Tech Talk: Yahoo, Sizmek, Facebook, IAB, Twitter and more

Digital marketing association launches in Hong Kong

Seven companies have come together to launch Hong Kong's own Digital Marketing Association to help drive the growth of the digital marketing sector in Hong Kong. The founding members of the non-profit association are ComScore, Facebook, Google, Next Digital, Pixels, South China Morning Post and Yahoo, with PwC a supporting partner to the association. David Chung Wai-keung, under-secretary for innovation and technology of the HKSAR government, will formally make an announcement in a launch event on 26 Oct.

Admaster to co-launch 'people measurement solution' with Tencent Social Ads

In an in-depth cooperation, the two companies will jointly launch a new social marketing evaluation tool called 'People Measurement Solution' (PMS). Tencent will provide social data from its WeChat and QQ properties, which have 800 million users, while Admaster will give full play to its multi-screen technical abilities.

Sizmek unveils Ad Builder 2.0 

Sizmek has released Ad Builder 2.0, an enhanced version of the company’s web-based rich media authoring tool.

Developed for use by brand advertisers, trading desks and creative shops, it features an upgraded user interface, improved functionality and 20 rich-media programmatic creative templates to enable quick creation of HTML5 ads for mobile and desktop environments.

Ad Builder now offers five high-impact rich media formats, with plans to add three to four additional per quarter, and nearly 100 UI changes.

Jordan Khoo, Sizmek Asia SVP:

In this industry, having the ability to pair the speed and targeting efficiency of programmatic with the flexibility and appeal of rich media creative content is a boon for brands pushing to optimize their return on ad spend. By providing our clients with an easy-to-use and understand creative tool in Ad Builder 2.0, in conjunction with the best ad serving and measurement the industry has to offer, we know our clients can create winning campaigns that find the perfect balance between data and creative. 

RadiumOne partners up with IAS

RadiumOne has announced a global partnership with Integral Ad Science (IAS), to measure the quality of global digital media and help drive industry visibility and best practice.

Developed in response to questions around programmatic visibility, the partnership is intended to provide clarity to the industry over standards and metrics.

Charlie Baillie, regional director SEA, RadiumOne:

At RadiumOne, our mission is to help brands run data-driven marketing campaigns that connect with consumers in powerful ways. Part of doing what’s best for the client is helping support positive steps in the wider programmatic space. In response to ongoing questions, we’re beginning to see the industry trend towards increased visibility and opening up best practice frameworks. Our partnership with IAS aims to keep that momentum going.

Yahoo Tiles debuts in Singapore

Yahoo has announced the availability of Yahoo Tiles in Singapore, a new ad format optimised for mobile devices, which was launched in the US in June.

The format is intended to enable brands to tell visually compelling and immersive stories on mobile devices in a post-tap environment. When consumers click on a mobile ad, they are taken to a custom mobile landing page that can feature 360-degree content, including video and images, as well as dynamic and interactive features such as video, swipeable images, and social feeds.

Available for advertisers through Yahoo Gemini and BrightRoll, Yahoo Tiles is touted to ensure brands tell a more creative and compelling story across Android and iOS devices.

Facebook updates Pages

Facebook is enhancing call-to-action buttons on Pages to allow people to shop now, get a quote, request time and do more seamlessly on Pages. Businesses can choose to add the new call-to-action buttons to their Page and provide customers with a simple form that’s easy to complete in just a few taps.

While many of the new features are currently only available in the US for now, some features available globally on a limited basis include Get Quote, which gives people the option to request a quote for your service.

In addition, when people create posts asking for recommendations from friends, they will have the option to include relevant Pages in comments and post these recommendations on a map.

Twitter beefs up customer support features

Twitter has introduced enhanced customer support features to help businesses globally provide even better customer service on the platform.

Businesses can now indicate that they provide support, which adds that information to suggestions when people search for a business, mention a business in a Tweet, or find a business in Direct Messages.

Additionally, businesses can display hours of availability on their profile to help set people’s expectations for when they are likely to reply. These businesses’ profiles will also display a more prominent button to start a Direct Message so people know the business offers support privately.

Bank Negara Indonesia (BNI) and SMART Philippines are among the first in Southeast Asia to leverage the new support features for better customer service.  

IAB releases new standard for dynamic ad content

The IAB Technology Laboratory has released for public comment, the “IAB Dynamic Content Ad Standard,” a schema that will increase the relevancy of ads delivered to consumers across desktop and mobile screens.

The new standard will enable digital ads—whether display, video, audio, native, or social—to render differently depending on the viewer, allowing a varied set of assets to be deployed on the fly in response to predetermined data triggers and business rules.

Alanna Gombert, SVP, technology & ad operations, IAB, and GM, IAB Tech Lab:

The schema is designed for creative and technical professionals who build and deliver ads on a range of platforms, and is programming language agnostic. Media agencies and operations teams can also use the standard to track distinct creative assets and report on their performance. It’s time for marketers to fully reap the benefits of audience targeting. This standard will allow brands to go beyond reaching consumers at the right place and time, offering the ideal creative to connect.

Discovery bets big on cutting-edge content in Singapore

Discovery Networks Asia-Pacific (DNAP) and the Info-Communications Media Development Authority (IMDA) have announced a year-long USD$5 million partnership designed to upskill and co-create content with emerging and established production companies in Singapore using the most advanced techniques and technologies including 4K and Virtual Reality (VR).

The initiative kicks off next month with a public call for entries and pitch brief, resulting in a boot camp aimed at taking aspiring producers through DNAP’s best practices of documentary-making for a global audience.

In partnership with Viddsee, an online video platform for short-films, the training aims to prepare these upstarts for the big leagues across both linear and digital platforms, with the shortlisted films premiering on DNAP and Viddsee in 2017.

Louis Boswell, GM, Discovery Southeast Asia:

Discovery is a pioneer in using cutting-edge technology to tell amazing stories. Together with IMDA, a long-time partner and supporter of the development and growth of our homegrown talent, we are pleased to have the opportunity to help mentor and invest in the next generation of Singapore producers. Building on Discovery’s expertise across the globe, together with the industry’s top players, we will establish a training ground for Singapore producers to showcase great content that can resonate around the world.