Weekly Trends
Snapchat IPO
Why it matters
In case you missed it, Snapchat went public Thursday, closing the day at an astonishing $34 billion (higher than Marriott and Target). It’s the largest tech IPO since Alibaba in 2014, and depending on who you ask, a clear sign of a tech bubble. But despite its big debut, Snap faces some serious obstacles, including how to broaden its audience, boost advertising sales and fend off competitors.
Snapchat Faces the Public
What’s it worth to be yourself online? We’re about to find out. As Snap enters the public market, it’s worth examining how the tech company– excuse us, camera company– has reinterpreted the role of pictures. Snapchat contends that “because photography is now free and frictionless, it is a medium for communication, not commemoration.” Pictures are no longer a way for people to remember, but a way for them to express themselves. As a result, Snapchat (both the platform and its IPO) exposes a generational divide– young people kind of understand the platform intuitively, while older people are just sort of clueless.
NBC invested $500 million in Snapchat IPO as part of its ambitious investment in digital media
Snapchat has zeroed in on the pulse of youth. For evidence, look no further than its partnership with NBCUniversal. The parent of CNBC became the first U.S. media company with a stake in Snapchat after it made a $500 million strategic investment during its IPO. The partnership offers NBCUniversal an opportunity to create new programming using its content and brands to reach millennials, which traditional media companies and advertisers have found increasingly hard to reach on linear television. And for Snapchat, the investment provides a vote of confidence from a major media company.
Frustrated Snapchat Users Leave Platform for Rival Platforms
Rule #1: Build cool stuff. Rule #2: Keep creators happy. If there’s one way to detonate a successful platform, it’s to alienate the users who make it successful (see: Vine). Now, it seems a growing number of dissatisfied Snapchat creators are opting to publish on competing platforms. Frustrated by Snapchat’s unwillingness to provide post analytics, promote creators or listen to their product feedback, they’re taking their creative talents elsewhere: “Every single bad thing I could possibly say about Snapchat, I could say the opposite of how my relationship is going with Instagram.”
MEANWHILE IN LA LA LAND…
YouTube launches its own streaming TV service
Yep, another one. The Google-owned video platform has unveiled its new “mobile first” streaming platform. For $35 a month, subscribers get all four major networks — ABC, CBS, FOX, and NBC — and roughly 35 cable channels. That price covers six accounts, so each member of the household can have a personalized account that offers recommendations tuned to their taste. It remains to be seen whether this will be a winner for YouTube, as there are some big holes in the lineup, but the bigger question is how different this product will feel from the half-dozen competitors already in market. But if it’s all about “reaching a generation that is increasingly unfamiliar with linear TV,” YouTube seems like a pretty good bet.
Netflix Preps Reality TV Push: Rivals “Should Be Scared Out of Their Minds”
Netflix has already upended the original series, stand-up and film businesses. Now, with a key new hire and a lofty budget, it’s taking on unscripted. Warns one producer, “These guys are monsters — they’re coming in to play and play hard.”
More Streaming and TV News:
Forget the Embarrassing Mix-Up. The Real Story Is Moonlight’s Historic Win.
Earn Your Binge with Netflix’s New Personal Trainer (seriously)
IN WHICH DENNY’S WINS TWITTER…
Denny’s CMO Explains the Strategy Behind One of the Most Popular Brand Tweets of All Time
To Denny’s CMO John Dillon, good content reflects good conversations at a booth. Even if those conversations are super random. True to form, the restaurant chain posted a tweet Wednesday that rapidly caught fire and is now officially one of the most shared and liked items in the history of branded content on Twitter. Check it out to see what’s worth 110,000 retweets. Apparently.
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