Google Assistant’s Interpreter Mode is now live

After making its debut at CES 2019, Google has finally brought Assistant’s Interpreter Mode to smart displays and speakers. It’s available on all Google Home speakers, some with Google Assistant built-in, and all smart displays. To activate the feature, you need to say something like “turn on interpreter mode” or “Help me speak Spanish” in either English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, or Spanish. It can translate between 26 languages with support for more on the way.

Source: Engadget

‘Captain Marvel’ will be first Disney+ exclusive film

Marvel Studios

After Captain Marvel hits theatres next month, you won’t be able to re-watch it later on any other streaming service except for Disney’s upcoming Disney+ service. The company’s CEO Bob Iger announced at an investors call on February 5^th that Captain Marvel will be the first film to exclusively stream on its service. Disney also plans to drop its US$140 million licensing program so all its content will be made exclusive on its service. Iger is also saying that many of its sub-brands—which include Marvel, Pixar, and Lucasfilm—are working on content specifically for Disney+. He even mentioned National Geographic, which Disney is in the process of acquiring as part of its purchase of 21^st Century Fox.

This move will not impact theatrical releases though, according to Iger. We also don’t have that many details about the service right now. But it’s expected to cost less than Netflix and come out sometime at the end of the year.

Source: Hypebeast

Deidre O'Brien to head Apple's Retail and People as SVP, as Angela Ahrendts departs

It is a bit of a bombshell shake-up at Cupertino as Apple announced that Deirdre O’Brien is taking on new responsibilities for Apple’s retail and online stores in an expanded role as senior vice president of Retail + People, reporting to CEO Tim Cook.

O'Brien will take over from Angela Ahrendts, who is leaving the company after five years of leading the company’s retail and online stores, Angela Ahrendts who was CEO of Burberry before joining Apple, was a prime acquisiton and led the company's foray into more fashionable products and retail stores.

Many insiders believed Ahrendt's was being groomed for a bigger role at Apple, possibly even as CEO of the global brand post Tim Cook.  

Click to read more ...

Super Bowl ads over the years, is it worth it for marketers?

Big events like this past weekend's Super Bowl have great stakes not just for the players and their teams but for the advertisers. Quite honestly, watching the ads have become it's own event. Just go on Twitter during the game and see what's still trending. What was buzzing? Chance the Rapper with Backstreet Boys and Doritos, Game of Thrones Bud Light, Microsoft Xbox Accessible Controller, and OMG, the Hula and The Handmaid's Tale. But what does it all translate to for the advertisers?

Steve Mast is the Chief Innovation Officer behind the automated market research platform Methodify, which is powered by the innovative minds of Delvinia, a proudly-Canadian technology scale-up founded in 1998. We checked in with Mast to gain some insight into the brands who spend millions on unforgettable Super Bowl spots, celebrity endorsements and taking BIG risks in hopes of connecting with their audience. 

Click to read more ...