Facebook Pitches Video To Brands

BY

The product isn’t even out on the market yet, but it looks like Facebook has begun selling their large autoplaying video ads with great fervor. Digiday unearthed the deck shown below that has been shared with Facebook’s marketing developer partners as a way to pitch these video ads to clients.

Some notable takeaways from this are that in much of these decks are some projections where digital supercedes television with Facebook clearly angling to be a part of that curve. Facebook also points out that one ad on the social network can reach more people than any major TV network, and can be a valuable way to reach millennials in particular.

Â

 

Source: Digiday

Nanomedicine: Ninjas In Your Bloodstream

BY

Infections that are immune to antibiotics are a growing concern in the U.S. and elsewhere, but the engineers at IBM are taking the problem siting down. As illustrated in this cutesy animated ad “Adventures in Nanomedicine”, the company is developing what it calls “ninja polymers” to fight threats like MRSA.

 

YouTube Rewinds for 2013

BY

This year was a whirlwind of memes on YouTube, and now the site is back with some of its biggest stars to celebrate all those videos that helped brighten our day. Included among the many references are to Miley Cyrus’ infamous Wrecking Ball music video, the “What does the Fox say ” song, and the always popular Harlem Shake.

Microsoft Kicks Off Virtual Sales Tomorrow

BY

With just over week to go until Christmas, various companies are preparing special last-minute sales so people can get their loved ones – or themselves – something for the holiday.

Microsoft is no exception, as Larry “Major Nelson” Hyrb announced today that a special Countdown To 2014 sale would take place all this coming week, starting tomorrow. The sale will offer various Xbox 360 digital games for a cheaper price, which people can easily purchase with either credit cards or redeemed Microsoft gift cards.

The sale will begin with content for 2K Games’ Borderlands 2, including downloadable packs and the game itself, along with the digital hit Terraria. Other games that will be marked down over the next few days include various Spider-Man releases, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater HD and Bioshock Infinite, among others.

The full list of sale titles is available here.

Source: Major Nelson

Twitter Brings Promoted Accounts To Timelines

BY

Promotional tweets have definitely come a long way over the last few months, with an array of topics to choose from. However, they haven’t really found their way to the site’s mobile applications – until now, at least.

The company is working on an update that will bring the promoted accounts to both iOS and Android applications, with updates appearing beneath tweets from the advertiser – though users shouldn’t be concerned, as it won’t affect their day-to-day browsing of their friends’ and other Twitter accounts.

A Twitter spokeswoman has explained that the introduction of the new format shouldn’t affect the frequency of how often the ads will appear, and that advertisers would only be charged if a user follows their account, and not based on overall impressions.

A post on the Twitter blog page explained how it would work a little bit further. “For example, a new coffee shop could run a geo-targeted promoted accounts campaign in timeline to build awareness about their business and explain why users should follow them on Twitter.”

There’s no word on when this program will launch, but it shouldn’t be too far off.

Source: Twitter

Social Casino Site Snares $14 Million

BY

Social casino gaming is a lot bigger than you might think – and Endemol is betting on making it even bigger.

The Netherlands-based TV production team behind such shows as Fear Factor and Deal Or No Deal has recently made a strategic investment in social casino startup Plumbee, to the tune of approximately $14 million.

Founded by a trio of former Playfish executives – Gerald Tan, Jodi Moran and Raf Keustermans – Plumbee has been around for a couple of years now, and its casino site manages to bring in more than one million active users on a monthly basis.

The partnership enables Endemol to work hand-in-hand with Plumbee on developments. “Social casino gaming is a fast emerging market and Plumbee is one of the most innovative and dynamic operators in this space,” said chairman Lucas Church. “This new partnership will allow us to accelerate the growth of Endemol’s digital gaming business around the world, whilst capturing more of the value created by our entertainment brands.”

Keustermans, CEO of Plumbee, added, “Endemol will become a strategic shareholder and this will enable us to leverage the company’s international network and globally recognized brands. This will significantly boost the growth of our worldwide user base as we create gaming experiences that stand out from the competition.”

Source: TechCrunch

Super Stadiums Coming For Gaming Tournaments

BY

With eSports clearly on the rise and creating a booming competitive market, could we soon see stadiums built specifically for gaming purposes? Judging by some designs that popped up on the Internet, definitely.

A group of Kansas City architects known as Populous have such a design in mind, revealing on Gizmodo what could potentially be big gaming venues by the time 2020 rolls around.

According to the group, the multi-billion dollar industry has reached out quite a bit to the public, creating a bigger demand for competition. The stadium design features a vivid, futuristic light display, as well as private gaming pods and rearrangeable interiors to fit the gamers’ needs.

These are preliminary renderings, and nothing’s been finalized as of yet when it comes to putting together a venue, but it definitely looks like the potential for specific gaming-related locales isn’t out of the question.

Source: Gizmodo

2015 Ford Mustang’s Video Game Debut

BY

Even though the 2015 Ford Mustang won’t be available for a few more weeks, interested drivers can take it on the open road – virtually, at least.

Electronic Arts has reached a deal with car manufacturer Ford to include the forthcoming vehicle as a free downloadable vehicle for its hit racing game Need For Speed: Rivals. In the trailer below, you can see the car in action, and how well it handles during high-speed pursuits.

“We worked closely with EA to provide engineering data for the new Mustang, several months before we showed it to the rest of the world,” said Ford licensing manager Mark Bentley. “The computer design models enabled the game developers to create an accurate representation of the new Mustang.”

Need For Speed: Rivals is available now for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, Xbox One and Xbox 360.

Source: Polygon