All things have to come to an end and with a heavy heart, I want to report and share in the condolences for the end of IKEA’s catalogue.
After 70 years the iconic catalogue is no longer going to be circulated as consumer trends push to e-commerce and digital window shopping defeats print catalogues.
Just like the catalogue, third-party cookies have been cancelled and we have been waiting for the next best thing to take its spot. Sadly there are no pies coming in to take their place but retargeting ads can rest easy a recent development is rising up over the horizon.
Before we get into that here’s a peek at what’s to come:
- From phones into security and now to cars – what can’t Blackberry do
- IKEA is making moves to automate its warehouses
- Holograms are here and ready for your handheld
Cookies Are Out and ConnectID Is In
We know that cookies are becoming redundant and we need a new solution to track user movement around the web.
Verizon media has unveiled their first Cookieless ID to step into the void and it is appropriately called ConnectID.
Without being reliant on third-party cookies, ConnectID will be able to help marketers maintain and improve targeted advertising campaigns across devices; buy, monetize and optimize ads; and enable publishers to manage and adjust target audiences. It will be achieved using first-party data collected from over 900 million consumers from Verzions’ online properties – Yahoo, AOL, and TechCrunch.
Verizon Media’s, Chief Business Officer, Ivan Markman released a statement describing how it works.
“Our trusted, premium global properties used by hundreds of millions of people, our identity graph built around billions of daily, consent-based data signals, and the only independent ad platform with a full-stack DSP and SSP to protect data integrity across demand and supply, all come together to solve this new landscape for our customers.”
Essentially, Verizon Media is capturing 200 billion data points from accessible consumers to create its identity graph that is based on consensual first-party data. This information is collected from omni channel touch points spanning across internet searches and its owned sites, apps, and email programs.
Expanding out of their own channels, Verizon has announced partnerships with external data providers, Acxiom, Equifaxe, Neustar, Throttle and TransUnion to continuously build out the first-party data they can collect. These partnerships will expand the range of ConnectID and increase the scope of first-party data collected.
Newsweek is one of the first companies signed up with ConnectID to handle the ad targeting on its website. Dev Pragad, the CEO of Newsweek had this to say about the partnership and why they choose to connect.
“We want to deliver the best experience possible for our audiences as well as maximize revenue for the premium content we produce. To ensure we can maximize our clients’ user experience while maximizing our revenues, we need partners like Verizon Media who can connect our audiences with quality advertisers and experiences, maximize yield and ensure our audiences’ privacy choices are respected. That’s why we’ve signed up for Verizon Media ConnectID.”
In a similar style to Cookies, ConnectID helps advertisers reach their audience wherever they are spending their time be it on mobile, smart TVs, digital out-of-home; however, they do it without privacy or ethical concerns.
Currently available in America, Asia-Pacific, and a few Latin American markets, it is time to move away from Cookies and look to the alternatives that are becoming available.
Key Takeaways:
- Verizon Media is seizing this opportunity to move into the data management sector
- Cookies are gone but the technology gap is open to new innovations
- Omni channel first-party data collection is taking the place of third-party sourced information
Blackberry is Back at it Again
Blackberry is sure living up to its reputation as a superfood… I mean a super company.
And it saw super growth recently as its stock price rose 65%, its greatest one-day increase on record, following the announcement of its partnership with Amazon.
No, Blackberry isn’t coming in to release a new phone or beef up Amazon’s security system, they have partnered on the automotive side of things.
These two powerhouses have partnered to develop and market Blackberry’s new “Intelligent Vehicle Data Platform”, known as IVY.
It includes cloud-connected software allowing automakers the ability to read vehicle sensor data leading to insights that will improve vehicle performance.
A press release states that “IVY is a scalable, cloud-connected software platform that will allow automakers to provide a consistent and secure way to read vehicle sensor data, normalize it, and create actionable insights from that data both locally in vehicles and in the cloud.”
Unbeknownst to me, there has been a large gap in critical data access, collection, and management within the automotive industry.
Blackberry made its first entrance into the automotive industry with its QNX platform and now by integrating with Amazon and developing IVY, they are able to solidify their presence in automotive software beyond infotainment.
Building on QNX, IVY allows data management and configuration across different vehicles to take place in the cloud, filling the gap that existed. Meaning IVY could collect data from drivers in unfavourable driving conditions and provide the automakers with information on how certain safety features are used.
Not only does this help automakers better understand how their features are being used and identify areas of improvement, it shows how you need to be flexible in your product offerings.
Don’t pigeonhole yourself into what you think your product and expertise need to be, instead focus on what it could be. Blackberry no longer sees themselves as a phone company or a security company they have grown to be known as a software company.
Blackberry is a pro at adaptation and just like them and Tiny Speck and its stumbling onto Slack, all businesses should keep their eyes open to opportunities and partnerships across industries and stay curious about what can be developed.
Key Takeaways:
- Don’t stop your business from expanding because you’ve pigeonholed yourself and what you can do
- Remain open to new partnerships and their ability to push your product or service into new avenues
- You could be sitting on the cure to a problem you aren’t aware of because you are looking in the wrong places within the wrong industry… or not looking at all!
Lights, Camera, Action – IKEA
We’ve all been to an Ikea, we’ve all been lost searching the warehouse for the aisle containing the Songesand bed frame pieces.
But our biggest challenge occurs at the end of our journey upon arriving home to assemble that Songesand bed. IKEA’s challenges start at the beginning, ensuring they have the right stock levels, that the pallets of packages are located in the right zone, and that they are loaded at the right time for shipment to one of their 440 stores.
Needless to say, it’s a logistical nightmare.
IKEA’s logistics developer Olof Orstadius works to find the right balance of automation in the supply chain as the manual labour for these tasks is often non-ergonomic, repetitive and a source of error.
“We always want to secure product availability for our customers and also create a better ergonomic workplace for our co-workers. With automation, our co-workers can focus on value-adding tasks,” – Olof Orstadius
Enter stage right – Hollywood drone technology.
From capturing combat scenes to capturing crate scenes, IKEA is leveraging drones from Hollywood to automate their warehouses.
With Olof’s acceptance of automation and drones taking a break from filming concerts, IKEA has partnered with Verity to tackle their supply chain challenges.
Verity is an autonomous indoor drone company that has recently entered into the warehouse scene, it claims the following benefits:
- Reduce costs by 10x
- Automate inventory tasks
- Count 10x faster
- Increase safety for your employees
These drones are fully autonomous, safe, and able to collect data through a camera and additional sensors. Not only will this increase inventory accuracy, IKEA is better equipped to serve customers with more accurate information surrounding stock levels at each store.
Verity’s drones fly around overnight or in between shifts, collect the data required, and return to their docking station to charge and upload the information gathered which is then entered into the inventory database.
We’ve talked in the past about the rise in autonomous warehouse logistics and operations and now we are seeing it come to fruition with IKEA adopting this technology. They are not a trailblazer but a big player in the game to autonomize portions of their supply chain.
Key Takeaways
- Another win for product adaptability as drones move away from events and into warehouses
- Automation is improving accuracy and efficiency in warehouse management and needs to be embraced; this type of development should be taken advantage of in the tech industry
OTHER NEWS OF THE WEEK:
🛍 Vista acquires Gainsight for an estimated $1.1 billion, as Vista continues to grow its arsenal & expand into customer service and success.
🚚 Working with DoorDash, who has seen great success during the lockdown, has helped to generate a $3.5 billion valuation for AI company Scale as they prepare to go public.
💻 Shipmonk broke free from being bootstrapped and raises $290 million as growth for e-commerce platforms continues to rise.
BRAIN FOOD OF THE WEEK:
Everything isn’t chrome and we don’t have flying cars (yet) but we are seeing the commercialization of holograms!
Looking Glass Portrait has been working on creating holograms, in secret for the past 18 months, and has now released their creation to the world. The program is compatible with iPhones that support portrait mode, cameras that support 3D imaging, and programs that create 3D designs.
The best is that this program is designed for anyone who works in or wants to play around with holograms. It is meant for artists, designers, developers, and us common folk who find tech fascinating.
These holograms won’t occur directly from your phone, you need to purchase the Looking Glass portrait which looks like an upgraded digital photo frame. After only 18 months of development, I’m excited to see where they can take this. Who knows… soon we might be making holographic FaceTime calls.
TWITTER THREAD OF THE WEEK:
Building a Personal Brand by The Voice of Marketing
ALBUM OF THE WEEK:
Dangerous Woman by Ariana Grande (Best Track: Everyday feat. Logic)
Originally Sent Out Thursday, December 10, 2020. Stay up to date with all of our latest findings by subscribing to our newsletter today.
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