CREATIVE: Microsoft’s Augmented Reality

Want to see what Microsoft has in store for its new augmented reality program for marketing games Simple – you’ll just need to take the bus. Or, at the very least, visit your local station.

The company has launched a new augmented reality program with three different bus stops located in San Francisco, Melbourne and London, which allows visitors to get involved in the digital universe of the company’s recent Xbox One exclusive release, Sunset Overdrive.

When users get close to the screen, they’ll become involved in the digital universe, making them appear as a virtual character that fits right in with it.

The ads are the work of Clear Channel Outdoor and media agency Empowering Media, and will be in these bus terminals for the entre month. They utilize displays put together by digital out-of-home agency Grand Visual, a company that’s quite savvy in the virtual field, working with such previous companies as Heineken, Pepsi and Tropicana on similar set-ups, according to PSFK.

For those unfamiliar with the world of Sunset Overdrive, we’ve included the trailer below. In this highly colorful and animated adventure – put together by the development team at Insomniac Games – you portray a survivor of a pending apocalypse, with creatures appearing all over the city streets after consuming a dangerous new energy drink called Overcharge. With parkour-like movement skills and an arsenal of weapons available at your fingertips, you’ll fight back against the pending invasion, in the hopes of escaping the city with your peers.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=qmRR6MnS6dc

This is the latest move in Microsoft’s elaborate promotion for the game, which has also seen a number of TV advertisements, as well as pre-order bonuses with select retailers. So far, it’s done quite well, with the special Sunset Overdrive system bundle selling out, and the game acquiring high scores aplenty from game critics.

It’ll be interesting to see if the momentum can keep up for next year – and if those awesome bus station promotions stick around for the long haul.

 

Social Spend To Double by 2018

Social ad revenue is on the up and up. By 2018, social spending looks to double to account for $14 billion in ad spend according to a new forecast from BI Intelligence.

What is causing growth at this break-neck pace Mobile and programmatic are the reason. Improved targeting on mobile, the increase in options with regards to programmatic buying and the newfound reach that mobile provides are just some of the factors at play here.

As of this year, mobile spending will pass the halfway mark for social media, accounting for 55 percent of of all social media spending as the mobile shift is never more evident than it is on social media, with many new platforms being mobile-only.

According to a survey from Duke University, social media’s share of overall marketing budgets is set to increase, too, from 9 percent this year to over 13 percent next year.

[a]listdaily’s #MustReads: November 14th

We sort through quite a bit of the fluff out there on the Internet on a daily basis and we’ve found what we think are the most crucial  and interesting news items from all over. We’re talking no stone left unturned. So, consider this your new one-stop-shop to being your most informed self as you prepare to head into your next work week.

Have something else to share Feel free to comment with your contribution below.

Mobile Games Company Scopely Rasises $35 Million, Plans to Diversity in 2015: With this news, Scopely is certainly one to watch. Back in 2012, the company raised $8.5 million, but as of late has more than doubled its run rate in just 6 months.

Facebook Courts Publishers In Looming YouTube Battle: Facebook is going direct-to-pubishers to nudge out YouTube for video content in what looks to be quite a battle in the near future.

Taylor Swift’s Spotify Paycheck Mystery: As we reported, Spotify has said it was on track to compensate Swift a larger sum that Swift’s team said they have received. So who’s fibbing

Redefining Gamers: The massive changes in the games indsutry are changing the meaning of the term “gamer.”

Why Facebook Has Entrusted Its Future to the CEO of PayPal: Wired dives into the relationship between the social media giant and the online payment monopoly.

The Dawn Of A New Era In Marketing: Rishad Tobaccowala outlines why we’ve entered into a whole new era in marketing.

Machinima Reborn As Online TV Network: Machinima rethinks its strategy to make programming more TV-like.

Surfing, Drowning, Diving: A Brief History of Inventing New Media: A crucial read for anyone who wants to see just how digital media has changed over time and the implications it has for the future of marketing.

This Is What We Should Fight About When We Fight About BuzzFeed: After BuzzFeed tries to reimagine itself by disassociating from the term “clickbait,” there are larger reasons why BuzzFeed raises concern.

Twitter Sharpens Its Strategy To Win Over Investors: Since IPO, Twitter has been lackluster. Now the social media giant must perform in order to win over the wallets of investors.

Five Things Tinder Can Teach You About Mobile Experience: You don’t have to download Tinder to find out why the app is doing so well.

Netflix Is A Data Hog And Other Myths About Net Neutrality: While being a user of the Internet undoubtedly makes you a pro-Net Neutrality type, it’s worth acknowledging the issues.

Beyond The Smartwatch: Opportunities in the fashion industry to integrate wearables in less overt ways are abound.

Paper Magazine Editor: ‘Of Course It Was Photoshopped’: A look at the data behind Paper‘s attempt at breaking the Internet.Â

Welcome To The Instant Gratification Economy: Re/code‘s Liz Gannes looks at the new economy built around instant gratification and the explosion of tech startups that serve it.

Taylor Swift Has Created The Music Video Of The Future: Swift’s new app takes cues from the video games industry and shows how the music industry might capitalize on the fervent followers of its biggest stars.

The Truth About Anonymous’s Activism: Why it could be said that Anonymous can harm more than help the causes they support.

It’s Amazing That The Old Record Industry Existed In The First Place: A restrospective look at why the old record industry was unsustainable to begin with.

 

 

CREATIVE: Kate Upton Wants You To Play Games

Lately, there’s been a huge TV advertising push for free-to-play games, with King leading the charge, featuring a number of animated spots for such games as Farm Rescue Saga and Candy Crush Saga. However, Machine Zone may have just taken the cake with its new campaign for the MMO strategy title Game of War: Fire Age.

In an effort to push its highly popular mobile game, the company has unleashed a new global marketing campaign, one that cost approximately $40 million in media and spares no expense on special effects. For good measure, the company has also tapped Sports Illustrated model Kate Upton to appear in the first television ad, goading on players to fight the evil dragons featured within it.

“It is fantastic to be instrumental in the start of a new era in gaming and communications,” said Upton in an email. “I love playing the part of Athena — she’s such a bad-ass character, commanding armies, slaying hydra, charging into battle — the work shows how much fun it is, and I am proud to be part of it.”

However, some have questioned the content of the TV ad, featured below. Polygon, for example, compared the recent ad to “crappy mid-90’s video game” advertising, while others have questioned Upton’s approach towards male gamer, insinuating they can come in and “play with me.”

https://youtube.com/watch?v=uHskC7JRL9M

Some also question the CG effects used in the trailer. While impressive, they don’t represent what the actual game is, as it’s far less visual than it lets on. The ad itself barely features any footage from said game either – a tactic that some game companies are prone to using, like Activision with its live-action Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare commercial.

Despite questionable tactics, this commercial – and Upton’s presence – will no doubt push sales for Game of War, in one form or another.

 

Twitter’s Bringing Native Video To All Users In 2015

By Jessica Klein

After enabling third-party videos, Vines, and GIFs, Twitter will soon allow all users to create and share native videos on its service.

According to a blog post by Twitter’s VP of product, Kevin Weil, tweeters can expect to record and edit their videos on the social site “in the first half of next year.”

This comes after Twitter gave advertising partners the ability to share premium video content on the platform. Networks, media companies, and consumer brands have been taking advantage of the technology, available via the company’s Twitter Amplify program.

Read up on Twitter’s native video moves…

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.

CREATIVE: Honda Hits For Nostalgia With Classic Toys

Honda’s holiday campaign, complete with 6 different spots and aptly called “Honda Days” wants to take you back to childhood. The car maker looked to bringing classic toys like Skeletor, Gumby, Jem, Strawberry Shortcake and others to show that adults can have that happy brand new toy feeling, too. They’d have to buy a Honda of course.

It’s an interesting take on these classic characters too, as Strawberry Shortcake takes on a sassier and more sarcastic tone and G.I. Joe puts the moves on Jem.

“Every season consumers are inundated with holiday ads. Our goal is to break through the clutter by tapping into people’s memories of their favorite childhood toys, and helping them relive that feeling of getting something they loved for the holidays,” said Susie Rossick, senior manager at American Honda, in a statement to MediaPost.

 

Facebook Changing Its Privacy Policy

While not all changes has been happily accepted by its users, Facebook insists that little bits and pieces that are tinkered with on its site are for the better – and that’s including the needs of marketers as well.

Re/code has reported that the company has once again made some changes to the site’s privacy policies, detailing how such changes involve users’ information when it comes to location-based ads and purchases made on the site, including in games and other applications.

The company detailed some of the changes to its policy, per an official blog post: “If you use our Services for purchases or financial transactions (like when you buy something on Facebook, make a purchase in a game, or make a donation), we collect information about the purchase or transaction. This includes your payment information, such as your credit or debit card number and other card information, and other account and authentication information, as well as billing, shipping and contact details.”

It continued, clarifying the new policy: “We’re updating our policies to explain how we get location information depending on the features you decide to use. Millions of people check into their favorite places and use optional features like Nearby Friends. We’re working on ways to show you the most relevant information based on where you are and what your friends are up to. For example, in the future, if you decide to share where you are, you might see menus from restaurants nearby or updates from friends in the area.”

The company hasn’t finalized any plans for its commerce just yet, as it’s still working on a few features with it. However, it probably just “cleared the air” with the above statements, so users know exactly what information the company has access to, for better or for worse. Now it’s just a question of how many users these new policies may scare off, even if their information is secure in the long run…

 

Taylor Swift Has Created The Music Video Of The Future With Her New App

Taylor Swift’s recent Spotify snub was huge news. The artist felt that Spotify wasn’t compensating artists enough for their work, which has Spotify reeling with a response that they were on track to pay her $6 million a year. After all, Spotify now controls 7 percent of music industry payouts, a huge portion when you consider other digital music platform competition.

With Swift’s newest release, it appears this was a carefully-timed public move away from the music service to drive Swift’s many, many fans to download and consume her content via her app. Swift clearly isn’t just showing bravado, she’s showing some true marketing genius and entertainment marketers best take notes.

Swift’s app isn’t just a place to consume her branded content, either. It might very well be a glimpse into the future of music videos and a reimagining of the platform. Music videos, what used to be the music industry’s marketing vehicle, now commanding value on their own by amassing huge audiences of their own. At any given moment, music videos are the most-watched content type on YouTube and Taylor Swift has a committed, massive audience who will follow where her content goes.

Partnering with American Express, Taylor Swift’s app is available on iOS and Android and turns her newest music video into a videogame-like experience where users can explore the music video in a deeper and more connective way. The video itself was directed by Joseph Kahn, with a camera that has 6 lenses to record with a full 360 degree experience. Using accelerometers built into smartphones, users can tilt their phones to see different angles of the video (the ceiling if they wanted to) and get a new experience each time, encouraging more and more views. Add to that Swift has hidden within the music video some 40 easter eggs, just like video games do.

“If I had streamed the new album, it’s impossible to try to speculate what would have happened,” said  Swift in an interview with Yahoo! Music. “But all I can say is that music is changing so quickly, and the landscape of the music industry itself is changing so quickly, that everything new, like Spotify, all feels to me a bit like a grand experiment. And I’m not willing to contribute my life’s work to an experiment that I don’t feel fairly compensates the writers, producers, artists, and creators of this music. And I just don’t agree with perpetuating the perception that music has no value and should be free.”

While we agree with Swift to that end, the music industry is undergoing some grand experiments at large as well, from rethinking distribution, like with Radiohead’s “pay what you want” method, opening themselves to downloads willy-nilly, to expanding the medium beyond just merely listening to music, but interacting with it as well.

CREATIVE: Nintendo’s Unique Team-Up With Mercedes

We’ve seen some interesting collaborations between video game companies and others over the years, but the latest teaming between Mercedes and Nintendo could easily take the cake.

The car manufacturer’s Japanese firm just released a series of new television spots that feature characters and scenarios from Nintendo’s racing opus Mario Kart 8, with real actors portraying such characters as Luigi and Princess Peach.

https://youtu.be/HumAWTYh92c

The commercials tie in with Mercedes’ new GLA 180 line, which is currently running at 3,440,000 yen ($30,000) as an asking price, according to Tech In Asia.

This marks the latest move between the two partners, as Mercedes sponsored Mario Kart 8 downloadable content earlier in the year with a trio of playable Mercedes models in the game (for a small fee, of course).

As for seeing these ads in other markets, it’s probably not likely, due to the caricatures with some of the characters (like big-nosed Mario) and the fact that Nintendo of America’s advertising is a little more specific to games, like with its recent ads for Super Smash Bros. That isn’t to say we won’t see any more Mercedes promotion in Mario Kart 8, however, especially considering that tomorrow marks the debut of a new downloadable content pack for the game, which features the arrival of Link from the Legend of Zelda series, along with new tracks and vehicles.

One interesting touch with the ads is that Mercedes went all out to replicate the Mario Circuit track featured in Mario Kart 8, complete with the twisting high road, part of an introduction to the game’s anti-gravity racing capabilities. Obviously, the GLA 180 can’t do that in real life, but it’s interesting to see the auto maker go all out in bringing the track to reality. 

Now, if we could just get angry Luigi to make an appearance.

 

Pinterest Stars On The Rise

There’s no question that some folks have made a living out of becoming social media superstars, whether they have a large presence through small Vine videos, put together YouTube programming that millions of fans watch, or even express themselves through lively Twitter posts. However, you can now add one more social media site to the fold, as “Pinfluencers” are on the rise.

Re/code posted a story talking about these up-and-coming stars, who consider themselves under that name, as well as “Pinstars” and possibly “Pinlebrities,” according to the article. “Pinterest actually likes to call them Pinterest Influencers,” said Kyla Brennan, the head of HelloSociety, a Pinterest-based talent agency – the largest in the world. “They don’t like any change to the word Pinterest.”

Pinterest is just gaining ground in terms of breeding such superstars, as it takes time to establish the right kind of outreach in posts (not just blind photos). However, according to Brennan, over 400 highly paid influencers are part of the site now – a huge feat considering the HelloSociety got its start two years ago out of her home in Littleton, Colorado.

At first, some folks might be confused by the idea of a Pinterest superstar. “I know. I totally understand the skepticism. People hear Pinterest star and they’re like, what !” she explains. “But after three years of doing this, seeing clients making hundreds of thousands of dollars and quit their jobs and pin full time, it’s real.”

The company’s making more than you might think, too. HelloSociety has gathered $12.5 million in revenue last year, and employees 26 people full time. “Pinterest is commerce-based, it’s based on intent,” said Brennan. “Facebook, it’s still disruptive to see ads (there). Twitter’s not even in the conversation. Pinterest is built for commerce.”

“Pinfluencers” are more rare than you might think, though. “It’s much harder to get a huge audience in Pinterest – it’s just much rarer than something like YouTube, where you make one viral video and there you are,” she explained. “You’re not going to get one viral Pin and get a bunch of followers.”

However, they’re certainly on the rise – and even if some of them are odd, Brennan believes they should be welcomed just like “normal” folks. “In the early days, Pinterest suggested a few sort of strange birds who weren’t in their aesthetic. We’ve come across people who have all these followers for, I don’t know, like My Android Board or My Intergalactic Gemstones board. Or Frogs,” she said. “We’ve encouraged a lot of those Pinners to broaden their topics. Maybe branch out of frogs. Or do frogs but think about frogs in other ways.”