Category: General Content

Häagen-Dazs’ New VR Initiative Will Let You Fly Amongst Bees

Posted on by Lab Team

What Happened
Virtual reality has brought new possibilities to branded content, and Häagen-Dazs has become the latest brand to leverage its immersive power to enhance its brand storytelling. For its latest installment of its ongoing content series on the environmental value of bees, the popular ice cream brand is turning to virtual reality to raise awareness about the plight of the honeybee. Working with Reach Agency, the company created a short VR experience that puts viewers into the perspective of a flying bee, aiming to inspire empathy and engage the audience on a visceral level.

What Brands Need To Do
This is the latest example in the surge of VR content initiatives in recent years that opt for branded storytelling instead of product demos. For instance, American Family Insurance worked with AOL to develop a three-part, branded VR series focused on inspiring dream-chasers. Samsung also partnered with VICE to build out its VR content offers to attract consumers. The brand narratives that VR is enabling marketers to construct and deliver to consumers represent a big opportunity that brands need to heed.

How We Can Help
Our dedicated team of VR experts is here to guide marketers through the distribution landscape. We work closely with brands to develop sustainable VR content strategies to promote branded VR and 360 video content across various apps and platforms. With our proprietary technology stack powered by a combination of best-in-class VR partners and backed by the media fire-power of IPG Mediabrands, we offer customized solutions for distributing and measuring branded VR content that truly enhance brand messaging and contribute to the campaign objectives.

If you’d like to learn more about how the Lab can help you tap into the immersive power of VR content to engage with customers, please contact our Client Services Director Samantha Holland ([email protected]) to schedule a visit to the Lab.

 

Source: AdWeek and HaagenDazsUS’ YouTube

Audi Ventures Into eSports With ELEAGUE Team Sponsorship

Posted on by Lab Team

What Happened
Audi has signed on as an official sponsor to Astralis, an award-winning Danish eSports team that specializes in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. The team is set to compete next in the upcoming ELEAGUE Major in Atlanta, Georgia. As one of the biggest eSports tournaments of the year, ELEAGUE attracted record high volume of live viewers last year.

What Brands Need To Do
Audi’s sponsorship marks a significant entry into the eSports arena from auto brands, which has previously been mostly sponsored by CPG, consumer tech, and telecom brands. Last October, Snickers announced it has signed on as a sponsor of ELEAGUE tournament’s broadcast on TBS. Previously, early-adopting brands, such as Coca-Cola and Geico, have sponsored eSports events to reach its young-skewing Millennial audience. As competitive gaming continuously beat out viewership expectations and saw consistent growth over the past few years, brands, especially those seeking global recognition, need to start leveraging the massive reach of eSports events and platforms via sponsorships and ads.

 

Source: Mashable

Amazon Ramps Up Paid Search And Launches Virtual Dash Buttons

Posted on by Lab Team

What Happened
Amazon is launching a paid search product as it seeks to monetize the heavy ecommerce traffic the site commands. A recent survey shows that nearly half of online shoppers start their search on Amazon, so it is only natural for the ecommerce giant to give Google, the undisputed leader in paid search, a run for its money. In addition to promoted search results, the Seattle-based ecommerce behemoth also says it also plans to create customized pages for brands not selling on Amazon. For example, auto marketers can create detailed product pages on Amazon that offer consumers more product information, reviews, and a link to set up test drives.

In related news, Amazon is also adding virtual Dash Buttons” to the home page of its website and mobile apps. Introduced in April 2015, Dash Buttons are branded, connected physical buttons that Amazon Prime customers can push for a quick reordering. Now with the virtual buttons that Amazon shoppers can customize based on their preferences, Amazon is making one-click habitual reordering even easier and readily accessible.

\What Brands Need To Do
Amazon’s two new products both aim to leverage its massive scale to further its market dominance and lock in online shoppers. For brands selling on Amazon, the paid search ads may be worth a try for a short-term boost in visibility. The Dash Button, on the other hand, is a great tool for brands to develop and maintain consumer loyalty by enabling convenient reordering. For brands with CPG  products, it would be wise to work with Amazon to develop their own branded buttons to cultivate a long-term relationship with consumers.With the popularization of connected devices, we expect to see more automatic replenishment services like Amazon Dash pop up in the near future.

 

Source: AdExchanger & ARS Technina

Hasbro Launches Children’s Lifestyle Brand Led By Branded YouTube Series

Posted on by Lab Team

What Happened
Toy maker Hasbro is launching a new children’s brand called Hanazuki. The new brand is based on and driven by the company’s first ever digital cartoon series that debuted this month on YouTube and the YouTube Kids app. The branded series, produced by Hasbro Studios in collaboration with Titmouse Studios, contains 27 11-minute-long episodes and follows the space adventure of Hanazuki and her friends inspired by whimsical characters originally created by two Amsterdam artists.

Hasbro plans to launch a Hanazuki digital app in April, with branded consumer product offerings to follow throughout the year. A toy line inspired by the series will launch this summer featuring over 175 collectible figures and plush items, as well as a wearable device that “enables kids to share their moods.”

What Brands Need To Do
Launching an entire new product line based on a new cartoon series is a pretty ballsy move for toymakers, who typically relies on licensing existing IPs that are proven popular with children to introduce new products. However, the advance in digital video distribution and shifting habit in media consumption have made it possible for a cartoon series on YouTube to attract a sizeable audience to launch a new franchise off. In fact, a recent eMarketer study shows that about half of the U.S. children and teens spend over 3 hours watching YouTube every week.

This example shows that it is time for brands to reconsider their content strategy in the face of shifting media consumption and fragmented audience attention and start take advantage of the zero-cost digital distribution channels like YouTube and Twitch to reach a global audience.

 

Source: PSFK & Hasbro YouTube

 

Birchbox To Open A Physical Store In Paris

Posted on by Lab Team

What Happened
Online beauty retailer Birchbox is set to open its second brick-and-mortar store in Paris, following its first physical store that opened in NYC in 2014. The company plans to deliver a store experience that emulates the “beauty products in a box” subscription service it offers online, allowing customers to personalize their own box of sample-sized products from the store’s shelves or buy full-sized products. Birchbox, founded in 2010, now claims claims one million subscribers across the U.S. and a few European markets.

What Brands Need To Do
This is the latest addition to the ongoing trend where online retailers are branching out into the brick-and-mortar world. A most prominent example in this regard, of course, is Amazon, which has opened several physical bookstores with plans to open more, including one in Manhattan. Besides bookstores, Amazon is also piloting an innovative grocery store concept called Amazon Go that is register-free. After all, physical retail still accounts for nearly 90 percent of all retail transactions. Therefore, it makes sense for an e-retailer like Birchbox to try to recreate their online customer experience in the real world to attract new customers. As shopper behaviors continue to evolve, retailers need to better utilize customer data to connect with shoppers across all sales channels by taking a more personalized approach.

The Lab has extensive experience working with retail and CPG clients to create and implement digitally-enhanced experiences for their stores. Our recent work with NYX Cosmetics incorporated the brand’s social assets into its retail experience and offered an innovative take on in-store sampling with a digital beauty bar powered by tablet apps. If you’d like to learn more about how to modernize your in-store experiences, please contact our Client Services Director Samantha Holland ([email protected]) to schedule a visit to the Lab.

 

Source: VentureBeat

Baidu Begins Integrating AR Into Search And Exploring AR Marketing

Posted on by Lab Team

What Happened
Baidu, typically regarded as “China’s Google,” has launched an AR lab to develop and deploy AR services in a variety of areas. Baidu has been actively experimenting with augmented reality for two years and has shipped some basic AR-powered features with its Baidu search and map apps. Baidu is also reportedly working with a number of big-name brands including L’Oreal, KFC, and Lancôme for AR ads that allow Chinese consumers to interact with virtual products on their mobile devices. Besides Baidu, Chinese tech giants Tencent and Alibaba have both came out with scavenger hunt-like games that hide AR coupons around real-world locations for consumers to discover.

What Brands Need To Do
Pokémon Go introduced U.S. consumers to mobile AR technology last summer, but brands are only starting to explore the possibilities that AR marketing brings. At this year’s CES, we saw brands like BMW and Gap showcased AR apps made for product demos. New York Times created an AR game for 20th Century Fox to promote movie Hidden Figures. Baidu’s AR initiatives point to many ways that brands can experiment with AR technologies and deliver an interesting customer experience.

If you’d like to get some help to figure out how augmented reality can enhance your customer experience and drive new opportunities for your brand, or simply to try out the HoloLens demo we have to experience the transformative power of AR, please contact our Client Services Director Samantha Holland ([email protected]) to schedule a visit to the Lab.

 

Source: Forbes

Toyota Taps IBM’s Watson To Generate Ad Scripts

Posted on by Lab Team

What Happened
Toyota is the latest brand to use IBM’s machine learning program Watson to aid its marketing campaign. To promote its Rav4 Crossover SUV model, the auto brand worked with agency Saatchi & Saatchi Los Angeles to create an interesting digital video campaign built around the idea of encouraging people to crossover and try something new. They supplied Watson with the world’s top 1,000 activities — such as biking, dancing, and cooking — and asked Watson to pair two activities that are rarely associated. The agency then used the Watson-generated pairings to create 300 unique videos, which are being targeted at users on Facebook and Instagram based on the activities they already enjoy doing. For example, a Pilate-lover will see a video spot that suggests they try cosplaying while a kick-boxing enthusiasts may get bird-watching.

What Brands Need To Do
This is a fun, if a bit trite, application of machine learning in marketing campaigns. It provides the agency with some interesting pairings to use for their creatives and, perhaps more importantly, gives the campaign an intriguing, powered-by-A.I. hook. As we pointed out in our CES trend recap, machine learning and artificial intelligence will start to make a strong impact in marketing by powering conversational services and next-level personalizations. Brands need to start identifying the kind of unique dataset that they own and feed it into machine learning services to either learn more about their customers or deliver a more personalized customer experience.

 

Source: AdAge

 

Snapchat Let Brands Target Users Based On Third-Party Data

Posted on by Lab Team

What Happened
Following its introduction of sequential video ad yesterday, Snapchat announced today that it is enabling brand advertisers to target users based on third-party data. The popular messaging app follows the lead of Google and Facebook and started working with Oracle Data Cloud to help marketers plug in offline purchase data, such as from supermarket loyalty cards, to improve the relevance of their ad targeting as well as measure offline attributions of their Snapchat campaigns. Brands such as STX Entertainment, Kia, and The Honest Company are testing the new ad-targeting tool.

What Brands Need To Do
This new targeting product brings vast improvement to Snapchat’s ad operations, which has been quickly catching up to the app’s exploding popularity. With this new tool, marketers will be able to zero in on their potential customers and see if their Snapchat ads resulted in real-world sales. As Snapchat continues to expand its user base and improve its ad products, it is an important social marketing channel that brand marketers need to consider in their media planning and develop a strategy for.

 

Source: AdWeek

Sony Pictures Launches AI-Powered Chatbot To Promote Resident Evil Movie

Posted on by Lab Team

What Happened
Sony Pictures has created an AI version of the Red Queen character from its film Resident Evil: The Final Chapter to promote its impending theatrical release. Partnering with artificial intelligence agency IV.AI, the companies created a chatbot across messaging apps such as Facebook Messenger and Telegram and social media in multiple languages to engage with fans to build up buzz. This is not the first time sony has created a chatbot to promote one of its movies. Previously, it worked with our sibling agency UM to create a Facebook chatbot to promote the Goosebumps movie.

What Brands Need To Do
Sony’s latest chatbot effort offers another example of an entertainment brand seeking engagement with their prospective audience with a chatbot, following the Kik chatbot that Paramount created to promote the Teenage Ninja Turtle movie. As consumers continue to embrace messaging apps and chatbot services, brands need to consider developing useful bots to reach customers on the popular messaging apps they’re already using.

How We Can Help
The Lab has extensive experience in building branded chatbots to reach consumers on conversational interfaces. So much so that we’ve built a dedicated conversational practice called Dialogue. The NiroBot we built in collaboration with Ansible for Kia is a good example of how Dialogue can help brands build a chatbot experience supercharged by our stack of technology partners with best-in-class solutions and an insights engine that extracts business intelligence from conversational data.

If you’d like to learn more about how to effectively reach consumers on messaging apps and other conversational interfaces, or to leverage the Lab’s expertise to take on related clients and learning opportunities within the IPG Mediabrands, please contact our Client Services Director Samantha Holland ([email protected]) to schedule a visit to the Lab.

 

Source: Marketing Dive

Genvid Technologies’ SDK Brings Interactivity To eSports Broadcasts

Posted on by Lab Team

What Happened
Genvid Technologies has released an SDK that aims to add some interactivity to eSports broadcasts. According to the New York City-based startup, once its SDK is integrated into any multiplayer game, which includes popular esports titles and virtual reality games, viewers will be able to interact with the live stream in a number of interesting ways, such as changing the camera angle to any angle that they like, choosing a particular player to follow, or even interacting with advertisements embedded in the broadcast.

What Brands Need To Do
If this SDK from Genvid gains traction and is integrated into eSports streaming platforms, it would open new doors for brands to reach the hundreds of millions of addressable eSports audience. With media companies like Lionsgate and Turner Media, as well as sports company such as Miami Heat, rushing into the space with investments, the global revenue that eSports generates is estimated to exceed $1 billion by 2019, partly due to recent success in attracting female gamers, as New York Times reports.

Some early-adopting brands, such as Coca-Cola and Snickers, have sponsored eSports events to reach its young, male-skewing audience. As media companies race to capture the vast eSports audience, brands, especially those seeking global recognition, need to start leveraging the massive reach of eSports events and platforms via sponsorships and ads.

 

Source: VentureBeat