Monday June 29, 2020

Analytics company EDO is looking to provide real-time insights into engagement and interest levels in streaming originals and celebrities with Entertainment EnGage, launched in beta. “As competition among streaming services and studios ratchets up the stakes, these entertainment companies continue to seek innovative data solutions,” said Kevin Krim, President and CEO of EDO. “Actionable insights into true consumer intent have never been more critical. In our beta pilots, we have seen clients utilize EEG to monitor their new titles, make decisions with more confidence, and ultimately achieve greater results.”

TuneIn’s integration with Tesla now includes a new user experience currently rolling out on all Tesla models globally. Drivers will have the ability to link their TuneIn accounts via mobile and web through Tesla’s in-dash “TuneIn experience” with a more intuitive browse function, including:
· A personalized “For You” home page for easy access to their favorite content.
· Access to TuneIn Premium commercial-free audio streams from broadcast news networks, live play-by-play sports with no-blackouts, and over 50 commercial-free music stations.
· Ability to adjust podcast content playback speed and position.

Twitter emailed its business customers to inform them of a security lapse that could have compromised their information including email addresses, phone numbers, and the last four digits of credit card numbers. The data was inadvertently stored in the browser’s cache, where it was possible others could have accessed it.

Microsoft is shutting down video game streaming service Mixer, and directing people to Facebook Gaming. “Ultimately, the success of Partners and streamers on Mixer is dependent on our ability to scale the service for them as quickly and broadly as possible,” explained Phil Spencer, Microsoft EVP of Gaming, in a blog post. “It became clear that the time needed to grow our own livestreaming community to scale was out of measure with the vision and experiences we want to deliver to gamers now, so we’ve decided to close the operations side of Mixer and help the community transition to a new platform.”

Connatix, the video technology company for publishers, announced the launch of video monetization platform Playspace, designed to create relevant, editor-friendly formats with built-in revenue. As a part of the new platform, publishers can automatically generate new monetizable story units that are contextually aligned with existing content. The end-to-end video platform was built with an integrated ad server and exchange to scale content, maximize revenue, and engage readers. Publishers can amplify articles by creating swipeable story units that generate revenue in a reader-friendly way, and the story player works on an ad-supported model.

Intelligent audio technology company iZotope Inc. has launched Stutter Edit 2, the latest plug-in collaboration with electronic musician Brian Transeau. Stutter Edit 2 creates the “stutter” editing effect with one button, slicing audio into small fragments and sequencing the pieces into rhythmic effects, recreating techniques that previously took hours to perfect in a studio. With new AUTO mode, users can add sounds to mixes without routing, or connect a MIDI controller to access multiple gestures at once. The new version also includes an upgraded Distort module and new Comb, Chorus and Limiter modules, a new Reverb module from BT’s personal collection, along with a suite of 11 effects.

Molten, a cloud infrastructure platform that streamlines digital media rights, content, and financial operations, unveiled its Delivery-as-a-Service solution for film and TV content during the Cannes Next conference. The solution enables film and TV production, distribution, streaming and services companies to deliver and receive terabytes of content via the cloud. “As content gets larger, it has become extremely expensive and time consuming to securely transport large media files. For example, uploading and transporting a typical film package of about 10 terabytes over broadband internet can take over 100 days,” said Arjun Mendhi, CEO. “We developed this service to optimize five key parameters that are essential to address this bottleneck in the operations value chain — security, speed, cost, convenience, and customization.”

Corus Entertainment announced the launch of an e-gaming network in Canada in collaboration with adtech network Playwire. The new offering delivers advertisers exclusive whitelisted inventory online, in-game, and across connected TV devices, plus access to first party data. “E-gaming has become a global phenomenon and attracts huge, highly engaged audiences,” said Philippe Kleim, Head of Digital Sales, Corus. “Playwire is an innovative organization that seamlessly integrates brand messages into the world of e-gaming. Partnering with Playwire is another way Corus is delivering premium content across even more platforms, offering advertisers meaningful connections with Millennials and Gen Z in a brand safe environment.”

OpenDrives, a network-attached-storage solution, announced a new storage solution designed to enable users to scale up in multiple dimensions while preserving ultra-high performance, low latency, and intelligent data integrity. Called the Ultra Hardware Platform, the solution includes three different NAS hardware solutions and is controlled by OpenDrives’ centralized management software, Atlas. “In scale-up instances, the most common method to increase performance and capacity is to add more disks until a limit is reached. Then customers face the dilemma of adding an additional system which does not aggregate the capacity or performance, as well as being complex, costly and difficult to manage,” said Sean Lee, Chief Product and Strategy Officer at OpenDrives. “With Ultra’s architecture, customers can choose which dimension or dimensions they want to scale; capacity, performance, or both, without limits.”

Wideband hybrid fiber wireless internet service provider Starry announced it is partnering with the Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles to expand affordable broadband access to more than 600 households in LA’s Del Rey neighborhood. The expansion, part of the Starry Connect initiative, is a specialized low-cost broadband access program that partners with owners of public and affordable housing to make high-quality, uncapped, true broadband access available to residents for $15 per month. Starry Connect provides 30 mbps symmetrical speeds, all in-home WiFi equipment and installation, and personalized customer care to subscribers without requiring a long-term contract or credit checks.

The Cynopsis Digital Model D Awards is looking for: Innovators. Inspirers. Creators of all kinds. For the 8th year in a row, we celebrate those in online video content and advertising who are at the forefront of the industry, elevating it with their state-of-the-art contributions to branded content, technology, ad campaigns, and original content.

ABOUT MODEL D

Thirteen percent of people have a video piracy device in their home, and 40% of those say it is their primary source of movies and TV, according to a new survey from the Digital Citizens Alliance. But users are paying a price for watching for free, since piracy devices are three times more likely to deliver malware, “The classic adage applies here: ‘If you are not paying for the product, you are the product,’” said the DCA. “While you may get a movie, you give up personal identifiable information and perhaps even control of your device. The cost outweighs the rewards.”

Cinedigm and Team Whistle announced a partnership to accelerate the distribution of Whistle TV streaming service, the company’s OTT linear and VOD sports and entertainment network. Cinedigm will work with Team Whistle to expand Whistle TV’s nationwide distribution on linear, AVOD and SVOD platforms on connected TVs, digital set-top boxes, media-streaming devices, and web-based and online OTT services. Cinedigm will also distribute select Whistle TV films and series in North America.

Spotify is now available to stream on Comcast’s Xfinity. Xfinity Flex customers can say “Spotify” into their Xfinity Voice Remote to access Spotify Free or Spotify Premium. Spotify has also begun rolling out to X1 customers and will be available soon as an Internet app. “Music streaming on Xfinity X1 and Flex is at an all-time high and we’re pleased our customers will now be able to enjoy Spotify’s Free and Premium tiers and extensive library of on demand music, curated playlists and podcasts right on the TV alongside the growing catalog of entertainment already available on these platforms,” said Rebecca Heap, SVP, Video and Entertainment, Comcast Cable.

ADVERTISING

Unilever is halting all advertising on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter in the US at least through the end of the year, due to the polarized atmosphere in the country. “Continuing to advertise on these platforms at this time would not add value to people and society,” said Luis Di Como, Unilever EVP of Global Media. “We will be monitoring ongoing and will revisit our current position if necessary.”

Programmatic research technology platform Lucid released Impact Measurement Dashboard, a real-time insights and analytics product for brand lift measurement. With an API-first development approach, Impact Measurement Dashboard uses a proprietary survey-based methodology to get responses from real people. The dashboard displays daily survey results and Lucid-generated brand lift metrics across a range of KPIs. “Lucid saw a need in the ecosystem for a brand lift product that is actionable, API driven, and cost effective. Impact Measurement Dashboard provides a brand lift solution that really scales,” said Lindsay Fordham, Lucid Senior Director, Audience Products.

Video advertising platform SpotX struck a new partnership with Acxiom to offer enhanced audience-based buying capabilities and improved inventory matching using Acxiom’s data. The new integration layers data on the supply-side, enabling advertisers who are purchasing media programmatically through a demand-side platform to get closer to their desired target audience. “Addressable advertising and the personalization of video ads have become increasingly important to upfront negotiations, so we want to ensure that data is made available with the most scale to help our clients reduce wasted ad spend and not only reach a larger audience, but also generate better results,” said Kristen Williams, VP, Strategic Partnerships at SpotX. “Our integration with Acxiom is an important step for SpotX’s commitment to client success as we guide them to make the smartest decisions by fusing ads with unique data.”

In the ever-expanding realm of audio, NewFronts newcomer Vibenomics, a location-based out of home audio advertising and experience company, is looking to entice brands with its data-driven, automated and measurable spoken-word business that targets consumers at the point of sale. Given that 16% of unplanned purchases are driven by in-store promos, “We’re introducing a new category, really,” Vibenomics President Paul Brenner tells Cynopsis. “Historically music and messaging didn’t have the tech behind them, the flexibility, the data measurement to really be able to jump into the digital out of home space.” The company, which counts NASCAR, Mondelez and Body Armour among clients, incorporates cloud-based tech, data integration and a library of licensed background music to elevate brand messaging. “We’re digital out of home, we’re shopper marketing and we’re CPG-friendly,” says Brenner. “The dialogue we’re having with advertisers is, ‘You can reach the shoppers where they matter the most and do it with the same planning tools and expectations you have with any other medium today.’”

Vibenomics also announced a partnership with Vistar Media, provider of software for digital OOH. “Together, we are opening up access to this growing channel, while utilizing Vistar Media’s experience in building a vast exchange across some of the largest place-based venues in the world,” said Brent Oakley, co-founder and CEO at Vibenomics. “This partnership is so unique because no other SSP could handle both the nuances of out-of-home and provide access to real demand at that level.”

DPAA, the trade marketing association for out-of-home media, announced that meldCX has jumped onboard. The Australia-based company provides out-of-home media owners, advertisers and retailers with a camera-based platform that creates trackable physical spaces. “meldCX is on the leading edge of one of digital out-of-home’s great strengths – the ability to gather anonymized data about customer behavior and traits,” said Barry Frey, DPAA President & CEO. Viana by meldCX is the latest offering within the meldCX suite of products, and measures how people work, shop, learn and play in the real world, providing data for more effective, targeted advertising.

Kantar announced the launch of Link AI, an AI-powered machine to predict creative effectiveness. Link AI evaluates high volumes of digital video and TV ads in 15 minutes or less. Current use cases include batch testing campaigns and/or competitive ads as they break, pre-screening ads early in the development process and use iteratively through revision stages, and evaluating versions of ads for multiple media platforms. “Link AI is the fastest, fully automated, AI-powered solution to guide creative and media optimization available today,” said Dinesh Gopinath, Head of Product and Data Strategy for Kantar’s Analytics Practice. “It answers questions on creative assets quickly, iteratively and at scale, decreasing time to market and increasing ROI for our clients.”

Kantar also launched new automated concept and pack testing solutions, as well as an automated idea screening solution, on its Kantar Marketplace platform. The solutions are aimed at helping businesses understand the underlying consumer motivations and aspirations and create relevant and appealing solutions. Solutions include:
* Idea eValuate: Shortlist ideas with the most potential. Idea eValuate shows how to improve the best ideas and get them ready for concept development by measuring implicit and explicit responses to get closer to the reality of purchase behavior.
* Concept eValuate: Identify concepts with most potential and show how to optimize them to maximize growth.
* Pack eValuate: Packaging is increasingly important with today’s ever-increasing array of products and formats in store and online. Pack eValuate helps identify winning designs and optimize packaging quickly.