As the festive season is now in full swing we thought it was safe to share the first 2018 Wrap Up. We’re covering the best round-ups, from the CMA’s four content trends and the best of Reddit, to the big players, like Spotify and Facebook, and the now firm fixture in the marketing calendar that is the list of Top Tweets of 2018, #ThisHappened (global version also available).
HEADLINES
- Google has shut down standalone app Allo as it focuses on Duo and its Messages app. Despite that, some doubters still think its overall messaging strategy is a mess. Meanwhile, an intern at the company has cost the company £7.9 million with a misplaced ad. (Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson, eat your heart out.)
- The pivot to Stories continues, with Facebook rolling out Group Stories globally. The functionality means that members of the Group can collaborate on a story and add emoji reactions to the Stories.
- Facebook has also been experimenting with Live Shopping, a sort of social QVC.
INSIGHTS
- Here are 12 ways Stories will shape digital marketing in the coming year.
- TMI! A study in the US finds that asking for too much information from consumers can damage brand trust. Another US study finds that the presence of commercial call-outs such as #Sponsored have no effect on the effectiveness of posts.
- Here’s a look at how new media publishing models face the same challenges as their more established counterparts.
COOL
- Google has a lovely suite of festive fun with the Santa Tracker.
- Payless showed their sense of humour in convincing influencers to part with over $600 dollars for a $20 pair of shoes.
- Levi’s have developed a jacket that warns you if you are going to leave your phone behind.
DEEP READS
- Here’s how a small group of programmers want to change how we code.
- Take a look at this fascinating New Yorker profile of two of Google’s machine learning pioneers.
- Dive into this pile of start-up pitch decks.
