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As the web celebrates its 25th birthday, Tim Berners-Lee shares his thoughts about what's to come. To give you a window into the near future, Matt Cutts explains how Google voice search will remove keyboards, and wearable computers get another step closer.
New research this month showed that 1/5 of all ad spend globally now goes online. Facebook is trying to push that further, continuing to remove the free organic audiences brands enjoyed in the past, as they force companies to switch ad dollars to promote their posts.
This month's case studies that impressed us include Samsung's big win at the Oscars, McDonald's testing SnapChat and Garnier's social tactics in China.
The research is grouped in the sections matching Digital Acceleration training courses.
Need more about the implications of any of this research on the digital aspects of your marketing plan? Simply email us back.
Danny Meadows-Klue
President
Digital Training Academy
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Google is bringing Android to wearable devices with a new platform that lets developers create apps for upcoming smartwatch devices. Watch this promotional video for Android Wear here. 19/03/2014 | Full story...
WhatsApp founder Jan Koum has dampened "careless and inaccurate" rumours about possible changes to the messaging app's privacy policies following its $19bn Facebook takeover. 19/03/2014 | Full story...
Organic reach of the content brands publish in Facebook is destined to hit zero, with brands forced to pay to reach fans instead (or jump to other platforms), according to new research from Ogilvy. 11/03/2014 | Full story and data...
UK mobile advertising revenue is forecast to overtake newspaper ad revenue in the UK in 2014 for the first time, according to new research. 12/03/2014 | Full story and data...
Ahead of the web's 25th anniversary, a new report surveying hundreds of experts outlines how digital technology will evolve over the next decade - with many good and bad results. 11/03/2014 | Full story and data...
Apple has launched CarPlay, a new system that lets users access iOS features in their car, as the technology giant looks to rival Google's Android in the growing trend for 'The Internet of Things'. 03/03/2014 | Full story...
McDonald's has become the latest brand to run a SnapChat marketing campaign, using NBA star LeBron James to generate buzz on the popular self-destructing photo-sharing app. 07/03/2014 | Full story...
At the 2014 Oscars, Samsung took the award for most talked about brand with a celebrity-packed selfie tweeted by host Ellen DeGeneres using a Galaxy Note 3 phone. This case study looks at how the electronics giant made full use of its sponsor status at the film ceremony, merging old-school celebrity endorsements with the latest digital technology to reach millions of people. | Full story and data...
Google is testing a new version of its Chrome browser that incorporates voice search, following on from similar move in its Google Glass and Google Now software. But how will the shift to voice affect search habits, and what impact with this have on paid and organic search engine marketing? Watch this video from Google's Matt Cutts here, explaining how voice inputs affect search habits. 03/03/2014 | Full story...
Two Chinese internet giants, online retailer Alibaba and social network Weibo, both plan to float on stock market, as the country's booming digital industry begins to expand overseas. 17/03/2014 | Full story...
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London commuters witnessed alien invasions, escaped tigers and giant tentacles emerging from a bus stop window, as part of this new video campaign from pepsi Max. 24/03/2014 | Full story...
Cancer Research UK has received more than £2m in donations after a popular online campaign, asking women to post selfies with no make-up using the hashtag #nomakeupselfie, went viral last week. 24/03/2014 | Full story...
This emotionally powerful video from the Animal Mayhew Centre puts a new twist on typical pet rescue charities- highlighting the happiness a rescue dog bring to their owners after a hard day. 25/03/2014 | Full story...
For years, Jamie Oliver's Food Tube channel on YouTube had low engagement and flat subscriber numbers. This case study looks at how the team behind the channel created online buzz and interactive elements (including the chance to slap the celebrity chef himself) to help it become one of YouTube's most successful food channels with 1.8 million monthly views. 19/03/2014 | Full story...
Industrial robot firm Kuka Robotics has run a new YouTube video campaign, pitting table tennis star Timo Boll against a high speed robot. 13/03/2014 | Full story...
President Obama's appearance on the spoof talk show Between Two Ferns with comedian Zach Galifianakis has boosted traffic to Healthcare.gov, with 54,000 referrals for healthcare in just one day. View the video below. 13/03/2014 | Full story and data...
China is a lucrative market, but how can brands get themselves noticed on social media? This case study looks at how beauty brand Garnier managed to hijack a trending topic on Chinese social media, in order to maximize their product visibility with a very limited media budget. Watch this video case study below. 03/03/2014 | Full story...
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www.DigitalStrategyConsulting.com/intelligence/online-advertising
Latest stats show that the internet surpassed newspapers to become the world's second-largest ad medium in 2013, behind TV. Over in the UK, the TV continues to remain strong, but marketers are increasingly turning to automation techniques including real-time buying to get the most out of big data and digital mediums.
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In 2013, the internet passed newspapers to become the world's second-largest ad medium, behind TV, according to this chart from ZenithOptimedia. 17/03/2014 | Full story and data...
Almost three quarters (71%) of marketers re using some form of marketing automation to their advantage, to increase ROI and glean increased insights into marketing campaigns, according to new research. 13/03/2014 | Full story...
TV ad revenue reached a record high of £4.63bn in the UK during in 2013, a year-on-year increase of 3.5%, according to new research. 10/03/2014 | Full story...
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www.DigitalStrategyConsulting.com/intelligence/search-engine-marketing
Google's controversial search ad banners (which broke an 8-year promise) where retracted this month- but it continued to add more information to its Wikipedia style 'Knowledge Graph'- now including restaurant menus. In a risky move, search giant is also rolling out its encryption to more countries, starting with China.
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Google will stop displaying its controversial banner search ads, six months after testing the new format which went against the internet giant's previous promises not to advertise on its home screen. 18/03/2014 | Full story...
Google has started to encrypt searches made by people in China, as part of a wider attempt to inhibit government spying around the world. 17/03/2014 | Full story...
Google is planning to show restaurant menus and prices on the first page of the Google search results, as the search giant continues to speed up the search process for users (but potentially drive down the traffic for businesses). 04/03/2014 | Full story...
More top search stories from this month:
- BBC ramps up mobile search
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www.DigitalStrategyConsulting.com/intelligence/facebook-marketing
Facebook ramped up its mobile and video tools this month, with auto-playing videos in the mobile newsfeed and a more streamlined layout for brand pages. FMCG giant Mondelez - the company behind Oreo and Cadbury's - gave the social network a strong endorsement by striking a global partnership that will give the FMCG giant access to Facebook's beta-testing programs and research.
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Facebook will soon start placing Video Ads in users' News Feed, which will auto-play without sound. View this video demo below. 14/03/2014 | Full story...
Facebook has updated its pages for brands and celebrities on desktop, as part of a wider redesign for the social network as it chases more ad dollars across all platforms. 12/03/2014 | Full story...
FMCG giant Mondelez International has partnered with Facebook, giving the owner of Cadbury and Oreo access to the social network's site's beta-testing programs and research. 11/03/2014 | Full story...
More top Facebook stories from this month:
- Facebook to buy drone satellite firm?
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www.DigitalStrategyConsulting.com/intelligence/social-media-marketing
New financial results reveal that the cost of advertising on Twitter fell 67% last year as the social network struggles to find an acceptable price for its promoted tweets. The trend for chat apps continues with Chinese ecommerce giant Alibaba investing in Tang. After years of resisting, it seems Apple may finally embrace social media platforms as a way to reach new customers, with eagle-eyed bloggers noticing a Tumblr page promoting the iPhone 5C.
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This chart shows the active users for the top 10 social networks by region. Respondents were asked the question "Which of the following services have you used/contributed to in the last month?".
10/03/2014 | Full story...
This chart shows the change in active users for the top 20 global social networks (excluding China). Respondents were asked the question 'Which of the following services have you used/contributed to In the last month?". 10/03/2014 | Full story...
After years of ignoring the format, Apple is rumoured to have quietly launched its first social media campaign with a Tumblr page promoting its iPhone 5c. 05/03/2014 | Full story...
Twitter's ad revenue has risen but the average ad rate for the social network fell by a massive 67% during 2013, according to its latest financial report. 10/03/2014 | Full story...
Chinese ecommerce giant Alibaba has invested $215m in mobile messaging app Tango, as completion in the chat app sector heats up following Facebook's $19bn purchase of WhatsApp. 20/03/2014 | Full story...
More top social media stories from this month:
- Yahoo drops Facebook and Google logins
- Why women rule social media (infographic)
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www.DigitalStrategyConsulting.com/intelligence/mobile-marketing
How are advertisers measuring mobile success? New research reveals that mobile site traffic remains the main factor used to judge success- but is this changing? This month we also look mat the rise on wearable technology, with Google finally launching an Android platform for smartwatches, we wonder if everyone will be sporting tech specs in the future or if apparel with apps will go out of fashion.
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This chart shows the mobile broadband penetration for each region's population across the globe. North America has the highest percentage of its population using mobile broadband with 72%. 13/03/2014 | Full story...
This chart shows the change in market share for the top 5 smartphone brands in 201.2 and 2013. Samsung accounted for the largest market share for both years, growing by 1% over the period. 08/03/2014 | Full story...
More advertisers in the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region are turning to mobile to drive audience traffic and brand awareness than ever before, according to data from Millennial Media. 20/03/2014 | Full story...
LG and Motorola have unveiled the first smartwatches to run Google's new operating system 'Android Wear'. 21/03/2014 | Full story...
As more consumers carry mobile devices wherever they go, high-tech brand manufacturers are investing heavily in wearable technology - such as Google's Glass and Android Wear and Samsung's Gear range of smartwatches. Online monitoring firm Nielsen examines the true potential for this new breed of devices - will we all be sporting web specs in the future or will wearable tech simply go out of fashion? 21/03/2014 | Full story...
More top mobile stories from this month:
- Smartphone and tablet usage in the US: Women Vs. Men
- UK Govt invests £73m in 'Internet of Things' research
- Lavatory logistics: 'Rent your toilet' app goes live for Mardi Gras
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www.DigitalStrategyConsulting.com/intelligence/content-marketing
As Google's Chromecast gets a European launch (with new ad opportunities already in place) viewers are given more options to ditch TV subscriptions in favour of web-based alternatives- and this new £30 dongle could win over more 'cord cutters'. Google also shook up the cloud market this month, offering 100GB of storage for just $1.99- a fifth of Dropbox's charges.
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www.DigitalStrategyConsulting.com/intelligence/ecommerce-and-eretailing
Starbucks continues to lead the way when it comes to mobile ecommerce- with plans to let customers save time by place orders ahead of collection. This month we were also given a glimpse into 'virtual reality shopping' as Tesco showcased a supermarket on the Oculus Rift headset. Finally, surprising new research shows that over 50s are more likely to 'showroom' (shop on mobiles while browsing in-store) than their younger counterparts.
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www.DigitalStrategyConsulting.com/intelligence/digital-marketing-regulation
Tighter restrictions on harvesting user data was the main theme in March. On the world wide web's 25th birthday we witnessed two major figures- Tim Berners Lee and Edward Snowden- discuss the need for more rights for internet users. Meanwhile, new European data laws received a long overdue update (after 19 years) with stronger safeguards for citizens' personal data- and risks of fines of up to €100m for brands that breach these rules.
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On the day when the Internet turns 25, Sir Tim Berners-Lee, the inventor of the world wide web, has called for a 'Magna Carta' bill of rights to protect its users. Watch this video from the BBC looking back at 25 years of the web. 12/03/2014 | Full story...
This week, the EU has updated its 19-year-old data protection laws, with stronger safeguards for citizens' personal data. The new European data protection laws mean that companies found in breach of users' personal data rights will risk fines of up to €100m. 13/03/2014 | Full story...
NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden made a surprise appearance at this week's TED technology conference, accusing the US intelligence service of 'setting fire to the internet' and prioritising surveillance over security. Watch the video interview below. 20/03/2014 | Full story...
More top regulation stories from this month:
- Larry Page outlines Google's future: Why less privacy could be a good thing
- Whatsapp Android app security flaw exposed
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