Instagram launches video advertising

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Instagram has become the latest social network to introduce video advertising. Having launched static image advertising in 2013 and following six month of testing, Instagram now offers ad deals which showcase 15-second auto-play spots. With Disney, Activision, Lancome and Banana Republic being the first brands to test the new platform, Disney has been quick to make full use of the new ad offering, using the platform to promote its Big Hero 6 film, while Lancome advertises its newly released fragrance and mascara.

Following criticism of its early Instagram advertising, the social network has been notably cautious since it began selling space a year ago, aiming to ensure that it doesn’t appear too intrusive, and alienating a significant number of its 200 million active users.

Twitter redesigns Twitter for Business website

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Twitter has relaunched its Twitter for Business website – business.twitter.com – which includes a redesigned look and reorganisation of the platform’s content. In an official blog post, Russ Laraway, Head of Small and Medium Businesses at Twitter, offered a break-down of the redesigned website, which includes content now being split into four sections for easier navigation –

1. Basics: everything you might need to know to get started on Twitter, from terminology to creating an effective content strategy.

2. Solutions: step-by-step guidance on how Twitter Ads can accomplish five business objectives – growing followers, finding leads on Twitter, driving website clicks and conversions, boosting Tweet engagements and driving app installs or engagements.

3. Success stories: read about how businesses are using Twitter Ads to achieve a variety of marketing objectives.

4. Resources: access guides, research, videos and event programming to build your Twitter expertise, all in one place.

“Whether your business is just starting to use Twitter or you’re a seasoned pro, you can find educational resources, research, advertising solutions and real-life examples that are relevant for your business needs,” says Russ Laraway.

Over the coming weeks and months, Twitter aims to continue adding new content and features to the website.

Snapchat introduces advertisements in the US

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In a bid to increase its revenue, Snapchat has announced that it is introducing ads for users in the United States as of this weekend. According to a blog post by the social media app, an advertisement will be placed in the ‘Recent Updates’ section of the app, but will not use data to target users individually and will not appear in either Snaps or Chats.

“The best advertisements tell you more about stuff that actually interests you. Some companies spend a lot of time and collect a lot of data about you to figure that out. The product we’re releasing is a lot simpler.”

This is the first time that Snapchat has integrated paid content into the app, with users given the choice of watching the ad, which will disappear after being viewed or within 24 hours – similar to the way that individual Snapchats are currently used.

Australian tabloid names UAE in editorial blunder

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The Daily Telegraph, published in Sydney by News Corp Australia, has made an embarrassing editorial blunder, by running a headline stating that Australian bombing raids killed dozens of terrorists in the UAE, according to the newspaper’s online platform.

While the story referred to bombings in Iraq – in which Australia’s super hornets conducted a total of 43 flights over the country since becoming operational almost two weeks ago – the prominent headline told a different story.

The headline has since been amended to citing the Middle East instead of the UAE, though the original URL remains.

CNN named #1 international news brand

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The latest IPSOS Affluent Global survey has confirmed CNN International as the leading international news brand, reaching an unrivalled four out of 10 upscale consumers and decision-makers across the Middle East, Europe, Africa, Asia and Latin America.

CNN’s reach of affluent international audience is larger than all news competitors in every metric across TV and digital platforms. According to the IPSOS Affluent Global survey, every month CNN is currently reaching 40% of the international upscale population via TV and digital platforms – well ahead of BBC (29%), CNBC (14%), Bloomberg (11%) and Al Jazeera (11%).

On TV, CNN is the most watched international news channel for monthly (34%), weekly (19%) and daily (5%) reach. This is significantly ahead of the reach of other news channels’ TV reach – BBC (23% monthly, 13% weekly, 4% daily), Sky (21%, 13%, 5%), CNBC (10%, 5%, 1%), Al Jazeera (9%, 5%, 2%) and Bloomberg (8%, 4%, 1%).

CNN International is also excelling digitally, ranking in the number one position ahead of all news and entertainment brands with a 14% monthly reach. This compares to National Geographic (11%), BBC (11%), Discovery (9%), Bloomberg (5%), CNBC (5%) and Al Jazeera (3%). The IPSOS Affluent Global findings confirm CNN registering a global digital audience of 99 million unique visitors in comScore’s August data – over 25 million ahead of BBC (73 million).

“What is commonly referred to as the ‘CNN effect’ is our ability to deliver non-partisan, objective reporting from all corners of the world quicker and in more detail than anyone else,” says Rani R. Raad, Chief Commercial Officer, CNN International. “It’s this effect that connects with our consumers on TV, mobile, digital and social platforms, making CNN the worldwide news leader it is today.”

eBay to launch its first global brand campaign

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eBay is launching its first ever global brand campaign entitled ‘Shop the World’, in preparation for the run-up to the Christmas shopping season. The brand advertising campaign officially debuts in the United States tomorrow and in the UK on October 20, with plans to roll out across Australian and German markets in the coming weeks and more countries expected to be added in 2015.

The campaign has been developed in partnership with Goodby Silverstein & Partners and seeks to show how anything – be it a marathon, music festival or film screening – can act as inspiration for consumers, highlighted by the purchasable items within white boxes that appear throughout the advertisement. Running across digital, television, mobile and social channels, the 60-second campaign will aim to showcase the vast range of over 800 million listings on offer at eBay.

“The strength of the eBay brand represents the strength of our business and our entire community,” says Richelle Parham, Chief Marketing Officer, eBay North America. “Whether you’re seeking street style from Berlin or the perfect guitar to unleash your inner Jimi Hendrix, you will find an unmatched assortment of authentic new and vintage inventory from experienced eBay sellers to help fulfil your passion.”

 

Google launches new tool for display ad targeting

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Google has released custom affinity audiences – which aims to give advertisers more flexibility in targeting users based on their interests across the Google display network. This builds on from the affinity audience segments which Google launched in 2013, allowing advertisers to target users across 80 set interests and demographics reflected by the individual’s search and site behaviour. While the new Custom Affinity Audiences will still utilise Google’s interest data, advertisers will now be able to take control of their target advertising by creating their own segments, as opposed to selecting from a pre–defined set of audiences.

Additionally, until now advertisers have had to work directly with a Google rep to create a custom segment. With the release of this new tool, advertisers will be able to build custom affinity audiences themselves in AdWords. When setting up custom affinity audiences in AdWords, advertisers can mix interest segments with sites related to those interests, and Google will provide reach estimates broken down by demographics and top interests.

Facebook closes WhatsApp deal

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Facebook has completed its purchase of mobile messaging app WhatsApp, paying nearly $22 billion for the acquisition. With WhatsApp’s share price having risen by more than 13% since the deal was struck in February of this year, Facebook has been coerced into paying an additional $3 billion on top of the original $19 billion price tag.

“We are looking forward to connecting even more people around the world, and continuing to create value for the people who use WhatsApp,” says Facebook in an official statement.

Terms of the deal include adding Co-Founder of the messaging service, Jan Koum to Facebook’s Board of Directors, as well as remaining head of the company, where he will receive a one dollar per-year salary, mirroring that of Facebook Chief Mark Zuckerberg. Jan will also receive 25 million restricted stock units if he stays with the company for four years; with the RSUs at a current market value worth over $1.9 billion.

In a statement regarding approval of the deal, the European Commission said that Facebook and WhatsApp were not close competitors, and that consumers would continue to be offered a wide array of choices.

Joaquin Almunia, EU Compeition Commissioner adds, “We have carefully reviewed this proposed acquisition and come to the conclusion that it would not hamper competition in this dynamic and growing market.”

With WhatsApp now used by 600 million people, the buyout included 177 million Facebook shares, as well as $4.59 billion in cash. In addition, Facebook has agreed to provide 45.9 million restricted shares to WhatsApp employees.

Mondelez International signs video deal with Google

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Mondelēz International, the candy giant whose brands include Oreo, Trident, Nabisco and Cadbury, has signed a global partnership with Google focusing on online video. In the company’s largest social media deal to date, the agreement will include markets in North America, Europe and Eastern Europe, as well as Latin America, the Middle East and Asia Pacific.

The deal marks a shift in advertising strategy for Mondelēz International as it moves to digital – specifically to online video. In June of this year, the company announced that half of its $200 million a year global marketing budget would be going to digital by 2016, and has already committed 10 percent of its ad budget to online video as of this year.

“We believe video will be a key growth driver for our brands, and programmatic buying will play an important role in accelerating that growth,” says Bonin Bough, Vice President – Global Media and Consumer Engagement, Mondelēz International. “Today, 58 percent of consumers turn to digital platforms for their daily media consumption. Although we’ve adjusted our media spending to reflect that behaviour, there’s still a gap. The deal with Google will enable us to close that digital divide.”

Mondelēz International and Google are also set to partner on new content through YouTube’s Brand Partner Program. Mondelēz will introduce the approach by providing video content featuring Sour Patch Kids candy in the US, and is considering expanding the approach across other brands and locations if this proves successful.

Lucas Watson, Vice President of Global Brand Solutions at Google adds, “We’re inspired by the caliber of creative work that brands are creating on YouTube. This agreement represents a significant commitment for our companies to accelerate digital brand building, and we’re excited to partner with Mondelēz International on this work.”

New CNN art and culture series to launch

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CNN International is launching CNN Ones to Watch – a major new feature show debuting globally on CNN – which will delve into a range of colourful and diverse artistic and cultural fields to showcase future talent. Each month, CNN Ones to Watch will focus on a particular discipline – from modern dance to classical music, filmmaking to architecture and sculpture – as a recognised master of their craft identifies ‘ones to watch’ and explains why their careers are on an upward trajectory. Through this narrative, the master in each show will guide viewers into their art form, how its evolving and what new talent needs to accomplish.

Launching on October 10, 2014, CNN Ones To Watch will air across all CNN platforms – with the programme running on CNN International global feeds and on CNN en Espanol. In addition, vignettes from the programme will air on CNN US.

The series – sponsored by Cartier – will also have a number of digital elements to complement the on–air programming. Alongside video content from CNN Ones to Watch, a dedicated microsite will include interactive and social features, such as behind–the–scenes Instagrams and Vines from contributors.

“CNN Ones to Watch is one of the most extensive and exciting feature shows to appear on CNN International,” says Mike McCarthy, Senior Vice President and General Manager, CNN International. “Its broad remit will take viewers on a global journey to explore a diverse mix of arts and culture through the eyes of a master in their field and give the inside track on who could be tomorrow’s Carlos Acosta, Spike Lee or Rem Hoolhaas. The first episode will really set the standards with first class contributors and elements that will give viewers a real insight into the world of portraiture.”