The Scoop: 2.8.22

We’re pretty jazzed about this week’s edition of The Scoop 🥳. Who doesn’t love seeing a
billionaire doing something for the common good, digital innovations in clinical trials (finally!), companies partnering to share data, we mean bolster their subscribers 😉 and creators getting fair pay on the most used platform (for now)? Also, last week we shared our
perspective with MM+M on another hot topic, the ongoing controversy with Spotify, Joe Rogan and COVID misinformation. (SMH!) And on another note… a little self-promotion for our awesome Scoop team, we are happy to share a new feature below. ⬇️ So please share this newsletter with your network.

Breaking Down Barriers: Bringing Health Care to Underserved Communities

Nearly 62% of parents say they delayed or went without health care within the past 12 months due to Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) barriers such as employment or lack of proper transportation. Telehealth and digital disruptors including Uber, Lyft and Amazon are playing a major role in bridging that gap. CVS Health is collaborating with Uber Health to provide patients in underserved areas with free rides to medical care, work or education. Mark Cuban’s drug company (MCCPDC) rolled out its DTC online pharmacy, delivering meds at lower prices than market rates. And Amazon launched a digital pharmacy that allows customers to buy prescription drugs using cash or insurance coverage. This follows its plan to grow its virtual and in-person health care platform Amazon Care. Looking ahead, we expect even more partnerships between health and tech companies within the larger health care ecosystem given the ROI potential.

Sources: AMA, JAMA, EMARKETER, HEALTHCARE INNOVATION

Are Partnerships the Secret Ingredient to Subscribership?

Remember back in the early 2000s when cable TV was the primary subscription in your life? These days, we’re seeing paid subscription fragmentation extend far beyond streaming services to include monthly product deliveries (hello toothbrush subscription) and creator-focused platforms (you know the ones). 😉 As we mentioned last month, even legacy social platform Instagram is testing paid subscriptions. For those in the sub game, partnerships seem to be essential to their acquisition and retention strategy. Disney+ captured nearly 20% of its 118 million subscribers thanks to its Verizon partnership. AMC+ soon sought a similar deal. SiriusXM is attempting to bolster retention by bundling its service with Discovery+ in hopes of increasing the value of its offering. Some social influencers even require that you follow an influencer friend of theirs before accepting your request – another partnership of sorts. If your marketing strategy produces subscribership or involves working with creators, now is the time to assess unique muti-partner deals that create shared value and extend reach for all parties.

Sources: VERYWELL HEALTH, THE VERGE, MARKETING BREW, SiriusXM

Say It Out Loud: Voice Technology Is the Future

If you don’t feel odd speaking out loud to a computer – whether an Alexa assistant or voice to text on your iPhone – you’re not alone. Voice continues to be a huge and growing market. And given the continuing COVID-19 pandemic, the need for voice technology is expected to increase in the health care industry in particular. Last month, THREAD, a company focused on supporting decentralized clinical trials, acquired inVibe to better integrate voice technology into its clinical trial research. Other companies, including Microsoft, continue to advance voice tech capabilities and AI software to stand out among transcription services for health care providers. Isn't it odd to think we’re circling back to the good old analogue advertising storytelling format? (Hi, AM/FM radio! 👋)

Sources: FIERCE BIOTECH, SPEECHMATICS, FINANCIAL TIMES

Will TikTok Be Able to Hang On as the Creator and Subscriber Darling?

#DYK that TikTok pays its creators from a finite pool of money, which means the more creators who join the fund, the less money there is to go around? While it might feel like the ghost of Vine’s past, TikTok should take heed: that app went under in large part because it did not model its paid model for creators like YouTube does. YouTube creators are paid relative to the ad views their actual content generates – which TikTok can’t do because it can’t insert pre-roll or ads mid-clip. When creators leave, subscribers leave – and TikTok has paid attention, looking to create its own subscription model. Did Instagram start something new to address this? In case you missed the two other times we called this out (we’re intrigued, clearly!), Instagram has a beta running for influencers to have a subscription to Highlights. The catch? The payment model hasn’t been fully determined yet. 🙄

Sources: NBC NEWS, ENGADGET, SOCIAL MEDIA TODAY

And In Other News… 

Once again, Twitter is being put to good use. A 19-year-old freshman at the University of Central Florida created Twitter accounts that track the flights of billionaires. Guess what? The billionaires aren’t happy!

An influential and award-winning podcast – no, not The Joe Rogan Experience – says it won’t create new episodes unless the show is intended to “counteract misinformation being spread on Spotify.” 🥇

This year, video will account for more than half of all programmatic display ad spending for the first time. In 2023, the amount of money U.S. advertisers spend on digital video programmatically will surpass linear TV ad spending. 📈

Contributing Writers and Editors: Carissa Dagleish, Ricki Kahn, Lauren Fernández Meihls, Stephen O’Neil, Jennie Szink and Bre Thomlison

Real Chemistry’s The Scoop is brought to you by an editorial collective, featuring industry updates and insights from subject matter experts across social media, digital and influencer activation teams. 

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