Today, artificial intelligence (AI) is almost indispensable when talking about customers' service expectations, competitiveness, and assistance. To no surprise, AI technologies are taking centerstage not only in innovation hubs like Silicon Valley, but the big platform companies like Amazon, Google, Baidu or Alibaba are joining forces and investing billions of dollars in AI, too.

Ooyala, a provider of software and solutions that optimize the production, distribution and monetization of media, just presented its Q1 2018 Global Video Index Report. For more than 10 years the company is at the forefront of shaping the OTT and media workflow revolutions as a leading expert in its field.

According to a survey published by Reuters Plus, executives think platforms should do more to combat fake news. Of the 1,587 global executives surveyed, 87% think Google and Facebook should do more to control fake news, while 81% believe that Google and Facebook should be held accountable for content.

According to a study conducted by OC&C Strategy Consultants, voice shopping is expected to jump to $40 billion in 2022, up from $2 billion today, suggesting the new channel may well be the next major disruptive force in retail. The growth in the voice segment will be driven by a surge in the number of homes using smart speakers, rising from 13% today to 55%.

Videos are said to be strong traffic and engagement guarantors in online marketing, especially when used in social media, since posting live videos and short clips is explicitly encouraged and promoted by networks like Facebook where visual content gets a lot of attention.

Although the vast majority of marketers is aware of the fact that the Internet of Things (IoT) will change their industry, besides security concerns, not having the required skills is named as one of the main reasons for not implementing IoT. Indeed, IoT requires a complete rethinking of business management, but rewards with incredible new opportunities. It's not just about connecting devices in a meaningful way, but optimizing processes, extending customer services, and creating new revenue streams. Ultimately, IoT solutions simplify processes and create new values for users.

Apparently, mobile optimization, the preparation of the corporate website for optimal display on smartphones and tablets, is deemed negligible by many marketing or sales decision makers - in the otherwise often very innovative, industrial companies.

Millennials represent more than 45% of Asia Pacific’s population, and with 60% of the world’s millennials expected to live in Asia by 2020, it’s a group that no one can afford to ignore.

When using social networks, it is important to observe legal provisions with regards to content, comments and monitoring, since in social media marketing a variety of areas are included, such as supporting sales, simplifying service consulting, promoting advertising, attracting new customers or just improving the public perception of the company. Not to mention that social networks are preferably used for market research purposes via social media monitoring. In any case, it is important to respect some basic consumer data protection rights.

One of the most difficult tasks for marketers is a personalized customer approach and that’s exactly where AI can help.

The good old moving picture, aka video, is a popular tool for all companies that have something to show or to explain, making it interesting for marketing. Besides the fact that almost 90% of Internet users between the ages of 14 and 29 watch videos online every week, meaning that the most potent buyer group is undoubtedly video affine. Much of the consumption time of online videos is by no means attributable to new-modern social phenomena, such as binge-watching on large series and film platforms, but company’s advertising videos are often as well consumed on social media channels. In addition, the increased use of the internet via smartphone is boosting the need for new video marketing measures. If you manage to get into the microcosm of a potential buyer, advertising on video content can actually be lucrative.

Mobility is gaining traction worldwide. By 2022, more than 4 in 10 employees around the world are expected to be mobile, according to Strategy Analytics and IDC reported that global spending on mobility-related hardware, software, and services – such as smartphones, enterprise mobility management software and mobile connectivity services will reach US$1.72 trillion by 2021, up by 8.5% compared to last year.

Technology has become a strategic imperative for all sectors and retail is not an exception. As retailers across the world scramble to lure customers and improve operational efficiencies, deploying the right digital technologies is essential for differentiation and survival, according to leading data and analytics company, GlobalData.

The days when a company just had to set up an appropriate social media page to automatically be pushed forward by the hype are definitely a thing of the past. The demands on marketing and communication managers have simply changed dramatically over the past ten years. With the event of social media, its networking power and user-generated content, marketing activities need to be strategically orchestrated for proper human resources planning, time- and cost management.