Digital Adopter Confusion; Shazam Goes Desktop

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Digital Transformation (And Confusion)

A significant percentage of digital adopters lack understanding of their tools. At least, those are the findings of Altimeter Group’s recently released report, “The 2014 State of Digital Transformation.” Of the companies surveyed, 88% claimed to be undergoing digital transformations, yet only one-fourth of those companies admitted to having a solid grasp of either new or underperforming digital tools. Altimeter’s definition of digital transformation is (thankfully) crystal clear: “the realignment of, or new investment in, technology and business models to more effectively engage digital customers at every touchpoint in the customer experience lifecycle.” While most companies readily invest in technology, realigning business models is a much larger hurdle. Read on via Forbes.

What’s That Sound?

Shazam is graduating its popular audio detection app to the Mac desktop, the company said Thursday. Like Shazam for mobile, Shazam for Mac detects music, TV shows and ads playing nearby. Users that download Shazam for Mac must opt in to activate its detection function, and in addition to unlocking the mysteries of all the world’s unknowable songs, users will also receive curated recommendations based on previous queries. This will invariably expand Shazam’s commerce partnerships, as the press release boasts that Shazam for Mac can facilitate purchases on iTunes, Amazon and Google Play. Read on.

Cloud Competition

Oracle made public its plans to buy TOA Technologies on Thursday. The to-be-acquired company provides a cloud-based field service management solution. Oracle’s acquisition, according to Business Insider, is really about stacking up to its competitors – namely Salesforce.com. Oracle CEO Larry Ellison didn’t hesitate to make his intentions known. “We are Salesforce.com’s primary competitor,” Ellison told analysts during the company’s last earnings call, “and we are going to pass Salesforce in cloud.” Read on.

DOOH’s Moveable Feast

It’s early days for the digital out-of-home (DOOH) market, a sector that has seen an annual growth rate of around 9% since 2008. The out-of-home market has been slow to embrace digital. But there may be good reason for out of home marketers to pick up the pace. According to PQ Media VP Leo Kivijarv, digital billboards generate between four and 12 times more ad revenue than traditional ones. DOOH has yet to carve out a space for itself in the larger digital advertising ecosystem, but it may piggyback on mobile’s success to do just that. “Both out-of-home and mobile share these really wonderful intersection points for marketers because its all about proximity and location,” said Clear Channel Outdoor’s VP of digital product, Josh Kruter. “The best billboard or digital signage experience is coming to life on [a] person’s device in a location to get them to take an action.” The real challenge will be measurement. Read more at Street Fight.

Cinematic Sales Magic

Be sure to power off your mobile devices at the cinema – but only after the advertisements! Visual search platform Slyce revealed on Thursday a partnership with Screenvision, a cinema advertising company whose network has more than 14,200 theatre screens in 2,200 locations, hosting roughly 500 million moviegoers each year. Slyce’s new program is ‘Shop-the-look,’ whereby viewers can snap a picture of products in movie previews, and be directed to a mobile checkout. Slyce’s tech uses image recognition and location-based tracking to make the magic happen. Just remember to silence your phone. Read the press release.