Tag: branded content

Twitter To Roll Out Promoted Moments This Weekend

Posted on by Lab Team

What Happened
Wasting no time to monetize its newest feature, Twitter is set to roll out branded Moments this weekend. Instead of inserting promoted tweets into existing Moments channels, Twitter will grant advertisers a dedicated Moments channel for 24 hours, allowing them to incorporate more photos, videos, and tweets to build a rich narrative and draw in the audience with branded content. The first-ever Promoted Moments will be for the upcoming sports drama flick Creed, produced by MGM and distributed by Warner Bros.

What Brands Need To Do
As we noted when Twitter first launched Moments earlier this month, this new feature makes content discovery on Twitter easier and quicker, especially for casual users. Now with the  launch of branded Moments, Twitter is opening the door for brands and marketers to capture the attention of Twitter users. For brands that are interested in trying out this new ad product, the key would be creating a collection of fun, engaging tweets that people will willingly watch and share.

 

Source: Bloomberg Business

Coke Partners With iHeartMedia to Target Teens With Podcast

Posted on by Lab Team

What Happened
Coca-Cola is teaming up with iHeartMedia, parent company of popular internet radio network iHeartRadio, to target teens with a branded podcast. Named “iHeartRadio First Taste Fridays With Coca-Cola,” the podcast is billed as a source for “first tastes of the hottest new music and behind the scenes artist interviews.” This partnership marks iHeartMedia’s first foray into podcasting, a medium that has sparked renewed interest from marketers following the runaway success of Serial last year.

What Brands Need To Do
Podcasts provide a growing opportunity for brands to reach a targeted niche audience of specified interests with sponsorships and native ads. A recent study also found podcast listeners are usually active users of social media and are more likely to follow brands. This branded content deal cements podcasting’s place in mainstream media landscape as a burgeoning marketing channel, which brands of all types should heed to.

 

Source: AdAge

CNN Enters Content Marketing With New Video Platform GBS

Posted on by Lab Team

What Happened
Earlier this week, CNN announced its plan to launch a digital video platform named Great Big Story (GBS) that targets millennials with “three to five non-fiction videos per day” that caters to the interests of “urban, globally curious 25-to-35-year-olds.” CNN plans to rely on Facebook, YouTube, and an upcoming GBS mobile app as its primary means of distribution, with an app for OTT streaming platforms like Roku and Apple TV coming next year. The news network indicates no immediate plans for display advertising or pre-roll commercials on GBS, but focusing all initial advertising efforts on branded content instead.

What Brands Need To Do
By launching GBS, CNN is effectively building a young-skewing content platform to go after the content marketing dollars, which puts them in direct competition with the likes of Buzzfeed and Vice. For brands, it’s time to recognize the rising importance of branded content, especially videos, in reaching today’s younger, tech-savvy audience and start to team up with media owners to create quality content that people want to watch and share.

 

Source: AdAge

NYTimes To Send Out 1 Million Google Cardboards For Upcoming VR App Launch

Posted on by Lab Team

What Happened
As part of the launch for its upcoming NYT VR app, The New York Times plans to send out 1 million Google Cardboards – an affordable virtual reality headset that works with both iOS and Android devices –  to its print subscribers. The publisher has teamed up with VR content company VRSE to create a brand new VR documentary titled “The Displaced,” which lets viewers experience the lives of three homeless refugee children, to accompany the debut of its branded VR content app next month.

What Brands Need To Do
Just last week, InStyle magazine debuted their first VR-enhanced issue. While The New York Times isn’t the first publisher to create original VR content, it will be the first publisher to deliver VR experiences to its audience at a large scale. With the $99 Samsung Gear VR coming this Christmas and Facebook’s Oculus shipping its first consumer-facing headset in Q1 2016, next year is poised to be a monumental year for virtual reality. But as a nascent medium, VR development still suffers from a lack of quality content. Now with a media institution as influential as The New York Times officially entering the VR content market, it is time for brands to team up with media owners and content creators to explore the possibility of engaging their audience with VR content.

 

Source: UploadVR

Google Surfaces iOS App Content In Search

Posted on by Lab Team

What Happened
In May, Google started encouraging iOS app developers to index their app content so that it could eventually be surfaced in search results. This feature has been made available to “a small group of test partners” only, but now Google is expanding it by making the feature compatible with the deep link standards for iOS 9. This means now users can find iOS apps by searching for keywords like “chess games” and install them directly from the results page, or find relevant in-app content directly in the search results using Safari or Chrome for iOS. Google expects iOS users will start seeing app content in Safari by the end of this month.

What Brands Need To Do
For iOS app developers, this expansion means that they need to make sure their app is submitted to Google for indexing. For brands, app indexing will be key to allowing users to go directly from search to a branded app, which helps close the gap between mobile web and apps, as well as increasing the reach of in-app content.

IPG Media Lab, Ansible, and Reprise Media can help you strategize and produce content that will maximize the benefits from this new distribution tool on iOS devices.

 

Source: VentureBeat

Facebook To Expand Like Button With Six New “Reactions”

Posted on by Lab Team

What Happened
On Thursday Facebook unveiled “Reactions,” a set of emojis designed to convey empathic feelings other than a simple “like.” The six new reaction emojis are laughter, love, cheer, shock, sadness, and anger, and they will be treated the same as “Likes.” They will also influence Facebook’s news feed algorithms. The company will test these new reaction buttons in Ireland and Spain before rolling them out globally.

What Brands Need To Do
For brands, this expansion of the Like button presents a new way to accurately gauge customers’ reactions and more accurately measure their sentiment. Previously, brands would usually turn to sentiment analysis services with semantic analysis of comments provided by third-party analytic firms to get an idea of how people are reacting to their content on social media. Now, brands will be able to see reaction counts within Facebook’s page insights tool, something that any brand with a Facebook presence should definitely look into.

 

Source: AdAge

Header image courtesy of Facebook

New Roku OS Allows Users To Follow Their Favorite Shows

Posted on by Lab Team

What Happened
Earlier today, popular streaming set-top box maker Roku unveiled the newest iteration of its flagship product, the Roku 4, which boasts support for 4K video streaming, improved Wi-Fi connectivity, and a remote control with integrated microphone for voice search. More importantly, Roku is also rolling out updates of Roku OS 7 to all its streaming devices, which includes a new “follow” feature that alerts users when new episodes of certain shows become available or when the price of a specific movie or TV show has dropped.

What Brands Need To Do
Some media owners and brands that produce video content have developed their own Channels on Roku, which essentially function like apps that allow consumers of specific interests to quickly access niche content. For those brands, the new “follow” feature presents a new way to stay connected to fans and keep them engaged with branded content.

 

Source: Buzzfeed

Snoop Dogg To Launch An Ad-Supported Marijuana-Lifestyle Media Platform

Posted on by Lab Team

What Happened
At TechCrunch Disrupt on Monday, rapper Snoop Dogg announced his plan to launch a cannabis-themed media platform named Merry Jane. Described as “a lifestyle and information hub for anyone interested in marijuana,” the platform will be ad-supported while also tapping into the business side of the multibillion dollar marijuana industry with branding opportunities.

What Brands Should Do
Besides ads and possible brand sponsorships, the platform will also feature original content, including celebrity-penned articles, recipes, and even an original video series – something that all lifestyle brands should look into. As the marijuana legalization movement continues to gain momentum in the U.S., brands need to think about the emerging industry, and decide on which side of the issue to align themselves.

 

Source: AdWeek

Apple Music Debuts Branded Channels With Burberry

Posted on by Lab Team

What Happened
Earlier today, Apple announced a new partnership with Burberry, allowing the fashion brand to develop the first-ever branded Apple Music channel featuring exclusively British artists. Burberry has already developed an online music platform on its website named Burberry Acoustic, and the upcoming Apple Music channel will reportedly mirror much of that content, in addition to a new series of exclusive videos.

What Brands Should Do
This new partnership might look a bit strange at the first glance, but it makes sense considering Apple has been making some strong efforts to work with the fashion industry as part of its strategy around the Apple Watch. Plus, Apple’s current retail chief, Angela Ardhents, was the former CEO of Burberry. With this precedence, brands with their own music content or trusted cultural tastemaking should consider opening their own branded channels on streaming services to increase the reach of their brand and content.

 

Source: 9to5Mac

Fast Forward: How Brands Can Take Advantage of the New Apple TV

Posted on by Lab Team

Your guide to tech-driven changes in the media landscape by IPG Media Lab. A fast read for you and a forward for your clients and team.

•  Apple unveils new Apple TV, complete with a new tvOS platform and App Store
•  Brands can now develop TV apps to connect with consumers in their living rooms
•  A new path to native sponsorship and call-to-action opportunities

What Apple Announced
During Wednesday’s press event, Apple finally debuted the long-anticipated update to the Apple TV that aims to revolutionize the way people interact with their TVs. Equipped with a brand-new iOS 9-based operating system called “tvOS,” the new Apple TV comes with an App Store, Siri-enabled universal search across content platforms, and a touchpad remote that doubles as a game controller. The new Apple TV will ship in late October, and the tvOS developer beta is available now.

What Brands Need to Do
While we’re likely to see an explosion of new modes of interaction as developers explore the platform, we already know that good content works well in the living room. For brands who have existing content plays, such as Red Bull’s video and event content, it’s time to secure the OTT streaming rights. If your brand doesn’t currently produce content, an event sponsorship is a great way to get started. In an on-demand, App Store world, you don’t need to worry about producing a full slate of content to justify an app install — Apple themselves have an Apple TV app dedicated to the iTunes Music Festival, which this year will only feature a week’s worth of content. Focus on quality over quantity.

A couple of features which weren’t discussed on stage could provide interesting go-to-market strategy for brands: support for interactive video, and deep-linking between Apple TV apps. We expect these will be combined to form a paid app install ecosystem much like we have on mobile, with early leaders likely to be ad-supported platforms with premium content, such as Hulu and YouTube. Ahead of any such announcements, however, there are still opportunities for brands to partner with existing content creators and game developers to drive app installs or to push value offers and reminders from the TV to a phone with a single click.

What Retail & Ecommerce Brands Need to Do

•  Apple TV brings ecommerce into the living room and creates a shared online shopping experience
•  Experiment with shoppable videos built upon Apple TV’s support for interactive videos with links to additional info

During Wednesday’s press event, Apple invited online clothing retail platform Gilt on stage showed off their new app designed specifically for Apple TV. Users can use the new touchpad remote to scroll and swipe through the categories of clothing, view product details, and even purchase items direct from their couch. Support for ecommerce apps brings online shopping into the living room and make it a social affair to be shared with family and friends. Apple’s tight integration between TV and mobile will also allow activities to be handed off to a user’s phone, allowing a brand to activate mobile coupons which could easily be triggered automatically when the customer enters a retail location.

Moreover, brands should take advantage of Apple TV’s support for interactive videos and start experimenting with shoppable videos, which embed clickable info providing viewers with product information and an easy way to purchase, turning video content into direct sales channels. Brands such as Sears, Kohl’s, and Gap have been experimenting with shoppable videos with some early successes, and with Apple TV, shoppable videos seem to be on the cusp of mainstream adoption, demanding attention from retail brands.

What Entertainment Brands and Content Owners Need to Do

•  Apple TV can deliver a rich media experience
•  Index your content to make sure it is discoverable via universal search
•  Explore the interactive storytelling opportunities and new types of engagement

As MLB demonstrated during the event, apps provide a great way for content owners to deliver a rich media experience with additional information and interactivity. Apple TV supports universal search across integrated apps, providing an unprecedented opportunity for new content discovery, especially those on lesser-known services. Although only available for select partners at this time, it seems reasonable to presume Apple to open this feature up to all eligible platforms down the road, similar to the universal search in iOS 9. Brands need to index their content for it to appear in favorable spots when users search for certain keywords. The added interactivity also brings new storytelling opportunities for content and ad creators to explore and connect with viewers.

Market Impact
As expected, the new Apple TV introduces a new app platform, while not (yet) providing a truly new way for consumers to subscribe to television content. Apple SVP of Internet Software and Services Eddy Cue called it the “foundation for the future of television,” which it may yet be, timed to take advantage of a holiday season which is primed for cord-cutters. It notably provides a way for Apple to extend their entire ecosystem – which may one day include platforms like iAd and Apple Pay – into the living room, along with their massive iOS install base and developer network, something that competitors such as Roku and Amazon cannot offer.

While it remains to be seen exactly how wide adoption of the new Apple TV will be, Apple’s new products quickly reach tens of millions of units sold and they are putting significant effort behind this one. Since a large share of marketing budgets are focused on the living room, a significant change in the way content is consumed there, away from linear and even streaming and towards the interactivity of apps, is worth adapting to. For both content creators and advertisers who support them, the new Apple TV offers expanded ways to reach users who earn more and spend more, whether that’s with traditional video content, expansions of existing iOS apps, or hybrids which blend video with interactive content of different types.

Apple’s entry into the living room gaming market is a bit more of a wildcard. While it opens up an obvious new market for existing iOS games, and we’ve seen some initial support of the device from big cross-platform games like Skylander and Guitar Hero, without a first-party game controller it remains to be seen whether the platform will be used for gaming or what price points it will support. Most at risk will be Nintendo, whose Wii U hardware and mainstream audience overlap with the new Apple TV’s capabilities and appeal. But if Apple follows its usual path of year-over-year hardware upgrades, Sony and Microsoft’s consoles may also be at risk, especially if Apple can woo top-tier game developers. As far fetched as it may seem, Apple was already EA’s biggest revenue generator all the way back in 2013. For the time being, our standard recommendations for brand integrations with gaming hold true for the Apple TV as well: integrate as natively as possible with branded content, sponsorship of in-app purchases, or participating in the wider gaming community.

For More Information
Please contact Engagement Director Samantha Holland ([email protected]) at the IPG Media Lab if you would like more detail or to schedule a visit to the Lab to discuss strategies and tactics around tapping into the marketing potential of the new Apple TV.

For previous editions of Fast Forward, please visit ipglab.com. Please reply with any constructive criticism or feedback. We want these to be as useful as possible for you and your clients, and your feedback will help us immensely.

 

Header image courtesy of www.apple.com/tv/