Weekly Marketing News, 9th July 2021

This week we’ve seen TikTok launch ‘Resumes’ and ‘Shoutouts’, ITV launch Shoppable TV, The future of Instagram is fullscreen? Advertising in your dreams, Meta-humans and Swimmable billboards.

What is this?

Each week, Socially Powerful get together and share industry news and what is inspiring us from The World of Social Media, Advertising, Influencer Marketing, Gaming and more…

INDUSTRY NEWS

1. Advertisers are now trying to hijack our dreams to sell us things

After Coors attempted to trigger ‘refreshing dreams’ of beer, scientists are calling for a ban on ‘weaponizing sleep’. Earlier this year, Coors launched a new advertising campaign for the Super Bowl to infiltrate people’s dreams to get them to buy their beer by encouraging users to watch a short online video before bed, then play an eight-hour ‘soundscape’ throughout the night in a bid to trigger ‘refreshing dreams’ of Coors. 35 sleep and dream researchers have signed an open letter calling for a ban on Targeted Dream Incubation (TDI) in advertising.

2. China launches first ‘meta-human’ virtual influencer Ayayi

Ranmai Technology created Ayayi, China’s first ‘meta-human’, i.e. an extremely realistic digitised human. Ayayi’s appearance is much closer to a real human than existing virtual idols – advanced technology enables her skin texture to adapt to different lighting and shadows, simulating that of a real person. Ayayi made her debut on Xiaohongshu with nearly 3 million views on her first post and almost 40,000 followers overnight.

PLATFORM NEWS

3. TikTok Launches ‘Resumes’ to help connect candidates with job opportunities

Looking for a job and a new way to stand out to recruiters and HR managers? Maybe TikTok is your ticket, with the platform today launching its new ‘Resumes’ program in the US, which enables people to post personal job pitches via TikTok clips. There’s also a dedicated TikTok Resumes website where you can get inspiration and tips for your personal video pitch, and search through listed openings.

4. ITV to launch Shoppable TV

ITV is to launch shoppable TV, allowing viewers to discover and shop items from its programmes directly on screen, the first service of its kind in the UK. Viewers can initiate the shopping interface at any time by using their LG remote but must actively opt-in to receive the notifications and use the service. The service launches during Love Island on ITV2 with Boots UK as the first confirmed launch partner.

5. Instagram is no longer just a photo-sharing app

Changes are coming to video on Instagram ?

At Instagram we’re always trying to build new features that help you get the most out of your experience. Right now we’re focused on four key areas: Creators, Video, Shopping and Messaging. pic.twitter.com/ezFp4hfDpf

— Adam Mosseri ? (@mosseri) June 30, 2021

According to Head of Instagram, Adam Mosseri, the Facebook-owned platform is no longer just a photo-sharing app. Mosseri posted a video on his Instagram and Twitter accounts where he explained how Instagram is looking to lean into entertainment and video after witnessing the success of TikTok and YouTube. He also revealed some upcoming changes and experiments that the app will be conducting including a new full-screen experience.

6. TikTok adds new ‘Shoutouts’ option to enable users to pay for personalised video messages from stars

As competition rises for top creators, TikTok is working hard to provide more revenue-generation options, in order to keep its top stars from drifting off to other, more lucrative opportunities. TikTok has this week added a new Cameo-like option called ‘Shoutouts’ in the app, which enables fans to pay to have platform stars send them a personalized video message.

WORK WE LIKE

7. Adidas creates swimmable billboard to launch inclusive swimwear collection

Adidas has unveiled the world’s first liquid billboard following the recent debut of its inclusive swimwear collection. The stunt (including 11,500 gallons of water) highlights Adidas’s wider choice of technical apparel to athletes, encouraging women in particular to build their confidence by getting involved in sport.

Our Influencer marketing agency and Social agency are located worldwide, with our agency network based in the USA, UK, UAE and China.

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@ Socially Powerful

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