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TL;DR
In a hurry? Here's our pick of the top news items of the week.
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42% of Americans think AI-generated movies will have a negative impact on the industry, compared with 27% who think the opposite. (Morning Consult)
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Spotify ended March with 210M paying premium subscribers, up from 205M at the end of 2022. (THR)
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Netflix will invest $2.5B in Korean content over the next four years. (THR)
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Time is fully removing its digital paywall beginning June 1st. (Axios)
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Google’s latest attempt to embed generative AI tools into its ad products has some marketers skeptical about the level of transparency they will receive around campaign effectiveness. (AdWeek)
Agency updates
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Our BXP team took home 8 wins at the Association of Promotional Marketing Consultants Awards - 5 gold and 3 silver. AGM awards included Best Experiential, Best Integrated, Best Talent, and Rising Star, which our very own Eva Capelli won.
Audiences
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Most US consumers aren’t sure what AI-related marketing phrases and buzzwords actually mean. (Morning Consult)
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At least half of French, British and German business travelers who frequently took work trips before the pandemic say they never will again. (CNBC)
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US Gen Z adults are nearly twice as likely as the general public to give passwords to those they don’t live with. (Morning Consult)
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Despite slowing inflation, US consumer spending contracted in March after slower growth in February. (Morning Consult)
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Nearly half of Netflix's new customers believe its advertising messaging is either “a bit too much” or “far too much.” (Media Post)
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52.4M Americans aged 50 or older and play games at least once a month — some 45% of all Americans that age. (Axios)
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69% of consumers globally would feel more confident about their purchases if they were able to virtually experience a product before buying it. (AdWeek)
Platforms
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Netflix introduced improved video quality to its ad supported plan and renamed the plan to "Standard with Ads." (Streamable)
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YouTube TV is experimenting with picture quality enhancements to provide an improved viewing experience. (Tech Crunch)
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Shopify added direct bill payments in bid to be a single-stop fintech for merchants. (Tech Crunch)
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Apple is closing a loophole where sites could pass off third-party partners as first-party cookies. (AdWeek)
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Yahoo has acquired social sports betting app Wagr. (Tech Crunch)
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DraftKings is planning to launch its own free ad-supported streaming video service. (Bloomberg)
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EA released accessibility options for Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, including a Slow Mode toggle to ease both combat and platforming. (EuroGamer)
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Microsoft and Roku are collaborating to improve the ad buying experience and optimize ad performance by offering cross-channel data insights. (Search Engine Journal)
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Global AVOD revenues are expected to climb by $50B by 2028, with the US contributing 41%. (Senal News)
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Advertising investment jumped by 12% YoY in Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines, South Korea and Taiwan in 2022, led by digital advertising. (Senal News)
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85% of marketers in APAC included streaming in their media mix in 2022, but only 41% view the investment as “extremely, or very effective." (Mumbrella)
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DAZN rolled out free channels on LG devices in Germany. (Sport Business)
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UK ad spend growth is set to slow down in 2022 as social media advertising falls for the first time. (Performance Marketing World)
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YouTube Music is officially rolling out podcasts in the US. (The Verge)
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Meta says time spent on Instagram grew 24% thanks to TikTok-style AI Reel recommendations. (Tech Crunch)
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UK regulators will seek to block Microsoft's $69B deal for Activision. (Axios)
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70% of US marketing leaders plan to increase their spending on direct mail in 2023. (AdWeek)
Content
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“The Super Mario Bros. Movie” led US ticket sales for the third straight weekend, as the animation hit neared $1B after 18 days in theaters. (AP)
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“House of the Dragon” and “This Is Going to Hurt” walked away with three awards each at the BAFTA Television Craft Awards. (Variety)
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“Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania” replaced “Avatar: The Way of Water” as #1 on the VOD charts. (Indie Wire)
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Pluto TV will stream the Tony Awards Pre-Show for the first time. (THR)
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Winners at the Webby awards included SZA as Artist of the Year, Tracee Ellis Ross with a Special Achievement Award and Sharon Horgan as Best Actress. (Deadline)
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BuzzFeed will produce more content via independent creators. (Axios)
Tech & AI
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Grimes has given permission for her voice to be used on songs generated by AI. (Yahoo)
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Snapchat saw a surge in 1-star reviews as users criticize the "My AI" feature and call for its removal. (Tech Crunch)
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TikTok is working on a feature that will create AI-generated profile pictures. (The Verge)
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YouTube introduced AI-powered music ad solutions to make it easier for brands to target Gen Z. (The Drum)
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Spotify’s CEO says the music industry has “legitimate concerns” about AI-generated songs. (Insider)
Location-based entertainment
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MoviePass has landed a deal with Walmart to sell subscriptions in stores across the US. (Insider)
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Sphere Entertainment Co. and Live Nation announced dates for "U2:UV Achtung Baby Live At Sphere." (LiveNation)
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Disney is suing Florida governor Ron DeSantis over control of Disney World. (NYT)
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IMAX signed multi-theater deals in Florida and Mexico in partnership with CMX Cinemas. (THR)
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IMAX is expanding its footprint in Vietnam, Thailand and Cambodia, with new locations and several upgrades to existing locations. (Deadline)
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New York's Nassau County struck a deal with Las Vegas Sands to bring a casino to the area. (ABC)
