What were some of the top stories from the world of marketing and video? Each week with Render Perfect Productions, your video marketing experts in Baltimore and beyond, we’ll take a look at marketing news this week. In this edition, we are covering some of the top stories from the week of February 14th to February 18th 2022.
Meta’s VR Worlds Are Growing Fast
As Meta continues to spruik its metaverse shift, VR is clearly a key focus element, and with sales of Meta’s VR headsets on the rise, it could well become the next big platform for digital connection.
And that future could be closer than you might think, with The Verge reporting that users of Horizon Worlds, Meta’s strengthening social VR platform, are rising fast. According to reports, both Horizon Worlds and Horizon Venues, Meta’s VR events space, are now being used by a combined 300,000 people each month, a 10x increase since the launch of Horizon Worlds in December.
The next question then is how much time are these people spending engaged within the VR space.
While the Quest 2 is impressive, and the development of Meta’s VR environments is developing quickly, there’s still a way to go in making this a truly engaging interactive experience.
Meta hasn’t provided expanded usage data as yet, though it did recently report that over 10,000 environments have been created in its Horizon Worlds VR development space.
Mtn Dew Looks to Poke Fun at Advertising Tropes
Mtn Dew is playing up an irreverent position by tapping into the comedic prowess of Charlie Day, an actor best known for portraying demented bar janitor Charlie Kelly on the pitch-black “Always Sunny” sitcom. In the release, the soft drink marketer referred to itself as the “original instigator brand,” aligning its outlook with the actor’s persona.
The PepsiCo label’s new campaign applies a heavy dose of self-referentialism and satire, ribbing tactics like product placement, which are still an important part of its consumer outreach strategy for events like the NBA All-Star weekend. The effort, developed with agency TBWA/Chiat/Day New York, is also set to run for a year, previewing how Mtn Dew could promote upcoming launches like a Hard Seltzer produced with Boston Beer Company that’s expected to hit shelves in early 2022.
Each of the ads in the initial batch tackles a different industry trope or trend while showcasing soft drinks such as the original Mtn Dew, Mtn Dew Zero Sugar and Diet Mtn Dew. One 15-second video starts with Day stating, “Ads are getting shorter and shorter” before being abruptly cut off by a product plug and then scrambling to finish his thoughts and get in a sip of the soda. Another depicts a homey setting where two children eagerly await a serving of a special raspberry lemonade recipe from their “pop-pop.” They are terrified and flee when it’s revealed pop-pop is Day in disguise hawking Mtn Dew Spark.
LinkedIn Announces ‘Forward’ Conference for HR Professionals
LinkedIn has announced that its ‘Forward’ conference for HR leaders will be held once again on March 29th, providing an opportunity to hear from some of the top minds in the talent and recruitment space, and learn about the latest trends.
The virtual event will feature a range of guest speakers addressing two core themes:
- Strengthening culture amidst the Great Reshuffle – Understand how talent leaders are rethinking company culture and values to create a more cohesive and equitable workplace. Hear from talent leaders who are changing how they approach recruitment, employee engagement, and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) to meet the changing demands of their workforce.
- Cultivating internal mobility with skill building – Building a talent strategy around skills development doesn’t just help with retention, it also drives more equitable outcomes. This deep dive into the opportunities and challenges of a skills-first talent strategy includes fostering employee growth and strengthening internal mobility across the workplace.
People in North America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, or Latin America can tune in live via the event page, while LinkedIn will also publish highlights from the event for all to take in.
It could be a valuable event, and with LinkedIn continuing to put more focus on virtual events, it could also provide a showcase opportunity for the platform’s growing tools.
TikTok Launches Brand Safety Center
As it continues to evolve its ad tools, and provide more opportunities for marketers to connect with its growing audience, TikTok has today announced the launch of a new Brand Safety Center, which will act as a key reference point for its various brand safety resources and guides.
As explained by TikTok:
“The Brand Safety Center will serve as a central hub for all insights, articles, partnerships and other information related to brand safety and transparency at TikTok.”
The new Center provides links to various resources and reports, including TikTok’s transparency updates, its platform rules, and an overview of its key pillars for brand safety.
It’s a handy compilation of TikTok’s brand safety offerings, and as the platform pushes to increase its monetization options, and build a more fair, sustainable business, and make the most of its now massive user base, it could be a good way for brands to stay on top of the latest tools and updates, and get a better understanding of how TikTok is approaching each new element.
In the future, TikTok says that it’s planning to expand its brand safety offerings in a range of ways, including the implementation of new definitions and standards for critical brand safety issues, including misinformation and ad adjacency, while it’s also looking to provide more support for creators and brands working together, a key piece of the broader TikTok puzzle.
About Render Perfect Productions:
Render Perfect has been built from the ground up to service growing businesses and help them realize their full visual storytelling and digital marketing potential. We’ve created a service offering and skill-set that spans video production, post-production, motion graphic design, 3D animation, web development, and video marketing strategy. Our insight and experience allow us to help clients make better planning decisions and get more out of their video production effort.
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