Top Articles: Creating Brand Extensions in the New Media Landscape

In the increasingly complex new media landscape, brands need to enhance their storytelling capabilities and build out consumer touchpoints. With emerging interfaces entering the market, weve observed brands extending their activations beyond conventional approaches. Traditional print industries are moving into the audio/voice tech space and vice versa; Snapchat has created a new brand activation model; and brands are reinvesting in physical locations through popups and showroom integrations.

With the never-ending amount of content and platforms available, focusing on the extended user experience is a key way for brands to engage consumers organically.Here are the top articles to read this week:1 .Google and Vogue Are Bringing Voice-Activated Content From the Magazine to Home DevicesBy Lauren Johnson from AdweekIn partnership with Google Home, the Vogue has created behind-the-scenes voice content to accompany its fall issue.

This supplementary content allows readers to interact and engage with the magazine in a new way, while also letting the brand expand its reach into the new medium of voice tech. This move shows that digital assistants like Google Home are opening up to marketers and publishers, which is a pretty sweet opportunity considering nearly 1 in 5 Americans use smart assistants every month.2.

Snapchat Is Using the Solar Eclipse to Show Off the Real Potential of Its Maps FeatureBy Alex Heath from Business InsiderSnapchat recently launched their Snap Map, which shows users where their friends are through location data. While a cool feature, it didnt really provide value to brands until now. As the solar eclipse was making its way across North America, Snap showcased its new Actionmoji with users Bitmoji avatars wearing glasses and partaking in the event of watching the eclipse.

This feature can easily be translated to similar experiences of brand activation or sponsored events. 3. Cheetos-Inspired Restaurant Is a Hit Among Orange-Fingered FansFrom FortuneInspired by food trends and fan creations, Cheetos launched a three-day popup restaurant called The Spotted Cheetah in New York City.

Popups, though several years old, have recently gained momentum in the marketing space due to their low cost of production and high ROI in terms of brand activation. At The Spotted Cheetah, for example, reservations filled up almost instantly and thousands of names were put on the waitlist. The key to these experiences is bringing the fandom to life.

4. Contrary to Popular Belief, Millennial Shoppers Actually Like Going to Brick-and-Mortar StoresBy Robert Klara from AdweekWhile its true that many shoppers test-drive products at physical locations only to make the purchase online, this does not have to be a bad thing. This is essentially turning conventional wisdom on its head because showrooming has historically been seen as a main contributor to the retail apocalypse.

Instead of letting e-commerce play against in-store experiences, brands are now reimagining the entire shopping experience as a multistage, digital and physical process. In other words, they are building brand extensions back into brick-and-mortar stores and seeing results.5.

Homecoming Podcast Debuts Second Season With Companion NovelBy Natalie Jarvey from The Hollywood ReporterAs one of the few scripted fiction podcasts, Homecoming was already a pioneer in the audio landscape. Now, it has further innovated the consumer experience by publishing an episodic e-book in partnership with Apple iBooks. The podcast and the e-book inform one another and extend the brand into a new medium.

For fans of the show, this book is another way to keep the experience going on a completely different platform. And because it is on a new platform, it is a way to attract new audience members to the podcast through discovery in a connected medium.Curated by Hadley Stork RELATED QUESTION Which custom lighting design manufacturers would you choose to work with (as in, your preferred list of custom lighting design manufacturers for new projects, renovations, and/or construction of a new home and/or commercial property) and why?

Residential and commercial lighting are different products. You do not give a reason for wanting custom vs. off the shelf products.

A unique custom lighting product is backlit onyx and hinoki wood walls, desks, columns, and stairs by GPI Design of Cleveland. The onyx and hinoki veneer are sandwiched between glass. Boyd Lighting is a San Francisco Bay Area maker of high end lighting.

Phoenix Day is another Bay Area custom manufacturer. Holly Hunt is a collection of custom lighting manufacturers. Working with a lighting designer will save you time and money while guaranteeing your project will meet codes, function, and look good.