Amazon Tests Video Ads In Mobile Search, Displays Strength As Ad Seller

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Amazon has begun testing video in mobile search results, in clear competition with the two biggest advertisers in the world, Google and Facebook.

Amazon Echo, Sonos and Neutrogena are already in the beta test and incorporating their campaigns. The ecommerce giant is taking full advantage of shifting buying habits by promoting mobile ads with video, while enticing advertisers with the chance to stand out among millions of products on display. Standing out with video in Amazon searches won’t be available to just anyone, however—the product is offered as a premium service for businesses with budgets of at least $35,000.

Amazon’s new video in search ads are currently supported in two types of campaigns—product detail pages and custom landing pages. For now, the video ads cannot be embedded outside of Amazon and are available only on iOS devices.

Each video is limited to 90 seconds or less and will be displayed in an endless loop. Amazon requires all video in search ads to include audio, although they will automatically play on mute until a consumer turns the sound on. A “sponsored” label will appear for the first three seconds before fading away.

According to Alexa (the website, not the voice assistant), Amazon is the number 10 most-popular website globally and number four in the US. Nearly a quarter of its traffic (22 percent) is acquired through search results, so Amazon needs to engage consumers once they arrive.

The company may soon compete with visual search, as well. In July, a hidden feature called “Eagle” was discovered in Snapchat’s Android code. According to the code, a feature called Visual Search directs users to “Press and hold to identify an object, song, barcode, and more! This works by sending data to Amazon, Shazam, and other partners.” Once an object or barcode has been scanned, users will be able to see all the results on Amazon.

Analysts are confident in Amazon’s strength as an ad seller. In a note to investors Monday, Piper Jaffray predicted that advertising will surpass Amazon’s cloud computing business.

“By 2021, we believe it is likely that advertising operating income will exceed AWS [Amazon Web Services],” analyst Michael Olson wrote Monday. Olson expects advertising income to reach $16 billion in 2021 compared to AWS at $15 billion.

By the same year, mobile could make up 72.9 percent of ecommerce sales and total $3.5 trillion, according to forecasts by eMarketer.

Explore The Future Of Digital Marketing Technologies With Europe’s Biggest Brands

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Hosting a raft of Europe’s biggest brands and over 600 attendees to discuss the most cutting-edge in marketing technology, Digital Marketing World Forum Conference & Expo (#DMWF) makes Amsterdam its home once again from September 19 to 20.

PepsiCo, Philips, Trivago, ING, Telefonica, Gucci, Sky, Volkswagen are just a handful of the high-profile roster gracing the stage at the Beurs van Berlage Conference Centre this year.

Over the course of two days, pass-holders gain access to two event streams, where a stellar line up of over 50 confirmed speakers will share actionable, insider tips through a series of engaging keynote presentations and panel sessions.

Content & Social Media Marketing

Focusing on Content & Social Media Marketing, this stream sees speakers from Forbes, VICE, Farfetch and more tackle a concurrent theme; how to create engaging marketing content in the age of distracted, mobile-centric consumers.

Stay on this track for insight into social media trends set to shake up your strategy for the remainder of 2018: why you should be saying yes to ‘smart content’; how VR (virtual reality) is transforming the marketing and communications industry; and how your brand can tap into the power of influencer marketing.

Data, Disruptive Tech & UX

Tackling Data, Disruptive Tech & UX on the second stream, E-ON hosts a masterclass on digital transformation, an SEO masterclass comes courtesy of Trivago, while attendees will learn how great UX (user experience) directly impacts ROI (return on investment) in a panel featuring KEMOSABE, Travix International and Converse.

Delegates can also learn how to lock down their data and analytics strategy for 2018 and beyond: debate whether ‘clicks’ are really the best measure of success; find out how AI is going to revolutionize the way you interact with your customers; and how to get the best out of marketing automation.

“DWMF Europe features some of the most high-profile brands and disruptive marketers the industry has to offer right now. A painstakingly-crafted agenda means there is truly something for everyone, at whatever level, to take back to the office, and that’s to not to mention the immense networking opportunities on offer with over 600 attendees and over 40 exhibitors expected,” said Maddy Slack, head of strategic partnerships at DWMF.

Get Involved

Away from the stage 40+ exhibitors including Platinum sponsors Optimizely, Shutterstock and Crimson Hexagon, are set to crowd the floors of the central Amsterdam venue offering unbridled networking potential for the entrepreneurial—opportunities to sponsor #DWMF are now limited.

#DMWFExpo offers a unique opportunity to be part of the industry-leading digital marketing technology event. Watch our video from last year’s #DWMF in Amsterdam for a taste of what to expect or register your pass here. Enjoy 20 percent off conference passes with discount code ALIST20EUROPE until September 12.

Find out more about #DMWF Conference & Expo Europe 2018 by clicking here.

About #DMWF Conference & Expo Europe 2018:
#DMWF will equip you with the skills and knowledge you need to understand and address your future challenges across digital marketing and social media. Presented in a series of inspirational keynotes and panel discussions delivered by the industry’s most disruptive thought-leaders, #DMWF features sessions covering: digital strategy, brand recognition, ecommerce, influencer marketing, content marketing, data, analytics, personalization, automation, virtual reality, artificial intelligence and mobile marketing across two conference tracks.

Written by Mark Jones, Editor, TechForge

On Brand: LivePerson’s Manlio Carrelli On Elevating Customer Experience

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Chief marketing officers for some of the world’s biggest companies are beginning to think beyond data and more about how they can be more assertive in taking ownership of the relationship with their customers to establish long-term engagement.

“Consumers just want to go to you direct, right from their mind to your brand. All the tools exist to do that now, whether it’s Alexa in the home or through a messaging app on the iPhone,” Manlio Carrelli, the executive vice president of enterprise business at LivePerson, told AList. “I think the best marketers are getting very deep in their consumer experience.”

Carrelli, who started at LivePerson as CMO, says that the best marketers are essentially technologists who can marry the customer experience with data and tech platforms to create new experiences. Experiential activations, for example, are usually transitory, point-in-time events, but there can be experiences that persist over time with consumers, using AI and automation to work at scale. Marketers who figure out how to do this will get ahead by removing friction from the consumer experience.

For those interested in incorporating AI into their marketing, Carrelli advises that brands be intentional with their use of bots by considering all aspects of the experience and how the bot impacts both consumers and employees.

“A lot of the mistakes that I think we made with the way we work with social platforms is that we rushed to adopt them without being intentional about the impact they have on our lives and privacy,” said Carrelli. “We don’t want to make the same mistake with artificial intelligence.”

Cadence is a key aspect, and Carrelli emphasized that these services are not software projects that operate at monthly or quarterly sprints. They operate on a daily loop, and brands will often using human customer support agents to manage over bots, intervening when they fail, and improving them to perform better next time. This approach is the fastest way to give brands experiences that engage consumers and provides higher lifetime value.

“AI is not just about the software, it’s about the operations and the interplay with humans,” Carrelli explained. “If you really want to train the AI well, train it by people who have skin in the game.”

Royal Caribbean’s Branded AI ‘SoundSeeker’ Sets Travel Brag Posts To Music

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Royal Caribbean International has released an AI tool called SoundSeeker that turns vacation photos into musical presentations. Not only does the tool create a vacation album ready for sharing on social media but allows followers to envision their own cruise experiences.

The web-based AI program analyzes three user photos based on factors like the backdrop, facial expressions, colors and mood, then matches each picture with music, “virtually DJing life’s most brag-worthy moments.” The custom soundtrack generator was developed with the help of Berklee College of Music, which used music theory to account for pitch, tempo and instrumental combinations.

After a minute or so, SoundSeeker presents the finished product as a kaleidoscope video that can be downloaded or shared over social media. Each video bears the Royal Caribbean logo and a call to action for viewers to create their own.

SoundSeeker taps into a growing trend among young social media users—travel bragging. The practice of seeking the perfect Instagram shot that exhibits an exotic lifestyle has become an important part of the travel experience. In fact, a December 2017 study by Hotels.com and Expedia found that 32 percent of US travelers aged 18-29 frequently track the amount of interaction on their vacation posts for bragging purposes.

“SoundSeeker is the latest proof point of Royal Caribbean innovation and how we focus it on delivering unexpected, memorable experience,” Jim Berra, chief marketing officer of Royal Caribbean International said in a statement. “People of all ages crave new ways to share their best experiences on social media.”

SoundSeeker is the latest effort by Royal Caribbean to develop and utilize emerging technology as a way to connect with its cruise guests on an emotional level. The cruise line has not been shy about integrating technology into its cruise experiences from the internet of things to 360-degree tours. Royal Caribbean has taken a special interest in the “millennial” traveler in recent years, adding satellite internet access, Xbox One play areas and partnering with social media influencers.

Thoughts? Continue the conversation at @alistdaily.

Cars.com Launches Tinder-Style Matchmaking Experience For Car Buyers

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Cars.com aims to position itself as a matchmaker with its “We Met on Cars.com” brand campaign. Using a dating app-like Matchmaking Experience on both the company’s homepage and mobile app, the car selling platform is using artificial intelligence to connect potential buyers with their ideal vehicles. It is also complementing the experience with a “How We Met” brand campaign that features scenarios where people of various backgrounds and interests found their dream cars.

Described as the “Tinder for car shopping,” the Cars.com app and homepage allows users to input their preferences across 15 different criteria. The AI then searches through thousands of listings to deliver 20 matches that best suit the potential buyer’s tastes, sentiments and location. In a dating app-like style, users can choose “like” or “don’t like” for each recommendation to further refine results so they find the right one.

The Matchmaking Experience was created in response to a company study that revealed that car shopping is one of the least pleasant things people have to do. Respondents said that they would rather go to the DMV, attend jury duty, clean toilets or have long phone conversations with their in-laws than shop for a new vehicle.

But the app could help change that perception. According to a press release, the Matchmaking Experience pilot program conducted in early July yielded extremely positive results, with an 87 percent increase in return visitors, a 225 percent increase in email leads, and twice as many page views per visitor compared to the traditional search experience.

“We’re treating people like human beings with distinct emotional nuances, not just site users, as we build a more relevant, personalized car-shopping experience,” Cars.com chief product officer Tony Zolla said in a statement. “Early-stage car shoppers don’t know what they’re looking for. In fact, an overwhelming majority are undecided on make and model, yet nearly all online car search experiences force people to select make or model as the first step in their journey.”

The app experience is accompanied by an ad campaign that similarly romanticizes finding the right car. For example, the campaign’s first TV spot includes a cowgirl who finds a pickup truck with lots of horsepower, a labradoodle owner who connects with a hybrid, and a crew team that expands with a bigger SUV. Additionally, content partnerships with companies such as Tinder will help to solidify the connection between matchmaking and car buying.

Cars.com is planning a multi-channel effort across TV, digital, social and program integration for its campaign, putting matchmaking and personalization at the center of it.

In a press release, Cars.com chief marketing officer Brooke Skinner Ricketts said, “Our new omni-channel campaign tells the story of how Cars.com creates chemistry that endures long after shoppers find the car of their dreams. We’re rekindling the emotional connection that sometimes gets lost between the dream and the drive, and we’re injecting fun back into car shopping.”

Cars.com isn’t the only company that’s looking to take away the pain of car shopping. Automaker Hyundai partnered with Amazon to launch a digital showroom in July, which let potential buyers browse, learn about and select vehicles without having to interact with salespeople.

Programmatic Ad Buying Grows Steadily; Amazon Top Spender

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A recent study conducted by MediaRadar examined the state of programmatic ad buying in Q1 2018. It found that three-quarters of all brands tracked placed programmatic ads during the timeframe, keeping the format on a steady growth path even with concerns about brand safety and transparency.

Additionally, MediaRadar found that, of the top 50 programmatic spenders, 94 percent were brands that were in the top 50 in 2017; these include Walmart, Microsoft and Verizon. Native programmatic ad buying is helping to drive growth, and spending on native ads placed programmatically increased by 10 percent year-over-year. Programmatic solves native’s two biggest issues, scale and an intensive sales process.

“The growth of native programmatic ads is two-fold,” MediaRadar CEO and co-founder Todd Krizelman told AList. “Native is up as a whole as more brands are finding the benefits of placing these ads, and the technology programmatic companies have to place native has also gotten better.”

Newcomers to the top 50 programmatic spenders include Progressive Insurance and Gap. Meanwhile, the top 10 companies comprised about 37 percent of the total spend for the group. Amazon ranked at the top at the top of the list, accounting for 10 percent of the total ad spend, which is 1.5x more than the second-place spender Microsoft.

The top 10 programmatic advertisers according to the MediaRadar study are:

  1. Amazon
  2. Microsoft
  3. Wayfair
  4. TaxAct
  5. Charles Schwab
  6. Weight Watchers
  7. Sprint
  8. Coors Light
  9. Geico
  10. Dell

Krizelman stated in the report that, “Despite concerns over transparency, advertisers continue to invest in programmatic. It is the preferred method for transacting media for many advertisers and it doesn’t appear to be changing.”

According to forecasts from eMarketer, $46 billion will be spent on programmatic advertising by the end of this year, with 82.5 percent of digital display ads in the US purchased through automated channels.

ComScore Steps Up Competition With Nielsen, Tests Multi-Platform Measurement

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ComScore is launching a new beta program called Campaign Ratings this September that will measure unduplicated audiences across both linear TV and digital platforms. The move will allow comScore to better compete with Nielsen, which has dominated the TV measurement space for over 60 years, and some of the industry’s biggest players are onboard.

Several networks will participate in comScore’s beta program including ABC, CBS, CNN, Disney, Fox, Freeform, GroupM, NBCUniversal, The CW Network, Turner and Viacom. In addition, Hulu will provide streaming measurement of ad campaigns across its platform. Beta partners will help shape the product for future advertisers based on their experiences.

Campaign Ratings is part of a broader company initiative to provide measurement across platforms and content types. Minimizing duplicated reach—that is, when one person is exposed to the same campaign more than once—has proven to be a challenge in maximizing return on investment.

“This is a critical effort, not for the future of television, but for its present,” Bryson Gordon, executive vice president of advanced advertising at Viacom said in a statement. “Closing the cross-platform measurement gap, that once intractable market challenge, with innovation across the industry… will help to propel the industry’s transformation towards new currencies, products and consumer experiences.”

In February, comScore added OTT and console gaming to its available metrics. In its June “State of OTT” report, the company found that two-thirds of OTT audiences are also watching linear TV. Comscore’s growing list of offerings will give it a competitive edge against Nielsen, something that industry players have apparently craved.

Last year, Sinclair Broadcast Group, the largest owner of TV stations in the US, announced that it would move exclusively to comScore for its measurement needs. The company didn’t keep this sentiment long, however, signing a multi-year contract with Nielsen in February while maintaining an agreement with comScore.

As cord-cutting picks up steam, Cable TV networks are teaming up with OTT providers to retain customers. Both Comcast and Charter Communications—two of the largest cable providers in the US—have integrated services such as Netflix and Hulu into its set-top box offerings.

EMarketer predicts that about 186.7 million adults in the US will watch cable television in 2018, which is 3.8 percent less than last year. Of the major cable operators, satellite providers will suffer the biggest decline due to cord-cutting, according to estimates.

“Industry adoption of new measurement methodologies will be key in keeping up with the changes in consumption of our content,” said Kavita Vazirani, executive vice president of insights and measurement at NBCUniversal in a statement accompanying the comScore news.

CMOs Anticipate Budget Increase Over The Next Year, Study Says

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A majority of chief marketing officers expect their budgets to increase over the coming year, but how that money is spent continues to evolve, according to Dentsu Aegis Network’s first CMO study released Tuesday.

The digital marketing firm conducted a global survey of 1,000 CMOs and senior-level marketers from across ten markets and across industry sectors. Across the board, Dentsu Aegis found that CMOs intend to work less with external marketing agencies over the next few years while investing larger budgets on data that will reach consumers on a personal level.

Respondents agreed that growing the business is their primary role and turn to digital channels as a solution. More than half of CMOs surveyed plan to increase investments in digital media platforms over the next two or three years, the study found. The ability to use data to reach real people, rather than proxies or customer segments was listed as the number one strategic opportunity for marketing professionals.

Data is a double-edged sword for marketers, however, who named a data breach or misuse of consumer data as the number one strategic risk. Consumers expect more from advertising while trying to avoid them altogether, forcing marketers to walk a line between data privacy and personalization. In fact, almost half of all CMOs say that consumers’ intolerance for advertising will be one of the key barriers they expect to face when building relationships with consumers in the next two to three years. In the face of increased data regulation, CMOs won’t have it easy. Sixty percent of CMOs believed that data protection regulation such as GDPR would make it harder to build a direct relationship with the consumer, especially among respondents working in the financial sector.

Building a healthy relationship with ad tech companies is seen as an opportunity, as well as a central element of CMO strategy in the future, Dentsu Aegis found. Unsurprisingly, respondents said that integrating brand engagement and commerce/conversion will be an important part of marketing strategy in the next few years.

Achieving success will take teamwork, but not all CMOs agreed on which teams would be a sound investment. A third of CMOs say they intend to work less with external marketing agencies over the next two to three years, while nearly half plan to increase the number of marketing specialists they retain.

“The speed of growth and the variety of new channels through which brands can engage consumers is astonishing,” wrote Nigel Morris, chief strategy and innovation officer for Dentsu Aegis in the report. “Many brands are guilty of letting the tail wag the dog—of allowing a short-term preoccupation with digital detract from long-term brand-building. As with any innovation, these tools need to be considered in the context of a brand’s long-term strategy and as part of an integrated marketing mix that address all phases of the consumer lifecycle.”

Casual Connect Is Coming Back To Serbia

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Casual Connect will return to Eastern Europe to capture the region’s independent game-dev energy in an event designed to provide a bridge between Western and Eastern companies. At Casual Connect Serbia 2018 all attendees get access to three days of lectures and workshops, official networking parties, the expo area and the world’s best indie games with developers at the international Indie Prize showcase. Attendees will also get unlimited access to the meeting system to network with games industry professionals.

For Developers

More than 1,500 developers apply to the Indie Prize during the year. Judges from throughout the gaming industry select the most promising games to participate at international Indie Prize showcases during Casual Connect conferences. Submit your game for the international Indie Prize Serbia 2018 scholarship program before August 1. More details are in the submission form.

The scholarship includes two free Standard passes to the conference, a spot in the showcase and free accommodation for up to two developers from each team during the conference at the indie hostel with other indie developers. The number of beds in the hostel is limited and will be allocated on a first come, first served basis.

If those don’t fit, you can join industry leaders as an established developer with Developer showcase or support this great event as a sponsor with 50 percent off Gold, Silver and Bronze.

For Funding Publishers

Get more exposure at the expo area with a booth or meeting table and 50 percent off Gold, Silver or Bronze sponsorship packages.

New Delegation Package

CGA recently launched a new program that will make it simpler for government and non-profit organizations or just a group of up to 10 developers to join Casual Connect with a special Delegation package rate.

Since 2005, Casual Connect has brought together the most talented and knowledgeable experts in the gaming field to further the industry—combining the best learning and networking opportunities for gaming professionals four times every year.

Casual Connect Eastern Europe 2018
Location: Crowne Plaza Hotel Belgrade, Vladimira Popovica 10, Beograd, Belgrade 11070, Serbia
Date: October 1-3, 2018
Attendees: 800+ gaming professionals
Speakers: 80 executives and experts
Indie Prize Showcase: 40 finalists

The full schedule for Casual Connect events in 2018 can be seen here.

For any questions please contact Yuliya Moshkaryova at yuliya@cga.global or on Facebook.

Domino’s Secures Pizza Market Share With Tech And Travel

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Domino’s introduced a Snapchat Lens over the weekend that allowed users to order pizza without leaving the app. The activation continues an ongoing trend of Domino’s using technology and convenience to secure its place at the top of the pizza market.

The pizza brand surpassed Pizza Hut earlier this year as the market share leader with a 17 percent hold of the quick-service pizza business. Domino’s has taken significant strides in terms of customer approval since its recipe overhaul in 2010. A contributing factor is the adoption of technologies likely to be used by young consumers and those on-the-go.

This week, Domino’s launched a Snapchat campaign that used an AR lens to order pizza. Taking a selfie with the front camera overlaid sunglasses with a reflection of pizza in the lenses. Using the back camera superimposed a virtual Domino’s pizza box that opened to reveal a pepperoni pizza. From there, users could tap on a call-to-action button, requesting delivery without having to leave the app.

Domino’s has added over 200,000 “hotspots” around the US where pizza can be delivered outside of a business or residence, such as a park or sporting event. To help promote the use of this new feature, Domino’s introduced a contest on Monday that offers round-trip accommodations to any hotspot city for two days. The promotion is open to Piece of the Pie Rewards members only.

Speaking of delivery, the pizza brand launched a campaign called “Paving for Pizza” in June that repairs local roads. Fixed potholes in each city were spray painted with a Domino’s Pizza logo and the words, “Oh yes we did.”

A virtual pizza-ordering assistant named Dom was introduced in 2014 and Domino’s began a test in April to see if human phone operators could be replaced with the AI. Dom also serves as the voice of the brand’s pizza tracker, informing customers about the progress of their order.

“We believe natural voice recognition is the future, as seen by the rise in virtual assistants, such as Amazon’s Alexa and Google Home,” said J. Patrick Doyle, Domino’s president and CEO, in a statement. “More importantly, artificial intelligence provides great learning platforms that will enable us to do more to deliver convenience for our customers and better job experiences for our team members.”

Doyle went on to say that the brand hopes to become 100 percent digital in the future. Generally speaking, online delivery in the US is expected to account for 54 percent of gross merchandise volume this year, according to NPD and Cowen, Inc. Domino’s has been an early adopter of digital integration, placing it at an advantage over competitors. The brand’s largest competitor, Pizza Hut (through parent company Yum! Brands) took a $200 million stake in GrubHub earlier this year, adding even more pressure for Domino’s to stay ahead of the digital game.