In this week’s edition of Five on Friday, Panera is sweetening their Unlimited Sip Club with more savings, and the European Commission and Canada are banning TikTok on government devices. Also, Netflix slashed their prices in more than 100 territories, hoping to broaden their audience and make up for the password-sharing crackdown, three of MoviePass’s previous executives are facing criminal charges for fraud, and LinkedIn is sharing the latest top subscription jobs.

Panera adds annual subscription option with free delivery

Panera is known for their bread bowls and fresh food, but they’re aiming to make a name for themselves in the subscription space. They first launched a coffee subscription in June 2020 with their #FREECOFFEE4SUMMER promo. Last spring, Panera launched their Unlimited Sip Club membership, and they are making room for expansion.

The subscription service initially offered unlimited self-serve beverages, including coffee, iced tea, lemonade and their signature Charged Lemonade. Unlimited Sip Club started at $10.99 per month. When the service first launched, Panera had an incentive period to allow subscribers to have a free subscription through July 4.

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With the expanded offering, Panera is raising the price to $11.99 per month, but they are adding  incentives to make up for the increase. The fast-casual restaurant is now offering an annual payment option as well. The annual subscription price sits at $119.99 for the year, bringing the cost of the service down to $9.99 per month. In addition to all the subscription program’s regular perks, annual members will gain access to $0 delivery fees on online orders, as well as an exclusive calendar from Shutterfly.

Along with the Unlimited Sip Club comes consumer loyalty. Panera said that subscribers generate 25% of transactions made for the chain. It’s also allowing for more movement with Panera’s loyalty program, which currently sits at 48 million members, according to Restaurant Dive.

Panera recently updated their loyalty program to allow for more choice. Previously, the chain only offered a single reward, that was pre-selected. This helped to drive more usage of the loyalty program, and now half of Panera’s transactions are from MyPanera members.

TikTok banned on government devices in the EU

TikTok has come under fire again. Following in the footsteps of the US government devices ban, the European Commission has decided to follow suit. Staff have until March 15 to delete the app from their devices, CNN shared. Those who do not comply by the set deadline will have difficulty gaining access to their work-related apps, like Skype for Business or their Commission emails, according to the BBC.

Currently, the permanence of the ban is up in the air. At the moment, it is listed as a temporary ban, and is constantly being reassessed, The New York Times reported.

“The Commission is committed to ensuring that its staff is well protected against increasing cyber threats and incidents. It is, therefore, our duty to respond as early as possible to potential cyber alerts. Today’s suspension is an internal corporate decision which is strictly limited to the use of devices enrolled in its mobile service,” the Commission said in a statement.

The Commission said the goal of the move is to protect their data and beef up cybersecurity. TikTok has come under fire for privacy reasons, with many suggesting that its parent company, ByteDance, is utilizing the app to harvest data and put it into the hands of the Chinese government. TikTok claims that they operate the same way other big social media power players operate, BBC reported.

The US government was by no means the first to make the move to ban the video sharing app. India, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Taiwan all currently hold bans on the app, Reuters reported. A handful of universities around the U.S. have banned the app on university devices as well as Wi-Fi networks, including Boise State University, the University of Oklahoma and the University of Texas-Austin.

The Commission’s ban comes with more stipulations. While public devices are barred from having the app, any private devices that have work-related apps or information are also not permitted to have TikTok, Tubefilter shared.

Earlier this week, Canada also banned TikTok from government-issued mobile devices, citing privacy concerns and the potential for the spread of misinformation and propaganda, said NPR.

“I suspect that as government takes the significant step of telling all federal employees that they can no longer use TikTok on their work phones many Canadians from business to private individuals will reflect on the security of their own data and perhaps make choices,” said Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said.

Netflix cuts costs of service in 100+ countries and territories

Netflix hopes to grow its audience by slashing prices for subscribers in 100+ countries and territories. New, lower prices will affect more than 4% of Netflix’s customer base, or 10 million people, according to TechCrunch. Depending on location, the drop in price for the basic tier is between 20% and 60%. The price drop goes into effect immediately for new and existing subscribers.

Netflix tweeted the price in Malaysia was dropping 7RM, bringing the price down to 28RM per month, or $6.31 per month.

The new price is just under what the Basic tier in the U.S. costs, at $6.99 per month. Netflix has previously lowered their prices in India, so this is not a first-time strategy for the streamer. Other markets that will see lower prices include Yemen, Jordan, Libya, Iran, Croatia, Slovenia, and more, The Wall Street Journal shared.

There are two reasons the company could be doing this: to make amends to customers for the unpopular password-sharing clampdown or to help them compete with lower-priced streaming services like Disney+ and Hulu. Netflix is aware of their position in the market and that consumers have options. Netflix wants consumers to choose them as their top streaming subscription service and to ensure they surpass expectations.

“We seek to serve more members around the world in trying to deliver appropriate value at those different price points, and we’re doing a good job expanding that range. There’s a bunch of people around the world in countries where we’re not deeply penetrated, and we have more opportunities to go attract them,” said Greg Peters of Netflix in a statement.

This move comes after Netflix announced they would more widely roll out their crackdown on password sharing, with it moving into the UK soon. With their new format, Netflix is allowing users to pay extra for a “sub-account,” allowing password sharers to stay on the account for a small fee.

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Former MoviePass exec charged with fraud

MoviePass may not be opening another waitlist any time soon, but that isn’t keeping them out of headlines. Last week, a former executive from the company, under its previous ownership, was charged for embezzlement from the subscription service.

Khalid Itum was indicted on charges of wire fraud and money laundering. At the time of the alleged wire fraud and money laundering, Itum claimed the marketing company “Kaleidoscope” was hosting a marketing event for MoviePass at Coachella, which was aimed at raising MoviePass’s social profile. What was left out of the equation was the fact that Itum owned Kaleidoscope, and he allegedly paid himself $260,000 for this marketing event.

Prosecutors allege that neither MoviePass or previous owners Helios and Matheson Analytics took place in the Coachella event, Variety said. However, MoviePass had several legitimate events at Coachella’s 2018 festival, to the tune of $1 million. Itum has pleaded not guilty to any charges related to MoviePass. He was released on $75,000 bond, Insider reported. He will appear in court again April 18. Itum previously faced criminal charges for stealing money from a former employer. At that time, Itum admitted to charging personal expenses to his former employer’s debit card.

This was not the first time that executives from the subscription company have run into trouble with the law. Last November, Mitch Low and Ted Farnsworth, the former heads of MoviePass, were hit with charges of securities fraud as well as wire fraud. Lowe and Farnsworth claimed that the service’s “unlimited” $9.95 service plan was tested and sustainable. The pair also claimed that MoviePass would be profitable and break even just on subscription fees.

“Farnsworth and Lowe are each charged with one count of securities fraud and three counts of wire fraud. If convicted, they each face a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison on each count,” the Department of Justice said at the time.

LinkedIn: Top Subscription Jobs

Director of Membership, Marketing and Audience Development
The Colorado Sun (hybrid)
Denver, CO

The Colorado Sun, a nationally recognized leader and award-winning digital news outlet, seeks a mission-driven Membership, Marketing and Audience Director to oversee the expansion and retention of our membership through marketing, outreach, social media initiatives, community engagement, newsletters and data-driven strategic planning. Colorado is a dynamic, complex state, and we’d like your help as we innovate and continue building our new journalism business model to meet the coverage challenges. The Sun has seen spectacular growth through bootstrap efforts since its launch as a public benefit corporation in 2018, and now it’s time to bring aboard our first Membership, Marketing and Audience Development Director to help us connect our powerful journalism with even more Coloradans. The Sun has built an open-access model with no pay wall, a voluntary tiered membership structure built on mass-audience free newsletters and premium paid newsletters. Read more.

Affiliate Marketing Manager
The Farmer’s Market
New York, NY (hybrid)

The Acquisition Manager, Affiliate Marketing will be responsible for owning and scaling TFD’s affiliate program. This person will grow and lead various partnerships focused on acquiring new subscribers. This person is responsible for sourcing new partnerships, handling existing partnerships, improving efficiency, implementing new strategies for scale, and running all related reporting and data analyses. A successful Acquisition Manager, Affiliate Marketing will need to have an analytical and data-driven approach to problem solving that is supported by strategic and creative thinking. Read more.

Director, Demand Generation
Thomson Reuters
Eagan, MN

Thomson Reuter’s Demand Gen Team is dedicated to developing and implementing innovative and effective integrated marketing campaigns across a range of industry-leading products that span three core segments: Legal Professionals, Corporates, and Tax & Accounting Professionals. This Director role sets the strategic approach and execution for Thomson Reuters demand generation and lifecycle marketing across all segments, maximizing marketing attributed sales, revenue and growth within the organization. We are seeking an experienced, data-driven and inspiring leader for Director, Demand Gen, to drive robust and integrated marketing strategies across segments. This is a high-visibility role, with strong opportunity for innovation and leadership, and requires a self-motivated individual with strong analytical background and communication skills. Read more.

Head of Growth Marketing
Philo
San Francisco, CA

Philo is looking for a highly-motivated Head of Growth Marketing. This is a marketing leadership role that encompasses end-to-end performance marketing strategy across paid online and offline media channels. You are proactive, ROI driven, and ready to set an example of excellence for a passionate team who are helping to drive the business. The Head of Growth Marketing will be responsible for optimizing, refining, and managing high LTV growth. This role works cross-functionally with Brand, Design, Finance, and Product. The position reports directly to the Head of Marketing. Read more.

VP of Growth
Little Spoon
New York City Metro Area (hybrid)

Little Spoon is the leading direct-to-consumer brand on a mission to make parents’ lives easier through high-quality, accessible feeding solutions for babies, toddlers + big kids that conveniently deliver right to parents’ doors. We are looking for a VP of Growth, an experienced and self-driven leader of Little Spoon’s performance initiatives and strategies. Reporting directly to the CEO, this leader will continue to elevate Little Spoon by taking charge of our multi-channel growth strategy using data-driven and business intuition decision-making. You will lead a small but mighty team of growth marketers, and work cross-functionally with brand marketing and other teams to achieve business goals. Read more.