Category: Percolate

Netflix Looking To Redefine TV-Watching With Native Ads

Posted on by Lab Team

Netflix is looking to change the negative connotation of binge-watching TV by declaring that TV, as a medium, is getting better. Through this impressively produced native ad on Wired, Netflix is, somewhat audaciously, positioning itself as the force that elevated television’s medium status from cultural wasteland. One point it brought up, however, is truthfully valid: the easy access to comprehensive TV catalogues provided by over-the-top service providers like Netflix does help to cultivate a more consumer-led, sophisticated TV market. Therefore, it is disrupting the traditional model that the industry was accustomed to.

This is just one of the two recent high profile cases of “Snowfall” native ad that Netflix has tried its hands on (the other one ran on NY Times). Seeing the attention and acclaim of both ad has received, one can’t help but wonder if such success is truly replicable, if even cost-efficient. Entertainment is a great fit for this new breed of ad because there would already be a narrative for the ad to build on, But would it actually work for other marketing efforts as well?

Netflix Scores Big In 2014 Emmy Nominations

Posted on by Lab Team

The newest Emmy nomination list is out, and following last year’s breakthrough success, Netflix is winning even bigger this year, with a total of 31 nominations compared to last year’s 14. Besides various expected nods for its acclaimed series House of Cards and Orange is the New Black, it also scored a surprise nomination for Ricky Gervais for Lead Actor in its new original comedy series Derek. Overall, premium cable company HBO still dominating the field with most number of nominations. But Netflix’s consecutive success in winning critical acclaims nicely echoes their recent “TV is getting better” native ad, signaling the continuous rise of the OTT content providers in the market.

Samsung and Other Tech Companies To Streamline Connectivity For IoT

Posted on by Lab Team

Unfazed by the recent news that $6.3 million-worthy Samsung devices were stolen in Brazil, Samsung is moving on with its commitment to make 2014 “the year of Internet of Things”. It has reportedly joined forces with five other tech companies, including Intel and Dell, to define interoperability standards, dubbed the Open Interconnect Consortium (OIC). Curiously absent from the alliance is Apple, who is probably working to protect its closed eco-system anyway. But we have to wonder, would that still keep up with the billions of devices expected to arrive with Internet connectivity in the next few years?

For more info on IoT, check out our previous IPG Lab Internet of Things Week coverage.

Brands Chip In On The Most-Tweeted Sports Game

Posted on by Lab Team

The dramatic Brazil vs Germany semi-final match yesterday scored a massive 35.6 million tweets, making it the most-tweeted sports game ever. Of course, no self-respecting brand would miss out on such a grand global spectacle. Whether an official sponsor for the tournament or not, various brand, including Visa, Audi, and Red Bull, piled on by making real-time marketing jokes on the losing Brazilian team. As we reported, Twitter recently rolled out special onboarding features to attract the World Cup audience. Coupled with brands’ timely efforts, twitter is subtly redefining the way modern sport events are discussed, capitalized and marketed.

LG Introduces Kid-Tracking Wearable With KizON

Posted on by Lab Team

After announcing its upcoming Android smartwatches in March, LG has continued their effort in expanding the functionality of wearable tech. It just introduced a new line of wearable called KizON waistband, essentially a cutely designed GPS tracker, set for July 10 release in South Korea. Attentive parents elsewhere will have to wait for launches in Europe and North America later this year. In addition, there is a One Step Direct Call button designed to help the small children to contact their parents easily. So at least it is more than a glorified, kid-friendly ankle monitor.

Aereo Looking To Reverse Supreme Court Decision

Posted on by Lab Team

After the Supreme Court decision to rule Aereo’s streaming service illegal and essentially shutting it out of business, the company is still, quite admirably, not giving up on its business. Earlier last week, CEO Chet Kanojia sent a letter to its customers urging them to notify Congress that they want the decision reversed, empathizing the important freedom of having access to a cloud-based antenna. Although such reversion seems highly unlikely in the short run, the trend of content consumption moving towards the OTT services providers will only keep gaining traction. In the long term, the broadcast industry can expect more Aereo-like services cropping up, as the cable customers and cord-cutters are always out looking for better, cheaper options.

WeChat Opens Up Advertising Platform To Brands

Posted on by Lab Team

Just over a week after introducing the Ephemeral Messaging feature, WeChat, China’s top messaging app, launched an open beta of its advertising platform on Monday for official brand accounts with over 100k followers to reach users via its self-serve advertising platform. These ads, however, do not show up in personal messages, instead only show up if users click through to read full-page posts from the official accounts that users subscribe to. Even then, the ads only appear at the bottom of the page.

This is just the newest effort from WeChat to create a “sticky” e-platform to monetize on its 400 million active users, aiming to encourage purchasing behaviors without its users leave the app. As WeChat continues to expand its ambition in e-commerce, we expect to see more functions and features fleshed out in all messaging apps in the near future.

Amidst Declining Growth, Twitter Onboards Users During World Cup

Posted on by Lab Team

Twitter rolled out several special onboarding features to get new users setup to follow the World Cup on the platform. This included a step by step process to suggest the right players, brands and teams to follow and even what to tweet. It’s a smart strategy to combat declining user acquisition, engagement stock prices and this “starter kit” could also be an interesting monetization opportunity to promote events like the Oscars for TV networks.

Apple Gearing Up For iWatch Launch

Posted on by Lab Team

Apple has reportedly poached an sales executive from luxury watch brand Tag Heuer to help its upcoming launch of iWatch, which is rumored to be set for an October release. While Google is getting a head start over Apple in the smartwatch race, this move seems to indicate Apple’s intention to capture the high-end of the nascent wearable market by combining the sleek, elevated product design they are known for with its beloved iOS-exclusive app. Whether this positioning of iWatch as a premium device would work out for Apple remains to be seen, but with Apple in the ring, we sure are in for a real smartwatch battle later in the year.

Who is Leading In OTT Video Market?

Posted on by Lab Team

Amazon, Netflix and Hulu are undoubtedly the top three players in today’s over-the-top video streaming market, but which one of them is taking the lead? According to a recent study conducted by Piper Jaffray & Co., Netflix is certainly winning in the general content-licensing front, which continues to outpace Amazon’s subscription-video service. But when it comes to TV shows, Hulu Plus remains ahead of Netflix, delivering “nearly three times as many recent top-rated shows as Netflix”. But Amazon still have the secret weapon of exclusive quality content, especially with its recent deals with HBO and CBS. Xbox recently lifted its limitation of access to both Hulu and Netflix, signaling a deeper integration and wider infiltration of the SVod services. All in all, they are all flawed winners in this fast-growing market. And together the internet-based content provider will continue to take over the content market from the traditional providers, even after the recent supreme court ruling on Aereo.