As the Mobile Messaging War Heats Up, Kik Tries to Win Over Marketers With GIFs

Twentieth Century Fox wants to talk to teens the way that they do with their friends, so it's using GIFs to chat with them on mobile messaging app Kik. The film studio and agency Trailer Park are launching a campaign today for the sci-fi flick Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials, the sequel to 2014's Maze Runner based on T.S. Nowlin's book trilogy. In the movie, a group of boys are stuck in a maze, and the only way out is to go through a series of challenges given out by a secret organization called WCKD. To play off of the movie's twisting plot, Fox is using Kik's Promoted Chats to let fans talk to a bot version of the WCKD character. The bot offers text-based information and a total of 12 GIFs that walk users through a series of challenges to help them get out of the maze. Like the movie's story, the app's messaging can go several ways. "It kind of feels like one of those choose-your-own adventure books that you may have played as a kid, but played out in a much more modern way," said Paul Gray, Kik's director of platform services. Fox's campaign is the first time that a brand has used GIFs on Kik, Gray said. It's also the first work to be born from the technology Kik gained when it acquired GIF messaging app Relay last year. "One of the things we're always trying to work on is developing storytelling and combining that with emerging technology," said Glenn Sanders, group creative director at Trailer Park. "The story that we wanted to tell actually matched up... Continue reading at 'AdWeek'

[ AdWeek | 2015-08-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Spain’s Book Market in 2022: Up 5.5 Percent

The annual report from Spain's publishers describes a 10th consecutive year of growth for the country's book market, at €2.7 billion. The post Spain’s Book Market in 2022: Up 5.5 Percent appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2023-07-27 20:58:08 UTC ]
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AAP StatShot Shows the US Book Market Flat in May

In the US, sales of books for adults and education were up in May, as children's books slid again, per AAP's StatShot. The post AAP StatShot Shows the US Book Market Flat in May appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2023-07-24 14:10:38 UTC ]
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Abrams Announces Marketing and Publicity Groups Restructuring

With the company's marketing and publicity teams unified across adult and children’s book imprints, Abrams aims to create a more efficient way to reach readers. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-07-24 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Beaton, Liu, Takeda Win Graphic Novel Eisners

Kate Beaton won two prizes and DC Comics had eight winners as the comics and graphic novel industry held its annual Eisner Awards ceremony July 21 at the start of this year's San Diego Comic-Con. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-07-23 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Adapting to Market Demands and Trends at Imago

Project-wise, Imago is now approaching pre-pandemic levels, says president and CEO Howard Musk. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-07-21 04:00:00 UTC ]
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After Cutting Open-Market Programmatic, Bloomberg Media Sees Efficiency Gains, Revenue Losses

On Jan. 1, the privately owned business publisher Bloomberg Media shut off its open-market programmatic advertising, a move to better control its user experience and drive advertisers to reach its audience by buying directly from the company itself. Six months later, the strategy produced its... Continue reading at AdWeek

[ AdWeek | 2023-07-18 11:31:59 UTC ]
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England: Christine Pillainayagam, Leah Thaxton Win the Branford Boase

Honoring both a debut author and his or her editor, England's Branford Boase Award goes this year to Christine Pillainayagam and Leah Thaxton. The post England: Christine Pillainayagam, Leah Thaxton Win the Branford Boase appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2023-07-13 18:46:03 UTC ]
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Germany’s 2022 Market Report: Turnover Down 1.9 Percent

The German book market faces a perplexing set of circumstances, resulting in an overall performance down -1.9 percent in 2022. The post Germany’s 2022 Market Report: Turnover Down 1.9 Percent appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2023-07-05 13:17:22 UTC ]
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Animated GIF generator from Picsart makes AI fun again

Remember the early days of the AI hype train, when everyone spent their time making stupid images using text prompts? If you want to recapture the nostalgic haze of, uh, late 2022, Picsart has got you covered. The popular image editor just launched an AI-powered animated GIF generator.The major... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2023-07-03 17:59:35 UTC ]
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Freedom Fighters: Ibram X. Kendi Kicks Off ALA 2023 with a Powerful Message to Librarians

The ALA’s first-ever Rally for the Right to Read featured librarians and advocates speaking of the need to fight censorship and a keynote from author Ibram X. Kendi, who praised librarians as modern-day freedom fighters. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-06-23 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Canadian captures extraordinary beauty of ordinary pigeons in award-winning photo

Two Vancouver photographers won Audubon Photography Awards this year — Liron Gertsman for his picture of preening pigeons, and Shane Kalyn for his shot of a lone puffin perched on a colourful cliff. Continue reading at CBC

[ CBC | 2023-06-21 21:14:32 UTC ]
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Barbara Kingsolver Wins the UK’s Women’s Prize for Fiction

The American author Barbara Kingsolver has become the only writer to win the United Kingdom's Women's Prize for Fiction twice. The post Barbara Kingsolver Wins the UK’s Women’s Prize for Fiction appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2023-06-14 18:31:40 UTC ]
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Black creators drive higher media value for marketers, study finds

A new report from Group Black and Nielsen reveals Black creators have larger and more engaged followings than their non-Black peers. Continue reading at Advertising Age

[ Advertising Age | 2023-06-13 14:00:00 UTC ]
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Ubisoft's open-world Star Wars game is 'Outlaws' and it's coming in 2024

Ubisoft's long-awaited open world Star Wars game will arrive in 2024. The publisher announced Star Wars Outlaws on Sunday during Microsoft's Xbox and Starfield Direct showcase with a cinematic trailer that introduces fans to the game's Han Solo-like protagonist, Key Vess. Ubisoft is billing... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2023-06-11 17:27:38 UTC ]
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CI2023: Trends in the Children’s Book Market

Circana's Brenna Connor assessed “The State of the Children’s Book Market” for Children’s Institute 2023 in Milwaukee, speaking about transformations, troubles, and growth opportunities across the children’s, middle grade, and YA sectors. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-06-07 04:00:00 UTC ]
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The Audiobook Market, and Revenue, Keeps Growing

The Audio Publishers Association’s annual sales survey revealed an 11th straight year of double-digit growth in audiobook sales, with 2022 revenue from reporting publishers up 10%, to $1.8 billion. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-06-01 04:00:00 UTC ]
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The Morning After: Industry leaders say AI presents 'risk of extinction' on par with nuclear war

With the rise of AI language models and tools like ChatGPT and Bard, we've heard warnings from people involved, like Elon Musk, about the risks posed by AI. Now, a group of high-profile industry leaders has issued a one-sentence statement: “Mitigating the risk of extinction from AI should be a... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2023-05-31 11:15:45 UTC ]
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A Nobel Prize-winning French author looks at a shopping mall. Magic ensues

In 'Look at the Lights, My Love,' an extended essay about a Parisian superstore, Annie Ernaux proves she can master any subject by melding experience and recollection. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2023-05-19 13:00:25 UTC ]
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With Russia at war, fascism has taken hold of its young people, Canadian researcher finds

While his assessment has its detractors, Canadian author and Russia expert Ian Garner believes fascist views now permeate Russia's young people to such a degree that the chances of a lasting peace following the war in Ukraine are remote. ... Continue reading at CBC

[ CBC | 2023-05-15 08:00:00 UTC ]
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What happened to all the war vet novelists? They've moved on, and so have we

Kevin Powers was among the best in a wave of novelists on Iraq and Afghanistan. His new thriller, "A Line in the Sand," signals their slow fade from relevance. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2023-05-12 13:00:10 UTC ]
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