• Gucci dives into web3 with its recent Yuga Labs partnership
• Adidas and Tommy Hilfiger to debut cross-platform digital fashions at Metaverse Fashion Week
• VR treadmill “Omni One” will launch for consumers this year – but is quite expensive
• How brands are using webAR to build the ‘real-world metaverse’
• CLINIQUE ANNOUNCES THE VIRTUAL LAUNCH OF THE CLINIQUE LAB
• Pico Delays US Headset Launch Following TikTok Congressional Hearing
• Why Snap is letting DTC merchants use its AR try-on lenses on their sites
• Ford promotes new all-electric SUV with immersive virtual campaign

Tech

• Twitter says parts of source code posted online, seeks leaker
• Pinterest to add shopping feature to its Shuffles app
• Twitter to remove legacy blue checkmarks from next month

Gaming

• Epic is merging its digital asset stores into one huge marketplace
• How gaming organization OTK strikes a balance between creator-ownership and more traditional executive experience
• How Video Game Experiences Help Brands Steer Purchase Decisions

Entertainment

• NPR cancels 4 podcasts amid major layoffs
• Domestic Violence Charges Dropped Against ‘Rick And Morty’ Creator Justin Roiland
• Apple reportedly plans to spend $1B a year to release Apple TV+ movies in theaters

Decision Makers on the Move

• Former Netflix Creative Marketing Executive, Nancy Lan, joins Territory Studio
• Meta Rehires Nick Grudin as Head of Content Partnerships, Seven Months After He Left for an NFT Startup
• Amid layoffs, Meta senior executive to leave office after completing 14 years

Marketing / Branding

• Wolff Olins Crafts Global Brand Platform for Chinese Smart EV Company XPENG
• Character Building: The Untapped Power of Brand Icons
• Branding and visual identity for Kolek by Bracom Agency
• Starboard Cruise Services Unveils Bold Brand Refresh
• Digiday+ Research deep dive: YouTube holds strong as a reliable marketing channel for agencies and brands
• L’Oreal uses social listening, in-house teams to tap into beauty trends ‘at the speed of culture’
• How Marketers Can and Should Measure Social Media ROI
• Sydney Airport launches SYD X brand identity and integrated campaign via Enigma and HWBK

Misc

• Some Of The Weirdest And Most Stylish Cartoons Ever Made Are Now Free To View On Youtube
• Q1 2023 Sees a Spike in NFT Trading Volume

As always, send us feedback at: thebrandtrackers@gmail.com