Digital Trends: 11.15.21

THE METAVERSE

It’s tough not to be cynical about Facebook’s (sorry, Meta’s) motives in trying to own the Metaverse, but at least they’re taking steps to define and commercialize this fuzzy concept. Meta has just purchased a VR fitness developer to create enhanced fitness experiences, and is apparently planning to open stores to sell its Meta products. Here isa useful Bloomberg article that explains the business interests around hardware that underpin Facebook’s move into the Metaverse, setting up an uphill battle against Apple - rumoured to be working on the most ambitious type of hardware:a car. (Aside: if I have to buy 3 adaptors for my MacBook, what I will have to buy for my Apple Car? Steering wheel sold separately!?)
The company has also rolled out its firstMeta ad campaign(produced by Droga5), only to be trolled beautifully by this parody by the Iceland tourism board.

AR, SNAP, & NIKE

While Zuckerberg’s vision of the metaverse is fully immersive (VR), the CEO of Niantic (makers of Pokémon Go) makes the case for why the future is mixed (AR). Hard to argue with his observation:“I don’t need to make a conference room look like a cartoon Tahiti. That doesn’t make it better for me.”
I love how SNAP continues to make AR more tangible with its strong push into retail, including new tools to try on and buy clothing. They recently collaborated with Nike on a very cool outdoor running experience, which makes sense given how Nike is apparently moving into selling digital goods. NikeFTs?

Speaking of NFTs, luxury brands in China are including exclusive digital collectibleswith physical purchases during Single’s Day (the world’s largest shopping day). Even Quentin Tarantino is getting in on the NFT trends by auctioning 7 never before seen clips from Pulp Fiction. No word if the digital collectible is Butch’s gold watch.

TIKTOK RESOURCES

Do you know who’s tired of shitty brand content on TikTok? TikTok! The platform recently released a bunch of resources to help brands help themselves:

  • Creative Exchange: A new platform that helps advertisers connect with creative vendors to help produce TikTok content.

  • The RoundUp: “An all-new content series” (by that they mean, a PDF) that highlights the best campaigns over the last few months.

  • TikTok Holiday Guide: Another more tactical guide to setting up holiday campaigns, including a few useful guides and templates.

TikTok was also in the news for its move into connecting users with their real-life friends (i.e., like FB’s People You May Know’ system) –positioning the network to become a social network. Stay tuned.

NEW STATS & RESEARCH

  • Digital Life Index: New global research (and slick web UX) from PublicisSapient reinforcing how customers expect more seamless digital experiences from brands and businesses.

  • State of Experience in Canada: A Medallia & Ipsos survey of Canadian executives and consumers that reinforces the importance of seamless experiences - only 23% of Canadians strongly agree that they receive consistent service across channels.

  • Adobe Holiday Shopping Report: Useful forecasts for ecommerce, showing growth in Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) and curbside pickup. Also predicting shortages and few discounts for the hottest products (make sure to order your Peek-a-roo Panda soon or you’re SOL).

  • Technology & Media Outlook: Deep data on the state of media and technology in the U.S., with some useful data visualizations on where people are spending time.

LONG READS

  • Exploration vs. Efficiency: Smart post from Rory Sutherland on how the real opportunity represented by digital for marketers is experimentation, not efficiency “It’s cheap to do and you can fail fast and kill off failures really quickly, in a way you can’t through larger scale, analogue activities.”

  • Brand in the Influencer Era: I’m a sucker for a good scatter plot diagram, and this piece delivers. An interesting post from a machine-learning company that tries to connect the dots between social media conversation and brand perception.

  • The Relevance Paradox: Neil Perkin highlights the trap of only looking within your industry when solving your problems. He argues – using a cool NASA example – that innovative ideas come from taking a much wider lens.