SOCIAL MEDIA

Instagram Launches Copy of TikTok Reels

Here’s what you need to know about the lookalike:

• In the U.S., Reels is now embedded in the Instagram app. 
• The vertical scroll feed on Reels is eerily similar to TikTok’s. 

So what? Last month, Facebook reportedly reached out to some of the most popular TikTok creators and tried to recruit them to Reels. Where these creators go, their audiences—and sponsors—could follow. 

The Microsoft deal: Microsoft purchasing TikTok still appears to be on the table. 

• It has until September 15 to finalize the deal, and is now reportedly considering buying all of TikTok rather than just the U.S. arm. 
• President Trump created even more urgency last night with his executive order.

What about antitrust? We just sat through an entire antitrust hearing in which Facebook was chastised for copying and acquiring competitors. If TikTok goes away, Reels could allow FB to further shore up social media dominance.

So, should you be on Reels?

The answer is the same as any other in marketing: It depends. 

Reasons to drop everything and get on Reels right now:

• With the threat of a TikTok ban looming, savvy TikTok creators could try to lure followers to Reels as insurance; Instagram already has celebs like Miley Cyrus making Reels.
• Other advertisers such as Hulu and HBO are already running branded posts in slots between user-generated Reels content. 
• Reels could tap into Instagram’s existing network of 1 billion users vs. TikTok’s 500 million worldwide.

Reasons to reel in the Reels excitement: 

• Facebook has tried to replicate TikTok before with Lasso, which it shut down after it failed to attract audiences. 
• TikTok offers 60 second vids—on Reels, users get a max of 15 seconds.
• Gen Z tends to prefer regular-people-turned-content creators over the higher profile celebrities using Reels right now.
• That means there’s not as much reason for the average TikTok user to prefer Reels when their favorite creators are still on TikTok.
• Plus, switching apps takes work. Inertia gives TikTok the win here. 

Bottom line: If TikTok is banned (or significantly changed under Microsoft), Reels should be on every marketer's radar. If it isn't...the picture is a lot murkier.

TV

Roku: Pessimist or Realist?

...or maybe it’s just bragging? While Roku reported its Q2 earnings this week, it said that it doesn’t think TV ad spend will recover to pre-pandemic levels until “well into 2021.” 

Before we get to that, let's go over Roku's Q2 year over year performance:

• Platform revenues grew 46%. 
• Video ad impressions were up 50%. 
• Roku reported strong client retention and new client acquisition. 

“We're making good progress on new verticals, performance driven campaigns,” said Scott Rosenberg, SVP/GM of Roku’s platform business.

On the larger TV industry: 

• Roku reported these positive Q2 stats “against the backdrop of TV declining 15% to 25%, depending on which TV networks earnings you were listening to this week,” said Rosenberg. 
• The company attributes its growth to more consumers cutting the cord and marketers following by shifting ad dollars from linear television to OTT. 

Bottom line: Roku controls 38% of the U.S. streaming-media player market, so it makes sense that it’s detecting—and benefiting from—the shift away from traditional television.

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BRANDS

Two Wheels, Two Lead Marketers for Peloton

Peloton just became even more like a tech company: Instead of hiring just one lead marketer to replace Carolyn Tisch Blodgett, who left the company in May, it hired two. It’s a move more common in Silicon Valley than in fitness.

• Dara Treseder—who has worked at both Apple and GE—will now be Peloton’s senior VP, head of global marketing and communications.
• Karina Kogan will head up product marketing.

Why this matters: Hiring Treseder, a Black woman, for the role is one step toward Peloton CEO and Cofounder John Foley making good on his June promise to make Peloton leadership more diverse.

Zoom out: Peloton’s sales surged 66% year over year in its third quarter. It held its largest class ever in April. And it’s become so popular during the pandemic that Ad Age claimed Peloton doesn’t even need marketing.

My takeaway: Treseder and Kogan will be tasked with riding the company’s unexpected momentum into 2021—hopefully, this time with better ads.

WHAT ELSE IS BREWING

• 600 & Rising President Nathan Young resigned after throwing shade at Adcolor on Twitter.
• Athleta named Tom Herbst its interim CMO. 
• Anomaly won Coke’s ad business from Wieden + Kennedy.
• ViacomCBS is launching an international streaming service next year.
• Facebook created an initiative to support Black businesses during August.

FRENCH PRESS

Marketing tips to make you fancy

B2B: I just discovered this elaborate B2B marketing job board. Happy hunting. 

Targeting: Marketers are used to finding what makes their customers similar, from age groups to regions, and creating target audiences around those similarities. But what if we targeted based on audiences’ differences?

OTT: If that Roku story above has your head spinning about the benefits of OTT, read this checklist for publishers considering programmatic OTT as part of their strategy. 

CMOs: Morning Brew CEO Alex Lieberman asked Dashlane CMO Joy Howard some thought-provoking questions. Listen to their conversation here, then forward this email to a friend and ask them your favorite question from the lightning round.

METRICS & MEDIA

Stat: During the pandemic, the number of influencer campaigns declined by 3%, per Forrester Research. 

Quote: “The railroads were regulated by anti-monopoly protesters who depended on the railroads, and the same can be true for the next generation of trust-busters.”—Zephyr Teachout, associate professor of law at Fordham Law School, arguing that it’s okay if you didn’t join the Facebook boycott. 

Read: Gilad Edelman’s article for Wired on how killing cookies can save journalism, or at least help ad revenue.

ICYMI

Catch up on the top Marketing Brew stories from the last few editions. 

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