Hey Snackers,
The massive earthquake in Turkey and Syria has killed thousands of people and injured many thousands more. Rescuers have been racing to save people trapped in the rubble of countless collapsed buildings. Our hearts go out to everyone affected.
In markets: US stocks dipped yesterday, continuing Friday’s downturn after super-strong January job numbers stoked fears of prolonged rate hikes. Investors have eyes on J. Powell’s speech today at the Economic Club of Washington for any clues.
Google launches a ChatGPT competitor to protect its search dominance as the bot battle begins
Bring on the prompts… Yesterday Google rolled out its response to the existential threat posed by OpenAI’s ChatGPT. Meet Bard. Google said its ChatGPT rival has been released to “trusted testers” and will be available to the public in the coming weeks. Bard, which is built on Google’s mighty language-processing model, LaMDA, pulls info from the web to craft “fresh, high-quality” responses. Google also announced plans for ChatGPT-like search features:
- Conversational search… minus the “hey, Google.” The company said it’ll soon integrate genAI into web search for queries with more than one right answer. Think: a package of narrative results that distill “complex information and multiple perspectives into easy-to-digest formats.”
May the best bot win… Google isn’t a newcomer to the AI game. It literally invented the “T” in ChatGPT (the “transformer” tech that powers it). But after ChatGPT was released free to the public, Google likely felt pressured to introduce Bard earlier than planned — and to protect its profit-puppy search biz. It has the upper hand since it already runs the go-to search engine, but competition’s steep:
- ChatGPT Plus: not a streaming service. Last week OpenAI announced a $20/month subscription for a premium version of ChatGPT (think: less downtime). It could set the standard for genAI monetization. And unlike Google, it doesn’t have ads… yet.
- Bing (plus ChatGPT): Microsoft, which has invested billions in OpenAI, said it plans to integrate genAI tools into all its products, and it’s reportedly on the cusp of adding ChatGPT to its search engine, Bing.
The chatbot wars have begun… Google’s Bard announcement came on the heels of OpenAI’s plan to monetize ChatGPT. Meanwhile, after Google announced it was entering the chatbot game yesterday, Microsoft announced last-minute plans to host a news event today (coincidence?). There’s speculation that Microsoft could roll out a ChatGPT-related service (OpenAI CEO Sam Altman tweeted that he was “excited” for the event).
The Super Bowl is poised to become the “Booze Bowl” as brewers rush to fill crypto's ad void
Hello, Booze Bowl… At the 57th Super Bowl on Sunday, viewers’ll get an eyeful of more than just football. For the first time since 1989, Bud maker Anheuser-Busch InBev will not be the exclusive alcohol advertiser. Expect more sip suppliers this year: Crown Royal, Heineken, Molson Coors, and Rémy Martin will all run ads alongside AB InBev's three minutes of airtime.
- Are you ready for some eyeballs… The Bowl is the most-watched event in US sports, making it a top marketing opp. 100M+ people are expected to watch Super Bowl LVII.
- $$econds: Fox, the broadcaster, said it sold some 30-second spots for a record $7M+, and that all in-game ad slots are booked.
Goodbye, Crypto Bowl… Last year's big game was dubbed the "Crypto Bowl" as blockchain behemoths Coinbase, Crypto.com, eToro, and FTX flooded the ads zone (think: "fortune favours the brave" and "don't be like Larry"). The crypto-sphere was in high spirits, and crypto cos spent $54M on ads. Now, with companies feeling crypto winter's chill, Fox says there are no crypto ads scheduled to air during this year’s Bowl. That leaves plenty of room for alcohol giants to fill the gap.
The familiar thrives in uncertain times… With celeb endorsements pouring in last year, crypto got a mainstream boost from Super Bowl viewers. But after FTX’s implosion, they may be less receptive to upbeat and edgy crypto-mercials. Beer, on the other hand, is a familiar football companion that many can get behind — and booze powerhouses are keen to capitalize on that.
What else we’re Snackin’
- Unpin: Even “wholesome” social-media biz Pinterest isn’t immune to the ad-pocalypse: Shares of the moodboard icon fell after it failed to inspire investors, with underwhelming sales and a weak forecast.
- Matinope: AMC said it’ll charge moviegoers extra for coveted seats (picture: middle row, center) at all its theaters. The airline-style pricing program is an effort to boost Covid-depressed sales as couch viewing continues.
- Frozen: Chicken-nugget titan Tyson posted its biggest percentage drop in quarterly profit in over a decade, as higher costs weigh on meat margins and demand. Tyson, which supplies 20% of the US’s meat, said customers have been trading down.
- Spent: Americans are burning through their pandemic savings to make ends meet, having spent 35% of their stimulus-boosted cushion so far. Goldman Sachs estimates that by year's end Americans will have spent 65%.
- FancyFry: Fast-food competition's fierce, so Shake Shack wants a fungi edge: the burger chain announced a white-truffle menu feat. truffle burgers and Parmesan truffle fries. TBD if it'll fly in this economy.
Tuesday
- State of the Union
- Fed Chair Powell set to speak at the Economic Club of Washington
- Earnings expected from BP, Valvoline, Royal Caribbean Group, H&R Block, Nintendo, Chipotle, Hertz Global, SoftBank, and Western Union
Authors of this Snacks own shares of: Anheuser-Busch InBev, Google, Microsoft, and Molson Coors
ID: 2724157