New App Bundles In iOS 8

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Everyone likes a good bundle deal when it comes to purchasing games. After all, Humble Bundle does them all the time, providing good deals while giving a good amount of money to charity. Now, Apple device owners can get in on the action with a special bundle service of their own.

With the debut of iOS8 yesterday, Apple has introduced a new section to the App Store called Bundles, which gives developers the chance to offer a multitude of apps with a single purchase.

These bundles feature a number of apps and/or games that can be purchased in one shot, such as a bundle for the Cut the Rope puzzle games going for a cheap $3.99 — nearly a $7 savings over buying the games individually. Some of the bundles are a bit more expensive than others — Square Enix’s Final Fantasy package is currently selling for $70 — but they still provide savings nevertheless.

The Bundles feature should enable publishers to boost sales (and overall installs) for a number of products in their lines, offering a discount in return for getting more titles. It’s classic marketing, now (finally) available in the App Store.

However, with the new service, according to GigaOm, there’s potential for developers to provide a new way to offer mobile software to someone’s device, enabling them to do multiple installs of programs instead of one big program. (Considering that the iOS8 update in itself takes 2.8 GB to install, some people can easily relate to that.)

Using mobile deep linking, the separate programs can easily install together into an operating system, and then join together into an application to run smoothly, just as it would with a singular download. This could be a nice alternative to those app makers that want to provide convenience to users downloading bigger games, such as Bioshock, which clocks in at over 1.5 GB — which could take a while to download depending on the strength of the user’s network.

What do you think Could bundling make it more convenient to download apps to your mobile device Or do you prefer the single, lengthy downloads as you prefer them now

Source: GigaOm

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‘America’s Funniest Home Videos’ Hitting YouTube

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Pratfalls, blunders and slip-ups won’t just be relegated to TV anymore.

America’s Funniest Home Videos, the popular weekly show that features a number of sent-in clips featuring various blunders and goofs, will be taking to YouTube soon, with ABC teaming up with Disney’s Maker Studios to produce original web content for it.

As part of the forthcoming service, a new show called ShayFV will be introduced, a weekly 17-episode series that will feature YouTube sensation Shay “Shay Carl” Butler. In addition, a segment called AFV Do Overs will feature comedians like Jason Horton, Ceciley Jenkins and Ed Bassmaster re-enacting certain moments from the show, which will air a week on TV before making its debut on the YouTube channel.

The deal is inked specifically between Maker Studios and AFHV producer Vin Di Bona Productions. As a result, the AFHV brand will be part of the channel, and content will be uploaded to the Google-related site after airing on the show.

The new AFHV will also be a portal for other YouTube stars, including the likes of Sam Macaroni, Barely Political, Edward Vilderama, Very Good Listeners’ Brian Morgan and Brooke “Dodger” Lawson, and others, who will appear regularly in the series.

“I never could have imagined, when I first pitched this idea in 1989, that using viewer-generated content to entertain families would become the phenomenon it is today,” AFHV creator Vin Di Bona said in a statement. “Our relationship with Shay Carl and YouTube’s talented roster of comedians is the perfect extension of the AFHV brand as we continue our quest to engage a new generation of ‘AFV’ fans and develop memorable destinations for every platform for audiences who love to laugh.”

Shay Carl also believes the show was a great influence on him. “If it wasn’t for AFHV, I may have never posted that first video of me dancing in a unitard,” he said.

This opens up a new avenue for the show, which is considered the longest-running primetime entertainment show in the history of ABC. Hopefully, it’ll help the YouTube audience shine as well – without doing anything too embarrassing.

Source: Variety

Facebook Ad Revenues Exceeding User Time

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Facebook is really going all out to get advertising going in a good way on its site, between sponsored links and other ads appearing on the page. However, it appears that ad revenue is exceeding the time spent by users on the site, according to a report from eMarketer.

Figures report that US adults spent approximately 21 minutes each day on Facebook (averaged across all adults), which accounts for just one-third of the time they spent on social networks in general. Out of those, 6 percent use a digital device of some sort, with 2.8 percent have an overall average daily time spent with media. This is actually an increase, as eMarketer reports that the time spent with major media in general has seen an increase, to nearly 12 1/2 hours for this year alone.

As small a number as that seems, 52.8 percent of U.S. adults — nearly 130 million people — log in to Facebook at least once a month for the year, with the average time of 39 minutes being spent daily on it. That accounts for 38.1 percent time spent on social networks in general.

When it comes to the spending side of things, nearly 10 percent of U.S. digital ad spending goes directly to the sight. Considering that the average time of 5 hours and 46 minutes is spent on the site, some might see that as profitable. However, only 30.5 percent believe that major media ad spending should go towards digital channels.

With services used, 15.9 percent of adult digital time will be utilized by video, compared to 11.7 percent of advertisers’ spending. Online radio programming managed to maintain an 11.2 percentage of time spent, with a comparable 4 percent of digital advertising. Outside of Facebook, those numbers show a slight bit of change, with 11.9 percent of digital time spent and 3.9 percent of digital ad revenues.

These numbers have shown incredible growth over the past few years. Back in 2010, only 14 minutes were spent on a daily basis on YouTube, with 28.5 percent of the general social time space.

It’ll be interesting to see how these numbers increase (or decrease) in the months ahead.

Source: eMarketer

Gatorade Pays Tribute To Derek Jeter

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Baseball’s going to have an awfully big void to fill next year, as “The Captain,” Derek Jeter, is leaving the New York Yankees after this season. It’s an iconic career that’s worth celebrating – as Nike did earlier this year with its star-studded “Captain” ad – and now Gatorade has taken its turn in tributing the legendary player.

A new 90-second ad featuring Jeter taking a leisurely walk to the ballpark for the last time, and greeting various fans and others in the process, was released on YouTube before the weekend, and has already managed to garner over two million views in the process. You can watch it in its entirety below, set to the tune of Frank Sinatra’s “My Way.”

With over 10,000 likes (and a few dislikes from Boston Red Sox fans, obviously), the video has become a big hit – and a fine tribute to the departing Jeter.

What’s great about the ad is that, for a Gatorade ad, it focuses more on the player than the brand. In fact, save for the last two seconds of the commercial, it doesn’t even show any hint of Gatorade whatsoever.

Throughout the 90-second clip, Jeter greets a variety of people, including kids on the street, a general manager of a local bar called Stan’s (in which Jeter happily leaves an autograph on a nearby picture), an artist’s mural and more. Like always, he takes it in stride, with a smile on his face.

And of course, the ad concludes with him standing in Yankee Stadium, tipping his hat to the crowd for a final time.

YouTube won’t be the only spot it airs, either, as it aired this past weekend on the YES Network and Fox. As far as filming for it goes, Gatorade simply “roped off a few blocks before a home game in the Bronx this July and ‘just kind of let Jeter go’,” said Molly Carter, Gatorade’s senior director of consumer engagement. The video ads, combined with a print campaign, were a “true collaboration between Derek and Gatorade.”

At a time when sports sponsorships are in question, it’s good to see some companies can stay true to the topic.

Happy retirement, Mr. Jeter.

Source: Mediapost

 

The Fate of ‘Destiny’

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It’s been a roller-coaster couple of weeks for Activision with Destiny, as the hotly-anticipated title shipped in record-setting numbers… then earned lackluster reviews from most reviewers. This has already had some heavy financial implications for Activision, and it may even affect the fortunes of Sony and Microsoft this fall. The fate of Destiny is still unclear, but the ripple effects may be even more important in the long run.

Let’s examine what happened with Destiny‘s launch. After the title was revealed, Activision CEO Bobby Kotick said in an earnings call that Activision is spending $500 million on Destiny. (He was referring to the total budget over time for development and marketing combined, and probably for the several ‘sequels’ that Activision has contracted for as well.) After months of laudatory coverage in the games media, Destiny was well received at E3, Gamescom, and PAX. Activision pulled out all the stops to promote the title, and even arranged for a special Destiny bundle edition of the PS4 in ‘glacier white’ along with some exclusive DLC to showcase the launch of the game. At the game’s launch on September 9, Activision proudly announced that Destiny had sold-in $500 million worth of Destiny to retailers. This was hailed as the largest sell-in of any new IP in history for the game industry.

Expectations met reality that week as the reviews began to be posted. By the weekend, all the major game sites had reviewed Destiny, with varying degrees of disappointment. The Metacritic score currently sits at 77, with a user rating of 6.6. Customers were also complaining about a distressing (and baffling) lack of customer service, and generally many were feeling disappointed because the content was not as rich as was expected. The end-game raids hadn’t yet appeared, and many finished the game and felt like there was little left to do.

These numbers were below expectations by analysts like Michael Pachter, who was expecting scores in the 80s or 90s. By Monday, Activision’s stock was taking a beating, and the share price finished down about 8.5 percent by Tuesday, losing over $1 billion in value from the company’s market capitalization. Ironically, that’s more than twice the retail value of the Destiny sell-in, and more than twice what Activision has been planning to spend on the franchise.

Activision announced on Monday that Destiny has sold through some $325 million worth of product to consumers, meaning that there’s still a considerable amount of inventory in the channel. Overall, Destiny sell-in exceeded Pachter’s expectations while sales where in-line with what he expected, meaning that the final quarter of the year may see a little lower sales than was predicted.

What does all this mean for Activision Probably not much in the long term, even though the game may not have performed at the high end of the hopes Activision entertained. The problems identified in the reviews and the customers mostly centered around lack of content, which will be readily solved as Bungie labors to build more content for the franchise. Tweaks in AI, and perhaps some better scripting on the story content, can also be readily made. The core game engine and combat controls are widely acclaimed, and that’s one of the most difficult parts to get right. Destiny has a firm foundation, by all reports, even if some of the rooms aren’t finished and the paint job needs some touchups. Long-term, the game will probably become the billion dollar franchise that Activision wants, but it’s going to require a lot of work.

The greater impact of Destiny‘s merely achieving low Earth orbit instead of escape velocity in its initial few months may be on the console battle between Sony and Microsoft. Short-term it puts Sony’s holiday success in doubt, and gives Microsoft an opening to reclaim the #1 selling console slot in the USA.

Destiny looked to many people like a Sony exclusive, due to the special PS4 Destiny edition, exclusive PS4 content, and a lot of marketing spending by both Sony and Activision. Activision’s strategy appeared all along to be to “give” Destiny to Sony and Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare to Microsoft. At least, that’s how it looked at E3, Gamescom and beyond, given which games Sony and Microsoft were featuring. There’s a special Xbox One edition coming out soon based around Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare. Sony was quite probably hoping that Destiny would drive PS4 sales more than Xbox One sales.

Now it’s a good possibility that Destiny will prove to be successful, yet not capable of driving hardware sales for Sony this holiday season the way it may have if the game were more enthusiastically received. The more standard success of Destiny won’t be pushing more PS4s, as word spreads among players that Destiny isn’t yet the universe-shattering hit they were looking for.

This leaves Microsoft looking better than ever for the holiday season, as Sony’s biggest potential system-sellers (top exclusive titles) have all moved into 2015. Microsoft has Sunset Overdrive coming soon, but the real driver for holiday sales of the Xbox One is going to be Halo: The Master Chief Collection. That title should do well, but according to Michael Pachter Microsoft isn’t leaving anything to chance. At GamesBeat, Pachter proclaimed that Microsoft has a killer promotion planned for the fall, and advised people to hold off on buying an Xbox One right now until that’s announced.

We’re likely to see at least some sort of free game offer from Microsoft, since that doesn’t add much to their costs, similar to the free game offered during the Destiny introduction week. Sony probably won’t be napping, either, and will no doubt respond with a promotion of their own if Microsoft looks to gain too much ground.

Ultimately, it really doesn’t make a difference to either Sony or Microsoft’s earnings if one company or the other is tops in sales. Both companies are doing very well with new console sales. The issue of which company is #1 in a given month is really one of those measurement contests that execs often indulge in, and you can bet the rulers are being readied at both companies to see who has the bigger sales this holiday season.

Destiny‘s eventual fate will most likely be a strong success, as it joins other key Activision franchises in the billion-dollar club. In the short term, though, Destiny may help Microsoft gain some ground in the console wars — an interesting side effect no one predicted six months ago.

Consumer Product Research Shifts From Tablet To Smartphone

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A new report from mobile advertising platform NinthDecimal shows some interesting insights into how the mobile audience shops and engages with ads. In the space of just a year, consumers have changed how they research products, shifting from tablet to smartphone as their “window shopping” device of choice.

The Q2 report presents a number of findings that show consumers are carefully planning out shopping trips by making sure they research retail items beforehand at home and at work and just how effective mobile ads are when it comes to influencing product purchase.

 

Source: MarketingLand

Astronauts Wanted Taps YouTube, Vine Stars for New Advice Series

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By Jessica Klein

“The Feels,” a unique new show from Astronauts Wanted, the studio behind Grace Helbig and Mamrie Hart’s “#HeyUSA,” brings together multiple YouTubers in answering the questions their various fans have about sex, relationships, and dating.

The unscripted series features female YouTube stars Andrea Russett, Hannah Witton, Simone Shepard, Laci Green, SmoothieFreak, and others as they respond to one fan query per episode on topics that many people are often too embarrassed to discuss publicly.

Each episode is broken up into multiple sections. In addition to answering a fan’s question, each episode also features a segment covering a different dating and love app, a recurring 60-second feature with “sexpert” Laci Green, and comedic Vine sketch related to that episode’s topic. Astronauts Wanted has tapped Vine stars Hannah Stocking and Hannah Pilkes to create the six-second shorts.

Clearly social is a major element of the unscripted series, which will be accompanied by a Tumblr blog (available here once the show debuts) for additional conversations around an episode’s topic. This is unsurprising, as the two digital series Astronauts Wanted is known for — the aforementioned “#HeyUSA” and The Chernin Group’s “@SummerBreak” — heavily incorporated social media into its programming.

Spanning 12 episodes, the initial season of “The Feels” will debut on Astronauts Wanted’s YouTube channel and website on September 24, after which the studio will roll out a new episode every Wednesday. The series is executive produced by Nick Shore and produced by Shamikah C. Martinez.

For now, you can watch the trailer below:

This article was originally posted on VideoInk and is reposted on [a]listdaily via a partnership with the news publication, which is the online video industry’s go-to source for breaking news, features, and industry analysis. Follow VideoInk on Twitter @VideoInkNews, or subscribe via thevideoink.com for the latest news and stories, delivered right to your inbox.

‘Gone Girl’ Movie Creates Creepy Pinterest Account For Character

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Gone Girl‘s Twitter account tweeted out an interesting tie-in involving the movie’s character that goes missing. Mirroring real life in an eerie way, the character has left behind a digital footprint on Pinterest.

Instagram’s Top Videos For the Week

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Instagram is currently a hot spot for branded videos, allowing companies to reach out to consumers in creative ways – through wonderfully produced clips that will get them talking. GoPro leads the charge on the channel, with an estimated 2.9 million Instagram followers, and a recent clip featuring a giant manta ray clocking in an estimated 146,000 interactions.

Adweek recently took a look at the ten best clips for the week, and you can find them below, in no particular order:

♡.

A video posted by AERO (@aeropostale) on

With this simple clip from Aeropostale, you’ve got shoes walking along the ground and eventually climbing their way up to a fence, where they create a lovely little heart symbol.

Even with all his controversy, Justin Bieber remains a huge draw on Instagram, and his latest video, with him working out, will no doubt leave fans happy.

Seated from halfcourt? @andredrummondd nails it! #Spain2014 #USABMNT

A video posted by NBA (@nba) on

With the new NBA season almost in full swing, Andre Drummond decided to take the opportunity to show off on the league’s official Instagram channel, nailing a sweet shot while sitting down.

My Anaconda don’t. My Anaconda don’t. My Anaconda video is finally here.

A video posted by Ellen (@theellenshow) on

Ellen DeGeneres, who hosts the popular syndicated program The Ellen Show, decided to get into “booty” action this week with a humorous clip where she tries to shake her butt along with fellow dancers. The results, as you may guess, are hilarious.

Spring 2015: Optimistic chic…Blue skies ahead. #AllAccessKors #NYFW

A video posted by Michael Kors (@michaelkors) on

Fashion remains a big draw on Instagram, and Michael Kors’ latest line of outfits managed to get a lot of views this past week.

The new video on Adidas’ Instagram channel shows what goes into the creation of the company’s new Originals line, featuring a variety of decorative colors and designs that are sure to grab an audience.

Who knew that Mercedes Benz knew how to make a stylish Hummer-like vehicle That’s exactly what its latest video shows off, a nice six-wheeler that has no problems being as stylish as it is powerful.

#MACSpinOnBeauty The power of minimalism #MACBackstage at @prabalgurung's #SS15 show. #NYFW #MACTheCut

A video posted by M∙A∙C Cosmetics (@maccosmetics) on

Although much more brief than the other clips on this list, Mac Cosmetics’ latest video has been a huge draw, showing the various angles of how its designs are applied to a blonde female subject.

The aforementioned GoPro clip featuring a manta ray in action is next on the list, and is well worth a view for enthusiasts who want to see what the mobile camera technology can do.

Finally, Urban Outfitters showed off some new clothing designs in its latest Instagram submission, through a quick slide show.

Source: Adweek

 

Marriott Introducing Immersive 4D Travel Experience

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While the physical idea of a transporter hasn’t been created yet (sorry, Star Trek fans), Marriott is prepared to offer the next best thing, with an announcement that will virtually take their guests places.

Marriott Hotels has announced that it has partnered with Academy Award-winning Framestore to create a new virtual travel experience, powered in a fully immersive 4D format supplied by Oculus Rift headsets. (Oculus Rift is considered the leader in the forthcoming virtual reality race, as Facebook has invested $2 billion in the technology.)

With the new program, travelers can step into the virtual Teleporter, a space that resembles a phone booth, and slip on an Oculus Rift headset to experience another location, creating an experience similar to “being there” – even when they’re not.

Framestore, experienced in the field of video effects and creative content, teamed up with marketing agency Relevent to create the virtual reality experience, working in conjunction with the Oculus Rift tech. To do so, it needed to create a technique for recapturing 3D live-action video in a 360-degree format, and then mixing imagery with CGI and 4D elements, including heat, wind and mist, to complete said experience. Users interested in learning more can visit the official Travel Brilliantly page, or watch the video below.

“Marriott Hotels is pioneering the use of innovative technologies that will transform the guest experience to heights unseen in the current reality experience in unprecedented ways, “said Michael Dail, vice president, Marriott Hotels Brand Marketing. “Marriott seized on virtual reality and teleportation to give the next generation of travelers the clear cut notion that more amazing travel experiences are coming and to encourage them to co-create the future of travel with us on TravelBrilliantly.com, where their best ideas enter Marriott’s innovation pipeline. Together, we are pushing the limits of what is possible.”

The Teleporter will tour eight different Marriott locations, ranging from New York to San Francisco, between September and November, before being rolled out as an official program.

What do you think Are you willing to give the Transporter a try You don’t even have to have Scotty beam you up!