The Key To Creating Engaging AR And VR Experiences

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Marketers have much to consider when faced with the opportunity of creating content in augmented reality or virtual reality—not the least of which is to make sure to develop an engaging experience that users will remember.

Over one billion augmented reality-capable devices are expected to be in existence by the end of the year, which is why the technology is currently experiencing a kind of renaissance in marketing. Partly, this is driven by camera features on social media platforms such as Facebook and Snapchat.

By comparison, virtual reality is considerably less accessible to users—since it requires viewers such as Google Cardboard, expensive in-home headsets, or special venues—but it offers the highest degree of immersion for branded experiences.

“Many people are still sorting out the difference between AR, VR and mixed reality,” said Joey Jones, executive creative director at a.new reality, speaking with AListDaily. “A lot of AR experiences right now are one-trick novelties, which is fine, but it’s not going to get people interested in returning to it as an evergreen touchpoint.”

According to Jones, AR has a lighter touch than VR and it’s designed for shorter interaction on phones. The technology works well because it integrates brands with the real world, but Jones also notes that current apps tend to be static, with most users pointing their phones at one object. Stronger AR experiences use movement to give users opportunities to explore their environment and see how brands fit into it.

VR still has significant benefits like allowing creators control every aspect of the environment, which “can be both a blessing and a curse.” VR can offer much bigger and fantastic experiences, making it ideal for movies and other theatrical experiences—and more expensive.

Premium Experiences

Then, there is the matter of choosing between a mobile experience, a premium experience for high-end headsets or a combination of both.

“It comes down to the type of property that you’re trying to get the message out for,” said Jones. “If it’s a car, where the fidelity of its craftsmanship, look and feel are very important, then it’s better for a more premium VR experience.”

If premium experience is the right choice, it will likely require an installation at an event or arcade—with the added benefit that it can include features like haptic feedback, wind machines and props that expand user immersion.

When creating a VR experience, “always consider your audience,” said Rewind CEO and founder Sol Rogers. “Designing compelling and engaging experiences is user-centric, and wherever possible in the scoping, development and testing phases you should engage with the likely end-users and assess their responses.”

Key questions marketers should address are what users are focusing on, which details generate the biggest negative and positive reaction. 

Measure The Measurable

As for the issue of reach, Rogers said it’s important to address it with a smart content and marketing strategy. “If you’re releasing on a platform, make sure the media gets early access for reviews,” he explained. “If you’ve created a VR experience for a PC powered head-mounted display, make sure there are 2D assets for social. Amplification around the high-quality content is vital to extend reach and awareness and ensure ROI.”

“For both VR and AR ads, we find valuable insight in how users experience them, from the formats, templates and triggers that encourage engagement,” added Vince Cacace, founder and CEO at Vertebrae.

Both Rogers and Cacace agree that engagement and in-time experience are some of the primary metrics creators should keep in mind when measuring the success of experiences.

For AR, measurements include the number of photos taken or products that are engaged with.

For VR, marketers need to monitor what users are engaging with and whether they’re fully exploring the virtual space, keeping an eye out for blockers and areas that never get visited.

Additionally, Rogers explained that marketers need to define what success looks like when it comes to an experience.

“If it is crucial that a user takes away three key points of information, but you create a purely visual feast for the eyes, you will have failed,” Rogers said. “Always consider what the objective and takeaway need to be.”

Creators will have to build in cues to help direct the user’s attention to the right objects. Vertebrae’s analytics show that most people look straight ahead almost the whole time when viewing a 360 video, which is something that Cacace believes will remain the case until more people understand the medium. Rewind also developed a set of internal tools to track where users are looking, how they position themselves, and typical routes they take to help optimize the design.

A Provocative Example

A major case study includes last year’s partnership between Unity and Lionsgate to create a VR advertisement for the theatrical release of the horror movie Jigsaw. The experience was built using Unity’s Virtual Room interactive ad format, which was developed within the Interactive Advertising Bureau’s (IAB) emerging ad experience guidelines and distributed within the Samsung Internet for VR app and the interactive VR comic book Nanite Fulcrum.

Tony Parisi, Unity Technologies’ global head of VR/AR brand solutions, told AListDaily that the company partnered with Isobar Marketing Intelligence Practice and used its Mindsight Technology tools to measure user biometrics and to better understand their unconscious emotional responses to VR when compared to mobile video experience—seeing which format inspired fear and excitement. The results indicated “massive advertising potential behind a fully immersive VR ad experience.”

Virtual reality generated a substantially greater emotional arousal and engagement than mobile video. Heart rates were elevated by 24 percent, skin response peaks per minute and sweating grew by 44 percent, and muscle activation—often associated with smiling—occurred more than three times as often.

“These statistics were for people who went through the entire VR experience, not just those who saw the trailer in VR,” Parisi explained. “Such results indicate that it’s not the act of being in VR that elicits such emotion, but rather the fully interactive ad format that Unity and Lionsgate employed.”

Behavioral data for VR is not yet at scale, so Unity is using emotional responses and user navigation through the experience to help guide future builds. By leveraging this information, more personal and responsive experiences can be created.

“Currently, we are merely scratching the surface of the potential metrics we can draw from immersive experiences which can be used to further enhance it,” said Rogers. “Imagine an experience that works out what you are enjoying the most during it, and dynamically shifts the content towards more of what you like in real-time. Seamlessly, you have created a unique campaign based on that single user. Personalization has been a marketing trend for a while now, and this takes it to another level.”

The More Famous Brother

Despite the potential VR marketing holds, augmented reality has the potential to reach more people.

“With VR, we can transport users directly into the brand world, amazing places that can positively affect brand affinity,” said Parisi. “But, VR is still limited in reach given that the devices number in the small millions. As a result, these types of in-store activations and bespoke applications are typically seen only by hundreds to thousands of people. By contrast, this is where the massive scale of AR presents a very exciting opportunity.”

Jones is also a strong believer in the potential for augmented reality, even though he admits that marketers are just starting to explore engaging uses and ways to make it more intuitive. But someday, branded augmented reality experiences may become as ubiquitous as webpages and dedicated apps.

“Right now, the catchphrase for AR is that ‘the phone’s camera is the new browser,’” said Jones. He imagines a near-future where QR codes can be found almost anywhere for users to point their phone cameras at to launch new experiences. Those experiences may be further enhanced with data such as location, time, weather, culture and biometrics, depending on how much information users are willing to share.

“AR is about personalization and utility,” Cacace added. “It’s about blending the physical and digital worlds to let consumers experience products in their real environments. For entertainment companies, it’s about making the consumer the star of the show and breaking down the glass barrier between themselves and the content.”

Parisi said that some techniques for creating engaging AR experiences include adding virtual objects—such as a product, beloved character or recognized brand—that can be seen through the camera. Augmented reality can also be used to completely transform a room so that users feel like they’re in an all-new space, or devices can be used as windows to see into fantastical 3D worlds.

With this in mind, marketers can deliver impactful, short-form fixed duration brand experiences leveraging a high scale advertising platform for AR distribution.

Mind The Gap

“With the high reach, deeply-compelling, brand experiences, marketers can understand user behaviors and interactions with the content to learn more about how people not only love the content of the app, but now the brand experiences that pays for it,” explained Parisi.

“As with other marketing channels, the idea is fundamental to success—and with these new mediums, arguably it’s even more so, due to the immersion and engagement of the user,” said Rogers. “Compelling content is king. Without this, it’s just tech.”

The gap between AR and VR may be closing with the recent launch of the Oculus Go portable headset and the expected release of the HTC Vive wireless adapter. Although the Oculus Go is better geared for 360-degree videos and light entertainment apps, VR headsets are likely to become smaller and more discreet while providing improved quality for experiences.

“The hardware is going to improve, and as it does, the measurement of how users interact with their environment will become more precise. The more input that you put into the experience, the richer they’re going to be,” said Jones.

“[When creating experiences], don’t think about today’s technology, but think about two or three years from now, and how much easier, ubiquitous and effortless they will become.”

Internet Adoption Slows, E-Commerce Grows: Mary Meeker’s 2018 Trend Report

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Mary Meeker and Kleiner Perkins’ annual internet trend report is on us, a 294-slide behemoth (though a bit slimmer than last year’s) covering everything technology from smartphone market saturation to broad-strokes trends of the advertising duopoly to changes in the healthcare market.

This year’s report hits one central theme: growth is tough when you’re already the biggest fish in the pond.

Internet Use On The Move

“When markets reach mainstream, new growth gets harder to find—evinced by zero percent new smartphone unit shipment growth in 2017,” Mary Meeker’s report reads.

Internet user growth has also diminished significantly, dropping from 12 percent in 2016 to seven percent in 2017. According to Meeker, this slowdown is unlikely to stop as internet usage (currently 49 percent of the world’s population) grows closer to complete saturation.

Marketers needn’t fear any drop in internet usage, however. Average time spent online in the US increased by four percent year over year, from 5.6 hours per day per user to 5.9 hours. This growth was driven by increases in both time spent on mobile devices and “other connected devices,” such as smart speakers and other IoT products.

Video habits continue to transition to mobile as well, reaching just under 30 minutes watched daily per user, globally. In 2016, that figure was just 20 minutes.

Even with mobile devices becoming increasingly complex, with snazzier looks and more functionality, the average price of smartphones continues to trend downward, assisting in adoption in developing markets.

Digital Commerce Goes Global

By contrast, e-commerce growth is accelerating, growing 16 percent in 2017, up from 14 percent in 2016. Amazon is taking an even larger of the pie, accounting for 28 percent of digital sales, with 49 percent of US consumers starting with Amazon when searching with products. By comparison, just 36 percent responded starting with any search engine.

China continues to drive e-commerce trends especially among mobile payment adoption, reaching 500 million active users in 2017. Alibaba continues to grow neck and neck with Amazon, matching the e-commerce giant’s revenue growth rate of 31 percent despite a much more geographically concentrated market.

According to Mary Meeker’s report, from smart home devices to QR codes to mobile payment services, digital transactions now account for 60 percent of everyday consumer purchases.

Much like other types of internet usage, mobile continues to take up more of the pie for e-commerce as well. Shopping app sessions increased by an average of 54 percent last year, compared to an average increase in app session length of just 6 percent.

Internet Advertising Needs To Catch Up

Despite a mismatch between the amount of time spent on mobile with the amount advertisers spend to reach mobile users, Mary Meeker’s report found that year-over-year internet advertising growth has plateaued at 20 percent, failing to account to the quickening shift to smartphones.

According to Meeker, tech companies are responding to this gap with increased accountability, both to brands and consumers, heavily increasing investment in both AI content policing and ad placement platforms.

The largest tech companies are converging in their efforts to expand their business, with Amazon moving into the search advertising field while Google expands its commerce platform, as evidenced by Google Home Ordering.

Report: Emerging Markets Push Mobile Growth Into Overdrive

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As mobile connectivity in emerging markets has blossomed, so too has the growth in mobile advertising. According to the Q1 Mobile Index by programmatic platform PubMatic, mobile spending is exploding—possibly set to unseat desktop web advertising by 2021.

“By analyzing over ten trillion advertiser bids flowing each month through PubMatic’s platform, we can observe real-time developments in the mobile space that may allude to broader digital industry trends,” the report reads. “We can then compare this information to other published data to further understand changes in the mobile landscape.”

PubMatic has tracked significant growth across the full spectrum of mobile advertising, reporting a 110 percent YoY increase in impressions for mobile header ads and a 140 percent increase in mobile video impressions. If these trends continue, PubMatic predicts that mobile will account for 64 percent of all ad spend in the next three years, up from the 43 percent share it held in 2017.

Emerging Markets Push Mobile Header Forward

Mobile header ads have become mainstream for programmatic platforms and publishers, with nearly three out of every four publishers utilizing the ad format in Q1 of 2018.

“Strong growth rates remain the norm as impression volume and ad spend rise on mobile devices,” the report adds. “In-app header bidding is already boosting monetization opportunities as publishers seek to optimize yield.”

Overall, impressions for header ads increased by 70 percent over Q1 2017, with desktop’s growth rate lagging significantly behind that of mobile.

This growth is mainly by huge surges in the Asia-Pacific and EMEA, with the number of impressions for those regions increasing by 1395 percent and 849 percent, respectively. In Q1 2018, the APAC and EMEA regions reached parity with the Americas in terms of mobile web header bidding, each area taking up about a third of the pie. Just last year, the Americas accounted for 88 percent of mobile header bidding, with APAC accounting for just 1 percent of the total.

News apps and sites account for the vast majority of this growth, with entertainment and leisure in a not-too-close second, while the food, shopping and technology verticals all lagged significantly behind.

Mobile Video Goes Viral

Of all mobile ad formats, mobile video saw the greatest percentage growth, increasing from 15 percent share of all video ad impressions last year to 37 percent in Q1 2018. Like with header bidding and mobile web, this growth too was driven by emerging markets.

“Although brand advertisers continue to voice concerns about the quality of programmatic video inventory, their growing investment on this format acknowledges that the benefits outweigh the risks,” the report states.

Spending on mobile video sprinted ahead of the pack in India, growing by 945 percent in the past year alone. Israel, the second-place growth market, trailed behind with 169 percent growth, while Spain and Australia took third and fourth with 74 and 41 percent growth, respectively.

However, this rapid growth spending makes the industry especially attractive to fraudsters.

“Nevertheless, publishers large and small must continue to provide ever greater inventory quality and fraud protections to retain their trusted status with advertisers,” the report cautions.

Overall, the report predicts spending on mobile video to increase by 33 percent in the coming year, reaching $7.14 billion.

Samsung #TVblackout Campaign Feigns Malfunction To Sell QLED TVs

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Samsung launched its #TVblackout campaign on Friday with a series of trick ads that display static, then appear to turn the TV off for several seconds.

These black screen ads are designed to disturb viewers into thinking their TVs have malfunctioned, before stating, “This is your TV screen . . . most of the time, a void full of nothing.”

The message behind Samsung’s unusual ads is that while an unused TV is a glaring black screen, a QLED TV can display high quality images while in standby. The TV’s new “ambient mode” will even mimic the background behind it, making the TV less noticeable when hanging on a wall.

Samsung calls its disruptive spot a “world-first,” in that it features absolutely nothing to highlight “a new era for TV as ugly black screens are banished to history.”

#TVblackout includes over 200 TV spots across 10 days and will reach an estimated 49 million viewers. The technology brand specifically chose popular Friday night television programs to interrupt with the message, including Coronation Street, The Simpsons and First Dates.

Ads will also run during the Champions League final on Saturday, take over digital displays at Piccadilly Circus and before screenings of Solo: A Star Wars Story in theaters.

The campaign was preceded this week by fake protesters spotted around the UK wearing TV screens over their heads, holding signs that said #TVBlackout or “No more blank screens.” Samsung’s protesters gained only modest attention on social media, but time will tell if the campaign gains more traction over the next 10 days.

Samsung targeted TV viewers with its latest campaign, but are also looking to gamers as the competition for 4K TV sales heats up. Last year, the company partnered with Microsoft to help promote the Xbox One X by connecting them to QLED TVs, calling the gaming industry “extremely attractive.”

According to estimates from Grand View Research, the global 4K TV market is expected to reach $380.9 billion by 2025.

Snapchat Users Get More Location Controls; Facebook Talks Politics

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This week in social media news, Snapchat rolls out additional privacy controls for sharing user locations, Facebook defends its political advertising policy and activists wasted no time in filing GDPR lawsuits.

In other news, Snap is investing in future content creators and Facebook explains why it’s easier said than done to stop the spread of misinformation. Meanwhile, Twitter is labeling US election candidates for easy identification and Facebook users can book home service professionals through the Marketplace. Earlier this week, Instagram began offering a way to mute friends, Mark Zuckerberg was questioned by European Parliament, Facebook began testing the influencer marketing waters and Cardi B partnered with YouTube Music for its biggest marketing push yet.

Editor’s Note: Our weekly social media news post is updated daily. This installment will be updated until Friday, May 25. 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.

Snapchat Adds “Share And Request” To Map Location Options

Snapchat has begun rolling out additional controls for Snap Map, allowing users to request, grant or deny other users the ability to see their geographic location. A new “Share and Request” feature can be accessed by pressing and holding a friend’s name or from the menu inside a chat thread. The option will only be available to friends, mutual friends or no one at all, depending on which setting a user chooses.

The new request feature adds a way for friends to share their exact location privately—helpful for outings but bad news for those just getting in the shower but claiming they’re “on the way.”

At launch, Snap Map automatically showed exactly where a user was—down to the address and part of a building—every time Snapchat was opened. This raised a number of safety concerns, especially for children. Since then, users have been able to broadcast their location to all friends, select friends or no one at all.

Facebook Will Label, But Won’t Ban Political Ads

Mark Zuckerberg’s media social super power began labeling political advertisements on Friday, including “Paid for by” disclosures designed to help users “follow the money” behind polarizing topics. This may also help raise red flags if a Page name doesn’t match the name of the company or person funding an ad.

“We believe that increased transparency will lead to increased accountability and responsibility over time – not just for Facebook but advertisers as well,” Rob Leathern, Facebook’s director of product management explained.

All election-related and issue ads on Facebook and Instagram in the US must be clearly labeled, the company announced, and all advertisers interested in such products will have to verify their identity and location. Users can click on a label to view an archive of information about the advertisement such as campaign budget and how many people have viewed the ad.

Happy GDPR Day: Have Some Lawsuits

Well, that escalated quickly. Facebook and Google are already being sued for violation of GDPR regulations on its very first day of enforcement. Filed by Austrian activist Max Schrems—a long-time critic of the companies’ data collection practices—the lawsuits accuse Facebook and Google of an all-or-nothing approach to privacy settings. In other words, users must accept all the privacy policy stipulations or are not allowed to use the service. Schrems’ complaints seek to fine Facebook 3.9 billion and Google 3.7 billion euro (roughly $8.8 billion in dollars).

Snap Launches Content Creation Incubator ‘Yellow’

On Wednesday, Snapchat parent company Snap, Inc. announced Yellow, an incubator program for mobile content creators. The company is accepting applications for creators interested in augmented reality, narrative storytelling and interactive through July 8.

“In an ecosystem that’s rapidly evolving, we’re excited about the future of storytelling and the creators who will push the artistic boundaries of what’s possible with mobile content,” Snap wrote.

Creators chosen for the program will be invited to Venice, California in September, where they will take part in an intensive three-month program. Snap says it will invest $150,000 in each team that is accepted into the Yellow program, and possibly more for “exceptional cases.” The program will culminate in a demo presentation and the opportunity for distribution on Snapchat.

Facebook Creates Documentary About Battling Fake News

It’s no secret that Facebook has been under a tremendous amount of global scrutiny about its data collection practices and unwitting tool for spreading propaganda. In an attempt to reassure users, Facebook partnered with documentary filmmaker Morgan Neville to create a behind-the-scenes look at the company’s efforts to fight misinformation.

“Facing Facts” is an 11-minute short film that takes viewers inside Facebook headquarters, where team members explain the challenges of balancing free speech with determining whether content is designed to spread misinformation or hate speech.

“We wanted to try something different with this project,” says John Hegeman, head of News Feed. “The challenges the News Feed team faces are complex, but it’s critical that people outside the company understand what we’re doing and why. So we need to keep trying new, different ways to give people that context.”

Twitter Will Now Label US Midterm Candidates

To help prevent misinformation around US elections from floating around its platform, Twitter has announced that it will now label certain candidates, beginning with the 2018 US midterm general election. Beginning after May 30, Twitter accounts identified as midterm election candidates will receive a label that can be seen on the profile page, tweets and even retweets, even those embedded outside of Twitter.

Labels will be indicated with the icon of a government building and contain information such as the office the candidate is running for, the state the office is located in and district number when applicable.

“[…]Twitter has become the first place voters go to seek accurate information, resources, and breaking news from journalists, political candidates, and elected officials,” wrote Bridget Coyne, Twitter’s senior public policy manager in a blog post. “We understand the significance of this responsibility.”

Twitter will continue to roll out candidate labels as states hold primary elections and candidates officially qualify for the general election ballot.

Home Services Added To Facebook Marketplace

Those who use Facebook’s Marketplace feature can now find professionals to provide services inside the home such as plumbing and cleaning. On Wednesday, Facebook announced a partnership with Handy, HomeAdvisor and Porch to recommend professionals and help facilitate business transactions.

Marketplace users will be able to search for a service provider and see reviews, credentials and location. From there, users can communicate with them, get estimates and book appointments.

The new feature began rolling out immediately and will be available across the US in coming weeks.

Instagram Users Can Now Mute Accounts

Instagram has added a mute option for users that want to control what they see in their timelines without unfollowing an account altogether. Users can choose to mute an entire account, just posts or posts and Stories. Muted users are not notified.

“We’re aiming to make feed the best place to share and connect with the people and interests you care about,” Instagram said in a Tuesday blog post.

Parliament Wants Answers

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg met with European Parliament president Antonio Tajani on Tuesday to discuss data privacy. After a lengthy 90-minute session with Tajani and other Parliament leaders, no concrete answers or solutions were offered to address concerns about data collected and sold by Facebook. Zuckerberg patiently answered all questions with broad strokes and promised to cover specifics in writing later on.

He did, however, deny any political bias on the platform and indicated that the site would be GDPR compliant by the May 25 deadline.

Facebook Tests Influencer Search Engine

As reported by TechCrunch, Facebook has confirmed the existence of an influencer search engine that is not yet available to marketers. Dubbed “Branded Content Matching,” the search engine lets advertisers search creators on Facebook based on factors like gender, interests and top countries where they are popular. Once an influencer is selected, marketers can contact them and make a deal.

Facebook is not taking any revenue cut during the testing phase, but likely will in the future. For now, the Branded Content Matching search engine will only help brands find creators on Facebook.

In November, Facebook launched its Creator app as part of an ongoing strategy to attract influencers with monetization.

YouTube Pours Its Hopes (And Money) Into Music Service

On Tuesday, YouTube will unveil a new version of YouTube Music that offers multiple subscription tiers and a massive campaign starring hip-hop star Cardi B. The campaign represents YouTube’s largest marketing spend to date and will include spots across TV and YouTube.

Google is offering a number of bundled subscription services ranging from free to $11.99 per month. Consumers can get YouTube Music for free, pay $9.99 a month for YouTube Music Premium or sign up for YouTube Premium, which includes the music service and ad-free video viewing.

Starting Tuesday, Google is rolling out early access to the new YouTube Music experience in the US, Australia, New Zealand, Mexico and South Korea with additional locations in the coming weeks to include Austria, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Norway, Russia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.

Two-Thirds Of Brands Are Bringing Programmatic In-House: IAB Report

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Programmatic ad placement accounts for over 80 percent of digital ad spending, a number that’s not likely to drop anytime soon. With so much money on the line, advertisers are and should be making efforts to bring their programmatic in-house, according to a new report by the IAB Data Center of Excellence.

“If brands are going to bring programmatic in-house, they need to understand both the benefits and pitfalls,” said Orchid Richardson, vice president and managing director at the IAB Data Center of Excellence, in a statement. “This research makes it clear that a significant percentage of brands have already moved in this direction—and we can expect that more will follow suit.”

The IAB’s report, entitled “Programmatic In-Housing: Benefits, Challenges and Key Steps to Building Internal Capability,” found that 18 percent of brands have fully in-housed their programmatic media placement, and another 47 percent have at least partially done so. Only 13 percent of brands have started the process and decided against it, and 22 percent have not in-housed and do not plan to.

These findings are in keeping with research by the ANA, which found that 35 percent of brands reduced the role of external agencies for their programmatic needs in 2017, compared to just 14 percent in 2016.

Despite this shift, the IAB doubts that the marketing industry will shift completely in-house anytime soon. Either due to lack of resources to completely in-house or because of special expertise held by third-party agencies, many brands will continue to outsource their programmatic needs for the foreseeable future.

“Brands are either currently working with or considering partnering as a means for executing virtually every programmatic function,” the report reads. “This penchant for collaboration clearly indicates that most marketers prefer to be selective about which in-house capabilities they stand up versus going the full-service route, which would require extensive resources and may disrupt focus on current business operations.”

Brand willingness to go internal for programmatic media placement varies greatly between areas within the ecosystem. According to the IAB, most brands hope to in-house high-level strategic decisions, but they are content to outsource for specialized technology.

“Technology build-outs and ad operations, for example, were two areas with the highest incidence of existing partnership, perhaps reflecting the need for brands to control for excessive capital expenditures and talent recruitment when establishing in-house capabilities,” the report reads. “Data science and algorithm development, as well as education/training, also represent specialty areas where partnership arrangements are either in place or under consideration.”

For campaign analysis and optimization, consensus is much less common, with brands leaning in both directions on whether to go in-house or out.

Motivations for bringing programmatic in-house were primarily fiscal, with 44 percent of the study’s respondents hoping to improve ROI tracking and 34 percent wanting better cost efficiency. Additionally, 44 percent predicted both better audience targeting and more effective campaigns as rewards for bringing programmatic in-house.

“The impact of digital spend, as measured by marketing mix models, began to improve within a year of in-housing digital media spend, driven by enhanced targeting and ongoing placement optimization,” one of the report’s sources claimed.

Brand safety and transparency were major concerns as well, with marketers worrying about unreliable third parties.

“Without the visibility of an agency’s optimization efforts and an understanding of what they’re actually doing, I don’t know that they’re ever doing their best to maximize performance versus to maximize spend at a good performance,” another source claimed.

For brands hoping to in-house their programmatic capabilities, the IAB recommends taking time most of all. According to their research, setting up internal channels can take 12 months, at least.

“First, there must be management support and directive substantiated by an initial feasibility plan to justify in-housing time and resource requirements,” the report reads. “Next, everyone in the organization must come together to achieve plan execution. But there is bound to be some change resistance that’s consistent with human nature as staff members depart from their routine comfort zones.”

The report is based on a survey fielded by the IAB in April of 2018 that queried 119 brand representatives from member companies, comprised of “media decision makers across all titles and 16 major ad categories.”

ESL And Alienware Partner For ‘You Vs. Pro’ Social Activation

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The Esports League (ESL) announced a partnership with Dell’s Alienware brand that will include onsite competitions and a social media push across Twitter and Facebook.

Beginning with ESL One Birmingham on May 24, Alienware will serve as the official OEM/PC and monitor partner of the global circuit for all of 2018. During that time, fans attending in person will be invited to take part in an onsite activation called Alienware Presents: You vs. Pro.

To participate in the branded event, fans attending ESL tournaments can take a picture of themselves at the Alienware booth and post it to ESL’s Twitter account using the hashtag #alienwareyouvspro. Five winners will be invited backstage, where they will each go head-to-head against a professional esports player.

All participants walk away with an Alienware keyboard and gaming mouse, with the best player taking home a 25” monitor as well. If the selected fan beats the pro gamer, however, they will be awarded additional ESL and Alienware merchandise.

“Because this is a year-long global partnership and we will host You vs. Pro at every ESL One event in 2018, the specific details will most likely change each time,” Paul Brewer, senior vice president of partnerships at ESL told AListDaily. “However, the #alienwareyouvspro hashtag on Twitter will be used for the activation throughout the course of the year.”

Additional pressure—or thrills, depending on the person—will be given to participants by streaming each You vs. Pro event on Facebook Live.

“We wanted to keep consistent and make it easy for our viewers to stay engaged in the scheduled competition of ESL One, but also be able to access You vs. Pro content conveniently on the same platform,” explained Brewer.

Thanks to a deal announced in January, all English language ESL One streams and ESL CS:GO Pro League have become exclusive to Facebook. Previously, fans could watch the streams on multiple channels including Twitch and YouTube.

Fans were not too thrilled at being forced to watch the tournaments on Facebook, but some DotA 2 players have taken to stream on Twitch. The game’s publisher, Valve, allows matches to be streamed on Twitch so long as they are done so without sponsors or using any assets from the official ESL One stream.

ESL may not be streaming on Twitter anymore, but Alienware Presents: You vs. Pro will give the brand an opportunity to keep the conversation going on some level.

Zara Integrates Online And Offline With Re-Launched Digital Storefront

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To keep up with the encroachment of digital retail on the physical sector, brick-and-mortar brands have needed to shake up their business practices to stay competitive. For Inditex-owned Zara, integrating e-commerce into their flagship London location is simpler than it may seem.

“This Zara store is the first in the world with a dedicated area for the purchase and collection of online orders, in addition to the usual sections for women’s, men’s and kids’ lines,” the company wrote in its announcement.

Functioning as both a pick-up location and conventional retail store, the location features a host of tools to give shoppers as wide a swathe of options as possible. In this case, the tool consists of a hidden robotic arm that collects and sorts

“We are in a unique position as we enjoy a global sales platform that fully integrates stores and online,” said Inditex chairman and CEO Pablo Isla. “In recent years we have invested in both the most advanced technology and optimized our stores for this aim.”

In addition to the robots, the store includes “interactive mirrors,” which hope to transpose the quintessentially e-commerce feature of recommendation engines.

“Interactive mirrors equipped with RFID will be able to detect the garment a customer is holding, enabling customers to see what a complete outfit will look like in the mirror,” the company claims.

This is not Zara’s first foray into the world of augmented reality shopping—the company launched an AR app featuring digital models for both physical and digital orders just last month. The new store follows the trends set by the previous app, eschewing shop windows and mannequins for open spaces.

“The reopening of Zara’s flagship in Stratford is an important moment for Inditex,” Isla stated. “Our business model combines stores and digital seamlessly, and we are ready for the opportunities that this brings with current and new customers.”

Fake Fanta Bot Is A Reminder That Audiences Control Brand Narrative

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A Twitter bot is inventing strange flavors of Fanta, reminding marketers that anyone can hijack a brand’s image for better or worse in the social space.

Consumers may not be able to try “Noisy Eggplant” or “Communist Blowfish” Fanta anytime soon, but they can visualize the flavors thanks to a Twitter bot that appeared over the weekend.

Fun Fearless Fake Fanta combines adjectives and emoji to generate fictitious soda offerings. The bot tweets out the resulting combination along with a generated soda can design.

https://twitter.com/fakefantas/status/998208793463984128

The Twitter bot was created by Laura González, a front-end developer based out of London that goes by the Twitter handle @freezydorito.

“I like to think of online brands as characters or celebrities in a way,” González told AListDaily. “At the end of the day, they are a character with a voice and a personality.”

The bot was inspired by a “particularly foul tasting” bottle of Fanta Zero, she said, that turned out to have carrot and pumpkin in the orange-flavored drink. González began creating a mock-up of the flavor combination in Photoshop, then realized it would make a fun Twitter bot instead.

Gonzáles said that creating an online brand persona makes it more difficult to control, but brands can respond in different ways.

“I just sort of expect to wake up tomorrow and have a takedown request from Coca-Cola, if I’m being honest,” she laughed, “but I would expect a ‘funnier’ online brand like Wendy’s after the nugget thing to play along.”

González has created other bots that poke fun at marketing, such as taking random headlines and adding “And That’s A Big Opportunity For Brands.” While most tweets become nonsensical, a few border on the profound or creepy.

https://twitter.com/goodbrandposts/status/897206423737831426

Other bots in Gonzales’ collection include a random Pokémon status generator, nonsensical romance advice and fake choices overlayed onto video game screenshots.

“I guess in today’s super online world, ‘brand’ has become sort of meaningless as a word,” Gonzáles reflected. “Even people have ended up running a personal brand of sorts, so I like to poke fun at that.”

Online audiences often take a brand image and give it meaning, with both positive and negative effects. Proctor and Gamble has backpedaled against the poisonous trend of eating Tide Pods, for example, but Hamburger Helper generated over $93,000 in earned media value when a Twitter user questioned its mascot’s skeletal structure.

Sprint Reboots Super Bowl Robot For ‘Time To Go’ Campaign

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Sprint continues to push its “Evelyn” Super Bowl ad character into the summer, launching a series of video ads that focus on price savings.

A 60-second launch spot called “Time to Go” features Evelyn the robot and her friends Arm, Atlas, Roberto and Sassbot as they continue to question why consumers would pay more for Verizon. When the lab researcher tells Evelyn she should work at Sprint if she loves it so much, the robots pack up and head to the company’s headquarters.

“Time to Go” begins airing Friday in movie theaters and online. The spot will also play during the NBA Conference Finals on ESPN and TNT.

Also launching today is a series of social videos called “Road Trip” that features Evelyn and her friends’ adventure from the lab to Sprint headquarters.

A 30-second spot features Atlas the robot, who storms into the Sprint marketing department to make sure everyone knows about current deals, including 50 percent off the Samsung Galaxy S9.

Evelyn first appeared in Sprint’s Super Bowl ad February 4, in which she expresses confusion about why consumers would pay more for Verizon and not switch to Sprint. Evelyn is presented as a super-intelligent AI robot that uses math and logic to argue her case for Sprint. Other robots in the lab chime in and all mock the researcher, who ends up in a Sprint store changing providers.

Prior to the Super Bowl, Sprint released a series of teaser ads showing Evelyn learning new skills by watching a mobile phone that range from taking a selfie to football. While Evelyn’s “selfie” teaser ad garnered over 2.3 million views, the Super Bowl ad it promoted has just over 1.3 million views to date, which could point to consumers being amused but not so much as to keep the momentum going months later.

This time, the telecommunications brand is banking on not just Evelyn but with her robot friends, including the aptly-named Sassbot. Internet sass is proving an effective marketing tool for brands at the moment, especially when they throw it at one another.

https://youtu.be/aZUV_jgX5d0