Tag: Global Culture

Twitter To Launch 24/7 News Livestream Channel With Bloomberg

Posted on by Lab Team

What Happened
Twitter has reportedly struck a partnership with Bloomberg to launch an around-the-clock live news channel in the fall, as the social media company continues its aggressive push into livestreaming. While Twitter has been hosting official live streams for various sports events such as NFL games and the Wimbledon matches, this would be the first continuous video feed to be hosted on the platform. The 24/7 live news channel is expected to launch this fall, and it will air  news reporting from Bloomberg news bureaus around the world while also incorporating “a curated and verified mix of video posted on Twitter.”

What Brands Need To Do
For brands with a global presence, this upcoming live news channel on Twitter could be an exciting new channel to look out for. While not specified, this live channel is expected to be ad-supported, giving brands an always-on channel to reach online viewers. Considering the finance-heavy focus on Bloomberg’s news reporting, it could become a particularly valuable channel for audience in that segment. As live streaming continues to gain momentum, more brands should seize the rise of this emerging medium to directly connect with consumers.

For more in-depth analysis how brands can leverage global mega-channels and niche micro-channels to effectively reach key audiences, check out the Global Culture section of our Outlook 2017.

 

Source: Wall Street Journal

Heineken’s New Global Campaign Features Customizable TV Spots For 16 Markets

Posted on by Lab Team

What Happened
Heineken launched its new global ad campaign “Cities,” which comes with TV spots that can be customized and localized for the 16 international markets they’re airing in. The beer giant created an ad in which elements such as a city skyline, a flyer, and the protagonist that appears near the end can all be customized so as to cater to each market. The local markets will also get to customize the messages about local Heineken events at the end of the ad spots.

What Brands Need To Do
For brands with a global presence, the advances in dynamic creatives have ushered in a more flexible approach for creating and distributing your marketing content. To effectively reach the local audience in each market, It is important for brands to make use of emerging global mega-channels such as Facebook Live and Twitch and utilize audience targeting and segmentation tools to deliver a personalized experience at a global scale.

For more in-depth analysis how brands can leverage global mega-channels and niche micro-channels to effectively reach key audiences, check out the Global Culture section of our Outlook 2017.

 

Source: AdWeek

Images courtesy of Heineken’s YouTube video

Burger King Recruits Top Gamers To Sell Burgers Via Video Games

Posted on by Lab Team

What Happened
Following its controversial Google Home-triggering TV ads, Burger King turns its attention to eSports for its next stunt marketing campaign. As Mashable reports:

Over the next few weekends, Burger King will be operating a “command center” (a.k.a. a restaurant) as it injects itself into your online matches with PlayStation’s permission, according to the company’s press release sent via email. If you sign up with Burger Clan online, someone who works for Burger King will try to play with you and be ready to put in your Whopper order while somehow being an asset to your team.

This campaign is limited to the Spain market and the recruited players will be playing and taking orders out of a Burger King restaurant in Madrid. The company is supposedly hiring “nine professional gamers, champions of the most popular [PlayStation] games,” according to a press release.

What Brands Need To Do
This is an interesting way to leverage eSports influencers to reach the millions of video game enthusiasts, as it mobilizes the online gaming platforms as a new, temporary sales channel. While hiring social influencers to hawk products is nothing new, to do so within online video games is quite an novel idea. For brands looking for new ways to reach younger audiences across the global markets, eSports provide a fertile platform to explore.

For more in-depth analysis how brands can leverage global mega-channels and niche micro-channels to effectively reach key audiences, check out the Global Culture section of our Outlook 2017.

 

Source: Mashable

Netflix Inks Licensing Deal With iQiyi, One Of China’s Top Streaming Services

Posted on by Lab Team

What Happened
Netflix announced on Tuesday that it has signed a content licensing deal with IQiyi, one of China’s biggest OTT streaming services and a subsidiary of the country’s search giant Baidu. Details of the agreement are still scarce at the moment, but it seems most likely that Netflix’s original content will be able to get into the Chinese market as a result.

This announcement practically indicates that Netflix has officially given up on entering the Chinese market directly as a service provider. This deal will allow it to bypass China’s regulatory roadblocks while also allow it to open up a new revenue stream. It is worth noting that iQiyi itself is in the midst of transitioning from an ad-supported video platform to a subscription model similar to Netflix.

What Brands Need To Know
The open nature of the internet has made it possible for content platforms to reach customers across national borders, and the proliferation of smartphones has granted internet access for more customers than broadband ever did. These new digital mega channels, led by Netflix, the self-proclaimed first global TV network, reflect an increasingly globally homogenizing consumer culture and interconnected communities.

This allows brands to reach customers across the globe that have more in common in terms of their interests and media habits than their geography. Although Netflix is an ad-free subscription service, it does allow product placement in its original shows such as House of Cards. Plus, there are several other smaller yet global-reaching platforms such as musical.ly and Twitch that are much more open to brands.

For more in-depth analysis how brands can leverage global mega-channels and niche micro-channels to effectively reach key audiences, check out the Global Culture section of our Outlook 2017.

 

Source: The Hollywood Reporter

MWC 2017: Discovery Plans To Partner With Local Mobile Carriers For Olympics Content

Posted on by Lab Team

What Happened
Discovery Communications is taking a mobile-centric approach to producing and localizing the Olympics content, which it owns the exclusive TV and multimedia rights to in 50 European markets. At a press event at the Mobile World Congress, the company revealed it is planning to team up with local mobile providers, who will serve as the official mobile broadcasters of the Summer and Winter Olympics games. Discovery believes this will enable it to provide viewers with the most relevant content and access a “personalized, direct link” with consumers. It also provides Discovery with more data on local interests and media habits, particularly on mobile, that can further inform its ad operations.

What Brands Need To Do
This is an interesting approach that many international brands can adopt to creating and distributing localized content at a global scale. The proliferation of mobile access has given rise to several global mega-channels, such as YouTube and Twitch, that can reach audiences worldwide in ways that traditional media channels can’t. They offer brands new platforms to reach global consumers, but brands still need to localize their messaging and content to engage with customers in each regional market. Therefore, whether for distributing owned content or advertisements, globally-minded brands need to choose partners who can leverage their scale and local expertise to effectively reach consumers.

 

Source:  AdWeek

A+E Networks To Develop Original Content Series For Snapchat

Posted on by Lab Team

What Happened
A+E Networks announced on Friday that it will be developing an original dating series for Snapchat, as the ephemeral messaging app continues its transformation into a mobile video content destination. The series, titled Second Chance, marks the app’s first network-produced show not based on an existing TV franchise. Snapchat has ordered eight episodes, which will be available for its users in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia in April. The show is the first of a larger multi-show development deal between A+E, its in-house branded content agency 45th & Dean, and Snap Inc.

What Brands Need To Do
As Snapchat’s ad business start to catch up to its popularity, the company now has more resources to spend on content so as to not only compete for more ad dollars with not just from leading sellers of digital ads like Facebook and Google, but from TV advertisers as well. And with this original series and more to come, it is surely betting big on video content. Therefore, it is time for brands to reconsider their media mix and consider adjust the ad budget to include emerging global channels like Snapchat so as to reach a global audience at scale.

 

 

Source: Hollywood Reporter

Amazon Launches Alexa In U.K. & Germany, Starts Sharing Limited Alexa User Data

Posted on by Lab Team

What Happened
Amazon’s virtual assistant Alexa is going to Europe as the ecommerce giant announced the launch of Alexa Voice Service (AVS), which was launched in the U.S. in June 2015 and allows device manufacturers to install Alexa inside their products, in the U.K. and Germany. With this international expansion, Alexa now also understands German and British English, making it possible for Amazon to reach more users in foreign markets.

In related news, Amazon has also started sharing some high-level Alexa data with third-party developers, digital consultancies, and analytics startups as it continues to woo developers to develop more Alexa skills. Developers and brands now can track usage patterns such as the number of unique customers accessing the skills or the total number of “utterances” related to their skills, to help them gauge user intent and track skill performance.

What Brands Need To Do
Expanding Alexa into global markets offers internationally-minded brands a new channel to leverage conversational experience to reach foreign markets at scale. Although Amazon is still very tight-lipped about the user data that Alexa collects, the high-level information it now opts to share is a welcome start. Alexa dominated CES this year, and according to a report from analytics firm VoiceLabs, about 33 million voice-first devices will be in circulation by the end of 2017. Therefore, It is up to brands to start working with developers to figure out their brand voice and incorporate conversational tools into their marketing efforts.

How We Can Help
The Lab has extensive experience in building Alexa Skills and chatbots to reach consumers on conversational interfaces. So much so that we’ve built a dedicated conversational practice called Dialogue. The “Miller Time” Alexa Skill we developed with Drizly for Miller Lite is a good example of how Dialogue can help brands build a conversational customer 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 conversational interfaces, or to leverage the Lab’s expertise to take on related client opportunities within the IPG Mediabrands, please contact our Client Services Director Samantha Holland ([email protected]) to schedule a visit to the Lab.

 

Source: TechCrunch & AdAge

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

 

Snapchat Adds Universal Search Bar & Global Live Story

Posted on by Lab Team

What Happened
Snapchat has revamped its iOS and Android app to add a few new tweaks that should help improve user experience and push its global reach. To begin with, the updated apps now feature a universal search bar on top of the interface, enabling users to easily search for people, brands, and publishers from Discover to follow. In addition, users can also find specific Live Stories when searching by keywords. Besides the search bar, Snapchat is also adding a few shortcuts for in-app navigation and a global live story called “Our Story” that will feature snaps from all over the world.

What Brands Need To Do
Brands have long been complaining about Snapchat’s limited and hard-to-access search functions, and this introduction of a universal search bar should make it easier for users to discover publishers and brands on Snapchat. A Recent report by digital marketing firm L2 found 64% brands now have established a presence on the hot messaging app, and with each brand-friendly updates, Snapchat is sure to lure more brands to join. As Snapchat continues to improve its ad products to match its rapid growth, brands, especially those going after a young-skewing global audience, need to start integrating Snapchat into your social and content strategies.

 

Source: Mashable