❄️Weekend Links 2/13
Snow, baby, snow!: The Neal Ungerleider Newsletter #78
Greetings from beautiful Chicago where it’s a balmy 10 degrees Farenheit with a forecast of snow and more snow!
Now on to the links.
New Futures:
STARBUCKS AS FINANCIAL GIANT: This was written a while ago, but I can’t get over JP Koning’s article on how Starbucks became a monetary superpower through Starbucks cards. Every time you put $40 on your Starbucks card and don’t use it up right away? Yeah, you’re basically giving Starbucks an interest-fee loan.
Neal’s takeaway: Getting your customers to willingly continually give you millions of dollars worth of interest-free microloans by making it marginally easier for them to purchase items? Genius!TECH COMPANIES MAY BE ABLE TO CREATE LOCAL GOVERNMENTS IN NEVADA: A bill proposed by Nevada governor Steve Sisolak would give technology companies the ability to form their own local governments. New state “innovation zones” would permit high tech companies owning large amounts of land to impose taxes, form school boards and more.
Neal’s takeaway: Finally, the worst of socialism, libertarianism, and 19th century company towns in one convenient package.PLUMMETING COVID RATES AND SEASONALITY: Harvard epidemiologist Michael Mina says COVID rates will keep falling this winter due to seasonality, but that a lack of rapid testing and a dysfunctional vaccine rollout mean the United States is extending the health crisis for months.
Neal’s takeaway: As Mina puts it, “I still to this day have not heard a goal for testing and for vaccination. More broadly, are we trying to get COVID to zero or are we trying to get COVID to a point where it’s palatable for society, it’s not overburdening the hospitals, and it’s essentially looking like flu? Those are really different things.”
Advertising/Marketing/PR:
NO MORE HULU NEWFRONTS!: Disney is no longer doing a Hulu NewFront presentation, and is instead doing a joint presentation for all their digital properties including ABC, ABC News, Disney Channels Worldwide, Disney Digital, ESPN Networks, ESPN+, Freeform, FX Networks, Hulu and National Geographic Networks. NewFronts are presentations streaming services and online platforms hold for advertisers each year explaining why they should purchase sweet, sweet ad inventory from them.
Neal’s takeaway: One more sign Disney wants to retire the Hulu brand as soon as it makes sense for them to do it.FIVERR ACQUIRES WORKING NOT WORKING: Freelancer platform Fiverr is purchasing Working Not Working, a popular job listing and networking site for the advertising industry. Working Not Working will continue to function as a separate site and service. (Obligatory disclosure: I’ve worked with Fiverr’s comms and marketing teams in the past.)
Neal’s takeaway: In a pandemic, industry hub sites are hot properties.REBRANDING THE WASHINGTON FOOTBALL TEAM: AdWeek’s Erik Oster looks at how Code and Theory is rebranding the Washington Football Team and navigating the triple whammies of retiring a racist team name, working with a client whose executive leadership has been embroiled in scandal for the past year, and selling fans on a new identity for a beloved local team.
Neal’s takeaway: Damn that’s a heck of a rebrand assignment.
Media:
INFLUENCERS UNIONIZING WITH SAG-AFTRA: The Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists is opening membership to online influencers and social media creators, in a massive move which gives mostly self-employed creative professionals much more leverage.
Neal’s takeaway: SAG-AFTRA membership requires a multi-thousand dollar initiation fee, meaning membership will largely be limited to mid-tier and upper-tier personalities.NEW YORK TIMES TESTING ‘NYT KIDS’ SUBSCRIPTION: The New York Times Company, which is aggressively monetizing their many online properties, is exploring a subscription-only ‘NYT Kids’ product aimed at the 8-11 crowd.
Neal’s takeaway: Aren’t most of the grown-ups in the target audience actually giving their credit card info already NYT subscribers? Not to mention that running a child/teen-oriented property requires all sorts of specific business skills—skills I’m not convinced NYT can replicate easily.TWITTER MOVING ON SUBSCRIPTION PRODUCT: More details on Twitter’s internal moves on monetization from Bloomberg’s Kurt Wagner: Options under consideration include charging for power user features like Tweetdeck and offering an online tipping functionality.
Neal’s takeaway: Smart! And I’m always down with monetization options that don’t involve packaging and repackaging users’ personal info and online activity. But shouldn’t they have been pushing these things out 10 years ago?
Tech:
SALESFORCE ANNOUNCES DETAILS ON FOREVER REMOTE WORK: Salesforce, which has been aggressively exploring options on their offices post-pandemic, issued an official statement that most of their employees will likely only return to the office 1-3 days a week—and will work remote the rest of the time. Dropbox previously made a simlar statement.
Neal’s takeaway: Someone make an ETF of only home office furniture companies so I can invest in this stuff.SHOPIFY INTEGRATING CHECKOUT TECH INSIDE FACEBOOK AND INSTAGRAM: Facebook Inc. and Shopify have come to an agreement which will let Shopify merchants sell their products directly on Facebook and Instagram. Transactions started on Facebook/IG will be processed through Shopify’s Shop Pay. Shopify reached a similar agreement with Tiktok late last year.
Neal’s takeaway: Customers increasingly shop online through walled gardens like Tiktok and Instagram—and not web sites.
Fun:
The Hard Times: “Sapiosexual Man Only Attracted to Women Who Agree With Him” = so damn good.
Things I’ve Enjoyed Lately:
This rundown of Chinese New Year ad campaigns from around the world.
Reading about the history of advertising “trade characters” and the interplay between Aunt Jemima, the Quaker Oats man (whose name, apparently, is “Larry”!), and the Starbucks Mermaid.
Seth Abramovitch’s masterful interview with Shelley Duvall and article on why she left Hollywood + dealt with that exploitative talk show nonsense.
And last but certainly not least, Conan O’Brien on being Conan O’Brien.
That’s it for this issue. Email me here and please don’t hesitate to contact if I can be of assistance. Thank you for taking the time to read this damned thing.
Love and coffee,
Neal
About This Newsletter: Neal Ungerleider is a strategic communications consultant who works with individuals, brands and agencies. He writes this weekly newsletter about the media communications industrial complex and hopes you find it useful. Check out his bio, his portfolio, and current projects.
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