Right About Now with Ryan Alford - Weekly Business News for May 10 | Spotify is Ready to Compete for Video Advertising

Episode Date: May 10, 2024

TAKEAWAYSIntroduction of betting on video games at Dave and BustersBudweiser's use of songs mentioning the brand for targeted ads on SpotifyLiquid IV's brand refreshMicrosoft's new AI modelSkepticism about Microsoft's new AI modelTikTok's lawsuit against the US governmentImplications of TikTok's lawsuit against the US governmentSpotify's move into video advertisingChanging priorities of millennial and Gen Z consumers in influencer marketingTIMESTAMPSThe hair and kids' sleep habits (00:00:43) Light-hearted discussion about kids' hair and sleep habits.Budweiser's uninterrupted ads on Spotify (00:03:00) Budweiser's strategy to turn songs mentioning the brand into targeted ads on Spotify to increase brand recognition.Liquid IV's brand refresh (00:07:25) Discussion about Liquid IV's brand refresh and the personal preferences for hydration drinks.Microsoft's new AI model (00:12:34) Microsoft's development of a new AI model to compete with Google and OpenAI, with skepticism about the purpose and impact.TikTok suing the US government (00:14:56) Discussion about TikTok suing the US government, including the implications and potential outcomes.Spotify's readiness for video advertising (00:20:07) Spotify's preparation to compete for video advertising and the increasing popularity of video podcasts on the platform.Influencer reputations and authenticity (00:21:33) Debate about the prioritization of influencer reputations over shared values or authenticity among millennial and Gen Z consumers.Influencer Marketing (00:22:15) Discussion on the influence of celebrities turned influencers and the impact on purchasing behavior.Cinco de Mayo and Naval Fleet Week (00:25:58) Conversation about the celebrations and events during Cinco de Mayo and the presence of naval fleet week in Miami.Upcoming Episode with Gary Vee (00:26:58) Promotion of the upcoming episode with Gary Vee, discussing his new book and the focus on driving intent and marketing strategies. If you enjoyed this episode and want to learn more, join Ryan’s newsletter https://ryanalford.com/newsletter/ to get Ferrari level advice daily for FREE.  Learn how to build a 7 figure business from your personal brand by signing up for a FREE introduction to personal branding https://ryanalford.com/personalbranding.  Learn more by visiting our website at www.ryanisright.comSubscribe to our YouTube channel  www.youtube.com/@RightAboutNowwithRyanAlford. 

This is Right About Now with Ryan Alford, a Radcast Network production. We are the number one business show on the planet with over 1 million downloads a month. Taking the BS out of business for over 6 years and over 400 episodes. You ready to start snapping necks and cashing checks? Well, it starts Right About Now. Right About Now. What's up, guys? Welcome to Right About Now. It's our weekly marketing and business news of the week here on May 10th, 2024.

Joined by my good friend, Chris Hansen down in Miami. What's up, Chris? What's up, man? How are you today? Hey, I'm good, man. Got a busy record day in and out of the studios. It's good, though. Feeling pretty good. Got a no hat day again.

I was thinking the same thing. We both got the gel in today. Yeah. It is very rare. Oh, you have gel in? Mine just naturally does this. Yeah, dude. You're lucky I don't wake up naturally styled.

I have that permagel. You're blessed, bro. I wouldn't mind. They come out with everything else that gets automated now. If they could just do the, your hair never messes up, you just wake up and roll out. My kids need that.

I'm surprised there's not a surgical technique for that yet. It is funny. I don't know what it is about children like i wake up in my head my hair is not perfect i don't have that much hair anyway but my kids don't have much hair either but for some reason i don't know what is about the way kids sleep their hair is like going seven different directions and And I'm like, what the? You're like, what happened in there last night? Exactly. Are you okay? Nash, who's eight, he sleeps practically upside down.

He flips and flops all night. I'm like, geez, what are you dreaming about? Like dinosaurs? Riding them, maybe? I don't know. But anyway, I digress on the hair. This didn't even make our show notes but i as being a dave and busters aficionado i got a kick out of this they're about to launch literally

where you can bet on the video games that you're playing like with friends so you can place wagers awesome on the the team games or if you're playing someone else. Put a little $5 side bet on this thing if who's going to win. Brilliant. They're smart. I know. So they're getting into the betting world, and I think there's already been some pushback that it might not be legal.

I don't know. I saw some waves, but I just can't imagine. Now you're sitting there. You're like, honey, I honey i got ten dollars i'm gonna kick your ass right here in this connect four basketball game that's our jam you got a little scrappy in there i know be like putting it down and it's real money i'm gonna to wager you 100 coins of my treasure here. I can see it getting competitive. You got drinks happening. You got games happening.

And suddenly there's real money on the line on top of what you paid to play the game. You're going to be seeing like brawls. That's where my head's at. I can see some brawls breaking out. Like grown men, dude, for real. Like I can see that. I can see there being basketball. Yeah, the troll that walks around that he's so good at all the games. He's, like, challenging people, going, hey, man, do you want to get in on this?

Air hockey? They're like, yo, Bill's in here hustling the kids again. We got to kick him out. Yeah, exactly. And so we'll see where that goes. But I thought that was funny. Next, Budweiser is turning songs mentioning the brand into targeted ads on Spotify. That's from our friends at Marketing Dive.

Budweiser has launched a new effort dubbed Uninterrupt Ads to take songs that mention the Anheuser-Busch InBev brand and turn them into targeted ads on Spotify. According to details being shared, the effort is based in Brazil was strategized with Africa Creative Agency. Unrupt Ads was inspired by the discovery that Budweiser's name is present

in over 500 different songs on Spotify. It's also based on the idea for users who don't subscribe to the premium ad-free version of Spotify. The platform's listening experience experiences often interrupted by ads. So songs by my love and other artists were strategically programmed to be advertised in playlists that correspond to their genre in turn, spreading name recognition for the brand without stopping the music. It's interesting.

You know, like it, but the viral brands that get mentioned all the time, for the brand without stopping the music. It's interesting. I like it. Those viral brands that get mentioned all the time. Louis Vuitton, who knows what. Yeah. Build it into the ads. I like it. It's going to be fun.

I got to hear it, though. Trying to think of what transition, if it's smooth. Yeah. And with Budweiser, until they had their little woke incident was in how many country music ads or songs i should say drinking my bud light i tend to assume most of those 500 songs are country songs i don't know if that's stereotyping what beer drinking yeah i don't hear a lot of hip hop and EDM talking about Budweiser. Yeah. No, probably not.

Maybe Bud Light. Maybe they should be. They wouldn't be so jaded as emo folks. I don't know. I can't see it in like dance music, which is usually just beats anyway. Yeah. I don't know. I'm thinking of Old Town Road or something. There's got to be Budweiser in beats anyway. Yeah. I don't know. I'm thinking of Old Town Road or something.

There's got to be Budweiser in that somewhere. Yeah. Little dies. Anyway, I think it's smart if it sounds good. It brings up the broader point that we've talked about a lot, that ads typically are interrupting your content experience. It's always that way on television, radio. You're listening to your favorite song.

You have to tolerate the ads. And even as a marketer, I understand that. That's why you have to be entertaining or educating these days. But if you can keep the music going, it makes sense. And let's be honest, Budweiser to all the help they can get their the numbers still are not wonderful and they get in those mocktails their niche market is not very forgiving yeah ironically they're in the mocktail category but not for the right reason they're getting mocked all right i digress yeah liquid iv refreshes brand to stand out in the

evolving hydration market there's something now i watched water boy with my boys the other night like for the first time now so i mean like when i see this hydration thing i always think of the water boy i don't know why probably because i I just watched it. And anyway, Marketing Dive, our good friends. Look at all the marketing news. Liquid IV is jumping on the brand refresh bandwagon with its first such effort since its founding in 2012. Twelve years in. Doesn't seem like it's been that long.

I remember going, have you ever tried this Liquid IV stuff? It's really new. I feel like that was like yesterday. Where'd the time go by? 2018 is when I got on the bandwagon. Yeah. Look, I'm getting sidetracked here. We'll get back to the brand refresh. I'm a packet drink kind of guy, though.

I get the water. I know you are, bro. I'm pouring those packets in. I am too now. I've jumped on the bandwagon it's convenient and i like water i'm fine with like try to get in like just no nothing added as much as possible but like when i eat you know you want a flavored drink or something and i'm trying to drink less soda i don't drink that much soda gotta get enough of my bad stuff with the energy drinks i'm just talking about like flavor packets and liquid iv you a fan i was a huge fan of it and the more i've learned about ingredients i've

moved a little away from them yeah i. I forget what ingredient it was. It was some TikTok talking about it. There was healthier options. I still will drink it. They have a great taste. They got me in the electrolyte thing. And like you. You don't like cocaine?

I'm not a big fan of just water. Exactly like cocaine. Is that what they put in her? No wonder I like it so much. Maybe. But I'll drink three of those a day really because i've even now programmed like thinking our water isn't having enough vitamins and minerals that i should be drinking more electrolytes yes and i agree and but i'll say this as many of those

types drinks that i've had i like the flavor but whether they've got electrolytes or otherwise i need like a monitor to believe that it's actually improving something because i don't feel any different like i don't have whoa i'll just suddenly feel electrolyte driven and refreshed and maybe because i'm not truly dehydrated but yeah i don't know i can tell but i know that I never drank enough water in general. So I think for me, it's like a nice little hack. The branding for Liquid IV is intended to center the customer experience in packaging and merchandising with a bold, modern look. As the company continues to build momentum, launching this brand refresh marks a watershed moment in the evolution and kicks off the next chapter of growth and innovation, said CEO Mike Keech. The new look and feel

reflects our passion to help everyone live healthier, more fulfilling lives. Man, this sounds like ChatGPT wrote this quote. I'm just going to, sorry, Mike, break it down to you. Your PR team really did need to help. A little wordy there, Mike. Yeah, a little wordy. We know you didn't say this. But anyway, I like Liquid IV. Even if they got bought by Unilever, still up.

Excuse me. I'm kidding. We all would like for Unilever to buy something. I'm going to say that I like the taste. Jury's out on whether or not it really improves overall hydration but that's why you need like a monitor like we need an lcd screen on our wrist that tells us exactly what we can't be far from that right the claim is that one equals three bottles of water i think on their packet or two bottles of water i can't remember if it's two

or three yeah but how do you measure that you wouldn't know there's got to be like an aura ring or something that can maybe yeah it starts lighting up blood draw yeah exactly it's like my teeth get whiter i'm more hydrated like some kind of tell we need the science yeah we. But for now, they got a new look. So if you go to the store, you're looking at that liquid IV and you're like, where is it? Where is it? They got a new brand. And according to Mike Keech, it's really bold and extraordinary. You know what they're trying to do is probably hit the prime market. Oh, yeah.

Yeah. Like your sons. Yes. They want to tap into those guys yeah i'm more of instead of a liquid iv like an actual iv guy like that's i can buy it go in and get one of those you feel that or line it right into me exactly you've had a long night out go get one of those iv drips i I'm telling you, that shit works. Because it's going straight into your bloodstream. I don't know if it's getting there through these packs or not.

This next article comes to us from Reuters. Reuters.com, the original press release company. Microsoft ready's new AI model to compete with Google. Open AI, the information reports. This comes to us directly from Microsoft. Training a new in-house AI language model large enough to compete with those from Google and Open AI. New model internally referred to as MAI-1. Wonderful. Who's naming these things?

Chat GPT. Okay, made sense. But OpenAI, MAI-1. We have C3PO's debut. Okay. Is being overseen by recently hired co-founder and CEO of AI startup Inflection. The report said the exact purpose of the model has not been determined yet. That's not good.

It would depend on how well it performs. This is all just, look, here's what's going on right now. All these companies want to release a press release saying, AI, we're doing artificial intelligence. We are ahead of the game. It's all press. And look, there's a lot of shit happening in AI. I'm not doubting that.

It's helping a lot of things. But all these announcements with, we don't know the purpose. We're not sure if we're going to like it. We don't even know if you'll ever get to use it. But we're putting out this press release, baby. We want that stock to go up. It just seems like it's not like you're talking about something that's not even there yet.

You have a name, but there's no product. MAI is more like MIA. MAI is MIA is what I'd call that. Missing in action. Not ready to be seen. Yeah. But according to them, it'll be far larger

than the previously smaller open source model. Reading through this is like a treasure trove of bullshit is what I call it. Yeah. We're taking the bullshit

out of business, baby. And this is it. And look, Microsoft's one of the most well-respected companies in the universe. Like, I'm not knocking them. I'm just saying, if you've got something to release, tell us what it does, what it solves. Don't just give us the, we're working on AI. It's definitely going to be bigger.

It's going to be more important. It's going to do more things. Maybe. We'll figure out what it does. Okay. But we do know it's using nvidia servers and it's like all right is this a market of the stock traders is this like a stock market article more than anything that's all this is yeah all right is microsoft innovating are they getting behind all the other companies. OpenIS is so far ahead of them. Anyway, we know you've got it going on.

But tell us about it when it means something to consumers. TikTok is suing the U.S. government. It's another day in America. I do wonder how this stuff really works. Society want to sue the U.S. government.

And I get it. This is a big deal this is trillion dollar billion dollar company and a lot of shit's been happening and going down and but this is essentially china suing the u.s yeah yeah it's a chinese owned company so it's let's just call it what is if. If you're Chinese-owned, the Chinese government's involved. So the Chinese government is suing the U.S. government in the U.S. Can the U.S. government go to China and sue them? Yeah, would China allow the U.S. government to sue the Chinese? Can you even legally do that in China?

I have a hard time believing that goes far because the government controls all the courts and everything else. So yeah, but only in the U S do we allow foreign governments to sue our government. The democracy extends to all folks. Just come here and sue our U S government. There's just something fucked up about that. I'm just going to call it what it is. No matter how I feel about TikTok and how addictive it is. And it's a good platform, but it's, I don't know. I'm just tired of reading about this.

Make a decision. It can stay, it can go. It's easy for me to say, but I hold no allegiance to any one platform. So there's a lot of people that would have to figure out what they're going to do with their day because they can't watch, go down the tic-tac rabbit hole anymore. And then there's businesses that would be not in good shape, which just means you need to diversify. But anyway, they're suing the u.s government and i don't know

people everywhere are really the addicts are scared the tiktok influencers are not liking it that's for sure no they're not liking it and so the key learning here i don't think it's even going to go down if you ask you ask, this is going to get worked out. I think the platform will stay on. Varying views on that every time. And look, if your audience is there, you should be there marketing, no matter what's going on behind the scenes. And it does work. And it's free attention.

So look, yeah, you can run ads. But on TikTok without algorithm, baby, one video pops off and convert, but you got to convert that intention to intent. It's one thing to be, hey, look at me. You better have something to sell or have a purpose behind it. That's my only thing with some of this stuff.

It's like, hey, got attention. I went, hey, that popped off for 200,000 views, but their bank account's $30 negative. Yeah. Okay. Like you went viral once during the pandemic for a dance. Get over it. Move on.

Yes. But some people are making real money on the platform. Oh, definitely. TikTok shop is huge. And I've thought about that. How many people is that going to affect on e-com because i know that's been a strong player right now in the e-com space yeah and so essentially i'm gonna i'm gonna read you this and i'm gonna change tiktok for

chinese government the chinese government has argued that the law will stifle free speech and hurt creators and small business owners. You're not even in America, bro. Why are you talking about the Constitution? Yeah. Let's go do that in China. And the Bill of Rights. Yeah, exactly. So, we'll see. Doesn't China censor their entire internet

of speaking in free speech? Yeah. That's what I'm saying. Everything is censored in China. They're like, hey, we don't allow it here, but we're going to sue you to make sure it can keep going on in America. Yeah, exactly. Make it make sense. But that's what I'm saying.

You and I are talking about this like in real terms. And when you think about it, how screwed up it is, it's okay. It's one thing we can argue whether or not, look, I think TikTok should sell to a corporate, a U.S. entity. And I think it's well within the right for the government to go, okay, this doesn't make a lot of sense. Now, it's just blasphemy, though, for the Chinese government through TikTok, let's just call it what it is, to talk about free speech. Like, what? What planet are we on? Yeah.

Spotify is ready to compete for video advertising at its first news new fronts. The company revealed over 500,000 video podcasts have been uploaded to the platform so far this year, including yours truly soon. We will be doing that. And that's on ad week. So I will say this is interesting. And I guess you can always flip from one to the other. But it's always interesting to me, like the music you're listening and converting that to video. I don't know. And the same thing with YouTube is always a little weird with I understand YouTube music is huge. But like the podcasting aspect, it's like you're watching, you're listening to it.

And I guess you have your choice, but all within the same platform. I guess you can convert quickly. And I haven't played around with the user interface enough, but the data is real. So a lot of people want to watch the podcast. That's why we have the new set here, Chris. So we got this big baby right here. You got to watch what is happening on the podcast. I got this beautiful bamboo plant behind me.

People want to see it. Yes, exactly. And they want to see your beautiful face. Chris is a good looking guy. You guys, if nothing else, you got to get on there. Eligible bachelor, everything. I'm not styling my hair just for you, Ryan.

Doing it for the gram and for Spotify video. And YouTube. Yes. Millennial and Gen Z consumers prioritize influencer reputations over their shared values or authenticity. Among the frequent buyers, posting frequency and follower count far outweighed personal values and authenticity when it came to the traits consumers valued most. To the traits consumers valued most among the influencers sway consumers, but authenticity loses some clout. This is from Marketing Diet.

What do you think about that? I tend to disagree with that. I think maybe in the past. I think now people are craving more authenticity. Yeah. But I don't know. I can't speak on Gen Z. I'm a millennial. And I could give two shits about someone's follower account.

If you're a piece of shit, I don't give a shit how many followers you have. You know what I mean? I think this is just my opinion. Focus group of one. Very dangerous. But hey, it's called RyanIsRight.com. That's the third reason. It's my show.

So we can say our opinion. That's the third reason. It's my show. So we can say our opinion. So this is I think there's all this talk that these values and all this shit falling on their sword for all the right reasons. And I think it's veiled in a bunch of bullshit. I think that they are very much swayed, just like everyone else has always been by spokespersons that used to be celebrities that are now influencers and the herd mentality is still alive and well and that we can couch this and my personal beliefs and my outfit just yeah you're right you're right on a grand scale. You're right. Yeah. Not the world I live in. Yes. But I'm reminded every day. There is a big majority that does not think like me.

And I think also being Gen Z. Dude, when you're younger, you're way more influenced. Yeah. In anything. Even when I was younger. Oh, that celebrity uses this protein. I'm going to use that. He says it's good.

I'll tell you to influence my wife the amazon oil orders out in front of our there's a permanent oil slick from the delivery trucks out in front of the alford residence it shows up i'm like what's that oh like i've said this for us we just she just says i've been influenced that's it but i think we're all influenced but i don't i just i get a little that you know when you turn your head like or and you know that doubtful look you give when someone says something about i don't know and when i hear that this younger generation is value drivendriven and authentic. Like, eh, really? Eh, really?

That's just my opinion. I think we like to paint with that brush, but it's disappearing ink. If you ask me. People are always going to be influenced by what they think is cool. Yes. Always. 100%.

Yeah. I just think that there's a reason that influencer marketing exists and there's a reason that it's as old as time that celebrities and people that have large popularity and fame in whatever are utilized. fame in whatever are utilized and they drive a sense of purpose when you relate to them or you like them or you think that your tribe or your people are all following and doing the same thing we are a tribe follow the tribe follow the herb type of society it's the way it is a lot of our interests are built that way some Some good, some bad. And so I don't think that's going to change. And I think we talk about influencer marketing and like it's something new or something different. What's different is these channels,

the social media channels have changed where people, everyday people have used these channels to drive, to create fame and awareness of themselves, where back before it took being an actor or a true athlete or someone that's on television and had mass awareness and mass reach to to build the fame, to build the credibility, to become a spokesperson for a campaign. And now you have more quasi-spokespersons that drive interest and drive purchase behavior. And so I'm not, I believe firmly in that. I just don't necessarily buy the conjecture of purpose marketing. You buy shit that you like, you buy shit that you need, and you buy shit that your friends have because you want to have it too. That's not changed. What's going on in Miami this week, Chris? It's been a little quiet now.

F1 was last weekend, so it was popping off pretty heavy. It's been a little quiet. I think that and Cinco de Mayo. So I don't know about the big events. Was that a big – you're right. A lot of Hispanic community culture was Cinco de Mayo just popping off? There was definitely some parties going down. Yeah.

Definitely some vibes. I probably heard productivity on the Monday. It was on a Sunday. Monday was real quiet. Did you notice it? Yeah. Oh, yeah. Between the F1 and that, I'm sure.

Exactly. Yeah, man. People went hard. And there was a lot of people coming in town for it. And now they've got, was it like Naval Fleet Week or something? So there's all these Navy dudes all over the city. They've got one of the naval ships parked in the port here. So there's all these sailors running around all over town.

Nice. So that's cool. Yeah. We do have a recording with Gary Vee this week. That episode will be out very quick because his new book is coming out that we'll be talking about. So look for that coming up. That release is on the 14th. Is that right, Lindsay?

14th, the episode? Yeah. Next Tuesday. Next Tuesday. We got an immediate. That's right. We got a record and release with him. So day trading attention. His newest book. We got to record and release with him. So Day Trading Attention, his newest book.

We'll be talking about it. And we'll be asking him some tough questions. What the hell is happening out there? What's hot? What's not? What's the real sizzle that we should be paying attention to? Not just social media in general, but how do we start driving intent? How should companies be thinking about their marketing mix?

So we're going to break it down. It's going to be highly valuable. So check that out next Tuesday, the 14th, Gary Vee. Chris, any final words, my friend? I'm pumped for that episode with Gary Vee. I'm interested to hear what his diagnosis is of what's hot out there right now because he's usually ahead of the game. Yeah, exactly.

So check that out. We appreciate you. You know where to find us, ryanisright.com. Find all the highlight clips from today, full episodes, and check out that episode next week for Chris Broby Hanson on Instagram. I'm at Ryan Alford on Instagram. We'll see you next time on Right About Now. This has been Right About Now with Ryan Alford on Instagram. We'll see you next time. All right about now. This has been right about now with Ryan Alford,

a Radcast Network production. Visit RyanIsRight.com for full audio and video versions of the show or to inquire about sponsorship opportunities. Thanks for listening.