Lab Weekly - 10/10/2025

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What brands need to know about OpenAI’s Dev Day 2025 event

Here are some implications and opportunities for brands and marketers to consider

From the expanding definition of value-driven shoppers, to the rise of channel-less retail experiences, here are some of the latest retail trends that brands should know

The new Meta Display glasses look impressive, but can Meta’s AI keep up with its ambition?

Hitting over 1 million app downloads within a week, OpenAI’s Sora is an undeniable hit. But with its widespread popularity also comes more criticism and scrutiny. OpenAI has been quick to respond, promising more granular controls for users to control how their “cameos” show up in others’ AI videos. For example, users can now restrict their AI clones from appearing in videos involving politics or stop them from saying certain words.

Hollywood has also began to coalesce around the notion that Sora is a major case of IP violation, following the MPA lobbying group issuing their own warning last week and the WME telling their clients to opt-out. Moreover, Disney has opted out of having its IP appear in OpenAI’s Sora app.

But, OpenAI also teased that fictional characters are officially coming soon to Sora, which, to me, sounds like OpenAI is working on licensing IP. But it is unclear whether they’ll pay the licensing fees or work out a revenue-sharing model with the rights owners.

Related: OpenAI’s Sora has hit over 1 million app downloads [The Verge]; Popular YouTuber MrBeast says AI-generated videos could threaten creators’ livelihoods, calling it “scary times” for the industry [TechCrunch]

Netflix’s launch of “KPop Demon Hunters” inside Fortnite is a savvy move that harnesses the power of gaming for franchise-building. The collaboration goes beyond the usual cosmetic tie-in with character skins and avatars. Starting October 2, Fortnite creators can build their own games using official “KPop Demon Hunters” assets licensed from Netflix—essentially opening the IP to the same creative communities that made Fortnite’s ecosystem thrive.

Within hours of launch, #KPopDemonHuntersFortnite reportedly hit 12 million TikTok views, with fans dubbing it “the best collab since Ariana’s Rift Tour.” The excitement underscores a broader trend that entertainment IPs are no longer confined to screens. For Gen Z, content is meant to be played, remixed, and shared. Future-forward entertainment brands will need to become active participants in interactive, co-creative modes of storytelling to cultivate the next generation of fans.

Related: Netflix’s first TV party games include Lego, Boggle, and Tetris [The Verge]; California bans noisy ads on Netflix, YouTube, and other streaming services [THR]

Microsoft has reportedly started testing a free, ad-supported tier of Xbox Cloud Gaming internally, with a public test planned soon. Users will be asked to watch around 2 minutes of pre-roll ads before playing cloud-based Xbox games. Ad-free supported services like this are, of course, targeted more at casual gamers than Xbox fans, and it will have to compete with a myriad of other popular free-to-play mobile games for attention. That said, this move does open up a new ad channel for brands to tap into the gaming community.

Microsoft is no doubt hoping that this new service could help Xbox grow its user base and bring in additional ad revenues. The recent developments around its Game Pass Ultimate subscription services, with Microsoft calling off a planned 50% price hike in certain markets following user backlash, suggest that Microsoft is still exploring how to monetize its game streaming services and aiming to strike a balance between accessibility and profitability.

Related: Microsoft delays Xbox Game Pass Ultimate price hikes for some subscribers [The Verge]; Sony teases new GPU tech for the PS6 [The Verge]

Amazon’s healthcare division is rolling out new med-dispending kiosks inside One Medical locations across the greater Los Angeles area starting in December. The goal is to reduce wait times at pharmacies and empower people to get their prescriptions filled in a quick, convenient way. While there’s no guarantee that this vending machine approach could work one hundred percent of the time, it is nevertheless an intriguing innovation that aims to tackle a major pain point in the patient journey.

Instagram launched Rings, an awards program recognizing 25 top creators on its platform, who will be rewarded a customized gold ring and plenty of bragging rights, but oddly no direct financial reward. While it is a symbolic move to recognize the cultural tastemakers and center Instagram as a zeitgeist-making platform, I’m sure some of the creators would’ve appreciated more tangible support in today’s tightening creator economy.

General Mills is joining the trend of scripted short videos as ads, as the company debuted The Snacktime Sketch Show on YouTube this week. As the younger generations turn away from traditional media channels and spend an increasing amount on short-form video apps, we will likely see more brands leaning into branded short video to reach audiences with creative and relatable content that blends right in with the rest of their feeds.

• A recent Pew Research Center survey of U.S. parents reveals how widespread technology is for kids ages 12 and younger. 68% of parents surveyed say their kids aged 12 or younger use a tablet, 61% use a smartphone, 50% use a gaming device, and 8% use a chatbot. About one in four parents say their child has a smartphone of their own.

• More young people are experiencing cognitive issues than a decade ago. A new study published in the journal Neurology found self-reported focus and memory problems among 18-39-year-olds nearly doubled in the past decade, jumping from 5.1% to 9.7%. Researchers point to chronic stress, nonstop screens, and algorithm-driven distractions reshaping their attention spans.

• A new study by the Washington Post proved that TikTok is very effective at increasing usage among its users. The study analyzed 1,100 TikTok users’ watch histories across six months in 2024 and found that the lighter users, who were already spending on average 32 minutes a day on TikTok, increased their daily watch time to 45 minutes after just one week. After five months, even the occasional users were spending more than 70 minutes a day on TikTok, more than double the time they spent at the start of the experiment. Meanwhile, the power users were spending more than four hours per day on the app.

If you find our insights valuable and would like to have a deeper conversation on technology and media innovations, or need to sound smarter in a client meeting or a pitch, please feel free to reach out to Ryan Miller, our Director of Partnerships, at ryan.miller@ipglab.com.

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