In-person Value, Cable in Chaos, Podcast Genres, and the Elusive Blue Twitter Check Mark
Weekly Expertise for Smarter Marketing
We did a lot of in-person connecting this week.
First RTL treated a group of advertisers to a night at American Idol (yes it’s still going strong and the show is in its 21st season).
Our shared lunch and coffee with our LA based staff in the Arts District.
Then, a partner event at NRG’s castle headquarters across the street after.
If your work from home life is feeling stagnant, make the effort to schedule something in person. This week reinforced my belief that most business still occurs with a handshake.
Your business success largely hinges on the amount of pavement you pound. Get out there. Get in-person.
Advertising colleagues at American Idol (Thanks Alexendre!)
3 Stories Dominating Media and Tech Headlines
Cable in chaos. Your nightly news may look a little different this week. Following its recent settlement with Dominion Voting Systems, Fox Corp. fired Fox News host Tucker Carlson, who had been with the company for more than a decade. Similarly, CNN let go of long-time host Don Lemon, reportedly a plain and simple “business decision” according to the network. NBCUniversal announced that its CEO Jeff Shell had been let go due to his “inappropriate relationship with a woman in the company.”
Why it Matters: These high-visibility firings speak to the increased accountability and backlash against misinformation and abrasive narratives from media outlets as well as bad behavior amongst its prominent voices.
Sega to buy Angry Birds maker Rovio for $776 million The Japanese gaming company announced plans to buy Rovio, the Finnish gaming studio behind the wildly popular Angry Birds franchise. The deal is expected to close over the summer, and will give Sega a larger stake in the mobile and live gaming space.
Why it Matters:The gaming world has seen some major acquisitions like the still-pending Microsoft takeover of Activision, and Savvy’s recent bid to acquire Scopely.
Dropbox lays off 500 employees, 16% of staff, CEO says due to slowing growth and ‘the era of AI’ Dropbox recently announced layoffs of 16% of their staff, citing economic headwinds and the development of AI as factors in the layoffs.
Why it matters: As people across many industries wonder how AI will affect them, this is one of the first times a major tech CEO has cited AI as a factor in layoffs.
Stat of the Week
Everyone has a podcast these days. There’s a podcast about virtually everything, albeit certain subjects are more popular than others.
According to data from Pew Research, 20% of podcast fans say that their favorite show is focused on politics!
Entertainment and comedy both ranked 2nd with 12%, followed by true crime with 9%.
12% of listeners surveyed stated that the subject of their favorite podcast wasn’t even listed. There's a lot to listen to.
One Fun Thing - The Elusive Twitter Check Mark
Celebrities, reporters, and executives seemed perplexed with the new rules around who gets and who has to pay for a check mark. What was once a verification badge has now become a complicated divisive symbol. Enjoy the memes!
