In a predicable yet still interesting move, Facebook has started testing a new feature on its news feed ads and page posts: a native “Buy” button designed for enabling one-click purchase without leaving the site. Diving deeper into e-commerce integration, the social giant is working with some select small business partners in the US to try out this new direct purchase function, aiming for further roll-out if the trial proves successful. With Facebook taking the lead, we expect to see more and more digital platforms joining in the trend of build-in e-commerce infrastructure.
Category: Percolate
Amazon Brings Its Mobile Ad API To iOS
Amazon is bringing its Amazon Mobile Ads API to apps on iOS, allowing app developers to place ads from the Amazon Mobile Ad Network in apps across platforms. Previously only available on Android and Fire OS devices, the ad platform now can help better monetize iOS apps and gain access to highly relevant ads Amazon and its subsidiaries. If this works as well as Amazon’s “recommendation list”, it could potentially work wonders on iOS.
Microsoft To Lay Off Over 18,000 Jobs
Microsoft announced its plan today to “eliminate up to 18,000 jobs” over the next year, with some deep cuts from the businesses it acquired from Nokia. According to the report, about 12,500 of the jobs being eliminated will come from the Nokia groups, or from its overlap at Microsoft. Echoed by recent news that the company has killed off its plans for Nokia Android phones, this huge shake-up seems to indicate Microsoft’s plan to focus on improving its cloud and mobile services instead of wasting their efforts on hardware manufacture. Considering its competitors Apple and IBM are now teaming up to tackle the enterprise IT market that Microsoft currently dominates, such a repositioning could be proven timely in the long run.
Update: Microsoft is also reported to be closing the Xbox Entertainment Studios.
Apple Brings iTunes Account Refill To Mobile
After some tests in Japan, Apple is now rolling the iTunes Pass in the states. The new feature embedded in the Passbook app allows users to add credit directly to their iTunes Store accounts. Such a feature signals Apple’s intention to reach an even wider range of customers with its digital stores by simplifying the process for iTunes account refill. In addition, this move towards mobile could also indicate that Apple could eventually make a broader play for iOS-powered native mobile payments.
MTV Using Snapchat To Announce VMA Nominations
Ever the chaser of youth culture trend, MTV channel is now turning to ephemeral messaging app Snapchat to generate hype for its VMA nominations, after doing practically the same thing on Instagram and Vine last year. While still a desperate attempt by MTV to stay culturally relevant, this move to turn away from established social media channels and embrace the burgeoning messaging app does make perfect sense. By engaging Snapchat’s massive teen population base, MTV is reaching it core audience in their new digital habitat. As our previous white paper on messaging apps concluded, they are the new face of social media, and brands have to follow where their audience goes.
Amazon Tests “Kindle Unlimited”, The Netflix For Books
Amazon is reportedly set to launch a new all-you-can-read e-book and audiobook subscription service named “Kindle Unlimited”, which will provide Kindle users with access to a potential library of over 600,000 titles for $9.99 per month. Such subscription-based business model has turned out quite successful for Spotify and Netflix, so it’s understandable that Amazon would be tempted to join the club now.
But would what has worked with music, TV shows and movies also work with digital books? After all, everyone would get Netflix for some binge-watching sessions, but binge-reading just sounds like cramming for a college exam. In addition, the major five publishers seem to be pushing back against this new service, with a representative form HarperCollins already announcing that it is “not participating at this time”, as it could potentially cut into their already meager profit margin. Despite these obvious obstacles it might face, it is worth noting that Amazon has a history of turning initially lackluster services, such as its Instant Video, into good ones, so perhaps they will find a way to make this work somehow.
Update: It’s been officially launched, with a decent but limited access to Amazon’s e-book library.
Now You Can Text On A Smartwatch, If You Want To
Unsatisfied with voice-to-text input currently available on Android Wearables, Minuum, among a variety of attempting tech companies, has become the first company to put out a working demo of type-input system designed for the tiny screens of smartwatches. The demo made the typing look smooth and effortless, if a bit slow, and the company claims that because the “keyboard design embraces the expectation of sloppy typing”, it totally works.
However, the company seems to be overlooking the extra effort that regular consumers have to put in to get used to this linear keyboard, not to mention the frustration it would no doubt evoke for users with even slightly chubby fingers. Wearable tech like smartwatches are great for notifications and data tracking, and definitely less so for texting. You can certainly text on your watch if you want to, but at that point, why don’t you just take out your phone?
New App Blends Messaging With Music Sharing
Following the long and proud tradition of burning a mix-CD (or mix-tapes for those of you who lived through the 90s) for your crush to express your intense feeling through nothing but power ballads, a new messaging app, whimsically named “La-La”, is enabling it users to send song snippets—and song snippets only—to each other. So far, it features a decent selection of licensed music by mainstream artists. But if you want to send an obscure indie-rock gem to that cute hipster you know, the musical messaging app also lets you to browse through YouTube to clip out an audio for sending.
In the larger picture, this could be seen as the newest development in messaging apps’ continuous effort to differentiate their products. Marrying music sharing with OTT messaging seems like a good idea in theory, but how to further integrate the music industry into the mobile messaging ecosystem remains unclear. Given the positive responses that previous efforts such as Yo or Tango received, however, it is certainly interesting to see if such creative approaches could catch the fickle eyes of younger generations.
30 Brands Join ANA’s Anti-Fraud Initiative
30 members of the Association of National Advertisers (ANA) have joined forces to tackle the prevalence of fraud in digital advertising. The brands will be teaming up with fraud-detection company White Ops to conduct a month-long research on this subject, hoping to produce some actionable insights for combating the digital frauds. The effort is definitely timely and noble, but it seems doubtful that such a guideline could remain relevant and applicable, given the speed at which our technology, and correspondingly, the market are evolving. As we reported, a brand’s digital presence is now an easy target for cyber attacks, and it is crucial for the brands to develop a stronger sense of awareness and supervision on this issue.
Clear Channel Introduces Mobile Outdoor Ad Platform
Out-of-home ad company Clear Channel Outdoor is partnering with the New York-based ad tech firm Blue Bite, featured in our virtual lab, to bring its mobile ad platform “Connect” to 28 U.S. cities and Toronto, after a successful trial in some European markets. The platform aims to connect out-of-home advertisements with consumers’ smartphones by turning outdoor structures into digital interfaces using QR codes and near field communication (NFC) technology. It is also reported to be looking into more advanced location-based technology, such as beacons, to explore the largely uncharted territory of proximity-based advertising. As a first step, this is certainly a right step for the OOH ad seller towards a steady digital transformation.
