Posts made in February, 2016

on Feb 25, 2016

By Tony Connelly Amazon is continuing to broaden its live streaming offerings after partnering with Macklemore and Ryan Lewis to live stream an intimate hometown gig that the duo are playing in Seattle to mark the release their new LP. The stream will capture the hip-hop duo’s first ever live performance of their new album ‘This Unruly Mess I’ve Made’ which is released on the same day (Friday 26 February) and will be available on Amazon Prime Music. It builds on Amazon’s live stream of President Obama’s final State of the Union address last month and follows on from similar moves made by the likes Read full story › Source: The Drum...

on Feb 25, 2016

By Natalie Mortimer Ab InBev will increase its marketing investment by “high single to low double digits” in 2016, as its core brands, including Budweiser and Stella Artois, missed estimates despite a ramped up ad spend on the brands during 2015. While the brewer saw revenue of its grow by 6.6 percent in the fourth quarter to $4.31bn, that figure missed analyst’s estimates of 9.2 percent gain, according to Bloomberg figures. Budweiser continued to struggle in the US, where profits fell by 7 per cent, notwithstanding a 9.4 per cent increase in marketing for the full year 2015. The figures highlight the need Read full story › Source: The Drum...

on Feb 25, 2016

By Adam Libonatti-Roche Buzzfeed’s editorial director, Summer Anne Burton, has talked about how the website follows users’ comments in order to influence its content decisions. Speaking on the same day that the Telegraph decided to suspend comments on its website, Burton discussed why she believed reader comments remained important during a packed SVA Theatre at Social Media Week New York. “We learn a lot from reading comments,” stated Burton. “It’s not just about big numbers but instead you should think, what made someone say this?” Buzzfeed wants to know why its users respond in a certain way to content so much so that Read full story › Source: The Drum...

on Feb 25, 2016

By Justin Pearse Mobile apps have fundamental mechanical challenges in creating brand safe environments, according to Jason Cooper, general manager mobile, Integral Ad Science. The Drum caught up with Cooper at Mobile World Congress to discuss the issue and the impact of mobile on the problems of fraud, ad safety and viewability. Integral Ad Science is one of the leading companies in addressing these challenges online, helping bring transparency and reassurance to brands and agencies. It is now working to bring “mobile up to parity with our desktop products”, said Cooper. In the interview he discusses some potential solutions for the ad blocking problem, calling for publishers Read full story › Source: The Drum...

on Feb 25, 2016

By John Glenday Amazon has reportedly sunk $15m into the acquisition of Woody Allen’s latest, as yet untitled, film as it seeks to outspend rivals Netflix and Hulu to secure premium indie content for its Amazon prime service. Amazon Studios has been on a spending spree of late, inking deals with popular directors such as Spike Lee and Terry Gilliam to bring their work to its platform first, whilst also splurging on home grown content such as The Man in the High Castle. The multi-million pound figure is 15 times that which Sony Pictures stumped up for Allen’s last flick, despite the commercial Read full story › Source: The Drum...