Google assistant also speaks.... Belgian

As of end of May, a Belgian version of Google assistant has been deployed. This version is Belgian because it is enabled to recognize typical Belgian accents or words. Also some local companies and institutions have collaborated: the KMI-IRM delivers local weather forecasts, Bpost provides the user with information such as package tracking, NMBS-SNCB allows to be informed on train schedules, Colruyt and VRT are also part of the project. 

The availability of localized versions may be a boost for vocal assistants, while in Belgium their penetration is relatively low (17%) compared to Europe (28%). The absence of a Belgian Dutch voice is often cited as a problem for further development of those devices.

Chrome to block all cookies, except those managed by Google

Google has announced they will enable Chrome to block all cookies and trackers. Worth noting: it seems their intention is to set up a white list of authorized things. This white list would of course include all the trackers owned by Google. This new feature would therefore primarily impact all third party measurement.

In the meantime some sources also mention that next versions of Chrome will "block the (ad)blockers". Only the "Entreprise" -paid-version would allow adblockers.

Hawk : the mobile platform goes desktop

Hawk, also known as Tabmo, is for the time being a platform specialized in mobile advertising. They guarantee access to a large premium inventory in Belgium and worldwide. They are specialized in video but had recently opened their inventory to display buying.

As of May 6th, Tabmo will open its video inventory to desktop. The goal is to allow to have a complete campaign on multiple devices : mobile, tablet and desktop.

For the launch of that new opportunity, Tabmo will only focus on video. But in the long term, the objective is also to allow it with display bannering. To buy that inventory, it’s necessary to use Hawk/Tabmo platform, like before for the mobile campaign.

For the start of that action, desktop has to be seen as an extension of mobile campaign on Hawk. Not all the mobile targeting (such as geotargeting, drive to store, …) will be available on desktop.

Hawk has already a large and premium inventory. By adding desktop to the offer, they are strongly increasing their potential.

Mobile advertising: Amazon to compete with Google and Facebook

The e-commerce giant is about to create a new format for video advertising within its mobile application.

Amazon has been testing on iOS platforms a new type of ads for brands selling on their  platform: video ads of 15 to 30 seconds that are displayed within search results. Implementation of this new format on Android platforms is planned later this year.

In the practice, the short video commercial  is based on a customer’s search query on the Amazon mobile app. This may be considered a valuable context: in the United States, consumers searching for products on that app have a higher propensity to buy than those scrolling through Facebook or on Google’s Youtube.

This ad type will be available through Amazon Marketing Service as opposed to its DSP that is used to manage programmatic display advertisements. Amazon is requiring a $35,000 ad budget to run the ads on a Cost per View of 5 cents to run the spots for 60 days, but prices may vary by category.

The video market, currently dominated by Google and Facebook, and estimated  $ 16 billion, is about to see Amazon come into force!

In a Facebook document published this January, we could read "We are competing with Amazon in online advertising ". For the first time Facebook named their rival, showing that competition is increasing.

There is for the moment, no date set for a release in Belgium. Hopefully, it will be available soon for our country.

RTBF Mix on DAB+ in Flanders

As already explained RTBF has stopped any AM broadcasting in 2019. To maintain free access to their porogrammes for French speaking people living in Flanders, RTBF subcontracted the RTBF Mix package to the owner of the Flemish network. Via DAB+ everyone in Flanders may listen to the 3 main stations of RTBF in terms of audience: La Première, Classic 21 and Vivacité. This provides listeners with more stable and better digital quality sound than the analogue AM did in the past.