It’s a holiday week, but we are still seeing some exciting moves in the martech world.
MarTech in Motion
HG Data announces new app
The app is available on the Salesforce AppExchange. The Lightning Data app allows customers to access technographics in Salesforce.
Dataxu launches Open AI for Ads
The product uses artificial intelligence to provide analytics to help marketers drive performance and reduce time on campaign management. The first algorithm included in the product is powered b [Read More …]
XPO Logistics has been a partner of both companies.
Home Depot has held internal discussions in recent months about a potential acquisition bid for XPO, a $9 billion publicly traded company that offers transportation, delivery and other logistics services for big retailers and brands, according to a person familiar with Home Depot’s thinking.
If Home Depot were to make an offer, one main impetus would be to keep XPO out of the hands of Amazon — which the home improvement retailer believes has also considered buying the logistics company, the source said.
Recode could not independently confirm Amazon’s interest in XPO, or if either Home Depot or Amazon have held talks with XPO. Both Home Depot and Amazon have been customers of XPO.
Spokespeople for all three companies declined to comment.
While XPO offers a wide range of logistics and freight transportation services, it is probably best known to consumers as the company that manages the home delivery of heavy items such as furniture and appliances for retailers. The company calls itself “the largest provider of last-mile logistics for heavy goods in North America.”
Earlier this year, the Wall Street Journal reported that XPO was one of the main companies Amazon planned to work with as it made a big push in furniture sales.
In 2015, XPO bought the trucking company Con-way for $3 billion, giving it a large fleet of its own trucks to offer freight transportation services. That same year, Home Depot named XPO the “Mid-Size Truckload Carrier of the Year,” according to an XPO press release.
The social giant’s tool — available here, through its Help Center — specifically allows users to see if they followed or “Liked” any pages and accounts set up by Kremlin-backed trolls on either Facebook or Instagram.
Over the course of the 2016 election, Facebook estimates that roughly 140 million users may have seen Russian propaganda in their News Feeds or on Instagram. Much of that content sought to sow social and political unrest around divisive issues like race, religion and LGBT rights.
But only a small slice of those 140 million affected users can actually take advantage of Facebook’s new tool, which it first previewed in November. That’s because the portal only aids those who directly followed one of the accounts or pages set up by Russian sources on Instagram and Facebook. It does not help users who may have simply seen Kremlin-sponsored content because their friends “Liked” it and it subsequently appeared in their own News Feeds.
Facebook’s new service also doesn’t allow users to check if they saw some of the roughly 3,000 election-timed ads purchased by Russia’s notorious trolls, known as the Internet Research Agency. About 10 million users saw those ads around the election, the company previously has said.
Facebook has said it would be “challenging” to find and notify every single user that may have seen content or ads generated by Russian agents.
Its efforts have nonetheless won it some plaudits from Capitol Hill, where the company’s top lawyer — joined by executives from Google and Twitter — faced a full grilling this November for failing to thwart Russian disinformation online. Exiting a trio of hearings, lawmakers like Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal urged all three companies to notify their users about Russian propaganda they may have viewed.
This is Facebook’s attempt to do that, though the company is unveiling the new portal at an interesting time: The Friday before the Christmas holiday, which is usually reserved for unflattering news dumps.
Facebook, however, previously pledged to unveil it before year’s end. And a company spokesperson told RecodethatFacebook will promote the portal to users, though it’s unclear how.
For its part, Google told Sen. Blumenthal in a letter earlier this month that the company could not offer similar aid to YouTube users who had watched videos tied to dubious Russian sources. That’s because “content is accessible regardless of whether or not a user is logged in,” Google said, meaning it “would not be able to identify all those who watched a particular video.”
As advertising spend ramps up during Q4, bad actors respond in kind. Attracted by increased ad budget, fraudsters hide their chicanery within the burst of year-end marketing activity. And shorter campaign flights during the holidays mean advertisers don’t have time to check for weird patterns or increased bot activity. “If you’re running a campaign over… Continue reading »
“Data-Driven Thinking” is written by members of the media community and contains fresh ideas on the digital revolution in media. Today’s column is written by Chris Kelly, founder and CEO at Survata. We’ve all read the doom-and-gloom news about programmatic problems, from YouTube’s brand safety issues to brand advertisers culling their spending and companies like… Continue reading »
The Heineken Company represents a worldwide network of more than 250 brands in 70+ countries. For potential employees this means opportunities all over the world: they can go places. Dutch agency, Superhero Cheesecake, developed a fun, interactive job interview, where applicants are put to the test, as part of a short online movie and website.
Background
The agency was asked to show potential employees that The Heineken Company is more than the famous beer brand. A company with a unique personality and a great company culture. The interview and website represent just that. With actual Heineken Company employees from all over the world as actors.
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Strategy
Superhero Cheesecake created this interactive job interview where you apply online for an unspecified job at The Heineken Company. Showing potential employees what Heineken looks for in people and how the company operates. All in a fun, fast and innovative way.
It does not only tell you something about Heineken, but also about yourself. This makes it highly relevant for both audience and brand, making it one powerful brand experience.
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Process
The film and web content are seamlessly connected. It does not feel that you have to step out of the movie to take part in the interview. The minimalistic design approach and playful interface enables to impress and entertain its viewer without being intrusive.
Furthermore, the video is customised for each country, and for specific moments of the day. For example, at the start of the video the interviewer shows a watch with the actual, current time at the applicant’s location. Also, the choice of local beers and dishes in the film are based on the user’s current location. This meant that there was an enormous amount of short video snippets that needed to be dynamically stitched together, based on local data.
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Outcome
Heineken Go Places is still going strong. The first results were beyond everyone’s expectations. Heineken has received over 300% more job applications via LinkedIn than in previous years. A lot of people engaged with the film: the average time spent on the site is more than 5 minutes. This is approximately the time it takes to complete the interview. And it won several awards at The FWA, Awwwards, SpinAwards and Eurobest.
The Heineken Company represents a worldwide network of more than 250 brands in 70+ countries. For potential employees this means opportunities all over the world: they can go places. Dutch agency, Superhero Cheesecake, developed a fun, interactive job interview, where applicants are put to the test, as part of a short online movie and website.
Background
The agency was asked to show potential employees that The Heineken Company is more than the famous beer brand. A company with a unique personality and a great company culture. The interview and website represent just that. With actual Heineken Company employees from all over the world as actors.
Loading…
Strategy
Superhero Cheesecake created this interactive job interview where you apply online for an unspecified job at The Heineken Company. Showing potential employees what Heineken looks for in people and how the company operates. All in a fun, fast and innovative way.
It does not only tell you something about Heineken, but also about yourself. This makes it highly relevant for both audience and brand, making it one powerful brand experience.
Loading…
Process
The film and web content are seamlessly connected. It does not feel that you have to step out of the movie to take part in the interview. The minimalistic design approach and playful interface enables to impress and entertain its viewer without being intrusive.
Furthermore, the video is customised for each country, and for specific moments of the day. For example, at the start of the video the interviewer shows a watch with the actual, current time at the applicant’s location. Also, the choice of local beers and dishes in the film are based on the user’s current location. This meant that there was an enormous amount of short video snippets that needed to be dynamically stitched together, based on local data.
Loading…
Outcome
Heineken Go Places is still going strong. The first results were beyond everyone’s expectations. Heineken has received over 300% more job applications via LinkedIn than in previous years. A lot of people engaged with the film: the average time spent on the site is more than 5 minutes. This is approximately the time it takes to complete the interview. And it won several awards at The FWA, Awwwards, SpinAwards and Eurobest.
Plus, Facebook signs a deal with the world’s largest music label, Amazon streamlines its food delivery efforts, and say buh-bye to the biz buzzwords of 2017.
Eric Schmidt is stepping down as executive chairman of Google parent company Alphabet. Schmidt, who was Google’s CEO for a decade before taking over the chairman role and helping oversee Google’s transition into Alphabet, will remain on the company’s board, but in a “technical advisor” role focused on science and tech projects. Alphabet says it expects to appoint a “non-executive chairman.” [Kurt Wagner / Recode]
Facebook has taken its first real steps into the music business — which means YouTube may finally have a competitor for the music video business. The social network signed a deal with Universal Music, the world’s largest music label, to let users include bits of songs when they upload videos to Facebook and Instagram. But the deal does not give Facebook the right to create its own version of Vevo, the music video service owned by the music labels that generates most of its views on YouTube. [Peter Kafka / Recode]
Amazon has combined the leadership of all of its food-delivery efforts under rising-star executive Stephenie Landry, who launched and runs the company’s Prime Now express delivery service. Landry joined Amazon in 2004 and was a founding team member of Amazon Fresh; in the three years since its launch, she has led the expansion of Prime Now to more than 30 U.S. cities and 50 markets globally. [Jason Del Rey / Recode]
Is Steve Bannon running for president? Four months ago, Bannon was a supporting player to President Trump; now he has made himself the frontman of his own “take our country back” movement. In a substantial interview conducted during his recent Asia trip — a mirror of Trump’s — Bannon reveals what really went down in the White House, his unfettered thoughts on Javanka — and his own political ambitions. Meanwhile, a federal judge dismissed a lawsuit yesterday that accused Trump of violating the Constitution by continuing to own and profit from his business empire.[Gabriel Sherman / Vanity Fair]
The Winklevoss twins, Cameron and Tyler, invested their $65 million settlement from Facebook in bitcoin — their virtual currency stockpile is now worth around $1.65 billion. “We still think it is probably one of the best investments in the world and will be for the decades to come,” said Tyler, the right-handed Winklevoss. “And if it’s not, we’d rather live with disappointment than regret.” But be careful, bitcoin speculators! BTC prices tanked by 25 percent in the last 24 hours. [Nathaniel Popper / The New York Times]
Plus, Facebook signs a deal with the world’s largest music label, Amazon streamlines its food delivery efforts, and say buh-bye to the biz buzzwords of 2017.
Eric Schmidt is stepping down as executive chairman of Google parent company Alphabet. Schmidt, who was Google’s CEO for a decade before taking over the chairman role and helping oversee Google’s transition into Alphabet, will remain on the company’s board, but in a “technical advisor” role focused on science and tech projects. Alphabet says it expects to appoint a “non-executive chairman.” [Kurt Wagner / Recode]
Facebook has taken its first real steps into the music business — which means YouTube may finally have a competitor for the music video business. The social network signed a deal with Universal Music, the world’s largest music label, to let users include bits of songs when they upload videos to Facebook and Instagram. But the deal does not give Facebook the right to create its own version of Vevo, the music video service owned by the music labels that generates most of its views on YouTube. [Peter Kafka / Recode]
Amazon has combined the leadership of all of its food-delivery efforts under rising-star executive Stephenie Landry, who launched and runs the company’s Prime Now express delivery service. Landry joined Amazon in 2004 and was a founding team member of Amazon Fresh; in the three years since its launch, she has led the expansion of Prime Now to more than 30 U.S. cities and 50 markets globally. [Jason Del Rey / Recode]
Is Steve Bannon running for president? Four months ago, Bannon was a supporting player to President Trump; now he has made himself the frontman of his own “take our country back” movement. In a substantial interview conducted during his recent Asia trip — a mirror of Trump’s — Bannon reveals what really went down in the White House, his unfettered thoughts on Javanka — and his own political ambitions. Meanwhile, a federal judge dismissed a lawsuit yesterday that accused Trump of violating the Constitution by continuing to own and profit from his business empire.[Gabriel Sherman / Vanity Fair]
The Winklevoss twins, Cameron and Tyler, invested their $65 million settlement from Facebook in bitcoin — their virtual currency stockpile is now worth around $1.65 billion. “We still think it is probably one of the best investments in the world and will be for the decades to come,” said Tyler, the right-handed Winklevoss. “And if it’s not, we’d rather live with disappointment than regret.” But be careful, bitcoin speculators! BTC prices tanked by 25 percent in the last 24 hours. [Nathaniel Popper / The New York Times]
A lot has happened this year, some of it strange, some of it scary, all of it very 2017. At least as far as it can be measured and charted, we’ve attempted to encapsulate the uniqueness of this year through graphics.
1. All Trump, all the time
If it felt like President Trump dominated the news cycle this year, you’re right. News outlets consistently published more articles and, in turn, received a bigger share of page views for pieces about Trump than any other major topic we searched, according to Parse.ly Insights, a tool that measures how much attention articles receive across hundreds of major global publishers.
Articles that mentioned Trump had higher readership than those that covered sexual harassment, the heroin and opioid epidemic, net neutrality, NFL protests, Uber, AI and the Rohingya genocide in Myanmar. Briefly, before Hurricane Irma, during the eclipse and following the Las Vegas mass shooting, did those topics oust Trump as the most-read. Overall, in 2017 articles mentioning Trump received 5 percent of all page views in Parse.ly’s network.
2. The Weinstein effect
Interest in the term “sexual harassment” hit a record high this month as a share of all Google searches. Exceptional reporting on Harvey Weinstein’s years of sexual harassment triggered a watershed moment for conversation on the topic.
All of a sudden, powerful men were being held accountable for hurting women and dozens of high profile sexual abusers were ejected from their jobs. Buoyed by these results and by social media campaigns like #metoo, women came out in droves to fight — and read about — sexual harassment.
3. The “failing” New York Times has the last laugh
The New York Times can thank President Trump for its record number of new digital subscriptions this year. The first quarter of 2017 was the Gray Lady’s biggest ever, with 308,000 additional digital news subscribers.
In the first three quarters, it had added over 500,000 new subscribers — already more than last year. The move from ad-based to subscription-based revenue has helped the Times save itself.
4. Uber’s improbably high executive turnover
Uber saw lots of executive turnover this year, amid a series of PR nightmares, from corporate espionage to sexual misconduct.
Uber’s drama led to a bunch of high-profile exits from the ride-sharing company, including the notoriously combative co-founder Travis Kalanick. It also expedited the search for qualified executives to fill key, new roles.
Digital ad spending reached $209 billion worldwide — 41 percent of the market — in 2017, while TV brought in $178 billion — 35 percent of the market. TV ads are still much more expensive than digital but the shift in overall spending shows that TV has lost its stranglehold on the ad industry.
6. Bitcoin mania took over the world
This year, bitcoin prices went nuts. The cryptocurrency surged to over $19,000 apiece this month — nearly 20 times its value at the beginning of the year.
The high price tag made it seem like everyone either bought or regretted not buying bitcoin, which is currently worth less than $12,000.
7. SoftBank ate Silicon Valley
Japan’s SoftBank was involved in more than half of the top 10 biggest investments in VC-backed startups this year.
Led by Recode 100 honoree Masayoshi Son, SoftBank changed the landscape of venture capital this year. Its mammoth $100 billion Vision Fund made it both a hero (to startups) and a villain (to other venture capitalists).
8. Self-driving cars steered toward reality
2017 was the year that driverless cars made the leap from far-out concept to something closer to reality.
The leader in driverless tech, Google’s Waymo hit four million autonomous miles driven on public roads this year. Some two million of those miles were logged in 2017 — the same amount recorded in the previous seven years.
The U.S. House of Representatives approved a bill that would allow for the testing and commercialization of driverless cars, and a similar bill has been marked up by the Senate.
9. Fidget spinners had a minute
Fidget spinners, a simple toy that rotates on a ball bearing, came and went as a cultural sensation.
Interest in fidget spinners peaked in April in the U.S. and in May worldwide, according to Google searches, and teachers everywhere breathed a sigh of relief.
10. Instagram cloned its way to success
Instagram launched its Snapchat copycat Stories in the summer of 2016. By early 2017 Stories had surpassed Snapchat in daily active users.
As of their last reports, Instagram Stories has a user base that’s more than 100 million people larger than Snapchat’s entire user base, which means Instagram’s version is more popular than the original.
11. “Despacito” made streaming history
Released in January, Luis Fonsi’s “Despacito” became the most-streamed music video of all time by July — in record time.
YouTube
The Spanish-language reggaeton song, featuring Daddy Yankee and set in Puerto Rico, has since blown far past the competition. Already this year it’s received more than 4.5 billion views on YouTube, blowing away one-time records like PSY’s “Gangnam Style” and Wiz Khalifa’s “See You Again.”
YouTube