12/05/17: Facebook launches messaging app for kids

Good morning. It’s Tuesday December 5, 2017 and this is your your first early morning Digital briefing.

TODAY’S CODEBREAKER

Predictive Analytics: The phrase “predictive analytics” refers to any set of algorithms that focus on using available data to forecast things that may happen in the future. For instance, when a marketer uses data on past campaign performances to estimate the impact of their next campaign, that marketer is making use of predictive analytics.

JUST IN…

Facebook is going after younger users. The social giant just launched Messenger Kids, a messaging app aimed at children under the age of thirteen. The app lets children makes use of chat and video chat features. It also gives parents control over who their kids chat with on the app: Messenger Kids must be authenticated from a parent’s own Facebook account before the app can be activated, and parents have to approve new contacts before they can be added. This is something new for Facebook. In the past, the company had strictly avoided products aimed at the 13-and-under crowd. That was largely to keep from running afoul of data and privacy regulations, particularly the strict Children’s Online Privacy and Protection Act. Facebook says the new app was specifically designed to be compliant with the law. For the moment, Messenger Kids is only available for iOS devices. Facebook says an Android version will debut within the coming months. For a closer look at the app, check out the Short Form Spotlight section.

Netflix is letting House of Cards move forward with a sixth and final season. And as you no doubt could have guessed, Kevin Spacey won’t be a part of it. Production on the season shut down in October, after numerous sexual assault allegations surfaced against the actor. According to Netflix content chief Ted Sarandos, the show’s last season will consist of eight episodes. (The previous five each consisted of 13.) Production will resume early next year. Robin Wright will star – and as most House of Cards Viewers could have told you years ago, Claire Underwood has long deserved center stage.

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

A fascinating new article from Adweek explores just how marketers think A.I. is going to affect the industry. Spoiler: The answer is “a lot.” For example, new research form Accenture Analytics shows that a majority of marketers in the retail sector are already using A.I.-driven personalization to drive growth across channels. And eight in ten business-to-business marketing execs think A.I. will “revolutionize” the industry by 2020. Even more – 86% – say that A.I. will make their work more effective and efficient.

Needless to say, if you work in marketing – or television, or publishing, or pretty much any form of media – you need to prepare for the A.I. revolution. If not, you risk being left behind in an increasingly competitive marketplace. In a new Cynopsis Webinar, you’ll learn how to integrate A.I. technology into your media strategy. Panelists from Scripps, IBM Watson Advertising, Mindshare, and Zone TV will be on board to answer all your questions. The webinar is this Wednesday, December 6. There’s still a little time left – register here.

A CYNOPSIS MESSAGE

Join us for tomorrow’s webinar:

Using Artificial Intelligence to Capture & Captivate Audiences

Cynopsis brings you a close look at the customizable, engaging and essential marketing tool that is artificial intelligence. Use A.I.-driven platforms to reach viewers like never before with personalized experiences that give you more mileage out of your data. Hear from product marketing experts from IBM Watson, Scripps Networks Interactive, Mindshare North America and Zone TV tomorrow at 1:30pm ET.

OTT + SVOD

21st Century Fox is launching a new National Geographic VOD service. Called National Geographic+, it will first launch in select European and African countries, including South Africa, Greece, and Denmark. The launches come through deals mobile operator Cell C, the OTE Group, and YouSee. More countries will be added to the list soon, according to Fox.

Sports-heavy OTT TV service fuboTV announced that it has added the national Fox feed to eight new markets. Those include Baltimore, MD, San Antonion, TX, Pittsburgh, PA, and others.

AUGMENTED + VIRTUAL REALITY

Virtual Reality studio Start VR just signed actors Jake McDorman (CBS’s Limitless) and Analeigh Tipton (ABC’s Manhattan Love Story) to star in its newest VR film. An interactive experience called Awake, the film will center on a man with a mysterious past (Tipton) who has special insight into the unseen worlds around him. Tipton will star as the man’s wife, who is at the center of many of his memories. Awake is scheduled to launch early next year.

APPS + PLATFORMS

Plaxo, we hardly knew ye. Comcast is shuttering the service, an address-book synchronization platform that the company bought back in 2008. Plaxo allowed users to consolidate their contacts across numerous sources, and automatically updated information from various platforms and devices. Comcast had envisioned big things for the service, reportedly paying somewhere between $150 million and $170 million to acquire it. Plaxo will cease to be available on December 31, and Comcast will begin purging its user data the next day.

Every Frame a Painting, a YouTube channel that was popular with film buffs, has ceased making new videos. The channel featured criticism focused on filmmaking techniques, and analysis of well-known directors. Tony Zhou and Taylor Ramos made the announcement in a Medium post. Their biggest reason for moving onto other things: They had both become more focused on other work, and had simply lost passion for the project.

BRAND INSIDER

McDonald’s and Snap Inc. recently partnered on Snapchat’s first-ever sponsored bitmoji. The new animation is designed to promote the fast food giant’s “McCafe” products. And coffee-lovers be warned: This particular bitmoji is a thief. The animation features a mischievous character who appears to grab the user’s coffee cup and run off-screen with it. Chicago agency We Are Unlimited, a long-time partner of McDonald’s, helped design the new feature. OMD and Resolution Media also contributed.

MEASURING UP

The ListenFirst Television Interest (TVI) Rating (TM) is a standardized measurement of the most buzzed-about TV programs on linear TV and streaming services. A complement to ListenFirst’s other syndicated data products (such as the ListenFirst Digital Audience Rating – TV), the metrics included in the rating capture organic actions that are largely unaffected by paid media. Programs that surface on the TVI leaderboards are the most hashtagged on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and Tumblr, as well as most searched for on Wikipedia (used as a proxy for organic search volume).

All Series (11/27/17 – 12/3/17)

Source: ListenFirst. The TVI Rating aggregates metrics that measure organically generated activity by fans of the TV show. The metric includes total volume of official hashtag mentions on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and Tumblr, along with Wikipedia page views (as a proxy for organic search volume) for a show as a percentage of the total volume of the same activities for all shows.

OpenSlate Engagement Data for the Gaming vertical, based on the engagement metric for the week ending December 3

EXECUTIVE MOVES

The Future Group just opened its first North American office. (The Norwegian company is behind “Interactive Mixed Reality,” a mobile-based innovation that combines real-time interactivity with mixed-reality viewing.) In addition, the company just made a new hire: Robert DeFranco, a veteran sales exec who most recently worked at the app-design specialist InVision, will serve as The Future Group’s Director of Business Development. Lawrence Jones, the company’s existing VP, will head up the new North American office.

TRIVIA

Executive producer David Fincher is often mentioned in connection to Netflix’s Mindhunter, but he’s not the credited creator of the series. Who is? (Email [email protected] with your answer and be sure to include your name, company, city and state.)

Trivia: The first two seasons of Netflix’s Narcos told the story of which infamous drug lord? Answer: Pablo Escobar. Kudos to Andrew Bellamy-Producers Guild of America/NY, Aymon DeMauro-Discovery Communications/NY, Andy Pittman-TAMU/TX, Jes Santoro-Adobe/NY, Ricardo Zanirato-Fox Networks Group/ São Paulo, Brazil, Steve Lanzano-TVB, Scott Jenkins-Gracenote/NY, Luke Watson-Essential TV/NY, Sheena Das-Disney ABC/NY, Karla Tovar, Halter Cunningham-Endeavor Global Marketing/NY, Jon Bruehl-NCSA/IL, Sharisse T. Cabrera-Fandom/NY, Christine Allen-McGee Media/NY, Lorrie Shilling-CA, Tom Moore-Kalt Productions/CA, Conor Moran-Pixability/NY, Amanda Nojadera-Common Sense Media/CA, Bruce Trotter-CoxReps/CA, Cynthia Thomas-Viacom/NY, Seraphina-Kleinen-S2BN Entertainment/NY, and John Tingue-CBS Local Media/IL

A CYNOPSIS MESSAGE

The 4^th Annual Cynopsis Social Good Awards

“Cynopsis Award shows are fun ways to recognize leaders and companies in the industry.” – Ian R | Beck Media

“Magic… you guys do a great job…” – Tom D | ES.TV

“We are truly honored and humbled to have our efforts recognized by Cynopsis for their Social Good Awards as Best Awareness Campaign.” – Bill R | Got Your 6

ENTER BY 12/20

SHORT FORM SPOTLIGHT

As mentioned above, Facebook just unveiled its new Messenger Kids app. You can check out Facebook’s demo of the new app here.

David Teich
Roberta Caploe Publisher @robertacaploe	Diane K Schwartz Senior Vice President Media Communications Group	Cynopsis Ad Sales Mike Farina \| 203-218-6480 VP, Sales	Cynopsis Job Listings Sales Trish Pihonak \| 203-899-8459 Director of Operations

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