"Wake up hustlers, let's get this bread. No days off"! Google news in China, WhatsApp ads, Apple App Store ads, and mascot selfies in this week's edition of Marketing in the Digital Age.
Summary: Google's recently leaked plans revealed their attempt to enter the Chinese market with a mobile search engine app and also getting into a censored news business. The app would be powered by AI and provide customized info to each user. It would also be censored, government friendly information.
Opinion: China is a massive market, largely untapped in this space. For any company to enter it is a huge milestone. As far as censorship, on a related tangent, news everywhere is regulated to an extent. The government of any nation releases and focuses on what news it wants the public to hear, not all of it. China is of course a more extreme example of it, but it's a seemingly huge step to allow for the development of this technology.
WhatsApp Launching Advertising
Summary: WhatsApp will rollout pay-to-use advertising for customer related inquiries, like information or service updates. "According to BBC news, the fee will be based on confirmed delivery, on which advertisers will pay between 0.5 cents to 9 cents (0.3p to 7p), depending which country the user is based in, meaning the service could actually be more expensive than standard SMS messages." The advertising is meant to encourage a dialogue between customers and businesses, as it will be free for businesses to respond within 24 hours but the charge described beyond.
Summary: I wonder if responding with an automated "we'll get back to you soon" within 24-hours will buy businesses time to respond properly later. As a business, this could be a challenging (and expensive) way to keep up communication with customers. On the business-side, I would proceed only if the proper response infrastructure is in place to serve the potential volume of customer requests. As a customer, this could be great to get immediate responses out of businesses.
Apple Store Search Ads Expansion
Summary: In an effort to take on Google and Facebook, Apple announced it will expand search ads on the Apple Store in Germany, Korea, Japan, Spain, France, and Italy. The ad expansion has already taken place in 7 other countries, including the US. Apple ventured into search advertising only two years ago quickly rising from 23rd in ranking to 3rd.
Opinion: With its recent $1T valuation, Apple is technically not in need of new revenue sources. This move does help to keep its place on top, though, by not resting on what they had done in the past.
Wake Up, Hustlers! Mascot Selfies
Summary: Jay, @iPurrple, posted a selfie with the caption "Wake up hustlers, let's get this bread. No days off" to his Twitter and it went viral overnight, appearing even on Diplo's Instagram Stories. Soon, others joined in on the fun. Soon, others chimed in with their own words of encouragement on making money and with their own mascot selfies.
Opinion: Twitter was made for this! I like the positive support. :)
