SajitonTech

Tuesday, December 26, 2017

How Big Tech Is Going After Your Health Care Technology

By NATASHA SINGER from NYT Technology http://ift.tt/2pHkwf9
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Freed From the iPhone, the Apple Watch Finds a Medical Purpose Technology

By DAISUKE WAKABAYASHI from NYT Technology http://ift.tt/2pDL8gH
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How Email Fits In The Digital Marketing Mix

How Email Fits In The Digital Marketing Mix

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Email is one of the most easy-to-use tools in the marketing arsenal. Only 10% rate it among the toughest, according to a study released earlier this month by Ascend2 and Research Partners. '

But that doesn’t mean they expect much from it. A mere 13% see email as one of the most effective tactics in their 2018 digital marketing plan. In contract, 18% say that about social media.

This is occurring as digital marketers are in a bullish mood in general. Of the firms polled, 93% are increasing their budgets in 2018, 41% significantly so. What’s more, 94% report that they are more effective at digital, 48% greatly and 46% marginally.

How does one account for the seeming split between email ease and effectiveness? It may be because email is an old channel, as such things go, and most firms are proficient at it.

Of course, data management has also been around for a long time. It is still rated as the most difficult chore by 18%. Worse, only 9% expect to be effective in 2018.

Marketing technology is also described as challenging by 18%, and effective by 16%.

In contrast, 11% rate social media as most difficult, and 18% predict it will be effective next year. These may seem like minor differences, but not when every percentage point could hurt your ROI.

Indeed, digital marketers face many general challenges, including data quality, rated as the most critical by 16%, and lead generation and user experience, cited by 15% apiece.

Drilling down, 14% specify web traffic, 13% brand awareness and sales avenue 12%.

Their overall objectives are ranked in a slightly different way.

Lead generation and sales revenue are tied for first, listed by 18% apiece, followed by brand awareness (17%), user experience (14%), website traffic (14%) and data quality (11%).

How to companies pursue digital marketing? Of the firms polled, 63% rely on a combination of outsourced and in-house resources, and 30% to an outsourced specialist only. And 7% rely totally on in-house resources.

Here are the most effective tactics:

Social media marketing—18%
Content marketing—17%
Marketing technology—16%
Search engine optimization–15%
Email marketing—13%
Search and social adds—11
Data management—9%

These are most difficult tactics to execute:

Data management—18%
Marketing technology—18
Content marketing—16%
Search engine optimization—16%
Social media marketing—11
Email marketing—10%
Search an socials—9%

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December 26, 2017 at 03:49PM

IBM: Brands Use Weather To Forecast Product Demand Created By Ads

IBM: Brands Use Weather To Forecast Product Demand Created By Ads

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After mastering the ability to use weather as a trigger to target digital advertisements, IBM plans in 2018 to focus on integrating "weather analytics" into ERP technologies from companies like SAP, which offers a product forecast replenishment engine.

"You're creating a virtuous circle that leverages the weather," said Paul Walsh, director of weather strategy at IBM.

Now that platforms can forecast and target advertisements and marketing messages through mobile, social and other digital media, he said the next step will become ensuring brands manufacturer enough products and have the staff on hand to meet consumer demand.

IBM will teach brands how to build forecasting models that consider temperature, so when it drops between 15 degrees and 20 degrees, the brands will have enough product to meet the demand created by marketing through advertising and marketing. That demand also is identified through searches on engines like Google and Bing.

"We've analyzed with retailers the impact of Google searches on weather patterns and as you expect, the searches for specific categories and brands follows the weather trends," Walsh said. "If it's colder than 'normal,' you can see how the search trends, when people are looking for different product categories, map the same seasonality of purchase patterns."

Marketers will spend a lot more time relying on weather triggers for ad targeting in 2018, especially since recent data shows that during season 2017, the clouds and the rain "turned on the holiday shopping spirit," Walsh said.

Unseasonable and seasonable weather impacts how much consumers buy, along with the types of products they purchase, how consumers shop, and the price they're willing to pay. Since colder weather moved in earlier this year, compared with the past two winters, consumers began holiday shopping in November.

Walsh said weather has everything to do with when people start shopping for holiday gifts. Not just for Christmas and Hanukkah, but Valentine's Day, Mother's Day and others. He said weather typically "turns on" holiday shopping.

"When the weather changes into a new season, it triggers what we call seasonal firsts," Walsh said. "It triggers the early demand and feeling that, oh my gosh, Christmas is around the corner, and I need to go shopping."

Walsh said the same thing happens in New York during the spring. Temperatures reach 60 degrees in March and people start worshiping the sun. In California, a climate that rarely has a major change in temperature, then suddenly see a 49-degree day, can have deeper impact than a five-degree swing in Minneapolis.

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December 26, 2017 at 02:20PM

2018 Will See Rise Of 'Post-Cable' Networks

2018 Will See Rise Of 'Post-Cable' Networks

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2018 could be a breakthrough year for so-called “post-cable” networks (PCNs), channels distributed via over-the-top streaming platforms rather than through the traditional pay-TV ecosystem.

Edelman Digital, in its 2018 trends report for brands and marketers, wrote that these niche networks, widely distributed on social platforms and OTT services, are poised to take marketshare from legacy players, as more and more consumers cut or trim the cord.

“The scalability and ability to respond to real-time events with platform-optimized content puts PCNs in a favorable position to take market-share from established media outlets,” the report says. “A big differential is that followers of PCNs op -in because they are actively looking for a trustworthy brand to provide easily shareable, niche content.”

The term “post-cable network” was reportedly coined by Jon Steinberg, the founder and CEO of Cheddar -- fitting, since Cheddar is one of the most widely distributed post-cable channels. Other services highlighted by Edelman include Tastemade and the male-focused Barstool Sports.

Edelman’s report also provides guidance for brands about how to best tap into the rise of these new networks.

“Brands can capitalize on this opportunity by seeking out test-and-learn collaborations" with PCNs, the report says. “The key is to integrate authentically into the PCN’s current content cycle, creating a sustained emotional connection with audiences.”

In the case of Cheddar, Steinberg said at an Interactive Advertising Bureau conference earlier this year that he expected his channel to be available to every major OTT service by mid-2018. The value proposition is simple: while traditional cable channels demand that OTT suppliers pay them a monthly carriage fee (much like traditional pay-TV providers do), Cheddar and others offer their channel for free, instead opting to split advertising revenues.

For Cheddar, the result is wide distribution and a chance for its editorial and advertiser content to reach a wide audience. For OTT suppliers, the result is free content that bulks up channel lineups.

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December 26, 2017 at 01:21PM

Kind Snacks Documents 'Radical Kindness' In New Campaign

Kind Snacks Documents 'Radical Kindness' In New Campaign

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Kind Snacks and its agency Y&R New York are introducing a content series that the brand says is not designed to be controversial but instead spark a conversation around how "radical, active kindness is the only thing that can create bonds rather than divisions," says an agency spokesperson.

The “More Than Nice" video, produced by three-time Academy Award winning cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki, shows the efforts of a group of volunteers who leave jugs of water across the U.S.-Mexico border to prevent deaths in the desert.

While immigration may be a hot button issue, the brand says this message isn't designed as a political position. "We see it as a humanitarian one."

The video runs across social media and YouTube, all supported with the hashtag #morekind to encourage people to showcase what kindness is to them.

The snack brand is also seeking people to share their own take on radical kindness by submitting a written essay, photo or video to this site. A panel of judges - including StoryCorps' David Isay, LinkedIn's Jeff Weiner, and Thrive Global's Arianna Huffington - will select three winners who will receive $25,000 to donate to the charity of their choice, along with resources to help fund their next creative project. To date there have been more than 300 submissions with a little more than one month before the deadline on January 31.

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December 26, 2017 at 12:58PM

Warhol Museum Promotes Iranian Artist With Multimedia Campaign

Warhol Museum Promotes Iranian Artist With Multimedia Campaign

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The Andy Warhol Museum and its agency Marc USA are hosting interactive kiosks across Pittsburgh to raise awareness for the museum's first solo exhibition for Iranian artist Farhad Moshiri.

The Fibers of Being kiosk invites pairs of participants to explore their "respective uniqueness" through a list of character traits via a touch screen. While one identifies descriptions of their friend, their partner’s image is captured in silhouette against a green screen. The end result is a large colorful postcard, reminiscent of a Persian rug, customized with words and imagery reflecting how each participant is seen through the eyes of their partner. Participants then visit Warholgowest.com to download their images to share on social media and learn more about the artist and exhibition.

The touring kiosk is visiting several high-profile Pittsburgh locations accompanied by a four-sided mobile billboard. To further encourage visitors to both the museum and kiosk, the campaign is running print ads in Pittsburgh regional publications and digital banner ads are targeting regional viewers on Facebook and Twitter.

This is an unusual project to lure museum visitors and Marc USA says the agency has been pleasantly surprised how seriously people are taking the experience. The team had estimated that participants might spend a minute to a minute and a half on average picking out the words to describe their partner in the experience. Instead, they took at least twice as long – really taking care to select words. “In a world with so much chaos and negativity, it seems people really wanted to be positive," says Adam Cicco, associate creative director who has been on site for a number of the Fibers of Being stops around Pittsburgh. "And friends were surprised and delighted to see what they had said about each other.”

When it comes to challenges, the Pittsburgh weather at this time of year had to be taken into account in building the kiosk to make sure all the electronics worked outside in the cold. "Thankfully they do," he says.
“Go West" explores the intersection of eastern and western popular culture and runs through January.

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December 26, 2017 at 11:50AM