The Full Monty: The Loss of a Friend – June 11, 2018

The impact of the forces for good in our lives; the need for innovation amid GDPR challenges around personal data and machine learning; when to expect fully autonomous vehicles (really); the traits and skills of the modern CMO; your brand's online reputation matters to consumers and journalists alike; Amazon is crushing third-party vendors; uniting digital and physical experiences to boost sales; Facebook and its many device deals; insights on Generation Z; Hollywood is under threat from tech companies; Spotify goes all Amazon on the music industry; what matters to consumers regarding the sharing of in-car personal data; there's a moment of deep distrust of big tech; what we need to get ourselves out of a rut; plus the podcast of the week and more in the Loss of a Friend edition of The Full Monty from Brain+Trust Partners for the week of June 11, 2018.

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The Full Monty, a Brain+Trust Partners publication, exposes you to virtually everything you need in business intelligence at the top of every week. Links are below with commentary in italics. Please sign up for our email updates to make sure you don't miss a thing.

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We've changed "Top Stories" to "Top Story," recognizing that there aren't always multiple links (or perhaps even any link) for the topic upon which we've chosen to opine. Also, the associated YouTube channel goes a little deeper.

Top Story

There seemed to be profound sadness in the world last week. In particular, two celebrity suicides brought the issue of mental illness to the fore – that of Kate Spade and of Anthony Bourdain. And a little closer to home, over the weekend a colleague and friend of over a decade lost his battle with cancer.

Every one of us has been touched by death in some form or fashion. It's simply part of living. Isn't is strange though, how the death of someone whom we've only seen on television should affect us so deeply. Perhaps it's because there's a sense of admiration, or perhaps we feel like a kindred spirit. Or more likely, it's because they've created something that has touched us in a profound way.

Creativity – the use of ideas to produce something – signifies more than simply making. It's about a process, a deep imagination, a output that is the result of pouring oneself into a unique and memorable project. So a creator is much more than a manufacturer of words, art, music, video, or the rest. A creator is someone who sees the world in a certain way and wants you to share in that joy.

So it should be no surprise that the creators are often imbued with a sense of joy, permeated with optimism and hope, as they share their creations with us. They want to surprise and delight us, and they want us to be able to light up as we recognize their realizations.

And that's what Darryl was.

I first got to know Darryl Ohrt through his agency Plaid, which wrote the Brand Flakes For Breakfast blog, helped my firm with an early and adventurous foray into multiple-party video broadcasting, ran a fantastic summer tour for multiple years, and ultimately sent a blow-up doll to my office.

More on his story later this week in the next episode of The Full Monty podcast. I hope you'll be tuning in, either via audio or video.

Darryl Ohrt

Artificial Intelligence / Autonomous

The latest in AI, machine learning, bots, and blockchain, mobility, and autonomous everything.

Aʀᴛɪꜰɪᴄɪᴀʟ Iɴᴛᴇʟʟɪɢᴇɴᴄᴇ / Mᴀᴄʜɪɴᴇ Lᴇᴀʀɴɪɴɢ

The GDPR regulations prescribe a utopian data future where consumers can refuse companies access to their personally identifiable information (P.I.I.), making it more difficult to amass the data needed for A.I. Tech companies will need to innovate and establish an organized infrastructure for data collection with traceable, auditable databases to comply with the regulations.
Apple CEO Tim Cook says he’s not afraid of machines taking over the world. "I worry much more about people thinking like machines than machines thinking like people.”
Google’s seven principles around A.I. include: being socially beneficial; being built and tested for safety; incorporating privacy design principles.
Rather than developing smart speakers or assistants or self-driving automobiles, IBM is instead focused on serving enterprise customers, using A.I. to enhance human intelligence and efficiency, and giving consumers control over their data. Remember that last one – it's important these days. #ownyourdata
The chief technology advisor for the White House, Michael Kratsios, said that the federal government would release any data that would help boost A.I. research.
Voice interfaces are not simply front-ends for search engines or apps. They are a whole new thing. Say hello to Voice Interface Optimization.
Smart speaker company Sonos just unveiled a new product called Beam that will let users boss around Alexa, Siri, and Google Assistant from a single device. SHUT UP AND TAKE MY MONEY.

Aᴜᴛᴏɴᴏᴍᴏᴜs / Mᴏʙɪʟɪᴛʏ

Waymo hopes to bring its self-driving car technology to Europe later this year.
Level 3 autonomous cars are on the horizon. Don't expect to see Level 4 or 5 any time soon.

And yet, Elon Musk tweeted that Tesla has a software update coming in August that will enable "full self-driving features."

Communications / Marketing / Business Strategy

Industry developments and trends, including advertising & marketing, journalism, customer experience, content, and influencer relations.

Sᴛʀᴀᴛᴇɢʏ / Mᴀʀᴋᴇᴛɪɴɢ / Cᴏɴᴛᴇɴᴛ

Influencer marketing has reached mainstream status. Naturally, that means it's time to ask: "Is influencer marketing dead?" The data tell the story.
The average tenure for CMO has increased from 42 months to 44 months. It's still the shortest average tenure for the C-suite. Here are some of the traits and skills the modern CMO needs to thrive.
As digital teams take root in many organizations, it's important for the C-suite to understand the five stages of business that will make it possible for digital teams to properly function.

Jᴏᴜʀɴᴀʟɪsᴍ / Cᴏᴍᴍᴜɴɪᴄᴀᴛɪᴏɴs / Rᴇᴘᴜᴛᴀᴛɪᴏɴ

The secrets of great storytellers.
The recent apology tours of many brands have one thing in common: they demonstrate that corporate integrity is woefully lacking.
A poor online reputation can wreak havoc on your sales and morale—and new research finds that it can also damage your coverage chances with many reporters.

"Character is like a tree and reputation like a shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing."

– Abraham Lincoln

Retail Apocalypse

Humans are a transactional species, and the practice — if not the very notion of what retail is — is undergoing a historical metamorphosis.

If you shop online, you almost certainly buy from Amazon. Close to two-thirds of Americans now say they've bought something on Amazon, according to a new NPR/Marist poll. That's 92 percent of America's online shoppers.
And 91 percent of online shoppers said they rarely or never return things they buy online. That makes online shopping – even with free or low-cost shipping baked in – potentially more lucrative for retailers.
Amazon has long welcomed third-party vendors. But its competitive pricing is crushing Amazon sellers. “It’s like trying to open up a convenience store next to Walmart and trying to do business against them."
If it seems like Amazon dominates most online retail categories, that’s because it does. But despite the online retailer's push into many private-label categories, it is still viewed as a source of staples rather than style. Which explains Walmart's shopping spree in recent years that include Bonobos, Moosejaw, Modcloth and more.
When Walmart acquired Moosejaw, it got more than a quirky retail brand. There's a lesson on how to marry the advantages of a giant with the swagger of the young brands it gobbled up.
Treasure Data suggests to unite physical and digital customer experiences to improve sales performance.
McDonald's is adding self-order kiosks to 1,000 stores each quarter. They also have a shiny new corporate headquarters in downtown Chicago.

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Platforms

News to know about relevant social, virtual, and augmented reality platforms that may affect your business.

Fᴀᴄᴇʙᴏᴏᴋ / Iɴsᴛᴀɢʀᴀᴍ / WʜᴀᴛsAᴘᴘ

In the wake of the Cambridge Analytica revelations, Facebook advertisers seem to have shrugged at the news, and it's business as usual. However, advertisers are quietly rethinking how Facebook fits in establishing trust in the marketing function.
Facebook made customized data-sharing deals that gave select companies special access to user records well after the point in 2015 that the social network has said it stopped such practices. These included a number of device makers.

These arrangements include a Chinese electronics firm that was flagged by U.S. intelligence.
Perhaps it's time for some context: Facebook's device partnerships explained.
One of Facebook's biggest strategic mistakes: it never owned the phone.

Instagram is preparing for longer form video and will offer a dedicated space featuring scripted shows, music videos and more in vertically oriented, full-screen, high-def 4K resolution.
Revealed: Instagram explains its algorithm.
The Wall Street Journal ran a piece on the messy, expensive split between Facebook and the founders of WhatsApp. WhatsApp was based on respect for privacy and they joined Facebook because they said their fundamental principles were being honored. Mark Zuckerberg promised that he wouldn’t run ads on WhatsApp, and then he broke his promise. By the end of the piece, you're left with two choices: "Either Zuckerberg is a liar, or he’s a liar with absolutely no concept of the sunk-cost fallacy."

Tᴡɪᴛᴛᴇʀ

Twitter dissolved its live-video team and consolidated the unit into its content partnerships team, in a move the company said is part of a broader reorganization that will make it easier to put together future deals. The company recently signed more than 30 deals with companies including Walt Disney Co. and NBCUniversal to beef up its video offerings with more news, entertainment and sports.
How to build valuable tailored audiences for your Twitter ads.

Aʟᴘʜᴀʙᴇᴛ / Gᴏᴏɢʟᴇ / YᴏᴜTᴜʙᴇ

The inventor of ANS video compression – a breakthrough compression algorithm – says Google wants to patent his invention; Google says it is patenting specific application of the theory. Pied Piper, anyone?

Oᴛʜᴇʀ

Millennials may be all the rage, but Snapchat has its eye on Generation Z and has published new insights on this demographic.

Media

The latest in the world of streaming video, audio, and the advertising, pricing and bundling models related to them.

Vɪᴅᴇᴏ

Next year, people will spend more time online than they will watching TV. That’s a first, and it's happening much more quickly than expected.
Traditional Hollywood firms scramble to expand their reach and content mix to compete with cash-rich digital rivals. Rest assured, tech companies are posing a real threat to the traditional studio model. See previous story.
A recent study has found that Amazon's Prime Video Channels now accounts for 55 percent of all direct-to-consumer video subscriptions.
Amazon secured exclusive U.K. rights to broadcast some Premier League matches.

Aᴜᴅɪᴏ

Spotify is signing deals directly with some musical artists. Thus the competition with traditional music labels begins. We've seen it with Amazon (as above), and we're seeing it again here: "Use our platform to help your distribution. Thanks for the data. We'll take it from here."
Cannes used to name the Media Person of the Year. That's changing as it named Spotify the first Media Brand of the Year.
Program of the Week: Our pick this week is Beyond 6 Seconds, suggested by Carolyn Kiel. The extraordinary stories of everyday people who are making the world a better place by starting their own businesses, giving back to their communities, and/or working with exciting new technologies. Guests on the show share their stories of inspiration, triumph and struggle; many of them are overcoming tremendous adversity to achieve their goals. Do you have a program to recommend? Add yours to our Google Sheet: smonty.co/yourpodcasts.

Privacy / Security / Regulatory

Business disruptions in the legal, regulatory, and computer security fields, from hacking to the on-demand economy and more.

Pʀɪᴠᴀᴄʏ / Sᴇᴄᴜʀɪᴛʏ / Hᴀᴄᴋɪɴɢ

We don't think about it too often, but one of the largest generators of personal data is our car. And with the advent of more connected cars, it's imperative to understand the use of in-car data. According to Edison Research and Otonomo, it comes down to consumer trust and transparency. And ultimately, what kind of value exchange there is for the driver/consumer.
This moment of deep distrust in big tech gives us an opportunity to rewrite the rules, formal and informal, governing how the data we generate is collected, used, and valued. According to Baratunde Thurston, in doing that, we can write a different future for ourselves.
Facebook said a software bug led 14 million users to post publicly by default regardless of their previous settings over several days in May. Post-GDPR May, we might add.
Apple is introducing more privacy to its browser, including limiting what Facebook and Google can see. A brilliant example of laddering.
With the ability to minutely personalize being diminished thanks to GDPR, contextual targeting is making a comeback.
Singapore's government is creating an advisory council to address the ethical and legal issues of A.I. and data use.

Rᴇɢᴜʟᴀᴛᴏʀʏ / Oɴ-Dᴇᴍᴀɴᴅ Eᴄᴏɴᴏᴍʏ

Uber and Lyft want to roll out electric scooters in San Francisco. Because evidently, there aren't enough already.
Uber is also considering a takeover offer for Motivate, the bike-sharing company behind such programs as CitiBike in New York and Ford GoBike in San Francisco.
From crowdsourced shuttle buses to companies offering rides to lure top talent, here are concepts used in some cities that could one day help your morning commute.
How Uber compares to Chinese rival Didi across the world.
While Airbnb has benefited from a surge in overall digital travel bookings, its growth is being hampered by increasing competition and guests’ concerns over safety and security.

Measurement / Analytics / Data

The future is not in plastics, but in data. Those who know how to measure and analyze it will rule the world.

Here we are, decades into the digital landscape, and marketing analytics still hasn't lived up to its promise. The Harvard Business Review takes a look at why this is.
A handful of the world’s companies have cracked the code on embedding analytics into every layer of their organizations.
What's a customer data platform (CDP) and what isn't.

Mental Nourishment

Other links to help you reflect, improve, or simply learn something new.

Mourning the loss someone who felt like your brother, your rad uncle, your impossibly cool dad—your realest, smartest friend, who wandered outside after beers at the local one night and ended up in front of some TV cameras and decided to stay there: Anthony Bourdain.

“Don’t Eat Before Reading This” was Anthony Bourdain’s 1999 New Yorker story, which stripped the elegant window dressing from the world of high-end restaurants, and launched his career.

Was Fred Rogers like his TV persona Mister Rogers? Even more so.
Strong teams include diverse perspectives, and healthy working relationships and successful outcomes hinge on honest communication. Here's the case for why teams should argue.
The six elements of tragedy on an index card, according to Aristotle. This is Poetic.
This half-hour exercise can get you out of a career rut.

Related: why we owe it to ourselves to spend quiet time every day. "By not giving ourselves the minutes — or hours — free of devices and distractions, we risk losing our ability to know who we are and what’s important to us."

A short audio reflection on taking the time to absorb, reflect, and think:

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Top image credit: The President's House by George Munger, c. 1814-1815 (public domain, Wikimedia Commons)

Monday, June 11, 2018