Web Traffic vs. Foot Traffic

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DAILY TOP TRENDS

Can A Movie Studio Be Built On Generative AI?

A new studio called Promise Advanced Imagination Inc. bills itself as the first to wholly use generative AI technology to create a slate of movies and shows.

The Big Picture: Generative AI has become a flashpoint in Hollywood, mostly rejected by the professional creative community and cautiously embraced by studios. By diving headfirst into making projects with AI, Promise may not be disrupting Hollywood as much as developing an adjacent industry.

Behind the Prompts: Promise is riding the wave of AI investor interest to generate a new creator class.

• Promise plans to produce films, shows, and “new formats” with upcoming gen-AI artists and Hollywood talent (if they dare to dip their toes) using a proprietary system called “MUSE.”

• It was founded by George Strompolos (founder of the creator network Fullscreen), Jamie Byrne (a YouTube exec who helped create the platform’s revenue-sharing program), and Dave Clark (an AI filmmaker and commercial director).

• It’s already raised a seed round from Peter Chernin’s North Road Co. and a16z’s Andrew Chen, but there’s no information on the financials yet.

• The studio has about ten employees and plans to fluctuate headcount depending upon production needs.

Final Render: Strompolos said this is a “transformational moment in entertainment,” and he couldn’t be more right when it comes to the potential of generative AI. The consumer side of the tech could be undone by copyright infringement, while studios simultaneously embrace it as a way to optimize operations and post-production workflows. Building a studio around the tech puts a foot in each pool. There’s likely a lot of legal wrangling to overcome… but if audiences embrace it, generative AI could evolve into a format alongside live action and animation.

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Young People Take To The Streets To Find New Brands

Gen Zers and millennials are surprisingly discovering new brands and businesses the old-fashioned way — by walking around their communities.

Why It Scores: Over the past decade, digital marketing has dominated the cultural discourse and advertising budgets as the key way to find new customers. But if people are now finding them more so on foot, the calculus changes from having to hunt for customers virtually, to being in destinations where they can be discovered IRL.

Between the Purchases: Per the 2024 American Express Shop Small Impact Study, customers are making a concerted effort to find new, smaller brands this holiday season.

• 90% of millennials and Gen Zers find new brands while walking around their towns, beating out 80% of those who say they do so through social media.

• That sort of discovery benefits small, local businesses, which trends with young people’s new priorities — 85% of consumers are “likely” to focus on shopping at small businesses for holiday gifts (11% more than a decade ago).

• Those stats are putting business owners in the holiday spirit — 95% say they’re optimistic about sales this season (12% more than last year).

• That also bodes well for Small Business Saturday (November 30th) because owners expect to make about a quarter of their annual revenue that day.

The Future: Elizabeth Rutledge, chief marketing officer at American Express, says, post-COVID, there’s been “a shift in younger consumers’ behaviors as they desire more IRL, human connections.” That feeling crosses everything from entertainment, dating, and shopping. That’s because experience is now key. So don’t be surprised if some smart small businesses start to feel like activations.

DEEP DIVES

• Watch: NYT’s new Jon Batiste interview catches the musician riffing Beethoven on the heels of his new cover album, Beethoven Blues.

• Read: Big Take discusses how inflation has squeezed brand names as consumers opt for generic alternatives.

• Listen: WSJ profiles Authentic Brands Group CEO Jamie Salter, who’s made a winning business out of acquiring and reviving past-their-prime brands.

89.6% of you voted Yes in Monday’s poll: Would you like to see more older models in fashion advertising?

“But not just celebrities — real people, too.”

“I’m tired of young people trying to look world-weary in fashion ads when they don’t have the experience or gravitas to pull it off. The ads come across as very insincere.”

“Seeing older models is a breath of fresh air! It gives a new way to look at clothes and fashion in general. We are so used to seeing ‘perfect faces’ and ‘perfect bodies’ — it gets boring with time. Diversity should be both ethnic and generational.”

“They have money to spend on those brands… It makes a lot of sense. 😂”

“I’m in ‘mad men’ advertising. The casting discussions are horrifying.”

Let’s keep the conversation going. Join our Poll Of The Day newsletter so your opinions can shine. Discover how your views line up with your peers’, check out cool insights, and have some fun. It’s data with personality.

QUICK HITS

→ Technology

🧑‍⚖️ The Justice Department wants Google to offload Chrome, which could be valued at up to $20 billion.

🤖 Amazon is discussing a partnership with companies such as Ticketmaster, Uber, and Instacart for an AI-upgrade to Alexa.

🗣️ Microsoft Teams will translate your voice into a different language in real-time using AI.

→ Fashion / E-commerce

🐊 Crocs has tapped former Yeezy designer Steven Smith as its new head of creative innovation.

🪑 Jesper Brodin, the CEO of Ikea’s parent company Ingka Group, says consumer spending habits are starting to look a lot like 2008.

💸 Tidal Investments rolled out an ETF that is geared towards adherents of the FIRE (Financial Independence Retire Early) movement.

→ Creator Economy

📱 Snapchat and Universal Pictures sent the first-ever Sponsored Snap — a video of actor Jonathan Bailey marketing Wicked.

🦋 Bluesky, which just hit 20 million users, is adding roughly a million new ones a day.

💰 ByteDance, the owner of TikTok, hit a valuation of $300 billion.