Mediaboss Marketing

HONG KONG, Aug. 26, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Newborn Town (9911.HK), the largest social-networking company going global in China, announced its interim results on 25 August 2021. The Group recorded a significant growth in revenue and net profit with rapid development of the social-networking products. In particular, the revenue from value-added service business grew remarkably.

Newborn Town also announced the change of Chief Executive Officer (CEO). Mr. Li Ping, the Former President, was appointed as new CEO of the Group. Mr. Liu Chunhe, the Chairman, will focus on the Group's strategies, organizational construction and social value in order to continue to create greater and longer-term value for the Company's development.

1H 2021 Revenue over RMB 1 Billion and Net Profit Surged by 40 Folds

Newborn Town's report shows that the Company's total revenue reached RMB 1.04 billion for the six months ended June 30 2021, representing a Year-on-Year growth of nearly 6 folds, of which the revenue from value-added service business reached about RMB 0.82 billion, which is equivalent to a Year-on-Year growth of over 50 folds, and accounted for 79.1% of the total revenue.

The Company's profit for the period reached about RMB 0.14 billion, representing a Year-on-Year increase of 40 folds, while adjusted EBITDA increased Year-on-Year by nearly 8 folds to RMB 0.18 billion.

In the first half of the year, the Company increased investments in product research and development, expanded its R&D team to 276 members, and R&D expenses increased Year-on-Year by nearly 4 folds. Meanwhile, the operating efficiency of the Group greatly improved, resulting in a revenue created by per employee of RMB 2.02 million.

The substantial growth in revenue and profit was driven by the rapid development of social-networking business. In the first half of 2021, the average number of Monthly Active Users (MAU) of the Company's social products reached 17.41 million, representing an increase of 38% as compared to the second half of 2020. The breakthroughs in developed markets have resulted in the continuous increase in the Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) of social-networking products.

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Social products enjoy great reception worldwide and significant growth in developed markets

In the past two years, Newborn Town has been actively expanding into the developed markets. In the first half of the year, its social products grew rapidly in developed markets such as Europe, North America, Japan and South Korea with continuous enhancement in user value.

Flagship product MICO is among the list of Top 5 highest-grossing social applications in Canada, Sweden, Switzerland, Belgium, Portugal and other developed countries. In addition, the voice-chat social product, YoHo, has also entered the list of Top 10 highest-grossing social applications in the US, France and other European and North American countries. Such remarkable results have demonstrated strong competitiveness of the Group's social products in developed markets.

Co-founder and Former President Mr. Li Ping Appointed as New CEO

On 25 August, the Board of Directors of Newborn Town appointed Mr. Li Ping as the new CEO, who will be fully responsible for the business management of the Company. And Mr. Liu Chunhe, who has resigned as the CEO of the Group, will continue to serve as the chairman and focus on the Group's strategies, organizational construction and social value in order to continue to create greater and longer-term value for the Company's development.

Mr. Li Ping joined Newborn Town in 2011 and is the Co-founder of the Company. He previously held several positions such as Chief Operating Officer (COO) and President of the Company.

He has a thorough understanding towards the global internet market and is experienced in product development, operations, and market expansion. He was once selected as "Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia" and "Hurun China Under 30s To Watch".

In 2013, Mr. Li Ping directed the design and development of the Company's first global product, Solo Launcher, which quickly accumulated more than 100 million users. The development team was certified by Google as "Global Top Developer". In 2015, Mr. Li Ping created the Shuffle advertising model and obtained a patent, leading to a new trend in the industry.

Over the years, Mr. Li Ping has led Newborn Town in its expansion into the global market, development of tens of epic social and gaming products, establishment of AI engine and user scenario engine, as well as the creation of the ecosystem of global traffic, which contributed to the Group's continuous business growth.

Looking ahead, he will be fully responsible for the Group's business management and lead the Group to achieve greater success and rapid development.

Focus on Scale Expansion to Achieve an All-Rounded Growth

During the interim results presentation held on the 26 August, Mr. Li Ping said that the Company would strive to scale up its business and further increase investment to achieve an all-rounded growth.

Regarding product planning, the Company will continue to plough deeply into the open social-networking sector with strategic focus on developing video and audio products. The Company will optimize core products, and improve user duration and stickiness, whereby to promote an all-rounded growth in user base, revenue and profit.

Regarding market development, the Company will continue to expand into the developed markets and put additional resources in the operations in North America, Europe, Japan and South Korea, in order to expand the user base and product popularity. The Group will also strive to explore more potential markets to further improve its global layout of social-networking business.

The Company will strive to seize the demographic dividend of the young generations worldwide, with a niche focus on young people such as generation Z as well as explore emerging technologies and business models.

All in all, Newborn Town maintained rapid growth in the first half of the year, with breakthroughs in revenue, net profit and user base. As the company further improves its strategic planning for long-term development and investments, a sustainable, rapid and all-rounded growth in business scale can be expected.

Cision

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SOURCE Newborn Town Inc.

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Newborn Town (9911.HK) Announced 2021 Interim Results, Revenue Surged by 6 Folds and Former President Mr. Li Ping Appointed as CEO - Yahoo Finance

Oatey's Social Media Ambassadors champion the Oatey family of companies (including Oatey, Dearborn, Hercules, Cherne and more) in the field, creating unique multimedia content to be shared across social media and other digital platforms. Throughout the year, Ambassadors receive curated Oatey swag and are given the opportunity to try Oatey's newest products firsthand. This year's class of Ambassadors also includes Bobby Drescher and Trey Young, who were unable to travel to Cleveland.

The Ambassadors' three-day visit included the ultimate Cleveland experience, such as dining at local restaurants, attending a Cleveland Browns game and sightseeing throughout the heart of the city. Additionally, Ambassadors were given a private tour of Oatey's manufacturing plant and completed hands-on training at Oatey University alongside the company's expert technical applications team. The Ambassadors also met with Oatey's product development team to give direct input about products and share their unique insights from the field.

"We're very fortunate to partner with these exceptionally talented professionals," says Katherine Lehtinen, Senior Vice President, Brand and Digital Marketing. "It was a pleasure having them in Cleveland and being able to celebrate our partnership, as well as build our relationships even further. We're looking forward to the continued growth of our Ambassador program in the years to come."

Individuals interested in becoming a future Oatey Ambassador can submit their information on the Oatey website for consideration. For additional information about Oatey's Social Media Ambassador Program, follow along on Instagram or visit oatey.com.

ABOUT OATEY CO.

Since 1916, Oatey has provided reliable, high-quality products for the residential and commercial plumbing industries, with a commitment to delivering quality, building trust and improving lives. Today, Oatey operates a comprehensive manufacturing and distribution network to supply thousands of products for professional builders, contractors, engineers and do-it-yourself consumers around the world.

Oatey is based in Cleveland, Ohio, and has locations in the United States, Canada, Mexico and China. For more information, visitwww.oatey.com, call (800) 321-9532 or follow Oatey on Facebook,Twitter,LinkedInorInstagram.

SOURCE Oatey Co

oatey.com

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Oatey Co. Hosts its Social Media Ambassadors at Cleveland Headquarters, Oatey University Training Facility - PRNewswire

Heard of the metaverse lately? It has been hard not to.

Facebook Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg mentioned techs latest buzzword 16 times on his companys most recent earnings call last month. The future of Facebook, he said, is a metaversea virtual environment where you can be physically present to hang out, play games, work and create.

But he didnt coin the term. Tech companies ranging from Intel Corp. to Unity Software talked up the metaverse last year. And Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella discussed the the enterprise metaverse in his companys earnings release last montha day before Facebooks call.

Nvidia has been an especially loud proponent of the idea. Last year, the company launched a platform called Omniverse for connecting 3-D worlds into a shared virtual universe. Chief Executive Jensen Huang used the companys largest annual conference in October to publicly credit Neal Stephensons 1992 science fiction novel Snow Crash as the original inspiration for the concept of a virtual reality successor to the Internet, noting the metaverse is coming.

Never mind that, in an interview for a 2017 article about his novel, Mr. Stephenson told Vanity Fair he was just making sh-t up. Decades after the book was published, technologys leaders are taking his ideas more seriously than ever.

See original here:
Big Tech Wants You to Live in a Virtual World. Prepare for Real Problems. - The Wall Street Journal

When 17-year UBS Financial Services veteran financial advisor Marc Gendell moved to Ameriprise Financial in June, his new affiliations social media marketing was among its biggest draws.

Gendell, who has been in the industry since 1998, said earlier this month that Ameriprise is ahead of the curve in this regard and he started getting new referrals almost immediately after making the move.

Ameriprise believes that social media is a highly effective way for advisors to prospect for clients, especially in their localities, and the upside is too great to ignore.

Thats relatively progressive thinking in an industry that has generally been slow to embrace social media its use picked up last year, partly as a response to fewer opportunities for in-person networking and wary of compliance complications.

The use of LinkedIn has been most pervasive, with 48% of advisors using the platform in 2020 compared to 33% in 2017, according to a report from the Investment Adviser Association and National Regulatory Services. Growth has been more pronounced with Twitter, with 21% of advisors using the platform in 2020, sharply higher than 4% in 2017, the report notes.

Ameriprises social media strategy includes pre-approved, original and automated content for LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter with compliance already built in, according to information on its website.

Ameriprise's Social Media Tips Source: Ameriprise Financial Five tips for advisors to use social media to build their practices Mitigate Risk. Partnering with a social media back engine like Hearsay helps mitigate compliance risk by screening both inbound and outbound content for keywords and phrases to avoid. Be dynamic and be yourself. Social media is about authenticity. Even when youre posting pre-approved content, add a personal note to better connect with your audience, provide insights and distinguish you from your competition. Listen and engage. Social media is a conversation, so its important to not just post, but to listen and engage, too. Grant On Behalf Of access. For social media to be most effective you should post regularly and never go dark. Bring your social network to life. The most powerful relationships are the more personal ones.

Gendell who joined Ameriprise in Atlanta and has $285 million in client assets, according to the firm says social media has opened completely new opportunities for client prospecting for him across the U.S. He has been able to connect with prospects beyond his locality and with multiple people children, grandparents, siblings, aunts and uncles within families.

Posts that get more personal such as fun office updates get the best results, according to a spokesperson for Ameriprise.

Sometimes, posts that get engagement have nothing to do with work, says Niraj Chhabra, an Ameriprise advisor registered with the firm since 2006 who has an attorney client-focused practice in New Jersey.

We leverage Facebook paid ads to advertise our attorney seminars and networking events, Chhabra said. We also recently started using Facebook videos to spotlight successful and interesting attorneys. In addition to financial articles, Im able to share glimpses of my personal life with clients and prospects."

Facebook post of advisor's attorney networking event

GoSocial for a fee

If Ameriprise advisors want a social media presence beyond a standard LinkedIn profile, they have to enroll in a monthly fee-based program called GoSocial that grants them access to a catalog of pre-approved social media posts, among other things.

The need for social media marketing to comply with regulations is part of the reason for the fee, according to the Ameriprise spokesperson, who didnt disclose the actual fee or its structure. GoSocial has been in place for six years, the spokesperson noted.

Broker-dealers are required to review and archive all social media posts and comments. By giving advisors a slate of options to post, that review gets done on the front end by the firms supervision team, the spokesperson notes.

Advisors can always create their own content that must go through Ameriprise compliance checks, or they can adapt pre-approved material, according to the spokesperson.

That ability for advisors to customize their content is a key differentiator Ameriprise provides within this program, the spokesperson said. Custom content drives significantly higher engagement rates within the social media platforms and thus this functionality helps our advisors drive meaningful connections with clients and prospects.

Social media posts risk violating the Securities and Exchange Commissions advertising rule under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940. However, the SEC amended that rule in December to allow testimonials and endorsements, including on social media. The changes will go into effect in November 2022.

Without giving specific numbers, the Ameriprise spokesperson says the number of advisors enrolled in GoSocial is five times the industry average and they reported both higher usage and higher effectiveness within the social media channels.

GoSocial is powered by Hearsay Social, a provider of social media services for the financial services and insurance industries, the spokesperson says.

Do you have a news tip youd like to share with FA-IQ? Email us at editorial@financialadvisoriq.com.

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FA Says Ameriprise Ahead In Social Media Marketing. This Might Be Why. - Financial Advisor IQ

Executive Summary

Introduction

In July 2021, a federal judge dismissed the Federal Trade Commissions (FTC) antitrust complaint against Facebook in part due to its inability to establish a concrete claim of market power in a properly defined antitrust market. On August 19, the FTC refiled its antitrust claims against Facebook, this time seeking to more clearly define the market it accuses Facebook of dominating and the claims that it had maintained that dominance through buying and burying potential rivals in its acquisitions of companies such as Instagram and WhatsApp.

While this revised complaint is more specific than the prior complaint, there is already debate about if the proposed market definition is accurate. Market definition for todays Big Tech players as well as the technology industry in general is a key point of dispute in debates around antitrust. In order to succeed with its case, the FTC will need to show Facebooks dominance in the market it has defined, and the court will need to accept its arguments justifying the relevant market. The current proposed market definition is narrow and, even if successful, could have consequences for consumer welfare due to the innovation and changes involved in such a dynamic market. At the same time, defenders of tech companies should be careful to avoid hyperbolic and overly expansive definitions of markets that would allow behaviors that truly are harmful to consumers. As Congress considers the potential for additional FTC powers regarding antitrust and even proposals that would lower the standards for proving the relevant market, it is important to examine the impact that misguided market definitions could have on consumer-benefitting actions.

Antitrust Law and Identifying the Relevant Market

The relevant market for the purposes of competition law considers both the product market and the geographic market for the company in question. While there are ongoing debates over whether Big Tech companies compete on a national or international level, for the purposes of an antitrust case the geographic market is less debated: A court is likely to consider the range of competitors and substitutes available in the United States. (There is a more complicated debate regarding the relevant geographic market for retail and e-commerce that this piece will not address.) The question of the relevant product market for various technology services such as Facebook or Google remains an intensely debated issue.

There are a series of tools courts use when determining if the proposed market constitutes the relevant product market. These include an examination of demand substitutes, supply substitutes, and additional competitors. In general, when determining if demand-side substitutes exist, the analysis looks at the ability of consumers to switch to other products were a price increase to occur. Some argue that given the fact that many technology services are free, it is difficult to conduct such analysis for these products and services; economists, however, have pointed to other objective tools that can be used for similar analysis. In other scenarios, the market may be better defined by the effect of such changes on suppliers rather than on consumers, and therefore a similar analysis of relevant price changes can be conducted. These tools are used to determine an appropriate relevant market that reflects the relevant constraints of competition and geography on a product or service.

Issues with Overly Narrow Market Definitions

The FTC has succeeded in past antitrust enforcement actions with narrower definitions of the relevant market than some consumers would expect. This success, however, may be less beneficial to consumers and stifle the ability of a business to adapt to a rapidly changing industry. Two notable examples of this dynamic are past FTC actions concerning office supply stores and video rentals. These examples help illustrate the potential negative impact on consumers of narrow market definitions.

In 1997, the FTC blocked the merger of office supply stores Staples and Office Depot. In this case, the agency used a definition that limited the relevant market to only the sale of office supplies through office superstores as opposed to the sale of office supplies. This distinction limited the market to three major players at the time (Staples, Office Depot, and Office Max) and ignored the competition from smaller local suppliers, general retailers such as Walmart and Costco, and the potential for online retail to emerge as a competitive force. To support this narrow definition, the FTC provided evidence that these office supply retailers viewed each other, and not general retailers, as their primary competition and that market concentration from the merger would likely increase prices in this market. The judge accepted the FTCs theory of the case and blocked the merger. The retail market, however, continued to evolve, but these still separate supply stores struggled to remain relevant and compete. In 2013, when OfficeMax and Office Depot sought to merge, the changes in the retail landscape including the emergence of online retail led to a broader market definition that allowed the merger to proceed.

The market definition included in the refiled Facebook case may have a similar static view of the market that misses the emerging competitors that consumers actually have to choose from. In hindsight, even if the growth of online retail could not have been predicted, the narrow market definition in the Staples-Office Depot case was likely more limited than the substitutes consumers already had encountered and considered such as Walmart and Costco. In the refiled Facebook case, the FTC seeks to define Facebooks market as personal social networking services that connect friends and family. This definition eliminates not only targeted social networking services such as running app Strava or professional networks such as LinkedIn that may seek to serve a specific community or interest, but also those that are more aimed at general broadcast such as TikTok and Reddit. But when examining market definition, the question should be focused on how consumers view potential substitutes. Many users use Facebook in a variety of ways, including for the more general broadcast usage discussed or for their specific community or interest. The result is there are already applicable substitutes that are popular and used by many of the same consumers in the same way Costco or Walmart was for office supply stores. Additionally, as International Center for Law and Economics Sam Bowman noted in an analysis of the FTCs original case against Facebook, such definitions could even exclude the challenged Instagram or WhatsApp from the relevant market.

Hindsight may be 20/20, but a narrow definition of the market neglects the reality of existing substitutes and the range of ways in which people use various services. Looking only at one aspect of the market may result in enforcement actions that could limit more beneficial services or unfairly prevent its ability to respond to consumer demands in an evolving market.

Another example of antitrust enforcers failing to see the impending changes to a market and instead sticking to a narrow market definition is found in the case of video rental giants Blockbuster and Hollywood Video. In 2005, the FTC blocked the merger of the two market leaders in video rental. The dynamics of the home entertainment market, however, were beginning to change with the growing popularity of new entrants such as Redbox and Netflix. In this case, regulators acted on a presumption that home entertainment would forever mean going to the video store while early indication showed a broader change in the market. The static view proposed by antitrust enforcers in a narrow market definition may miss the impact of innovative changes that are improving consumers experience in the market.

The FTC proposed definition of personal social media networks may be risking a similar error. Gen Z is consuming more creator-driven content through services such as YouTube and TikTok and shifting away from social media platforms such as Facebook. These competing services continue to see rapid growth and have even begun to surpass Facebooks success by some measures. A definition of personal social media networks that ignores the changing landscape social media is undergoing more generally may prove misguided in hindsight, as did ignoring new trends in home entertainment in favor of only a narrow definition of video rental stores. The result is the company subject to antitrust enforcement may not be able to adapt their experience to the consumer demands and may struggle to keep up with market dynamics. Such a static snapshot of market definition may be outdated by the many years it takes for a case to conclude.

Can the Market Be Too Expansive?

While much of the issue of market definition focuses on concerns that a market may be misidentified to show market power that does not really exist, a market still must be clearly definable and not so broad as to miss potentially harmful behavior to consumers. The objective economic tests used for market definition in identifying potential substitutes and appropriate geographic areas largely serve as a balance for such concerns.

While a service such as Facebook may have many uses and compete in different markets, it is hyperbolic to claim the entire internet serves as competition. Again, if past cases serve as an illustration, while limiting the market to only video rental stores with a large geographic footprint may seem too narrow and problematic in hindsight, there are distinctions that can be made between home entertainment and a more general entertainment category including movie theaters and amusement parks. While in some ways market definition seems to be a Goldilocks issue of too expansive, too narrow, or just right, the focus on consumer welfare and the experience of consumers coupled with existing economic analysis tools can serve well to yield a balanced approach even in dynamic and zero-price markets such as social media.

Conclusion

The FTC continues an aggressive approach to antitrust enforcement that seems to have lost its focus on consumers and their welfare in favor of achieving policy goals or punishing a disfavored industry with unclear evidence of harm. The dynamic nature of the technology industry makes it difficult to correctly define the market, but overly narrow definitions risk harming consumers through unnecessary interference. Congress should ensure that there remains sufficient oversight of the FTC and that its activist desires do not undermine its purpose as a consumer protection agency in favor of other policy goals.

Link:
Facebook, Market Definitions, and the Goldilocks Problem - AAF - American Action Forum