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Web Summit 2023 Daily Recap: Podcasts, influencers and digital legacy

Web Summit Lisbon 2023, Portugal

Portugal – Some 70,236 attendees from 153 countries gathered in Lisbon for the launch of the world’s largest tech conference on 14 November 2023. The day was packed with talks, introductions to start-ups, and panellists sharing insights on everything from AI and influencers to podcasts and journalism.

According to Dino Sofos, not every brand can successfully launch a podcast. The CEO of Persephonica highlighted how celebrity or mainstream status alone isn’t enough to ensure a good podcast, emphasising uniqueness. The former BBC journalist and current Dua Lipa: At Your Service podcast co-founder advised anyone seeking to create podcasts to consider the business opportunity – citing a 25% rise in US podcast advertising since 2021. Revenue streams exist beyond ads, such as sponsored social media content or live shows generating thousands of ticket sales. Sofos emphasised the sizeable podcast audience (40–42% of the UK and the US) but stressed the need for a PR and video strategy to stand out amid the saturated podcast market.

Influencers were undoubtedly Web Summit’s rock stars as they stepped on stage to discuss their career and the future of the creator economy. Twenty-one-year-old American TikToker Loren Gray (54m followers) questioned creators’ legacy and digital footprint: ‘It would be impossible for me to leave social media because I have had that direct contact with my community since I started in 2016 at 13. My whole childhood is archived on the internet.’

Elsewhere, Camila Coutinho, the self-defined Brazilian grandma of blogging – she started in the 2000s – addressed the necessity for agility to exist beyond virality. ‘Things last way less than they used to. We must create more and split our time between doing things we know will work and trying new things.’ As explored in The Rise of the Expert Influencer, consumers’ needs have changed, and, as Gray explained, ‘shoving a product to a creator and expecting results’ is no longer a reality.

Strategic opportunity

When investing in influencer marketing, consider authenticity as the new online currency. Find the creators who are already fans of your product and services instead of commissioning legacy influencers for their large following

Dcypher launches AI-driven custom concealer for all skin tones

Dcypher, UK

UK – Cosmetics brand Dcypher has launched the world’s first AI-driven colour match technology and customisable concealer for all skin tones.

Dcypher uses AI-video scanning software to accurately measure each customer’s skin tone and create a unique skin tone tag. This tag is then translated into a ‘mixed to measure’ solution, creating a personalised product that perfectly conceals blemishes, dark circles and hyper-pigmentation.

After processing, colour tags are stored in an online database for repeat ordering. Colour shades can also be tweaked darker or lighter depending on the customer’s personal preference, or to match fluctuating skin tone following a holiday, for instance. The concealer follows the brand’s debut colour-matched foundation, which was launched in 2021.

The AI technology and made-to-order production system allow Dcypher to offer the perfect shade for every customer, reducing cosmetics waste and positioning itself as the first truly inclusive make-up brand.

As explored in our AI Optimism market report, technology works best and lasts when it makes consumers feel good; for many consumers, this will be the first time a product truly matches their skin. Dcypher is setting new inclusivity and sustainability standards for make-up brands.

Strategic opportunity

Consumers increasingly want hyper-personalisation from every purchase. Consider how your brand could implement AI to provide a customised element to its products or e-commerce experience that boosts customer loyalty and reduces wasteful returns

Global Citizen and Kendrick Lamar bring major concerts to Africa

Africa – Move Afrika: A Global Citizen Experience, a new initiative that aims to establish an international touring circuit across Africa, will be launched with a concert in Rwanda on 6 December 2023, headlined by rapper Kendrick Lamar.

Alongside performances by Lamar and other regional artists, Move Afrika: Rwanda will feature an advocacy campaign urging world leaders to take action on issues affecting Africa.

‘Hopefully, this will send a message to the entire industry that not only is there a huge, huge opportunity on the continent for them to engage with and embrace, but ultimately, that this is something that is necessary considering where we’re going as a society and as humanity,’ Kweku Mandela, Global Citizen’s chief vision officer, told The Associated Press.

In our Great Concert Comeback report we explored how our post-pandemic musical era is being defined by over-the-top live tours. Global Citizen hopes Lamar’s performance will entice music artists who appeal to Africa’s booming youth generation to the continent, as well as spur the growth of small businesses.

Kendrick Lamar. Photography by Greg Noire

Strategic opportunity

Brands targeting Gen Z should consider sponsoring international concerts in Africa for a unique chance to gain visibility and build positive associations in a rapidly growing market

Stat: Gaming content creators are on the rise in France

Photography by Artem Podrez, Poland

France – The French gaming sector is thriving, according to new research released by influencer marketing agency Reech. As Paris Games Week came to a close after attracting about 180,000 visitors from 1–5 November, the study explores the sector’s cultural influence.

Video games – which were officially defined in 2006 as the 10th art by the Ministry of Culture – are big business in France. The number of gamers in the country has increased by nearly 11% since 2018, and attendance of the Parisian gaming show has increased by 21% since its last edition in 2021. Data suggests that growth in the gamer community is echoed in the amount of gaming content creators. Reech compared the number of gaming influencers in 2018 and 2023, noting an increase of 78%, from 9,351 creators to 16,608 in September 2023.

Reech also notes that interest in gaming peaked during Covid-induced lockdowns, but recent figures indicate that the sector is maintaining momentum by continuing to innovate. Stay ahead of new developments in the sector in our Gaming topic.

Strategic opportunity

With interest in gaming growing steadily, consider whether your brands could partner with gaming content creators to market products or services outside of the gaming spectrum