Lab Weekly — 06/05/2020

How the at-home economy will evolve; New Floor 9 episode on Section 230; Plus, news and stats roundup

How the At-Home Economy Will Evolve During the Recovery Phase

The pandemic has accelerated the growth of the at-home economy and spurred behavioral changes at an unprecedented scale. As we enter the recovery phase, not all new consumer behaviors will be sustained, and it is important that we as marketers apply a “Start, Stop, Continue” framework to identify the ones that will stick around, separate them from the ones that won’t, and predict new behaviors that may emerge.

In case you missed it…

HBO Max Launches with Harry Potter, But without Roku or Amazon

Let’s find out why that happened, and round up the pros and cons to HBO Max’s chances in the intensifying streaming wars

The Future of Work, Fast-Tracked by COVID-19

In the long run, the way we work will become more widely distributed, both in terms of geography and time, and rapidly supplemented by, if not outright substituted by, automation. Here is how we will get there, and how COVID-19 just gave everyone a strong push down this path.

COVID-19 as a Trend Accelerator

How this global health crisis is accelerating existing trends in digital media, virtual worlds, omnichannel retail, and more

Episode 70: What Marketers Need to Know About Section 230

(Featuring Alison Pepper from 4A’s)

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) walk us through about what is Section 230, arguably the most important law for online speech and social media, how it benefits brands and marketers, and why it is under attack given the recent events. If you’ve ever wondered what Section 230 is about, this week’s Floor 9 episode is for you.

Click here to download, listen, and subscribe!

Facebook Launches Venue, A Second-Screen Companion For Live Events [TechCrunch]

As a new addition to the recent surge in co-viewing experiences, Facebook Venue is designed as a new tool that allows fans to interact with one another during live events. In a sense, it wants to take on Twitter for a similar “second screen” feature, but Facebook is taking a more curated approach to this live companion experience. Venue does this by allowing certified commentators to create ‘Moments’ — short-lived digital opportunities for fans to connect — whenever they think something memorable or interesting is happening. This would certainly ensure better brand safety, should Facebook choose to monetize this new app.

Related: Bleacher Report tries live-streamed shows in its app [Digiday]; Hypebae hosted a fashion show in Animal Crossing featuring custom designer fits [Hypebae]; Coke bets on new music streamer BeApp as virtual concerts take center stage [Mobile Marketer]

Pinterest’s New Lens Feature Lets You Find Products Based On Your Photos [Engadget]

Pinterest added a ‘Shop’ tab to its Lens Camera search results to showcase matching in-stock products, thus further moving down the funnel as it builds out its social commerce operation in tandem with its visual search capability. And it is clearly working, as Pinterest reports it’s now seeing as many as three times the number of visual searches using the Pinterest camera compared with 2019. Notably, this new Shop tab follows a Shopify partnership that makes it easier for small businesses to upload their product catalogs to Pinterest.

Related: Google tests Lens shortcut in Images search bar on Android [9to5Google]; Deep dive: visual search as the next retail battleground [PYMNTS]; Facebook and Instagram roll out Shops, turning business profiles into storefronts [TechCrunch]

The BBC Releases First Beta Of Beeb Voice Assistant In Partnership With Microsoft [Venturebeat]

This new -voice assistant made by BBC and Microsoft will be made available to UK Windows Insider members and perform functions similar to Spotify’s voice assistant. Most importantly, it is designed to understand a range of UK accents, which raises the question, could there be more regional voice assistants tailored to local languages/accents? At the moment, Google Assistant leads in multi-language support (44 vs. 21 for Siri and 7 for Alexa, according to data compiled by GlobalMe), thanks to its large global presence and advanced AI capabilities. If regional voice assistants were to spring up and fragment the global usage of voice assistants, it may become difficult for platform owners to effectively monetize their voice-enabled services down the line without some coalition on interoperability, which seems to be what Microsoft is angling for here.

Related: “Hey Spotify” voice activation in testing; more evidence of hardware plans [9to5Mac]; Google quietly expands Duplex to the U.K., Australia, and Canada [VentureBeat]; Microsoft brings new voice styles to Azure Cognitive Services [VentureBeat]

CVS Starts Testing Driverless Vehicles In Houston For Medical Deliveries [The Next Web]

Shortly after teaming up with UPS to test drone delivery, CVS is moving onto driverless vehicles by partnering with Nuro to deliver prescriptions to customers in a “pilot zone” in Houston, TX. Previously, Nuro also worked with Walmart to test autonomous grocery delivery in Houston. Playing it on the safe side, this initiative will not be fully driverless to begin with. CVS won’t use Nuro’s R2 delivery bots, which was tested by Walmart, but instead will use its retrofitted Toyota Prius vehicles, with a human safety driver. As the pandemic continues to accentuate the need for safe, contactless deliveries, it is a great time for brands, especially retailers, to take note and start experimenting with automated on-demand delivery.

Related: UPS and CVS will offer prescription drug delivery to Florida community via drone [TechCrunch]; Nuro driverless vehicles approved for delivery tests in California [The Robot Report]

• A new report by digital safety app maker Qustodio found that kids’ app usage and habits indicates a major threat to YouTube’s dominance, as kids now split their time between Google’s online video platform and other apps, like TikTok, Netflix, and mobile games like Roblox. Kids ages 4 to 15 now spend an average of 85 minutes per day watching YouTube videos, compared with 80 minutes per day spent on TikTok, TechCrunch reports.
• The coronavirus outbreak has driven more consumers to turn to their smart speakers. Since the outbreak, 35% of U.S. smart speakers owners say they’re listening to more news and information through their device, and 36% say they’ve increased their consumption of music and entertainment, according to new data released today by NPR and Edison Research.
• Research firm IDC predicts global smartphone shipments will shrink 11.9% this year; if correct, it would represent the largest-ever annual contraction; IDC anticipates 1.2 billion shipments for 2020, down from 1.4 billion last year, according to Bloomberg.