Blackberry has bought a London-based mobile technology start up company Movirtu. The company allows the users to have multiple phone numbers on one device. Blackberry has made it easier to have one smartphone instead of two. One smartphone for work and personal use.
The virtual SIM technology from Movirtu allows the users to have both a business and personal phone number on the same smartphone. The individual will have separate billing for voice, data and messaging usage on each phone number. This allows the corporate to switch between work and personal easily without having multiple devices.
"Clearly this fits nicely within the strategy we have so far. We are building recurring revenue streams in value-added services and providing more value to enterprises," said the Head of Blackberry's Enterprise Unit John Sims.
Blackberry is trying to appeal to the bring your own device crowd which is the corporate world. In the corporate world, many people bring their own smartphones into the office; inorder to use the phone for office activities. The technology from Movirtu allows people in the corporate world to restrict calls or emails but not affect their personal calls or emails on the same smartphone.
Blackberry was the first to dominate the smartphone market. Blackberry has reshaped itself. Blackberry with Movirtu technology makes it easier for its users to switch between both numbers. People can have a business and personal phone numbers on same device. Blackberry has eliminated the need for multiple devices.
Kiip is one of the coolest start up companies to integrate gaming into our daily lives. Linking advertisers and developers in conjunction with the latest smartphone technology sums up Kiip. This start-up company’s co-founder and CEO Brian Wong is only 19 years old. It seems that the youth of america is truly our future. Kiip’s innovative technology is not missing a beat. It is keeping up with the latest iphone ios 6 software and even taking its mission international. This amazing company bridges the gap between games and reality.
According to a TechCrunch.Com blog post, Kiip was created by CEO, Brian Wong and CTO Courtney Guertin. They met while working together at a startup company called Digg. The two often discussed creating a “rewards layer for the real world- and Kiip was born”. Kiip is just one of the successful startup companies that are becoming an international sensation. Wong and Guertin used their passion and enthusiasm to keep Kiip relevant in todays ever changing technology dependent world. Their latest software upgrade is linked to the release of the newest Apple IOS 6 software.
Apple released Passbook in september 2012 as a feature in the newest IOS 6 software. Passbook according to the itunes description is,“... the simplest way to store your boarding passes, tickets, coupons, gift cards and more in one place. With Passbook, you can scan your iPhone or iPod touch to check in for a flight, get into a movie, or redeem a coupon...”
The article, “Kiip Is The Perfect Company To Show Off The Potential Of Apple Passbook. Take A Look.” describes how Kiip linked into Passbook. When an IOS 6 user plays a Kiip enabled app, their rewards are sent and stored directly in their passbook. This makes rewards easy to access and organized. Lets say you had won a starbucks coffee and you went to redeem it a week later. Simply open your passbook and the coupon is waiting for you, ready to scan.
The only downside is that passbook is strictly for iphone IOS 6 users. Android users are not given this update yet. CEO of Kiip, Brian Wong is not worried. He hopes that google will develop a similar wallet gadget for the Andriod.
Kiip is not only making strides in the US. This startup company has moved international as well. TechCrunch.com has been fabulous with covering all the curent milestones with Kiip. An article found on their site titled, “Kiip Takes Its First International Steps, Inks Reward Network Deal With UK’s Yo! Sushi” by Ingrid Lunden, a Techcrunch reporter based out of London tells all about the newest overseas venture. Yo! Sushi! is the first non-US company to sign up for Kiip. As of right now the deal is localized to London, but CEO Brian Wong, believes this is the only the beginning of many deals to come.
According to Ingrid Lunden’s article,
“ Kiip is planning to announce more brand partnerships in the UK soon, and it is “on the verge” of rolling out its first campaigns in the middle east and Asia Pacific, with Kiip’s London office, led by Eamonn Carey, leading much of that growth.”
Wong has good reason to be so optimistic. Kiip recently raised $11 million for funding. Wong discusses in an interview why investors would want a part ofKiip,
This is company that investors want to get involved in because it is truly a revolutionary idea. Kiip’s platform is what sets it apart for all other apps companies. Wong says, “We’re about rewards, not ads,”. He tells more about the platform of Kiip in the first 41 seconds of this video.
Brian Wong is adamant about Kiip not being an advertising platform. Wong believes cramming in advertisements don't work. He wants people to know that Kiip is a rewards network not a platform for advertisers.
Personally, I am very excited to see Kiip expands. Just the idea of getting a free cup of coffee, and a reward that I can use locally is enough incentive for me to play a Kiip enabled game. Just today I took out my phone and searched for Kiip enabled games. I simply typed Kiip into the app store search bar and found 32 games involved with Kiip. I am sure there are more to come, I believe Kiip is the future of gaming and marketing.
Online gaming has become part of many companies marketing plans. Marketing once was based around clever slogans and memorable commercials is moving with the technology craze over online gaming. The digital revolution is prevalent now more than ever before in the marketing world.
According to New York Times article“Axa Equitable Pitches in an Online Game”by Stuart Elliot “...online gaming or casual gaming, is becoming increasingly popular with marketers because it is becoming increasingly popular with consumers”. An unlikely company to take part in the gaming boom is Axa Equitable. This insurance company has posted a game called Pass It On, on their websiteaxa-equitablepassiton.com. Pass It On is designed to encourage consumers to purchase life insurance. The company has even given consumers and incentive to play the game and pass it along to friends. This incentive is a sweepstakes with cash prizes of $25,000 and $15,000.
With life insurance sales an all time low Axa Equitable is using gaming to increase revenue and target the 11 million households with children under 18 who do not have life insurance.
Axa Equitable is by no means the only company using gaming to increase revenue. Hollywood is turning to gaming to build up a must see factor when marketing new movies. The Hunger Games used online gaming to ensure the premier would be a box office hit. A great New York TImes article,“How ‘Hunger Games’ Built Up Must-See Fever” by Brooks Barnes, gives a great description of the steps the Hunger Games marketing team took to make the movie such a success. Before the release of the Hunger Games, a new poster was released, but cut into 100 puzzle pieces. The digital puzzle was given to 100 web sites and posted on their Twitter in lockstep. The idea of the puzzle was to make fans search twitter to find all the pieces of the puzzle. The puzzle could be assembled by either printing the pieces and putting them together, or using an online program like photoshop. The Hunger Games puzzle was a great success and more is to come with online marketing. Lionsgate, the production company of The Hunger Games later released a Facebook game as well as a virtual tour of the Capitol ( the city in the movie) in a partnership with Microsoft.
This is only the beginning of marketing and gaming joining forces. With the short attention span of todays generation online gaming has proven to be a successful marketing tool.
Companies like Kiipjumped on the concept of linking marketing to gaming. Kiip is an app company based in san-franscisco. They link gaming and marketing through iphone games. When you play a game enabled game on your smartphone, your rewards are real world prizes. If you were to win starbucks coffee Kiip would tell you where the closest starbucks is to redeem your reward. To tell you more about the Kiip, watch ceo Brian Wong.
Brain Wong has a great concept that appeals to both consumers and advertisers alike. Personaly I would be more inclined to play a kiip enabled game if I knew I could win a free snack or cup of coffee. Really... who doesn't want free stuff!?
According to USA Today article, "Buisinesses Use Gaming Principles in Marketing" by Mike Snider, "gamification" is the future. M2 Reasearch, a california based research firm has predicted that "Business spending on what has become known as "gamification" will increase from an estimated $242 million this year to $2.8 billion in 2016". The prediction that spending will increase tremendously is because gamification has been working and will continue to enhance gaming and marketing alike.
Gamification has improved employee incentives, allowed small businesses to connect to consumers through location gaming apps and caught the interest of the consumer. This gamification business model is they next big thing in Marketing.
Millions of customers are eager to be part of the next generation in viewing options when it comes to Television. Demands for apps that pop up on television screens are very high for easier channel search. Many companies are working on this idea in order to satisfy tech-loving consumers. Some Internet-enabled televisions already have apps such as Netflix, Hulu Plus and Microsoft’s Xbox 360.
Although Apple already has a video player called Apple TV with apps, many media executives predict the entrance of Apple in the television market with either a new set-box or an Apple-made TV set. Many people predict that this new TV generation will be much like Apple’s Ipad.
“The question that hasn’t yet been answered is whether television viewing will consist of a single app that mimics the pay TV bundle or a series of different apps that together form a content experience”. Said Jon Miller, a chief digital officer at News Corporation in a NewYorkTimes Article.
Little or no watched channels will lower monthly fees, allowing the most popular watched channels get high fees from subscribers. Many media executives, who think that this App TV can be the next generation for entertainment, would not discuss the subject publicly due to their cable and satellite partners.
It has been estimated by a research done by eMarketer that by 2014, 89.5 million people in the United States will use tablet computers, compared to 54.8 million users in 2012. According to a NewYorkTimes Article, “Cable and satellite companies have sped up the development of their own TV apps in the hope that they will eventually mimic the set-top box”. The goal is to give customers the option of one or two Apps that will offer hundreds of channels rather than too many Apps.
Just like the Iphone and the Ipad, there is no doubt that our technology can keep improving. Apps create personal and amazing experiences that can open many doors for big TV networks.
Ever wish that a movie you really wanted to see was playing at a near by theatre or even playing in theatres at all? Thanks to movie executive Nicolas Gonda, such a thing can be possible.
Gonda created a movie distribution business, known as Tugg, to allow movie goers to choose what movie they want to see at a theatre near them. He stated, according to Buffalo News, that:
"In the past, movie theaters have been forced to be somewhat narrow in their programming, now, with Tugg, they can be as diverse as the interests and the imaginations of the people in their communities."
What the service entails, as explained on its website, is finding a movie you want played, get the required amount of people to attend, via social media, and viola you're watching your chosen movie on the big screen.
According to the Huffington Post, "it's a win-win for consumer and movie theater." The consumer is able to see a movie they want to watch without going far and the theatre is guaranteed a full house and great profit.
Since its beginning in March of 2012 , the service has partnered with well known movie franchises such as AMC, Regal, Cinemark and Rave Cinemas. Yet, because it is only a newborn company, the choice to view certain films anywhere, are in short supply. At least for now.
Many have expressed their admiration towards Nicolas Gonda and Tugg for using the Internet and social media as a means of influencing and enhancing the movie goers experience. As more and more people find out Tugg, I feel it will change the movie theatre experience for the best.
Global Media News is a weekly webcast covering media news from around the world. This webcast is a production of Media Studies students from the SUNY College @ Old Westbury.
This week on Global Media News:
American Bandstand & Dick Clark
Promoting Non-Profits with Twitter
Spoiler Alert! Twitter in the French Elections
Political Scandals in the Chinese Media
FBI: Malware threats to Internet access
Spotify Drinks Coca-Cola
The Voice is Louder than American Idol
Can You PowerPoint Your Way to Love?
See you next week for more breaking media news!
Listen to our webcast streaming live next Thursday @ 11am EST.
Can't listen live? Our final webcast of the season will be posted by 2:00pm, Thursday, May 3, 2012.
Sony plans on launching its new online photo sharing service called PlayMemories Online. This new service is being offered in six countries such as Japan, the U.S., Canada, Germany, France, and the U.K. starting May 25. The new service will offer 5GB of free space. Basically what the service does is allow users to upload photos and videos taken with Sony products such as its cameras, using its PlayMemories Home software for Windows and Macintosh. The program also allows for photos to be uploaded from smartphones and tablets using a new Android app that will be available from the Google Play store.
The photos that are uploaded can be shared online, or viewed using Sony's Bravia TVs or digital photo frames. According to PCW some of Sony cameras are equipped with wi-fi and they are able send images and videos directly to tablets or smartphones, which can then be uploaded to the service.
This new service plans to be one big part of a major operation by Sony to connect their many products through online platforms. This new service could seem to be a copy of their rival ,Apple, who's online service iCloud allows for this same type of online connection between its products. Samsung is also said to be coming out with their own online programs.
Along with pictures Sony is also trying to connect its gaming products into the program. Sony had recently announced a new photo editing suite for the PlayStation 3, to use together with PlayMemories Online. Any files that are stored on the gaming device will also be able to be viewed and edited using Sony's handheld Vita and PlayStation Portable consoles such as the PSP.
According to GMA news "On the other hand, Sony is also trying to incorporate its gaming products into the project. Sony is also working to improve their online services in other areas. They have taken many of their online music, movies, and games and have added them to its Sony Entertainment Network, and according to the Times "Sony says it will eventually open up those services to devices running on other operating systems and may make them accessible to Mac users, said Nick Sharples, director of European corporate communications for Sony."
At a press event in New York City the founder and CEO of Spotify, Daniel Ek, announced that they will be partnering up with the beverage giant, Coca Cola. The purpose of the unlikely partnership is to promote the music service on a global scale as well as advertise Coca Cola to bring up revenue.
To join forces with a hundred plus year old company that is known world wide would be considered by many as the collaboration of a life time. Yet, Ek expressed that, "this partnership is just as important as the Facebook relationship for us" as reported by PC Magazine.
As for Coke, they are no strangers when it comes to working with the music industry. According to Ad Age, they've have been using music to attract the younger crowd due to this demographic:
"teens are projected to represent one-third of the global population by 2020. The U.S., China, India, Indonesia, Nigeria and Pakistan are expected to have half of the teen-age population by then."
This statement clarifies why Coke would want to work with Spotify. In addition, ABC News reporter Tina Trinh, further explains Coca Cola's logic to working with Spotify:
"By renewing its focus on technology and aligning itself with a music service used by young adults, Coca-Cola is attempting to stay relevant to young consumers and their changing musical tastes."
In the coming months, Daniel Ek also announced that they will be adding brand apps onto their Spotify desktop app to allow its users access to new music. They've made plans to work with Coca Cola, McDonald's, AT&T and other brands as they expand their business to the global community.
One could say that Spotify is lucky to work with these well known companies, but i feel they are lucky to work with Spotify. Although, these companies that are collaborating with Spotify are much more known, Spotify's business caters to the majority of the population whether they are well known or not.
Global Media News is a weekly webcast covering media news from around the world. This webcast is a production of Media Studies students from the SUNY College @ Old Westbury.
This week on Global Media News:
Marketing the Bromance: Splitsville for Mike & Ike
Denny's College Humor Takeover: Viral webisodes set in Denny's
Magazine Apps: Are tablets the future of magazine reading?
Bad Apple? The Justice Department's suit against Apple for price-fixing.
The N.R.A. Shoots the Messenger: Blaming the media again. . .
Covering the Mega-Millions Jackpot
Google Art: Can Google doe for museums what it tried to do for libraries?
See you next week for more breaking media news!
Listen to our webcast streaming live every Thursday @ 11am EST.
Can't listen live? Our next webcast will be posted by 2:00pm, Thursday, April 26, 2012.
