JAN 5 | What Stole My Attention This Week
Strawberry, The Pop-Tart Mascot, Is A Star
Anthropomorphic characters have had a resurgence of late, think Duolingo’s green owl Duo and his following on TikTok. And the charm that a character can bring hit hard at the Pop-Tarts Bowl at the end of last year.
As our own David Suarez predicted for 2024, humor will re-emerge as a preferred tone amongst the best advertisers. Some shitty things happened in 2023 and 2024 has a lot on the docket - wouldn’t it be nice just to make some people smile? When Strawberry unveiled himself to a perfectly-timed Taylor Swift song and later happily toasted himself as a celebratory snack, the brand managed to steal attention for minutes. It was irreverent, innocent, and memory-making.
Deepwater Predictions Are Ones To Watch
Speaking of 2024 predictions…Deepwater Asset Management released their 2024 predictions after 8.5/10 of their 2023 predictions were accurate.
Three of Deepwater’s predictions are around Apple; 1)Apple will bring generative AI to Siri 2)Apple will not announce any additional devices in the Vision product line and 3)Apple will acquire Peloton. This isn’t the first time this prediction has been made, but coming from Deepwater gives it more weight.
Other notable predictions? Reddit will be acquired for its data. the IPO market will return to 2019 levels. And maybe a few investments to consider.
Zuckerberg Sold $428M of Meta Stock
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold Meta stock every day during the last two months of 2023, right as the stock price rebounded. Previously, he hadn’t sold a dime since November 2021.
Unclear what his plans are for the cash but we have heard he’s building a $100 million compound in Hawaii, complete with an underground bunker and its own food and energy sources.
Netflix Reportedly Weighing How to Monetize Games
Two years ago, Netflix announced their ambition to be a destination for must-play games, which are currently free on the platform as part of the strategy to keep users coming back. Now, it sounds like that could change.
According to the WSJ, Netflix is considering how to generate money from their games. In two years, Netflix launched 40 games, including Grand Theft Auto Trilogy - the Definitive Edition, Football Manager 24 Mobile, and Storyteller. Monetizing the experiences would be a big pivot for the streamer.
“We want to have a differentiated gaming experience, and part of that is giving game creators the ability to think about building games purely from the perspective of player enjoyment and not having to worry about other forms of monetization, whether it be ads or in-game payment,” Netflix Co-Chief Executive Greg Peters told investors in April.
No decisions have been made, but the debate demonstrates the constant struggle even many marketers face - balancing a flawless customer experience and spend/monetization.
