Expert Predictions On The State Of VR And Marketing In 2019

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If your entire understanding of virtual reality and augmented marketing came from science fiction films, you’d be sorely disappointed with the progress current platforms have made up to the current year of 2019. But, for those of us living in the here and now, you’re just waiting for the technology to become easier to use and for the ubiquity of AR and VR in marketing and advertising.

That’s not to say companies haven’t tried: Google Glass, AR and VR advertisements have all come and gone and mostly failed to penetrate the zeitgeist (with the exception of Snapchat’s AR Lens and Instagram’s copycat, face filters). For consumers and even brands, the threshold of ease and ubiquity hasn’t been crossed, but when it does, the changes to the marketing industry will be massive.

To that end, we’ve gathered experts from across the virtual reality and augmented reality industries to answer some questions about the state of these technologies and what might happen in 2019.

What changed in VR and AR over the course of 2018?

Jason Yim, CEO and executive creative director, Trigger: 2018 was a year of democratization for AR, starting with Snap opening up its Lens Studio, Facebook joining the fight and the year ending with web AR finally becoming a viable platform. Not only was there more AR content available for the consumer, but it would also be easier to reach and experience.

Rick Rey and Andy Vick, co-presidents of VR/immersive entertainment, STXsurreal: [What changed was the] enthusiastic adoption of dedicated VR devices like the standalone Oculus Go and PlayStation VR—which don’t require a PC to deliver high-quality VR experiences. It’s clear that there is a passionate (and growing) “casual” audience out there for premium VR, and it’s only going to grow as hardware prices come down and the quality of VR content goes up. Now with big Hollywood talent actively engaged in the space, we think premium scripted entertainment in VR can be a major driver of adoption.

Brad Herman, CTO and co-founder, SPACES: Hundreds of location-based VR entertainment destinations have opened all over the world.       

Micah Jackson, CEO, Angeles Vista Creative Ventures: I feel that 2018 was a year where lots of groundwork was done for the future of VR. However, the overall interest cooled off a bit. Borrowing a “Wall Street” analogy, I’d say 2018 was a year where the VR market was correcting itself. We saw a lot of small studios close and a lot of major players like The Void, SPACES and Dreamscape emerge.

Chris Reese, CEO, VRX: In addition to the Vive Pro coming out, there were many more titles that came out for VR. Location-based VR arcades are still struggling to find a sustainable business model, but some have. The greatest issues are in the areas of equipment durability and licensing. Unique, multi-player experiences such as Disney’s Void and virtual escape rooms seem to do the best. Additionally, we saw technology take a leap to high-quality HMD-only devices like the Oculus Go, freeing the user from the PC tether.

Ricardo Justus, CEO, Arvore Immersive Experiences: User adoption went up, great games were released that are more solid full experiences and games of their own instead of the more experimental stuff of 2016 and 2017. Certain titles achieved great success and explored the medium in completely new ways. Also, a great market opened up in the form of fully immersive location-based entertainment, showing that beyond being interesting for home use, VR can become a great form of out of home entertainment.

What are some broad expectations you have for these technologies over the next year?

JY: Web AR will become standard across all browsers. Allowing consumers to access “light” AR features without downloading an app and directly from any webpage or even social media. This will broaden the adoption of AR, and encourage users to try more powerful app-based experiences.

5G will enable “heavy” AR experience over-the-air for consumers with high-end devices, paving the way for everyone else to catch up in 2020. AR HMDs [head mounted displays] will gain significant traction in the Enterprise market, but will still be too early for consumers.

RR and AV: We believe we’ll see the adoption of hardware continue to trend up as the quality of products increases and price points drop. That, in combination with larger mass-marketing campaigns from the manufacturers, will drive overall awareness to a new level that goes far beyond the “early adopter” audience.

There will also be a continuation of breakout content that utilizes the unique attributes of immersive tech in new and interesting ways. This will ultimately lead to even larger adoption as the behavior for VR will become more commonplace.

BH: VR Headsets will get lighter, higher resolution, and more evolution of wireless technology. The start of the 5G revolution’s impact on VR will show up.

MJ: I believe 2019 will be an exciting year for VR. With the release of the upcoming Oculus Quest and Magic Leap headsets, I think mass audience interest in VR will rise.

Also fueling the interest in VR will be premium, location-based VR centers like the Void, Dreamscape and SPACES. This “perfect storm” combination of new hardware and experiences should reignite curiosity in VR for the next couple of years. 

CJ: I anticipate we will see increases in display resolution. The screen door effect is still an issue at HD resolutions. I’d also like to see more improvements in kinetic controllers and AR integration.

RJ: With the release of true stand-alone devices with six degrees of freedom inside-out tracking like the Oculus Quest will change things a lot, as with these devices VR is no longer an “accessory” to a PC or console but becomes the device/console itself. I expect a lot will change with the market and possibilities with this category.

What do you believe VR/AR can do for marketing and advertising?

JY: People have made their purchase decisions based on small, static, 2D photographs since the Sears catalog in the early 1800s. AR will completely change all that. In the near future, we will come to expect an accurate, life-size, 3D preview of every object. And while consumers can already drop an AR couch in the living room to see how it fits, a year from now they will be dropping an entire volumetric 3D commercial into their living room trying to sell them a new couch.

RR and AV: Marketing dollars help introduce consumers to new tech and allow creators to fund their experimentation in unique ways.  We’ve already seen this impact over the last few years, and we see a massive potential to do it bigger and better now that the content creation process has gotten more sophisticated. It just takes the right brand with a vision and eye towards innovation.

While consumers can already drop an AR couch in the living room to see how it fits, a year from now they will be dropping an entire volumetric 3D commercial into their living room trying to sell them a new couch. —Jason Yim

BH: It’s not the medium, it’s the message. If you want to deliver a message in an immersive and all-encompassing way then VR is the best way to do that. If you want to activate your message on mobile phones and mix the real world with digital then AR is right for you. Just look at all the amazing work being done in 2018. 

MJ: If done well (and tastefully) VR and AR could be the most immersive and engaging forms of advertising we’ve ever seen. I’m actually exploring this angle myself at the moment. If you allow people to engage with brands and products in three dimensions, I believe it will have a much greater impact than traditional media. In the future, I believe VR/AR marketing will play a major role in introducing consumers to products and getting them to engage with them willingly. As people skip Youtube commercials, scroll past mobile ads and stop watching live television, VR may be the only qualitative advertising platform.

CR: I anticipate we will see increases in display resolution. The screen door effect is still an issue at HD resolutions. I’d also like to see more improvements in kinetic controllers and AR integration.

RJ: The ability to create actual living experiences with XR that go beyond traditional storytelling, where you bring people into actual immersive story worlds can be a powerful tool for marketing, especially when talking about companies that sell a brand experience.

Do you think we can expect to see a marked difference in the amount of AR and VR advertising in 2019?

JY: We expect a big increase in 2019 in AR advertising. Web AR and new platforms will provide additional channels for the advertiser on top of Snap and Facebook/Instagram. While brands that experimented in 2018, will commit to larger campaigns that deliver content across many AR platforms instead of just one. An AR strategy will take its place next to a brand’s web, mobile and social strategy.

RR and AV: As the immersive space continues to mature in 2019 there will be more innovative brands jumping in and pushing the envelope. The benefits that come with treading new ground will pay off nicely if properly executed because the end consumer is growing tired of the more traditional interaction with brands. Experiential activations will be even more crucial to breaking through the noise of the digital age.  The companies that choose to wait on the sidelines will have to play catch up, but at the risk of looking like, they’re late to the party. 5G will also start to become a part of the conversation. The telcos need to find strong use cases for this exponentially more powerful pipeline. Hopefully, AR can play into this evolution along with the tetherless VR headsets.

BH: I think that the smart marketers will continue to do what they have always done, make compelling messages for their clients. AR and VR continue to provide a best in class experience and reaction that can’t be achieved with other platforms.

MJ: I’m sure the headset makers will increase their spend on advertising next year, which will benefit the VR industry overall. I’m optimistic that the interest in new hardware will trigger an appetite for content, which will, in turn, make VR/AR advertising more viable. However, I’m not sure we will see much of an increase in AR/VR ad content overall. As the new headsets enter the market and people buy them, then we’ll begin to see the increase in ad-supported VR content.

CR: I think we are already starting to see an uptick in AR advertising. It’s a way to entice customers to download the company’s app so they can interact with the AR Easter eggs hidden in the product packaging. At VRX, we see huge opportunities here as well as for convention and visitor bureaus. What can be done with the technology to tell the story of a community or create interaction with local retailers are virtually unlimited.

RJ: VR is evolving more and more out of the “novelty” stage to becoming a medium of its own, which means deeper and more powerful experiences. Any brand that is interested in creating immersive communication will possibly want to turn to out of home VR.

In AR and VR, will brands be ahead of consumer adoption? Will they help drive consumer adoption?

JY: Brands will play their part in consumer adoption by filling the ecosystem with content. However, what will really change user behavior will be the maturation of the underlying technology. Each improvement will bring more users because AR itself will become suddenly more useful.

RR and AV: Brands have already been ahead of consumer adoption in virtual reality, but they have to keep the drumbeat going if they want to truly get value out of the foundation they started building. Looking specifically at brands that launched VR apps and channels – the opportunity to funnel premium content into these channels is tremendous right now, and those viewers are actively engaged and looking for more. I can’t think of a more loyal and dedicated audience than VR users.

BH: Location-based VR entertainment has always been a focus of ours, back to our use of it for marketing at Dreamworks in 2014 and beyond. As a team, we have introduced many tens of thousands of people to VR. People who don’t have headsets at home. Having a great experience in Location Based VR Entertainment is a great funnel for consumer adoption and nearly all marketing VR falls into that category.

MJ: Depends. If there is a significant increase in new users, brands will follow. However, I think major brands will take a ‘wait and see’ approach. It took years before companies like Nestle or Coke partnered with box and PlayStation to market to gamers. However, more ‘edgy’ brands have already been experimenting with VR/AR and I’m not sure it drove much consumer interest. In the end, I believe content will drive adoption and brands should be looking to partner with content creators.

CR: I think most brands are still trying to figure it out. They went through the whole 3D phase which passed rather quickly. However, we see VR and AR as here to stay. I think brands will continue to push into AR, and VR will lag behind. The challenge at the moment with VR for brands is the small adoption numbers.

RJ: I think more than anything, good content is what drives consumer adoption, not brands. If more and more compelling games and interactive experiences are released, more people will try it and adopt it.

What is your bold prediction for AR/VR in 2019?

JY: In 2019 AR will no longer “wow” the consumer, but instead it will begin to become useful. Like GPS, AR will become a powerful and useful ingredient in many applications and use-cases.

RR and AV: VR filmmaking will have its House of Cards moment where a star-driven VR movie gets on everyone’s radar – making it a truly must-see experience – and pushes forward VR interest and adoption in a huge way.

BH: 2019 is the year of whole family social fun in VR.

MJ:  My guess is that Sony will announce their next generation console and PSVR replacement at E3 2019 and Apple may get into the VR space as well. Outside of hardware speculation, I believe 2019 will be a significant year for VR content creators like me!

CR: I believe VR will move from early adopters into a heavy growth phase.

RJ: Steady growth of the home-use space, amazing new location-based experiences, and new and surprising device announcements.

Holding Companies Target MarTech; Spent $33 Billion On M&A In 2018

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Consulting firm R3 Worldwide released its December M&A global league table, showing that holding groups are spending substantial amounts of money in the marketing sector, primarily on martech acquisitions. Adobe made the biggest splash of the year when the company purchased Marketo for $4.75 billion.

Although this was Adobe’s only transation in 2018, the number of acquisitions of this type was up 16 percent YoY. Overall, mergers and acquisitions (M&A) in the marketing industry hit $33 billion last year—up 144 percent from 2017.

After Adobe, Alibaba had largest acquisition. In July, they announced they would buy a minority stake—around 6.63 percent—in China’s Focus Media becoming their strategic investor. The company also said they would invest $511.1 million “in an entity controlled by Focus Media’s chairman Jason Jiang by subscribing to newly issued shares.”

Greg Paull, principal at R3, told CNBC, “MarTech (marketing technology) is making fringe digital tech more centralized in marketing options.”

Ranking fourth in the global table, AT&T acquired AppNexus—an advertising software platform serving publishers, agencies and marketers for $1.6 million. In a press release, AT&T stated they would continue to “invest in and build” on AppNexus technology. It will merge with AT&T first-party data, video content and distribution.

“This is an important milestone in the young history of our company,” said CEO Brian Lesser in the release. “With the addition of AppNexus, I’m excited about the role AT&T will play in rethinking advertising not just for today, but for the future—advertising that’s better for brands, publishers and consumers.”

The acquisition was seen as AT&T’s OTT advertising chess move against Comcast and Google.

Accenture—ranking fifth globally and seventh overall in North America—bought martech company Adaptly in 2018. The New York-based company helps brands manage data-driven campaigns across major platforms. It was a move to strengthen Accenture Interactive’s (digital marketing division) programmatic services. However, they’ve been blamed for conflict of interest for their move into programmatic because Accenture has an auditing division that inspects its competitors.

Overall, Accenture gained eleven acquisitions for around $1.2 billion.

On R3’s North American list Cision ranked 14 with its acquisition of Prime Research. In a press release, Cision, a public relations and media software company, explains the decision as an effort to “enhance its global leadership position” in the media measurement service arena. They also outlined Cision’s goal to be the go-to provider for brands when choosing the best influencers and strategies for campaigns.

Forrester, a market research company, ranked 15 on the North American list. They acquired SiriusDecisions and Glimpzit for about $248 million.

SiriusDecisions, a B2B research and advisory firm, will aid Forrester in better serving their combined customers by expanding SiriusDecisions’ global reach, getting them into new verticals such as healthcare and extending their products to new roles like CIOs and CX leaders. It’s the biggest acquisition in Forrester’s history.

TAG: Brand Safety Initiatives Yield Higher ROI; Companies Invest Up To $7M Yearly

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If you think brand safety was a hot topic in 2018, get ready for a scorcher in 2019. The Trustworthy Accountability Group (TAG) published a white paper that outlines the four elements of brand safety as well as predictions, challenges and strategies for the year ahead.

“Defining Brand Safety: Execution Challenges” is the second in a series of joint white papers with the Brand Safety Institute, and explores the growing concern among marketers and explains what steps are being taken. TAG interviewed a “number” of marketers and agency buyers to gauge the current environment and how leaders are planning brand safety initiatives for the new year.

Investing in brand safety initiatives results in higher ROI for some marketers, TAG found and can lead to more transparent collaboration with agencies. TAG claims that its paper was the first to quantify brand safety investment, finding that large agency holding companies spend between $3-$7 million annually on fixed-cost brand safety expenses.

Two dozen companies helped TAG define what brand safety is. They concluded that brand safety “describes the controls that companies in the digital advertising supply chain employ to protect brands against negative impacts to the brand’s consumer reputation associated with specific types of content, criminal activity, and/or related loss of return on investment.”

Four areas received the highest responses in terms of what brand safety includes: association with criminal activity, content association and adjacency, brand partners, and data privacy and security. Content adjacency or content analysis was identified as the most difficult of the four major issues to execute, in part due to the lack of market guidance and tools available.

In addition to an agreed-upon definition, marketers and agency buyers shared how they are investing in a long-term strategy. Marketer education and organization were lacking, TAG found, and there is a gap between internal structures devoted to the task of brand safety.

“If marketers get this wrong, everyone loses,” Lou Paskalis, Bank of America’s SVP of enterprise customer engagement and investment executive said in the white paper. “Brand safety is a task which is never over because it’s dynamic and multifaceted. As such, you need to build an infrastructure that ensures that you’re able to respond immediately when something new happens.”

Alongside its white paper, TAG announced the foundation of its Brand Safety Institute (BSI) Editorial Board. The Board, which includes two dozen senior executives, which will help design the brand safety curriculum for BSI’s accreditation program for corporate executives.

Brand representatives joining the BSI Editorial Board include the 4A’s, IAB UK, IAB Tech Lab, ISBA, JICWEBS, and TAG as well as Adobe, Bank of America, Facebook, IPG Mediabrands, GroupM, Oracle Data Cloud and Pandora.

Report Shows Growth In DMP Usage

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Data management platform (DMP) tools are becoming more valuable for marketers to gain valuable information about their audience and help target prospective customers. Many publishing and marketing organizations use a DMP, but many are also using their own tools and some still seek support.

Lotame—a DMP provider—announced additional information to its recent report Data Activation & Success Report released in November. It surveyed over 300 senior decision-makers in marketing and digital media to analyze how these companies leverage audience data and determine success.

The report found almost 80 percent of respondents said their organization gathers audience data using a DMP and about 29 percent use a demand-side platform (DSP) and DMP hybrid tool. Just 42 percent leverage their own tools and a mere 14 percent use a customer data platform (CDP).

When it came to the feeling of support, 38 percent of businesses reported that their DMP offers “a great amount” of service and 39 percent believe they got only a “fair amount” of support and it could be improved. Only seven percent of those surveyed felt their vendor did everything for them.

“Research finds that audience data is still underleveraged by publishers and marketers,” said Jason Downie, Chief Strategy Officer at Lotame. “For all these organizations, data strategy development, management and execution require sizable investments in talent and technology—and many simply don’t have the in-house capabilities or infrastructure.”

The initial study found 69 percent of respondents collect audience data, but 31 percent still don’t have the resources and education to do so, mainly having problems with an internal resource in place. Additionally, those who collect data about 78 percent want it as a managed service instead of in-house.

The top reason respondents use audience data was to “make my content or messaging more relevant”—60 percent—and the second most important reason was to improve campaigns. For marketers, brand loyalty, increase in ad performance and increase in purchases were the main metrics for data success.

Marketers worry about advertising waste, especially in the digital space. Four years ago, Google found more than 56 percent of ad impressions are never seen by consumers and in 2015, Proxima estimated 60 percent of worldwide marketing budgets were being wasted because of ad fraud, ad blocking and poor targeting. That’s why brand loyalty is key in order to remain successful, especially with the recent data breaches.

“At the end of the day, people, strategy and execution should come before software,” said Downie. “As more publishers and marketers invest in audience data collection and activation and the market becomes increasingly competitive, it’s imperative for DMPs to provide high-quality support for these organizations to help them be successful.”

 

Five Examples Of Brands Using Geofencing To Great Effect

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Geofencing—a location-data service that creates a zone around a specific geographic area for the purpose of advertisement targeting, is a relatively new but powerful marketing tactic. Thanks to consumer demand for deals and personalization, and marketers’ desire to penetrate consumer’s smartphones, geofencing is increasing exponentially.

A Market Research Future report predicts the global geofencing market to grow to $2.2 billion by 2023.

Geofencing is found across all sectors, but travel, banking, retail and quick-service restaurants have jumped on the technology early and set the standard.

Let’s look at five examples of brands creating successful geofencing campaigns to attract shoppers and expand brand recognition.

HotelTonight Catches Users Location

HotelTonight is a great, basic example of using geofencing in a product. The company is famous for providing its app users with information about the best open accommodations. The service uses consumer’s cellular GPS data and delivers accurate, location-based content.

In the case study published by Fastly—a cloud computing platform—HotelTonight’s rails engineering lead, Harlow Ward, says of the company’s experience with location data intelligence, “There was a big unknown for us with the geofencing approach. We’d toyed with the idea of geofencing requests for some time. As with all new features on the platform we A/B tested it and the performance increase was astonishing.”

HotelTonight’s app is also equipped with two geo-discount features. The Rate Drop tool turns on after 3 pm, when the customer happens to be in a few miles away from a participating hotel. With Rate Drop the customer is getting an additional 10 to 40 percent discount on accommodation. Bonus Rate, the other feature, enables more remote users who require a larger budget to see deeper discount rates for a hotel than the users nearby. 

Waze Pins 76 Gas Stations

Navigation app Waze is another simplistic example of geofencing. The company works with numerous leading brands, including Shell, McDonald’s, Adidas and AT&T to literally put them on the map using geofencing. Waze Ads’ service slogan says it all: “Location marketing, with context.”

With the help of Waze Ads, 76 fuel chain brought their marketing campaign, TANK5, to drivers in California by pinning their recognizable orange and blue logo to stations on the Waze map. The drivers were offered a limited-time, one in five chance to win money at the gas stations. As they were approaching a 76 gas station, a message promoting 76 stations popped-up.

Sephora Offers a Store Companion

Sephora’s “store companion” geofencing feature is also another example of a smart location-data solution. The companion turns on as soon as the customer walks into the store. It gives the customer access to information on their past purchases, product recommendations and reviews, limited-edition offers, wish-list product availability, as well as store experiences and happenings on that day. Using geofence technology, the Sephora app increases customer satisfaction and loyalty by creating excellent daily mobile content, including location-targeted messages. If a user has an unspent gift card, they can expect a reminder from the app when they enter the geofenced zone close to Sephora.

Dunkin’ Creates A Personalized Snapchat Geofilter

Dunkin’s use of a personalized Snapchat geo filter to celebrate National Donut Day is another successful example of geofencing marketing tactics. Snapchat filters allow brands to demonstrate their creative abilities and personalities, as well as provide the app users with cartoonish, sharable experiences.

Dunkin’s filter, which could only be accessed in-store or via the “Snap to Unlock” feature, turned the user’s head into a gigantic pink donut inhaling sprinkles. This campaign resulted in the company gaining 10 times more Snapchat followers on National Donut Day than their monthly average.

Burger King Trolls McDonald’s

And of course, the most recent and impressive example is Burger King’s “Whopper Detour,” which involved building a 600-feet fence around McDonald’s restaurants. Burger King encouraged its customers to go to McDonald’s, but with a twist. As soon as they entered the “fence,” they could unlock a deal for a one-cent Whopper burger on the Burger King app.

The risky promotion resulted in Burger King app being downloaded over 1,000,000 times and boosted from ninth to first place in the Apple App Store’s food and drink category.

IBM Watson’s 2019 Marketing Trends Include Balance Of Data And Emotion

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Marketing will be determined by the customer in 2019 as CMOs and digital agencies adapt to “The Emotion Economy,” IBM Watson predicts. IBM Watson Marketing identified nine trends to look out for in the coming year, including the continuance of personalization trends and the dawn of data mastery.

Not surprisingly, IBM places emphasis on artificial intelligence, of which it offers solutions. Other observations, however, mirror recent analyst predictions that brands will strive for customer trust, agile marketing and use GDPR to one’s advantage.

Marrying Emotion With Data

Consumers are largely driven by how they feel when making purchases and this is especially true for young generations.

“When customers are engaged emotionally, they are much more compelled to take the actions that drive business,” writes IBM Watson Marketing. “If a brand wants to sustain that growth, it must pull these emotional triggers again and again.”

Those triggers could be standing for or against a hot topic, as demonstrated by Nike, or coming together for the greater good. A recent study by Accenture Strategy found that 62 percent of customers want companies to take a stand on current and broadly relevant issues such as sustainability, transparency and fair employment practices.

Likewise, customers appreciate it when a brand “gets them.” Customer experience (CX) is the new funnel—strengthening existing relationships and creating lifetime value rather than focusing on single transactions.

2019 will be the age of the tech-savvy marketer, IBM Watson Marketing predicts, and fate will favor the AI-powered strategy. Predictions, tests and deep customer history dives will allow CMOs to make educated decisions, balancing personalization with agility.

“If a brand wants to sustain that growth, it must pull these emotional triggers again and again.”

Enter The “Martecheter”

Between ever-changing consumer landscapes and GDPR, it’s no wonder that “director of marketing data” is this year’s hottest new role. This leadership position will take on the role of a bridge between data integration, collection and analysis.

In short, marketing leaders must be fluent in both marketing and martech. Single-skilled marketers can no longer function in today’s fast-paced, digital world. IBM cited a gap between digital and corporate marketers—General Assembly marketing assessments found that digital marketers outscored their corporate counterparts by 73 percent.

“Operational nimbleness combined with cross-disciplinary marketers” can support a growing ecosystem of purpose-built marketing tools, IBM Watson noted, placing an emphasis on the uniqueness of every business model and customer base.

As technology continues to advance, CMOs have to do the same, Equinox CMO Vimla Gupta told AList in a recent interview.

“This job is changing on a dime every single day,” said Gupta. “It is becoming increasingly technical. Understanding how the technology can help you and how to use it, how to invest in it, recruit the right people or partner with the right agency is critical.”

Philadelphia Launches Holiday Campaign With First-Ever “Double Diptector”

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Philadelphia Cream Cheese launched a holiday advertising campaign that leads with a new spot highlighting the world’s first Double Diptector to catch those guilty of dipping their bitten chip a second time. The campaign is a new comedic approach for the company and aims to promote the brand as a snack food for parties and not just an ingredient for cheesecake or a bagel accompaniment.

The ad spot starts with the party host in her kitchen revealing how to throw the “perfect party” with the dips—then cuts to a guest double dipping and being caught, thanks to the double diptector.

The smart device—that looks like an average chip and dip bowl—pairs with the app to track and catch the double dipper. It alerts the app user with a loud alarm if someone commits the crime. The company actually invented the device and has put a version up for bidding on eBay.

“We wanted a fun, creative way to launch our new Philadelphia Dips that would tap into culture and become something that people could not only relate to, but want to talk about and share. Dips are highly relevant during the holidays and served at holiday parties and family gatherings,” said Megan Magnuson, Philadelphia associate marketing director.

The shift towards changing Philadelphia’s brand to an everyday food option was first noticed in their 2017 in the “It must be the Philly,” campaign. The ad shows office workers rushing into a budget meeting because there is cream cheese. Soon after, the brand rolled out cheesecake cups and prepacked chips with cream cheese dip.

The marketing effort illustrates the brand’s role in “elevating everyday occasions.” It was also the first campaign since the merger between Kraft Foods and H.J. Heinz Co.

“The Philadelphia brand’s overall tone of voice is optimistic, warm, playful and real. As we’ve launched our new Philadelphia Dips, we leveraged a tone that is cheeky, smart and clever in a way that endears the brand to our consumer,” added Magnuson.

In the past, Philadelphia concentrated on presenting their ingredients—made with fresh milk, real cream and no preservatives. In 2014, the company redesigned their cream cheese packaging to make it more modern and appealing.

The brand is encouraging fans to weigh in on the double-dipping debate using #doublediptector on social media.

Dara Treseder On Her New Role As Carbon’s CMO

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Dara Treseder knows a thing or two about marketing technology. The former CMO of GE Ventures and Business Innovations has spent her career promoting and exploring the scientific world and was named one of Forbes’ top 50 CMOs to watch. Last week, Treseder joined 3D printing brand Carbon as chief marketing officer and is ready to apply what she’s learned to this emerging market.

Treseder sat down with AList to talk about her career move from GE, the changing CMO landscape and why its critical for the marketing team to spread passion throughout an entire company.

How are you applying B2C knowledge to your new role?

I really think about human-to-human. B2B and B2C are definitely different approaches. I love to bring a purpose-driven, customer-first approach. Mission and purpose first.

We’re taking an ingredient brand approach—building our own brand so people know who we are and what our products stand for so that when they see one of our partners manufacturing with Carbon, they understand what that means. They [would] understand our commitment to a sustainable future and choose our partners’ products because they know they were made with the environment in mind. One of our commitments is to reduce plastic pollution. We enable parts to be designed and manufactured with dramatically less material.

There will definitely be joint marketing efforts that we do with our partners to ensure that their customers are aware of what we’re able to offer.

Now that you are promoting 3D printing partnerships, how does personalization tie into your strategy at Carbon?

We are able to use data to create better products, which puts us in a powerful position. It allows [Carbon] to surprise and delight their customers in a way that they wouldn’t be able to do if they weren’t embarking on this journey of mass customization. I think it’s amazing because it’s not just a marketing gimmick. Our technology enables customization at a level that hitherto has not been possible.

Dara used the example of Adidas, whose Futurecraft 4D running shoes won a Gold Lion for Innovation at the Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity this year.

This is a big move for you and CMOs tend to change companies rather frequently. Why do you think that is?

We’re kind of in a new era. Business needs are changing. People talk a lot about the moves CMOs are making but that’s representative of the fast pace of today’s consumers. Things are moving really fast. The role of the CMO is constantly evolving and some of these transitions are good—good for the company and good for the CMO because it allows for the development of an innovative perspective.

I’m really passionate about the technology and I love the people, so when I was given this opportunity, it seemed like a good next step for me.

On that note, how important is it to be passionate about the brand you’re marketing?

It’s critical [to love the brand you’re marketing]. I couldn’t work for a company if I wasn’t deeply passionate and in love with its purpose and its mission. Without that, it’s hard to craft the message or share that enthusiasm. It’s important not just for CMOs, but all the marketers on their team. It’s also important that the marketing function works to spread that love and passion to every part of the organization. Companies that are made up of employees that are deeply connected to its mission and purpose are the best ones to work for.

Dara participated in our Advertising Week Panel, THE REBOUND: Recovering From Failure, which you can watch here.

Networks, Consumers Benefit From Roku’s First-Ever Stream-a-thon

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Roku announced the company is launching its first-ever ‘Stream-a-thon’ from December 26 to January 1, allowing users to stream a collection of shows and movies for free. Roku will give the gift of complete seasons and movies from networks such as HGTV, Food Network and Discovery within the “Featured Free” section.

“The holidays are the perfect time for new and avid streamers alike to discover, enjoy and share in full seasons of top shows for free,” said Roku chief marketing officer, Matthew Anderson.

“…As the leading platform for streaming free content, the Stream-a-thon is a great way to thank our customers. We’re delighted with the quality of shows and to be working in partnership with some of the biggest and best providers across television,” added Anderson.

Roku has always been focused on selling advertising, from the branded direct buttons on the controller to banner ads on the homepage. But in recent years the company has gone full force into programmatic and direct advertising. Earlier this year, the company announced for the first time advertising, as opposed to devices sales, made the bulk of their revenue YoY.

In June, Roku created an audience marketplace for buyers and sellers, and can be used programmatically or traditional methods of direct selling. It more effectively targets audiences by leveraging Roku’s first-party data and proprietary ad technology. Roku has extensive insights into its millions of OTT streamers and can precisely target specific segments at a household level.

Advertisers can take advantage of it through programmatic or traditional direct selling methods. Viacom, AT&T’s WarnerMedia and 21st Century Fox are a few of the initial networks that signed on to sell TV ad inventory in the audience marketplace.

Roku’s ‘Featured Free’ navigation section came along in August in order to provide customers with an easy way to find free streaming entertainment. Stream-a-thon is seemingly an extension of that service.

Both provide advertising and help’s Roku push users to download different network apps and possibly drive a conversion for that network, creating a new subscriber. Viewers will also be served with ads along the way. Stream-a-thon is another step in the tenets Roku is building its future on, and one wherein consumers reap the benefits.

“Data-driven selling [and] programmatic-based techniques are, in our opinion, a central component of the future of the way TV advertising is going to be traded,” CFO Steve Louden said in August, during the company’s Q2 earnings call with investors.

“From the very beginning, our goal with advertising at Roku has been to elevate [and] evolve the state of advertising—to make TV advertising natively targetable, interactive [and] much more highly measured like any digital media that a modern marketer expects.”

AList reached out to Roku for comment but have not heard back at time of publishing.

YouTube Announces 2018’s Top TrueView For Action Ads

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Grammarly, Monday.com and League of Legends made YouTube’s top 10 True View for Action ads in 2018. The leaderboard showcases the ads with the best performance determined by an algorithm factoring total reach, clicks and engagements. The top ten videos range from a proofreading app to a mattress company. All the ads have one thing in common, they break down and explain their product clearly.

TrueView is YouTube’s opt-in ads—allowing users to continue watching if they wish, and brands will only pay per opted-in view. Viewers can click on elements to take direct action in TrueView ads and there is a link on the bottom left-hand corner inside the video and another link in the right column outside the ad.

Grammarly’s “Enhance your writing” video shows different people talking about how much Grammarly helps their daily life. In the first few seconds a woman says, “if you write anything on your computer, you need to get Grammarly.” Viewers can download it for free, the text “download for free” remains on the screen the entire video.

In project management tool Monday.com’s ad, the compaby explains “What using monday.com feels like.”

League of Legends’ad “What is League of Legends? Told by Nevercake” shows main character Nevercake explaining the game with a quirky, unique humor. “If you had friends they would already be playing” the character says.

Top 10 TrueView for Action leaderboard:

  1. Grammarly “Enhance your writing” – 301,742,418 views
  2. Monday.com “What using Monday.com feels like” – 50,192,818 views
  3. League of Legends “What is League of Legends? Told by Nevercake” – 23,367,136 views
  4. Nectar Sleep “Make America sleep again” – 11,943,412 views
  5. World of Warships “Why haven’t played World of Warships yet?”- 44,615,138 views
  6. Honey “Never search for a coupon code again – 25,454,890 views
  7. Wix “Create a professional portfolio website, Jay Pharoah” – 69,354,686 views
  8. Netflix “The Kissing Booth” – 4,560,290 views
  9. GlassesUSA “You Need New Glasses” – 35,432,509 views
  10. Udemy “Learn drawing on Udemy” – 79,216,770 views

In October, the YouTube announced the changing criteria for the ads. They now count an engagement whenever a user clicks or watches 10 seconds of a TrueView for Action ad.  A conversion is counted by default when a user takes action with an ad within 3 days of an engagement.