Category: Percolate

CBS: Tapping Into The OTT Market?

Posted on by Lab Team

CBS is said to be jumping into the over-the-top (OTT) market by allowing its production division, CBS Studios, to develop shows directly for streaming services such as Netflix and Amazon. As evidenced by the streaming deal they struck with Amazon last year for their summer hit “Under the Dome”, CBS has been clearly eyeing the potential in teaming up with the Internet-based challengers for a while now.

This move serves as a testimony to the growing importance of OTT services in the industry, and CBS seems to recognize that maybe there may be room for many competitors in this fractured market.

Why Facebook Is Talking With Hollywood About Oculus

Posted on by Lab Team

Facebook is reportedly in talks with Hollywood executives and directors about creating content specifically for Oculus Rift. Given that most virtual reality headsets are currently developed for immersive gameplay, it is understandable that Facebook would want to explore its potential in providing a new breed of entertainment experiences. Imaginative genres like fantasy, horror, or sci-fi could potentially benefit greatly with the help of virtual reality technology, and new marketing opportunities can be expected to open up accordingly as well.

What Big Data Can Do for the Beauty Industry

Posted on by Lab Team

Poshly, a New York-headquartered data company, just received $1.5 million in seed funding. Their secret? Bringing big data to the beauty industry on a “hyper-personal” level. By gathering data on individual user’s beauty regimen and interests, Poshly can generate insights on their personal preferences and help beauty brands better understand their costumers. 

How To Cope With Facebook’s New Ban On Incentives

Posted on by Lab Team

In its most recent update of platform policies, Facebook is putting an end to the widespread practice of offering reward or access to content to coax consumers into liking a Facebook page. Facebook is hoping this ban will ensure quality connections and further legitimize the number of “likes” as a metric in ad buying. For marketers, however, this regulation poses new challenges in gaining engagement organically and building a genuine relationship with their audience on Facebook. Only by creating quality content of true value to consumers can brands truly earn their “likes”.

What Is The Invisible Audience

Posted on by Lab Team

About three-fourths of the social media  audience are just silent observers: they contribute to impressions, but don’t factor into the other measurement that marketers care about. However, some of this invisible audience might just be sharing the posts on the so-called “dark social” channels such as emails, IMs, or texting, making it extremely difficult to measure engagement accurately.

Pinterest Finally Adds an Important Social Feature

Posted on by Lab Team

At long last, moms on Pinterest can swap their secret family recipes via private messages! Building upon its “send-a-pin” feature, Pinterest has finally added a long-overdue messaging function. This is not the first time a social media platform has tried to appropriate the one-on-one conversational feature of messaging apps, as Facebook keeps pushing its messenger app and Instagram starts testing Bolt, and it certainly won’t be the last. Any feature beneficial to building a community among connected users should be of high priority for every social media platform.

Microsoft Wants Its Smartphones To Touch You Back

Posted on by Lab Team

You press your fingertips on the screen of your smartphone at least dozens of times every day, but if you are one of the few people who owns a Windows smartphone, pretty soon your phone may be able to reciprocate your touch. A Microsoft researcher is reportedly applying so-called haptics to add tactile sensations to touch screens to provide instant feedback to users’ touch. Whether to assist faster typing or guide the visually impaired, haptic feedback could potentially open up ways we interact with our digital gadgets.

Barnes & Noble Teams Up with Google to Take On Amazon

Posted on by Lab Team

Following yesterday’s announcement that Amazon is expanding its same-day delivery program, Google and Barnes & Noble are joining forces to compete with their rival. Starting today, book buyers in selected urban areas can opt for same-day deliveries from local Barnes & Noble stores for orders placed through Google Shopping Express.

As its brick-and-mortar sales continue to decline, Barnes & Noble desperately needs to up its digital game to meet the shifting purchasing habits of book lovers and save itself from the threats posed by Amazon’s current dominance in online book shopping. How this alliance would challenge the online book market is still too early to tell, but it’s only logical that Google is now B&N’s new best friend.

Why LINE Keeps Reminding Users Of Its Stickers

Posted on by Lab Team

As covered in our previous white paper on messaging apps, Japan’s messaging app LINE is best known for its vast catalogue of stickers, which are basically advanced emoji with ample branding opportunities. And given that LINE is making roughly $18 million a quarter on selling in-app sticker packs, it makes sense that a new “autocorrect-esque” feature of real-time sticker suggestion has been added in the app’s latest Android update. The feature currently limits its suggestion to the stickers that users already own, but it’s not difficult to imagine LINE using this interface to upsell more stickers in the near future.

Amazon Expands Same-Day Delivery to Six More Cities

Posted on by Lab Team

After initially launching in L.A., Phoenix, San Francisco, and Seattle, Amazon is now expanding its same-day delivery program to six more cities, New York City included. For an additional charge of $5.99, Amazon Prime customers can opt to have their new purchases delivered to them before the end of day, provided the orders are made before noon. If it succeeds in the long-term, the digital retail giant is set to eliminate one of the few advantages physical retail stores still have over Amazon.