News in Review April 28th
The last two weeks have seen many firsts, like negative oil prices, the star-studded Together at Home awareness concert, and all sorts of people older than 16 taking to TikTok to entertain us all.
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This news review is published every two weeks as an overview of what’s happening in the world of digital marketing.
Animal Crossing, an Escape for the Socially-Distanced
Covid-19 Update: eCommerce, Gaming & Getting Creative
My own at-home family life has been saved by kids playing multi-player games like Roblox and Minecraft but what’s really taken the gaming world by storm has been the latest release of Nintendo’s Animal Crossing. Almost 2 million copies were sold in Japan alone in its first three days. This is the game of the moment, an escapist, slow-moving and friendly universe which feels both secure and adventurous to the millions of stay-at-home players looking for something to distract them from their own real-life surroundings. It might even keep them away from the busy streaming services, like Netflix and Disney Plus. This fascinating article from The Drum looks at how brands have been managing to make themselves indispensable elements of the game’s environment, from clothing designs by top fashion houses like Gucci to the Getty Museum’s art-generator for characters’ homes.
The State of Digital Transformation
Covid-19 Update: eCommerce, Gaming & Getting Creative
Digital Transformation. It’s the phrase we often come back to, always exploring what it really means. (Indeed at DMI we recently recorded a podcast on just this topic). One big element of the concept is moving your operations to digital, and for many brands, the Covid-19 crisis has pushed them to move faster with that transformation. A recent survey of Australian and New Zealand businesses shows that 73% claimed to have successfully moved their workforces online. Read more.
How to write, perform and produce your own album… in a lockdown
British singer-songwriter Charli XCX might be staying close to home in LA but that hasn’t stopped her producing new music. Going full omni-channel, she appealed to her fans for review demos, give feedback on lyrics and ideas through twitter and zoom calls, and got fans to provide visuals and remixes. The result is a uniquely isolation-era sound and emotion. Read more.
In Other News
The Australian government is taking a concerted stand to push back against local media content being used for free by Google and Facebook. Read more.
Many people are wondering how the cinema industry can survive the crisis - there is even a whole Wikipedia page devoted to detailing what festivals, releases and productions have been affected. But there is hope, as the industry has survived worse, from the Spanish Flu to the advent of television.
It's always a good time to think about micro-influencers and how marketers should consider making the most of them for niche and new markets. See this blog post from Bord Bia, the Irish Food Board.
You might, like me, remember fondly the Budweiser’s Whassup ad, from (ahem) 2000. Well, it’s back - with a new quarantine theme. A brilliant revival.
This Canadian news story looks at how dating apps are proving even more popular in a time of pandemic. Read more.
ECommerce giant Amazon has of course seen massive profits in the last few weeks, but also legal issues in France, labor issues in the US, and general newsworthiness.
Speaking of retail, the big American department stores have been hit especially badly by the crisis, outlined in this New York Times article.
And finally. The pandemic-related creativity continues apace. Here’s one of our favorite sites of people dressing up as famous artworks.
Covid-19 Update: eCommerce, Gaming & Getting Creative
Stay tuned for our next news roundup in two weeks, sign up for our upcoming webinars and keep listening to our podcasts.
The Digital Marketing Institute
News in Review April 15th
It feels as if the world has never changed as quickly as it has in the last two weeks of life in this global pandemic. Our aim here is to bring you just a few stories that caught our attention in the world of digital marketing over the last couple of weeks. Don't forget to check out our very useful Covid-19 Guide for Social Media Managers. Do please sign up to our membership to read more additional content like this.
Huge Increases in Social Media activity
The last few weeks have seen enormous jumps in online activity. Facebook recently shared its own data, noting that total messaging on its platform was up by more than 50% over last month. This would include Facebook Messenger, Instagram and WhatsApp combined. It also claimed that time across all apps since the crisis had grown 70%, as well, and time in group calls (three or more participants) was up by more than 1,000% during the last month.
WhatsApp limits message forwarding
According to a company blog… “we’ve seen a significant increase in the amount of forwarding which users have told us can feel overwhelming and can contribute to the spread of misinformation. We believe it’s important to slow the spread of these messages down to keep WhatsApp a place for personal conversation.”
Additionally, the company is also working with nonprofit organizations such as the WHO to build helplines, and has committed to donate millions of dollars. The World Health Organization’s helpline on Messenger and WhatsApp has already reached more than 10 million users, days after its launch. The Indian government also launched a helpdesk bot on WhatsApp last month.
The WHO has partnered with WhatsApp to launch a messaging service that will provide the latest information on the virus to about 2 billion people.
Zoom privacy issues
Since our last update (see below) Zoom has become an integral part of today's communications. But as it has grown so have concerns over privacy issues.
Healthcare workers on the front page
Frontline carers across the globe are Philippines Photo Editor receiving attention and support in many ways, not least in presenting them as they are, like in this well-received Dove campaign or on the covers of Grazia magazine.
Bringing You The Latest on Covid-19 and Much Much More
Google 3D Animals
Google's launch of its 3D Animals app has been a timely one, keeping many kids (and adults) busy in their homes and even tieing in nicely with the immensely popular Tiger King show on Netflix.
Dreaming of Travel
Some tourism organizations are trying to remind people that someday, we might just be able to travel again.
Social Distancing temporary logos proving to be not so popular
A number of big-name brands, including McDonalds, have tried their hand at adjusting their brand identity to fit with the times. Not everyone likes the trend.