Your Weekly Pencil - February 8, 2021

New Signals

• The rise of quick commerce — rapid delivery that takes less than an hour — is boosting investment in infrastructure. Despite the pandemic, 2020 saw UK investment in distribution warehouses reach £4.7B, up 25% YoY.
• DTC businesses with a subscription model should be aware — a new New York state law will force businesses with automatic renewal programs to notify their users before the renewal is due.
• Influenced by the growing trend of livestream shopping, YouTube will start testing out shoppable videos, allowing viewers to click on a shopping bag icon in the video to learn more about any products mentioned.

Fortune's Jeremy Kahn interviewed Pencil CEO, Will Hanschell - "Can this AI startup bring back the three-martini lunch?"

• "I watched a demo of Pencil’s software in which it created a series of Facebook ads for an eyeglasses company. It came up with the tagline, “Your frames, your way,” as well as, “Your wildest looks, perfectly crafted,” each paired with appropriate still images. Not exactly Don Draper. But not bad. And as Hanschell points out, in the volume game of today’s digital advertising jungle, plenty good enough to start acquiring customers."

Check out our first machine-generated "Ad of the Week" - Watch video here, kudos to Roman

• "I watched a demo of Pencil’s software in which it created a series of Facebook ads for an eyeglasses company. It came up with the tagline, “Your frames, your way,” as well as, “Your wildest looks, perfectly crafted,” each paired with appropriate still images. Not exactly Don Draper. But not bad. And as Hanschell points out, in the volume game of today’s digital advertising jungle, plenty good enough to start acquiring customers."

Something deeper

• When the universe shares an idea, write it down.

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