Stickers may seem like child’s play but in the mobile messaging world they’re big business. They’re also are a way for brands to get in the texting conversation. Third-party messaging app Line made about $25 million in the fourth quarter from virtual goods—accounting for 20 percent of its revenue from its almost 350 million users.
Dating and advertising. Both are booming in the online realm—flipping the traditional relationship and ad stories upside-down. With that, our insights, actions and results are also evolving. Understanding the numerical and emotional elements of human behavior is imperative in both the online dating world and digital advertising, as machines alone are not enough to bring out the power of big data. The human element is necessary across both phenomena.
It's flashback week for fans of 1990s hip-hop, with Sean "Puff Daddy" Combs and Snoop Dogg making advertising cameos that would have seemed inconceivable 15 years ago. Combs, known these days as Diddy, headlines a new 60-second spot from Fiat and ad agency Doner. In the ad, we see two men wandering the desert in a delirious haze, unsure if they're really being saved by a celebrity or just imagining a mirage. Meanwhile, Snoop, who has gone by Snoop Lion lately, has popped up in, of all places, a British auto insurance ad.
Mad Woman Lauren Reeves is a true romantic. If you're paying.
Hey, professional truth-benders. Here's a sweet mockumentary-style PSA about professional truth-bending. Extra bonus if you also happen to be a tree hugger. In addition to fairly broad swipes at snake oil salesmen (you must have known the advertising industry was a popular punching bag when you got into it), the spot—funded by organic businesses—is aimed at illustrating how the use of the word "natural" on food labels is pretty much meaningless.
Sarah Hofstetter is 360i's new global chief, as Bryan Wiener—who has been an executive with the digital shop since 2004—steps down. He will continue to serve in a chairman capacity. Hofstetter, 39, is being elevated from a U.S.
Today, the NHL Network is launching NHL Tonight: 2014 Sochi Edition, a live highlights show that will run immediately following the Latvia-Switzerland telecast. In this week's Data Points we learn how Olympic viewers like to be marketed to.
What's more difficult than making a commercial that's funny or sad? Making one that's earnestly romantic. As we're reminded each year in the weeks leading up to Valentine's Day, marketers are practically incapable of conveying love without falling into a handful of stereotyped scenarios and coating them in a thick lacquer of cloying cheese. For a refreshing alternative, check out this two-minute spot by BBDO Germany for European hair-coloring product Schwarzkopf Nectra Color.
Caribou Coffee, whose previous out-of-home ad stunts have included heated bus shelters in Minneapolis, is back with another special campaign—a giant, five-story-tall Pinterest board built (with help from ad agency Colle+McVoy) at the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minn. Caribou used pinned images from fans as inspiration for its new Real Inspiration Blend blend of coffee. That sounds like a stretch, but the giant Pinterest board is pretty impressive.
When it comes to sex, a reluctant "yes," "OK" or "sure" doesn't qualify as a green light, according to a Canadian campaign encouraging "enthusiastic consent." "Real consent is mutual and sure. It is not muted, frail, hesitant, or afraid.
