Welcome back to The Shoppe! This week we’re talking about the growing hard seltzer industry, the increase of voice-based apps, the unethical side to advertisements incorporating deepfakes, and more. Don’t forget to subscribe so you can be notified every time we post.

Similar to Budweiser and Corona tapping into the rapidly growing hard seltzer market, Heineken has announced the launch of their own hard seltzer brand, Pure Piraña, in Europe. In an effort to capitalize on the growing demand of health-focused beverages, Heineken is branching out of their beer comfort zone and implementing a “beyond beer” strategy. Unlike the US, the hard seltzer category is still relatively scarce in the UK. With this being said, Heineken plans on being one of the first to market their brand in Europe in an attempt to dominate the market share in the category. The company explains how the hard seltzer reputation is shifting from artificial and juvenile to a more adult and balanced concept, which is why the trend is growing. Pure Piraña was launched first in Mexico and New Zealand in September and will be introduced into the UK and other countries throughout the year and into 2022. Social media will be crucial to their next launch as influencers spreading the word was the key to success in Mexico where Heineken is now a market leader. 

Clubhouse announces accelerator program for creators on its platform

As the pandemic continues to influence and increase our online presence daily, Clubhouse has announced the launch of their first creator accelerator program. This program is designed to help aspiring hosts and creators boost their audience, associate with brands, and monetize their shows. Clubhouse’s success has induced the release of numerous voice-based apps from large competitors such as Twitter Spaces and the forthcoming app from Facebook. Going hand-in-hand with this new program, Clubhouse has introduced new features that users have been inquiring about including link sharing and language filtering. Additionally, the app no longer requires users to give access to their contacts and, instead, allows users to personally invite new people to the platform by using their phone number. While Clubhouse may remain invite only and the app is not yet available for Android users, it was still valued at $1 billion during a recent funding round. The accelerator program will be accepting 20 creators and is now taking applications through March 31st.   

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