Vertical video: It's not just for Snapchat anymore

The format has spread to Facebook, Instagram and top publishers, offering brands a way to enhance the consumer experience, writes AdColony's Jeff Hackett. 

By Jeff Hackett • May 11, 2017

Jolly Rancher offers finals week diversions on Twitter Moments, Snapchat Discover

Sponsored and curated content highlight some of the ways students relieve stress during exams.

By Chantal Tode • May 11, 2017

Explore the Trendline➔

Influencer Marketing

Amid a surge in confidence and new platform approaches, brands continue to turn to influencers for fresh content that can reach online consumers.

By Marketing Dive staff

Can the Echo Look accelerate Amazon's push for apparel dominance?

The e-commerce company taps the latest Alexa-enabled device to personalize clothing recommendations and drive sales.

By Corinne Ruff • May 11, 2017

Apple Pay purchases jump as China's Alipay, WeChat enter US

Apple's mobile payment app is tied with PayPal as a favorite among iPhone users, but they face growing outside competition. 

By Rob Williams • May 10, 2017

Pebble Beach Resorts enlists IBM's Watson for mobile tour guide

The California golf resort’s new smartphone app includes voice-activated digital assistance.

By Rob Williams • May 10, 2017

Study: Snapchat rivals Facebook for teen engagement

Though it's a fraction of the social giant's size, the video messenger remains the hot app with Gen Z.

By David Kirkpatrick • May 10, 2017

McDonald's, Soundtrack Your Brand launch mobile music quiz

The burger chain’s mobile app lets smartphone users in Sweden test their knowledge of music trivia while dining.

By Rob Williams • May 10, 2017

Wendy's fan shatters Twitter record in quest for chicken nuggets

While Carter Wilkerson didn't hit Wendy's benchmark of 18 million retweets, the brand is ceding the win and giving him a year's supply of nuggets anyway.

By David Kirkpatrick • May 10, 2017

Pinterest upgrades visual search tech with QR capabilities

The platform's Lens camera is also getting better at recognizing multiple objects at once.  

By Peter Adams • May 10, 2017

Why Instagram is building out its mobile web functionality

A more robust mobile web experience comes as a bid to reach international markets where the app might be too slow or demanding of data. 

By David Kirkpatrick • May 9, 2017

Study: Adoption of voice-activated home assistants will more than double this year

Microsoft announced "Invoke," an intelligent speaker on Monday, but Amazon still leads the voice-enabled gadget market with 70% of users.

By Rob Williams • May 9, 2017

Blippar launches mobile banner ads using AR

Enabling ads to open a user's smartphone camera gives marketers a way to create unique experiences.   

By Rob Williams • May 9, 2017

Pizza Hut serves up Delivery Tracker with real-time order status text alerts

The biggest U.S. pizza chain is late to the game with digital order tracking.

By Rob Williams • May 9, 2017

QR code test drives 27% of in-store Starbucks customers to trial app

Overall, 60% of visitors with Snapchat scanned a bar code supported by 1App for quick web access to the coffeehouse chain’s app. 

By Chantal Tode • May 9, 2017

Forecast: Mobile biometric payments to hit 2B transactions this year

The nearly 3x jump in use from 2016 will be spurred by services like Apple Pay and a proliferation of sensor-equipped smartphones.  

By Peter Adams • May 9, 2017

Is TV staring down an ad revenue reckoning?

According to ad buyers, they aren’t interested in paying more for fewer viewers although at least one media exec predicts a strong TV ad marketplace.

By David Kirkpatrick • May 8, 2017

Spotify rolls out scannable bar codes to boost music sharing

The streaming music pioneer is giving every song, artist and playlist a unique code that can be shared.

By Rob Williams • May 8, 2017

Study: 35 ad networks have more than 50% fraudulent activity

A fragmenting landscape means that marketers need to be wary of the growing potential for mobile app fraud.

By Rob Williams • May 8, 2017

Telefónica gives Germany's mobile users rewards for sharing data

The European phone company hired People.io to provide an app to help customers protect their privacy.

By Rob Williams • May 8, 2017

Houzz app's AR upgrade turns living rooms into virtual showroom floors

Over 300,000 furniture and decor products can be visualized, saved for later or purchased directly with "View My Room in 3D."

By Peter Adams • May 8, 2017

Ink Cards pencils in Pinterest for Mother's Day app install campaign

While the ad format is still relatively new to the social platform, results suggest costs are lower and the audience may be wider than expected.   

By Chantal Tode • May 8, 2017

ExxonMobil's mobile payments app expands to Apple Watch, Ford vehicles

Speedpass members can now fuel up, then earn loyalty points and easily pay from an in-vehicle touchscreen or their wrist. 

By Rob Williams • May 5, 2017

Time Inc.'s big digital video push includes live shows, social-only brands

A Sports Illustrated streaming service, four new "all-social" brands and an ad product that quintuples video inventory are just pieces of the massive rollout. 

By David Kirkpatrick • May 5, 2017

Report: Twitter pitches full-screen vertical video ads for Moments

Similar to interstitials seen on Snapchat and Instagram Stories, the new format fits into the platform’s larger video push. 

By Chantal Tode • May 5, 2017

A viral hit on Instagram, Sunny Co.'s red swimsuit promo gets Twitter skewering

A textbook example of how one platform's trending treasure is another's spammy trash.

By Peter Adams • May 5, 2017