Lab Weekly — 11/08/2019
Why Google Bought Fitbit; new podcast episode, plus news and stats roundup
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Lab Originals
Why Google Bought Fitbit and What It Means for the Wearable Market
At first glance, Alphabet’s decision to buy Fitbit could be seen as a bid to help Google better compete against Apple in the wearable market. While that may very well be the short-term objectives, taking a deeper look reveals that buying Fitbit points to Google’s long-term vision around growing related fitness and health services, expanding Google Assistant integrations, and building out its ecosystem for ambient computing.
In case you missed it…
The OTT Premiere Season Is Upon Us
Apple and Disney officially enter the streaming arena, with AT&T and Comcast in the wings, and bundling is back in vogue
How the transgressive escapism of today aspires to become healthier and legal without losing its edge
Four highlights from hardware event in New York City that truly matter for brands — and one thing that Google quietly canceled
Floor 9 Podcast
Episode 50: The Future of Social Media & Online Communities
In this halfway-to-a-hundred milestone episode, Scott, Adam, and Christina 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. Download and listen here.
News Analysis
T-Mobile Dangles $15 Plan & Big Freebies To Get Sprint Deal Done [CNET]
Although the FCC has recently approved the T-Mobile-Sprint merger, T-Mobile is already making some hefty promises to win over consumers with free benefits in order to push the deal across the finish line. While promising to provide free home broadband to 10 million U.S. households with children is going to put a big dent on T-Mobile’s short-term profitability, but it could also work as a long-term strategy for T-Mobile to capture a sizeable amount of U.S. households that may substitute their home internet service with wireless 5G when they upgrade, thus allowing it to make a splashy entry into the home broadband market and compete with the likes of AT&T and Comcast. All of these, of course, hinges on the merger going through, which explains T-Mobile’s eagerness to push it through.
Related: The FCC has voted to approve the T-Mobile-Sprint merger [The Verge]; T-Mobile launches 5G in six US cities with Samsung’s Galaxy S10 5G [The Verge]; Verizon, AT&T, Sprint, and T-Mobile join forces to bring RCS to Android in 2020 [9to5Google]
Adobe Launches Aero, An AR Authoring App With No Coding Required [TechCrunch]
Tools like Aero are crucial to the continued growth of AR and its commercial applications, which hinges on user-friendly creative tools that designers can use to build AR experiences without coding. By offering a visual user interface and provides step-by-step directions for building AR scenes, Adobe makes the creation of high-quality AR content a little more accessible. An upcoming desktop app will allow creators to build more interactive and custom AR experiences, further democratizing 3D digital creativity in AR, which, in turn, should help accelerate the growth of this emerging media platform.
Related: Apple rumored to be partnering with Valve to develop AR headset [MacRumors]; Coca-Cola launches holiday-themed AR experience activated by scanning specially marked cans and bottles [Mobile Marketer]; Microsoft launches HoloLens 2 worldwide [Next Reality]
Uber Plans To Enter Ad Business Via Uber Eats [CNBC]
Following last week’s announcement to move into financial services, Uber continues to diversify its business by announcing its plan to sell restaurants on display ads in Uber Eats, which could help improve the profit margins on its food delivery service. Uber’s key investor, Softbank, is struggling in the aftermath of WeWork’s IPO debacle, which, coupled with Uber’s ongoing battle against California’s AB5 bills, is calling the entire on-demand service economy into review. Considering this larger context, no wonder Uber has been taking a “try-everything” approach lately as it desperately tries to build out its product portfolio and diversify its revenue streams in order to improve its short-term profitability.
Related: Uber moves into on-demand grocery delivery with acquisition of Cornershop [The Verge]; Firefly raises $30M to bring more ads to Ubers, Lyfts and taxis [TechCrunch]; Uber rolls out loyalty program with four tiers of perks [TechCrunch]; Uber, Lyft, and DoorDash kick off $90 million fight against California’s AB5 gig worker law [The Verge]
Amex Created An Online Pop-Up Exclusively For Cardholders At ComplexCon [WWD]
By hosting this surprise members-only online shopping event featuring some of the festival’s hottest merchandise drops, Amex is tapping into the drop culture prevalent in the fashion world today, among sneaker culture and streetwear in particular, to differentiate its brand from other credit card companies with exclusive access and consumer-friendly access. Leveraging geo-fencing tech, Amex was able to ensure this temporary online store was only accessible for people at the ComplexCon, thus tying the exclusive access to an organic offline experience that caters to the shop’s target audience. Besides, this exclusive popup shop can also help Amex boost brand awareness among the festival’s fashion-forward Millennial crowd.
Related: New York Media’s The Strategist is opening a holiday pop-up store [Dlgiday]; Robinhood revives checking with new debit card & 2% interest [TechCrunch]; Facebook opens its first small business pop-up stores inside Macy’s [TechCrunch]
Stats To Know:
- On Thursday, Disney reported an earnings beat for its fiscal fourth quarter, days before the scheduled launch of Disney+. On a call with analysts, CEO Bob Iger revealed that ESPN+ now has over 3.5 million paid subscribers. For Disney’s other segments, the company’s media networks brought in $6.5 billion in revenue for the quarter. Revenue for parks and resorts came in at $6.7 billion. Studio entertainment revenue was $3.3 billion for the quarter and direct-to-consumer, which Disney+ will fall under, was at $3.4 billion.
- US digital advertising revenues grew 17% YoY in the first half of 2019, reaching $58 billion, according to the IAB’s internet advertising revenue report, Comparing to previous years, however, the segment is starting to show signs of maturing. Both Q1 and Q2 of 2019 experienced the lowest quarterly growth rates since 2015, at 16.7% to $29 billion and 17% to $30 billion, respectively.
- Over 1 million businesses built on Shopify are rewriting the rules for our modern economy, according to a new economic impact report from the ecommerce platform company. $183 billion worth of global economic activity was generated by businesses on Shopify’s platform, which serves as a catalytic engine for entrepreneurial activity and scaling businesses.
