Flipboard launches in China, partnering with BlueFocus on advertising

Flipboard launches in China, partnering with BlueFocus on advertising

Flipboard has launched in China, creating a business that has the freedom to develop technology and product separate to its core business. Flipboard China has now launched with 25 staff and is the result of a joint venture with Chinese advertising group BlueFocus, who will help the business establish deals with local partners and brands. Mike […]

Hotels.com Introduces In-app Mobile Concierge

Hotels.com Introduces In-app Mobile Concierge

Hotels.com has introduced new mobile concierge feature to its app. The Hotels.com Concierge, powered by Button Marketplace, connects consumers to local products and services on the day their hotel stay begins. The concierge, currently only available on iOS, leverages location data to offer customers access to services such as Uber’s transportation, Delivery.com’s on-demand food delivery, […]

WildAid and Wunderman team-up with Chinese superstar Angelababy to save Pangolins

WildAid and Wunderman team-up with Chinese superstar Angelababy to save Pangolins

WildAid, an environmental organization that focuses on reducing the demand for wildlife products, together with Wunderman, a leading global digital agency, has just launched a China-based integrated activation campaign aimed at raising public awareness of the plight of pangolins, the world’s most trafficked and least understood wild mammal. It is estimated that over 1 million […]

WeChat’s Mini Programs Take Aim at Traditional Apps

WeChat’s Mini Programs Take Aim at Traditional Apps

On January 9, Tencent’s messaging app WeChat launched its new “miniprogram” feature, called Xioachengxu in Chinese. The service, built on the open HTML5 standard, allows WeChat’s 768 million users to access miniprograms instantaneously, without having to leave WeChat to navigate to an app store, download or install anything. Here’s how a miniprogram might work. A […]

Facebook confirms trials of mid-roll ads on Facebook Live

Facebook confirms trials of mid-roll ads on Facebook Live

Facebook has confirmed that it is seeking to monetise live-streams with the addition of mid-roll ads to its growing Facebook Live service. The world’s largest social network confirmed the move in 2016, saying in an email: “We’re running a small test where a group of publishers have the option to insert a short ad break […]

Facebook: Mobile ads must engage instantly

Facebook: Mobile ads must engage instantly

Mobile ads with duration of less than a second can be effective in driving brand awareness, brand consideration, key message recall and purchase intent, according to research by Facebook. Consumers across Asia spend significantly more time on mobile than on TV, but marketers have lagged behind when it comes to investment – just 20% of […]

New start-up uses soundwaves to send targeted mobile ads

New start-up uses soundwaves to send targeted mobile ads

Malaysian sound tech firm VAV has secured $557,000 in funding to expand its audio-based mobile targeting platform. The startup uses inaudible sound waves to transmit digital content to smartphones, which it bills as a new way for businesses to engage consumers. For example, a broadcasting company can embed VAV’s inaudible audio signal into their program […]

Geico Introduces Virtual AI Assistant to App

Geico Introduces Virtual AI Assistant to App

Geico, the second largest auto insurer in the US, has introduced a virtual AI assistant to its mobile app that aims to help the company’s policyholders with all their insurance needs. The virtual assistant, called Kate, will help its customers navigate the Geico Mobile app through voice commands and ‘will respond with quick, personalised answers […]

Oxfam ‘First of its Kind’ App Puts Supporters in Control

Oxfam ‘First of its Kind’ App Puts Supporters in Control

Oxfam has launched an app aimed at bringing its supporters closer to causes and giving them more control – by enabling supporters to adjust the amount that they donate each month and easily manage how Oxfam contacts them. My Oxfam is described as the ‘first of its kind for a charity’. It offers real-life stories, […]

Older Millennials More Likely than Younger to Use Mobile Payments

Older Millennials More Likely than Younger to Use Mobile Payments

Though mobile payments have experienced only modest growth in the last year, the frequency of in-store mobile payments has increased significantly among one key demographic—25- to 34-year-olds. According to the December 2016 Deloitte Mobile Consumer Survey, which polled 2000 US internet users ages 18 to 74, older millennials are twice as likely to make mobile […]