No Good Sense 2014 #8

Facebook has finally rolled out autoplay video ads into users’ newsfeeds in the US, with the expectation that these will become available in the UK later this year. This marks a significant step forward for Facebook in trying to carve into TV and video advertising budgets, even potentially linking Instragram more directly to Facebook ads. However, it will tread carefully in its roll out to ensure users don’t react negatively.

Having thrown its hat into the ‘native advertising’ ring, Buzzfeed is now ramping up its content marketing efforts by rolling out Buzzfeed Video – a branded video production service. We won’t use the ‘V’ word, but putting Buzzfeed’s capabilities into making sharable video content could make it an interesting proposition for brands, providing they don’t always default to lists and cats.

Google Chromecast is, at long last, hitting UK stores this week, and is likely to retail at approximately £30. Google claims that Chromecast has been a consistent best-seller on Amazon in the US, so we can expect strong demand for it in the UK.

We are in the midst of a significant demographic upheaval, in which we’re living longer and wealth is increasingly concentrated in the hands of those in their 40s and older. This piece, arguing that brands are missing the ‘silver surfer opportunity’ is a timely reminder that digital life doesn’t end at 50, and that marketing’s obsession with youth could blinker us to where the real market value might lie.

Are Gifs, Upworthiness and Buzzfeed listicles eroding the quality of news journalism and content experiences online? Charlie Brooker is perhaps best taken with a pinch of salt, but there’s a good point here – that as brands do more content marketing, we need to be careful about jumping on trends that will ultimately make all content look and feel the same. On a related note, Amanda Chen discusses the role of professional journalists in the world of content marketing and Janine Green thinks that too much ‘chunking’ may not be good for us.

Is the agency world becoming a ‘closed creative system’? Jon Winsor of Victor & Spoils argues that agencies need to do better at recruiting a more diverse set of creative talent – or face the risk that those who are truly disrupting marketing may choose paths outside the agency world.

We like it when brands embrace the messy realities of modern family life, so ‘This is Wholesome‘, a documentary series from Honey Maid in the US, gets our thumbs up. It’s a series that gets under the skin of family life, by telling the stories of real families – from single fathers to military families to gay parents.

Here’s an unexpected take on Mother’s Day from Paperchase. Its #impressmum campaign shows the lengths that even hard men have to go to to impress their mums.

We are starting to see Instragram come of age as a storytelling platform. Though not a commercial, the Instagram feed of 80-year-old Betty Simpson’s battle with lung cancer reveals her heartbreaking story – no words necessary.

Infographics can be hit and miss. But this one, by Vouchercloud, is a hit in our eyes: it forensically breaks down the biggest barriers in online shopping journeys, and how we can make user journeys more seamless.

According to a TNS study commissioned by Google, we in the UK are the most prolific mobile and online shoppers in Europe by quite some distance: 32% of us claim to make a purchase on our phones every month. This is nearly double that of Sweden (at 19%), the second most active mobile shopping nation.

Here’s another lovely compendium of digital marketing statistics from eConsultancy. Did you know that a quarter of top-spending financial brands don’t have a mobile presence, or that 1% of advertisers generate 80% of PPC clicks?

Are we witnessing the slow death of Silicon Roundabout? Cory Doctorow argues that draconian behaviour by Hackney council is slowly starting to turn the screws on start-ups in the area, leading to the exodus of iconic area start-ups such as Last.fm and Berg.

We’re seeing more and more start-ups launching in collaboration with celebrities. Last week, Neil Young launched a Kickstarter for Pono, his new music project. And in the UK we have seen CueSongs, backed by Peter Gabriel, secure £577,000 in funding to build a service that helps songwriters increase their licensing revenues in the online broadcast market.

This is a beautifully simple way to validate a start-up idea: can you name (or find) five real people you know who need, and would pay for, your new product?