Conversation Nation: April 2021

This year’s second edition of my Conversation Nation Newsletter comes with exciting announcements, innovative brand campaigns, data privacy talks, and a lot more. Check it out. 

Holler Series B

Holler just announced our Series B raise and couldn’t be more excited for what’s next in the world of Conversational Media. This $36M financing round will allow us to build out the next generation of media in your messages. Stay tuned! Read more about it in TechCrunch here and in Essence.

Tech News Weigh In

There’s a lot going on in the world of tech right now and I’m weighing in on some of the hottest topics. 

Major moves in gaming. Microsoft is in talks to buy Discord, the chat platform for gamers - for more than $10 billion. Gaming has been a major focus for Microsoft recently, and this acquisition would be a huge one for the tech giant.

Bytedance is also stepping up their gaming game. They’re taking on Tencent, a Chinese gaming giant, with their recent acquisition of mobile gaming studio Moonton. This move will help to diversify Bytedance’s offering, expanding beyond the advertising engine they currently have with social platform TikTok. The gaming industry is a lucrative place to be and it seems like everyone wants a piece of the pie! 

On the privacy front, it still proves to be a serious concern for consumers. Signal, the privacy-safe messaging platform, has seen a phenomenal growth as people continue to migrate from WhatsApp due to data privacy worries there. Elon Musk’s simple “use Signal” tweet back in January aided in the major flock to the platform; in fact, Signal gained 42 million new users that day. I don’t foresee talks about data privacy slowing down any time soon. 

Brand Campaign Roundup

At Holler, we’ve had the chance to work with so many innovative brands on campaigns over the last few months. Rounding up some of my favorites of 2021 so far:

Vita Coco - The coconut water brand kicked off the year with a National Hangover Day sticker campaign across Venmo on 1/1. Read more about it here. 

1-800-Flowers sweetened up Valentine’s Day with love stickers for the DMs. 

Guinness helped people raise #AToastTo everyone from healthcare heroes to close friends. 

McDonald’s won the #chickenwars with a crispy.juicy.tender sticker campaign. 

Coors Light scored with March Madness stickers useful for payments. 

Looking forward to seeing how other brands will continue to leverage conversational media to reach people in their DMs and digital payments. Stay tuned! 

Conversation Nation: Sara Morrison of Vox

I had the opportunity to sit down with Sara Morrison, Reporter at Vox, to discuss her views on big tech and data privacy. Sara weighed in on her thoughts about what consumers want from tech companies and where we’re headed next. 

DEI Tips for 2021

Our effort of making the workplace more diverse and inclusive can’t slow down! I shared my tips on how to keep sustained efforts on DEI in the workplace with Protocol. 

Holler Media in our Messages Report 2021 

Messaging is more essential now than ever and people are utilizing content and rich media to have more authentic digital interactions. In our latest data report, we uncover how people are using content to communicate, how they utilize different channels to keep in touch, and how brands can enter the chat utilizing conversational media. Get your report.

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That's all for now! I'm always open for a good chat, so if you have any feedback from this newsletter or just want to get in touch, just Holler!