TikTok is widely launching its promotional discovery feature, TikTok Spotlight, which lets marketers tap into its vaunted “For You” feed. Movie studios, TV networks and streamers are invited to promote their products adjacent to For You feed content identified as having related interest. “TikTok Spotlight identifies applicable TikToks on our platform and attributes an anchor link” that “drives audiences to a dedicated landing page where they can discover more details,” like synopsis, cast, and user-generated content. Users can link to streaming platforms, digital storefronts or theater ticket sales “directly from the landing page.” Continue reading TikTok Spotlight Offers Studios, Networks New Marketing Tool

HTC is launching an advertising service for VR developers for use on the Viveport platform. The VR Ad Service allows developers to place video ads, banner ads, 360-degree video and cinema-scale ads into their VR experiences, integrating them as in-app scenarios or into pre-loads or post-experience slots. Another possibility would be to place ads onto 3D models in the VR experience, such as on a character’s T-shirt. End users may chafe at ads, but they may fund VR experiences that might otherwise never be made. Continue reading HTC Rolls Out Advertising Service for Viveport VR Developers

Research firm AppNation forecasts a dramatic increase in the overall app economy in the U.S. over the next four years. The AppNation report predicts that the combined value of paid apps, app-enabled purchases of goods and services, and in-app advertising will double to $151 billion by 2017. While smartphones and tablets largely drive today’s app economy, innovations with smart TVs and connected cars are expected to help drive future app commerce. Continue reading Report: App Economy Expected to Double in Value by 2017