A Shorter Workday; An Increase in AI Usage

The average workday has decreased by 37 minutes, according to a new report from ActivTrak Productivity Lab. As HR Dive reports, the reduction is occurring at the end of the workday, as employees shut down about a half-hour earlier than during the previous five quarters. 

“This shift did not result in a loss of productivity, but rather an improvement in workload balance,” said Sarah Altemus, productivity lab manager for the Austin, Texas-based company, which markets a device that tracks employee app and website activity. 

Between January 2022 and June 2023, total work time decreased by 6 minutes, to a total of 7.6 hours per day. However, nearly one-third of employees are still logging more than 10 hours of work per day, with about 7.2 hours considered productive time, the report says.

Other recent reports have noted a drop in worker productivity over the last five consecutive quarters. Nearly half of hybrid-work employees say they lose hours of productivity each week to technology issues.

Twitter Rebranded X, but ‘Tweets’ Remain Part of Cultural Lexicon

Elon Musk made headlines by changing Twitter to X, but “tweet,” the common term for posting messages on the site, remains for now. To publish a message on X, you still click a blue button that says “tweet.” To repost a message, you still tap “retweet.”

In 2011, the Oxford English Dictionary added “tweet” as a verb for sending messages on Twitter. Merriam-Webster followed suit in 2013. But as soon as he took over the company in October 2022, Musk began erasing Twitter’s corporate culture and image in favor of his own vision. Twitter is now X, consistent with Musk’s other X-named brands, SpaceX and Tesla’s Model X. 

“Language has always come from the people that use it on a day-to-day basis. And it can’t be controlled, it can’t be created, it can’t be morphed. You don’t get to decide it,” author Nick Bilton told the Associated Press.

Musk has said that his goal is to turn X into an “everything” app for video, photos, messaging, payments and other services, though he has given few details. For now, X is still essentially Twitter, even as its blue bird logo and other playful branding have flown away. 

Majority of Communicators Are Regularly Using AI in Their Work, Study Finds

Marketing and communications professionals have been embracing and experimenting with artificial intelligence to generate content, finds a survey by The Conference Board and Ragan Communications.

According to the report, 87% of marketers and 85% of communicators surveyed have used AI, with 68% in marketing and 60% in communications now using it at least “sometimes” in their daily work.

Ivan Pollard, who leads the Marketing & Communications Center at The Conference Board, said AI technology “will transform the workflow in all areas of the marketing and corporate communications disciplines.” He urges communicators to “focus on those places where our human genius is augmented by the power of machines.”

Among marketers and communicators surveyed, 82% expect their productivity to improve as they adopt AI further. Communicators are currently using AI to summarize content (41%), do legwork and inspire thinking (35%), produce content faster (28%), conduct research (26%), write press releases (17%) and write speeches (14%).

Among marketers and communicators surveyed, misinformation, inaccuracies and legal uncertainties are top concerns regarding AI.

Marketing’s Starring Role in the ‘Barbie’ Movie’s Success

“Barbie” became a candy-colored pop culture sensation thanks in part to the movie’s marketing campaign, which has resonated with longtime fans and intrigued newcomers. As of mid-August, “Barbie” passed $1 billion at the global box office — the highest grossing film ever directed by a woman.

Before the movie opened on July 21, parent company Mattel created immersive partnerships and tie-in products with more than 100 brands. The “Barbie Selfie Generator” website allowed people to insert their own images into the “Barbie” poster. At theaters, a promotional display that resembles an enlarged box for a Barbie doll lets fans pose for photos, which when shared on social media help promote the movie. 

“Over the last six months, every area of the company has played a part in promoting” the film, David Zaslav, CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery, said during an August earnings call. Those efforts included a “Barbie Dreamhouse Challenge” series on HGTV and a “Barbie”-themed “Summer Baking Championship.”