Weekly Newsletter

The OTT landscape is now a prevailing force in today's video viewing environment.  A new report from FreeWheel gives us a closer look into the viewing habits of OTT viewers nationwide. Lets quickly compare OTT to linear television.  First of all, the OTT viewing audience is significantly younger than the linear TV audience by about 23 years.  On top of that, OTT streaming households tend to be more affluent than traditional TV households by about $10,000 more per year. OTT services provide marketers and advertisers with a highly targetable and engaged audience, compared to other viewing formats. Consumers are granted a customizable viewing experience when they chose to stream content. “New sources of premium inventory coupled with the ability to align delivery with changing consumption habits allows us to better connect with the consumer and ultimately drive more brand value for our client,” said Jon Anselmo, president at Omnicom Media Group. OTT viewers, on average, compl

Marketers have begun to experiment with augmented reality (AR) for years now. However, AR has recently gained some ground thanks to companies like Snapchat, Apple and Facebook. Even big name cosmetic brands like L'Oreal are utilizing AR technologies and incorporating them into stores and  ecommerce sites. L'Oreal has several branded AR apps that allow users to try out hairstyles and makeup upon purchasing.    “It has impacted our sales significantly. It’s more of an offline play than an online play—we don’t see million of people buying from the app but we see it having an impact in what people buy offline.” -Lubomira Rochet, L'Oreal's Chief Digital Officer.  And then we have social platforms including Snapchat which has introduced face-swapping and "world lenses" that puts characters in the real world like the famed dancing hot dog.  Snapchat works closely with brand leaders and marketers to design these lenses. Their aim is to mimic some of the original a

NBC News presented Snapchat with its first news show on its Discover platform.  Stay Tuned launched on the smartphone application just yesterday, and will air twice per weekday.  Stay Tuned will be hosted by NBC News correspondent Gadi Schwartz and MSNBC's Savannah Sellers, along with 30 other producers, and reporters working behind the scenes.  The news series will be airing at 7am and again at 4pm every weekday, and once at 1pm on the weekend. Each show will last between 2 and 3 minutes and it will include 5 segments such as national and international news, entertainment and politics.   About one year ago, NBCUniversal was the first major media company to partner with Snap to develop original shows on the platform.  The Voice on Snap was even nominated for an Emmy- which is a first for Snapchat. Other NBCUniversal shows under the deal include Saturday Night Live, World of Dance and The Rundown.  NBC also boasts of their partnerships with Buzzfeed and Vox.  Over the past y

  For decades, we grew up knowing that brands like Crest toothpaste will better whiten your teeth, and that only true athletes wear Nike gear.  But, if this new startup- Brandless- catches on in the consumer marketplace, this could lead to some potentially grave news in the TV advertising industry.  Brandless pitches itself as the "Procter & Gamble for millennials", offering a host of essential consumer products for just $3.  That's right, every item on the website is just $3, while some cheaper items are bundled to reach that price.  Brandless sells a variety of consumer products ranging from dish soap and cleaning supplies to gluten free mac & cheese.  Instead of having the packaging decorated with big logos and brand names, Brandless aims to only list the actual attributes of the product on the label...that's it.  Simply put by the founder of Brandless, the idea is to "democratize access to awesome stuff at really fair and affordable pricing"

It's no coincidence that millennial consumers are inherently drawn to big digital brands. This age group now falls within the 18-29 years old range, meaning that they grew up alongside some of the most influential digital brands there are. YouGov BrandIndex is a public perception research firm that interviews over 1.5 million consumers on a yearly basis. They recently conducted a survey unveiling the biggest brand names among millennial consumers. Their survey reveals specific brands that have made waves in the millennial consumer market.  It's safe to assume many, if not most, of these brands fall under the umbrella of heavy hitting digital brands, like Snapchat, Instagram and Uber. The table below illustrates a brand's customer score which reflects the percentage of U.S. millennials who are current customers of that particular brand.  The brand's numerical ranking sheds light on the overall improvement of the brand within the millennial consumer market. The

In recent years, its always been an expectation that brands have their own mobile application.  This way consumers can connect and be sure to stay up to speed with their favorite brands any time and anywhere.  Now all of this is beginning to change. These days, consumers and smartphone users have fewer apps than ever before. The few apps that they do have are typically utility or entertainment-based, such as games, video streaming apps, and social networking apps.  Even though consumer's downloading habits have been on a bit of a decline, the use of smart phones and messaging apps, however, have continued to rise.  With that said, it's imperative for brands and advertisers alike to grasp more mobile leverage aside from their owned app. Approximately 80% of smartphone users have mobile messaging apps such as Facebook Messenger, GroupMe, WhatsApp and Kik, just to name a few.  So why not integrate brand messages, ads and some subtle influence where mobile users are acti