Augmented Virtual Reality Mass Adoption 3-5 Years Away

A research note released by RBC Capital marketers reveals a timeline for mass adoption of augmented and virtual reality. Amit Singh, VP of virtual reality at Google, announced Google’s VR platform will soon be available to millions of smartphones. While there are still obstacles regarding mass adoption, marketers might want to consider AR and VR content creation for extensive how-to videos.

Machine Learning Is Marketing’s Future
Machine learning allows marketing automation platforms the ability to learn, think, and act. This enables more exact and efficient marketing which adapts to the customer journey. Three specific benefits of machine learning include real-time responses, a more personalized outreach approach, and more creativity.

Google Is Shrinking Adwords’ View-Through Conversion Window Default
Starting March 29, 2017, the Google AdWords default view-through conversion window will downsize from 30 days to 1 day. The change implies that only reported conversions will have occurred within 1 day of an ad impression. The update will apply to new and existing conversion actions, and this change will only affect VTC column reporting. Decreasing the default attribution window for view-through conversions should make sense for most advertisers who can still customize the window setting for each conversion action.

Google Tells Retailers The Trusted Stores Program Is Shutting Down
Google started disclosing to Google Trusted Stores merchants that it will shut down and be replaced by Google Customer Reviews. Google Customer Reviews collects reviews from customers after purchase and reception of orders. Managed through Google Merchant Center, Google Trusted Stores merchant accounts will be migrated automatically. More details will be provided on Google Customer Reviews in the next few weeks.

Instagram Story Ads Now sold Globally As Standalone Placements Through Facebook’s Self-Serve Tools
After displaying advertisements between people’s Stories, Instagram is selling Story ad placement to advertisers worldwide by using Facebook’s ad-buying tools and Facebook’s advertising API. Advertisers will be able to get ad space within Instagram Stories and they’ll be charged based on the number of impressions the ad receives, once the full-screen ad appears on screen. Instagram Stories span the whole phone screen, so ads must be vertically formatted and videos must be under 15 seconds.