Need to Know – The latest US media & marketing news: Amazon to launch own food line, Apple snaps up Metaio & Google unveils VR kit
Morning all, here’s a glimpse at all the media and marketing news you should know today.
Google Jump
1. Amazon is getting ready to launch its own line of food and household products, says Business Insider. The items will reportedly fall under the retailer's Elements brand. The firm has already filed for paperwork to get trademark protection in more than 20 product categories, including milk, coffee, soup, pasta, and water, as well as household products such as razors and cleaners.
2. Apple has acquired German augmented-reality company Metaio, asserts the Wall Street Journal. Commenting on the buy, the Silicon Valley behemoth issued a characteristically aloof response, saying it wasn't going to discuss its "purpose or plans". Metaio has recently worked with Google on a technology that allows people to make any real world surface into a virtual touch screen.
3. Speaking of the virtual world, Google unveiled its virtual reality filmmaking kit, Google Jump, at its I/O developer conference on Thursday, writes Mashable. The set consists of three parts: the camera rig itself, software that automatically assembles and processes footage, and a player.
4. The search giant also launched an attack on Facebook's mobile ad goldmine with a raft of new services and features, claims Forbes. The new updates will make it easier for marketers and developers to purchase ads from app downloads on mobile devices which can be displayed across Google's search pages, YouTube, the Play app store and its networks of third-party sites and apps.
5. Uber has unveiled plans for a new $50bn HQ in San Francisco, reports Time. The offices, located in Mission Bay, are expected to open by late 2017 or early 2018. Drawings show plans for a six-story building and an 11-story building connected by futuristic glass walkways.
6. Trevor Noah will make his debut on The Daily Show on 28 Sept, notes Adweek. Comedy Central announced, via a trailer, that the South African comedian won't appear on the screen until seven-and-a-half-weeks after Jon Stewart's final appearance
7. A US judge has ruled that Yahoo must face class a nationwide class-action lawsuit over accusations it illegally intercepted the content of emails sent to its subscribers, and used the information to boost ad revenue. According to Reuters those affected may sue as a group under the federal Stored Communications Act for alleged privacy violations.
8. And Kellogg's has been ranked as the most reputable US company by consumers, says MediaPost. The brand jumped 10 spots from last year to take the top spot in the Reputation Institute's 2015 rankings, and was closely followed by Lego, Fruit of the Loom and the Campbell Soup Company.
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