Reverberate: US media and marketing news you need to know – Facebook and Google's Nepal safety features, Jay Z defends Tidal and Abercrombie & Fitch ditch "sexualized" ads
Morning all, here’s a glimpse at all the media and marketing news you should know today.
Reverberate: US media and marketing news you need to know
1. Facebook, Google and T-Mobile are among some of the tech brands offering assistance to help families locate loved ones following the Nepal earthquake, writes NBC. Facebook's Safety Check feature, which was rolled out last year, asks users in an area affected by disaster or tragedy to confirm that they are safe.
2. Jay Z has jumped to the defence of his streaming service Tidal on Twitter, notes Time. The musician, who rarely tweets, got on his soapbox last night using the hashtag #TidalFacts saying: "Tidal is doing just fine. We have over 770,000 subs. We have been in business less than one month. #TidalFacts".
3. Abercrombie and Fitch are set to ditch their "sexualized marketing", claims the Washington Post. The announcement comes less than six months after controversial chief executive Mike Jeffries stepped down from the board.
4. The Obama administration is to fight for the right to continue to use a cellphone kill switch, says Aljazeera America. Currently, the US Department of Homeland Security has maintained a policy for shutting down private cellular service in the event of a national crisis. The lawsuit against it, filed by The Electronic Privacy Information Center is set for hearing this week.
5. New York Life has launched a search for a new creative agency, reports AdAge. The $74m account is currently handled by Havas Worldwide, which won the insurance company in late 2011, succeeding Taxi.
6. Photo app VSCO has raised $30m in its latest round of funding, says Bloomberg. With over 20 million monthly active users, the platform has drawn interest from venture capital firms, including Glynn Capital Management and existing investors Accel Partners and Goldcrest Investments.
7. The Association of National Advertisers (ANA) and the 4A’s have announced a new media watchdog, according to MediaPost. The task force will be comprised of senior marketer and agency executives to take “decisive action to address concerns about media transparency".
8. And Google Glass is still alive, according to comments made last week by the chief executive of Luxottica, Ray-Ban brand owner and the product's manufacturer partner. According to Marketing Magazine, Massimo Vian told shareholders that work for version two of Glass "is in preparation".
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