December 11, 2023
Studio
This week, LinkedIn shows it's up for a laugh, Instagram shows it can be responsible and Robinsons shows it’s a strong, independent squash that doesn’t need no Wimbledon.
So. many. emotions.
LinkedIn gives the people what they want
LinkedIn is rolling out a new ‘laughing emoji’ after members said it was a key, missing feature. The laughing reaction will be added to six other response options, which the platform offers as a way to more easily participate in conversations. ‘Funny expresses that the post made you laugh, felt humour, or offered light-hearted fun in a professional context.’ it wrote. It comes after Chief Product Officer Tomer Cohen asked users for ideas and suggestions on how LinkedIn could improve the platform, receiving thousands of responses from members across the world. Cohen and his team collated the feedback into five main categories - that the platform will be implementing over time - but not before noting what the people really wanted. “Before we dive into it, I wanted to start with one of the top requests we got - a laughing emoji reaction. We hear you loud & clear and we agree. Humour is indeed a serious business.” The new reaction isn't available to everyone just yet, but keep an eye out for happy tears.
Instagram introduces new age-verification methods
Instagram is growing up - literally and figuratively. The platform has introduced new age-verification methods after finally realising (acknowledging) that users can (do) lie about their age. The Meta-owned app has partnered with UK digital identification provider Yoti to test video selfies with facial analysis software as a new form of verification. According to Yoti, the technology estimates age by analysing human faces and facial features, with an error range of around a year and half. Meta says both companies will delete the image once a user’s age has been confirmed, adding that the technology cannot identify anything else about a person. As well as a video selfie, users will also be able to verify their age by uploading ID or through social vouching, which involves asking three users over 18 to confirm their age, but they cannot be vouching for any other users at the time. It’s a start.
Robinsons & Wimbledon. It's the end of an era.
Robinsons and Wimbledon have ended their 86 year partnership - one of the longest running in sporting history. The Britvic-owned brand announced last week that it will no longer be sponsoring the Wimbledon fortnight and will instead be celebrating the whole of summer with a new concept. The All England and Lawn Tennis Club confirmed the split, stating that it was ‘tremendously proud of the historic association with Robinsons over so many years and thank them for the wider role they have played in supporting Wimbledon and tennis across the UK.”
The squash brand’s association with Wimbledon dates back to 1935 when a drink made of barley, lemon juice and sugar was created to hydrate the players. It was so popular that it went into commercial production shortly after, becoming the official soft drink provider for the tennis championships and launching the famous ‘anything else just isn’t tennis’ slogan in 1988. While neither party gave any reasons for ending the partnership, it’s alleged that Britvic wanted to promote more of its product portfolio at the tournament, which Wimbledon was reluctant to do. Whatever the reason, Wimbledon 2022 will forever be the tournament of ‘’squashed dreams’. Here’s 3 of our favourite ads to officially say goodbye.
