#52 The Least Boring Weekend Newsletter

January 08, 2022 • Estimated Reading Time: 11 minutes

Good Morning readers! ☕

Hope 2022 has been treating you well! 🥰

Fun fact: Back then in 2000 Jennifer Lopez attended the Grammy Awards wearing a jungle print dress by Donatella Versace. The Search team was motivated to build Google Images after they found they couldn't easily surface the results that users wanted—an image of Jennifer in the dress.  🖼 

D2C x METAVERSE

So far, Facebook's metaverse has had a bleak start.

Last month, Meta — a.k.a. The artist once known as Facebook — unveiled a lineup of major virtual reality performances to be held completely in its Horizon Venues metaverse. On December 26, rapper Young Thug 👩‍🎤 performed, followed by DJ David Guetta  👯on December 31, and finally EDM combo The Chainsmokers for a New Year's Eve event in 2022.😍

Even though the concerts were absolutely free( who doesn't love free stuff, huh? 😂), they seemed to receive very little attention from anyone outside of the Meta Headquarters(oops🙁)There was hardly any coverage of the performances on social media channels like Twitter or even Facebook, let alone in news and music periodicals.

The fact that the concerts were hardly tailored for a VR experience didn't help matters. Guetta's concert at the Louvre Abu Dhabi was recently streamed in 2D. Meanwhile, Oculus viewers could only get a 180-degree view of Young Thug and The Chainsmokers' event.

Young Thug's performance received just over 100,000 views, while David Guetta's received nearly a million🤯. The performance by The Chainsmokers, on the other hand, appears to have been erased.😤

It makes sense(huh? 🧐)if you think about it for a second. Even if they are huge fans of The Chainsmokers for whatever reason, watching a concert alone at home while wearing a VR headset isn't how many people want to spend their New Year's Eve. ( Okay, that's true) 

Overall, it appears that Zuckerberg's metaverse concerts were not as successful as he had hoped. The elephant in the conversation, of course, is Travis Scott's Fortnite performance from last year, which garnered tens of millions of viewers 🤑and received massive media coverage.

While Meta has set some lofty ambitions for itself, it appears that building a thriving metaverse and attracting new users will require far more than a few free concerts.

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CHOOSING THE RIGHT D2C MODEL - 101 

Setting up a functional D2C model necessitates a thorough examination and assessment of the organization to ensure that goals, resources, and investments are aligned with the most important value drivers. 

The way certain brands communicate with their customers has changed dramatically.

Okay, but what are the benefits of choosing the right D2C model you may ask?  

The benefits of choosing a direct-to-consumer model may vary depending on the industry.

  • Having access to more specific customer data

  • Increased personalization in your product line

  • Increased profit control

  • Additional space for product testing

Which D2C model do you think is right for your business? take your time to think about it. Because it’s not easy to come up with the answer right away. We’re here to make it easy for you. 

Let’s get right into it. 

ℹ️ Hubs for Information

We've all heard that engaging with our audience is crucial to marketing. This particular direct-to-consumer model focuses on engaging customers with content, creating a one-of-a-kind, brand-centric experience that informs, inspires, and educates them without the need for e-commerce infrastructure. We all love collecting data (okay, maybe not all). Maybe for different reasons. While providing distinct customer experiences, this D2C approach collects data on how consumers interact with content, and buy intent. 

💻 Online shop 

We all enjoy doing things quickly and easily, whether it's home duties or reaching for the remote that's far away from where we're already been seated( The pain is real😖 ). This strategy, which is e-commerce enabled, adds a new online revenue stream while also enabling convenience for shoppers who like to buy directly. ( Do you also love online shopping?)💄 

👤 Models of Personalised Subscription

The subscription model, as described in our whitepaper ( If you’ve already read it, read it again like the way you read your old conversations at night😂), is similar to subscribing to Netflix or Amazon Prime. Subscription models enable CPGs to learn more about what items customers want to buy regularly. This is exactly how subscriptions work ( Obviously), their delivery preferences, and other items they might be interested in. CPGs can then use this first-party data to create custom offers for consumers, increasing brand loyalty and basket size.

 🙅 Commerce at a Crossroads

A look into the future is something we always want. This business model lays the groundwork for continuous and future innovation, allowing CPGs to adopt new ways of communicating with customers as technology advances. ( Technology is speeding up real fast.) 

 💏 D2C with a twist 

Who doesn't appreciate items that are uniquely tailored to them? ( Don't you feel special?)🤭 A one-to-one relationship with the consumer is established when personalization is added to D2C models. This methodology aids in driving deeper consumer connection and sales insights while also providing highly personalized and easy experiences.

As more brands enter the quickly increasing and dynamic D2C arena,  staying ahead of the curve by taking a customer-centric approach to everything from website design to order fulfillment, as well as collaborating with a reputable e-commerce fulfillment company, will ensure long-term sustainability and business success. (Who doesn't want that, right? ) 😉

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WHAT’S COOKING, HUH?

Sony Group Corp. has launched an exclusive game for its PSVR2 next-generation virtual reality headset😍(Where did we go wrong?😭), boosting the platform's allure at a time when metaverse buzz is at an all-time high. (Too much of Metaverse, right?) 😫 

While announcing PlayStation VR2 with an improved headset and VR2 Sense controllers, the Japanese entertainment and electronics giant released a teaser video for the title, which is based on the hit in-house👊 franchise Horizon.

The new technology, which promises improved visual fidelity, head, and eye-tracking, and haptic feedback embedded into the headset, aims for even deeper immersion and could become one of the most popular gateways into metaverse products from companies like Epic Games Inc.(Woahhh) 

The next-generation wired gaming goggles from Sony will include OLED panels with higher resolution than the first generation and a maximum refresh rate of 120Hz. They will plug into the PlayStation 5 home console. (Next gen got nothing to lose) 

The business did not provide pricing or a release date for the headset.

The initial PlayStation VR headset was released as a PlayStation 4 peripheral in 2016 and quickly became one of the most popular devices in its category.

Sony is preparing for a bigger success with the upcoming sequel. Interest may be sparked by enthusiasm for metaverse notions that extend beyond gaming to immersive experiences. ( Can't wait to see what they come up with) 😎

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TOP READS FOR THIS WEEK

🌊 Opensea raised a $300 million round at a $13.3 billion valuation.

👜Avataar raises $45 million to improve the consumer shopping experience with life-sized 3D product evaluation

🚗 Lamborghini Is Getting Ready To Enter The World Of NFTs 

👗 Fabletics launches Any-Wear collection

💆Morphée triples down on your relaxation with the Zen

🍲 This week's sneak peek into the Food Hack 

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In need of a  job? We’ve got plenty awaiting you!

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CHOOSE SUCCESS below and have a great week! ‘Get that D2C business runnin’.