Issue 361 | 20 June 2018

What Next?

Budweiser helps to Light Up The FIFA World Cup

As the official beer of the FIFA World Cup, Budweiser have created interactive glassware which glows red when users cheer or clap. Every Russian stadium will serve the beers in a Red Light Cup during the tournament. The cups will be available in 70 different styles, one for each match, and will also be available in a variety of languages. The engaging devices figure as an accessory to Budweiser’s Light Up The FIFA World Cup campaign, which also features drones that deliver the brand’s brew from its origin in St. Louis all the way to Moscow.

Snapchat adds developer tools, partners with Tinder and other apps

Snapchat’s new developer platform that will allow it to integrate with external apps like Tinder, Postmates and Patreon is set to go live this week. Until now, Snapchat was a bit of a private club, where users couldn’t share their Snapchat messages or videos outside the app. The company has recognised that in order to continue growing, they need to appeal to wider audiences, brands and media. By opening up certain Snapchat features to external developers, daters on Tinder will now be able to flirt with each other using Bitmojis and users of the Postmates app will be able to share their delivery information to their friends on Snapchat.

Millions of Aussies tune in to support the Socceroos at the FIFA World Cup

Program Station Audience
2018 FIFA World Cup: FRA V AUS Live SBS 1,653,836
Masterchef Australia – Monday Ch10 946,209
House Rules – Monday Ch7 911,669
Have you been paying attention? Ch10 897,686
Masterchef Australia – Tuesday Ch10 886,212
House Rules – Sunday Ch7 860,686
Masterchef Australia – Wednesday Ch10 860,031
The Voice -Sunday Ch9 809,793
Mystery Road ABC 793,454
Masterchef Australia – Thursday Ch10 787,849

10/06/2018 – 16/06/2018

Airbnb Opens Homes to Refugees

Airbnb have announced they will be adding a philanthropic branch to their business model by offering free housing for displaced people. The Open Homes feature is an initiative started by Airbnb’s own community that reflects a consumer desire to help those in need, accommodating refugees for free. Not only is this an incredibly charitable initiative, it’s also keeping home-share platforms relevant with a new generation of homebuyers. Learn more about Open Homes here.

Boston Pizza designs a box that encourages us to eat our pizzas in bed

Presenting someone with a meal in bed is generally regarded a luxury whether it be a kind gesture on Mother’s Day or Father’s Day, a token of appreciation for your significant other or simply a guilty pleasure after a long hard week of work. Canadian fast food chain Boston Pizza have tapped into this luxury by adding some handy functionality to their standard cardboard packaging by designing a box that folds out into a usable tray that suits eating habits away from the dining room table.

Apple’s iOS 12 has everything… it could even save your life

As part of the iOS 12 launch, Apple announced a new feature on Monday that will automatically share the location of people who call 911 from their iPhone with first responders. To enable this new feature, Apple is using its HELO (Hybridised Emergency Location) technology that was launched in 2015 which estimates the caller’s location using a variety of sources such as cell towers, GPS and Wi-Fi access point data. This feature will be launched to the US later this year.

 

Facebook to begin running autoplay video ads in Messenger

Although recent algorithm changes were implemented to increase the number of ‘meaningful’ interactions on Facebook, the platform continues to include new additions and formats of ads. The latest update means that autoplay videos will appear in a user’s Messenger inbox, where people see a list of their messages from friends and other contacts. The video ads will automatically start rolling when a user scrolls over them. Although sponsored posts with images already appear here, Messenger is regarded as a ‘highly personal space’ and the introduction of auto-play videos could make the app feel even more commercialised.

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