The Week Kickoff: Easter leaves egg on the face of Deliveroo

We’re kicking things off slightly later this week, as many countries around the world return from their Easter break. There’s certainly egg on the face of Deliveroo, who one of the company’s bankers last week described as having experienced, “the worst IPO in London’s history”. But while the chips are down for the online delivery company, research shows that global consumer confidence is back on the up, and interest in self-care is also growing. So grab your Mon—Tuesday morning coffee, and join us for your free delivery of weekly media trends… 

Deliveroo: the ‘worst IPO in London’s history’? 

Deliveroo made the headlines for all the wrong reasons last week, when it suffered a calamitous introduction to the London Stock Exchange. The Financial Times reported that one of the company’s own bankers had referred to the event as “the worst IPO in London’s history”, while founder of think tank New Financial, William Wright, tweeted that this summation was a little harsh: “Deliveroo’s only ranks 1,765th out of 1,775 IPOs by UK companies in terms of its first day performance.”

What this episode does highlight is the difference between belief and reality when it comes to modern tech IPOs. On the surface at least, Deliveroo would appear to be a prime investment vehicle, at a time when national lockdowns have made takeaway and delivery the only forms of catered food available. But scratch beneath the surface and it’s easy to see a less positive picture. The company is yet to make a profit, and even recorded job cuts in 2020. For the UK government too, this is a less than encouraging result, as it seeks to attract further high-growth companies to the country’s exchange.  

Consumer confidence: back on the up? 

The economy nonetheless, has always been judged on Main Street as well as Wall Street, and new research from global marketing firm Harte Hanks suggests that as more vaccines are distributed, consumer confidence is beginning to bounce back from lockdown frustration

The fifth instalment of the company’s behavioural index is based on findings from 500 million global social conversations, a survey sample of 2,600 people, 20,000 global stories and 2 million semantic artifacts. The study also showed that 35 per cent of respondents believe the pandemic has made them much more mindful of the brands they choose, while 76 per cent retain a focus on the quality of the goods and services that these companies produce. 

Health matters

Another report released at the end of March reveals that self-care has also become an important issue for consumers during the Covid-19 pandemic. A study published by Hearst UK shows that 84 per cent of respondents believe that the country needs greater emphasis on self-care, while two thirds of people are open to or have already increased their investment in health and wellness over the last 12 months

Meanwhile, our very own Pierre de Villiers recently sat down with Men’s Health Editor-in-Chief, Toby Wiseman, about the impact that the pandemic has had on changing attitudes towards psychological health: “Over the past 12 months, the nexus between physical and mental health has become instinctively apparent to all. Confinement has made people appreciate the importance of exercise as medicine. We’ve all come to appreciate just how much the physical impacts the mental.”

One to watch

And finally… Luxury Italian fashion brand Botegga Veneta has launched a digital quarterly journal, as the Guardian last week reported: ‘Fashion world will watch with interest after brand replaces social media posts with magazine.’ Creative Director, Daniel Lee, who pulled the brand from Instagram in January, told the paper’s Associate Fashion Editor, Jess Cartner-Morley: 

“Social media represents the homogenisation of culture. Everyone sees the same stream of content. A huge amount of thought goes into what I do, and social media oversimplifies it… There is a mood of playground bullying on social media which I don’t really like. I wanted to do something joyful instead. We are not just a brand, we are a team of people who work together, and I don’t want to collude in an atmosphere that feels negative.”

The first edition of the magazine, which still appears to be caught between the two similar titles of ‘Issue’ or ‘Issued’, can be viewed here

And as for FIPP…

We’re back with a bang from our own Easter break as the Digital Innovators Summit continues TODAY with a look at sustainability in the media industry. Andy Marshall, Group Managing Director at Immediate Media Co. will join us for a conversation about media innovations and responsibilities around climate change, and you can learn more about the event here.

Main Image: Adobe/Gary L Hider

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