Marketing news
Marketing newsIt’s been a busy week in the marketing and technology world. Hulu introduced a shopable ad live TV service, Cisco acquired yet another cloud company, Snapchat has found a way to combat Facebook and Instagram’s similar story features, YouTube is starting to plan original programming consumers can watch for free, and Twitter unveiled a new feature in hopes of attracting advertisers from other social media sites. Like I said, it was a busy week. Let’s take a look at each of these stories in detail.

Hulu introduced a live TV service at NewFronts. It looks as if Hulu is going to diversify its portfolio and add a live TV option alongside its streaming service. The highly-anticipated announcement was made at a NewFronts pitch to Madison Avenue. For $39.99 a month subscribers will get access to 50 live TV channels and the ability to record up to 50 hours of programming. Not to mention a subscription to Hulu’s live TV service will include access to its streaming service content.

Hulu’s live TV service does differ from its competitors in one major way. The TV service will allow advertisers dynamic ad insertion, meaning ad agencies can ensure ads are seen by specific targeted audiences. Also, Hulu is providing advertisers with a tool that will directly measure advertising campaigns on both Hulu’s streaming service as well as the new live TV service. Source: AdvertisingAge

Cisco bought another cloud startup. Since 2015, Cisco has purchased 19 companies. What makes Cisco’s acquisition of the cloud-based SD-WAN vendor Viptela so interesting is the $610 million price tag. Viptela’s software—well, I guess it’s Cisco’s software now—simplifies the communication of information between offices, regardless of their geographical location, by utilizing cloud technology. As Scott Harrell, Senior VP of product management for Cisco stated, the need for this software is demanded by customers in today’s marketplace. Chalk it up as a win for both Cisco and Viptela. Thanks to Danita Blackwood for sharing the news.

Snapchat might have found a market niche despite Instagram and Facebook’s similar features. According to the app data firm App Annie, Snapchat has some 60 million daily active users in the U.S. and Canada. What’s interesting is that App Annie also discovered that many of Snapchat’s daily users don’t use Facebook or Instagram on a daily basis. The amount of Snapchat daily users should help convince advertisers that Snapchat is a long-term investment, and not an experimental advertising option. If you want to read more about Snapchat’s potential, read the full post Lisa Illman shared.

YouTube is planning original programming that will start later this year. While Hulu is beginning to build upon its streaming service, YouTube is just now creating one. With early partners like Kevin Hart and Ellen DeGeneres, YouTube’s original programming is sure to raise some eyebrows. The programming won’t require a subscription and will be free to watch.

YouTube is hoping to attract advertisers with its original programming, especially after a recent advertiser boycott over user-uploaded content. Over the next year, YouTube is planning on investing hundreds of millions of dollars to produce more than 40 original shows. Besides Hart and DeGeneres, Katy Perry, Demi Lovato, and Ryan Seacrest have also confirmed that they are producing YouTube originals. If you want to learn more about YouTube’s original shows, check out this article from The Verge’s.

Twitter is hoping its big digital video initiative will gain advertisers’ attention. Last quarter, Twitter’s sales reached a two-year low. While Twitter has had relatively healthy user growth, advertisers have been investing heavily into rivals like Facebook and YouTube. In a major blow to Twitter’s video ambitions, the NFL chose to give streaming rights to Amazon for the upcoming season. The NFL’s choice has left Twitter with limited options for its digital video initiative. However, Twitter is considered the main stage for politics these days, and an unnamed executive predicts a heavy focus on political digital video ahead. Thanks to Bo Woloshyn for sharing the story.

That’s all I have for this week. Hopefully I filled you in on some intriguing stories and introduced you to some pretty interesting people to follow. Be sure to check back in next week for all the top stories in marketing and technology.

Photo Credit: mikehultgren2 Flickr via Compfight cc

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