Month: November 2023

Common Sense Media’s first ratings for chatbots and other AI services warn parents that AI image generators and Snapchat’s My AI chatbot may not be safe for kids.

The year-end holiday shopping season is a crucial moment for most brands and retailers as consumers flock to stores and websites to purchase gifts — driving a surge in sales. For some brands, it’s a make-or-break financial season, as holiday profits can account for the majority of some brands’ annual revenue. As such, there is immense pressure to make this last piece of the final quarter count. 

This year, many brands started their holiday marketing push even earlier than usual. Retailers began promoting holiday ads on social media as early as September, with many more following suit in October, according to recent survey findings from McKinsey & Co. And Black Friday has expanded to Black November for retailers like Walmart, which unveiled its Black Friday campaign on Nov. 1 and officially kicked off its Black Friday deals a week later. 

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Our whole lives we’re told to look up to older people, learn from them and take their guidance. But what happens when a Gen Zer ends up in a leadership position managing people older than them?

We spoke to Gen Z bosses about the realities they face as they work with older generations. They’re bringing fresh perspectives that might be misunderstood by more seasoned workers. In this episode, we check back in with Jerah Reeves, who we spoke to earlier in the series, to see how he handles these dynamics. Reeves is the coordinator of the transformational leaders program at Binghamton University of New York, where he helps students – many of whom are older than him.

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In this week’s Digiday+ Research Briefing, we examine the marketing and sales channels brands and retailers are relying on this holiday season, how publishers and brands are rapidly accelerating their use of AI, and how gaming investment is on the minds of entertainment companies, as seen in recent data from Digiday+ Research.

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Media layoffs are back, dragging the never-ending drama of brand safety with them.

This déjà vu has hit hard for many media execs, particularly those connected to Jezebel. The site’s interim editor in chief, Lauren Tousignant, revealed to 404 Media that “brand safety” — essentially, advertisers distancing from Jezebel’s content — was cited by management as a major factor leading to G/O’s decision to halt publication and lay off the staff.

It’s an age-old tale in media. Publishers endure financial strain due to cautious advertisers leading to cutbacks. Typically, the reasons for this frugal ad spending aren’t crystal clear. They get blamed on a “challenging market,” which arguably could mean anything given the uphill battle publishers continually face. Tousignant’s account, however, provides a rare, sharp insight into the harsh reality of running an ads business on the back of news.  

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Roblox wants to be brands’ conduit into the metaverse.

During last week’s quarterly earnings call, Roblox executives were reticent about the company’s marketing and advertising plans. During yesterday’s Roblox Investor Day event, they made up for it. The annual presentation was chock-full of updates about every aspect of Roblox as a platform and business — including its plans to grow as a marketing channel.

“This generation merges virtual and physical all day long, and so the challenge, for brands, is to figure out how you tell that story and take them along with their friends,” Roblox vp of global partnerships Stephanie Latham told Digiday in an interview prior to the event. “Part of the fun of this is building the road map, and leaning into what’s working and uncovering some of the new opportunities — and I think marketing is going to change as a result of this.”

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Over the last week, Coca-Cola has taken over the MSG Sphere in Las Vegas with visual predictions of what the year 3000 might look like projected on the massive dome. The Sphere takeover is just one element of the brand’s latest effort to appeal to Gen Z that also includes new limited-edition flavors like Coca-Cola Y3000 Zero Sugar, which the brand has dubbed its “first futuristic flavor co-created with human and artificial intelligence.”

“The intent is to better connect with Gen Z and younger,” Selman Careaga, president of the global Coca-Cola category, said of the company’s Coca-Cola Creations platform, the strategy behind the Y3000 flavor as well seven previous limited-edition flavors. “Whenever we put out creations, we get twice the engagement compared to other content we put out there. Sixty-five percent of people who engage with creations are new to the franchise and that makes us believe in the platform moving forward.”

The beverage behemoth has aimed to not only release limited-edition flavors to appeal to Gen Z consumers, but to also do so in a way that’s more participatory with the goal of creating a “two-way experience with Coke rather than just us talking to people,” explained Oana Vlad, senior director of global strategy at Coca-Cola. Previous Coca-Cola Creations have used games like “Fortnight” and “League of Legends” to introduce new flavors, among other efforts.

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This week’s media briefing takes a look at the top trends from publishers’ latest earnings.

• Publishers look inward in Q3
• Karlie Kloss buys i-D, Jezebel is no longer and more

Publishers look inward in Q3

Losses were prominent among publishers’ Q3 earnings reports, but they weren’t quite as bad as last quarter. 

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YouTube creators will get to test a new AI tool that generates and remixes music in the style of several famous musicians, including Sia, Demi Lovato, and T-Pain.

The new era of good feelings is less than meets the photo-op.