*Carlo Versano*
Brands with an insatiable appetite for marketing on social platforms have a new way to reach engaged users at scale, according to Adam Cohen-Aslatei, vice president of marketing at the Jun Group.
Mobile games and other "utility apps" like dating services are capturing users' attention more than social media , Cohen-Aslatei said, and companies would be wise to shift their advertising priorities, too.
"People report being more focused, more relaxed, and more engaged" while playing games compared with social media, Cohen-Aslatei said Tuesday on Cheddar. Games also have relatively consistent content that is safer for brands than user-generated content that can be controversial, offensive, or worse.
Studies have shown social media can be bad for your [body image](https://www.bbc.com/news/health-45006627). It's where teens are turning to try and cope with [depression](https://hopelab.org/reports/pdf/a-national-survey-by-hopelab-and-well-being-trust-2018.pdf). It's rife with [misinformation] (https://www.technologyreview.com/s/611806/how-social-media-took-us-from-tahrir-square-to-donald-trump/), [conspiracy theories] (https://www.reuters.com/article/usa-congress-socialmedia/social-media-companies-defend-filtering-practices-before-congress-idUSL1N1UD10Y), and [trolling] (https://variety.com/2018/digital/global/ruby-rose-batwoman-quits-twitter-following-trolling-1202902971/).
By contrast, the gaming environment is "going to be 100 percent brand safe," Cohen-Aslatei said, adding that there are more than 800,000 mobile games for marketers to choose from.
Gaming interfaces also typically involve a full-screen experience that shows ads only when users elect ー what Cohen-Aslatei called a "value exchange" between the brand and consumer.
The rapidly growing gaming market, where more than 200 million Americans play each month, is showing itself to be a place to reach people in a "mental mindset" that's conducive to the messages advertisers want to deliver, Cohen-Aslatei said. He's advising his clients to diversify their ad dollars with an eye toward mobile games.
"You reach people who are really 100 percent interested," he said, increasing the chances they'll move down the "marketing funnel."
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A rare magnum of Dom Pérignon Vintage 1961 champagne that was specially produced for the 1981 wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana has failed to sell during an auction. Danish auction house Bruun Rasmussen handled the bidding Thursday. The auction's house website lists the bottle as not sold. It was expected to fetch up to around $93,000. It is one of 12 bottles made to celebrate the royal wedding. Little was revealed about the seller. The auction house says the bids did not receive the desired minimum price.
The New York Times and President Donald Trump are fighting again. The news outlet said Wednesday it won't be deterred by Trump's “false and inflammatory language” from writing about the 79-year-old president's health. The Times has done a handful of stories on that topic recently, including an opinion column that said Trump is “starting to give President Joe Biden vibes.” In a Truth Social post, Trump said it might be treasonous for outlets like the Times to do “FAKE” reports about his health and "we should do something about it.” The Republican president already has a pending lawsuit against the newspaper for its past reports on his finances.
OpenAI has appointed Slack CEO Denise Dresser as its first chief of revenue. Dresser will oversee global revenue strategy and help businesses integrate AI into daily operations. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman recently emphasized improving ChatGPT, which now has over 800 million weekly users. Despite its success, OpenAI faces competition from companies like Google and concerns about profitability. The company earns money from premium ChatGPT subscriptions but hasn't ventured into advertising. Altman had recently announced delays in developing new products like AI agents and a personal assistant.
President Donald Trump says he will allow Nvidia to sell its H200 computer chip used in the development of artificial intelligence to “approved customers” in China. Trump said Monday on his social media site that he had informed China’s leader Xi Jinping and “President Xi responded positively!” There had been concerns about allowing advanced computer chips into China as it could help them to compete against the U.S. in building out AI capabilities. But there has also been a desire to develop the AI ecosystem with American companies such as chipmaker Nvidia.
