UK-based Chris Muscutt, Head of MarTech at PepsiCo, recently sat down with Tim Glomb, VP of Content and Data at Cheetah Digital, to discuss the ins and outs of what it takes for retailers to drive more personalised experiences in today’s data-driven, digital environment.

Cheetah Digital, the cross-channel customer engagement solution provider for the modern marketer, announces it has partnered with Salling Group, supporting the transformation of the Denmark-based retail operator’s loyalty solution to reward customers and engage with them in new and innovative ways as third-party cookies phase out entirely.

The session also delved into how connected TV technology is creating more appealing and relevant FAST ads. Chaitanya Upadhyay, VP of product at LG Ads Solutions, noted how automated content recognition (ACR) data enables more personalized ads.

“You might almost call this ACR as the new cookie, which gives you information on what viewers are watching…on a household level,” he said in a fireside chat with TVREV lead analyst Alan Wolk.

According to TVREV, news is a top category that attracts viewers in the free ad-supporting streaming landscape. After experiencing slow growth in active accounts in the first and second quarters of 2022, Roku has been eager to prove its worth to investors and consumers.

And as analyst and research firm TVREV pointed out in a recent primer report on the FAST landscape, news is a key category bringing in viewers.

“News is a huge driver of FAST viewing too – news and movies were the two categories that all the executives we spoke with – regardless of which service they were with - cited as being the most popular with viewers,” wrote TVREV’s Alan Wolk.

TV makers, too, have been adding FAST portals to their sets, which are usually accessible via an easy button press on the remote control. Vizio and Samsung were early getting into FAST via their respective WatchFree+ and Samsung TV Plus portals, and they were recently joined by LG with its own LG Channels. Each of these offers hundreds of channels with a mix of scheduled and on-demand shows and movies.

The NFL is a perfect example, as currently there are four FAST services carrying the NFL’s FAST channel: Peacock, Pluto, Tubi and Vizio WatchFree+.

The exhibit—run by the companies Lighthouse Immersive and Impact Museum—specializes in immersive art exhibits, including recent exhibits for artists such as Vincent Van Gogh, Frida Kahlo and Claude Monet. The announced move will see the location of the exhibits head from the Founders District at 1314 Brittmoore Road in West Houston to a new spot at 600 W. Sixth St. in the Heights, according to an Aug. 10 press release.

A new immersive art exhibit that has welcomed more than 180,000 guests to the Houston area over the past year announced Aug. 10 a planned move to the Heights.

The exhibit—run by the companies Lighthouse Immersive and Impact Museum—specializes in immersive art exhibits, including recent exhibits for artists such as Vincent Van Gogh, Frida Kahlo and Claude Monet. The announced move will see the location of the exhibits head from the Founders District at 1314 Brittmoore Road in West Houston to a new spot at 600 W. Sixth St. in the Heights, according to an Aug. 10 press release.

Bundling is in right now. A study from Hub Analytics showed that 91% of respondents thought that aggregating services was a good thing. VIZIO just launched VIZIO Accounts, a service that will allow users to subscribe to, pay for and receive special offers from various SVOD providers via a single on-screen account. (And I’d be surprised if the other big OEMs weren’t contemplating something similar right now as well.)

PROSPECT — In 2018 Thomas Arters and Brad Tipper started Prospect Farms to bring organically grown CBD product to market under company ethics that include transparency about what is in company products and how its hemp is grown.

Part of what attracted Shields to Prospect Farms’ products is the care the company puts into its products, she said in a press release announcing her involvement.

The bigger news was that its smart TV Platform+ revenue was up 69% to $110.8 million -- a business that now has a 27% share of total company revenue. Next quarter it expects Platform+ revenue to be between $120 million and $125 million dollars.

Advertising revenue, part of its Platform+ business -- grew 71% to $81 million. Advertising clients rose 74% versus a year ago, adding more than 200 new advertisers.

CM Group, the leading provider of world-class technology solutions that allow marketers to build stronger and deeper relationships at every stage of the customer lifecycle, today announced that it has been recognized as the “Best Overall MarTech Company” by MarTech Breakthrough, for the third consecutive year. Cheetah Digital, which CM Group acquired earlier this year, was awarded “Best Overall Marketing Campaign Management Solution.”

Vizio (NYSE:VZIO) stock gained 11% premarket on Thursday after the firm posted strong Q2 results driven by higher revenue from its advertising platform and issued upbeat Q3 outlook.

VZIO reported Q2 EPS of $0.01 vs. -$0.08 in Q2 2021.

Connected TV engagement (5:15)
Count winner: Roku
Growth Winner: Vizio

Once again, Roku and Vizio define engagement differently. Roku counts the total hours spent streaming on Roku-powered devices. Vizio reports the aggregate time spent in the SmartCast interface and streaming time initiated from apps within the interface. Since both measures include total streaming time initiated from the TV OS, comparing the two is worthwhile.

Still, Vizio got enough of its SmartCast-powered TV sets in front of new customers to help grow the number of households using its streaming platform. On Wednesday, executives said 16.1 million Vizio TV users are actively engaged with its SmartCast platform, up from 15.6 million the previous quarter and an increase of 15% compared to last year.

Like other companies, Vizio sells advertisement space on the home screen of its SmartCast service and operates its own free, ad-supported streaming television service called Watch Free Plus. Both afford Vizio opportunities to generate revenue from its customers once their smart TV sets are in a home. Vizio said its Platform Plus business, which includes SmartCast and Watch Free Plus, earned $110.8 million in revenue in the three months ending June 30, an increase of 69% compared to last year.

Keystone Development + Investment has signed two new leases totaling more than 60K SF at The Washington, its 880K SF office building at 510 Walnut St., and renewed one of its largest tenants. The oversized ground floor has been leased to Impact Museums and Lighthouse Immersive, the partnership that brought the immersive Van Gogh Experience to Philadelphia last year as a traveling exhibition. The nearly 32K SF space is scheduled to open early next year.

Lighthouse Immersive and Impact Museums, the creators of immersive art exhibits like the blockbuster “Immersive Van Gogh Exhibit Houston,” will soon move their local venue from west Houston to a newly renovated space in the Heights to host future exhibits.

“We are so thankful for our time at the Founders District and for all of the support we’ve received thus far from the local community during our time at the Brittmoore location,” said Vito Iaia, co-founder of Impact Museums and co-producer of “Immersive Van Gogh.” “Our goal is to be a socially impactful member of the community and to continue to offer patrons more opportunities to be immersed in the best experiences possible.”