Apple is going all in with augmented reality, but the technology still has a ways to go before consumers adopt it fully, analysts say.
WWDC 2018 kicked off Monday with a slew of feature announcements ranging from asking Siri to find your keys to a 30-person FaceTime session, but one trend became abundantly clear—Apple wants to outpace Android for AR.
“Apple is continuing to pull ahead in the race against Android to develop quick and easy AR tools,” SuperData VP of strategy and XR Stephanie Llamas said in a statement. “They’ve moved fast on a new iteration of ARKit (less than a year) and are creating more value for iOS users in their ever-difficult endeavor of surpassing Android market share.”
During its annual keynote, Apple unveiled ARKit 2, a new version of its AR development platform that includes multiplayer support, updated image tracking and a spectator mode, allowing a user to watch others play from a separate iOS device.
Other features include item measurement and persistent AR will remember where a user left off—say, if they were putting together a virtual puzzle—so they can return and continue an experience at their leisure.
Apple has partnered with Fender to illustrate AR measurement tools, Pixar to develop a new file format for sharing AR content and Lego to bring their products into the virtual space. Shiny new features highlight the potential of such partnerships, but if Apple wants to use AR to attract new users.
“AR is just too new to be the reason for adoption, and despite a new version, iOS AR is still on the back-burner in terms of consumer interest,” said Llamas.
Social interaction, Llamas says, may be the key to overcoming hesitance from consumers when it comes to AR. In other words, Apple will need to offer interactive opportunities that users cannot already do beyond text messaging and video chat.
“One of the best ways AR can make its mark is by helping provide presence to users where distance holds them back,” said Llamas. “This has been one of the key ways VR has found success (e.g., Rec Room and VRChat) because XR users want to do things they can’t in reality, and playing Legos with friends from around the world is one of those things they can now do [in AR].”
Production company A24 is recreating the weird little dolls from its film Hereditary and letting audiences bring them home—without telling them.
In the upcoming horror film Hereditary, a girl named Charlie makes disturbing dolls out of craft items and trash. The film’s production company, A24, is using Charlie’s unusual creativity to their marketing advantage by offering real-life dolls on an Etsy page.
The dolls aren’t actually for sale—despite the page saying Charlie sold 18 of them—but have been sent to a number of online creators and journalists as promotional items.
After a midnight screening of Hereditary in March, audience goers woke up the next morning to find one of Charlie’s dolls left on their doorstep. Recipients claimed that the dolls must have been hand-delivered—adding to the creepiness factor—as they did not have any postage.
Man @A24 play too much 😭 After seeing the TERRIFYING @HereditaryMovie at a midnight screening last night (and checking every shadow of my room before going to bed), I woke up with THIS waiting outside my hotel room. Y’all play WAAAAAAY tew damn much 😭 pic.twitter.com/sKHQuuuIWa
A24, it seems, will go to any lengths to market the “evil” aspects of its films, going so far as to partner with the very real Temple of Satan to promote The Witch in 2016.
Creepy dolls have become a horror genre staple thanks to the likes of Child’s Play and Master of Puppets, no doubt causing audiences to develop pediophobia (a fear of dolls) if they hadn’t already.
Adding dolls to the film marketing strategy helps bridge the gap between fantasy and reality. Readers might remember seeing eerie little stick figurines at the movie theaters ahead of The Blair Witch Project, for example.
Last summer, horror fans were invited to find 13 Annabelle doll replicas from Mezco Toyz hidden around the Ripley’s Believe It Or Not! Museum in New York’s Time Square. Those who spotted all 13 dolls got the chance to win tickets to an advanced screening of Annabelle: Creation. Fans can still take home the Annabelle replicas through Mezco Toyz’ website or insert the possessed doll into photos through the film’s official website.
Following a successful launch at MWC 2017, Women4Tech—the GSMA’s targeted gender diversity program, was back with a bang in Barcelona. It was an action-packed week for W4T—with a total of 11 activities across the four days, including a Hack_D_Gap challenge, GLOMO Awards, Speed Coaching & Networking, Mobile World Live Panel, Main Stage Keynote and day-long Summit.
The GSMA developed the Women4Tech program to address gender diversity in the mobile industry, and on Thursday, June 28, the leader’s stage will host a series of interactive panel discussions, an AMO Award, Speed Coaching and a dedicated Networking Drinks Reception, all designed to explore how we can increase female leadership in the digital age.
Get Involved:
To submit a speaker, idea or simply find out more information, please contact Keren Bowman.
Agenda At A Glance, Early Confirmed Speakers:
1:00 to 1:45 p.m. Empowering Equality | Career Development
Integrating gender equality into the mainstream of our work environments.
Chair: Mary Clark, CMO & EVP Product, Synchronoss
1:45 to 2:30 p.m. Encouraging Mentorship | Education & Youth
Educating our youth and providing inspiring role models, thought leaders and career mentoring relationships. How do we engage with young women and encourage them to pursue education and careers in STEM subjects?
2:30 to 3:15 p.m. Transforming Communication | Business Verticals
Women transforming technology is at the crossroads of marketing and technology. Diverse teams make better decisions and mirror the societies they build for and communicate with. What are best practices from industries such as FinTech, retail and marketing?
Speakers:
Kirti Lad, Executive Director, Meraki Executive Search & Consulting
3:15 to 4:00 p.m. Innovating Entrepreneurship | Startups
Achieving greater diversity in investment, innovation and entrepreneurship. How can we increase investment and funding for female-led companies?
Moderator: Nicole Peng, Senior Director, Mobility, Canalys
Speakers:
Azita Arvani, Head of Innovation Partner & Venture Management, Nokia
4:00 to 4:30 p.m. Break
4:30 to 6:00 p.m. Speed Coaching
The Women4Tech Speed Coaching session will guide attendees on mapping career goals & building bridges in the professional community.
6:00 to 7:00 p.m. Women4Tech Networking Drinks Reception
Join us at the Women4Tech Cocktail Reception, straight after the Speed Coaching, for a chance to meet and network with Women4Tech attendees and speakers.
Corona has launched a cause marketing campaign leading up to World Oceans Day and the coming week that adds plastic trash to its own advertisements.
World Oceans Day is June 8 and spirits brand Corona, which uses the beach in its advertisements, decided to disrupt its own brand messaging to make a statement about pollution. Corona partnered with environmental activist group Parley for the Oceans to alter a series of existing ad campaigns and convey a message of trouble in paradise.
The World Surf League, sponsored by Corona, changed its name from “Corona Bali Pro” to “Corona Bali Pro-tected” as part of a five-year action plan to help Bali address its mounting problem of ocean pollution.
“As a brand that is synonymous with the beach, we are seeing the destruction of shorelines and oceans up close,” Felipe Ambra, global vice president of Corona said in a statement. “Our ads usually showcase paradise the way we assume it to be, pristine and beautiful, but today it’s increasingly hard to find a beach without plastic.”
In 2016, Corona launched a campaign called “This Is Living” that depicts picturesque beach and other outdoor settings, along with a bottle of Corona beer. Ahead of World Oceans Day, Corona is adding plastic trash to these outdoor images, as well as a question mark to the campaign slogan.
Corona has also installed billboards in London, Melbourne, Santiago, Bogota, Santo Domingo and Lima that depict actor Chris Hemsworth (Thor: Ragnarok) surfing with the slogan “From where you’d rather be.” The brand then gathered plastic from nearby beaches to build sculptures on top of the billboards, transforming the blue ocean surf a “wave of waste.” A question mark was added to the slogan with the hope of spreading awareness.
The Australian installation weighs 1,500 kg (around 3,306 lbs), which is equal to the amount of plastic that enters Australia’s oceans each day, Corona said. In London and Melbourne, people can drop off their own plastic pollutants at the site of the billboard to be added to the plastic installation.
Parley for the Oceans and Corona have partnered to offer a series of limited-edition Hawaiian-style shirts that are made from recycled plastic. At first glance, the shirts feature traditional paradise imagery like ocean waves and fish but upon closer inspection, the design is made up of everyday plastic litter such as toothbrushes and plastic bottles. The shirt is being promoted by Hemsworth, with proceeds benefiting Parley for the Oceans’ conservation efforts.
The Electronic Entertainment Expo is around the corner, and in its second year of opening its doors to the public, E3 is still going through some growing pains.
“This year, it’s going to be more evolutionary than revolutionary,” said Mat Piscatella, an analyst for NPD, to AListDaily.
“E3 is becoming a hub for a lot of media activity, but right now they’re realizing that they need to evolve,” added Carter Rogers, research manager at SuperData. “They’re trying to be more like PAX, more like Gamescom.”
From Media To Gamers
Ths show is finding its footing as a consumer-facing event after a shaky start last year, Piscatella predicts.
“I felt really bad for the fans that came out last year and put down all that money to stand in those lines and have that experience,” he said about the 2017 show. “E3 is becoming more and more of a fan show, and eventually it’ll go that way—like what happened with Gamescom. That feels like the right way for it to go.”
This shift toward fan engagement is further pushing game publishers to change up their pre-E3 strategy.
“The methods of communication are changing quite a bit. All the big announcements happen leading up to the show, with the show itself being more of an interview/showcase, especially with the fans and influencers on the floor,” Piscatella added. “Companies are shifting focus so they’re talking to those people as much as they’re talking to traditional press outlets.”
However, Rogers predicts that the shifting audience will prove the fundamental building blocks of the show solid.
“I don’t see huge change in how they’re presenting demos now,” Rogers clarified. “They’re still going to want people in the public to have a good experience, the same as you would with someone in the press.”
Publishers Focus On Offsite Events
As more people crowd into the LA Convention Center for the show, many of the larger publishers like EA and Microsoft are crowding out of it.
“Triple-A publishers are going to continue to move away from the event itself,” Rogers predicts.
“The big publishers are moving offsite because they can control the message and put on fan events without getting lost in the shuffle of all these other games,” Piscatella added. “The best way to go is what Nintendo is doing with their Direct program, where they’re messaging folks multiple times throughout the year and not saving it all for one big E3 blowout.”
While this move serves their interests in the short term, analysts warn of the consequences for the identity of the show itself.
“They have to make sure that the fan event is still big enough to draw the press to LA, so it’s not just a bunch of separate companies doing their own offshoot events during the week of E3,” Rogers warned. “As that continues to happen and more companies pull away, they’re potentially going to say . . . ‘Why aren’t we doing this in August, when no one else is announcing anything?'”
If too many companies pull away and host their own conventions, like the Xbox FanFest, EA Play and BlizzCon, E3 may no longer be able to pull in mass media coverage like it once did.
“The one thing E3 does that’s difficult to do with a Direct-style format is that at E3 you get the big press outlets, the NBCs and the CNNs, doing segments about the show,” Piscatella claimed. “There’s still value in doing this big once-a-year blowout.”
PlayStation continued its emotion-based video game marketing strategy during the NBA Finals Sunday, debuting a new spot called “Play Fearlessly.”
“Play Fearlessly” is part of Sony PlayStation’s ongoing “Greatness Awaits” campaign that, fittingly, debuted during the NBA Finals in 2013. Five years later, the campaign has become iconic of the video game console but this latest spot is different in one respect—it doesn’t show any gameplay or features.
“This year, we identified a massive opportunity to tell a unique story about the PlayStation brand,” Mary Yee, vice president of marketing for PlayStation told AListDaily. “One that focuses on something we can all relate to—the exhilaration and pure joy we all feel when we get to play.”
PlayStation has illustrated this idea many times throughout the “Greatness Awaits” campaigns, from jumping out of a window into a Star Wars X-wing to describing dynamic 4K with opera.
Rather than focus on a particular game, “Play Fearlessly” opens with a woman staring down the road at a wall of fog, talking about how the world is full of monsters like loneliness and doubt.
“In our world,” the woman says, “they bring darkness—we bring light. We play free.”
As the music comes to a crescendo and more people join the woman as she charges the wall of fog, they begin to fly into the air and exclaim with joy. The symbolism of “Play Fearlessly” is that gamers are freed when they face challenges, whatever they might be.
“For some of us, play is nostalgic—it reminds us of younger times or childhood memories,” said Yee. “For others, it is ever-present and something we prioritize in our lives. In either case, we think play is fundamental to who we are.”
PlayStation has promoted heavily during basketball sporting events, including the basketball halftime show between the Golden State Warriors and San Antonio Spurs. The activation, dubbed “War on the Floor,” featured a 3D image of God of War gameplay projected onto the hardwood.
“To us, sports fandom is analogous to with gaming fandom,” says Yee. “Basketball and sports, in general, invoke the extraordinary and bring a spotlight to athletes achieving great things in tremendous ways. In our world, our gamers are the athletes.”
Top Gun 2 has begun filming, Tom Cruise teased on Thursday, sharing a photo on social media that has already garnered over $105,000 in earned media value for the film.
Actor Tom Cruise shared a photo on Twitter and Instagram of him dressed as his famous Top Gun character Maverick, walking toward a jet with the words “Feel the Need.” Aside from the photo, Cruise wrote only #Day1, meaning that it was the first day of principle filming for Top Gun 2 (titled Top Gun: Maverick).
Tom Cruise joined Instagram in January and is levering his millions of followers across Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to promote the films in which he stars and/or produces. Since he performs his own stunts, Cruise shares behind-the-scenes footage of how some of the film sequences came together. His stunt work for The Mummy was even adapted into a VR experience.
To measure user engagement with Cruise’s Top Gun 2 teaser post, we calculated the earned media value from Instagram and Twitter.
“Earned media” is the value of engagements a brand receives across channels as a result of their marketing efforts. To help quantify what the value of those engagements is worth, Ayzenberg Group established the Ayzenberg Earned Media Value Index (AEMVI) and assigned a quantifiable dollar amount for marketing gains a brand receives from a campaign or individual engagement that includes social media networks and similar digital properties.
(Editor’s note: AListDaily is the publishing arm of Ayzenberg Group. To read the updated AEMVI report reflecting the rapid changes in social, click here.)
Based on the latest AEMVI rates for Twitter interactions, Tom Cruise—on behalf of Paramount Pictures—generated $105,817.05 in organic social media engagement in one day with just one tweet and one Instagram post. This figure was based on values assigned to likes, comments and retweets.
Tapping into the massive follower base of their actors, building hype for a film directly from the star’s social media profile has become a tactic used by many studios, leading to a shift in how actors negotiate their contracts. It was recently revealed, for example, that Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is charging $1 million for access to his fans on social media, including 107 million in Instagram.
Johnson frequently posts about his upcoming projects, although it’s unclear as to whether he is paid to do so—the aforementioned $1 million social media deal was negotiated specifically for the upcoming film Red Notice. Actor Chris Pratt was reportedly paid $10 million for reprising his role in Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom and likely collected additional fees for sharing behind-the-scenes featurettes called “Chris Pratt’s Jurassic Journals.”
There are 240 different podcasts under the “Most Popular” tab for iTunes’ Marketing and Management topic alone. We’ve separated the marketing podcast wheat from the chaff for those looking to maximize their off-screen time.
Confessions of a Marketer
Hosted by Mark Reed-Edwards, Confessions of a Marketeris a series of candid, one-on-one conversations with prominent marketing professionals and professors on subjects spanning a CMO’s wheelhouse, from broad strategy topics such as data privacy and the next generation of talent, to granular subjects like product marketing and funding acquisition.
AdExchanger Talks
For the digital and data marketers, AdEchanger Talksis the source for news on martech developments and digital best practices. With episodes on the lengthier side of the marketing podcast stack, discussions are more in-depth, but include full-text transcripts for listeners in a rush.
Ad Lib
Purporting to cut through the PR-speak so prevalent in the media and marketing fields, AdAge‘s Ad Libpodcast features off-the-cuff conversations with high-profile marketers about their careers, experience and opinions.
“The goal here is to do away with spin and jargon, and get to know some of the more influential and innovative people in this space—and understand the humans behind the titles,” the show’s description promises.
HBR IdeaCast
The long-running official podcast of the Harvard Business Review, HBR IdeaCast features bite-sized conversations with executive thought leaders and academics in all aspects of business and management, from networking to AI innovations to work-life balance. The podcast releases weekly, and has a massive searchable backlog from the last 11 years for any topic that might cross a marketer’s mind, including a six-part series centering entirely on the triumphs, troubles and myths faced by women at work.
This week in social media news, Facebook commits to diversity, stops trending posts and its users appear remarkably unconcerned about recent privacy scandals.
In other news, Pinterest is offering full-screen video ads, Twitter started deleting underage accounts, Snapchat set its sights on Indian advertisers and Pew Research revealed which platform US teenagers like best. Earlier this week, Facebook revealed that it is developing hardware and updated parental controls on Messenger Kids, Snapchat is teaming up with third-party apps and addressed workplace complaints, YouTube is promoting with AI, Alexa named the most popular websites in the US, Snapchat introduced a Lens that reacts to sound and Pinterest enjoyed sales growth thanks to marketers last year.
Editor’s Note: Our weekly social media news post is updated daily. This installment will be updated until Friday, June 1. Have a news tip? We’re looking for changes to and news surrounding social media platforms as they relate to marketing. Let us know at editorial@alistdaily.com.
Sheryl Sandberg Commits To Diverse Hiring At Facebook
During the Advanced Women’s Leadership Forum on Thursday, Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg said that the company is applying its “diverse slate” approach to hiring board members to ensure diversity in the workforce.
Sandberg also shared this information earlier in the day during the annual shareholders meeting, saying that she wanted to make the commitment publicly. Facebook’s statements are a direct response to shareholder Reverend Jesse Jackson, who accused the company of underrepresentation.
“Beyond the board, the C-suites, the top 15 employees are white, and that does not represent a random—it represents some lack of intentionality to be inclusive,” Jackson said.
Facebook: Out With Trending, In With News
After four years, Facebook is discontinuing its Trending News posts, stating that they accounted for less than 1.5 percent of clicks to news publishers. Instead, the social network has partnered with 80 publishers across America to test a “Breaking News” label and notifications. A new section called “Today In” will serve as a Facebook hub for local news updates and a dedicated news section will be added to Facebook Watch for news-related videos.
Scandals? Most Facebook Users Seem Unconcerned
A recent survey by Thomson Reuters asked if consumers had altered their Facebook habits in light of recent data and privacy scandals. Surprisingly, only 18 percent of respondents said they now share less content on the site. At 47 percent, the top reason for withholding information on the platform is concerns about privacy, followed by a need to self-regulate—31 percent said they spend too much time on the platform.
Twenty percent are withholding Facebook posts after hearing negative stories about it on the news. Political bias on the platform is motivating others to take a break, with 15 percent saying the news feed is liberal leaning, and 12 percent saying it leans Conservative.
Pinterest Offers Full-Screen Video Ads
A promoted video tool is now available on Pinterest that takes up the entire screen. The idea-sharing site is pushing this and other marketing products to the entertainment industry, saying that more than 11 million boards on the site are dedicated to movies and that they reach 42 percent of people who saw a movie in theaters in the last six months.
“Entertainment is one of the fastest-growing categories on Pinterest, with more than 42 million people already using the platform to find new entertainment ideas,” Pinterest’s US sector lead of partnerships Meredith Guerriero wrote Thursday.
Snapchat Seeks Advertisers In India
Last year, Snapchat faced outrage from Indian users when a former employee quoted CEO Evan Spiegel as saying he had no interest in “poor countries” like India and Spain. If that statement was true, Spiegel’s tune has now changed. Snapchat has partnered with adtech firm Tyroo to ad monetization infrastructure and fuel growth in the APAC region.
“This strategic partnership with Tyroo will allow us to bring Snapchat to more advertisers in India, and help them see the value in connecting with our highly engaged users through the most fun and effective ad products on the market,” Geoffrey Reed, Snapchat head of international expansion, said in a statement.
Twitter Blocks Users That Signed Up While Underage
In an effort to comply with GDPR requirements, Twitter is blocking users that, based on their self-proclaimed birthdays, signed up for the service while under the age of 13. Even if they are well over the age of 18 now, users need to get parental consent before their profiles can be unlocked.
A source inside Twitter told The Guardian that the company’s hands were tied because it wasn’t possible to separate content a user created before and after they turned 13. The company is, however, looking for a more permanent solution to the age problem and several users on Reddit have been able to restore access by repeatedly submitting documentation proving their current age.
US Teens Prefer YouTube Over Facebook
Pew Research found that among US internet users between the ages of 13-17, 85 percent say they use YouTube, compared to 51 percent who use Facebook. When Pew Research asked the same questions in 2014, 71 percent of teenagers reported using Facebook, indicating a significant drop in young consumer preference.
Facebook isn’t missing out completely, however, as 72 percent of teenagers in the study said they use Instagram. Also, YouTube was not included in the previous survey, Pew noted.
Facebook Takes A Hard Look At Hardware
With the sheer volume of data that Facebook collects and is expected to sort through for inappropriate content, the company is designing its own computer chips to handle the load, Tom’s Hardware reported.
During the Viva Technology conference in France last week, Facebook’s chief artificial intelligence scientist Yann LeCun said that the company would like to take down offensive videos such as a murder or a suicide as they happen. To accomplish this, however, requires a massive amount of computing power and energy consumption.
“There’s a huge drive to design chips that are more energy-efficient for that. A large number of companies are working on this, including Facebook,” LeCun said. “You’ve seen that trend from hardware companies like Intel, Samsung, Nvidia. But now you start seeing people lower in the pipeline of usage having their own needs and working on their own hardware.”
Being able to filter pre-determined content as it happens could solve many of Facebook’s problems but raises concerns about abuse of that power, such as to silence views contrary to staff opinion—something the site has already been accused of doing.
YouTube Gives Google Assistant The Key To Its New Show
Subscribers to YouTube’s new premium service will soon be able to watch an exclusive new series called Impulse, but Google Assistant users can check out the first episode for free. Google Assistant users can say “Talk to Impulse,” at which point the AI will provide a synopsis and ask for a password. Those who answer correctly (“Henry”) will be sent a link to the unlisted first episode on YouTube.
Impulse tells the story of a teen girl named Henry who can teleport away from harm’s way but destroys everyone and everything around her when she does. The series is directed by Doug Liman (Bourne Identity, Jumper) and debuts this summer exclusively on You Tube’s new Premium subscription service.
Snapchat (Finally) Turns To Third-Party Developers
Traditionally, Snapchat has been protective of its users but in doing so has missed opportunities such as fostering its influencer community. Now Snap, Inc. is addressing both problems, albeit one publically and one in secret.
Sources close to the company toldTechCrunch that SnapKit—Snapchat’s developer platform—will allow users to “sign in with Snapchat” on third-party apps. In addition, software creators will gain access to a number of tools such as the Bitmoji avatar and AR camera.
The ability to sign into other apps with Snapchat may entice users back to the platform, as well as offer an alternative to signing in with Facebook amid widespread privacy concerns.
Snapchat Addresses Workplace Concerns
A former employee of Snap, Inc. has inspired change within the company’s work environment, Cheddarreported Wednesday. In November, software engineer Shannon Lubetich resigned and just before she left, sent a scathing email to her co-workers about sexist and hostile conditions. Among the complaints were off-color jokes made by senior vice president of engineering, Jerry Hunter and scantily clad workers hired for a company Christmas party.
Lubetich also alleged that Snap, Inc. encouraged a “pervading sexist vibe” and that talking to HR yielded no resolution. But Hunter, with whom Lebetich had the most beef, calls her email a wake-up call.
“We’ve worked hard to make Snap a place where everyone feels respected and everyone can grow,” Hunter told Cheddar. “I’m excited about the progress that we have made this year, but know that we certainly have more work to do.”
According to sources within the company, CEO Evan Spiegel told employees that he wants the company to “contribute to human progress,” and be more inclusive.
Messenger Kids Cuts Certain Parent Ties
If you like your kids’ friends but not their parents, you no longer have to be friends with them on Facebook to let your kids chat on Messenger. Facebook rolled out an update on Wednesday that makes it easier for parents to approve their children’s Messenger connections. Parents can invite other parents to download Facebook Messenger Kids by searching for their name but no longer have to be Facebook friends.
“Parents still have to approve every single contact their child can talk to on Messenger Kids,” Facebook assured users. “This change will just make it easier to complete the connections you want to make for your child without having to friend the other parents.”
Users Visit YouTube More Often, Spend More Time On Facebook
According to the latest tracking from Alexa, Google is still the top-visited site in the US, followed by its video-sharing site YouTube. While visitors spend an average of 8:31 minutes on YouTube, users spend 10:49 minutes perusing Facebook. Facebook has the advantage of an impressive 7 million backlinks to its content to drive viewership.
Twitter boasts over 5.4 million backlinks to its site and is number eight on the list of most-popular websites in the US. Reddit rules in terms of page visits, with an average of 9.73 pages viewed per day per visitor. Its loyal users also spend an average of 15 minutes per day, as well.
Snapchat Mixes AR With Audio
Snapchat has introduced its first augmented reality Lens that reacts to sound. The filter outfits users with animated ears and eyes that react to their voice and surrounding audio, growing and pulsing when the sounds get louder. While the Lens does not react to the pitch of a user’s voice or background music, it illustrates the possibilities for interaction and sponsored content.
The company told Engadget that it will roll out additional audio filters in the coming weeks.
Pinterest Piques Marketer Interest
Marketers spent more on Pinterest digital ads last year, a person familiar with the matter told Bloomberg. As a result, sales jumped 58 percent to $473 million last year, compared to $298.9 million in 2016. Attracting marketers will be an important selling point before the photo-browsing site eventually goes public.
Pinterest has steadily rolled out changes over the past year to attract brands, including shoppable Pins, visual discovery and audience targeting options. The idea-browsing site capitalizes on its discovery-based layout and illustrated this during SXSW with an activation called Pinterest House.
This week: Farfetch expands its branding team and Nitro Games undergoes executive management changes.
Farfetch Appoints Ronojoy Dam Creative Brand Director
Ronojoy Dam has joined online fashion retailer Farfetch as its creative brand director, seeking to push forward the brand’s global marketing voice.
Previously, Dam served as group creative director for Dazed Media, working for both the brand’s media titles and its in-house brand studio.
Mikko Kähärä Departs From Nitro Games As CMO
Nitro Games is going through executive changes, with chief marketing officer Mikko Kähärä departing for personal reasons. Additionally, Jussi Immonen is joining as chief operating officer.
Kähärä had been with Nitro games since 2015, first joining the company as COO.
“I’m happy to welcome Jussi Immonen to join our story. With these changes in our management, I’m positive we’re bringing our capabilities to a new level, especially in self-publishing,” said Jussi Tähtinen, CEO and co-founder of Nitro Games. “During last five years, Immonen has been launching and operating more than ten free-to-play games, and this brings a ton of valuable experience for us. I’m also positive that what we’ve built so far is a good basis for him to continue working on.”
The Rest Of The C-Suite
Editor’s Note:Our weekly careers post is updated daily. This installment will be updated until Friday, June 1. Have a new hire tip? We’re looking for senior executive role changes in marketing and media. Let us know at editorial@alistdaily.com.
Caroline Pay Joins Headspace As Chief Creative Officer
Departing from Grey London, Caroline Pay is signing on with meditation-technology firm Headspace as its chief creative officer.
“Headspace is one of the world’s most differentiated, important and socially mission-driven brands,” Pay said to The Drum. “So being given the responsibility to guide its exciting future with groundbreaking branded content, storytelling and entertainment is a challenge I enthusiastically embrace, especially considering it’s such a remarkable chance to have a lasting, measurable impact on the lives of people everywhere.”
Pay has served as Grey London’s chief creative officer since March of 2017.
Box Appoints Sue Barsamian To Board Of Directors
Cloud content management company Box has electedSue Barsamian to its board of directors to enhance the marketing expertise of the company’s leadership.
With more than 30 years of leadership experience driving global sales and go-to-market strategy in the enterprise software industry, Sue is a great addition to our Board of Directors,” said Aaron Levie, co-founder and CEO of Box. “We believe her strong experience ranging from Hewlett Packard Enterprise to Mercury Interactive will be extremely valuable as Box continues to scale and power the digital workplace for the largest and most regulated enterprises in the world.”
Barsamian currently serves as executive vice president and chief sales and marketing officer for Micro Focus, a split-off from HPE Software.
LG Names David VanderWaal Senior Vice President Of Marketing
David VanderWaal has been promoted at LG Electronics USA, achieving the rank of senior vice president of marketing, to oversee advertising, consumer research, sponsorships and insights for the company’s home entertainment, appliance and mobile verticals.
VanderWaal has been with the electronics manufacturer for over a decade, first joining in 2007 to lead its in-store marketing efforts and rising to the level of marketing vice president in 2015.
Greg Glenday Joins Adspace As CEO
Adspace has appointed former Shazam chief revenue officer Greg Glenday to fill the role of chief executive officer.
“We are thrilled to have someone of Greg’s success and stature join our company. He sees the great potential for connected, video-based players like Adspace to play an increasingly important role in the larger digital ecosystem,” said Peter Krieger, president and chief operating officer for Adspace. “Greg brings with him a proven track record of building strong sales and marketing teams and then guiding them to success, and we look forward to his leadership in helping Adspace take the next step in its growth trajectory.”
At Shazam, Glenday helped oversee the company’s sale to Apple in addition to leading its strategy, marketing and revenue operations.
Matterport Appoints Chris Bell CMO
Immersive 3D media tech firm Matterport has brought onChris Bell as chief marketing officer to oversee the company’s shift in focus toward content marketing.
“As we continue to expand into more industries and more countries, we are thrilled to welcome Chris to our team and look forward to leveraging his unparalleled media technology experience to help us engage our customers and further scale our business globally,” stated Matterport CEO Bill Brown. “His passion for helping companies reach their full potential will be valuable to us as we leverage our unique platform to improve how people make decisions about properties through their entire lifecycle.”
Previously, Bell served at Apple as its head of worldwide marketing and product management for iTunes.
Hexindai Brings On Zecheng Wang As CMO
Consumer lending marketplace Hexindai is hiringZecheng Wang to the role of chief marketing officer.
“I am very pleased to welcome Zecheng to Hexindai’s senior management team,” commented Mr. Xinming Zhou, CEO of Hexindai. “Zecheng’s extensive track record and proven marketing and technology leadership experience will make him a valuable addition. I look forward to working closely with him going forward to further increase trust in our platform and strengthen our brand equity.”
Wang most recently served as vice president and general manager of marketing at Yi Cheng Yi Jia Internet Technology Company.
Reed Exhibitions Appoints Rob Weinstein Vice President Of Marketing
Former head of marketing for Men’s JournalRob Weinstein has joined Reed Exhibitions as its vice president of marketing for ReedPOP West.
“I am really excited to have Rob on the Team,” said Ron Walden, the company’s group vice president. “Rob will bring tremendous knowledge and energy to the group, and to our effort to be the best versions of ourselves—enabling us to create immersive event experiences across the RX events.”
Weinstein spent six years at Men’s Journal, previously serving as brand development director at MAGIC.
Jordan Miller Joins Pura Naturals As Marketing Lead
Eco-friendly cleaning product manufacturer Pura Naturals has appointedJordan Miller to aid in marketing, branding and packaging.
“Jordan has been instrumental in creating additional branding for our products, and his lengthy career in this segment brings much to the table for the company,” commented Robert Doherty, Pura Naturals CEO.
UPS Hires Kevin Warren As Chief Marketing Officer
Parcel delivery service UPS has hiredKevin Warren to lead its marketing efforts, under the title of CMO, also joining the company’s management committee.
“With unprecedented demand from consumer and business customers, it’s critical for UPS to have a savvy leader driving innovative new marketing programs that support one of world’s most trusted and respected brands,” said David Abney, UPS CEO. “Kevin brings a wealth of experience to UPS with a strong global growth focus across multiple disciplines. He will guide critically important marketing initiatives as we continue UPS’s transformation.”
Warren most recently served as executive vice president and chief commercial officer for Xerox, where he led the company’s channel strategy, salesforce and client engagement.
Kia Motors Appoints Michael Cole Chief Operating Officer
Michael Cole has joined Kia Motors America as its executive vice president and chief operating officer, where he will serve as the company’s central lead for sales, marketing, corporate and product planning efforts.
“Kia’s sales, market share and brand awareness increased dramatically across Europe under Michael Cole’s leadership and his wealth of knowledge and experience will serve our U.S. operations well as we continue to sharpen the focus on retail sales,” said Sean Yoon, president and CEO of Kia Motors America. “We have an aggressive slate of new and redesigned product launches scheduled for the next 18 months, and I look forward to working with Michael to increase demand for Kia’s award-winning vehicles in the United States.”
Cole had been with Kia Motors Europe since 2012, holding the same position and title.
