Advertisers Aren’t Afraid Of TikTok

Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité…but no BlackRock ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

April 7, 2023

Read in Browser

Good morning.

We guess this makes him the King of Pain.

According to his own tweet, hip hop mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs is still paying rock legend Sting $5,000 a day for the privilege of having sampled the Police song “Every Breath You Take” in 1997 to create the backbeat for his own hit, “I’ll Be Missing You.”

Diddy took to Twitter and fact-checked Sting telling Hot97’s The Breakfast Club in 2018 that he received $2,000 a day for the sample. Quoting the tweet, Diddy wrote “Nope. 5K a day. Love to my brother [Sting].” At $5K a day, that’s a whole lotta love.

Morning Brief

•

With a possible ban looming, TikTok sees more ad sales.

•

Paris is still burning.

•

There’s a burrito bowl battle royale brewing.

Social Media

Advertisers are Bullish on TikTok Despite its Uncertain Future in the US

(Photo Credit: Solen Feyissa/Unsplash)

Everybody loves TikTok, right? Well, except for the American, Australian, Canadian, French, Danish, Norwegian, Latvian, Dutch, British, and Taiwanese governments.

So considering that the social media app is in regulatory crosshairs around the globe and facing a potential nationwide ban in the US, you’d think advertisers would be running for the hills. And you’d be wrong.

In the Hot Seat

American TikTokers account for 150 million active monthly users, the app’s biggest market. That’s made it difficult for major advertisers like Pepsi, Amazon, and Apple not to hop aboard the TikTok train despite the growing threat of derailment. The Financial Times reported that US advertising on the platform grew by 11% in March, according to data from app analytics group Sensor Tower. Some of that money could have been committed to marketing efforts before the recent grilling of TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew by a US Congress that called to mind a Luddite relative asking you how to work “the Google” for the umpteenth time.

After reports came out that TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, could be putting sensitive user data in the hands of the Chinese government, the app has become public enemy #1 for politicians across the aisle. It’s not a stretch to argue that TikTok is a national security threat, or that social media has negative effects on mental health, but that’s all just a thin coat of paint for what’s actually going on here. America and China are political and economic rivals, and Congress doesn’t want a Chinese-born app to rule the roost on US soil:

•

The Biden administration is demanding ByteDance sell TikTok to an American company or risk being banned in the states. There’s no official deadline, so it might all just be chest-thumping at this point.

•

Digital advertising makes up the bulk of TikTok’s $10 billion in global revenue. Insider Intelligence forecasts the platform to see more than $14 billion in revenue in 2023. But with the possible ban, the FT reported that some major media agencies are already advising their clients to shift their advertising efforts toward Meta and Google.

But given the ways of Washington, no need to rush. “There’s unlikely to be an executive order resulting in an immediate ban that would impact advertisers,” Joshua Lowcock, chief media officer of UM Worldwide, told the FT. “Even with bipartisan support the legislative process will be protracted — giving marketers ample time to plan alternative strategies.”

Backup Plan: Let’s say TikTok is cast out of American society. In that case, ByteDance would probably push one of its many other apps like Lemon8, which has been gaining plenty of attention recently. What’s the difference between the two? Not much. Lemon8 looks like a cross between Pinterest and Instagram with plenty of the short videos TikTok is known for. It’s similar to China’s Little Red Book app, which has become a powerhouse in the live shopping world. The app had 290,000 downloads in the US, most of which came in March, the Associated Press reported. As with weeds, you take down one social media app and another will just take its place.

– Griffin Kelly

Public Policy

Protesting Parisians Raid BlackRock Office

Let them eat… fixed-income investment portfolios?

For 11 straight days, the French have been fiercely protesting the prospect of a slightly longer working life, and peeved Parisians continue to turn their ire toward anyone and anything even tangentially connected with Emmanuel Macron’s pension reform. The latest target? BlackRock’s Paris office.

The Crepes of Wrath

Never come between a Frenchman (or woman) and their right to a leisurely lifestyle. And certainly don’t do so via ostentatiously undemocratic means, as President Macron did last month when he triggered special constitutional powers to circumvent a parliamentary vote en route to raising the retirement age from 62 to 64.

BlackRock, the largest asset manager in the world, has zero to do with pension reform. But it is a massive player in the private pension game — providing reason enough for over 100 protesters to storm its third-floor office suite as if it were the Bastille:

•

Unlike most European countries, France’s pension system remains entirely publicly funded on a pay-as-you-go basis. But Macron argues that demographic shifts will spur dangerous deficits in the decades to come, as the ratio of workers-to-retirees shifts from about 1.7:1 in 2020 to 1.2:1 by 2070.

•

However, the nation’s own Pension Advisory Council said in a report last September that deficits are unlikely in the long term under the current system. And protesters see the reforms as emblematic of Macron’s unwillingness to raise taxes on the wealthy and fear he is laying the groundwork for creating a mixed public-private pension system — hence the BlackRock attack.

“The government wants to throw away pensions,” one protester, 51-year-old school teacher Françoise Onic, told Reuters. “It wants to force people to fund their own retirement with private pension funds, but what we know is that only the rich will be able to benefit from such a setup.” C’est la vie, says this American.

Across the Pond: Speaking of BlackRock and the messy entanglements of public entities and private finance giants, this week the FDIC asked the asset manager to help find new homes for $87 billion and $27 billion orphaned securities portfolios of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank. And the portfolios primarily consist of an asset Larry Fink knows all too well: mortgage-backed securities. Maybe there’s something to be said about the average Frenchman’s penchant for righteous anger that occasionally turns riotous.

– Brian Boyle

SPONSORED BY THE MOTLEY FOOL

$10 of Netflix in 2004 Is Worth $1,884 Now

That’s an eye-watering rate of return… and one any investor would kill to see again.

That’s exactly why you need to check out 5 Growth Stocks Under $49 from The Motley Fool.

When The Motley Fool first recommended Netflix way back in December ‘04, it was trading at a cool $1.85/share. Now, at today’s price of $348/share, your portfolio balance would have two more zeros to the end – not bad for a single investment recommendation.

Now imagine if you took that same advice and made early investments in some of The Fool’s other picks, like Amazon in 2002 ($0.77/share) or Tesla in 2012 ($2.12/share).**

Almost hurts to think of how much money we could all have if we just listened…

Now we may not be able to give you a time machine, but we can give you the next best thing: Access to The Motley’s Fool’s latest list of growth stocks that might be the next Netflix.

Get your copy of 5 Growth Stocks Under $49 for free (for a limited time) right here.

Restaurants

Chipotle, Sweetgreen Avoid Copyright Lawsuit

This could go down as one of the most piquant legal clashes in corporate history.

Chipotle filed a lawsuit against Sweetgreen over an alleged trademark infringement on one of the salad slinger’s latest menu items: the “Chipotle Chicken Burrito Bowl.”

The Food Court of Law

Most customers expect some combination of rice, beans, proteins, veggies, and — if they’re splurging — a side of guacamole when they’re ordering at Chipotle. Sweetgreen, on the other hand, was served a cease-and-desist from the fast carne king’s legal department on Tuesday after introducing the warm salad menu item last week.

Despite its likely popularity among your office cohort, Sweetgreen, with a market value of just $821 million, remains a pretty small pea compared to Chipotle’s $46 billion empire (after all, salads don’t exactly cross-appeal to city commuters, hungover college students, and calorie-starved high school athletes the way an overstuffed burrito does). Perhaps that explained why the salad chain wilted faster than baby spinach when faced with a spicy legal complaint:

•

On Thursday, Sweetgreen opted to rename the salad the “Chicken + Chipotle Pepper Bowl,” prompting the two sides to quickly resolve the lawsuit.

•

“We are pleased that Sweetgreen has chosen to amend their materials in a manner that protects our trademarks and intellectual property,” Chipotle’s Chief Corporate Affairs Officer Laurie Schalow told Bloomberg.

Happy Holidays: The timing of the legal showdown — and Sweetgreen’s new menu item rollout — is no coincidence. Thursday marked National Burrito Day, prompting both chains to offer a bevy of promotions, with Sweetgreen selling its newly renamed bowl for 50% off to most customers. Though we might suggest celebrating the occasion by patronizing your local taco truck.

– Brian Boyle

Extra Upside

•

I’ll have a number 110001001: Restaurants see robo-servers as the answer to labor shortages.

•

Eyes on the road: Tesla workers say cameras are recording drivers and passengers.

•

It’s your favorite childhood friend’s birthday this week. We’re talking, of course, about Chips Ahoy!, everyone’s perfect post-school snack. To celebrate, they’ve teamed up with NTWRK to release a limited-edition birthday kit that contains all kinds of goodies – including an exclusive hoodie designed by streetwear designer Vandy The Pink. Tune in to their livestream on the NTWRK app April 7th @ 5PM ET to purchase yours.*

*Partner.

Just For Fun

Elevator time.

He’s got skills.

Have a great weekend!

Disclaimer

**[Returns as of 4/5/2023]

ADVERTISE // CAREERS

No longer want to receive these emails? Unsubscribe here.

//campaignmonitornewsletter.everestengagement.com/ea/BntD2QJCyg/?e=postie@btcnews.com.au’ width=’1′ height=’1′ style=”margin-top:0 !important;margin-bottom:0 !important;margin-right:0 !important;margin-left:0 !important;padding-top:0 !important;padding-bottom:0 !important;padding-right:0 !important;padding-left:0 !important;border-width:0 !important;height:1px !important;width:1px !important;-ms-interpolation-mode:bicubic;” />