The UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has said that Google “cannot proceed with third-party cookie deprecation”, until its concerns are resolved.

As a result, the comments could potentially delaying the search giant’s timeline of phasing out third-party cookies, which was due to be finalised by the end of the year, following multiple postponements.

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According a new report by the CMA, Google’s Privacy Sandbox, the trade body claimed despite the tech giant complying with its demands, there are still several areas of concerns before it finalises the removal of third-party cookies.

Instead, the CMA has asked Google to ensure it does not “design, develop or use the Privacy Sandbox proposals in ways that reinforce the existing market position of its advertising products and services, including Google Ad Manager”.

It also requested the search engine to “address specific design issues with other Privacy Sandbox tools”, to “clarify the long-term governance arrangements for Privacy Sandbox” and “to give its assurances for the future development of the Privacy Sandbox tools”.

In a statement, a CMA spokesperson said: “In Q1 2024, we will focus on working with Google to resolve the competition concerns we have identified in this report. We are particularly keen on resolving any remaining concerns relating to the design of the Privacy Sandbox tools and to ensure that Google does not use the tools in a way that self-preferences its own advertising services.

“As part of this, we are also looking to clarify the longer-term governance arrangements for the Privacy Sandbox. We would welcome comments from interested parties on our analysis of the concerns so that we can take these into account in our discussions with Google between now and the standstill period.”

Responding to the concerns, Google added: “We continue to move forward with our plans to phase out third-party cookies in H2 2024, subject to addressing any remaining competition concerns from the UK CMA. We are confident the industry can make the transition in 2024 based on all the tremendous progress we’ve seen from leading companies.”

The news comes as three-quarters (76%) of marketers have predicted that Google’s phaseout of third-party cookies will pose additional challenges in marketing efforts, new data has revealed.

According to HubSpot’s ‘A Guide to Accelerating Business Efficiency in 2024’, 84% acknowledge that their strategy when it comes to data, privacy was significantly impacted by the changes witnessed in 2023, in particular the increased use of AI.

The post Google ‘cannot proceed with cookie deprecation until concerns resolved’, CMA warns appeared first on Mobile Marketing Magazine.

Actility

Paros now boasts its own autonomous LoRaWAN network, connecting all digital devices for ongoing and future smart city projects. This digital infrastructure, backed by Actility’s ThingPark Enterprise platform, provides real-time data – from available parking spots to home water consumption and ambient metrics like temperature and air quality – directly to its citizens.

ThingPark Enterprise is a LoRaWAN IoT connectivity management platform that helps customers build network infrastructure by managing LoRaWAN gateways, add new LoRaWAN devices, and monitor network operations. Ensuring secure connectivity, it facilitates efficient data management from sensors to cloud applications and offers modularity and scalability.

The first task tackled in this smart city transformation was one of urban mobility’s significant challenges: parking. The questions were direct – how can parking become a hassle-free experience? How can parking spots be effectively monitored in real-time?

The solution is Cicicom’s Smart Parking platform. Kickstarting with 150 parking sensors around the port, the vision is expansive, with plans to incorporate more utilities. A key component, Cicicom’s parking sensor S-LG-I3, boasts a 99 per cent detection rate, prolonged battery lifespan, and the ability to identify the parked vehicle via identification tags.

The benefits of this system include streamlining the parking process, with real-time information on availability and navigation; alleviating traffic congestion; promoting environmental sustainability by decreasing vehicle emissions; effective management of special use parking areas; harnessing real-time parking data for strategic municipal decisions; enhancing traffic law efficiency; and cutting down administrative costs for the municipality.

“I feel immense pleasure to endorse Cicicom for their revolutionary Smart Parking solution, powered by Lorawan technology,” said Samios Thanasis, Deputy Mayor of Paros. “This collaboration will catapult Paros into the forefront of smart cities globally. With real-time parking details made readily available, our traffic management will improve significantly and our endeavours for environmental sustainability will achieve a new benchmark. This solution will streamline parking, thus enhancing overall user experience, while reducing congestion. Our strategic partnership with Cicicom, an IoT industry leader, is reflective of our commitment to making Paros a city that is prosperous in every aspect.”

The post Acility and Cicicom transform Paros into “Europe’s first smart island” appeared first on Mobile Marketing Magazine.

Insurance company, Direct Line has revealed plans to launch what it claims will be the world’s first toothbrush breathalyser, an invention designed to help Brits avoid taking to the roads over the limit the morning after a night of consuming alcohol.

The Brushalyser aims to drive behaviour change by getting people to think twice before driving on a morning hangover, embedding breath testing seamlessly into their morning routines. Once finished brushing, users simply blow into the breathalyser on the back of the toothbrush; the light flashes red and vibrates if over the limit, and glows green if it’s safe to drive. The toothbrush is currently being tested for potential release in 2024.

The innovation comes after new research from Direct Line reveals that 25 per cent of British adults admit to driving the morning after a night out, despite feeling under the influence of alcohol. Younger drivers, aged 18 to 34, are the biggest offenders with 50 per cent confessing to getting behind the wheel the morning after a night out. Direct Line commissioned Opinium consumer research to poll 2,000 nationally representative UK adults who drive and drink alcohol in August 2023. The research also showed a lack of awareness when it comes to the law and limits, with 40 per cent of drivers admitting they don’t know the drink drive limit at all and 35 per cent saying they were unaware of the penalties if they were to be caught. One in 10 believe breakfast, coffee and sleep will sober them up enough to be fit to drive. 29 per cent of 18-34-year-olds believe if they don’t feel drunk the morning after an evening of drinking alcohol they are fine to drive. The company notes also that police Forces have reported an 8 per cent year-on-year increase in motorists failing breath tests in the morning hours.

“As one of the UKs leading insurers, we’re on a mission to make roads safer for everyone and it’s clear drivers need a wake-up call when it comes to drinking and driving,” said Lorraine Price, Head of Motor Insurance at Direct Line. “The breathalyser toothbrush aims to remind people they could be over the limit the morning after drinking, and ties breath testing seamlessly into Brit’s morning routines. We’re mindful this is in early development stages, but change is needed now, so we’re urging people to get clued up on how long it takes to sober up.”

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Bouygues Travaux Publics, offshoot of global construction groups, Bouygues Construction, has deployed 

The UBY Soil solution, backed by Abeeway’s multi-technology sensors and LoRaWAN network technology, helps streamline, speed up and secure the creation of digital spoil tracking forms, while also locating and tracing the fleet of hundreds of trucks involved in spoil removal for Bouygues Travaux Publics. The UBY Soil solution comprises an iOS and Android mobile- and tablet-optimized app, and a web-based dashboard for real-time spoil tracking, reporting and configuration – adding, editing and configuring sensors.

This initiative aligns with another IoT project already deployed by Bouygues Construction, in which over 20,000 pieces of equipment are being tracked using LoRaWAN technology.

Regulatory changes have made the management of excavated material a priority for all construction sites in France, and notably all the worksites of the ‘Grand Paris Express’ metro project. The spoil that leaves the construction site has the status of waste and must be disposed of in planned landfill sites.

The challenge for construction sites is not only in the amount and diversity of spoil, but also in providing full traceability of excavated material to the final outlet. The project owner, as the person responsible for the burial or repurposing of the waste produced within the framework of his project, needs a tool that guarantees this traceability.

Bouygues Travaux Public worked initially with various subsidiaries of Bouygues Group (e-Lab, the Group’s R&D entity, C2S, the Bouygues IT and software development subsidiary), to develop UBY Soil. Abeeway’s smart multi-technology geolocation devices were selected to complete the solution.

UBY Soil is part of the UBY family of solutions, designed and developed by construction industry experts to help general contractors and infrastructure operators tackle their environmental, productivity, health, and safety challenges.

UBY Soil ensures the traceability of spoil from the moment it is excavated and loaded onto a truck, to when it leaves the site and all through its journey until it is deposited at an approved collection site. To date, it has been deployed for 3 different projects covering many Grand Paris Express construction sites, but also on smaller sites in the Paris region and in the South-West of France. 

Abeeway devices work perfectly outdoors as well as indoors thanks to their multi-technology geolocation system, integrating GPS, Low-power GPS (patented), wi-fi Sniffing and Bluetooth Low Energy. Also offering years of battery life, intelligently configured multimodal behavior and advanced location resolution algorithms, Abeeway trackers provide geolocation intelligence for a wide range of use cases, in construction, industry and the supply chain.

Thanks to contactless NFC tags embedded on the Abeeway sensors attached to the truck dumpster, the operator can create and fill in the spoil tracking slip with the UBY Soil application in a couple of taps before the truck leaves the site of origin. The digitized slip is uploaded to the secure server, sent in an email and displayed on the mobile device if asked for.

Throughout its journey, the truck’s position is communicated through LoRaWAN network technology. This uses an unlicensed radio spectrum and allows battery-powered sensors to communicate with IoT applications across a long-range while also consuming ultra-low power.

Upon arrival at the destination site, the inclinometer detects the bucket movement and records the exact location of the unloading. All the information is summarized and can be consulted on the UBY Soil dashboard. An alert system instantly detects a possible destination error to guarantee optimum traceability of the excavated material. 

The post Bouygues Travaux Publics rolls out IoT debris monitoring solution appeared first on Mobile Marketing Magazine.

Heineken has created ‘TH3 G4M1NG FR1DG3’, a custom-made PC integrated with a Heineken beer fridge. It is designed to cool down both the PC hardware and the bottles inside, so gamers can enjoy a cold Heineken while playing their favorite game.

The fridge is the latest instalment of Heinekens ‘Not All Nights Out are Out’ campaign, launched in March this year, to highlight the importance of making the most of the moments of socialization within the gamer culture, focusing on the connection between players and the brand.

“TH3 G4M1NG FR1DG3 is yet another unique tool for us to communicate our ‘Not All Nights Out are Out’ campaign, which shows that gaming and socializing are connected”, saidIgor de Castro, Senior Marketing Manager for the Heineken 0.0 brand in Brazil. “We are very excited to bring this innovation to the public, players and consumers alike, connecting even more with the gamer community and giving them the chance to have a customized, themed PC and enjoy a cold Heineken or Heineken 0.0 with their favorite games”.

To create the PC/fridge combi Heineken partnered with its ad hoc creative advertising agency, LePub Brazil. “Heineken is able to provide moments of socialization wherever it is, and this is the brands mission, in addition to breaking stereotypes,” said Felipe Cury, Chief Creative Officer of LePub Brazil. “TH3 G4M1NG FR1DG3 is yet another action of this kind, bringing a conviviality to the gamer universe, both appreciating this moment and showing that the gamer universe is extremely social, that Heineken 0,0 and games really go well together. Especially since you need to cool both beer and hardware and Heineken really mastered the former.”

The device repurposes a Heineken 0.0 fridge to accommodate a fully-working custom PC build within the space usually reserved for beer bottles. The setup allows the fridge to cool down both the hardware and the beer bottles, providing a controlled-temperature environment for both.

To solve the technical challenges of combining a PC build with a fridge, the team reached out to LeGarage, LePub’s Innovation and Gaming Hub. The team engineered a custom cooling system that would maintain a low temperature while the PC is working and combine it with forced air circulation to prevent condensation.

“We wanted to click with a segment of gamers that few brands usually consider: PC gamers”, said Andrey Tyukavkin, Executive Creative Director of LeGarage and Lead Engineer of the project. “And within the PC gaming community, we wanted to appreciate a culture of modders – people who customize their builds, modify the design and architecture of the machine, and socialize by sharing their specs and unique looks with each other. Really amazing and weird things have come out of that trend, and we saw that several creators had been attempting to make a working beer fridge that could run a PC build. So we knew this was something gamers wanted and something that would resonate with the community and with the culture.”

Heineken will offer gamers the chance to own one of the limited edition devices. The brand has partnered with Gaules, Brazil’s top Twitch streamer, to host a giveaway among his 4m followers on his channel. The device will also make a special appearance on the Brazilian revamped Twitch show ‘Aprovado’, to celebrate Heineken ’s 150th anniversary. To crown the campaign, Heineken 0.0 will be present at the award ceremony organized by the CBLoL 2023 – the biggest League of Legends competition in Brazil – in theutumn, as one of the main sponsors of the championship, to reward the winning team with a set of TH3 G4M1NG FR1DG3s.

The post Heineken creates TH3 G4M1NG FR1DG3 beer fridge/PC combi for gamers appeared first on Mobile Marketing Magazine.

The Effective Mobile Marketing Awards focus on mobile, while the Effective Digital Marketing Awards cover the broader digital marketing landscape.

There’s a full list of the categories for each Awards Program below. To find out more about, and enter, the Effective Mobile Marketing Awards head here. 

And for the Effective Digital Marketing Awards, head here. 

Effective Mobile Marketing Awards categories:

Most Effective App Advertising Platform

Most Effective App Analytics Platform

Most Effective App Install Campaign

Most Effective App Store Optimisation Campaign

Most Effective Augmented Reality/Virtual Reality Campaign

Most Effective Influencer Marketing Campaign

Most Effective Location Campaign

Most Effective Metaverse Campaign or Experience

Most Effective Mobile Advertising Campaign

Most Effective Small Budget Campaign

Most Effective Use of Data

Most Effective User Acquisition Platform

Effective Digital Marketing Awards categories:

Most Effective B2B Campaign

Most Effective Content Marketing Campaign

Most Effective Digital Advertising Campaign

Most Effective Integrated Campaign

Most Effective International Campaign

Most Effective Launch Campaign

Most Effective Mobile Campaign

Most Effective Performance Marketing Campaign

Most Effective Search Campaign

Most Effective Social Campaign

Most Effective Tech Platform

Most Innovative Campaign

The post Effective Mobile and Effective Digital Marketing Awards – final deadline extension appeared first on Mobile Marketing Magazine.

The Effective Mobile Marketing Awards focus on mobile, while the Effective Digital Marketing Awards cover the broader digital marketing landscape.

There’s a full list of the categories for each Awards Program below. To find out more about, and enter, the Effective Mobile Marketing Awards head here. 

And for the Effective Digital Marketing Awards, head here. 

Effective Mobile Marketing Awards categories:

Most Effective App Advertising Platform

Most Effective App Analytics Platform

Most Effective App Install Campaign

Most Effective App Store Optimisation Campaign

Most Effective Augmented Reality/Virtual Reality Campaign

Most Effective Influencer Marketing Campaign

Most Effective Location Campaign

Most Effective Metaverse Campaign or Experience

Most Effective Mobile Advertising Campaign

Most Effective Small Budget Campaign

Most Effective Use of Data

Most Effective User Acquisition Platform

Effective Digital Marketing Awards categories:

Most Effective B2B Campaign

Most Effective Content Marketing Campaign

Most Effective Digital Advertising Campaign

Most Effective Integrated Campaign

Most Effective International Campaign

Most Effective Launch Campaign

Most Effective Mobile Campaign

Most Effective Performance Marketing Campaign

Most Effective Search Campaign

Most Effective Social Campaign

Most Effective Tech Platform

Most Innovative Campaign

The post Effective Mobile and Effective Digital Marketing Awards deadlines extended to 7 July appeared first on Mobile Marketing Magazine.

Hyundai Motor Group (HMG) and Vodafone Business have announced a multi-year extension of their existing strategic partnership to provide customers with advanced in-car connected streaming and infotainment services in more than 40 countries across Europe.

Under the partnership extension, Vodafone Business will bring its Global Internet of Things (IoT) Connectivity for Connected Car Service to millions of Hyundai, Kia, and Genesis models sold in Europe. Last year saw HMG record its highest annual sales in Europe to date, with nearly 1.1m units sold, and today’s announcement underlines the Group’s determination to position itself as a leader in innovative mobility solutions.

“The driving experience as we know it will continue to change and we want to be at the forefront of that shift. Vodafone is a trusted partner for Hyundai Motor Group and has been instrumental in connecting drivers of our vehicles with real-time and relevant information at the wheel,” said Haeyoung Kwon, Vice President, Infotainment Development Center at Hyundai Motor Group. “Thanks to our continued partnership, we will be able to make our vision for the automotive world of the future a reality. We are looking forward to seeing this partnership evolve so we can realize the true mobility of Hyundai Motor Group.”

Erik Brenneis, Director, IoT, Vodafone Business, added: “In-vehicle connectivity is becoming universal. As a leader in IoT, Vodafone Business can offer unique and innovative solutions that drive the adoption of the technology. Vodafone and Hyundai have been shaping the future of vehicle mobility since 2018, and the extension of our partnership means we can enhance the experience of millions more customers across Europe.”

With Vodafone Business’s IoT Connectivity, Hyundai, Kia and Genesis customers in Europe will benefit from fast and reliable access to features such as audio/video streaming and wi-fi hotspots. By drawing on the strength and geographical scale of Vodafone Business’s global IoT platform, which already supports 160 million connections, HMG will also provide motorists with a more consistent experience and greater level of cross-border mobility.  

The post Hyundai and Vodafone extend in-car infotainment partnership appeared first on Mobile Marketing Magazine.

The Digital Advertising Alliance (DAA) has released

The DAA Best Practices describe how companies should provide users with notice and control around the collection, use, and transfer of Connected Device Data for interest-based advertising and other covered purposes. According to the DAA Best Practices, both first parties and third parties should provide a link on their digital properties to an effective opt-out mechanism that allows consumers to exercise choice regarding the collection, use, and transfer of Connected Device Data for covered purposes. (Connected Device Data is data collected from or through a connected device about the use of a digital property or service by that device.)

“For more than a decade, the DAA’s self-regulatory programs have kept pace with rapid changes in the digital ecosystem by offering regular updates and guidance around emerging issues like mobile data, cross-device data, video and Addressable Media Identifiers,” said Lou Mastria, CEO of the DAA. “The release of the DAA Best Practices will kick off a creative ad specification process, so we can help consumers access privacy information and controls for connected devices through intuitive notices and consolidated user interfaces.

“Given the complicated and still-emerging nature of the connected device space, the DAA has issued these best practices to drive forward the adoption of enhanced transparency and control for companies creating connected products and services,” continued Mastria. “Our goal is to extend the easy and widely recognized AdChoices experience from the desktop and mobile environments into this emerging space.”

According to Iot Analytics, there were approximately 14.4bn IoT connected devices in use worldwide in 2022, and that number will nearly double to 27bn devices by 2025. These best practices do not cover computers, tablets, smartphones, and mobile devices, which are already addressed by the DAA Principles and prior guidance.

In the coming weeks, the DAA plans to convene a Working Group with stakeholders representing key trade associations, advertisers, publishers, ad tech providers, agencies, and device makers to consider actionable plans to operationalize the best practices. The Working Group will create and release technical implementation specifications for participants in the connected device ecosystem.

The post Digital Advertising Alliance releases IoT data Best Practices guidelines appeared first on Mobile Marketing Magazine.

Apple

At the launch event, Apple described what the headset delivers as augmented reality, though it looks more like a virtual reality headset. Powered by visionOS, which Apple describes as “the world’s first spatial operating system”, the headset introduces a three-dimensional user interface controlled by the user’s eyes, hands, and voice.

Vision Pro will be available early next year, initially in the US, with more countries to follow, priced at $3,499 (£2,816) – seven times the cost of Meta’s recently-announced Meta Quest 3 headset, due to launch in the autumn.

“Today marks the beginning of a new era for computing,” said Apple CEO, Tim Cook. “Just as the Mac introduced us to personal computing, and iPhone introduced us to mobile computing, Apple Vision Pro introduces us to spatial computing. Built upon decades of Apple innovation, Vision Pro is years ahead and unlike anything created before – with a revolutionary new input system and thousands of groundbreaking innovations. It unlocks incredible experiences for our users and exciting new opportunities for our developers.”

The device offers support for Magic Keyboard and Magic Trackpad, so users can set bring the capabilities of their Mac into Vision Pro wirelessly, creating a private, portable 4K display.

With two ultra-high-resolution displays, Apple said that Vision Pro can transform any space into a personal movie theatre with a screen that feels 100 feet wide and an advanced spatial audio system. Users can watch movies and TV shows, or enjoy three-dimensional movies.

Vision Pro also offers Immersive Environments, where a user’s world can grow beyond the dimensions of a physical room with dynamic landscapes that can help them focus or reduce clutter in busy spaces. A twist of the Digital Crown lets a user control how present or immersed they are in an environment.

FaceTime calls take advantage of the room around the user, with everyone on the call reflected in life-size tiles, as well as spatial audio. Users wearing Vision Pro during a FaceTime call are reflected as a Persona – a digital representation of themselves created using Apple’s most advanced machine learning techniques – which reflects face and hand movements in real time. Users can do things together like watch a movie, browse photos, or collaborate on a presentation.

Finally, Apple Vision Pro has an all-new App Store where users can discover apps and content from developers, and access hundreds of thousands of familiar iPhone and iPad apps that run great and automatically work with the new input system for Vision Pro. Apple’s developer community can leverage Vision Pro and visionOS to design new app experiences, and reimagine existing ones for spatial computing.

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