All eyes on an Epic feud
The backstory
Last August, Fortnite was kicked out of Apple’s App Store for letting users pay for in-app purchases directly. What followed from Fortnite’s maker Epic Games was a lawsuit, and a video parodying Apple’s “1984” advertisement, earning over 7.6 million views. Consumers around the world are eagerly awaiting the outcome, showcased by our search of Apple and Epic Games in the same boolean, which resulted in over 270K mentions since the feud began. Fast-forward to Monday, where Apple and Epic Games met in a courtroom to begin a trial that will shake up the tech industry regardless of the conclusion.
We’ve monitored conversations around top executives of Apple and Epic Games to understand how their names were showing in conversations weeks before the trial.
The debate has already started. During the seven days leading up to the event, there were 20K conversations on the topic, and on Monday alone, with the start of the trial itself, that number doubled to 40K! Looking at the conversations over the past month we were able to see that different witnesses have been mentioned in relation to the trial or major accomplishments by both brands. As the trial date got closer, the names of the two CEOs rose above the rest, and peaked on Monday with 2K mentions each.
Tim Sweeney, CEO of Epic Games, tweeted before the trial started about Apple’s influence on his view of computing as a child, and received 4K engagements.
Whatever the outcome. Over the last year, there have been more and more questions around the power of the biggest tech companies (activities, size or nature of operations). This trial will set a precedent regardless of the outcome, as it will define the way in which developers can be a part of iOS devices, and the overall commission that Apple receives from them. Closely monitoring your brand as well as your top executives during these events is key not only to protect brand health but also to understand the views of your consumers.
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About Talkwalker Talkwalker helps the world’s leading brands activate the voice of the customer in real-time by making sense of consumer and customer feedback across all channels. Going beyond social listening, our AI-powered conversational intelligence platform connects the dots between what customers feel, say, and do. Talkwalker enables customer-centric companies to drive revenue, increase retention, and reduce costs. With offices in Luxembourg, New York, San Francisco, Frankfurt, Singapore, Paris, Tokyo, London, and Milan, we provide best-in-class service to our 2000+ clients across the globe. For more information, please visit www.talkwalker.com.