Mood Marketing Drives Toyota's Latest Campaign

The calendar still says 2017, but for car brands, it's already 2018. To market  this year's Camry, Toyota is veering away from making its car look like the sensible, though boring choice. Its “Sensations” campaign is meant to tap into what its audience is feeling.

Among the commercials designed for the campaign are some that explicitly encourage making the purchase of the care for “the wrong reasons.”  Those present the Camry as an attractive choice that makes driving a sensuous experience – as if the car were a sexy sports car.

As you can see from the video above, “Striking” presents a young woman in the role of the Bond girl, who zooms by in a car that flutters her hair as if she were in a convertible with the top down. It meant to be exciting, and once y're excited you can find a corresponding video identified by emoji.

Read more in Toyota Turns to Twitter for Mood Marketing

Got sarcasm?

I'm being sarcastic." We've all had at least one exchange in which we either had to explain or had someone else explain that what was said was not intended to be taken straight. Generally, you need to know something about both the context and the speaker to grasp when to take a statement at face value or interpret it as sarcastic.

That's why it's particularly challenging to get handle on intent when attempting sentiment analytics on social media. For artificial intelligence to truly understand what humans mean, it needs emotional intelligence, as well. Iyad Rahwan, an associate professor the MIT Media lab and one of his students, who developed the algorithm with one of, Bjarke Felbo worked on just that.

The results are what they call Deep Moji. Described as "artificial emotional intelligence," Deep Moji was trained on millions of emojis "to understand emotions and sarcasm." Rahwan explained to MIT's Technology Review that in the context of online communication emojis take on the function of body language or tone in offering nonverbal cues for meaning.

Read more in Emojis Train AI to Recognize Sarcasm

Mixed Reality to Become Mainstream

For all of its impressive effects, marketers have been holding back to some extent from applying mixed reality to their campaigns. That made sense in light of the fact that most people were not equipped to view it properly. But that's set to change by the end of this year.

At the end of August, Microsoft announced a lineup of mixed reality equipment for the holiday season that is expected to put it in the hands of a lot more people, thanks to the triple appeal of an affordable price, easy setup, and portability...

Google just released  a preview of its new software development kit (SDK) called ARCore for Android devices. Here's a video showing some Wizard of Oz inspired effects:

Popular characters also be adapted to marketing in a mixed reality environment, for example letting people interact with personae linked to brands, like Tony the Tiger, or Mr. Clean. That would mean that anyone could have the experience shown in cleaner's Super Bowl ad last year (except for getting the actual cleaning done, of course).

Read more in Mainstreaming Mixed Reality

Enhancing engagement with RCS

Rich Communications Services (RCS) effectively “drives engagement,” Brian Heikes, Vice President Product, Solutions and Analytics at 3Cinteractive says, because it makes it possible for people to experience “the same richness” provided by OTT “with the ubiquity that SMS has.” That opens up possibility of custom branding and other rich media used with native messenger.

In effect, it can offer “the depths of capabilities that have been locked behind an application” within “the messaging experience.” That's a significant benefit in light of the fact that “more than 95%” of people who download apps quit using them after just 30 days. As a result, brands can't capitalize on the promise of app engagement with the “ubiquitous capability” enjoyed by SMS.

At the 2017 Mobile World Congress, 3C showcased some of the possible applications RCS, with an illustration from its client, Walgreens, and Early Access Program partner, Google. This video, shows how Walgreens gives consumers personalized beauty recommendations seamlessly by uploading a selfie.

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RCS To Set a New Standard for Mobile Marketing

Increasing IoT Investment for Supply Chain

At the beginning of 2017, IDC published its forecast for worldwide spending on the Internet of Things (IoT). It came up with the figure of $737 billion for spending on IoT in 2016 to cover organizational investments “in the hardware, software, services, and connectivity” it requires. That amount would continue to grow based at “a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 15.6% over the 2015-2020 forecast period, reaching $1.29 trillion in 2020,” the firm projected.

A huge chunk of that is to come from industry. In fact, IDC’s estimates allocate the lion’s share of IoT investments in 2016 to that sector and found that it involved several large investment amounts. For the 2016, investment in IoT for manufacturing operations would have amounted to $102.5 billion. It also involved a chunk of investment in logistics, specifically freight monitoring  to the tune of $55.9 billion.

The motivation for such hefty investment at this time, according to IoT World’s report Manufacturing IoT & Supply Chain Transformation in 2017 (registration required) “is simple: a compelling ROI through increased efficiency, productivity, reliability and safety.”

Indeed, that fits “the formula for the Industrial Internet” that GE set forth in its 2015 Industrial Internet Report. It described the IoT for industry “as a source of both operational efficiency and innovation that is the outcome of a compelling recipe of technology developments,” which are composed of the following parts.

• Data: both from the standard forms of Big Data and the additional streams coming through the sensors that track “equipment, products, factories, supply chains.”
• Analytics that can assess the status of the connected things.
• The definitive core of the business that defines the desired outcomes

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Investment in Supply Chain IoT Grows

AI for Customized Consumer Communication

As AI advances, it's reshaping marketing with new ways of pulling in data and insights to reshape and customize consumer communication. Its impact on marketing was explored in a recent NYC Media Lab white paper, "How AI Is Changing Media Economics."

 Now it's possible to apply real time analytics to a campaign that is tested, tweaked, and tailored to an audience. 
Read more in 

AI: The Ultimate Game-Changer for Media

Google Glass Comeback

Success is not just a matter of timing but if also finding the right context. That’s the story behind Google Glass reception. Its first foray ended in failure, but it has found a new context in which it could thrive.

I remember when Google Glass was launched in 2013 as the ultimate wearable with a sticker price of $1,500. I recall reading one review that conceded that it had some problems but still thought that it was to be embraced as “the future” of tech. Just about every other reviewer rejected them, among them one who went on to list the reasons why people hate it. 

As it turns out, both sides were right. People did have major issues with Google Glass as a personal device. However, the hands-free convenience combined with smartphone capability proved very valuable in an industrial setting.

That’s why Alphabet X stopped trying to sell Google Glass directly as a consumer item and it up into the Enterprise Edition of the wearable.  Its current tagline is: “Glass is a hands-free device, for hands-on workers.” The product is no longer sold by Google directly but through partners who have customized the device for industrial purposes.

Read more in 

Raise Your (Google) Glass to the Enterprise Edition

Healthcare Tech Marketing

Telling Effective Stories About Healthcare Tech

New technologies are transforming operations in all industries, including healthcare. But we tend not to hear very much about it from healthcare brands. Melissa Baratta, Senior VP and healthcare practice lead at marketing, social media, and PR firm Affect spoke with DMN tech about innovations in that space and why they should be featured in marketing efforts.

The question is: What accounts for the hesitation to discuss emerging tech applications in healthcare? Barratta believes organizations may be concerned about how to make it fit with their brand image, and with fears that automation will displace human doctors. She referred to a journal article that suggested that radiologists and pathologist will be out of a job in the next five years when AI takes over. “A lot of media picked up on that,” and that may have made some wary of appearing “to promote tech that would eliminate jobs or raise concerns about trust.”

However, Baratta believes that these concerns should not hold brands back from investing in tech and using it for better patient outcomes. The way to go about it is to  “create educational stories, with perspective, that acknowledge challenges” while exploring how the tech “will help patients and help doctors” That includes applying AI to getting a handle on “data overload” and “more effectively mine data,” so that doctors are making better informed decisions for their patients.

The advantage for the brands that discuss their uses of emerging technologies now, she said, is that they “position themselves as thought leaders and innovaters.” It's an advantage “to talk about it when people are trying to understand what it means” and trying to grasp how it is can be used. That's why “now is the time to have a voice for thought leadership.”

Read more in Telling Effective Stories About Healthcare Tech

Hitching a brand to an eclipse

An eclipse is not the word people usually think of in connection with marketing on August 21 this year, it makes sense to seek out some brand association with a nearly universally trending topic.

goals, as it seems to be the antithesis of gaining the spotlight. But when an eclipse is a highly anticipated event, as the one taking place

Eclipse of the Century is the somewhat pretentious name given to the event, and to the site dedicated to its coverage that is brought to you by CNN and Volvo. At the end of July the car maker announced the partnership for “a unique editorial and branded content campaign.”

The content will be delivered through CNN channels, including its app for IOS and the designated site. The content currently posted on the site includes a countdown clock to the eclipse, and a map of its anticipated journey east and south across the country, from Oregon to South Carolina. One can also find eclipse information, links to an article with directions of where and how to view the eclipse, and an introduction to “eclipse chasers.”

Those of us who are not in that category still don't have to miss out on this particular event "of the century." We can also marvel at the eclipse in real time, thanks to advanced capture technology, including 4K VR and 360° cameras strategically placed around the country to capture the eclipse's journey that CNNVR will broadcast live.  Showcasing what the technology allows us to do is the idea behind the partnership.

Read more in Eclipse of the Century is a Co-Branding Opportunity

Getting kids back to school with clean clothes

photo: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1c/Modern_front_load_tumble_dryer.JPG/460px-Modern_front_load_tumble_dryer.JPG

Back-to-school season is upon us. Many students will resume their studies in
August, and some may need extra help of one form or another to make the academic year a success.

School success begins with student attendance. Absent students can't learn that day's lesson, and those students are most likely fall behind in their work. While some absences are unavoidable, there are times when what holds students back is just not having clean clothes to wear, according to appliance maker Whirlpool. The company has created a program called Whirlpool Care Counts to put washers and dryers in schools to help address the issue of absenteeism due to lack of clean clothes and is now collecting data on how these in-school appliances impact student attendance.

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Analytics and School Attendance: A Laundry Story

Google Feed = Massive Marketing Opportunities

credit: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/83/Google_wordmark.gif

Google has always dominated search, but it has not done so well with social as evidenced by the perceived failure of Google+. So, capitalizing on its strengths, it set up a feed for users that uploads items of interest based on their own signals, rather than on what their friends shared or Twitter connections posted online.

Back in December, Google introduced an app update that promised “load your life's interests and updates” with just “a single tap” that can bring up “useful cards.”  Seven months later, Google proclaimed “Feed Your Need to Know,” announcing that — thanks to machine learning advances — the algorithms that direct the feed can “better anticipate” the type of content that an individual would want to see.

Read more in Google Feed is a Tempting Feast for Marketers

A sea change for shipping with automation

Automation and transportation have come together in the air in the form of drones.  On land, many tech companies and automakers are working on self-driving cars.  Although we don’t hear quite as much about is the application of the technology to transport over water, we may see it become a reality within just a few years. Back in 2014, Rolls Royce presented its concept for an autonomous ship. The BBC report quoted Oskar Levander, Rolls-Royce's vice president of innovation, engineering and technology, "Now it is time to consider a road map to unmanned vessels of various types. Sometimes what was unthinkable yesterday is tomorrow's reality.” However, the law had not yet caught up to that reality. Simon Bennett, a representative of the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS), ascertained that international law still did not allow for crewless ships. He told the BBC that a legal change "would require a complete overhaul of the regulatory regime.” There are those working on achieving that change. The BBC report referred to an EU-funded project working toward ships that could function without crews. Called Maritime Unmanned Navigation through Intelligence (MUNIN). In addition to making it technically feasible, MUNIN aims to work out the necessary changes in legislation to allow autonomous ships to function. It envisions “highly advanced navigation systems” that would analyze conditions toavert accidents. As in the case of some of these sensor systems engineered to enable autonomous functions in cars, the plan is to apply the technology even for ships that are driven by people, as they could “support the officer of the watch.” That in itself could prove very valuable in light of the “human error” blamed for the recent collision of the USS Fitzgerald and a container ship. Read more in Automation to Deliver Sea Change in Cargo Transport

AI: a fundamental risk to the existence of human civilization according to Elon Musk

photohttps://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d1/
Comic-Con_2004_-_Terminator_statue.jpg

No longer a sci-fi novelty, artificial intelligence is a reality with great potential. While most of the news has

focused on AI’s potential for good, some pundits are now pointing out its potential for harm. They include none other than Elon Musk.

As the founder, CEO, and CTO of SpaceX and the CEO of Tesla, a key player in the emergence of the self-driving car, Musk is certainly no Luddite. When he talks about AI, he is talking about technology that is absolutely integral to his business model. Nonetheless, Musk believes it is imperative that society regulate the advance of AI, as he noted in an interview before an audience at the National Governors Association Summer Meeting this month.

In the course of the interview, Musk referred to his “exposure to the most cutting-edge AI” and warned, “I think people should be really concerned.” The point is not to live in dread of the potential repercussions of AI and respond reactively to them, he said, but to plan proactively for them.

Read more in 

Elon Musk Sounds Alarm on AI

Canada welcomes AI

pic from https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1f/Flag_of_Canada_%281964%29.svg/2000px-Flag_of_Canada_%281964%29.svg.png

There's no question that AI is redefining processes across a whole spectrum of businesses. There is, however, a question of what that means for the overall economy. Canada is now investing in AI
research with the expectation that it will benefit the country in general.

DeepMind, the London-based leader in artificial intelligence owned by Google’s parent-company Alphabet, is now reaching across the pond to Canada. On July 5, Demis Hassabis, co-founder and CEO, DeepMind announced “the opening of DeepMind’s first ever international AI research office in Edmonton, Canada, in close collaboration with the University of Alberta.”

Though it was announced as a “first” in terms of leaving the UK home base, in reality, as Bloomberg reported in December, the company started building up “a small team” of researchers at a Google office in Mountain View, Calif. Certainly, there is a lot more fanfare for its move to Canada.

In addition to contributing on the research and education end DeepMind plans to invest in programs to promote “Edmonton’s growth as a technology and research hub.” The funding for such programs are also coming from within Canada, as the University of Alberta reveals in its take on the news. It welcomes the DeepMind move as yet another advance toward AI research in the country, which is the goal set by “the federal government’s Pan-Canadian Artificial Intelligence Strategy.”

That federal program, which is to be run by CIFAR, the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research, is expected to invest $125 million (Canadian dollars) in trying to establish an AI foothold in Canada. Dr. Alan Bernstein, President and CEO of CIFAR was quoted in StartUpHereToronto saying he anticipates “enormous potential for innovation” resulting from the initiative:

“Deep AI is a platform technology that cuts across virtually all sectors of the economy, with the potential to improve people’s lives. It will help build a stronger and more innovative economy, create high value jobs, improve transportation and lead to better and more efficient health care and social services.”

That makes AI sound like is capable not only of boosting productivity but of improving things all around. In reality, though, it depends where you stand.

Read more in 

AI Arrives in Canada: Will Prosperity Follow?

When you're happy, you do show it

 Targeted marketing works when it is done in the right place and at the right time. Getting the place right is increasingly feasible with today's location-aware technology. But getting the time right depends on knowing when a person is in the mood to receive the message.

That's the goal behind the Centiment, a machine learning startup that applies AI to analyzing the expression of emotion “to make advertising more ethical and efficient for everyone.” It does that by creating what it calls “thought-driven AI and Google for feelings.”

In a phone interview, Micah Brown, the company's CEO and founder, explained how this approach is a game-changer that makes ads more effective by taking cues from “moods rather than price and brand.” The ads are designed to fit with how the individuals in the target market “are feeling at the current time rather than what you think is best from them.” 

The mood assessment offers two strategic advantages for marketers. One is that it allows them to deliver ads to people while they are in that receptive mood. The other is that they can see the feelings particular ads generate in their target market.

 Here's a video of Centiment in Action:

Read more in In the Mood for Marketing