How To Prepare For Marketing’s Permanent Shift
From real-time attribution models to dynamic ad studios, digital marketing tools have helped businesses find creative ways to be more flexible.
While that pace of evolution has been encouraging, there’s no on/off switch for a worldwide economic shutdown. And with new consumer behaviors persisting and likely becoming permanent, we have to consider how our new tactics and best practices will apply post-pandemic.
The health crisis underscores the importance of understanding how digital channels can impact a business or misconstrue its return on investment. As we all prepare for the road ahead, there’s no better time to embrace the opportunity for a digital transformation. We must invest in nimble and measurable marketing strategies for this new reality.
One of the defining aspects of this disruption is that it’s not restricted to one industry or part of the market. It’s universal and indiscriminate. And while the challenges of each business are unique, we are all being affected in some way.
Available data paired with creative and measurement tools are essential to making smarter decisions
When people’s needs and behaviors are constantly in flux, digital gives us the flexibility to transform quickly, improvise, and experiment, as well as carve out new ways to serve our customers. We can test new ad formats and scale the results, follow search interest and product demand in real time, and develop hundreds of creative variations for different audiences in minutes. The abundance of available data paired with creative and measurement tools are essential to making smarter, informed decisions in dynamic environments. During these past few months, my teams worked with three brands that are getting this digital-first formula right.
Here’s how they did it…
Stay agile to be relevant in the moment
In the wake of the outbreak, it was clear that the spring catalog creative featuring travel scenes for our client Soft Surroundings was unusable. However, Google search query data indicated a surge in loungewear-related traffic in February and March. We also observed an 18% increase in Soft Surroundings’ loungewear revenue in the same time frame. Those two data points prompted us to quickly pivot to create a new, home-appropriate campaign using YouTube’s Video Builder. The tool allowed us to rapidly launch four new variations of an existing video ad with different color schemes, music, and ad copy, which helped us achieve 6.5X return on ad spend in the month of April alone.
Value relationships over sales
Now is the best time to be helpful and responsive to your customers’ needs while gathering insights and fostering long-term connections. While travel and tourism companies are taking big hits, the savviest brands are focused on building relationships over driving sales.
Luxury luggage brand Briggs and Riley, for example, immediately extended its free return policy from 30 days to 60 days for a period to support changing travel schedules, and quickly adjusted the tone of its site content, creative, and email communications to be sensitive to their needs and concerns.
The company also launched a road trip-themed campaign, suggesting that an adventure is even closer than we think. And driving home its brand identity as a family-run, community-centric business, Briggs and Riley’s CEO published a message of support on the company’s website and offered a 30% discount to first responders and medical staff.
Get comfortable with the new discomfort
Serving and speaking to consumers’ needs takes more than surface-level changes. To position yourself for long-term success, consider how your current operations and strategies can complement, or even replace, past structures and best practices.
One especially inspiring example is Polywood, an outdoor furniture brand that’s seen higher demand and search interest as people spend more time at home. The company has enjoyed strong digital growth year over year, primarily from new customers discovering it online or through retail partners. But that also meant Polywood was forced to meet a level of consumer demand it hadn’t planned for — at least not on such a tight timeline.
Rather than scale back, Polywood doubled down. It bought new machinery to keep up with demand, added more than 200 jobs, and secured land for expanded production. Meanwhile, the brand continues to openly communicate fulfillment delays on its website and social channels. In the midst of this health crisis, Polywood’s leaders say their biggest win hasn’t been selling more products or running a new business model under tremendous pressure. Instead, it’s been forming deeper relationships directly with their customers by helping them set up safe spaces to relax in their own backyards.
Brands need to get comfortable with the new discomfort.
No one had contingency plans in place for this new reality. By this point, the smartest companies recognize they’re not simply taking reactive measures until things go back to normal; they’re proactively building for a new normal that’s already here. Just as individuals are being forced to embrace the drastic changes prompted by the pandemic, both challenges and silver linings, brands need to get comfortable with the new discomfort. If they reassess how they’re operating, reorganize, and reinvent themselves now, they’ll emerge much stronger on the other side.
This article first appeared here.
BlackBerry’s reentry into B2B space to make a dent in US iPhone sales in long run
With 5G, security concerns are going to be higher as business apps are going to come on to mobile phones. Encrypted BBM messaging service and its QWERTY keyboard are going to be key components for BlackBerry’s success.
BlackBerry’s security software is embedded into 500m endpoints, including 150m cars, and with over 12,000 global customers. Apple’s iPhone sales likely to take a hit in the US if BlackBerry picks up steam in the long run.
BlackBerry is reentering the smartphone space at the right time as security has moved to the forefront of concerns in both enterprises and governments.
“The security part came to people’s minds only after the US started raising concerns over Huawei devices. With 5G, the concerns are going to be higher as business apps are going to come on to mobile phones. It is more for 5G that the switch may happen and it is here where BlackBerry can add value,” Shobhit Srivastava, Research Analyst at Counterpoint Research, told Tech Channel News.
There is a buzz around security, he said and added that BlackBerry’s strength lies around security. OnwardMobility, in partnership with BlackBerry and FIH Mobile, is set to manufacture new phones bearing the BlackBerry brand in the first half of next year. The phones are likely to be manufactured in India or Vietnam and not in China.
At its peak in 2012, the BlackBerry devices were a status symbol and had more than 80 million active users.
“The encrypted BBM messaging service and its QWERTY keyboard was a key component of BlackBerry’s success and the devices are known for protecting communications, privacy and data,” Srivastava said.
With 5G coming in, he said that Blackberry is aiming at enterprises, regulated industries and governments.
Security is part of its DNA
“We are excited that customers will experience the enterprise and government level security and mobile productivity the new BlackBerry 5G smartphone will offer,” John Chen, Executive Chairman and CEO, BlackBerry, said.
BlackBerry started losing market share after Apple launched iPhones and the Canadian company finally stopped manufacturing its phones after iPhones and other Chinese manufacturers launched devices a bunch of features that appealed to consumers and to app developers to make money.
In 2016, Chinese company TCL acquired the rights to produce BlackBerry-branded phones and that is going to end by the end of this month.
Srivastava said that Blackberry is going to position itself towards enterprise space.
“Blackberry exited the phone manufacturing business as they were losing money and they wanted to position themselves as a security company with their QNX platform. All their concertation was going towards saving the company and focus only on profitable businesses. That is why they did not pay much attention to the mobile phone space with the onslaught of Chinese companies,” he said.
Yeo Swan Chin, Managing Director for BlackBerry South East Asia and South Asia, said the company has transformed itself in the last seven to eight years.
“Many know us as a smartphone manufacturer but we have a long history in connecting and securing endpoint security and that has always been our DNA. We started by securing PoS terminals and we are the first to come out with a mobile device management system,” he said.
Customer focus not on the radar
“Our security software is embedded into 500 million endpoints, including 150 million cars, and with over 12,000 global customers. We developed AI security solutions what work with human instincts and not against them. Endpoint security software is doubling every three years while there is a global shortage of 4 million cybersecurity workers,” he said.
“We at Blackberry, take a different approach. We incorporate machine intelligence to complement human intelligence and redefine how modern endpoints are built. We are the leader in the security AI market,” he said.
In the short term, Srivastava said BlackBerry may not make a big dent in iPhone sales in the US but as it picks up steam, it will be targeted more towards Apple rather than Samsung in the enterprise space.
“BlackBerry is expected to hold talks with enterprises and governments who have switched to iPhones rather than Android devices for security reasons. Many people still prefer BlackBerry keyboard and its encrypted features and many are very likely to switch back to BlackBerry when launched,” he said.
Moreover, he said that BlackBerry will not focus on the consumer side as the competition is very cut-throat in the Android space.
“In the consumer space, they are very unlikely to make a big impact because 5G phones are already available in the market,” he said.
This article first appeared here.
Gaming Mums? The Key Demographics Advertisers Are Missing
When it comes to who a ‘gamer’ is, the stereotype more often than not involves young males.
But new research suggests that the stereotypical gamer is anything but, especially when it comes to mobile games. According to AdColony, around 80 per cent of mums with kids at home play mobile games, with 74 per cent of these ‘gaming mums’ playing mobile games daily.
“For a lot of mums, mobile gaming is that snackable stress buster they need so they will play multiple sessions throughout the day,” AdColony ANZ country manager at Lance Traore.
Despite this ready-made audience, there is still a lack of brands choosing to engage with customers in this channel.
“If you are an FMCG brand or a Supermarket you’re forgoing a huge opportunity by not advertising in mobile gaming because 80 per cent of your audience love it and spend so much of their time gaming,”
Mr Traore said.
“However, the reality is that it’s usually the opposite in Australia and I think it’s just down to a lack of knowledge and understanding of mobile gaming as a media channel.”
So who should be looking to advertise with mobile gaming? Just about anyone and everyone, says Traore.
“Any brand that is video focused, looking for scale and cares about driving high attention should be advertising in mobile gaming,” he said.
“Again, think of it the same way as TV advertising, Facebook or YouTube which is mostly not seen as an endemic strategy, they’re purely used because that is where the eyeballs are. Mobile Gaming and its 90 million sessions happening daily should be viewed the same.
The fact gaming is so under-utilised as an advertising platform has led to attractive pricing opportunities for those brands who are willing to explore it.
“Compared to catch-up TV, mobile gaming can deliver 2-4x more reach and frequency,” Traore said.
This article first appeared here.
The Untapped Potential For OTT And Mobile
As the OTT ecosystem continues to grow, competition for eyeballs will grow with it.
Nothing has demonstrated the centrality of streaming video more than COVID-19, as billions of people around the world remain at home, glued to their screens. With revenue in the video streaming segment expected to grow to $30.4 billion by 2024, and big players including Disney, HBO, and Amazon placing huge bets in the space, Over The Top (OTT) media is fast becoming a key vertical for both app developers and advertisers.
When we think of OTT, we think of television over the internet. But whether in the living room or on the move, mobile is an important component in the OTT mix. A report from eMarketer found that 63% of US consumers access OTT most frequently on their TVs. Mobile comes in second, with a modest 11.6%.
However, when you examine the length of time each user spends streaming OTT content on their device, mobile makes up almost a quarter of total time spent viewing. That means mobile users spend more time than average watching OTT content.
Additionally, mobile is often a second screen for OTT consumers. Roku supports a function where users can turn their mobile phone into a remote control, but more generally, who hasn’t used their smartphone to catch up on a much-hyped episode on the go? Strategically, this is important for marketers, because even users watching on connected TV can be persuaded to install an app they saw while watching a streaming service.
As the OTT ecosystem continues to grow, competition for eyeballs will grow with it. After ten years of almost complete dominance, Netflix now has sizable challengers. OTT is no longer a niche but a mass market.
With increasing competition comes increasing pressure — especially for marketers. In a more competitive ecosystem, measurement becomes essential. User acquisition (UA) managers for OTT services — and advertisers looking to capitalize on the OTT boom — will have to become more critical of which sources are driving customer lifetime value. Demonstrating performance is the name of the game.
More advertising coming to OTT channels soon
What is happening in OTT is a microcosm of trends in the wider advertising industry. As COVID-19 upends old certainties, advertising on all platforms is facing unprecedented challenges. On mobile, installs and sessions in entertainment apps are seeing positive growth as the world is social distancing.
However, as recession bites, budget limitations for UA managers could force marketers to adopt creative solutions to find users. Platforms are already experimenting with innovative formats to show ads, like Hulu announcing space for pause ads.
We’re also likely to see more in-show monetization in the near future, with shoppable content embedded directly inside the stream. Amazon is already thinking holistically about this, with TV shows like Making The Cut allowing viewers to purchase the designers’ products on Amazon Prime after the show has aired.
In China, Tencent boasts technology that creates ad inventory inside the TV program. Using augmented reality techniques, ads can be shown on billboards inside the stream — or even on a coffee cup an actor is holding.
Shoppable content and AR technology may turn out to be ideal for mobile, as mobile users are already used to interacting intensively with ads. While subscription-based services like Netflix, Amazon Prime or Disney+ are currently the gold-standard for streaming services in the West, monetization strategies that rely on adverts are more common in other parts of the globe.
In the post-COVID world, people will have to prioritize their spending — and subscriptions are often the first cost to cut. OTT platforms will have to adjust to this new reality. Consumers are unlikely to continue to subscribe to multiple channels. This means we’re likely to see more product placement and freemium models in the mid-to-long term.
A more diverse marketing mix for OTT
For apps that might be interested in advertising in the OTT space, their options are currently limited. However, with cash-strapped consumers voting with their wallets, advertising-backed video on demand (AVOD) is seeing a huge boost in the current crisis, with growth of 148%. So, this low inventory problem is something that will change going forward.
There’s already plenty of ingenuity in terms of ad formats on OTT, with Hulu Sling TV offering its pause ads, and introducing a primetime ‘happy hour’ for free to households. This freemium model is likely to become more common going forward, leading to a more diverse marketing mix for the OTT space.
Even when the effects of COVID-19 begin to wane, it is likely that ‘subscription fatigue’ will hit at some point. OTT users follow content, with high levels of subscription churn once certain keystone shows end. When this is combined with the huge proliferation of platforms, it is going to become increasingly difficult to watch all the buzz-worthy shows with only one or two subscriptions. Users, wanting to catch the shows that everyone is talking about, might become a lot more tolerant of advertising so they don’t miss out.
We’re already used to seeing ads on TV or YouTube. But what will fundamentally shift the relationship between ads and OTT is when media that hasn’t yet fully made the jump — like live sports — start to migrate to streaming platforms.
Sports are incredibly tied to advertising, and moves like Amazon Prime showing the NFL’s Thursday Night Football will only become more common in the future. In other markets, this is already normal. The Indian OTT platform Hotstar acquired the rights to stream the Indian Premier League in 2017, capitalizing on India’s fanaticism for the bat-and-ball game to drive massive user growth. This growth has helped Disney to dominate in the Indian market, as Disney+ partners with Hotstar.
In the long run, we’re going to see more ads in OTT, whether it’s ads that play in our streaming window, or ads that are displayed on objects or banners within our streams. TV is such a defining part of our culture that the OTT sector is something mobile marketers cannot afford to ignore.
This article first appeared here.
Tencent Music Entertainment Group Enters Strategic Partnership with GMM Grammy
Tencent Music Entertainment announced it has established a strategic partnership with Thailand’s largest international record and publishing company, GMM Grammy (GMM Music), which will have music content at its core, co-create content by means of adaptation and covers, and will focus on creating a richer music entertainment experience for global music fans.
With the help of WeSing, TME’s international online Karaoke social community, the partnership will bring a more diverse music entertainment experience and interactive play to music fans in Southeast Asia, and also tap the greater potential of the music markets in China and Thailand.
The partnership between TME, a pioneer and leader of China’s online music entertainment, and GMM Grammy not only marks TME’s deeper entry into international distribution in Southeast Asia, but also represents a successful joint exploration of the Asian digital music entertainment market by both sides. At the same time, the partnership accumulates the experience of Chinese music products going overseas, and will have a positive impact on promoting exchanges and cooperation across the global music industry.
“This partnership will integrate the strength of both parties. Leveraging the communication platform built by WeSing, GMM Grammy aims to extend our music content library and expand user interaction to broaden our vision in digital music entertainment,” said Phawit Chitrakorn, Chief Executive Officer of GMM Music at GMM Grammy Public Company Limited.
As the largest record and publishing company in Thailand, GMM Grammy has more than 80% of the music and entertainment market share in Thailand, including 1-Million-record-sold artists such as Bird Thongchai, Bie Sukrit, Christina Aguilar and also other well-known performers such as Bodyslam, Potato, Cocktail, Getsunova, Peck Palitchoke, Palmy, Atom, MeYou and Pam MBO that have become familiar to Chinese fans. In recent years, GMM has entered the fields of film and television broadcasting and talent management, and its influence has been growing yearly in Southeast Asia, also gaining many Chinese fans as well.
An official director of TME said, “TME has more than 800 million monthly active users, a mature digital music content promotion ability, and a deep understanding of user preferences. The strategic cooperation between TME and GMM Grammy aims at making sure the Thai music entertainment culture represented by GMM Grammy is loved by more and more Chinese consumers. Through this cooperation, TME hopes to build a music ‘habitat’ for fans of Thai culture.”
In recent years, TME has been committed to bringing overseas high-quality music content into China in a digital way. TME has already entered into strategic cooperation agreements with famous overseas labels such as Japan’s Being and South Korea’s JYP, SM and YG, as well introducing the works of top overseas musicians such as Takuya Kimura, ARASHI and BLACKPINK to meet the needs of users from the mainstream to niche.
With the deepening of its international presence, TME will also explore more forms of music content expression on the basis of copyright cooperation, helping overseas high-quality content enter China, and fully promoting the exchange and integration of Chinese and overseas music culture.
This article first appeared here.
How To Identify The Most Important Tasks
As leaders, we are faced with many tasks to complete. If we don’t choose carefully, we will often work on the wrong tasks rather than the right ones.
As leaders, we are faced with many tasks to complete. If we don’t choose carefully, we will often work on the wrong tasks rather than the right ones. By “right,” I mean the tasks that will produce the optimal results and address the most critical issues they face. I also refer to the tasks that we are uniquely qualified and positioned to be working on ourselves instead of delegating to someone else.
When considering what to work on, start with the “big rocks,” the priorities and cornerstones that you first need to “place in your jar” before filling other things (the metaphorical pebbles, sand and water) around it. These could be “one-off” tasks that can be achieved in a single time block (we’ll discuss time blocking later,) or may span several days. If you don’t put the top priorities into your calendar first, all of the other demands will clutter your time and mental bandwidth.
In his “7 Habits of Highly Successful People,” author Stephen R. Covey said it best: “The key is not to prioritize what’s on your schedule, but to schedule your priorities.”
The “big rocks” are commonly called “MITs,” or most important tasks. Whatever term you use, it is critical to identify the tasks that will produce the most important results you’re looking to achieve. Not everything on your plate is of equal importance, so don’t treat them equally.
At the beginning of every single day, create a list of two or three MITs, then focus on getting them done as quickly as possible. So as not to get distracted, keep this short list separate from your general to-do list or task-tracking system. I suggest you write them down on a sticky note or index card that you keep positioned squarely in front of you until the list is complete.
One way to start identifying your MITs is to ask yourself these questions:
1. What are the most 2-3 important things that I need to do today?
Another way to ask this is: “What are the things that — if I completed them today — would make the biggest difference for me?” The Pareto Principle (also called the 80/20 Rule) states that 80% of our outcomes comes from 20% of our efforts. Choosing the right place to focus our efforts matters more than we oftentimes think.
2. What is the task’s value or ROI?
To be truly successful, everything that we do must have a value attached to it. While “value” is not always cut and dry, it should be fairly obvious as to which behaviors will predictably provide the biggest benefits.
3. Is it related to your goals?
Goal setting is a critical element in moving the needle and getting more done. Any action that advances your primary goals should be prioritized over those that don’t, assuming that we’re not talking about anything urgent and important.
4. Is it a task that you’ve been thinking about for some time?
Odds are that, the longer you’ve been thinking about something, your mind is telling you that it’s important enough to make this list.
5. Have you been putting it off for too long?
Some of the MITs are the things that we push off the longest. Maybe they’re a bit challenging. Or risky. Something that will push us outside our comfort zones. If you’ve been delaying for these reasons, it’s time to jump in.
6. Is it a task that will free you up to work on your real MITs?
Perhaps the work itself is not super important but can open the way for you to do the most important work. Example: delegating a small project that will help clear your calendar for critical tasks that you couldn’t manage to get to.
Keep in mind that MITs are not things that are most urgent or whatever tempts you in your inbox or chat. We will discuss how to handle those soon.
Now that you have your MITs, set an artificial deadline for completing them. If you set a goal, for example, to have all of them done by 10AM, you’ll be more focused and complete the day’s most important tasks more quickly than you otherwise would. Then you’ll have the rest of the day to handle anything else that comes up.
Once you’ve put your plan in place, it becomes much easier to say “no” to off-task activities and disruptions, to be present for those who need your prompt input and guidance, and to roll with the punches whenever and however they come.
Remember, you only have so much time and energy each day to get things done. Look through your to-do list right now, and you’ll find that some items are really important, while some aren’t. To be fully impactful, your focus needs to be on completing the tasks that will make the biggest difference first before spending time and energy on anything else.
This article first appeared here.
Instagram Just Rolled Out A New Suggested Posts Feature To Keep You Scrolling Longer
Prepare for your screen time to peak because Instagram just rolled out suggested posts.
The latest feature from the social media platform will show you content Instagram thinks you’ll like from accounts you don’t follow when you reach the “end” of your usual feed. (Don’t pretend you haven’t ever gotten the “You’re All Caught Up” message after hours of late-night scrolling.)
Starting Wednesday, Aug. 19, you’ll start to see suggested content once you’ve scrolled through posts of the accounts you follow. How will Instagram determine what posts to suggest? As Instagram explains on their Help page, Instagram suggests posts based on the accounts you follow, like, and save. Essentially, suggested posts will be similar in content to what you already engage with.
For now, only photos and video posted to an account’s grid will show up in your suggested posts. You won’t see IGTV videos or content from the recently released Reels. However, you will see ads similar to the sponsored content that already pops up in your feed.
You’ll still see the “You’re all caught up” message when you reach the end of content from the accounts you follow. However, now you’ll have the option to keep scrolling forever just as the social media gods intended.
Suggested content is likely nothing new to your social feeds. Twitter will show you suggested tweets based on who you follow and the content they engage with. TikTok’s For You page is essentially an endless scroll of suggested content. Instagram’s suggested posts will be similar to its existing Explore page. However, your suggests posts will be directly related to content you follow whereas the Explore page will be relatedly more broadly to the content you engage with.
Of course, not everyone is happy with the new feature. If you are among the people asking how to disable suggested posts, I have some disappointing news: you can’t.
If a suggested post pops up in your feed, you have the option to tap the three dots (…) above the post. Then, you can select “not interested.” That response will influence Instagram’s future suggestions on your feed. However, you cannot hide the suggested posts altogether.
It’s unclear whether that will remain true given the amount of immediate backlash. Platforms like Twitter now allow users to turn off suggestions after similar criticism. Regardless, Instagram hopes you’ll keep scrolling.
This article first appeared here.
How Dettol (and TikTok) Got India To Wash Its Hands
TikTok finds itself at the mercy of escalating trade wars involving the US, India and China, but marketers can apply learnings from successful brand activations on the platform, such as one in India for RB brand Dettol, to the copycat apps that are emerging.
RB became aware of the potential of TikTok when it experimented with its use around the the launch of Veet for Men, a hair removal product range. The company sponsored a hashtag challenge on TikTok called #FindYourSexy, encouraging participants to dance to a branded song (‘I’m Sexy and I Veet it’) before ripping away their shirts to reveal their hairless torso. The campaign attracted nearly 27 billion video views.
But when it was thinking about a TikTok campaign for its “marquee” cleaning product brand Dettol, RB found itself in an entirely new context with the outbreak of COVID-19.
Health and hygiene had become the number-one priority for Indian consumers, and so it was the job of leading brands like Dettol to “propagate” the government’s messages on hand-washing, according to Pankaj Duhan, marketing director for RB South Asia, especially in the context of COVID-19.
“As the COVID crisis hit the country, India would always be in a very precarious position because of [its large] population, sometimes the lack of access to education, but also lack of knowledge about the hygiene practices,” he said during a recent webinar.
The brand had to not only sell products but encourage the right habits. And having learned that TikTok users want to be entertained, RB realised it needed to push this message in a “cool” manner, rather than “sermonising” to users about the importance of good hygiene.
The resulting campaign, #HandWashChallenge, aimed to reach as many people as possible and encouraged users to perform a dance routine that mimicked the act of washing one’s hands for the recommended 20 seconds.
The goal was 100 billion views; at the point of the ban in India, #HandWashChallenge videos had been viewed nearly 125 billion times, and 75 million videos had been created.
“When you get that kind of a scale, you can show that the habit that you’re wanting to inculcate is propagating for the [wider] country as well,” said Duhan.
This article first appeared here.
Netflix tools up in South East Asia as Disney+ Indonesia launch sets scene for streaming battle
US streaming giant Netflix is ramping up its mobile-only subscription plans in Southeast Asia and expanding local content, senior executives told Reuters, just as arch-rival Disney arrives in the fast-growing market.
The world’s biggest video streaming platform by paid customers, Netflix told Reuters more than a million of its nearly 200 million subscribers around the world are in Southeast Asia, home to around 655 million people. But the market is ripe for rapid growth, analysts say, with the Disney+ Hotstar launch in Indonesia next month set to become a key battleground.
“What we see in Southeast Asia is that it’s a very mobile-centric market”, Netflix director for product innovation Ajay Arora told Reuters in a recent interview. That’s led the company to push cheaper mobile plans and adapt its product to fit lower-end smartphones, Arora said.
Southeast Asia is estimated to have generated $600 million in overall subscription music and video revenue in 2019, according to a study by Google, Temasek Holdings and Bain & Co – but that’s set to explode to an annual $3 billion by 2025, the study said.
Starting with India in August 2019, Netflix has now launched mobile-only plans in Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines, and Indonesia – all priced at below $5 a month. That’s a departure for Netflix, which has held firm on pricing in Western markets.
Repeated coronavirus lockdowns across Southeast Asia have also increased the appetite for content streaming at home across the region.
A Netflix spokeswoman told Reuters that the firm “has well over 1 million subscribers in multiple Southeast Asian countries”, but declined to provide details.
Consultancy Media Partners Asia estimates that Southeast Asia video streaming service subscribers will reach 14.7 million in all by the end of 2020.
Netflix executive Arora said his firm is also working to expand its payment options in countries with low credit and debit card penetration. In markets like the Philippines, subscribers can pay for Netflix through their mobile telephone plans, or by purchasing prepaid Netflix cards at convenience stores.
The company faces competition in the region not just from Disney+, a distant, but ambitious, global no. 2 in the industry. Other regional rivals include Hong Kong video service Viu, popular for its Korean dramas, as well as Chinese tech giant Tencent’s WeTV, which in June bought the assets of Malaysian streaming platform Iflix.
Disney+ is currently in the middle of a hiring spree across the region and is expected to launch broadly in the coming months jointly with its Indian streaming platform Hotstar. Disney’s family and superhero movies have proven consistent hits in Southeast Asia.
In Indonesia, the world’s fourth most populous country with 270 million people, Disney+ said last week it would start operating in September in partnership with state-owned telco Telkomsel with a catalogue that will include more than 300 local movies.
Bracing for the challenge, Netflix Southeast Asia content lead Myleeta Aga told Reuters that the firm, which announced two new original Indonesian productions earlier last Thursday, places high importance on the region and will continue to ramp up local content offerings. She said Netflix expects to start filming projects in Indonesia and Thailand soon.
This article first appeared here.
Apple, Google & Epic Games: The Fortnite battle where no-one can claim a victory royale
A battle to the death that should be taking place on an island between 100 players is about to go down between three technological business giants. Epic Games is at war with Apple and Google Play.
Unlike Fortnite, the 100-player ‘Battle Royale’ game which has become one of the world’s most popular games in history, this fight between three global superpowers doesn’t feel like it’s taking place on a level playing field, as all Fortnite games start.
A battle to the death that should be taking place on an island between 100 players is about to go down between three technological business giants. Epic Games is at war with Apple and Google Play. The battleground is profit and after reducing prices for their players and building a new Epic Games Store function let players save 20% on all purchases in a bid to permanently reduce the cost of in-game purchases, Fortnite updates for the next season are being blocked by Apple and Google Store.
Why are they doing it? Their monopoly of the App Store earns them 30% of the money from in-game purchases and they aren’t willing to move on that. With Epic Games offering the reduction, Apple and Google play are both threatening to block the update that takes place in nine days’ time.
It’s easy to look at the actions of the App Store and Google Play Store and surmise that the two giants of industry are causing all the problems. After all, change their outlook on profit margin and the problem would be sold. But then, should Apple and Google not maintain their current profit margin? Well, maybe not.
These are extraordinary times and the 20% reduction across the board on in-app purchases by Epic is designed to save players money on all devices, not just iPhone for example. Any players on iOS have had to pay more than console gamers since Fortnite rocketed in popularity in 2018. Players should have to pay, but overpay if they use a specific device to enjoy the same game as their friends? It seems harsh.
What will the knock-on effect be for professional Esports Fortnite players such as Ninja, Tfue or LazarBeam? Well, we’ve seen how, in some instances of gamers taking the dollar that fans can reject that superstar no matter how big the name.
In poker, Daniel Negreanu angered fans when he declared that ‘more rake is better’ when on the PokerStars Team Pro roster. If Ninja, Tfue or LazarBeam come out in defence of Epic Games or Apple, then they’re pinning their colours to the mast of that company and could lose fans either way. It’s difficult to sit on the fence, however.
With Fortnite on a countdown to be blocked on the App Store, it’s looking extremely likely that iOS players will face a delay to being able to play the latest season of the hugely-popular game which is played by 250 million people worldwide.
While Epic Games have appealed for players to take to Twitter and use the hashtag #freeFortnite in the following video entertainingly depicting an evil overload as a rotten apple complete with wriggling worm accessory, lawsuits threatened for action could prove to be a battle no-one looks likely to be able to win.
This article first appeared here.