Category: Marketing

Google unveils Accelerated Mobile Pages Project, its answer to Facebook’s Instant Articles | VentureBeat | Media | by Ruth Reader

The Accelerated Mobile Pages Projects is designed to avoid slow browser load times, so stories can be accessed quickly from within mobile web browsers.

Rumors started percolating about the project last month. The project’s GitHub page is live, but Google says AMP is still in preview mode.

The feature mimics quick-loading elements of Facebook’s Instant Articles and Snapchat’s Discover. However, Google’s mobile pages project differs from previous publishing tools in that it’s not meant to host content. The project relies instead on specially cached links. The technology reduces both rendering time and the time it takes for content to travel from its source to a reader.

http://venturebeat.com/2015/10/07/google-reveals-its-facebook-instant-articles-competitor/

ICYMI: The Personalized Video Market Got a Little Bigger This Week

In case you missed it, we’re closing out a milestone week here. Not specifically for SundaySky, but for the overall personalized video engagement (PVE) category.

On Tuesday, Conversant launched its own personalized video solution to the market, made possible by its 2014 acquisition of SET Media. The next day, Vidyard announced its acquisition of Switch Merge, adding a personalized solution to its existing video content marketing platform. (This is not the first market purchase we’ve seen; over the summer, Pitney Bowes acquired Real-Time Content.) And while the PVE market got a little deeper in North America, it also got a bit wider across the globe as one of our insurance customers overseas in Japan introduced personalized video experiences to its customer base to support and improve the automobile policy renewal process. (OK, so there was a small SundaySky promotional nod.)

What does all this personalized video market news means?It is interesting to see this PVE market news coming from both sides. On one hand, we have a personalization technology company adding video to its digital marketing suite, and on the other, a video platform adding personalization to its offering. Additionally, one solution lives in the adtech space, focused on targeting anonymous consumers, further building out a consumer’s profile via additional Epsilon data sets and serving personalized videos via paid media across devices. The other, more a CRM and automation play, merging data from third-party integrations such as Salesforce. 

But what does this news all mean? No doubt, one constant between the two announcements is to more effectively engage audiences on an individual, 1-to-1 level. We continue to see the varied definitions of what personalization means to marketers and technology providers, and its execution in video. For some, an overlay text of the consumer’s first name in the first frame is enough personalization. For others, a message personalized to a segment of customers, such as their geo-location, is relevance. For us, telling stories and delivering messages that are completely unique to one individual is where we set our bar of personalization.

As our space matures even further, it will be very telling to see just how deep personalization in video can go, and what are the optimal levels of personalization consumers want and brands can deliver on. Welcome to the emerging category of PVE, more solid than ever!

http://info.sundaysky.com/blog/icymi-the-personalized-video-market-got-a-little-bigger-this-week?utm_campaign=Blog+posts&utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&utm_content=22725358&_hsenc=p2ANqtz—MnOq2GeuiNQc1aQvNzm4NG7itVrkghzjm21F0yjlGpgtLqNLeN5T8dexqHWjbcNmts280CnJ9Scp7oFKLuIuEX5GWg&_hsmi=22725358

Internet of Things Expands: Billions of Connected Devices & Dollars 09/24/2015

Awareness of the Internet of Things is gaining a bit of traction, at least in some quarters.
There is now high IoT awareness in more than half (56%) of those in the retail industry, according to a new survey.
Overall, a majority (73%) of companies have deployed, or plan to deploy over the next 12 months, some types of IoT solutions, according to the 2,500-person, 15-country survey by IDC.
More than half (58%) say they consider IoT to be a strategic initiative.
The survey of companies with more than 500 employees found that IoT spending is currently more focused in the enterprise.
But it’s not just the enterprise where IoT action is happening.
Retailers this year will spend $670 million in hardware and installation costs related to the IoT, growing to $2.5 billion within five years, according to Juniper Research.
Combining IoT revenue and cost savings, Juniper pegs the IoT opportunity at $300 billion in five years. That would comprise 39 billion connected devices, up from 13 billion this year.
Much of that activity will involve in-store beacon deployments.
Almost half (46%) of retailers either have or plan to have beacons in stores, according to a survey of 100 retail executives by Retail ToughPoints. Of course, that also means the other half don’t have any plans, but the sheer number of retail stores with beacons is huge.
Smaller stores are another matter, at least when it comes to allocating their technology budget in the Internet of Things.
With less resource than major chains, about a third (35%) of independent small and mid-sized retailers globally plan to invest in data-supported marketing by the next year, according to Lightspeed. Only a third (34%) have some likelihood of introducing beacons at some point.
This is the time that businesses are investing in the Internet of Things. During and after that, the presumed payback phase arrives.
That’s also where IoT marketing kicks into high gear. At least for those who have been preparing.

http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/258959/internet-of-things-expands-billions-of-connected.html?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_content=headline&utm_campaign=86363

Hats off to our Buddies at Moroch for the Editor’s Pick

Editor’s Pick
Dallas agency Moroch is behind this simple, yet delightful back-to-school campaign for McDonald’s. The print ads are full of “subtle” reminders of how the Golden Arches may always be on the brain, even if you’re sitting in class taking notes or listening to a lecture.
In photographs shot by Mark Ross, a cup of pencils resembles a bag of fries, a backpack recalls the fast feeder’s familiar packaging, while a stack of books becomes the restaurant’s beloved Bic Mack.
http://creativity-online.com/work/mcdonalds-welcome-back-to-school/43163

The Future of the Internet of Things Will Be ‘Notification Hell’ Before It Gets Better

http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/250092

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INTERNET OF THINGS
4 min read
The Future of the Internet of Things Will Be ‘Notification Hell’ Before It Gets Better
The Future of the Internet of Things Will Be ‘Notification Hell’ Before It Gets Better
Image credit: Shutterstock
Catherine Clifford
CATHERINE CLIFFORD
ENTREPRENEUR STAFF
Frequently covers crowdfunding, the sharing economy and social entrepreneurship.
  
AUGUST 31, 2015
Right now, the Internet of Things (IoT) is primarily the realm of futuristic-minded early tech adopters. Think of the pioneers who use Google Glass to snap pictures, Nest to control their home temperature or turn to their smartphone to dim the light bulbs in their bedroom. In a decade, things will look much different. By 2025, the Internet of Things will become more mainstream, having an economic impact between $3.9 trillion and $11.1 trillion per year, according to a recent economic forecast released by consulting firm McKinsey & Company. The upper figure (including the consumer surplus) could account for as much as 11 percent of the world economy, the report states.

The best WiFi router (disclaimer: our client TP-LINK is a clear winner

This post was done in partnership with The Wirecutter, a list of the best technology to buy.
Read the original full article below at TheWirecutter.com

After spending a total of 200 hours researching and testing over 20 WiFi routers, plus analyzing reader comments and feedback, the $100 TP-Link Archer C7 (v2) is the router we recommend for most people right now. This dual-band, three-stream wireless-ac router usually costs between $80 and $100 — the same price as many older, slower routers. But unlike those slower routers, the C7 supports the fastest connections of every major device you can buy today.

We compared the Archer C7 against 21 different routers over a 10-month testing period. On most of our tests, the Archer C7 was the fastest — outperforming routers that cost twice as much. You won’t find a better-performing router than the Archer C7 for less, and you’ll have to spend a lot more money to get a better one.

http://www.engadget.com/2015/08/28/the-best-wifi-router-for-most-people/