Reverberate: Media and marketing news you need to know today – Heinz combines with Kraft, Twitter tests autoplay & Facebook leaks new tools
Morning all, here’s a glimpse at all the media and marketing news you should know today.
1. Food giants Heinz and Kraft are to merge into an entirely new company, reports CNBC. The new entity will be known as the Kraft Heinz Co.
2. Google has hired Morgan Stanley’s Ruth Porat as chief finance officer replacing Patrick Pichette, reports Bloomberg. She will be leaving Morgan Stanley after 28 years at the firm.
3. Twitter is now testing autoplay videos in news feeds, according to Mashable. IOS users in the US may start noticing the feature in their app from today.
4. Facebook accidentally leaked a load of its new announcements early – hinting at opening the platform to developers and Internet of Things integration. Business Insider reports that the leak occured at the F8 developer conference at the Fort Mason Center in San Francisco.
5. Google executives have averaged a White House meeting a week during the Obama administration, notes the Wall Street Journal. In particular, Google co-founder Larry Page often met with the FTC to discuss settlement talks.
6. Audi has unveiled a disappearing billboard, reports AdWeek. The effect is achieved by projecting ads onto dense steam clouds.
7. DigiDay analysed Facebook’s push to become a publishing platform. Although strings are attached, it argued that it could help build the audiences of “smaller publishers and newer brands”.
8. Amazon has issued a warning to congress claiming bureaucracy is stifling drone innovation, reports the Guardian. The company said “nowhere outside of the United States have we been required to wait more than one or two months to begin testing”.
Stay in the media and marketing news loop at thedrum.com, and for a look at yesterday's round-up hit this link.