Extended reality (XR) technologies are still mostly related to gaming, entertainment, and social media, but their applications are evolving quickly as more consumers and businesses test out immersive experiences.
Latino-focused Fortú rolls out with support from SoFi, LendingClub: Fortú will serve un- and underbanked US Latinos—and it has the opportunity to gain traction by initially targeting underserved consumers within a market of around 60 million Latinos.
Google’s update to Google Pay includes enhancements to its Google Plex bank account—as big tech companies dive into banking, it jeopardizes the value proposition of digital-only banks like Chime and Varo.
CVS facilitates vaccination efforts for US employers—but it might have missed the boat: CVS’ Return Ready program is connecting US employers with vaccination sites to turbocharge their return-to-work plans—which will be key as businesses reopen to the public.
US Senate tries to knock down telehealth barriers: 50 US senators reintroduced the CONNECT Act in an effort to make pandemic-era telehealth flexibilities permanent—which should help boost healthcare access in the US.
What to look out for at the NewFronts: CTV and social video will shine at this week's digital upfront presentations, as both formats have grown rapidly over the past year.
YouTube TV feels Roku's heat: The two were unable to come to an agreement ahead of the end of their distribution agreement last Friday, and the results of the face-off could be an indicator for future digital-carriage scuffles.
Nielsen hopes to increase podcast ad effectiveness: The measurement company rolled out a new way for marketers to examine the success of their ad campaigns when it comes to brand lift and memorability.
Connected TV (CTV) advertising was a beneficiary of pandemic trends and remains one of digital advertising’s fastest-growing channels. Last year, linear TV decreased in importance to advertisers, as cord-cutting accelerated and more programmatic CTV inventory became available than ever before.
Search had a challenging time during the pandemic. Spend grew just 5.3% to £7.34 billion ($9.41 billion) in 2020, down from 17.7% the previous year and significantly down on our pre-pandemic estimate of 12.2% growth. However, this latest forecast is a reversal on our interim August 2020 estimate, when we expected a decline of 1.7% for the year.
HBO on a budget: WarnerMedia is reportedly planning to charge $9.99 per month for an ad-support version of HBO Max—that's cheaper than some tiers of Netflix but more expensive than Disney+.
Verizon looks for an exit: It's reportedly considering selling off its media assets, including Yahoo and AOL, in a deal worth an estimated $5 billion.