Marketers increasingly choosing Facebook video over YouTube

Google's dominance of the online video ad sector is under threat, with new research showing that the number of videos directly upload to Facebook could soon surpass videos linked from YouTube. 22/10/2014 | Full story and data...

Apple Pay goes live across 30+ US retailers

Apple Pay has gone live, letting iPhone users pay for goods and services in store by tapping their phone. View this video from CNN discussing the new scheme here. 22/10/2014 | Full story...

Facebook's new 'Hyper-Local' ads target people within a mile of business

Facebook has launched a new tool that lets advertisers target people within a set radius of their business. View a video showing Facebook's Hyper Local Advertising in action here. 09/10/2014 | Full story...

The price of privacy: Europeans 'value own data at £140'

Consumers are becoming more aware of the value attached to their personal data, and that value changes depending on the extent to which they trust a particular brand, according to new research. 13/10/2014 | Full story...

Google reveals Android Lolipop and Nexus 6

Google has revealed its latest line-up of Android mobiles and software, as the internet giant aims to attract a wider range of consumers away from rivals Apple and Microsoft. 16/10/2014 | Full story...

Google sells best YouTube channels to UK advertisers with 'Preferred' format

Google has launched its 'Preferred' platform in UK, taking the top 5% of channels on YouTube and selling them to advertisers. Watch this video from Bloomberg analysing the new platform here. 16/10/2014 | Full story...

Rise of the connected car: Internet is 'must have' feature?

Nearly two in five (39%) of US car buyers will consider internet connection as a key feature for their next automotive purchase, according to new research from Nielsen. 16/10/2014 | Full story...

New era of personal data unlocked in "Internet of Things"

Marketing in the 20th century was characterised by mass media, broadcast television, and the rise of direct marketing. Marketing today in the 21st century is about leveraging those mass market channels to deliver messages targeted with such precision that zero media wastage is within reach. 13/10/2014 | Full story...

Mobile video now fastest growing format as ad spend triples

Mobile video accounts for 20% of digital ad spend in the UK and 53% of social media spend, while native ads now make up 20% of digital display ads, according to new research. 08/10/2014 | Full story...

Twitter gets official TV ratings: Brands link social and TV

Kantar Media has unveiled the UK's official Twitter metric for measuring Twitter TV audience engagement, capable of telling brands the unique Twitter-based audience for shows. 02/10/2014 | Full story...

The rise of the smartwatches: 100m devices forecast sold by 2019 (but no killer app)

More than 100 million smart watches will be in use worldwide by 2019, with a host of premium brand launches over the next 12-18 months bringing the category into mainstream consumer consciousness, according to a new report. 15/10/2014 | Full story...

Facebook ad budgets up 81% (as revenue rises 162%)

Global Facebook ad budgets have increased 81% (year on year) while revenue from Facebook ads is up 162% according to new quarterly data. 20/10/2014 | Full story...

Delays to digital projects worry CIOs and CFOs

Digital is becoming increasingly disruptive as legal firms create virtual teams to meet new customer demands, retailers like Argos overhaul their business models to better serve their digital customers, and travel firms like Virgin Holidays are creating superior website experiences to advertise to and engage their customers. But many firms are struggling to keep up with the pace of change, according to a new survey. 20/10/2014 | Full story...

Yahoo, AOL and DoubleClick join Microsoft for 'ad safety' certificates

Google's DoubleClick, Yahoo and AOL have joined Microsoft Advertising in being awarded seals confirming they meet industry-agreed standards to protect brands' safety online. Twenty companies have now been issued seals in the UK. 14/10/2014 | Full story...

Elf and safety: Air New Zealand gets into the Hobbit for epic viral video

Most flight safety videos can be tedious affairs, but this new video from Air New Zealand transports us to Middle Earth, with a host of stars from the new Hobbit movies adding new meaning to 'elf and safety'. The video will be progressively rolled out across Air New Zealand's fleet from this week. View it in full below. 24/10/2014 | Full story...

Case study: How Murphy's turned Ireland's rain into beer

Back in 2012, beer brand Murphy's took a risky approach to app marketing, offering a free beer every time it rained in Ireland over the summer. The move was so successful they did it again the following year. This case study looks at how the beverage brand mocked Budweiser and got over 20,000 downloads. 03/10/2014 | Full story...

Lexus offers virtual test drive with Oculus Rift

Lexus is one of the first brands to use Oculus Rift virtual reality technology to promote its new NX car model. View the experience in action here. 06/10/2014 | Full story...

Peugeot reboots action-packed 80's ad

Back in 1984, Peugeot ran a James Bond-style ad to promote its 205 model, replete with helicopter chases, explosions and glamorous women. Now the ad is back... with a digital twist. 17/10/2014 | Full story...

No joke: Comedy club charges per laugh via facial recognition

Forget pay per click, how about pay per cackle? In a new digital take on admission fees, a comedy club in Barcelona is using facial recognition software to charge per laugh, rather than per show. Watch this case study here. 10/10/2014 | Full story...

Adidas adopts 'mobile first' native video format from Unruly

Adidas is the launch partner of a new in-feed ad offering from Unruly that adapts to the look and feel of any given web page in real time across the web. View a demo of the format here. 01/10/2014 | Full story...

Digital marketing ROI: Five FMCG campaigns

FMCG brands face a tricky challenge on digital channels - how can online ads convince shoppers to add your products to their supermarket trolleys? And if they do- how is it possible to track it? We look back at some of the best FMCG campaigns of the past year that show how digital success translates into real world cash. 01/10/2014 | Full story...

Top food brands make 'responsible' digital marketing pledge

Top food and beverages firms, including Mondelez, Unilever and McDonald's, have committed to stop advertising and promotional activities targeted at children below 12 years across platforms as part of a new global pledge to step up responsible marketing. 26/09/2014 | Full story...

Unilever first brand to adopt WPP global planning tool

Unilever has become the first brand to use a new global planning tool from WPP, designed to provide monitor cross-device consumer behaviour and media consumption. 26/09/2014 | Full story...

Too many retargeted ads 'put people off buying'

Over half (55%) of consumers are put off buying products or services if they see the same ad online multiple times, but the type of website where the ad appears can make a big difference according to new research. 23/10/2014 | Full story and data...

Mondelez invests 20% of ad budget into digital

Mondelez International, owner of brands such as Cadbury Oreo and Trident Gum, is now committing 10% of its ad budget to mobile and 10% to online video via Google. 08/10/2014 | Full story...

Programmatic display ad spend to double this year

US programmatic digital display advertising is projected to top $10 billion this year, more than double last year's $4.24 billion, with similar growth predicted next year, according to new research. 21/10/2014 | Full story...

More top advertising stories from this month:

 - UK adspend grows at fastest rate since 2010
 - Google 'barometer' offers customer insights across 46 countries
 - Many marketers still failing to convert consumer insights into actions - survey

Organic search accounts for over half of website traffic

Most website traffic comes from click-throughs from organic search results traffic, ahead of paid social and search methods, according to new research. 27/10/2014 | Full story...

Google's 'biggest search competitor' is Amazon

Google considers Amazon as its biggest search competitor, ahead of traditional rivals like Yahoo and Bing, as people looking to buy something are more likely to search on the online retailer's website. 14/10/2014 | Full story...

Half of apps 'discovered via search'

By far the most common discovery method for mobile apps is searching, with 53% of Android users and 47% of iOS users in the US found the last app they downloaded by searching the app store, according to new research. 10/10/2014 | Full story...

Biggest spenders on Google AdWords: Amazon tops list

With Amazon poised to launch a major contender to AdWords, it's ironic that the ecommerce giant is actually the biggest spender on Google's online ad platform, according to new research. 07/10/2014 | Full story...

More top search stories from this month:

 - Teens flock to voice search
 - Halloween search spend unmasked: Disney dominates US costume hunts
 - Pharmaceutical digital marketing shake-up as millennials turn to web for self-diagnosis

Facebook seals WhatsApp deal as value rises to $22bn

Many eyebrows were raised when Facebook bought WhatsApp for $19bn back in February. But closing the deal this week has seen the chat app's value rise even further to $22bn. 08/10/2014 | Full story...

Facebook sues scammers for £1.3bn

Facebook has stepped up its battle against spammers who promise to deliver "likes" to its members, and warned users on using such scams. 07/10/2014 | Full story...

More top Facebook stories from this month:

 - Facebook debuts 90's-style chatroom app 'Rooms'

Reddit gets $50m funding - will give 10% back to users

Social news site Reddit has won $50m (£31m) in funding from venture capitalists and investors including actor Jared Leto and hip-hop star Snoop Dogg, and is preparing to give 10% of the new shares back to the website's users. 02/10/2014 | Full story...

Twitter lets French users transfer money via tweets

Twitter has inked a deal with Groupe BPCE allowing its users in the country to send money to each other - irrespective of their bank - via a tweet. 15/10/2014 | Full story...

Yahoo close to investing $10bn in Snapchat?

Yahoo is reportedly close to investing $10bn in popular photo sharing app Snapchat, as the embattled internet giant continues its focus on mobile services to compete with the likes of Google and Facebook. Watch this video from Bloomberg discussing the potential deal. 06/10/2014 | Full story...

More top social media stories from this month:

 - Twitter debuts app development kit 'Fabric'
 - Ello gets $5.5 m funding to expand anti-Facebook social network

SnapChat gets first 'creepy' ad (in a good way)

After months of speculation, SnapChat has finally launched the first ad on the chat app, featuring a 20-second ad for new horror film 'Ouija'- amid complaints that its 'scaring' users. View this video from the Huffington Post examining the deal here. 22/10/2014 | Full story...

Skype app lets users swap video messages

Skype has launched a video messaging app called Skype Qik, letting users swap short clips up to 42 seconds long via their mobiles. 15/10/2014 | Full story...

More top mobile stories from this month:

 - Mobile makes up 39% of display ad conversions (but Google and Facebook lag behind)
 - Microsoft ditches Nokia brand in mobile shake up
 - The dual screen football fan: Match day digital habits revealed
 - Apple reveals thinner iPads with fingerprint scanners

Facebook 'overtakes YouTube for PC video views' (but still lags on mobile)

Facebook has reportedly passed YouTube for monthly video views on desktop for the first time, delivered nearly a billion more than YouTube August, as the social networks 'autoplaying' video format looks to be paying off. 22/10/2014 | Full story and data...

BuzzFeed adds first 'Buy It!' button for L'Oreal native ad

BuzzFeed has added a "Love it? Buy it!" button next to a vintage hairstyle post from L'Oreal USA letting readers buy the cosmetics being featured, as the publisher looks to expand its ad options to capaitalise on its soaring popularity. 07/10/2014 | Full story...

Spotify makes a profit for first time

Spotify's UK subscription customer base grew by 42% in 2013, helping the company turn a profit in for the first time, suggesting its mixture of ad-funded streaming and monthly subscriptions are paying off at last. 09/10/2014 | Full story...

Halloween 'top time of year for beauty videos'

Halloween is the biggest makeup event of the year in the US, driving 57% of video views for seasonal makeup tutorials on YouTube, according to this new infographic from Google. 28/10/2014 | Full story...

Native ads grow in popularity (but marketers struggle to define them)

There is widespread support for native advertising amongst marketers, despite confusion over definition, according to new research. 16/10/2014 | Full story...

Microsoft creates room-based gaming technology

Microsoft has revealed a prototype gaming system that turns any room into an interactive, augmented reality display. Watch a demo video showing Room Alive here. 08/10/2014 | Full story...

Google Play now far ahead of Apple for app downloads (but still makes less money)

Google Play has significantly widened its lead over Apple's App Store when it comes to app downloads, but Apple's store still dominates app revenues, according to new research. 20/10/2014 | Full story...

The death of the weekly shop: Savvy Brits shifting online

The average UK shopper now uses four different grocery shops on average each month and more of them are visiting two or more stores on the same trip, as savvy shopping tactics such as online shopping and coupon saving have become the norm, according to new research. 07/10/2014 | Full story...

Bumper ecommerce Christmas: 120 million orders predicted for December

The latest August IMRG MetaPack Delivery Index confirms that UK retailers are on course to dispatch a record 900 million orders or 930 million parcels in 2014 with 120 million orders in December alone. 07/10/2014 | Full story...

Shopping centres going digital: How malls are merging online and offline worlds

Some of the UKs biggest shopping centres are home to major digital innovations, incorporating smartphones, smartwatches and beacons to guide shoppers around store, according to a new in-depth report. 09/10/2014 | Full story...

Hungarians protest world's first internet tax

Demonstrators in Budapest yesterday protested against a plan to introduce a tax on Internet use, staging the first mass rally since Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban won three elections this year. View this video from Euronews covering the proposed tax below. 27/10/2014 | Full story...

Hong Kong protestors use FireChat to bypass lockdown

Pro-democracy protestors in Hong Kong are using FireChat to keep in touch and bypass an internet and network lockdown in the country. Watch this unedited video showing a protester using Firechat here. 02/10/2014 | Full story...

Internet, privacy and surveillance - after Snowden

Glenn Greenwald was one of the first reporters to see - and write about - the Edward Snowden files. In this searing talk he exposes the challenges of privacy in a digital world and attacks the CEOs of Google and Facebook for their stance. 14/10/2014 | Full story...

Facebook sorry for drag queen name ban

Facebook has apologised for imposing a ban on fake names, a move that particularly affecting performers and drag queens, and has clarified that it will now allow 'authentic' names on the social network, even if they are not the user's real name. 02/10/2014 | Full story...

More top regulation stories from this month:

 - Dropbox denies security leak after 'hacked' passwords appear online
 - Twitter sues US govt over revealing user surveillance requests

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