Programmatic Ad Spending Moving Towards Digital

BY

Programming buying for advertisers has seen a shift as of late, although there’s a particularly good reason for that — demand.

A survey recently conducted by AOL Platforms earlier this year indicates that 84 percent of ad execs in the United States use programmatic in terms of buying display ads, while six in ten of those surveyed used similar tech to purchase ads for mobile devices. In addition, programmatic video also showed an increase in interest.

It appears the medium is moving into TV ads as well. Although only eight percent of those surveyed currently use the process to purchase said ads, 12 percent indicate that they were looking into doing so sometime in the next few months.

Programmatic technology serves its purposes for those who utilize it, mainly with economic efficiency, as well as targeting. A majority of those surveyed found both of these to play a huge part in their purchases, with organizational efficiency barely sliding into third place.

Not that the system is perfect, as big issues tend to get in the way, such as transparency, which led the concerns when it came to polling, along with inventory quality and technology complexity.

Allie Kline, CMO of AOL Platforms talked about how quickly programmatic technology was being accepted, as well as its general place when it came to usage in the current digital system. “It’s about making sure there’s a relationship beyond just dumping inventory onto a platform,” she said, citing that it helps to “match the right brand with the right publisher,” instead of trying to slot in a program that clearly doesn’t work.

Even though it hasn’t been completely accepted in the digital circles just yet, there’s no question that programmatic technology is on the rise in terms of usage and interest, and it’s just a matter of time before it’s generally accepted. What do you think? Should programmatic be given a better shot in the market?

Source: eMarketer

Vizera Projection System Can Beautify Objects

BY

Projectors are nothing new, as people use them consistently to show off presentations, movies and other display purposes. However, VizeraLabs has come up with a way to project images — including onto less-than-favorable looking furniture.

The company, based in San Francisco, has come up with a projection system that can actually beam realistic textures onto any given surface. And not just flat ones either, but also three-dimensional objects.

With the system, retailers can show customers different patterns, colors and textures through various combinations on objects before they purchase them. These include carpets, couches and any other tools where custom design comes into play.

The video below provides a demonstration of how this works, and no computer images were used to produce it — it’s changing those colors in real time using the projection system, which was certainly no easy feat.

 

The lighting and shading of said object is done through a “Material Simulation Engine,” which allows for manipulation of colors, textures and other features to create a lifelike experience, without altering the material itself in a permanent manner.

With the system, retailers can actually save money without needing to print multiple models of their product that wouldn’t be used. Instead, customers can generate their own model of products and see how they would apply in real time, and get a similar one once purchased.

The technology can even go as far as to be used in automobile shops, allowing consumers to see how custom paint jobs appear before making a final decision.

The tech itself hasn’t been released yet, but don’t be surprised if some form of business model is introduced for it within the months ahead. It’ll certainly be interesting to see what a chair looks like with polka dots… without having to pay for it, obviously.

Source: Digital Trends

From Oprah to PewDiePie: Creating Win-Win Campaigns

BY

Jim Louderback begins the panel by asking whether or not PewDiePie, the current most subscribed and viewed YouTuber is really an influencer. The range of answers from panelists is really telling.

Everyone has different and sometimes conflicting ideas of how best to work with influencers and identifying the right ones. Sometimes there are things that we can all agree on like “knowing who your audience is.”

The Oprah to PewDiePie panel was a good mix of those who work brand-side and those who have more than a toe in creation, too.  All in all, there’s a lot to meditate on here for marketers.

 

NPD July 2014: Software Heads South For The Summer

BY

We’re back to the new normal for video game hardware and software at retail in the U.S. for July. That is, a huge increase in hardware revenue, up 100 percent from $99.4 million to $198.8 million, (due, of course, to new console sales) and a drop in software revenue, (down 15 percent from $210.1 million to $178.2 million) with a minor increase in accessory sales (up 3 percent to $137.3 million). It’s a situation that’s not exactly what publishers might like, but it’s still promising in many ways. As usual, though, you need to look deeper into the numbers to see what’s really going on.

NPD’s Liam Callahan does the usual cheery framing: “Similar to the pattern seen in seven out of the last nine months, strong growth in hardware sales offset declines in software sales in July 2014 while accessory sales had modest growth, leading to an increase of 16 percent in overall new physical video game sales compared to July 2013,” Callahan said. Of course, the first thing you want to know is some details on those hardware sales, as Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo continue to try and put the best spin on things.

Sony had no new announcement since the NPD numbers came out, but the company did announce it’s sold 10 million PlayStation 4 consoles so far earlier this week at Gamescom. “We just announced that the PlayStation 4 has sold through more than 10 million units worldwide — and more than 30 million PS4 games have been sold — since its launch less than nine months ago. It’s a remarkable milestone that reinforces PS4’s record-breaking pace and the movement it has created among players globally in defining next generation gaming,” Shawn Layden posted on the PlayStation blog.

Microsoft and Nintendo promptly responded, with… crickets. Really, it’s all about the games, right Actually, Microsoft has been active this week talking about its new system update and plenty of new games coming up, while Nintendo has been pretty quiet throughout Gamescom, the company has a booth. Nintendo did post a sizzle reel of upcoming games for the Wii U and 3DS:

 

The Best Game Trailers From Gamescom

BY

Outside of the Electronic Entertainment Expo held here in the U.S., Gamescom is one of the biggest video game events of the year, with dozens of new announcements from developers with each show that comes and goes. This year is no exception, as a number of developers have unveiled their latest projects through trailer reveals.

Some of the bigger highlights from the show can be found below:

 

 

The forthcoming game Silent Hills was revealed in a unique way – through an “interactive trailer” that could be downloaded on the PlayStation 4. This new project is a collaboration between Metal Gear director Hideo Kojima and Pacific Rim director Guillermo del Toro, and also features The Walking Dead star Norman Reedus in the title role. The game is due for release on the PlayStation 4, although a specific date hasn’t been provided yet.

 

 

The developers of Mass Effect have been keeping quite busy, and during EA’s Gamescom press conference, it finally unveiled Shadow Realms, a new online multiplayer game that’s set up in an arena-style battle, with four players taking on a stronger one in a fight for survival.

 

 

Last year, Media Molecule produced the PS Vita hit Tearaway, and it found such a strong reception with audiences that Sony decided to make a revised version for the PlayStation 4 titled Tearaway Unfolded. The game features innovative gameplay techniques that will take advantage of the DualShock 4 controller, along with revised visuals that are perfect for the PS4’s hardware. The game will arrive sometime in 2015.

 

 

Wild is the latest creation from Rayman producer Michel Ancel, and provides players with an open world in which to explore, either as human characters or animals, depending on what they’re more comfortable with. This PlayStation 4 exclusive should make its way to retail sometime in 2015.

 

 

Finally, Assassin’s Creed: Unity left its mark on Gamescom this week with a dramatic new trailer highlighting the French Revolution, with the player’s main assassin character trying to make a difference in the ongoing war. The game will release on October 28th for PC, Xbox One and PlayStation 4.

Source: YouTube