Welcome to INNOVATE MENA, a monthly collection of industry related News, Case Studies, Media & Technology updates and emerging Trends designed to help inspire our everyday thinking.

CONTENT:

1. Click-to-Message Function on Search Ads From Google2. Facebook Introduces Marketing 3.0 Model3. Twitter Launches Moments4. Facebook Launches Workplace5. Social Experiment by Berry Company Makes People Feel

Good 6. Social Augmented Reality with Facebook7. BMW’s Short Film: The Escape8. Dove’s “Real Beauty” Social Experiment9. Audi’s Epic Presidential Debate Ad10. Lenovo’s Campaign Encourages Gender Diversity

Click-to-Message Function on Search Ads From GoogleGoogle launches click-to-message ads to make it easier for brands and customers to communicate via SMS. With this highlight, consumers are now able to click on search ads to text message brands. Additionally, they can click on the ‘texting’ selection within a Google Ad to begin their SMS app which will incorporate a pre-written message. The pre-written text will be centered on what they are interested in, for instance: “I would like to book a hotel reservation.”

Introducing SMS in search ads, consequently, is clearly another way for institutions to be more receptive to consumer needs. This will be a real asset with regards to instantly responding to basic customer queries, although companies should be circumspect and use data and analytics to pinpoint when a question is becoming too complicated for SMS, suggesting a call would suffice. In conclusion, the initiation of such a function is proof to the increasingly complex customer journey.

Following Facebook's revelation last month that it had overestimated ad video views on its site for two years, the social media company is now taking a heavy data-based approach to its advertising offering. The company revealed it requires a new model – Marketing 3.0. Here, Marketing 3.0 requires marketers to look closely at their total market then determine reach and relevance to create a ‘bullseye’ marketing campaign.

Consumer’s video habits on Facebook are nearly on a par with traditional TV, according its measuring system that includes cross-referencing Nielsen and Barb’s metrics. Nearly 25% of 16- to 34-year-olds only watch video on Facebook, compared to 25.3% who only watch video on TV and 32.9% who watch both. Thus, to establish reach and relevance, this can help create tailor-made ads on Facebook that is relevant to people’s News Feeds.

Facebook Introduces Marketing 3.0 Model

Twitter is now launching moments which are tweets that are compiled to tell a story. First made available on the web, Twitter announced this feature will soon be made available to mobile users as well. The idea is to collect your tweets that are connected by subject, and combine them to create your own Moments. Initially, the feature was only made available to brands and influencers, but now the platform has opened this up to all users.

Seems like everyone wants to tell a ‘story’, or in this case share their moments. With Snapchat pioneering ‘story’ and Instagram following their footsteps, Twitter was compelled to follow the trend. This looks a clear indication that twitter is trying to increase engagement and grab more users to their platform.

Twitter Launches Moments

Facebook is bringing its enterprise-focused messaging and social networking service to market. The social networking giant has released a service specifically designed for business communication, called ‘Workplace’. It is now available to any organization, and the company’s initial revenue stream will be generated through fees rather than advertisements. Teams will be able to communicate through group discussions, keep up to date through newsfeed and collaborate via voice and video calls. Don’t worry… Workplace accounts are separate from personal Facebook accounts. It’s now clear that people use Facebook to connect with friends and family. What the company has now tapped into is the business communication side of interaction and networking. Workplace is not the first enterprise business communication platform to the market, but offers an advantage in its fees- Facebook will charge $3 per user per month for the first 1,000 users; $2 for the next 1,001-10,000; and $1 for any MAUs above that; Slack charges between $8 and $15 per active user.

Facebook Launches Workplace

Social Experiment by Berry Company Makes People Feel Good The Berry Company decides to make people feel good by hitting the streets of London to brighten up their day. Based on their own research, they found that the kind of day you would have was typically determined by 8:12am. The company executed a small social experiment that consisted of a young man making small gestures such as speaking and motivating people passing by, giving out hugs, handing people umbrellas and more. It was definitely clear that the company’s goal is to help people have a #beryygoodday.

This experiment was made to offset negative vibes and see if someone’s day could easily be turned around. They managed to reach a success rate of 61%. The family-run juice company is embedding the ideology that the product has a ‘feel good’ effect. Would a random act of kindness can change the outcome of your day?

Social Augmented Reality with FacebookMark Zuckerberg demoed a new social augmented reality/VR experience, at the Oculus Connect conference, that brings friends to life inside their VR experience. In each person’s ‘reality’ one can overlay VR avatars of friends who are elsewhere so that you can all hang out together in a virtual space, play games, take pictures and even take a call on Facebook Messenger. “This is really a new communication platform. By feeling truly present, you can share unbounded spaces and experiences with the people in your life. Imagine sharing not just moments with your friends online, but entire experiences and adventures”, says ZuckerbergFacebook is taking VR to another level with their social-networking-augmented-reality. Zuckerberg’s aim was to demonstrate the potential for human connections in VR powered by

Facebook and Oculus. Could this be the future of social interaction? What if professional meetings were all attended via VR? These developments would be extremely interesting to follow.

BMW’s Short Film: The EscapeThe Escape is the freshest episode in the BMW Films series. The movie is a mini-action thriller series presented as a tribute to the 15th anniversary of the original BMW Film series. Here, the story concentrates around a young girl who is the topic of seemingly illicit experiments, with the FBI cracking down on the company liable for such operations. The film also stars Oscar-nominated Clive Owen as The Driver, an enigmatic guy who drives the all-new 2017 BMW 5 Series BMW.

By utilizing an action-film method to “The Hire,” BMW endeavored the initiative to its predominantly male fan base. Unexpectedly, displays of bold driving tactics showcasing BMW models sustaining dramatic chase sequences increased appreciation, awareness, and positivity in regards to the safety of BMWs, especially in the opinions of women. In conclusion, the brand accomplished many gains. Demand for the content, approval for the creative, unique use of a medium, Buzz for the automaker and lastly, the rising BMW sales of up to 12%.

Dove’s “Real Beauty” Social ExperimentDove’s “Real Beauty” campaign is known for its touching creative campaigns, and this time the brand has continued to evolve its efforts. In the latest campaign from Portugal, Dove conducted an experiment that measures men’s’ heartbeats as they looked at pictures of women on a screen. These men, who are strapped to heart monitors, are first shown pictures of attractive models followed by pictures of family members which really gets their hearts pounding; the men’s reaction shift from clinical and detached to deeply invested.

This ad is slightly different that their other “Real Beauty” campaign in the sense that it switches focus to the male gaze and interpretation to beauty. Dove is brand that concentrates its messages on the idea of perception and continued to do so with this ad. The video is aimed at highlighting women’s real beauty, which goes deeper than their physical appearance and touches on their personal connections and personality traits. The ad generated over one million views during the first of its release.

Audi’s Epic Presidential Debate AdIn parallel with the American presidential debate, Audi produced a truly impressive advertisement for the new RS7. Presented in reverse, you see two people “dueling” for some unknown reason which keeps you glued to the video awaiting the finale. The brutality between the two taps into the animal in people, especially during elections season. The spot aired on debate night and mirrors one of the US’s most bitter battles for president. At the end of the ad, the tagline read “Beautiful things are worth fighting for. Choose the next driver wisely”- a clear correlation to the debate.

While watching the video, one would have no idea they are watching an Audi advertisement until the very end. Because of its alignment with the presidential debate, it was certain that people would definitely be glued watching it. It was visually and technically impeccable. The ad not only tapped into one of the most watched moments on TV, it managed to create a self-awareness among viewers as well as they are reminded of the brutality when “choosing the next driver”.

Watch it the other way around

Lenovo’s Campaign Encourages Gender DiversityLenovo has debuted their new global initiative to support and encourage gender diversity in the workplace. They launched this campaign in aims to hire more women to join their company after they realized that only 34% of their employees are women. They’ve dedicated a landing page, Lenovowomen.com, where candidates can watch testimonials from women working at Lenovo and also apply to various positions. They’ve also branded their logo in Pink for this campaign.

The company has recognized a gap in the workplace diversity and addressed it by promoting their company and their cause to empower more women in the tech world. Workplace diversity continues to be a hot topic and with Lenovo’s campaign, the company has managed to turn a CSR topic into a business enabler.