NEW OLD ONLINE RADIO

 

Neil deGrasse Tyson on StarTalk

I faintly remember seeing the podcast app on my old Iphone many years back and heard about it again while watching Neil deGrasse Tyson mention his podcast, StarTalk (Wags also mentioned he has podcast as well). I did not give it much thought but again came across a recent article, which mentioned that the podcast is still well underway. You have to realize that podcasts appeared in the early 2000’s.

A pod catcher app on Iphone

So, what are podcasts? A little research online indicates that they are audio files made by anyone a company or an individual (was mainly audio, but seems the definition expanded to include videos as well). These audio or video files are posted on the internet and provides a link called RSS which the viewer/follower can subscribe to using a ‘pod catcher’ app or program installed on their phone or desktop. Podcasts is basically an internet radio on demand, where the content can be anything from finance, world news to science.

The article refers to data from the Audio Intelligence Report by the UK director of content. Data shows that most podcast listeners in the UK tend to be millennials with 2/3 falling in 16-34 age bracket. Of this, 27% listen once a week, 29% 2-4 times a week, and 15% 4-5 times a week. Peak hour usage usually range from 19:00 to 22:00 and listeners tend to be in a relaxed environment with some even falling asleep listening to it! The report also indicates that these podcast listeners tend to use ad blocks but are more likely to pay for premium services especially ads they hear on podcasts.

This could be a great channel for marketers to reach their target audiences, especially millennials. So if you are a marketer what brand do you think will be successful with this target audience? But, also what are your thoughts on podcasts? I for one intend to give it a go, let me know below!

 

MORE TRICKS FOR MARKETERS USING SEARCH ADS

You know when you search for anything on google and ads pop up at the top of the lists displaying all results. These ads known as search ads are as paid and used by marketers to advertise their websites. At the same time several weeks ago I discovered an oldschool testing method called A/B testing, which tested the changes in one variable. My previous blog also mentioned that A/B testing is outdated and a newer method that integrated machine learning is the new norm. Well now machine learning is also applied to search ads (soon most likely everything else as well).

good thing the ads shown are limited

Searchengineland mentioned that Google are beginning to introduce machine learning models into search ads to enable more creative optimization. For example, instead of 1 headline on search ads there will be 3, instead of 1 description body there will be 2 (these can go up to 15 headlines and 4 descriptions). The reason for multiple headlines apart from finding the optimal combination is that it also leads to more keywords that may trigger your ads. This works both ways for people searching online as well as competing with other marketers, since certain keywords are auctioned against others and a quality score is calculated to determine which marketer ads is shown.

Marketer ‘ad rank’ (maximum bid times quality score)

Do you think this will increase visits and ultimately revenue for the company? If every marketer implement this change wouldn’t auctioning for keywords and quality score be more intense as well?

TWITTER EXPANDS ON VIDEOS

Does anyone watch the tv for news, sport highlights or entertainment news? I highly doubt anyone does anymore, but if you still do then great! People have been turning to new media outlets, especially social media platforms and news agencies that use social media platforms. Twitter is one example of this and from what I heard it is quite useful and quick to obtain news and updates. We all know Twitter for their 280-word (was 140) idea, and recently Twitter announced they will provide over 30 premium video content deals on their platform. They decided to pursue video as digital marketing mentioned that video views on the platform almost doubled from last year.

something like this

Some genres and companies that is teaming up with Twitter includes entertainment (Live Nation Concert Series, Viacom), news (VICE, BuzzFeed, Vox Media, Bloomberg) and sports & gaming (ESPN, Formula 1, MLB, MLS, Bleacher Report, IGN). According to prnewswire these media companies are expected to provide live video streams or high-quality video contents on Twitter. All of these companies have joined the ride on social media boom and they are one of the sources of media I constantly come across on Facebook and Snapchat (before I stopped using it).

For someone who has become disconnected from TVs, these media sources on social media have become quite important to me. Although funny enough I still find myself a little skeptical of the credibility surrounding news media such as Vox Media, Buzzfeed and VICE. But, for you where do you get your daily dose of news from and how much do you trust them?

 

every news source

 

SNAPCHAT ADS GOES ON THE OFFENSIVE

Do you use Snapchat? Well, I used to use it and thank god I used to because the latest update from Snapchat indicated that they will begin testing six second video ads that cannot be skipped (Marketingland).  I stopped using Snapchat a while after ads appeared on the app, which was probably around the same time news stories started appearing as well. But, this new updated test will begin around the middle of May. Along with this update Snapchat is aiming to provide further analytic related to ads as well as automated ad buying platforms for marketers.

The problem that I have with these type of ads is that I believe most of the users tend to skip them, don’t you? The article on Marketingland mentioned that for Snapchat users between 18 to 24 years old, 50 percent always skip ads while 9.4 percent claim they always watch the entire ad. Not only this but Snapchat has fewer than 400 brands than ran video ads on their platforms.

I’m afraid with this new update more users turn away from Snapchat and migrate to other social media platforms. Do you think this new 6 second ‘commercial’ will work in favour of Snapchat and marketers?

THE END OF A/B TESTING

After reading through the pre-lecture material last week what stood out to me was the A/B testing strategy. Coincidently enough right after that I went online and found an article on A/B testing, claiming it was dying. Or more accurately, the test itself was to slow for current standards and needs (Marketingland).

Multi-variable testing

What evolved from this was an AI optimization software (of course AI again). One such company working on this is called Sentient Ascend. This evolved A/B testing allowed marketers to test countless variables at once on websites and can be selectively targeted or randomly generated, letting you ‘test your ideas all at once’ (Sentient Ascend). Ascend optimizes the different variables that you try to test, which can result in unique combinations that you never thought of (Sentient Ascend). How cool is that!? They claim that the software finds top performing concepts, combines them and overall reduces the amount of time compared to traditional A/B testing.

 

rise of AI

Frankly, I believe these claims because the process is quite similar to machine learning, evolution. Where do you think this technology will take marketers and websites for brands? I really think it would be possible that websites in the future could automatically customize an optimal website for each visitor. Since there are too many variables that is appealing for each person, I think there will not be one optimal website that is static but rather a changing dynamic one.

FUTURE OF AUTO MARKET, IS GOING ONLINE?

Have you ever used a vending machine to get a can of soda or a bag of M&M’s? I tend to  find that at locations that are not close to any convenience store. Well, the same vending machine concept is being applied here. These giant vending machines in China have cars stored in automated garages, not for purchase but for test drive. The idea came from a collaboration between Alibaba and Ford allow for a three day test-drive as China faces growing online auto market trends (digitaltrends, 2018 and Financial times).

Car Vending Machine in China

The whole process prior to getting the car can be completed on an app. To book a test drive, you must take a picture of yourself for facial recognition. If your Alibaba’s credit score is good enough then there are no deposits required, if it is lower but still above the requirement then you will be required to pay a small deposit. But, once the booking is made all you have to do is show up at the ‘vending machine’, the machine at the building then confirms the user through facial recognition and you can take the car for a spin. Easy!

Normal car purchase process in Thailand

I am not sure how things work in Australia but in Thailand to make a vehicle purchase I would have to go to a showroom, there I can inspect and test drive within the show room area. But, this combination between digital and the physical aspect makes car purchase extremely convenient. Not only does it allow customers to have an in-depth experience, but instead of renting large advertisements beside roads car companies can potentially advertise within apps whenever a new model is released.

Apparently this concept has been tested in America already, but with little success  but do you think it would be successful in Australia?

Car Vending Machine in US 

TRANSPARENCY, THE HERO WE NEED?

Businesses are struggling with authenticity as customers becomes more skeptical with brands and their ads. According to the article only 52 percent of global respondents to the survey admit that they trust businesses (Marketingland, 2018). This figure is even lower in the US alone, standing at 48 percent which has decreased from 58 percent last year. Authenticity doesn’t stop with what is true and false, but it also includes the images that brands try to create. For example, using popular trends such as slang or hashtags #. The use of this can make brands themselves appear inauthentic with nearly 70 percent of social media users surveyed indicated annoyance with brands using these techniques (Marketingland, 2018).

make it stop please! 

At the same time with the help of the internet we can cross check and decide for ourselves as consumers what is true and false. Consumers these days are not afraid and we shouldn’t be afraid to call out brands for their dishonesty or actions, through online reviews or simply unfollowing them on social media. I for one don’t review on social media, but I had a terrible experience with a company once and posted my experience online. Surprisingly my review was seen by hundreds of people and received like minded responses.

A 2016 Label Insight study claimed that nearly all consumers are loyal to transparent brands, with 73 percent willing to pay more for transparency (Marketingland, 2018). For example by highlighting how a company’s mission is reflected in manufacturing processes, company culture and ultimately the product or service. This is brilliantly executed by Patagonia’s campaign to become transparent to its customers (I advise to check their website out! http://www.patagonia.com/footprint.html)

cartoonstock

Ultimately, I think that transparency or authenticity is the path that marketing has to take. What do you think? Is it important, or it is just a passing trend that will go away?

or this is what most brands will end up with?

GOOGLE PLAY STORE: WANT TO PLAY A GAME?

Google has recently upgraded their in game store with several new features, which impacts the user experience as well as marketers. The first upgrade is the introduction ‘google play instant’ on Google’s ‘play store’ which is where all android apps are downloaded from. Google play instant allows gamers to try a demo version of the game in the play store without having to install the game itself (Marketingland, 2018). This will provide a unique advantage for game developers, especially for games that needs to be purchased.

HotHardware, 2018

I sometimes play games on my mobile and think that these types of demos would be a great addition. Especially since I’m quite stingy in terms of paying for games, if I get to try the game out first I might be more convinced to buy them. Whether you play games or not given this instant play option, will this make you give mobile games a try? (if you use androids that is)

Google has also upgraded its advertising system in games. Their advertising platform ‘admob’ is trying to push the idea of rewarded bonus ads in games (TheVerge, 2018). These are in-app ads that requires the player to watch an ad in order to receive some sort of reward or bonus for the game. Admob is also introducing open bidding, so that networks can be bid to serve in-app ads. I have experienced some using some of these reward ads and they are quite annoying being 30-second-long. At the same time the game makes the reward quite necessary to have so you must watch them and I end up being forced to do just that.

fuk you Google…

Where do you think mobile marketing is headed, given advertisers seems like they want to introduce ads wherever they can?

 

 

MEET THE NEW FAMILY MEMBER: AMAZON

Recently Amazon acquired Ring, a company that sells smart doorbell and security cameras. This technology allow home owners to talk with anyone in front of their house. The smart doorbell comes installed with a camera, motion sensors and allows customers to access their videos anytime (Businessinsider, 2018). One minor reason Amazon is acquiring Ring is because of package theft and theft fraud they face on deliveries.

 

Ring, 2018

Ring, 2018

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In recent years Amazon expanded into video streaming, music streaming, grocery store, and cloud services which improves its core business which is online shopping services. By acquiring Ring, Amazon takes a step closer to completing their consumer experience service. Considering that 35% of Amazon’s revenue results from “frequently bought together” and “customers who bought this item also bought” features, the more information Amazon can obtain the more effectively they can market products to customers (Visualcapitalist, 2017).

The smart doorbell will most definitely be linked with Amazons other product such as Amazon Alexa and possibly an addition to their subscription services, Amazon Prime. In the end it will be an addition to their huge consumer behaviour database, for example understanding when they spend their time at home and when they leave.

maybe a robot in the family will be possible very soon? 

I think it is extremely convenient to have access to complete range of services, it almost feels like having an additional member at home and would be interested to give it a try. But, what I am worried about is at what cost are we giving up our personal information. What are your thoughts about the direction that Amazon is heading, is what they’re doing ethical or do you think the benefits outweigh the cost?

CHROME ADBLOCK, IMPROVING USER EXPERIENCE OR THEIR REVENUE?

Google Chrome begins blocking annoying/intrusive ads by default on 15^th February onwards on both desktop/laptops and smartphones. They claim that a criteria is used to determine what is annoying/intrusive, such as flashing, pop ups, and ads that deliberately make exiting difficult.

Marketoonist, 2017

Each site is evaluated based on a sample of its pages and receives a passing, warning or failing grade based on the grading percentage. If a site receives a failing grade, Chrome checks whether the page visited is part of the failing website. If it is then Chrome will block all ads from displaying on that page or related pages.

many website grades are going to end up..

Sounds fantastic doesn’t it? That Google Chrome addresses the issue of annoying ads. But I think, the real reason that Google is implementing their version of adblock is because external adblocks or ‘extensions’ is on the rise and given that Google Chrome browsers is used by 60% of internet users this means huge marketing and revenue loss.

The difference between extensions and Chromes’ adblock is that extensions completely block ads on every website you visit, while Google Chromes’ adblock only block ads in websites that their algorithm claim to contain annoying/intrusive ads. Just in the US, there has been a rise in adblock usage from 28.2% to 31.0% on desktop/laptops and 11.8% to 13.8% for smartphones. (Marketingland, 2018)

my response

So Google is just trying to redirect online marketing back to their platforms and make more money without fixing the problem. Nonetheless, I think that is not what many internet users want and personally I would still download extensions as I find all online ads annoying altogether.

Back to you, do you use extensions and how do you think Chromes’ adblocks will affect online marketing and internet user experience?