Category: Percolate

Twitter Adds Group Messages And Video Uploads: Is It Too Late?

Posted on by Lab Team

Read the original story on: The Verge

In an obvious attempt to catch up with Instagram and increasingly popular messaging apps like WhatsApp and Snapchat, Twitter started rolling out two long-awaited features today: direct video uploads (limited to 30 seconds only) and group messaging in DM. These features should make Twitter more versatile and completive, but it might be too little too late as users have already been comfortably enjoying similar features on rival platforms. Still, brands should explore these new features to find new ways to connect with the audience.

How Beacons Can Help Link In-Store Behaviors To Online Ads

Posted on by Lab Team

Read the original story on: Business Insider

Norway-based startup media platform Unacast and California-based marketing agency Total Communicator Solutions (TCS) have announced a global partnership that will allow brands to “re-target” online and mobile ads to shoppers by tracking what they’ve looked at while in-store. According to Erik Bjontegard, president and founder of TCS:

By combining the location-based marketing application with Unacast’s online/offline profiles, our clients will be able to connect to their customers in the store and then retarget the same customer online, with a more relevant and targeted ad, based on the customer’s recent offline behavior.

Ultimately, Unacast wants more beacon companies to join in order to create a global network to anonymously group and standardize beacon data for better retargeting. But the companies should be careful as to differentiate their retargeted offers—after all, just picking up an item in a store doesn’t necessarily demonstrate purchase intent.

3 Reasons Why Startups Are Succeeding In Online Retail

Posted on by Lab Team

Read the original story on: TechCrunch

E-commerce startups like Bonobos, Warby Parker and Birchbox have been thriving in online retail—some have even made their way back to brick-and-mortal stores—but some traditional retailers have struggled with the transfer. Kit Hickey, co-founder of online menswear store Ministry of Supply, sums up the three key reasons behind such the contrast:

  1. E-commerce startups are tapping into flexible and unique spaces such as vacant storefronts, with short-term leases.
  2. E-commerce startups have centralized inventory, which leads to significant savings on storage cost and shipping.
  3. E-commerce startups have a better understanding of their customers thru purchase data and customer profile.

All of these factors are hugely beneficial to e-commerce companies as they continue to scale both online and offline.

 

Why Dark Social Matters To Brands

Posted on by Lab Team

Read the original story on: MediaPost

Dark social refers to sharing activity that falls outside traditional ad measurement and analytics—mostly, the content shares that happened on texting, e-mails, and most recently, via various messaging apps. According to a recent Radium One study, 59% of all online sharing is done via dark social channels.

To get a more complete picture of their audience, therefore, it is important that brands consider what integration options are available from social communication providers themselves. Making use of the data and analytics available without compromising users’ privacy and security, and aligning insights with existing analytics, is a good way to conquer the oft-neglected “dark side”.

Cablevision Launches WiFi-Only Mobile Service: Will It Work?

Posted on by Lab Team

Read the original story on: Gigaom

Cablevision is reportedly launching a WiFi-based phone service next month, hoping to leverage its Optimal Wi-Fi hotspots and existing customers into the growing mobile market. Freewheel, as the new service is called, will cost Cablevision costumers $9.95 a month ($29.95 for non-subscribers) for unlimited call, text, and data, which gives it a significant advantage over the usual carrier plans.

While the price might be quite attractive, the caveat remains that users won’t be able to do much unless they are connected to WiFi, since there is no cellular service to fall back on. It could work well in areas with a high density of mobile hotspots, such as college campuses and metropolitan cities. Outside those areas though, traditional carriers are probably the safer bet.

 

How Facebook Is Using Real-time Targeting In Super Bowl Ads

Posted on by Lab Team

Read the original on: AdAge

Brands will be able to buy ads against Facebook’s Super Bowl audience leading up to and during the Super Bowl. The social media giant is live-tracking users’ status updates and comments for keywords related to the Super Bowl as it happens. The anonymized aggregated data will be used to determine the target audience, who will then be served with Super Bowl-related brand content. Such quick turnaround in targeting certainly adds value to event-based marketing efforts.

Vimeo Debuts New VOD Network For Web Publishers

Posted on by Lab Team

Read the original on: WSJ Blog

Vimeo is rolling out a new Vimeo On Demand Publisher Network, a collection of websites that will use Vimeo’s technology to build custom video-on-demand libraries for online publishers. Early partners include The Atlantic, CBS Interactive, and TEN: The Enthusiast Network, who will also employ Vimeo’s payment system, which enable video rental or purchase.

Why Tumblr And Snapchat Have Turned To Original Content

Posted on by Lab Team

Read the original on: The Verge

This week, both Snapchat and Tumblr unveiled plans to move into content marketing. Snapchat will start pushing original content created by its newly hired media team through its new Discovery feature.  Meanwhile, Tumblr announced the launch of the Creatrs Network, which essentially acts as a creative agency for Tumblr users that will help connect them with brands and other organizations that want to utilize their original content. Despite such different areas of focus, both companies are exploring new ways to engage with their audience via quality content.

Here Come The Holograms

Posted on by Lab Team

Read the original story on: Vox

At yesterday’s Microsoft press event, among standard updates for its software offerings, including the new Windows 10 OS and accompanying new apps, the company also unveiled an intriguing new project: the Microsoft HoloLens. Currently in the prototype stage, it is a see-through visor-like headset that projects holographic objects into the real-world surroundings.

Microsoft has developed a new user interface for 3D computing and is still working on how to enable users to control and interact with the virtual 3D objects. This marks Microsoft’s official foray into augmented reality and could very well be the first step towards a future full of holograms.

WhatsApp Going From Mobile To Browser

Posted on by Lab Team

Read the original story on: The Guardian

In a rather surprising move, WhatsApp unveiled a new desktop web app that will finally let you use the mobile messaging app in a browser. The web portal relies on a constant connection with the smartphone app to operate, and is currently only open for Android and Blackberry users. Messages are seamlessly synced to the smartphone and are not stored on the web app.