Brand Moves 13 - Interbrand
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May 26 2020
Brand Moves 13
Our weekly round-up of how brands are navigating, adapting,
pivoting, and getting ready to re-open for business
Technology
TikTok, the video app owned by China’s ByteDance, which has become wildly popular among locked-down
teenagers, has hired Walt Disney Co’s top streaming executive, Kevin Mayer, as chief executive officer. Mayer
led the successful launch of the Disney+ streaming service in November but in February was passed over
as Disney’s new chief executive. Mayer will also become chief operating officer of ByteDance, the Chinese
company said. TikTok, which allows users to create short videos with special effects, has become popular
with US teenagers doing viral challenges that pair dances with music clips from the app’s library. TikTok has
hinted at ambitions to build a music streaming business, announcing in January that it was partnering with
the UK-based music rights agency Merlin to expand its musical selections. The hiring also suggests that
ByteDance is looking to bring more of its apps to the US, potentially starting with its Facebook-like Helo
platform.
Chinese tech giant Baidu will invest $70.3 million into the live-streaming sector, the company said, as it looks
to take on rivals Douyin, China’s version of Tiktok, and Kuaishou in that space. The news comes as Baidu
announced better-than-expected revenue for the March quarter, causing its U.S.-listed shares to rise 8%.
Baidu’s vice president Shen Dou said last week that the company’s new investment will be spent on growing
its live-streaming user base and attracting high quality content creators. Baidu, best known for operating a
Google-like search engine, plans to boost its short video operations by sending traffic from the rest of its
ecosystem to creators’ content. It will add Haokan content to its own search engine results and plans to
integrate it with the short video platform run by iQiyi, a major Baidu-backed Chinese streaming platform. Ping
Xiaoli , general manager of Baidu App, said that recent changes to consumer demands when it comes to live-
streaming gives them a window of opportunity. “Previously, consumers used live-streaming mainly to watch
others play games and perform shows, but since this year, we’ve increasingly seen people use live-streaming
for a lot of other purposes such as learning,” he said.
Character-collecting AR smartphone game Pokémon Go from developer Niantic went viral in 2016.
However, a game that involved going outside and socializing instead of sitting on the couch with the shades
drawn was a poor fit in the age of COVID-19. So Niantic has turned Pokémon Go into a game that can be
more comfortably played from home. A mid-April update helped players hit PokéStops, hatch eggs, and
complete raids without getting too close to other people and without traveling to locations blocked off
during the quarantine. They’re also changes that Pokémon Go players who live in rural areas or who have
mobility-related disabilities have been asking for for years. “We based our whole company around these
three principles: we want our games to encourage people to exercise, to explore new places, and to play
together in real life,” Pokémon Go developer Niantic’s CEO John Hanke said. “So all three of those things are
challenged in a coronavirus world. We’ve tried really hard to find solutions that adapt the game to the current
environment but don’t undermine the core essence of the game.”
Alibaba plans to invest 10 billion yuan ($1.15 billion) to boost its artificial intelligence (AI) and Internet of
Things (IoT) ecosystem to support its smart speaker, Tmall Genie. This will include integrating Alipay mini-
apps as well as more content and services from Alibaba’s wider ecosystem which spans entertainment,
healthcare, online shopping, and education. The Chinese e-commerce giant also plans to develop proprietary
AI and IoT technologies to enhance natural voice and visual interactions between the smart speaker and
consumers. This development work will be carried out in collaboration with its cloud and R&D units, Alibaba
Cloud and Alibaba DAMO Academy, respectively. From July 1, mini-apps currently running on its mobile
payment platform Alipay will be integrated with Tmall Genie, Alibaba said. In addition, its live streaming
service featuring merchants on its Taobao online marketplace can be viewed on the smart speaker’s screen.
More than 1,100 brands currently connect with Tmall Genie, as well as 270 million devices in China, providing
various services to fulfil various needs in consumers’ daily lives. Citing research firms IDC and Euromonitor,
Alibaba said Tmall Genie accounted for more than a 35% share of the Chinese market and led the country in
terms of unit shipment. According to stats from Canalys, some 3.89 million units of Alibaba’s smart speaker
were shipped in the third quarter of 2019, up 77.6% from the year before, which accounted for a 13.6%
global market share. Genie is currently only available in China.
/continued
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contact: hello@interbrand.comBrand Moves 13
Chinese tech giant Tencent has said that it will invest 500 billion yuan ($70 billion) over the next five years
in technology infrastructure including cloud computing, artificial intelligence and cybersecurity. Other key
sectors of the investment include blockchain, servers, big data centres, supercomputer centres, internet
of things operating systems, 5G networks and quantum computing, Dowson Tong, senior executive vice
president of Tencent, told state media. Tencent is best-known for its WeChat messaging app and a range
of popular games but is aiming to expand into business services as consumer internet growth slows and
companies shift number-crunching from their own computers to the cloud. Tencent has said while cloud
businesses suffered amid the COVID-19 outbreak it expected to see accelerated cloud services and
enterprise software adoption from offline industries and public sectors over the longer term. “Expediting the
‘new infrastructure’ strategy will help further cement virus containment success,” Guangming Daily quoted
Tong as saying. Tencent Cloud had 18% of China’s cloud market in the fourth quarter, trailing Alibaba which
commanded 46.4%, according to research firm Canalys.
Sports & Entertainment
The English soccer Premier League is investigating the use of surprise inspections, GPS tracking and video
analysis to ensure clubs adhere to new safety guidance as they prepare for the resumption of the League.
Teams have agreed to start non-contact training in small groups. “Gradually, we aim to ramp that up so we
can have an inspector at every training ground,” said Richard Garlick, the league’s director of football. “That
will enable us to give confidence the protocols are being complied with.” He added: “We are looking at
bringing in our own independent audit inspection team that we’ll scale up over the next few days which will
give us the ability to have inspections at training grounds to start with on a no-notice basis.” After a ‘Project
Restart’ meeting with clubs, Richard Masters, Premier League’s chief executive, also revealed that a trophy
presentation for the title winners, likely to be Liverpool, remains part of the plans. He said: “We would try to
do it unless it wasn’t possible because of safety concerns.” The league had previously identified 12 June for
matches to possibly start again, but there is now an expectation this may need to be pushed back.
There have been an estimated 4.6m new signups to UK subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) offerings such
as Netflix, Amazon Prime and Disney+ since the coronavirus lockdown began in late March, according to
research. The lockdown provided the perfect launch conditions for Disney+, which debuted in the UK on
24 March, a day after the nation was advised to stay at home. Disney+, which launched with titles including
the $100m (£82m) live-action Star Wars series The Mandalorian, is estimated to have attracted 1.6 million
subscribers in the UK in its first month. The research found that 85% of the Disney+ subscribers say they
will keep using the service after the health crisis is over. “With a further 13% of people who have not yet
tried Disney+ expressing an interest in trying it, the device could be well past 2 million subscribers in the
near future,” says the report by Oliver and Ohlbaum Associates. The survey found that a quarter of people
were more willing to consider subscribing to a streaming service during lockdown than before the crisis. “The
appetite for fresh entertainment during lockdown when content from traditional channels has been exhausted,
along with increased demand for TV content at all times of the day, is contributing to consumers re-evaluating
SVOD services,” the report’s authors conclude.
Art competition The Turner Prize will select ten winners to receive bursaries in place of the 2020 award. Tate
Britain announced today that it will award £10,000 each to ten different artists selected by the jury, in light
of the coronavirus pandemic making the exhibition unfeasible to mount. Director of Tate Britain and chair
of the Turner Prize jury Alex Farquharson said: “Gallery closures and social distancing measures are vitally
important, but they are also causing huge disruption to the lives and livelihoods of artists. The practicalities of
organising a Turner Prize exhibition are impossible in the current circumstances, so we have decided to help
support even more artists during this exceptionally difficult time.”
Retail & Manufacturing
Retail data analytics firm Skypad is unveiling an app that US consumers can use to find out which stores
in their area are re-opening. “We’re excited that stores are re-opening and we wanted to show it,” CEO Jay
Hakami said. “That’s why we wanted to give something back to the brands that have been asking us when
the stores are reopening. Nobody has that information, [but] we could showcase that information.” The app,
called Open Sesame, took 10 days to build and features a map of the country which allows user to search by
state and region and also by retailer (e.g. Nordstrom, Saks, Macy’s). Hakami’s team is updating the map in
real time. /continued
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contact: hello@interbrand.comBrand Moves 13
Facebook is making a major new push into e-commerce. The company today announced the launch of
Shops, a way for businesses to set up free storefronts on Facebook and Instagram. The shops, which will
be powered by third-party services including Shopify, BigCommerce and Woo, are intended to turn the
social network into a top-tier shopping destination. CEO Mark Zuckerberg said expanded e-commerce would
be important to begin rebuilding the economy while the pandemic continues. “If you can’t physically open
your store or restaurant, you can still take orders online and ship them to people,” he said. “We’re seeing a lot
of small businesses that never had online businesses get online for the first time.” Online sales have been a
bright spot for small businesses. At Etsy, where solo entrepreneurs have been knitting fabric face masks and
baking pastries for sale, revenue has doubled from three years ago. While Shops are free to create, they could
create significant new business opportunities for Facebook in advertising, payments, and other services.
Businesses will be able to buy ads for their Shops, and when people use Facebook’s checkout option, it
charges them a fee. Facebook is also working to integrate loyalty programs. Shops will begin rolling out on
Facebook today in the United States and is coming to Instagram this summer.
Cosmetics and skincare company e.l.f. is recalibrating its product lineup to include more skincare and
health and wellness products, as demand for those items has spiked during the pandemic. In particular,
the company launched a line of full-spectrum CBD products, which have trace amounts of THC, including
a facial oil, an eye cream, a body cream and a moisturizer. The CBD line caters to consumers’ need for a
moment of calm and self-care, especially in this anxiety-ridden moment for the world, according to CMO Kory
Marchisotto. “What we see now is a blurring between wellness and beauty,” she said. Being first to market
with innovative products is one of the things e.l.f. prides itself on, Marchisotto said. “One of things e.l.f. does
brilliantly is we build on demands we hear, sentiment we hear.”
Fashion label Gucci’s creative director, Alessandro Michele, has announced that the brand is slashing the
number of fashion shows it holds each year from five to two. Declaring the fashion week calendar obsolete,
Michele said he was no longer adhering to a rota staked out by spring/summer, autumn/winter, cruise and
pre-fall shows. Instead, the brand will show “seasonless” collections twice a year. There are no plans for
a show in September, when the Gucci collection would normally be staged as a key part of Milan fashion
week. Dries Van Noten has also led a number of independent designers calling for a radical overhaul of the
industry, with fewer fashion shows and less product. The biggest labels, which have a financial cushion to
ride out the economic crisis, have so far been less motivated to change than smaller brands. But by throwing
their weight behind the forces of change, Gucci could shift the conversation. Last month, Saint Laurent
announced it would sit out Paris fashion week this September and set its own schedule going forward.
Overhaul of the fashion week system has been mooted for years, but in 2020 change seems to be becoming
an economic necessity. Kering and LVMH, the two largest luxury groups, recorded a drop in revenue of about
15% for the first three months of this year.
Interior design- and lifestyle-focused website Apartment Therapy expected to draw some 10,000 people
to Industry City in Brooklyn for its first-ever Small/Cool Experience in April. They had tapped 20 designers
to curate 20 shoppable spaces under 120 square feet to highlight forecasted 2020 design trends. However,
before Apartment Therapy could begin the physical builds for the two-day pop-up, the Covid-19 outbreak
hit New York. So the brand reworked the idea into the Small/Cool Experience at Home, a three-day
digital event benefiting Habitat for Humanity New York. The event, which ran May 15-17, featured the
designers’ 20 shoppable showcases on Apartment Therapy’s homepage and event microsite. The event
also incorporated the designers into three days of live and pre-recorded event programming on Instagram,
which also offered interactive design games for its audience. Maxwell Ryan, CEO and founder of Apartment
Therapy, said the brand chose to do a virtual event to spotlight design trends that are still relevant amid the
pandemic. With the brand’s audience stuck at home and even more invested in customizing or sprucing up
their living spaces, Ryan noted the event’s content would resonate. During two- to four-hour windows each
day, the brand used its Instagram feed, Stories and Live to offer everything from live designer panels and
show-and-tell style chats to design trivia and guided meditation. The brand also offered interactive games
including scavenger hunts and mood board templates for the audience to design their own rooms and share
on their Instagram Stories. Apartment Therapy also managed to keep four of its eight original sponsors for the
virtual experience. The brand integrated Behr, Amazon Handmade, Chasing Paper and Tuft and Needle
into the animated showcases and the Instagram programming.
/continued
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contact: hello@interbrand.comBrand Moves 13
London fragrance maker Earl of East, in collaboration with agency Uncommon Creative Studio, has
released a range of scented candles called “Scents of Normality” – a collection that smells like the places
people have missed the most during lockdown. The three scents are The Festival (“a floral haze of cut grass,
burned skin and sun-warmed cider, with just the merest shimmer of distant portaloo. Top notes of burger van
and singed candyfloss…”), The Local (“evokes the classic British boozer. Top notes of spilt beer, hair pomade
and chip fat jostle amongst a pungent base of varnished teak and sticky carpet… ”) and The Cinema (“a
heady fusion of salt popcorn, foam banana and glistening hot dog, enveloped in a fug of recirculated air…”)
More seriously, all proceeds go to Hospitality Action, a charity that offers vital assistance to all who work
within hospitality in the UK, and who now face sudden hardship and widespread job losses due to COVID-19.
About five years ago, electric hair clipper brand Wahl decided to host some instructional videos on its
website. But when the coronavirus showed up, almost overnight, what had begun as a simple website
upgrade became a major marketing engine for the brand. Since mid-March, traffic to Wahl’s site has risen by
1,400%. Consumers watched the step-by-step instructional video on how to do an easy cut, a business cut,
a fade and a brush cut, among others. The videos’ popularity was also accompanied by a huge sales spike.
“Hair clippers had about a 48% household penetration before the pandemic, and I’ll tell you that in week two
of the shutdown, we started getting point-of-sale data showing that our year-over-year sales had increased in
line with pasta – that’s how crazy it was,” Wahl’s vice president of marketing, Steven Yde, said. “The numbers
went through the roof.”
Meanwhile, razor brand Schick Xtreme has released its own free mobile game, Shave the Day, available on
iOS and Android. In an endless runner format, players become XtremeMan, a bald, caped hero who rides a
giant razor down a three-lane street. Players earn points by collecting coins and shaving the heads of other
characters by leaping over them. Schick Xtreme will turn these in-game points into real-world dollars (up to
$250,000) destined for St. Baldrick’s Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to ending childhood cancer. Once
the goal is reached, players will be encouraged to make their own donation through the game. Schick Xtreme
is promoting the game on its social media channels, and has also teamed up with popular Twitch streamers
Nick Polom and Aydan Conrad, who will play Shave the Day and shave their own heads live on the streaming
platform once donation goals are met. In the first quarter of 2020, a largely young audience watched 3.1
billion hours of content on Twitch – nearly double the hours watched on YouTube Gaming, Facebook
Gaming and Microsoft Mixer combined. “It’s sports,” said Matt Bell, vp of North America at Edgewell
Personal Care, Schick’s parent company, about the appeal of the Amazon-owned platform. “People
certainly love watching sports and being able to watch people compete.”
A new fashion retail app called The Yes has been launched, built to be “a virtual department store’. The
app is the brainchild of Julie Bornstein, who spearheaded the launch of Nordstrom and Urban Outfitters’
e-commerce websites, before serving as chief digital officer of Sephora. Two years ago, she left her most
recent role as COO of Stitch Fix, raised $30 million in capital from backers like Forerunner Ventures, and
began building The Yes, which launches today on the App Store. The Yes takes a page from the Spotify
or Netflix playbook: It offers recommendations that are tailored to your preferences. You start by taking a
quick survey about your style, then the algorithm uses AI and machine learning to identify your aesthetic
preferences, from favorite colors to dress dislikes. Then the app scans through products from 150 fashion
brands (and counting) ranging from Madewell to Dolce & Gabbana to suggest products you might be
interested in. You have the option of clicking “yes” or “no” when you see a product, which will help the
algorithm better understand your taste. All products come with free shipping, paid for by the brand, and
you can pay with a single click using ApplePay. The Yes serves as a middleman, taking a cut of the brand’s
revenue, and doesn’t buy or own inventory; instead, when a customer makes a purchase, the brand sends it
directly to them. The Yes also uses a brand’s own imagery, so it doesn’t have to pay to shoot all the products
on its own models.
/continued
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contact: hello@interbrand.comBrand Moves 13
Leading U.S. home improvement retailers Home Depot, Lowe’s and Ace Hardware all reported first-
quarter sales growth, demonstrating that some companies continued to thrive during a difficult time for
the industry. Home improvement retailers benefitted from consumers investing more time and money in
home improvement projects—a side effect of stay-at-home orders. Home Depot reported a comparable
sales increase of 6.4% during the first quarter as well as net sales growth of 7.1% to $28.3 billion, while
Lowe’s revealed a rise in comparable sales of 11.2% and a boost in net sales of 10.9% to $19.7 billion. Ace
Hardware, meanwhile, said comparable sales in the U.S. rose 4.2% and revenue grew 3.8% to about $1.4
billion. Home Depot, the largest of the three, showcased its efforts to make the shopping experience more
seamless, highlighting its mobile app featuring image search and an inventory locator, its offering of in-store
pickup, same-day delivery and truck and tool rentals. Lowe’s also invested heavily in technology, hiring close
to 1,000 technologists in 2019 while rolling out new devices with apps for in-store associates to access to
answer customer’s questions in real time, making for a smoother sales process. Ace Hardware, meanwhile,
teamed with Google, utilizing the technology giant’s tools to inject new life into its digital strategy due to the
heightened expectations of consumers around online ordering and faster delivery. The retailer said its online
business surged 580% in April primarily due to curbside pickup, in-store pickup and delivery from locally
owned stores.
Renault and Nissan have apparently shelved plans to push towards a full merger and will instead fix their
alliance to try to recover from the coronavirus pandemic. With carmakers around the world reeling from the
pandemic, the partners are planning to overhaul an alliance that largely failed to convert its global scale
into a competitive advantage beyond the joint procurement of parts. Both struggling carmakers are set to
announce mid-term restructuring plans designed to resolve long-standing tensions. Nissan and Renault are
each planning substantial restructuring and cost cuts; the crisis at both carmakers has accelerated efforts to
resolve disagreements that have hurt collaboration and cost-sharing in technology and product development
for five years. The alliance also includes Mitsubishi Motors.
Travel & Hospitality
Recreational vehicles, or RVs, could be among the big winners for summer vacations this year, according to
U.S. travel industry experts. Mark Wong, an exec at Small Luxury Hotels of the World, said “road trips – the
drive market – will be this summer’s trend. Travelers will be more comfortable hopping into their own cars
or rental vehicles than commuting in mass transportation.” Nicholas Devane, owner of RV rental company
Texino, agreed, saying: “I think corona is making people rethink what vacation looks like. What is their ability
to travel without going through airports? Camper vans and RVs are a great way to do that.” Miami’s Ondevan
said it’s seen success by focusing on South Florida locals who want to take road trips while they work
remotely, and San Diego company AdventureKT said natives have taken up the slack left by out-of-towners
and foreigner who have canceled. Now four-year-old company RVshare, a Turo for the RV market, reports
that bookings for summer have set new records by shooting up 650% since last month. 84% of renters say
they plan to travel with a partner or close family, and 93% of renters say their first priority is avoiding crowds
and crowded vacation spots.
United Airlines has announced a new sanitization and cleaning initiative called United CleanPlus that will
include a partnership with the cleaning products company Clorox. United’s program is similar to Hilton
CleanStay, which the hotel chain launched in late April and includes a partnership with Lysol. “Safety has
always been our top priority, and right now in the midst of an unprecedented crisis, it’s our singular customer
focus,” said United CEO Scott Kirby. “We recognize that Covid-19 has brought cleanliness and hygiene
standards to the front of customers’ minds when making travel decisions, and we’re not leaving a single stone
unturned in our pursuit to better protect our customers and employees.” The airline will work with Clorox to
“enhance” its cleaning program and to “redefine” disinfection procedures. Clorox products will soon be visible
at United’s hubs. The airline will also be temporarily shutting down self-service kiosks and in select locations
while introducing “touchless kiosks,” and employees will have their temperature taken before their workdays.
/continued
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contact: hello@interbrand.comBrand Moves 13
Though travel is still very heavily impacted, Delta Airlines has seen a slight increase in bookings. “We have
seen a bounce off the bottom,” said Delta CFO Paul Jacobson. “There are reasons to be encouraged about
what we’re doing at Delta.” Jacobson said that on some days the airline saw positive net sales, meaning
more people were booking than asking for refunds, specifically pointing to an uptick in June and July
travel planning. Delta has since responded to the inching demand by adding back flights, but still capping
its capacity at 60%. United Airlines has also said that as of this week, the airline had “seen a reduction
in customer cancellation rates” and a “moderate improvement” in domestic demand as well as “certain
international destinations” in the latter part of Q2. Jacobson prefaced his comments by noting that it was
still too early to tell if this was truly a sign of recovery, and that with refunds still available, the bookings don’t
quite mean much until travelers are boarded and buckled in. “We’re still a fraction of where we should be,”
he said. “We’re cautious.” He also echoed Delta CEO Ed Bastian’s belief that it could take at least three years
before the airline reached sustainable recovery levels. On Friday, the Transportation Security Administration
announced that for the first time since the end of March, more than 250,000 travelers passed through its
gates in a single day. Previously, the TSA had reported that it had seen foot traffic drop by 95%.
Drinks education organisation The Wine & Spirit Education Trust (WSET) is introducing online examinations
for its most popular courses. Until now most WSET courses have been available online but for study only, with
students having to sit an offline exam to complete a WSET qualification. Now they can sit the exams online
too. “I am really excited that, with these latest developments, we can now offer our course providers and
students a 360° digital learning experience at a time when traditional classroom education is very challenging
or impossible,” says WSET CEO Ian Harris. “At a time when many people in the industry have much more
time at their disposal, it’s great that they can upgrade their drinks knowledge, studying and qualifying for a
WSET qualification without leaving home.” Harris hopes that this will add ‘global reach’ to the organisation
now and in the post-COVID era. The online exams will be carried out using remote invigilation so students
can sit the tests on a computer at home while being monitored via webcam, screen sharing technology and a
secondary recording device such as a smartphone. The system has already been trialled and will be rolled out
across WSET’s network of over 800 course providers globally.
The legendary Venice Simplon-Orient-Express luxury train will be returning to the tracks on July 8. The
opening journey will be between Venice and London, with further dates and routings to follow shortly
afterwards. Roeland Vos, CEO of luxury travel company Belmond which operates the service, said he was
“truly excited” at the prospect of the resumption of services. He said there was a lot of pent up demand
from travellers for what is considered the ultimate luxury train experience, and offered assurances that the
train would be adapted with the introduction of special protocols designed to meet the new need for social
distancing. “We will have fewer passengers on board and there will be much more space between them in
the dining car,” said Samantha Strawford, Belmond’s Global Brand Director. “There will be more in-cabin
dining and not all cabins will be occupied. We are also working through different scenarios for ensuring more
distance is kept between passengers on the trains and the introduction of regular deep clean operations.”
Travellers on the train starting or ending in Venice will also be able to stay in the city’s celebrated Hotel
Cipriani – which on June 19 will be one of the first Belmond hotels to reopen following the virus. Another
opening that day will be the Hotel Splendido in Portofino. Belmond plans to announce further dates for train
journeys to and from Venice, but also on its other luxury trains, including the Andean Explorer in Peru, the
Eastern & Oriental Express in south-east Asia and the Royal Scotsman. There are also a host of further
hotel reopenings in the pipeline. “The pandemic means that we won’t see the world in the same way again,”
said Mr Vos. “Rather than travelling so fast, we will probably travel more slowly, but more consciously. It will
be a brand new world, but it will still be deeply enriching.”
According to a survey by the U.S. Travel Association, when Americans are willing to travel again, whether
Covid-19 is lingering or not, they’ll be doing it by car, and not traveling nearly as far as they used to.
Consumers’ intent to travel within the next six months sits roughly at 36%. That’s down 2% from the last
time consumers were asked two weeks prior. When they do travel, it’ll be in their personal cars, where more
than 68% of respondents feel safest. Only 12% of participants said they felt safe on an international trip.
Importantly, one-third of Americans are postponing their vacations in 2020, rather than outright cancelling,
which keeps money in the pockets of America’s airlines, hotel brands and Airbnb hosts.
/continued
website: interbrand.com
contact: hello@interbrand.comBrand Moves 13
Ride-hailing service Bolt has raised 100 million euros ($109 million) in a deal valuing the European rival
of Uber at 1.7 billion euros. Bolt said the funding would allow it to grab market share in a sector hurt by
COVID-19, as lockdowns have kept customers indoors, and rivals Uber, Lyft and Ola cut thousands of
jobs. “In the next 12-18 months we have an opportunity to win market share,” Bolt founder and Chief
Executive Markus Villig said. “Even though the crisis has temporarily changed how we move, the long-term
trends that drive on-demand mobility such as declining personal car ownership or the shift towards greener
transportation continue to grow.” Bolt offers also scooter rental and food delivery. It has expanded its food
delivery business to 15 countries from four this year as demand has surged. The 2013-founded Bolt — which
has over 30 million users in 35 countries — has mostly won business from Uber in major African cities and
Eastern Europe.
Media & Events
Digital learning and talent management brands Skillsoft and SumTotal held a live global experience for
learning, talent, and business leaders virtually this year, after a last-minute dash to turn their usual face-to-
face event into an online experience. Historically, the in-person Perspectives event drew fewer than 1,000
B2B registrants, but this year more than 40,000 B2B and B2C users registered for the new experience, of
which 79% were net new leads with more than 50% considered decision-makers at their organization. While
more than 14,000 people attended on the day, the content is still online and the company has seen hundreds
logging in, or back in, each day. The reimagined, digital-first experience spanned 24 hours, starting on May
13 at 9am AEST in Sydney, Australia and ending at 4pm EDT in San Francisco, CA. The 24 hours of live
content included head-to-head debates on critical and timely topics; keynotes from learning pioneers and
industry luminaries; and actionable insights to build a culture of learning. The experience was workshopped
and organized by Interbrand Group agency C Space in just nine weeks from kick-off. Going digital had to
be about more than just moving an event onto an online platform. It had to be something completely new
and irresistible that encouraged people to participate live. The team spent 28 hours over two days in a design
thinking workshop, working with members of our customer communities to determine what they wanted
from a modern digital experience and sought inspiration from some great global brands such as Peloton,
Apple, Superbowl – and The Bachelor. This resulted in a complete ground-up rebuild of the structure and
agenda, experiential components, marketing strategy, and the delivery of the event itself. “While I recognize
that Perspectives 2020 was ambitious – perhaps overly so,” said Michelle Boockoff-Bajdek, Skillsoft CMO, “I
do believe it tapped into the zeitgeist of a unique moment in our collective history. For an incredible 24 hours,
we welcomed more than 14,000 fully engaged attendees who consumed 1.4 million minutes of content. And
while we know this will deliver tangible value to the business for many months to come, we are equally as
proud of the ways in which we strengthened the relationships we have with our customers and their learners.
Our vision is to democratize learning, and I truly believe Perspectives 2020 helped us on that journey.”
People trying to stay fit in lockdown have been turning to digital publishers’ free online workout class
alternatives – in the past two months, PopSugar’s fitness vertical has seen its YouTube channel add nearly
1 million subscribers, bringing its total to 4.6 million. Time spent on its videos is up 90% month-over-month
from March to April, making April the channel’s top-performing month ever, according to the company’s
YouTube analytics. PopSugar general manager Angelica Marden said that there has been an increased
interest from fitness brands who see this time as an opportunity to sell their products to fitness enthusiasts
who are stuck at home. “The conversations in the fitness space are completely unusual,” said Marden. “It’s
greater than your usual ‘new year, new you’ burst of conversations that we normally have in January with
partners. It’s a moment for fitness.”
/continued
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contact: hello@interbrand.comBrand Moves 13
Cologne-based ad-tech trade show Dmexco has announced plans to welcome attendees this September,
coronavirus permitting, under health and safety guidelines like improved ventilation, cleaning stations and
more flexible attendee admissions. The 2020 show will look very different to years before, though, with a
heavy digital-conference element and likely a lack of booth tours. Last year the trade show had nearly 40,000
attendees, and approximately 40% were international visitors. Most expect a far different event this year, as
Germany emerges from lockdown but other countries slowly reopen their economies. One view, though, is
that travel to large trade shows will be one of the last economic activities to return. “No way no how. That’s
how I would summarize my and other industry executives’ response to an in-person conference that requires
air travel,” said Luma founder and Dmexco vet Terry Kawaja. “They need to take Cannes’ lead and skip 2020
as no one will show up.” However, Germany is cautiously easing restrictions and there is a local appetite for
the trade show to mark the reopening of the economy. More than 2,000 global exhibitions have now been
postponed or canceled as a result of the virus outbreak, according to independent consultant Alex DeGroote
and media analyst Colin Morrison. Germany, with 12% of postponements and 16% of cancelations, has
been worst hit with a total of 340 shows so far impacted. Simply going ahead will provide the sector with a
boost, said DeGroote. “Perhaps it will run at 30% capacity. However, I’m not sure how profitable it will be.”
Joe Rogan, comedian and host of one of the most popular podcasts in the world, is taking his show to
Spotify in what is said to be a $100m multi-year deal. The Joe Rogan Experience will soon become
a Spotify exclusive, meaning episodes’ full audio and video will only be available through the platform
starting later this year. Up until now, Rogan’s show has never been available on Spotify, let alone exclusive
to any platform. Listeners won’t have to pay to access the episodes, but they will have to become Spotify
subscribers. The company will also work with an ad agency to jointly sell ads against the program. Rogan
said last year his show reached about 190 million downloads a month. Rogan’s YouTube channel will remain
live, but it won’t contain full episodes, just clips or other supplementary content which could benefit from
YouTube’s search algorithm and push people to listen to full episodes on Spotify. Spotify has recently made
podcasting a core focus. It acquired podcast specialists Gimlet Media, Anchor, and Parcast last year and
then signed more Spotify-exclusive deals. It’s working with the Obamas’ production company, has committed
to deals with other big names, like Joe Budden and Amy Schumer, and acquired website and podcast
network The Ringer.
MediaRadar has analysed gaming companies’ US ad spend between 30 December 2019 and 13 April 2020
to find that April spend was double the total for January, showing a huge surge, despite April usually being
a quiet period for new releases. Year-on-year, despite the economic downturn and many budgets freezing,
spend was up 18%. Video game retailers were the first to up spend, and they made the biggest moves. In
retail, the top five were Gamefly, PlayStation Store, G2A, Steam and GameStop – collectively spending
$6.8m in the quarter. The biggest spending titles were Final Fantasy VII: Remake, Best Friends, Doom
Eternal, Forge of Empires and RBI Baseball, together hitting $7.6m. In three months, spend was up 60%.
Of the consoles, spend was $3m. Nintendo led, followed by PlayStation and then Xbox. On the app front
Candy Crush was the top spender, followed by Raid: Shadow Legends, Adventure Academy, June’s
Journey and TerraGenesis. The average weekly ad spend from the category went from about $700,000 in
February 2020 to over $1.4m in March of 2020 and rose even higher in April, at just under $2m.
Negotiations between TV networks and agency executives in the current upfronts are on a very different
basis this year. Many had expected business outcome guarantees, such as lifts in sales or store visits, to be
a major focal point in the next round of upfront negotiations. Now both sides are trying to figure out whether
those guarantees can even stay on the negotiating table with so many businesses closed or limited for the
past two months. A&E Networks, NBCUniversal and WarnerMedia are among the network groups that
have publicly offered business outcome guarantees, though other networks have done so privately. Advanced
TV advertising firm Simulmedia began offering these deals in 2015, and they account for roughly 25% of the
company’s business, said Simulmedia CEO Dave Morgan. Simulmedia has been working with advertisers,
especially food delivery services, financial services companies and direct-to-consumer marketers, to adjust
the models used for correlating business outcomes with ad exposures. “The models have to be brand new,
based only on data from the last weeks, not the last year,” said Morgan.
/continued
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contact: hello@interbrand.comBrand Moves 13
Property & Finance
The New York Stock Exchange is reopening its trading floor, more than eight weeks after it moved all
operations to the digital sphere when the coronavirus pandemic sent New York and other parts of the U.S.
into lockdown. “It’s going to be certainly a very historic moment, and special moment for the traders on the
floor,” NYSE President Stacey Cunningham said. While traders are eager to return, the trading floor they are
coming back to will look a bit different. Personal protective equipment like face masks will be required, and
social distancing guidelines will be in place. Hand sanitizer dispensers and plastic barriers will be a common
presence on the floor. Not all NYSE employees will be part of the open, either — only about 25% of the
normal trader workforce will be on the floor to start with.
UK property website Zoopla has suffered from the housing market’s dead stop, but have rethought their
marketing, including hosting a competition on social media to encourage people to submit their best pictures
of the forts they’ve built, along with an estate agent style caption describing their structures. Over 900 people
have participated so far – a number impressive enough for head of consumer marketing Richard Houston
that he’s mulling how it can continue to use social to better effect as the market begins to recover. “Since the
announcement [of sales to restart] on Wednesday, search is up by 139% versus the last four weeks,” he says.
“We’re optimistic with that news.” And while there’s been some controversy over the government decision to
allow the public to view property in person, Zoopla is nonetheless beginning to ramp up its marketing activity
to explain the situation to wary buyers and sellers. It hosted an exclusive conversation with the UK’s housing
minister on its blog, while its content marketing team has been in overdrive trying to help people make sense
of the new rules. “We’re using our in-house research and insights team to really help people understand the
impact of the government changes, the health of the market and the potential outlook over the next nine
months,” says Houston. “What we’re trying to do with any of our strategic thinking and marketing planning for
the rest of the year is to pull back to the fact that this has been a really disruptive time for people, particularly
if they’re trying to move home.”
/ends
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