Floor 9

On this week’s Floor 9, we’re going back to the Lab’s futurist roots as Adam and Scott dive deep into the metaverse — a persistent, collectively shared virtual space. Together, they discuss its definition, the accelerated development of the “proto-verses” in online games, as well as the potential benefits and future brand opportunities that will emerge from it. If you prefer to read about this topic, you can check out this two-part primer written by Adam.01:06 - Weekly top news roundup06:35 - In-depth discussion on the metaverseWe welcome your constructive feedback! You can find Adam and Scott on Twitter at @adamjsimon and @tippier.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week on Floor 9, Scott and Adam chat with Griffin Caprio. CEO & co-founder of Dante32, a boutique podcast production agency for brands, to discuss all the latest developments in podcasting. Overall, it seems like the market continues to consolidate and mature as a marketing channel. Together, we dissect the news and how they impact the podcast landscape, Apple’s role in the industry, the value of using podcasts as a marketing tool, and the shifting listener behavior thanks to the pandemic.We welcome your constructive feedback! You can find Adam and Scott on Twitter at @adamjsimon and @tippier.You can find Griffin on Twitter (@gcaprio), email him directly at [email protected] or online at https://www.dante32.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, co-hosts Adam and Scott are joined by Christina Adranly from our strategy team to talk about how the four trends in our Outlook 2020 report have been accelerated or re-oriented by all the craziness of the past six months, and what we can expect to develop next. Before that, they discuss some of the hottest news items of the week in tech and marketing.We welcome your constructive feedback! You can find Adam and Scott on Twitter at @adamjsimon and @tippier. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week’s bonus episode, co-hosts Adam and Scott chat about the highlights from Apple’s WWDC event this week, and what they mean for brands, which includes App Clips, new privacy features in apps and Safari, digital car keys that you can share via texts, and some subtle new features that are laying the groundwork for Apple’s AR ambitions. Whether you’re an Apple fan or not, you won’t want to miss this fun & lively conversation.We welcome your constructive feedback! You can find Adam and Scott on Twitter at @adamjsimon and @tippier. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week’s episode, co-hosts Adam and Scott chat with Carolina Arguelles, who runs the Global Product Marketing for Snapchat’s Camera, all about the latest AR creative toolkits and long-term vision that her company is bringing to the world, and the brand opportunities they bring for marketers. They also talk with Ryan from our partnerships team about the many implications of Microsoft’s sudden decision to shut down its live-streaming site Mixer.0:54 - Discussion on Microsoft shutting down Mixer06:03 - Interview with Carolina Arguelles on Snapchat’s latest announcementsWe welcome your constructive feedback! You can find Adam and Scott on Twitter at @adamjsimon and @tippier. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week’s episode, co-hosts Adam and Scott interview Kelsey Hunter, Founder & CEO of Paloma, on how retail transformation is accelerating the development of social commerce and how brands and retailers should leverage messaging apps as both a direct sales channel and a retargeting channel. Before the interview, Adam and Scott talk about some of the week’s hottest news items, including a deep dive into what’s happening with the EU’s new antitrust probes against Apple. 0:40 — weekly news roundup with co-hosts Scott and Adam9:50 — a conversation with Kelsey Hunter, Founder & CEO of PalomaWe welcome your constructive feedback! You can find Adam and Scott on Twitter at @adamjsimon and @tippier. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week’s episode, Lab’s Managing Partner and UM’s Global Chief Innovation Officer Chad Stoller chats with special guest Michael Kassan, Chairman & CEO of MediaLink. Together, the two ad industry veterans take a temperature check on the advertising industry as we enter the recovery phase, discussing topics such as the new reality for agencies, the heightened need for creative sensibility, and the future of industry events like Cannes and CES. 1:07 — weekly news roundup with co-hosts Scott and Adam11:16 — a conversation about Section 230 and what it means for marketersWe welcome your honest feedback! Find our co-hosts Adam and Scott on Twitter at @adamjsimon & @tippier. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week’s episode, special guests Joshua Lowcock (EVP, Chief Digital & Global Brand Safety Officer of UM Worldwide) and Alison Pepper (EVP, Government Relations of 4A’s) discuss the issues surrounding Section 230, arguably the most important law for online speech and social media — what it is, its unexpected origin, how it benefit brands and marketers, and why it has been popping up recently in the news.0:58— weekly news roundup with co-hosts Scott and Adam10:46 — a conversation about Section 230 and what it means for marketersAdditional resources for more information:ITIF - Information Technology & Innovation Foundation - https://itif.org/EFF - Electronic Frontier Foundation - https://www.eff.org/Professor Eric Goldman, Santa Clara University School of Law - https://blog.ericgoldman.org/We welcome your honest feedback! Find our co-hosts Adam and Scott on Twitter at @adamjsimon & @tippier. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week’s episode, co-hosts Adam and Scott interviewed Ian Daly, Head of Brand Strategy at Live Nation, one of the biggest live entertainment and ticketing companies in the world. Ian shared his sharp insights on the current state and the future of the live entertainment industry, and we chatted about everything from drive-in concerts, musicians going live on Instagram, to the new media habits that fans recently picked up. Before the interview, Adam and Scott round up the weekly news and get excited about sports returning.1:54 — weekly news roundup with Scott and Adam12:14 — Interview with  Ian Daly, Head of Brand Strategy, Live Nation on the future of live eventsWe welcome your honest feedback! Find our co-hosts Adam and Scott on Twitter at @adamjsimon & @tippier. Join us every Friday at 2pm ET on www.twitch.tv/ipg_lab for our Office Hours live sessions. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week’s episode, Adam and Scott chats with Warren Webster, CEO of Atlas Obscura, all about the current state of the travel industry, how his company is pivoting to virtual experiences, and some predictions for the future of travel.1:09 — weekly news roundup with Scott and Adam8:50 — Interview with Warren Webster, CEO of Atlas Obscura: https://www.atlasobscura.com/We welcome your honest feedback! Find our co-hosts Adam and Scott on Twitter at @adamjsimon & @tippier. Join us every Friday at 2pm ET on www.twitch.tv/ipg_lab for our Office Hours live sessions. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week’s COVID-19 Special, we are proud to introduce a new UM-proprietary product called “Demand Forecaster.” With this new tool, which was recently covered by the New York Times, we leverage the latest data and machine learning to predict upcoming fluctuations in consumer demands across various global markets and categories. Take a listen to find out how our new crystal ball works!1:39 — weekly news roundup with Scott and Adam9:45 — Hamish Kinniburgh (Global Chief Strategy Officer) chats with three UM executives — Josh Bock (EVP, Decision Sciences), Tara Connington (SVP, Analytics), Huw Griffiths (Global Chief Product Officer) — the brains behind “Demand Forecaster” about how it works and how our clients can use it.We welcome your honest feedback! Find our co-hosts Adam and Scott on Twitter at @adamjsimon & @tippier. Join us every Friday at 2pm ET on www.twitch.tv/ipg_lab for our Office Hours live sessions. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week’s COVID-19 Special, we link up with two chief strategists from the UM family — Lin Liu from UM China and Mat Maroni from UM APAC — to share their insights on accelerating trends and post-COVID recovery in China and Australia. 1:30 — weekly news roundup with Scott and Christina8:59 — Adam interviews Lin and Mat on the pandemic’s impact in APACWe welcome your honest feedback! Find our co-hosts Adam and Scott on Twitter at @adamjsimon & @tippier. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week’s COVID-19 Special, we are talking about COVID-19’s impact on ecommerce and multichannel retail with Amy Hufft, Head of Global Brand Marketing and Communications at Shopify. But first, we round up the hottest news this week, including the recent drama between Universal Studios and AMC Theatres over the former breaking the theatrical window.01:42 — weekly news roundup05:53 — a breakdown of the Universal / AMC spat over Trolls World Tour11:36 — Chad Stoller, Global Innovation Officer of UM, interviews Amy Hufft from Shopify on how Shopify is responding to COVID-19 and working with businesses to navigate the new realityWe welcome your honest feedback! Find our co-hosts Adam and Scott on Twitter at @adamjsimon & @tippier. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week’s COVID-19 special, we are talking about COVID-19’s impact on live content, the increasing consumption of news content, and what marketers can do today to actively engage with audiences looking for live and news content.01’08 — a UM Roundtable discussion on live content in times of corona, featuring Chelsea Freitas (Partner, Strategy of UM Worldwide), Christina Adranly, our Director of Strategy, and your co-hosts Scott and Adam.20:30 — Joshua Lowcock (Chief Digital & Global Brand Safety Officer) interviews Joy Robins (Chief Revenue Officer of The Washington Post) on how people are consuming news content and what advertisers can do to connect with readers.41:38 — Weekly news roundup: the latest on Roblox, Clubhouse and Google Shopping.Find our co-hosts Adam and Scott on Twitter at @adamjsimon & @tippier. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome back to the fourth episode of our COVID-19 special. For as long as we need to work from home, Floor 9 will be coming out with weekly episodes that provide timely information, market intelligence, and actionable insights on COVID-19’s impact on the media and advertising landscape.For the first interview of the episode, Eileen Kiernan, Global CEO of UM Worldwide, chatted with Norman de Greve, CMO of CVS Health, about how CVS is responding to the global health crisis in the eye of the storm. Together they talked about accelerated trends in retail and healthcare, prompt and necessary pivots in brand messaging and media strategies, and everything CVS is doing to protect its employees and customers. Also, whether CVS will have more TP rolls!Later in the episode, Casey Hurbis, CMO of Quicken Loans, was interviewed by Scott Russell, U.S. COO of IPG Mediabrands, on how the financial service company is confidently handling the disruption in sports events and media, dealing with the COVID-19 inquiries, and giving back to the city of Detroit.As usual, we wrap up the episode with some hot takes on the top news stories from this week from co-hosts Adam and Scott. You can find them on Twitter at @adamjsimon & @tippier. DM them your thoughts and feedback.Covered News: Google and Apple partner on building COVID-19 Contact-Tracing into Android & iOS [9to5Google]Sling TV ‘Happy Hour’ offers free primetime viewing of 50-plus live channels [Variety]Postmates now delivers essentials from Walgreens, Duane Reade and 7-Eleven [Engadget]YouTube launches a free, DIY tool for businesses in need of short video ads [TechCrunch]Quotes:“Our hope is that the actions that we take today create meaningful, long-lasting relationships with the customers we help.” — Norman de Greve, CMO of CVS Health“Media mix modeling right now is probably the most important thing that we could be looking at” — Casey Hurbis, CMO of Quicken Loans Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Take a listen to the full conversation between special guest interviewer Jon Stimmel, UM’s Chief Investment Officer, Keith Wachtel, Chief Business Office at the NHL, and Dan Lovinger, EVP Sales and Partnership at NBCUniversal Sports from last week's partner interview on sports media. The trio discuss the current state of sports media, when sports events will resume, and how they have been working with partners and clients to navigate the challenges. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome back to the third episode of our COVID-19 special. For as long as we need to work from home, Floor 9 will be coming out with weekly episodes that provide timely information, market intelligence, and actionable insights on COVID-19’s impact on the media and advertising landscape.In the first half of this episode, co-hosts Scott and Adam are joined by a special guest Elizabeth Firth, SVP, Client Business Partner of UM to talk all about how COVID-19 is changing media behaviors and pushing brands to explore new channels such as “virtual third place”.Later in the show, special guest interviewer Jon Stimmel, UM’s Chief Investment Officer, who connected with Keith Wachtel, Chief Business Office at the NHL, and Dan Lovinger, EVP Sales and Partnership at NBCUniversal Sports to talk about the current state of sports media, when sports events will resume, and how they have been working with partners and clients to navigate the challenges. As usual, we wrap up this episode with Adam and Scott discussing some of the top news stories from this week. Although only one of this week’s news is explicitly related to COVID-19, all of them are influenced by the current pandemic to varying degrees.  Covered News: Quibi had a launch day outage and gained 300K launch day downloads [TechCrunch]Snapchat encourages donations to fight against COVID-19 through new AR lenses [9to5Mac]Pinterest adds new ‘Shop’ tabs connected to in-stock inventory, style guides and more [TechCrunch]Facebook Gaming launches tournaments for esports amateurs [VentureBeat]Email: Scott’s Email: [email protected] Adam’s Email: [email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome back to the second episode of our COVID-19 special. For as long as we need to work from home, Floor 9 will be coming out with weekly episodes that provide timely information, market intelligence, and actionable insights on COVID-19’s impact on the media and advertising landscape. We are all in this together and want to make sure our listeners have the best information possible in order to make the tough decisions every company is facing during these challenging times.In the first half of this episode, co-hosts Scott is joined by special guests William Margaritis, SVP, Ecommerce of Reprise; Amie Owens, SVP, Head of Shopper Marketing of UM; and Chad Stoller, Global Innovation Officer of UM, to talk all about how COVID-19 is changing shopping behaviors and accelerating ecommerce growth. Later in the show, special guest interviewer Hamish Kinniburgh, Global CSO of UM, interviews Ben Jeffries, Founder & CEO of influencer.com, to talk about the state of influencer marketing and what brands need to pay special attention to under the current circumstances.As usual, we wrap up this episode with Adam and Scott discussing some of the top news stories from this week. Spoiler alert: they are nearly all COVID-19-related.Covered News: Microsoft Team Is Now Available For Non-Enterprise Users [Tom’s Guide]Amazon, Walmart Suspend Marketing Deals With Digital Media Firms [The Information]NBA Players Go Head-to-head In First 'NBA 2K Players Tournament' [NBA]Spotify Launched A Standalone Music Streaming App For Kids [Variety]YouTube Planning To Launch New “Shorts” Format To Counter TikTok [9to5Google]Apple Purchases Hyperlocal Weather App Dark Sky [9to5Mac]Additional Links: Reprise report on Ecommerce [Reprise] Snapchat desktop camera download [Snapchat]Email: Scott’s Email: [email protected] Adam’s Email: [email protected]  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Unpacking the pandemic’s impact on brand safety, media investments, sports media and foot trafficWelcome back to Floor 9! We are taking a break from our regularly scheduled programming on media futures and turn our attention to the present and the near-term future. Therefore, Floor 9 will be coming out with weekly episodes that provide timely information, market intelligence, and actionable insights on COVID-19’s impact on the media and advertising landscape. We are all in this together and want to make sure our listeners have the best information possible in order to make the tough decisions every company is facing during these challenging times.This week Scott and Adam are joined by Jon Stimmel, Chief Investment Officer at UM and Joshua Lowcock, US Chief Digital & Global Brand Safety Officer at UM for a conversation on the current media market, sports being canceled, brand safety and how the larger media industry is responding to COVID-19. Later in the show, special guest interviewer Huw Griffiths, UM’s Chief Product Officer sits down with Foursquare’s CEO David Shim to discuss Foursquare's latest report on COVID-19 impact on retail foot traffic.  In this episode: Jon Stimmel on the state of media investments, how media partners are responding to COVID-19, sports being canceled and the olympics being postponed and investing through a potential recessionJoshua Lowcock on brand safety, respectful content, consumer sentiment on brands appearing next to COVID-19 content and how the industry is being proactive in their response to COVID-19. Hint, don’t negative keyword target Coronavirus. Foursquare’s CEO, David Shim is interviewed by UM’s Chief Product Officer Huw Griffiths on their recent report about COVID-19 and its impact on retail foot traffic. Actionable takeaways for brands and marketersWe share our special WFH productivity hacks Warp up with relevant news of the week Additional Links: Foursquare Research Report [Foursquare] Scott’s Email: [email protected] Adam’s Email: [email protected] Covered News: Tokyo Olympics are postponed: [BBC]Apple Product Announcements [The Verge] Hulu added live ABC news [Variety] and extended their free trial to 30 days Sling TV Streaming Package Free for 2 Weeks [Variety] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, we dived into the first trend in our Outlook 2020 report with special guest, Alban Denoyel, co-founder and CEO of Sketchfab. Together with co-hosts Scott and Adam, the trio dissected how new technologies and creative tools have democratized creativity and given rise to the meme culture, the roles that Sketchfab plays as a 3D content distribution platform, and how brands can correctly tap into this trend to be organically included in online conversations. In this episode:Slacking off: a new segment where Lab members pick their favorite news items from our hyper-active Slack channelsAdam — Bytedance, maker of TikTok, introduced a productivity toolAlban — Roblox raising $150 million and being valued at $4 billion Scott — People are live streaming while they sleep on TikTokHow advances in technology have democratized access to creative tools and empowered people to share their creationsHow Sketchfab facilitates the creation and distribution of 3D assetsHow creative formats will evolve as AR and VR adoptions growHow brands can tap into this trend of democratized creativity and meme culture Floor 9 Mailbag: submit your questions on Twitter @ipglabWe laugh about Adam’s mic check  Additional Links Alban’s Fav 3D Assets on Sketchfab  Read more about the Democratized Creativity in our Outlook 2020 trend report Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome back to Floor 9! This week, hosts Scott and Adam are joined by Christina from our strategy team and special guest Dan Clark, CEO of Brain.fm, to talk about technology-induced anxiety. Taking from the last trend, The Age of Anxiety, from our Outlook 2020 trend report, the lab team and Dan discussed in depth on how technology and its many implications are causing us an increased level of anxiety, and what brands can do in response to this prevailing phenomenon. In this episode:Slacking off: a new recurring segment where Lab members pick their favorite news items from our hyper-active Slack channelsChristina — BTS previewing new single on TikTokAdam & Scott — HQ Trivia shutting downDan — “unescapable political news”How we have entered the Age of Anxiety and its main causes, including overwhelming content choice and rising privacy concernsHow Brain.fm has been using AI to apply neuroscience to help people focus and relaxWhat brands can do in response to the rising level of consumer anxiety and help them assuage it and build connections Floor 9 Mailbag: a new audience Q&A section — submit your questions on Twitter @ipglabWe laugh about the disparate methods we all use to fall asleep Slacking Off Links BTS’s TikTok preview [Billboard]HQ Trivia’s last episode [YouTube]Read more about the Age of Anxiety in our Outlook 2020 trend report Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome back to the renovated Floor 9! This week, hosts Scott and Adam are joined by Christina from our strategy team to unveil the trends featured in our upcoming annual Outlook report! We are also testing a few fun additions to the show that we think you’ll enjoy. Give it a listen and let us know what you think!Outlook 2020 trend report. Made by the IPG Media Lab.  In this episode:Slacking off: a new recurring segment where Lab members picks their favorite news items from our hyper-active Slack channelsOutlook 2020 preview: the Race to the Next PlatformHigh-level preview of Outlook trends: Democratized Creativity, Ambient Computing, Algorithmic Culture, and The Age of AnxietyFloor 9 Mailbag: a new audience Q&A section — submit your questions on Twitter @ipglabLab Testing — a roundup of things that we are testing out lately. Christina: Save Your Wardrobe app; Adam: Control (a console video game); Scott: Sofar SoundsWe laugh about Christina’s open disdain for “soft white food”Slacking Off Links G-Eazy’s prom photo Fake Google Maps Traffic JamThe Shoe Surgeon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to the concluding episode of our trio of CES recap episodes. In this episode, Scott cedes the floor to three new Lab members and first-timers at CES — Ella Barnett (Senior Associate, Strategy and Innovation), Sean Ahearn (Senior Manager, Client Services), and Katy Geisreiter (Manager of Franchise Leadership on the Skin Health account at J3), to hear their fresh takes on what CES 2020 means for them personally and for brands.What We Covered:Overall impression of this CES and how the show will and should evolvePersonal favorites from the show — Snowboarding simulation, temporary tattoos, portable EV charging solutionBiggest surprise from this CES — Lab’s CES operations; air filtration/purification systemsBrand takeaways from CES — taking risks in innovations, learn from cross-category exposure, innovations that truly make life easier and betterWe laugh about Ben being the “post-it guy”In case you missed it, you can find Part 1 and Part 2 of our CES recap podcast here.You can also read our in-depth CES trend recap on Medium here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome back to Floor 9! We are kicking off 2020 with a trio of CES recap episodes, recorded live in Vegas on the last day of CES. In part 2, your host Scott interviews two dynamic duos of lab experts to get their hot takes on this year’s CES. First up, Scott chatted with Chad Stoller (Global Innovation Officer of UM and Managing Partner of the Lab) and Ben Hone (Director of Client Services), two CES veterans, to hear their lovely banter and unique insights on CES trends. Next, Scott was joined by Josh Mallalieu (SVP, Group Partner) and Ryan Miller (Manager of Partnership) from the Lab to share their thoughts and takeaways on CES as What We Covered:Overall impression of this CES and how the show will and should evolvePersonal favorites from the show — WaterGen water filtration system, Nissan pro-pilot golf ball, Royale’s wrap-around display, retail display and signage innovations, elder care technology, GJS Robots Curiously missing from the show floors — the absence of telecom companies and Chinese tech companies, as well as gaming & esports techThe reasons behind why 5G is missing from the show floors this yearEmerging trends spotted at CES — consumerization of digital health, the expansion of play tech, ambient computing at home, Brand takeaways from CES 2020We laugh about Ben’s CLMs (career-limiting moves) and Ryan’s self-deprecating humor at his fantastic Future of Play panelIn case you missed it, you can find Part 1 of our CES recap podcast here.Check out our high-level CES trend recap published in AdWeek here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome back to Floor 9! We are kicking off 2020 with a trio of CES recap episodes, recorded live in Vegas on the last day of CES. In part 1, you’ll hear from two CES veterans from the Lab strategy team, Adam and Christina, joined by your host Scott, share their takeaways from this event and dig into the key trends that they saw at this CES. Have a listen to find out what our strategists think brands and marketers can learn from the biggest tech show. What We Covered:Overall impression of this CES and why the Lab attends every yearStandouts from the show floors — new micro-mobility concepts, digital health & elder care products Curiously missing from the show floors – 5G-ready products, a stronger privacy debateBiggest surprises found at CES — Sony’s concept car, Amazon auto retail, Samsung’s rotating TVPersonal favorites from the show — Delta’s travel innovations, self-heating tupperware, passenger drones Emerging trends spotted at CES — EVs ready for market, cross-category inspirationsBrand takeaways from CES 2020 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It’s the end of the decade! Floor 9 hosts Scott and Adam sat down with Christina and Richard from the strategy team to review some of the hottest trends that happened over 2019 while prognosticating a little on what may come in 2020. A big thank you to all our listeners! We’ll be back with a CES episode, live from Vegas, in January. Happy holidays!What We Covered:The biggest surprise in media and tech that we did not see coming in 2019 (TikTok, Techlash, Facebook Libra, etc.)Reviewing the major trends we covered in our 2019 Outlook report from the beginning of the year (Unbundling social media, what’s next for D2C brands, etc.)Diving into some of the defining moments of 2019 and their implications for brands (Shortened hype cycle and meme culture, Disney completes acquisition of FOX, WeWork IPO debacle, Elon Musk, etc.)We laugh as we recall our favorite memes of 2019 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome back to Floor 9. This week hosts Scott and Adam are joined by Ben and Ryan, two gaming experts on the Lab team, to talk all about the latest developments in the gaming space, as well as what they say about the future of gaming. From the new cloud-based gaming services like Google Stadia to the shifting landscape of game streaming and esports, the Lab team went deep into dissecting the various sectors of gaming and the brand opportunities within. As gaming culture becomes mainstream, smart brand marketers know this is an increasingly important channel for capturing audience attention. What We Covered:The official launch of Google Stadia and its misfires Dissecting the ongoing effort to make cloud-based gaming a realityAnalyzing the potential impact of cloud-based gaming on the gaming marketThe arrival of subscription-based gaming services and their market implicationsHow the high-profile talent deals with gaming influencers impact the landscape of game streamingDiversifying the type of content on game streaming platforms like TwitchBrand takeaways for tapping into the growing gaming and esports marketYou can also read about our take on this topic here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome back to Floor 9. This week, hosts Scott and Adam are joined by Chad Stoller, the Global Chief Innovation Officer at UM, to talk all about the intensifying streaming wars. Recorded on the day of the U.S. launch of Disney+, we start with our first impressions on Disney+ and how it stacks up to existing competitors, before moving on to discuss how we think the U.S. streaming landscape will play out over the next 5 years. We also talk about Netflix’s huge lead in global markets and Apple’s impressive streaming video quality, and how brands should respond in an age where viewers have more ad-free content options than ever. What We Covered:Disney+ first impressions and Disney’s biggest advantagesDifferent strategies of the varying new streaming servicesWhy Disney+ is a valuable tool for customer acquisition and data collectionHow the streaming landscape will evolve over the next five years or soNetflix’s enormous lead in global markets and how the competitors stack up The rise of in-content brand integrations as viewers flock to ad-free SVOD servicesThe impressive streaming video quality of Apple TV+ and what it means for the future of 4k contentA quick review of the current original content slate from Apple TV+Apple’s contribution to the streaming landscapeBAMTech and the technical advantage it grants owner DisneyWe laugh about Scott not getting Chad’s sports analogy Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to our big Hawaii Five-O episode, where we take a deep dive into the future of social media and what they will mean for brands. Joined by Christina, co-hosts Scott and Adam discussed everything from the rise of TikTok to the new connected communities that are forming online as social media is slowly being unbundled into new platforms and niche communities, social media advertising will need to evolve with the advances in social platforms and how people communicate and connect with each other online.What We Covered:The unique way TikTok surface content and engage usersWhy cultural context matters for understanding the TikTok memes and jokes Prognosticating whether TikTok will have staying power in the WestHow Gen Z use different social media platforms (TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram, etc.)Facebook’s pivot towards private social channels (messaging and groups)How does the state of social media impact their ad products and consumer attentionHow social media is being disintegrated into various emerging platforms and connected communities based on niche interests, such as The WoolferHow these growing trends in social media are changing the way brands can reach consumers online and engage with online communitiesWe laugh about Scott’s niche interest (strange obsession) in “birds with arms” Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Facebook’s recent Oculus announcements left us wondering, what is the social network company trying to get out VR. In this week's episode, Scott and Adam discuss the state of virtual reality technology and why VR adoption has stalled. Then, Christina joins the group to talk about a potential future “metaverse” where people will create, socialize, and even do business in, as well as dissecting the different approaches Facebook and Fortnite is taking to get us there. For anyone that is curious about the future of immersive media and gaming, this episode should be a thought-provoking one. Listen and download here. What We Covered:Highlights from Facebook’s Oculus event and what Facebook Horizon isThe current state of VR and why mainstream adoption has been stagnant How VR fundamentally differs from AR in terms of user experience and use casesThe next frontier for VR and the concept of a “metaverse”How massively multiplayer online games like Fortnite are building prototype metaverses outside of VRPotential brand implications of future metaversesWe laugh about Adam’s low opinion on Ready Player One as a novel Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Following Amazon’s big announcements from its packed Echo event last week, we had the pleasure of chatting with Eric Turkington, vice president of strategic partnerships at Rain, a creative agency that specializes in voice and conversational interfaces, about Amazon’s voice strategy, the status quo of voice tech adoption, the challenges and efforts in finding better use cases for voice, and the brand opportunities that lie within. Overall, this is an episode of lively conversations and differing opinions that come together to paint a dynamic picture of where the voice technology may be heading in 2020 and beyond. If you wish to keep up with what’s happening in the world of voice tech and get a peek of what the future might hold, this episode is a must-listen!What We Covered:Highlights from the Amazon hardware event and what they say about Amazon’s overall voice strategyHow Alexa stacks up against competitors like Google Assistant and Siri, and the current state of the home platform warHow brands have been leveraging voice tech to reach consumers, the challenges they encounter, and possible solutions to themThe next frontier for Alexa and other voice assistants beyond home, and how they could develop new use casesSome general thoughts on how the voice computing space will develop in 2020 and beyondWe laugh about how no one ever asks Samsung’s Bixby for anything  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Apple hosted its annual iPhone unveiling event on Tuesday and the Lab team assembled once again to talk about the highlights and key takeaways from this year’s keynote. While many may regard this year’s event as quite unmemorable and perhaps even boring, we actually think what Apple unveiled (but not necessarily talked about on stage) lays a solid foundation for what is shaping up to be an exciting 2020 and beyond. Take a listen to find out why we think so and how Apple is gearing up for a post-mobile world with new services and wearables.What We Covered:Personal favorite announcement from the eventApple TV+ details and Apple’s OTT strategyApple Watch updates and its value propositionNew iPhone lineup and updatesUltra-Wideband and how it sets Apple up for AR glassesWe laugh about how Christina might get an Apple Watch by 2025 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, we sit down with Oscar Ortega, VP of Talent at the UM Studios team, and Adam Simon, executive director of strategy at the Lab, to discuss the status quo and the future of influencer economy. Starting with the very definition of “influencer,” the dominant social and live-streaming platforms on which they depend, and the increasing fraud found in today’s influencer economy, we dissect in detail the ins and outs of the industry and the dynamic push-and-pull between influencers and the platforms. Then, we turn our eyes to the future and the up-and-coming synthetic influencers. Compared to human influencers, these virtual influencers bring new opportunities and interesting challenges for brand marketers to navigate and experiment with.What We Covered:The definition of an “influencer”The dominant influencer platformsThe latest developments in the influencer economyThe shifting landscape of gaming streamingThe power dynamic between influencers and platformsThe emergence of synthetic influencers and their pros and consThe facilitating factors of the rise of synthetic influencersWhat brands should pay special attention to in this spaceWe laugh about the Pineapple influencer account Scott started Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, we sit down with Vicent and Michelle from the Magna Global team to talk about the latest in podcasting. Starting with the new podcasting report that Magna recently released, which found that ⅓ of US consumers are now listening to podcasts, we talked about how podcasting is growing as an advertising medium, how it still has plenty of room for further growth, and the hurdles it will need to overcome to achieve that. We also brought in some global perspectives, especially with input from Sharon Soh from our Singapore office. If you are a marketer who is curious about the podcasting space and want to keep up, then this episode is a must-listen!  What We Covered:The status quo of the podcasting market — the audience growth, the content types, etc.Why the podcast audience is attractive to advertisers, esp. DTC brandsDebating whether or not we have hit “peak podcast”Main challenges hindering podcast’s further growthA global POV on podcast advertising today & learnings from the APAC region Takeaways for brand marketers looking to ramp up podcast ad buyScott pitches his “Sunday morning ghost stories” podcast idea to the teamYou can check out Magna’s Podcasting Report here (log-in required). Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, we start in the future with a short story about a world dominated by Facebook’s Libra after it took over as the global currency. Then we come back to the present where Scott chats with Adam and Christina from our strategy team on just how likely that Libra-dominated future could be. We also get to hear from two members of our global team, Felipe Kopaitic from our LatAm team and Kambiz Djafar from our EMEA team, who shared their thoughts on how Libra adoption could play out in their respective region. If you’ve read about Libra and still have a lot of questions about it, or simply want to learn more about this topic, then this episode is for you!What We Covered:What the world would look like if Libra were to become the global currency The many challenges that Facebook faces in launching Libra next yearThe benefits that Facebook stands to gain from Libra and the resulting privacy concernsThe importance of earning consumer trust and overcoming regulatory hurdlesHow the LatAm and European markets will likely respond to LibraTakeaways for brand marketers wondering how Libra will impact consumer behaviorWe only had time to read the first part of the speculative short story that Richard wrote. If interested, you can read the full version of the short story here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week’s episode, Scott sits down with the Lab’s head of strategy, Adam Simon, to talk about everything noteworthy from Apple’s WWDC event last week. From new AR tools to new privacy features, Apple is dedicated to position data privacy as a key selling point of its ecosystem while also making a considerable effort to ensure the consistency of its user experience across different devices. Have a listen and hear our take on Apple’s latest announcements and what they mean for brands.What We Covered:Scott’s and Adam’s personal favorite announcements coming out of this WWDC;“Sign-in with Apple” and other new privacy features to come, and what they mean for data-driven brands and advertisersThe new iPadOS and watchOS and what they say about Apple’s overall platform evolutionApple’s decision to break up the iTunes desktop app and new changes added to Apple podcastBrand takeawaysLinks:Apple WWDC 2019 Recap: Everything Brands Need to Know Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week’s episode, we are joined by Kenton Langstroth from Intersection, a smart cities technology and out-of-home advertising company based in NYC. And Terri Rockovich, a direct-to-consumer marketing veteran and founder of D2C pet food brand Jinx. The last few years have seen substantial growth of D2C brands, leveraging social media and lifestyle content to directly connect with key demographics through digital channels. In the past year or so, however, they are increasingly branching out of social media into new marketing channels such as OOH, print, and brick-and-mortar retail. We chat with the two industry insiders to chart the trajectory of D2C brand marketing and pick their brains for insights.What We Covered:Terri’s experience in the D2C worldKenton explains what Intersection does and what is LinkNYCHow Casper disrupted the mattress industry by leveraging the advantages of a D2C brandHow the D2C branding and marketing strategy is evolvingWhy many D2C brands are turning to OOH ads to reach new audiencesThe unique advantages that DOOH ads provide in contrast to social media adsBrand takeaways for learning from the rise of D2C brands Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

At Google’s annual developer conference on Tuesday, CEO Sundar Pachi kicked off the opening keynote address with a new mission statement: “building a more helpful Google for everyone”. Throughout the keynote, Google touted the many benefits that Google’s services and products, powered by its collection of personal data, provide for everyday consumers and help improve their lives. In this episode, Scott sits downs with Adam and Christina to discuss this shift in Google’s branding, updates to Google Search, the current state of the Google Assistant, and the future of Google’s smart home lineup.  What We Covered:3D objects and AR experiences and podcasts will be present in Google Search results Visual search tool, Google Lens can now help users at restaurants, calculate the tip and read sign aloud to users  Google Assistant is now 10x faster and process request locally on deviceGoogle Duplex comes to the web and the etiquette barrier that prevent people from using voice assistants in public Google announced the Nest Hub Max and the new “Helpful Home” brandingMain takeaways for brand marketers from the Keynote. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Where is Facebook going, and what does that mean for brands that advertise on its platforms? This week, your host Scott sits down with Adam and Christina from the strategy team to discuss the latest announcements from Facebook’s annual developer event this week and what they mean for the social network. As Facebook starts to work on transforming itself into “a privacy-focused social network built around messaging,” brands will have to evolve with the shifting audience attention and experiment with new ad products as well. Take a listen to find out what Facebook has planned for the future.What We Covered:What Facebook’s pivot to private messaging mean for the News FeedHow Facebook plans to monetize Groups and EventsHow stories become an increasingly important format for Facebook and advertisersWhy and How Facebook is going all-in on social commerce across platformsAssessing the new “co-viewing” feature and its potential impact on Facebook and beyondBrand takeaways from the event Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Joined by special guest Lin Liu, Chief Strategy Officer of UM China, Scott and Richard have a fun chat about how the trends in our 2019 annual Outlook report are playing out in China, the similarities we see in the unbundling of search and the rise of lifestyle brands, and the divergence in regards to tech regulations as well as attitudes towards data privacy and automation between the West and the East. China’s unique digital ecosystem makes this an interesting conversation to have, as it presents a different perspective on some of the key issues U.S. marketers face, and we hope you find this episode insightful and thought-provoking. You can also read the China POV that Lin wrote here.What We Covered:China’s unique BAT-dominant tech landscape and some insurgent brandsWhy Baidu is losing grip on the Chinese search market and how social commerce is taking over search as a lead generatorWhy voice search has yet to take off in China despite the high adoption of smart speakersThe media consumption divide in China and how it reflects in the business models of popular streaming servicesHow Chinese consumers think about data privacy and how Chinese platforms handle data securityExamples of D2C brands in China adopting a lifestyle branding to expand into new verticalsWhy China is far more welcoming towards automation technologies than the West Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week’s special episode, Scott sits down with Adam and Christina from our Strategy team to talk about the trends we laid out in our annual Outlook report this year. Starting with the overarching trend of the unintended consequences of technology and the souring consumer sentiment, we discussed how social and search is being unbundled into smaller communities and platforms, how the rise of subscription services is driving a media consumption divide, how brands are increasingly leveraging content and services to build a lifestyle branding, and how regulatory concerns may interfere with the application of automation technologies.What We Covered:The unintended consequences of technological disruption and the impact on consumer sentiment towards big techWhy people are leaving social media like Facebook and Twitter for smaller, more interest-based online communitiesHow the rise of voice and visual search will change the SEO gameThe widening media consumption gap divided by the paywall and the consequences of such an asymmetrical divideWhy brands need to become lifestyle brands to gain consumer trust and access, and how they can achieve thatThe nuances of applying automation technologies that brands have to be mindful of, and the regulatory forces that may interfere with the rollout. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It was “Show Time” indeed in sunny California at the March Apple event on Monday. Oprah, J.J. Abrams, a sleepy Chris Evans, and other A-list Hollywood talent were all in attendance to help roll out Apple's new Apple TV+ service, which will house all of Apple's original programming that is in development. Additionally, Apple announced some other new service offerings including Apple News+, Apple Card, Apple Arcade and Apple TV Channels. On this episode of Floor 9, we breakdown everything brands and marketers need to know about the latest Apple event and what it means for brands.What We Covered: What Apple News+ means for magazine publishers, news readers, and journalism.How Apple Arcade works and how it is an early move for Apple to get ahead of the trends in the gaming market.What Apple TV Channels and Apple TV+ say about Apple’s video content strategy, and whether Apple’s OTT offerings will be competitive against NetflixHow Apple Card will reset the consumer expectations around the credit card experience. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome back to Floor 9. This week, we are delighted to chat with Damian Bradfield, President and CMO of WeTransfer, about how WeTransfer aligns their services with the creative community, how their unique ad products differ from the display ads commonly seen on the likes of Facebook and Google, and what today’s companies must do to navigate the online and offline world simultaneously. Plus, we also talk about how the tech industry is reacting to the increasing backlash and regulatory scrutiny, and how convenience will always win at the end of the day.What We Covered: Damian’s personal background and experience with WeTransferWeTransfer’s mission to serve the creative community across the worldWeTransfer’s unique ad products, and why they work so wellWe shared thoughts on potential regulations on the tech industryWhy consumer inertia and the need for convenience may complicate the processBrand implications, aka, what brands can learn from WeTransfer Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode recorded on Valentine’s Day, we talk about Spotify’s intensifying love affair with podcasts. Joined by Adam and Christina from the strategy team, we talked through what Spotify’s recent acquisitions of Gimlet Media and Anchor means for the company, for the other podcast players (mainly Apple), and for the future of the entire podcast industry. Adam also reveals his long-winded personal history with podcasts. Take a listen and feel the love (for podcast).What We Covered: Why Spotify bought Gimlet Media and AnchorThe different economics between music streaming and podcastingWhat Apple could do in podcasting in response to Spotify’s big movesHow Spotify’s aggregation strategy could change the podcast ecosystemHow this whole thing calls back to two of our Outlook 2019 trends: “Unbundling of Social and Search” and “Media Have & Have-nots”We laugh about how our editor Richard hates Valentine’s Day. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week’s special episode, we are proud to present a live recording of a Retail Innovation Week panel discussion that we recently put together in collaboration with PSFK. Our Strategist, Christina Adranly, led an esteemed panel with executives from social platforms Reddit and Snapchat and brands Johnson & Johnson and Floyd to talk in depth about the role of social media in brand building, community engagement, and next-gen commerce. Together, the panel explored the secret sauce behind how direct-to-consumer brands have successfully leveraged social media to reach consumers, and the lessons that brands, agencies, and platforms can apply to future-proof consumer relationships.Special thanks to all the panelists who contributed to this episode:Will Cady, Reddit, Head of Brand StrategyLauren Kase, Floyd, Head of Brand Marketing & CommunicationsMarni Schapiro, Snapchat, Director of SalesTony Crecca, Johnson & Johnson, Director Ecommerce Sales & Digital Experience Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome back to Floor 9! Once again, the Lab team is starting the new year strong to bring you our insider take on the 2019 CES. As the biggest consumer tech convention on earth, CES showcases the latest trends in innovation and sets the tone for the rest of the year. The Lab team (Scott, Angel, Adam, and Christina) recap what we saw from the show floor and summarize the trends, which includes:5G and 8K are “getting ahead of ourselves”Smart home turns into a full-on platform warA recap on Eureka Park, the section showcasing international startupsEmerging corporate innovation models at this CESApple’s looming non-presence at CESWe laugh about Scott’s delayed realization of Apple’s wordplay on its billboardIn the second half of the episode, we are joined by our brilliant team of LatAm Lab Ambassadors to talk about CES trends through the lens of the LatAm markets. Together, Florencia Crosta (Regional Director of Investments, Intelligence and Innovation for Latinoamerica), Felipe Kopaitic (Regional Digital Director for UL at IPG Mediabrands), and Santiago Garcés (Regional Account Director at IPG Mediabrands) shared their thoughts on attending CES for the first time, contextualizing 5G and voice assistants for the LatAm region, the democratization of healthcare, and how Google may have a strong advantage in the region compared to Apple and Amazon. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Live from the Acast holiday party it is a Floor 9 holiday special! Scott is joined by a number guests within the audio space covering a range topics all about audio. Creative best practices, the power of audio, challenges the space will face in 2019 and more are discussed in this episode. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As we wind down 2018 Scott, Adam and Christina reflect on the past year and discuss the predictions that were made in our 2018 Outlook.What We Covered:Will world governments regulate any of the major tech platforms?What verticals will Amazon tackle next?Does Facebook enter the home? Will Apple turn Siri into a true platform?How will the use cases and business models for AR develop?How much market share will voice and visual search capture?How will content distribution windows change? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, we had a tri-coastal conversation with special guest Tom Donaldson, VP Creative Play Lab at Lego Group, and Adam Simon, our head of strategy, about how technology is changing the future of play. The tri-coastal trio tackles a range of topics including AR & VR, voice-enabled devices, the role of education and end with a conversation about the growing concerns around screen time.What We Covered: How digital technology is changing play todayOpportunities and limitations of AR & VRWe discuss the definition of play as it pertains to esports and gamingVoice-enabled devices and their potential impact on playThe role of education in playWe end with a conversation on screen timeRelated Links:Lego Bugatti Chiron [YouTube]Floor 9 listener survey [Link] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, we sit down with two special guests — Nick Johnston, Editor-in-chief from Axios, and Joshua Lowcock, Chief Digital & Innovation Officer / Global Brand Safety Officer of UM Worldwide — to talk about the current landscape of news consumption and where the future of news may be going. Social media has no doubt forever changed the way we keep up with the news, for better and, perhaps more so, for worse, yet social media platforms keep insisting on being just technology platforms and not media publishers. This leads to a sludge of inappropriate, problematic content proliferating online platforms, and that creates unsafe environment for brands to buy against. Therefore, how we navigate the future of news is a big part of building a healthy digital ad ecosystem for tomorrow.What We Covered: The major challenges facing the news industry todayThe differences between fake news, disinformation, and misinformationHuman-curated news vs. algorithm-driven news feedNew content formats and ways to consume newsThe promise of new business models that could help fix the issuesWe laugh about how terrible social media has become Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.