The Group That Approves Emojis Debuts New User-Friendly Website

Just in time for World Emoji Day, the nonprofit Unicode Consortium in charge of approving new emojis has debuted a more user-friendly website. A few years ago, the average person wouldn’t have cared about a group of tech execs and designers in charge of maintaining the standards for every type of text that goes into…

Move Some Cash Gen Z’s Way

Do you have friends who have a tough time splitting the bar or dinner bill? There’s an App for that! Three Syllables: Venmo Me! According to the Los Angeles Times: Venmo, owned by PayPal, and Cash App, owned by Square, have surged in recent years, as cashless financial services moved into the mainstream. Some 40 […]

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Just Google It: 7 Questions Every CMO Wants To Know

Google-owned YouTube is a wasteland, but like all wastelands, when you brush aside the layers of dirt and debris, you’re in the position to discover a gem or two. The video that follows may not meet gem status, but it is a find worth noting here. Tara Walpert Levy is VP of Agency and Brand […]

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Burger King and McDonald’s Go Off Script to Create New Value

Do you know what I love about brands that focus on providing utility to their customers? I love that they are directly answering the age-old question that every customer has, “What’s in it for me?” I Pledge Allegiance to McDonald’s Lost your passport or cellphone abroad? Just stroll through the doors of one of any […]

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Shopper’s Expectations Are Sky High; Retailers Not Equipped To Meet Them

Yesterday, I started an Adpulp story with this lede: “Expectations. Many American shoppers have learned to let them go, begrudgingly.” I was being facetious. Shopper’s expectations are sky high. According to a new report from BRP Consulting, customers expect engaging and relevant interactions and conversations across all channels and they don’t have any tolerance for unsatisfactory […]

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Should Kids Have Their Own Voice Assistants?

Amazon is releasing new Alexa experiences for kids and parents, including the Echo Dot Kids Edition, which it says allows children to access age-appropriate content with their voices. But it begs the question: Do children need voice-enabled devices and services to access said content? And just because Amazon–or any platform–can make a voice assistant for…

Did InMarket Fudge Its Publisher Relationships?

Dotdash, the company formerly known as About.com that serves as the umbrella for content brands like Verywell, Lifewire and ThoughtCo, sent a cease and desist order to location marketing firm InMarket for using its likeness in case studies. What’s more, Dotdash said images in InMarket case studies have been doctored. “We don’t work with InMarket….

How a Marketing Firm You’ve Never Heard of Knows Exactly Where You Shop and When

“Snap into a Slim Jim,” Macho Man Randy Savage bellowed from TV sets during the 1990s, as a pitch-perfect character for the meat stick brand. In an era when jerky was perceived by the American public as junk food, Slim Jim was a mainstay for adolescent boys and convenient stores. But artisanal jerky brand Krave,…

Can Augmented Reality Breathe New Life Into Banner Ads?

The very first banner ad on the Internet–for AT&T on Wired in 1994–had a click-through rate (CTR) of 44 percent. Now that the novelty has worn off, that rate is more like 0.05 percent. Add augmented reality (AR), however, and it may be a different story. Taking a page from the leader of the free…

Walmart Is Giving Its Website a ‘Modern’ Makeover

In an attempt to create “a cleaner and more modern digital shopping experience,” Walmart teased a site redesign that will be available starting in May. Further out, it will also include specialty shopping experiences like the home specialty experience it launched in February. And while these changes offer promise to appeal to a broader audience…

Domino’s Mobile Game Highlights the Many Ways People Can Order Pizza

First it was a wedding registry; then, carryout insurance. Now, Domino’s latest nod to customer loyalty is a mobile game that rewards players with points for free pizza. Domino’s Piece of the Pie Pursuit mobile game puts players in the middle of a Rube Goldberg machine like the one in its new TV spot to…

Snapchat Lays Off 100 From Advertising Division in Department Restructure

After cutting jobs for roughly 120 engineers earlier this month and 22 staffers across the company in January, Snapchat is downsizing its staff yet again–and its latest round of layoffs targeted its advertising department. Snap is laying off 100 employees, which roughly equates to 3 percent of its total workforce. Over the past couple of…

Snapchat Is Doling Out Free Stats to Brands on How Many Users Visit Their Locations

After a rough first year as a public company, Snapchat is looking for ways to differentiate itself from other social platforms, and it’s possibly found one way: location. Location and social media have a long history of not working out well. Facebook has tried several times to crack location (most recently with a stand-alone app…

This Web Design Company Is Launching Its Own Ecommerce Business to Compete With Shopify

Webflow, a web design platform, is throwing its hat into the growing ecommerce ring with today’s beta release of Webflow Ecommerce, a new platform that lets virtually anyone create an ecommerce site without knowing how to code. In the same vein as other website creation companies like Wix, Squarespace or Weebly, Webflow is trying to…

Rihanna Blasts Snapchat for Approving an Ad Mocking Domestic Violence

Days after social media users called out Snapchat for running an ad making light of a 2009 domestic abuse case involving Rihanna and then-boyfriend Chris Brown, Rihanna took to Instagram Stories to criticize its rival. The ad, a promotion for the mobile video game “Would You Rather,” posted animations of Rihanna and Brown, asking users…

Oculus Celebrates Socially Conscious Virtual Reality Films at SXSW

Virtual reality: great for intense gaming experiences and apparently, immersive and socially important films. At least that’s what Oculus is trying to create with its VR for Good’s Creators Lab program. The company’s program pairs VR filmmakers with nonprofits to create compelling films dedicated to a cause. This year, three of the 10 films were…

Fast-Food Brands Are Making Slick Mobile Apps to Stay Ahead of Small, Fast-Casual Restaurants

For decades, fast-food chains have chased quick sales with limited-time promotions and products (R.I.P. McDonald’s McPizza and Wendy’s 2012 luxe hamburger with lobster claws and caviar) and revenue-minded marketing intended to drive incremental foot traffic to restaurants. But with changing consumer tastes for healthier options and new technologies that streamline ordering and delivery, quick-serve restaurants…

Quartz’s New Chatbot Is Bringing Conversational News to Facebook Messenger

This year’s South by Southwest has been a world filled with over-the-top brand activations, surprise visits from Elon Musk and plenty of new products. Quartz took advantage of the atmosphere of the festival and released Quartz for Messenger on March 8. With its new chatbot, Quartz hopes to deliver the news and other content to…

Outdoor Voices Promotes Its AR App at SXSW to Get People Outside—and Shopping

For a company whose slogan is “Doing Things,” Outdoor Voices couldn’t have picked a better weekend with great weather to promote its new augmented reality app. Outdoor Voices encouraged consumers and Austin residents (where the company is headquartered) to leave the convention center at South by Southwest and instead head to a nearby park to…

Barneys Wants to Tell a Memorable Story With VR, Fashion and Dance

Luxury retailer Barneys New York seeks to tell a story shoppers will remember in its new VR experience. In partnership with electronics company Samsung and contemporary dance troupe the Martha Graham Dance Company, Barneys released its 11-minute movie, Mantle, which was filmed with 360-degree camera technology. The film incorporates four principal dancers, whom Barneys says…