Stand-alone digital voice assistants like Amazon Echo will replace smartphones as the dominant consumer home device, predicts an Accenture report. The network effect is alive and well: 93% of voice assistant owners say they’ll look for other devices that easily integrate with them. A majority (57%) of voice assistant owners say they use their smartphones less.
The National Retail Federation’s big annual conference is on, which means we’re seeing baskets of retail-related news. CDP AgilOne has announced a new machine learning framework that simplifies and speeds advanced modeling building. They also have improved reporting for non-technical users and new coupon-creation features.
One big use for location data is targeted outdoor advertising. Which finally lets me mention this month-old news that start-up Firefly has raised $21.5 million for “remotely programmable geotargeted ads” on the roof of rideshare cars. If that sounds familiar, it’s because we wrote about last summer about Grabb-it, which puts geotargeted ads in car windows.
It’s tough to get brand safety right, but the industry keeps trying. IPG Mediabrands announced a new set of tools to find and block inappropriate ad placements, while IAS expanded its suitability measurements to include standards from the Global Alliance for Responsible Media (GARM). Meanwhile, DoubleVerify admitted a mistake made brand safety on X/Twitter look worse than it really was in October 2023 and March 2024.