Home > Resources > Articles > Marketing a game? Put enough focus on Discord and TikTok

Marketing a game? Put enough focus on Discord and TikTok

KAROL SEVERIN | June 7, 2021 | 207 views

TikTok and Discord are essential channels for effective gamer targeting. MIDiA’s Q1 2021 survey states that weekly active user penetration of the two services over-indexes among mobile and console gamers the most of all tracked social media. This is similar with PC gamers, with the exception of Twitter ranking slightly higher than TikTok.

Spotlight

Solomon Group

Solomon Group is an entertainment development, production, and management firm dedicated to the art of storytelling. We are experienced producers, writers, designers and problem solvers that provide creative and technical services to diverse markets including the live event, sports, theatre, and attraction markets. We bring ideas to life on the stage, screen, field, street, in the water or in the air, on a museum floor or anywhere else your imagination takes you.

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VIRTUALIZATION

Discord: A Novel Medium for B2B Marketing

Article | June 30, 2021

Discord is a real-time chat platform where anyone with a community can interact. Users can talk to others in the community on special channels and get invites to join different servers. Many people prefer to reach out to online customers through social media, but messaging apps like Discord have 20% more monthly active users than traditional social media platforms. (Business Insider) Discord generates revenue through premium subscriptions and game distribution. It does not use advertisements. However, it can help marketers through its community that grows with video, voice, text communication and more. Let us look at how: Helps Build a Moderated Community You can set up a Discord server as a moderated social discussion platform. Create different channels based on your audience’s preference and allow them to bond. And as your community grows, so will the popularity of your business. Word-of-mouth marketing is still very effective. Connects Your Brand with Like-minded Audience You can also meet others who share your interests on various Discord servers. When you know what you're looking for, finding relevant servers is simple. Check with your team members, and your community, and join those groups. There, you'll meet other business owners and pursue collaboration opportunities. Allows Sharing Relevant Industry Content Share your website articles and other industry updates on Discord. You can take the advantage of your employees’ social media presence because they are linked to a single server. They'll spread the word about the articles through other Discord servers and their personal social media accounts. It will assist you in gaining authority among your target audience. Another way to market your company is to post branded memes, GIFs, and funny screenshots. Helps Offer Great Customer Service People expect prompt service, and because Discord delivers messages in real-time, you can address issues as they arise. You can easily send direct messages to members and have private conversations with them. Parting Words Although Discord is primarily a messaging app for individuals, it also has many advantages for B2B marketing. Discord is ideal for community management and true engagement.

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TECHNOLOGIES,VIRTUALIZATION

B2B Movie Placements: What to Expect?

Article | July 27, 2022

As films evolved into the popular medium that they are today, brands followed suit. They took advantage of a large network of new ways to market, from print media to radio to television. Product placement, a part of branded entertainment marketing, became more common from the 1980s. Today, every moviegoer is familiar – sometimes painfully – with paid product placements. And every marketer has heard commentary on both good and bad B2C product placements. But what about B2B movie placements? Ever heard of those? If you are a B2B enterprise looking to try it out, here are some major differences between B2C and B2B movie placements: Impress the producers Create an enticing pitch for the producers, which can influence them enough to bring them to the creative department. Sell your brand or product to them (indirectly) to help them understand how it will improve the realism of their scene or set. Make them realize how your product or service can help them. Placement isn’t always ‘placement’ Prospective B2B buyers aren’t going to squint their eyes to find your product while watching a movie. However, they might actually remember your brand if you host pre-opening events around the world for them and their families to watch a popular movie. If they enjoy the movie and establish an emotional connection with it, they will definitely think of you while making any kind of purchase decision. Things might not work out No matter how hard you try to show your brand in a good light in a certain scene or situation, sometimes things happen that you can't control or ignore. In such cases, you might have to get all the branding out instead of settling for negative publicity, which could be a viable option for a B2C brand. B2B Movie Placement: A Success Story FLIR, a client of Hollywood Branded, is the leading provider of thermal military camera equipment. It co-starred in one of Warner Brothers' biggest hits of 2018, Rampage. FLIR connected with the right member of the production team and ensured that the brand was pictured in a positive light. FLIR shared its technology with the filmmakers and got advertised to its business customers, mostly film-loving decision-makers, through the movie and the way it was shot. The film earned $427M at the worldwide box office.

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VIRTUALIZATION

Branded Entertainment in B2B: Why is it Important?

Article | June 4, 2021

Global B2B companies churn out content pieces such as infographics, case studies, assessments, and other forms of thought leadership content to create brand awareness. But is this content enough to engage the customers and the market? Not really. Marketers like you need to look into branded entertainment to get more customer engagement and brand loyalty. What is Branded Entertainment? Adweek loosely describes “branded entertainment” as any content that starts a positive conversation around a product, service, or set of values. This content builds a story around your product or services, showing it in a positive light and getting the audience to engage in your content as much as a film or a TV show. As opposed to other marketing endeavors, branded entertainment doesn’t focus on your products and their features but on entertaining the audience. Incorporating Branded Entertainment into Your Marketing Strategy Here are some ways to get it done without much hassle: Web Series Original programming, such as web series published on the brand’s social media channels, can help you raise awareness through stories that share your brand’s values instead of directly marketing your product or services. PR Stunts Create social media brand content that is entertaining and exciting enough for the audience to make it viral. Such PR brings positive media attention to your brand and creates mass awareness for your brand or product. Videos Volvo's entertaining video of Van Damme's split stunt on YouTube has 114.5 million views. The video didn't need a call-to-action because it wasn’t to convert leads. Instead, it was meant to showcase a piece of business-use truck technology and get engagement. Podcasting GE used podcasting for advertising twice, once with its show ‘The Message’ and again with its new series ‘LifeAfter.’ Neither show discusses GE's products. Instead, they were "GE-presented" and were received well. Summing It Up People are less likely to comment on or share brand posts directly, but they are more likely to tweet or share them on their Instagram stories. This way you can measure the impact of branded entertainment. B2B marketers should consider branded entertainment as a way to build trust and start conversations between their brands and their audience to get a long-term ROI.

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SOLUTIONS,BUSINESS

Driving ROI of Your B2B Marketing with Entertainment

Article | July 7, 2022

B2B companies are harnessing entertainment to drive their marketing ROI. They are using strategies that meet the changing needs of B2B customers and take advantage of how technology is improving. Let us examine the top five entertainment marketing strategies that can get engagement for your B2B content: On-Demand Content Rules B2B corporate Salesforce recently announced a new streaming service—Salesforce+—that exclusively caters to businesses. If you want to try something like this, you don’t need to create a new streaming platform. Instead, you can use your social media accounts to share unique content that your target audience will find interesting. Presentation Shouldn’t Be a Priority Your B2B audience isn’t any different from the audience that consumes basic TikTok videos, reality TV shows, or YouTube clips that don’t have the best scripts. Any grippingly human content presented on popular channels of entertainment appeals to the viewer and can influence their buying decisions. Harness User-generated Content Harness user-generated content like videos, reviews, and testimonials. When your customer tells your brand’s story or how your brand helped them solve their problems, the content is engaging and authentic for your prospects and influences their purchase decisions. Additionally, such content receives high engagement and improves your brand’s reputation. Relevance Wins Hearts If the content you are producing is entertaining and engaging, addresses the pain points and demands of your target audience, and is timed perfectly to match the dynamic market needs, your prospects might relate to your brand better and avail your product or services. Create Immersive Experiences Through Events With the help of experience experts Boost Experiential, Google created an Event Series to target small businesses in the U.S. They led a nationwide initiative to offer educational seminars and coaching to small businesses. They held events in 50 states and introduced Google’s tools to thousands of business owners. As a result, they have got more than 50, 000 small businesses online. Entertainment Could Be a B2B Trend for 2022 Create valuable, memorable, entertaining, and engaging content addressing customer pain points. Make it available to your target audience through popular channels like streaming sites, social media, webinars, live events and more to get your marketing ROI.

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VIRTUALIZATION

Instagram continues to perform strongly despite inconsistent brand identity

Article | June 30, 2021

Discord is a real-time chat platform where anyone with a community can interact. Users can talk to others in the community on special channels and get invites to join different servers. Many people prefer to reach out to online customers through social media, but messaging apps like Discord have 20% more monthly active users than traditional social media platforms. (Business Insider) Discord generates revenue through premium subscriptions and game distribution. It does not use advertisements. However, it can help marketers through its community that grows with video, voice, text communication and more. Let us look at how: Helps Build a Moderated Community You can set up a Discord server as a moderated social discussion platform. Create different channels based on your audience’s preference and allow them to bond. And as your community grows, so will the popularity of your business. Word-of-mouth marketing is still very effective. Connects Your Brand with Like-minded Audience You can also meet others who share your interests on various Discord servers. When you know what you're looking for, finding relevant servers is simple. Check with your team members, and your community, and join those groups. There, you'll meet other business owners and pursue collaboration opportunities. Allows Sharing Relevant Industry Content Share your website articles and other industry updates on Discord. You can take the advantage of your employees’ social media presence because they are linked to a single server. They'll spread the word about the articles through other Discord servers and their personal social media accounts. It will assist you in gaining authority among your target audience. Another way to market your company is to post branded memes, GIFs, and funny screenshots. Helps Offer Great Customer Service People expect prompt service, and because Discord delivers messages in real-time, you can address issues as they arise. You can easily send direct messages to members and have private conversations with them. Parting Words Although Discord is primarily a messaging app for individuals, it also has many advantages for B2B marketing. Discord is ideal for community management and true engagement.

Read More
TECHNOLOGIES,VIRTUALIZATION

Metaverse: Transforming B2B Businesses with Technology

Article | July 27, 2022

As films evolved into the popular medium that they are today, brands followed suit. They took advantage of a large network of new ways to market, from print media to radio to television. Product placement, a part of branded entertainment marketing, became more common from the 1980s. Today, every moviegoer is familiar – sometimes painfully – with paid product placements. And every marketer has heard commentary on both good and bad B2C product placements. But what about B2B movie placements? Ever heard of those? If you are a B2B enterprise looking to try it out, here are some major differences between B2C and B2B movie placements: Impress the producers Create an enticing pitch for the producers, which can influence them enough to bring them to the creative department. Sell your brand or product to them (indirectly) to help them understand how it will improve the realism of their scene or set. Make them realize how your product or service can help them. Placement isn’t always ‘placement’ Prospective B2B buyers aren’t going to squint their eyes to find your product while watching a movie. However, they might actually remember your brand if you host pre-opening events around the world for them and their families to watch a popular movie. If they enjoy the movie and establish an emotional connection with it, they will definitely think of you while making any kind of purchase decision. Things might not work out No matter how hard you try to show your brand in a good light in a certain scene or situation, sometimes things happen that you can't control or ignore. In such cases, you might have to get all the branding out instead of settling for negative publicity, which could be a viable option for a B2C brand. B2B Movie Placement: A Success Story FLIR, a client of Hollywood Branded, is the leading provider of thermal military camera equipment. It co-starred in one of Warner Brothers' biggest hits of 2018, Rampage. FLIR connected with the right member of the production team and ensured that the brand was pictured in a positive light. FLIR shared its technology with the filmmakers and got advertised to its business customers, mostly film-loving decision-makers, through the movie and the way it was shot. The film earned $427M at the worldwide box office.

Read More
VIRTUALIZATION

The rediscovered power of time-seasoned brand equity

Article | June 4, 2021

Global B2B companies churn out content pieces such as infographics, case studies, assessments, and other forms of thought leadership content to create brand awareness. But is this content enough to engage the customers and the market? Not really. Marketers like you need to look into branded entertainment to get more customer engagement and brand loyalty. What is Branded Entertainment? Adweek loosely describes “branded entertainment” as any content that starts a positive conversation around a product, service, or set of values. This content builds a story around your product or services, showing it in a positive light and getting the audience to engage in your content as much as a film or a TV show. As opposed to other marketing endeavors, branded entertainment doesn’t focus on your products and their features but on entertaining the audience. Incorporating Branded Entertainment into Your Marketing Strategy Here are some ways to get it done without much hassle: Web Series Original programming, such as web series published on the brand’s social media channels, can help you raise awareness through stories that share your brand’s values instead of directly marketing your product or services. PR Stunts Create social media brand content that is entertaining and exciting enough for the audience to make it viral. Such PR brings positive media attention to your brand and creates mass awareness for your brand or product. Videos Volvo's entertaining video of Van Damme's split stunt on YouTube has 114.5 million views. The video didn't need a call-to-action because it wasn’t to convert leads. Instead, it was meant to showcase a piece of business-use truck technology and get engagement. Podcasting GE used podcasting for advertising twice, once with its show ‘The Message’ and again with its new series ‘LifeAfter.’ Neither show discusses GE's products. Instead, they were "GE-presented" and were received well. Summing It Up People are less likely to comment on or share brand posts directly, but they are more likely to tweet or share them on their Instagram stories. This way you can measure the impact of branded entertainment. B2B marketers should consider branded entertainment as a way to build trust and start conversations between their brands and their audience to get a long-term ROI.

Read More
SOLUTIONS,BUSINESS

Driving ROI of Your B2B Marketing with Entertainment

Article | July 7, 2022

B2B companies are harnessing entertainment to drive their marketing ROI. They are using strategies that meet the changing needs of B2B customers and take advantage of how technology is improving. Let us examine the top five entertainment marketing strategies that can get engagement for your B2B content: On-Demand Content Rules B2B corporate Salesforce recently announced a new streaming service—Salesforce+—that exclusively caters to businesses. If you want to try something like this, you don’t need to create a new streaming platform. Instead, you can use your social media accounts to share unique content that your target audience will find interesting. Presentation Shouldn’t Be a Priority Your B2B audience isn’t any different from the audience that consumes basic TikTok videos, reality TV shows, or YouTube clips that don’t have the best scripts. Any grippingly human content presented on popular channels of entertainment appeals to the viewer and can influence their buying decisions. Harness User-generated Content Harness user-generated content like videos, reviews, and testimonials. When your customer tells your brand’s story or how your brand helped them solve their problems, the content is engaging and authentic for your prospects and influences their purchase decisions. Additionally, such content receives high engagement and improves your brand’s reputation. Relevance Wins Hearts If the content you are producing is entertaining and engaging, addresses the pain points and demands of your target audience, and is timed perfectly to match the dynamic market needs, your prospects might relate to your brand better and avail your product or services. Create Immersive Experiences Through Events With the help of experience experts Boost Experiential, Google created an Event Series to target small businesses in the U.S. They led a nationwide initiative to offer educational seminars and coaching to small businesses. They held events in 50 states and introduced Google’s tools to thousands of business owners. As a result, they have got more than 50, 000 small businesses online. Entertainment Could Be a B2B Trend for 2022 Create valuable, memorable, entertaining, and engaging content addressing customer pain points. Make it available to your target audience through popular channels like streaming sites, social media, webinars, live events and more to get your marketing ROI.

Read More
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Spotlight

Solomon Group

Solomon Group is an entertainment development, production, and management firm dedicated to the art of storytelling. We are experienced producers, writers, designers and problem solvers that provide creative and technical services to diverse markets including the live event, sports, theatre, and attraction markets. We bring ideas to life on the stage, screen, field, street, in the water or in the air, on a museum floor or anywhere else your imagination takes you.

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TECHNOLOGIES,MEDIA AND BROADCASTING

FreeWheel and Comscore Launch Advanced Connected TV Contextual Targeting Capabilities on FreeWheel’s Demand-Side Platform Beeswax

FreeWheel and Comscore | September 30, 2022

FreeWheel and Comscore announced a partnership that expands the Connected TV (CTV) contextual targeting capabilities available through FreeWheel’s demand-side platform, Beeswax. Media buyers using the Beeswax platform now have access to Comscore’s Predictive Audiences and CTV brand protection offering. The new offering will help marketers more easily identify valuable impressions and reach the right viewers in a privacy-forward manner across a fragmented premium video ecosystem.“This launch signifies a significant step forward for CTV advertising, as we continue to work alongside key industry partners to make programmatic CTV buying a more flexible, scalable and effective experience,” said Soo Jin Oh, Chief Strategy Officer, FreeWheel. Comscore has the technology, profile data, and scale that Beeswax clients need to target their audiences within relevant content on premium CTV inventory. And, with these capabilities built directly into the Beeswax platform, it’s now easier than ever for buyers to connect with their desired audiences in a brand safe environment. The partnership was developed in response to increasing demand from clients for more contextual advertising solutions built for scale and certainty. Investment in contextual advertising across the industry has grown 21% year-over-year, as advertisers seek to better understand the content where they are buying programmatically, according to an IAB study. Accordingly, Beeswax clients are able to leverage Comscore’s taxonomy of attributes, which include Predictive Audiences, contextually driven audiences that cover all major industry verticals, bolstered by FreeWheel’s advanced technology. The new contextual targeting offering is backed by Comscore’s contextual engine, which profiles hundreds of thousands of topics to provide a highly accurate appraisal of 1,700+ Predictive Audiences, content suitability and brand safety risks. Beeswax users can customize settings based on their unique needs to ensure contextual relevancy and brand safety filters along with cookie-free audience targeting are applied according to the needs of each campaign. “In today’s landscape, the industry calls for a cohesive way for advertisers to reach their target audiences at scale across all screens, We are confident that with FreeWheel’s state-of-the-art technology and Comscore’s innovative CTV brand safety and unique-to-market Predictive Audiences, we will both be able to better support our clients in achieving campaign KPIs.” -Rachel Gantz, General Manager, Activation Solutions at Comscore Moving forward, FreeWheel will continue developing solutions and building partnerships to optimize the experience for Beeswax users, including those focusing on CTV buying. About FreeWheel FreeWheel empowers all segments of The New TV Ecosystem. We are structured to provide the full breadth of solutions the advertising industry needs to achieve their goals. We provide the technology, data enablement, and convergent marketplaces required to ensure buyers and sellers can transact across all screens, across all data types and all sales channels, in order to ensure the ultimate goal – results for marketers. With offices in New York, San Francisco, Chicago, London, Paris, Beijing and across the global, FreeWheel, A Comcast Company, stands to advocate for the entire industry through the FreeWheel Council for Premium Video. For more information, please visit https://www.freewheel.com/ and follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn. About Comscore Comscore (NASDAQ: SCOR) is a trusted partner for planning, transacting and evaluating media across platforms. With a data footprint that combines digital, linear TV, over-the-top and theatrical viewership intelligence with advanced audience insights, Comscore allows media buyers and sellers to quantify their multiscreen behavior and make business decisions with confidence. A proven leader in measuring digital and TV audiences and advertising at scale, Comscore is the industry’s emerging, third-party source for reliable and comprehensive cross-platform measurement.

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TECHNOLOGIES,MEDIA AND BROADCASTING

Amazon Upgrades Fire TV with Third Generation Fire TV Cube and New Alexa Voice Remote Pro

Amazon | September 29, 2022

Amazon announced upgrades to its industry-leading Fire TV family, including the next generation Fire TV Cube—Fire TV’s most powerful streaming media player yet—and Alexa Voice Remote Pro, a premium remote with an all-new Remote Finder and customizable buttons.“The all-new Fire TV Cube is a big step forward for Fire TV—it’s the fastest, most powerful, and most versatile streaming media player we’ve ever made,” said Daniel Rausch, vice president of Amazon Entertainment Devices and Services. “This Fire TV Cube’s powerful processing and Wi-Fi 6E support deliver an incredibly smooth streaming experience, and HDMI input means you can instantly extend the simplicity of Fire TV and hands-free Alexa control to your home entertainment system. With Alexa Voice Remote Pro, we’re making it easy to find a misplaced remote and get to the apps and content you love.” Fire TV Cube—Enhanced Power and Speed The third generation of Fire TV Cube is Amazon’s best Fire TV streaming media player yet, with a new octa-core 2.0 GHz processor that makes it 20% more powerful than the previous generation. The supercharged processor increases app launch speeds, making this Fire TV’s smoothest and most fluid streaming media player experience to date. Fire TV Cube can be controlled entirely hands-free with Alexa and includes support for cinematic 4K Ultra HD, Dolby Vision, HDR, and immersive Dolby Atmos audio. Plus, it offers a range of new features, including an HDMI input port, Wi-Fi 6E support, and Super Resolution Upscaling. An industry-first, Fire TV Cube includes an HDMI input port, giving customers the flexibility to bring their entertainment devices together by directly connecting compatible cable boxes, Blu-ray players, and more devices. Now, customers can just say, Alexa, tune to ESPN on cable” instead of manually changing inputs to get to the content they want. With Fire TV Cube, customers can easily control live TV, cable boxes, and on-demand streaming via Fire TV’s Alexa Voice Remote or hands-free with Alexa. Fire TV Cube also features an additional USB port for easy connection to compatible webcams for video calling with Alexa Communications—simply say, Alexa, call mom” to connect with family or friends from the largest screen in the home. Fire TV Cube is the first streaming media player in the industry with Wi-Fi 6E support, giving customers with a compatible router the ability to enjoy a smooth entertainment experience with less interference from other Wi-Fi devices in the home. It also features a new Ethernet port if you need a wired network connection. New to Fire TV Cube is Super Resolution Upscaling, which provides enhanced picture quality by seamlessly converting HD content into 4K for greater detail, contrast, and clarity. With Super Resolution Upscaling, content—from movies originally made in HD to grainy family photos—will look sharper on a 4K display. Alexa Voice Remote Pro—Remote Finder Feature, Customizable Buttons, and Backlighting Alexa Voice Remote Pro is a new premium remote built to help customers spend more time streaming and less time searching for the remote. It introduces a Remote Finder feature to help customers find misplaced remotes more easily. Simply say, Alexa, find my remote” or use the dedicated Remote Finder button in Fire TV app, and Alexa Voice Remote Pro’s built-in speaker will emit an audible ring to attract your attention. Two new customizable buttons make getting to your favorite content and Alexa commands quicker and easier. You can personalize your remote by programming these buttons to create one-touch shortcuts to favorite apps, channels, and anything Alexa can do. For example, you could choose to program a button to have Alexa dim the lights, check the weather, or start an Alexa Routine for movie night. Alexa Voice Remote Pro also includes motion-activated backlighting that automatically illuminates the buttons when the remote is picked up in low-light settings. Alexa Voice Remote Pro is compatible with most Fire TV streaming media players, Amazon Fire TV smart TVs, and Smart TVs with Fire TV built-in. Accessible and Sustainable Fire TV Cube supports Audio Streaming for Hearing Aids (ASHA), allowing customers to directly connect compatible Bluetooth hearing aids. Both Fire TV Cube and Alexa Voice Remote Pro’s product and packaging are designed with sustainability in mind. Fire TV Cube is independently certified to use less energy and cause fewer of the emissions that contribute to climate change, earning the ENERGY STAR certification. As a part of Amazon’s commitment to helping preserve the natural world, Fire TV Cube and Alexa Voice Remote Pro both qualified for the Climate Pledge Friendly badge by achieving the Carbon Trust’s Reducing CO2 certifications, showing that their carbon footprints have been reduced year over year. To achieve this, both products used more-sustainable materials and implemented design changes to reduce their overall lifetime energy consumption. Fire TV Cube and Alexa Voice Remote Pro’s packaging is 100% recyclable in the U.S., made of wood fiber-based materials from responsibly managed forests or recycled sources. Pricing and Availability The all-new Fire TV Cube is available for pre-order today in the United States for $139.99. Alexa Voice Remote Pro is available for pre-order today on Amazon.com for $34.99 in the United States. To see which Fire TV devices are compatible with Alexa Voice Remote Pro, check the compatibility checker.Amazon today also announced the new Fire TV Omni QLED Series with the new Fire TV Ambient Experience. About Amazon Amazon is guided by four principles: customer obsession rather than competitor focus, passion for invention, commitment to operational excellence, and long-term thinking. Amazon strives to be Earth’s Most Customer-Centric Company, Earth’s Best Employer, and Earth’s Safest Place to Work. Customer reviews, 1-Click shopping, personalized recommendations, Prime, Fulfillment by Amazon, AWS, Kindle Direct Publishing, Kindle, Career Choice, Fire tablets, Fire TV, Amazon Echo, Alexa, Just Walk Out technology, Amazon Studios, and The Climate Pledge are some of the things pioneered by Amazon. For more information, visit amazon.com/about and follow @AmazonNews.

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TECHNOLOGIES,APPLICATIONS

Agora to Showcase Live Audio and Video Technology for Gaming in the Metaverse at Pocket Gamer Connects in Helsinki

Agora | September 28, 2022

Agora, Inc. a pioneer and leading platform for real-time engagement APIs, announced that it will be exhibiting at Pocket Gamer Connects in Helsinki, Finland on Sept 27th- 28th. Pocket Gamer Connects, held at the Cable Factory, the largest cultural center in Finland, is the leading international conference series for the global games industry bringing together more than 33,000 industry professionals.To showcase the value in real-time audio and video technology, Agora will participate in two speaking sessions. On September 27th at 2:50pm on Track 2, Ali Nhari, Agora's Head of EMEA will join the panel session Know your audience: how to choose between subscription or ad models alongside Kim Grewal from Digital Turbine, John Pryor from ShareIT and Tadgh Kelly from the Mobile Doctor. At 11:00am on Wednesday Sept 28th on Track 2, Ben Weekes, Agora's Senior Architect & Principal Engine will hold a session with the title Real-time Voice & Video in Games and VR. "We are excited to demonstrate how to build a fully immersive gaming experience with features like voice and video chat, live interactive streaming, spatial audio, avatars and face and voice filters. At Agora, we're democratizing the metaverse for developers by providing them with easy-to-embed APIs, expansive SDKs and the most reliable, global low-latency network solution. Building the metaverse means scaling connectivity globally as we continue to meet the demand," -Ali Nhari, Agora's Head of EMEA. About Agora Agora is the leading Real-time Engagement Platform as a Service (RTE PaaS) company. Agora's mission is to make real-time engagement ubiquitous, allowing everyone to interact with anyone, in any application, anytime and anywhere. Agora's platform provides developers with simple, flexible and powerful application programming interfaces, or APIs, to embed real-time video and voice engagement experiences into their applications.

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TECHNOLOGIES,MEDIA AND BROADCASTING

FreeWheel and Comscore Launch Advanced Connected TV Contextual Targeting Capabilities on FreeWheel’s Demand-Side Platform Beeswax

FreeWheel and Comscore | September 30, 2022

FreeWheel and Comscore announced a partnership that expands the Connected TV (CTV) contextual targeting capabilities available through FreeWheel’s demand-side platform, Beeswax. Media buyers using the Beeswax platform now have access to Comscore’s Predictive Audiences and CTV brand protection offering. The new offering will help marketers more easily identify valuable impressions and reach the right viewers in a privacy-forward manner across a fragmented premium video ecosystem.“This launch signifies a significant step forward for CTV advertising, as we continue to work alongside key industry partners to make programmatic CTV buying a more flexible, scalable and effective experience,” said Soo Jin Oh, Chief Strategy Officer, FreeWheel. Comscore has the technology, profile data, and scale that Beeswax clients need to target their audiences within relevant content on premium CTV inventory. And, with these capabilities built directly into the Beeswax platform, it’s now easier than ever for buyers to connect with their desired audiences in a brand safe environment. The partnership was developed in response to increasing demand from clients for more contextual advertising solutions built for scale and certainty. Investment in contextual advertising across the industry has grown 21% year-over-year, as advertisers seek to better understand the content where they are buying programmatically, according to an IAB study. Accordingly, Beeswax clients are able to leverage Comscore’s taxonomy of attributes, which include Predictive Audiences, contextually driven audiences that cover all major industry verticals, bolstered by FreeWheel’s advanced technology. The new contextual targeting offering is backed by Comscore’s contextual engine, which profiles hundreds of thousands of topics to provide a highly accurate appraisal of 1,700+ Predictive Audiences, content suitability and brand safety risks. Beeswax users can customize settings based on their unique needs to ensure contextual relevancy and brand safety filters along with cookie-free audience targeting are applied according to the needs of each campaign. “In today’s landscape, the industry calls for a cohesive way for advertisers to reach their target audiences at scale across all screens, We are confident that with FreeWheel’s state-of-the-art technology and Comscore’s innovative CTV brand safety and unique-to-market Predictive Audiences, we will both be able to better support our clients in achieving campaign KPIs.” -Rachel Gantz, General Manager, Activation Solutions at Comscore Moving forward, FreeWheel will continue developing solutions and building partnerships to optimize the experience for Beeswax users, including those focusing on CTV buying. About FreeWheel FreeWheel empowers all segments of The New TV Ecosystem. We are structured to provide the full breadth of solutions the advertising industry needs to achieve their goals. We provide the technology, data enablement, and convergent marketplaces required to ensure buyers and sellers can transact across all screens, across all data types and all sales channels, in order to ensure the ultimate goal – results for marketers. With offices in New York, San Francisco, Chicago, London, Paris, Beijing and across the global, FreeWheel, A Comcast Company, stands to advocate for the entire industry through the FreeWheel Council for Premium Video. For more information, please visit https://www.freewheel.com/ and follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn. About Comscore Comscore (NASDAQ: SCOR) is a trusted partner for planning, transacting and evaluating media across platforms. With a data footprint that combines digital, linear TV, over-the-top and theatrical viewership intelligence with advanced audience insights, Comscore allows media buyers and sellers to quantify their multiscreen behavior and make business decisions with confidence. A proven leader in measuring digital and TV audiences and advertising at scale, Comscore is the industry’s emerging, third-party source for reliable and comprehensive cross-platform measurement.

Read More

TECHNOLOGIES,MEDIA AND BROADCASTING

Amazon Upgrades Fire TV with Third Generation Fire TV Cube and New Alexa Voice Remote Pro

Amazon | September 29, 2022

Amazon announced upgrades to its industry-leading Fire TV family, including the next generation Fire TV Cube—Fire TV’s most powerful streaming media player yet—and Alexa Voice Remote Pro, a premium remote with an all-new Remote Finder and customizable buttons.“The all-new Fire TV Cube is a big step forward for Fire TV—it’s the fastest, most powerful, and most versatile streaming media player we’ve ever made,” said Daniel Rausch, vice president of Amazon Entertainment Devices and Services. “This Fire TV Cube’s powerful processing and Wi-Fi 6E support deliver an incredibly smooth streaming experience, and HDMI input means you can instantly extend the simplicity of Fire TV and hands-free Alexa control to your home entertainment system. With Alexa Voice Remote Pro, we’re making it easy to find a misplaced remote and get to the apps and content you love.” Fire TV Cube—Enhanced Power and Speed The third generation of Fire TV Cube is Amazon’s best Fire TV streaming media player yet, with a new octa-core 2.0 GHz processor that makes it 20% more powerful than the previous generation. The supercharged processor increases app launch speeds, making this Fire TV’s smoothest and most fluid streaming media player experience to date. Fire TV Cube can be controlled entirely hands-free with Alexa and includes support for cinematic 4K Ultra HD, Dolby Vision, HDR, and immersive Dolby Atmos audio. Plus, it offers a range of new features, including an HDMI input port, Wi-Fi 6E support, and Super Resolution Upscaling. An industry-first, Fire TV Cube includes an HDMI input port, giving customers the flexibility to bring their entertainment devices together by directly connecting compatible cable boxes, Blu-ray players, and more devices. Now, customers can just say, Alexa, tune to ESPN on cable” instead of manually changing inputs to get to the content they want. With Fire TV Cube, customers can easily control live TV, cable boxes, and on-demand streaming via Fire TV’s Alexa Voice Remote or hands-free with Alexa. Fire TV Cube also features an additional USB port for easy connection to compatible webcams for video calling with Alexa Communications—simply say, Alexa, call mom” to connect with family or friends from the largest screen in the home. Fire TV Cube is the first streaming media player in the industry with Wi-Fi 6E support, giving customers with a compatible router the ability to enjoy a smooth entertainment experience with less interference from other Wi-Fi devices in the home. It also features a new Ethernet port if you need a wired network connection. New to Fire TV Cube is Super Resolution Upscaling, which provides enhanced picture quality by seamlessly converting HD content into 4K for greater detail, contrast, and clarity. With Super Resolution Upscaling, content—from movies originally made in HD to grainy family photos—will look sharper on a 4K display. Alexa Voice Remote Pro—Remote Finder Feature, Customizable Buttons, and Backlighting Alexa Voice Remote Pro is a new premium remote built to help customers spend more time streaming and less time searching for the remote. It introduces a Remote Finder feature to help customers find misplaced remotes more easily. Simply say, Alexa, find my remote” or use the dedicated Remote Finder button in Fire TV app, and Alexa Voice Remote Pro’s built-in speaker will emit an audible ring to attract your attention. Two new customizable buttons make getting to your favorite content and Alexa commands quicker and easier. You can personalize your remote by programming these buttons to create one-touch shortcuts to favorite apps, channels, and anything Alexa can do. For example, you could choose to program a button to have Alexa dim the lights, check the weather, or start an Alexa Routine for movie night. Alexa Voice Remote Pro also includes motion-activated backlighting that automatically illuminates the buttons when the remote is picked up in low-light settings. Alexa Voice Remote Pro is compatible with most Fire TV streaming media players, Amazon Fire TV smart TVs, and Smart TVs with Fire TV built-in. Accessible and Sustainable Fire TV Cube supports Audio Streaming for Hearing Aids (ASHA), allowing customers to directly connect compatible Bluetooth hearing aids. Both Fire TV Cube and Alexa Voice Remote Pro’s product and packaging are designed with sustainability in mind. Fire TV Cube is independently certified to use less energy and cause fewer of the emissions that contribute to climate change, earning the ENERGY STAR certification. As a part of Amazon’s commitment to helping preserve the natural world, Fire TV Cube and Alexa Voice Remote Pro both qualified for the Climate Pledge Friendly badge by achieving the Carbon Trust’s Reducing CO2 certifications, showing that their carbon footprints have been reduced year over year. To achieve this, both products used more-sustainable materials and implemented design changes to reduce their overall lifetime energy consumption. Fire TV Cube and Alexa Voice Remote Pro’s packaging is 100% recyclable in the U.S., made of wood fiber-based materials from responsibly managed forests or recycled sources. Pricing and Availability The all-new Fire TV Cube is available for pre-order today in the United States for $139.99. Alexa Voice Remote Pro is available for pre-order today on Amazon.com for $34.99 in the United States. To see which Fire TV devices are compatible with Alexa Voice Remote Pro, check the compatibility checker.Amazon today also announced the new Fire TV Omni QLED Series with the new Fire TV Ambient Experience. About Amazon Amazon is guided by four principles: customer obsession rather than competitor focus, passion for invention, commitment to operational excellence, and long-term thinking. Amazon strives to be Earth’s Most Customer-Centric Company, Earth’s Best Employer, and Earth’s Safest Place to Work. Customer reviews, 1-Click shopping, personalized recommendations, Prime, Fulfillment by Amazon, AWS, Kindle Direct Publishing, Kindle, Career Choice, Fire tablets, Fire TV, Amazon Echo, Alexa, Just Walk Out technology, Amazon Studios, and The Climate Pledge are some of the things pioneered by Amazon. For more information, visit amazon.com/about and follow @AmazonNews.

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TECHNOLOGIES,APPLICATIONS

Agora to Showcase Live Audio and Video Technology for Gaming in the Metaverse at Pocket Gamer Connects in Helsinki

Agora | September 28, 2022

Agora, Inc. a pioneer and leading platform for real-time engagement APIs, announced that it will be exhibiting at Pocket Gamer Connects in Helsinki, Finland on Sept 27th- 28th. Pocket Gamer Connects, held at the Cable Factory, the largest cultural center in Finland, is the leading international conference series for the global games industry bringing together more than 33,000 industry professionals.To showcase the value in real-time audio and video technology, Agora will participate in two speaking sessions. On September 27th at 2:50pm on Track 2, Ali Nhari, Agora's Head of EMEA will join the panel session Know your audience: how to choose between subscription or ad models alongside Kim Grewal from Digital Turbine, John Pryor from ShareIT and Tadgh Kelly from the Mobile Doctor. At 11:00am on Wednesday Sept 28th on Track 2, Ben Weekes, Agora's Senior Architect & Principal Engine will hold a session with the title Real-time Voice & Video in Games and VR. "We are excited to demonstrate how to build a fully immersive gaming experience with features like voice and video chat, live interactive streaming, spatial audio, avatars and face and voice filters. At Agora, we're democratizing the metaverse for developers by providing them with easy-to-embed APIs, expansive SDKs and the most reliable, global low-latency network solution. Building the metaverse means scaling connectivity globally as we continue to meet the demand," -Ali Nhari, Agora's Head of EMEA. About Agora Agora is the leading Real-time Engagement Platform as a Service (RTE PaaS) company. Agora's mission is to make real-time engagement ubiquitous, allowing everyone to interact with anyone, in any application, anytime and anywhere. Agora's platform provides developers with simple, flexible and powerful application programming interfaces, or APIs, to embed real-time video and voice engagement experiences into their applications.

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Events