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Hyundai is turning Ioniq into its own EV sub-brand
Hyundai has unveiled Ioniq, a new brand named after its current Ioniq EV that will be exclusively dedicated to all-electric cars. In other words, Ioniq looks like it will be much like to Hyundai what Polestar is to Volvo.
Waze lets drivers display their moods in the app
Waze is rolling out a brand refresh and app update that lets users share their mood.
Toyota Kinto combines leasing, car sharing and other services in Europe
Toyota wants to evolve from a car-maker to a mobility company. To do that, it's launching Kinto, a new brand that will provide full-service leasing, car sharing, carpooling and subscription-based leases. Unfortunately, those offerings will only be available in Europe.
TiVo announces plans to merge with entertainment tech firm Xperi
TiVo is scrapping plans to split its product and licensing divisions. Instead, it's merging with the entertainment tech firm Xperi. The new, $3 billion company will take on the Xperi name, but it will continue to sell TiVo-branded products.
Customer service on Twitter now includes location sharing
Twitter is one way to easily get some customer service. A simple tweet can often get a faster response than finding a customer support number or using email. The social network has a new feature to make support even more personal: Brands can now request and share location data with users via direct messages.
Google search starts linking directly to event tickets
Just can't wait to snag some tickets for a big concert, but don't want to wade through the band's site (or the ticket shop's page) to make sure you get a good seat? You won't have to after today. Google has forged deals with AXS, Ticketfly and Ticketmaster that link you directly to tickets when you search for a specific venue on the web or in Google Maps. If you search for a band, you'll also get tour schedules.
Instagram celebrates 300 million users, which is more than Twitter
There's apparently over 300 million people on Instagram - and they're really sharing those photos: to the tune of 70 million stills and videos every day. The user count puts it above Twitter, although it's still far behind the number using Facebook -- which, well, owns Instagram. In the last year, it's added a People tab to coerce users into following more people showcase notable accounts, while Instagram's spin-off video app, the addictive Hyperlapse, also launched in August -- giving a better reason to post videos. While it might have reached a new user milestone, Instagram's now attempting to hack away at that number: you might have noticed a little notification inside the app saying that the team was purging spam accounts - warning, your follower count may drop. Meanwhile, celebrities, brands and other well-monied types are being granted with verified badges starting today. Apparently, Mat Smith The Brand still needs some work.
Nokia wants other companies to pay for its iconic brand
Nokia may have sold its smartphone line to Microsoft, but it held on to one of the crown jewels: its brand. The Finnish company has the world's 98th most valuable name at around $3.2 billion and plans to profit by licensing it to other companies, along with its technology and patent portfolios. In a presentation (PDF) Nokia Technologies President Ramzi Haidamus said that the company is free to lend its name to any non-phone products, as long as "the brand is relevant." There was no mention of the companies it may work with, but Haidamus said that the product would need to look like it was made by Nokia.
Microsoft is finally dropping the 'Nokia' from Lumia
Over a year after the acquisition was first announced, Microsoft is officially replacing the Nokia Lumia brand. In a blog post today, the software giant revealed its upcoming smartphones will now be known as Microsoft Lumia. The new Microsoft branding will appear on future phones from the company, with a plain black version of the company's four-squared logo also set to make an appearance.
YouTube Find: History of Apple's brand in under three minutes
FastCompany's BrandEvolution series takes a look some the most popular brands in world and how they have changed over the years. A recent episode explores Apple, showcasing the company's advertising campaigns starting with the original Apple I and ending with the unveiling of the Watch.
A company will scan your Tumblr pictures to work out what brands you love
When Yahoo bought Tumblr for more than a billion dollars, a lot of us wondered how it would ever turn a profit. After all, people sharing cat GIFs and monochrome erotica didn't seem like a very effective business model. According to Mashable, however, the social network is going to earn its keep by helping big brands like Coca Cola and Nike understand how they're perceived. That's because Tumblr is hooking up with analytics firm Ditto, which will scour your pictures looking for sneakers and soft drinks in the frame. It'll then pass this data on to the companies involved for a fee, helping them to ensure the teenagers are all praising the right sort of soda at the next box social, or something. Update: Tumblr's reached out to confirm the deal, a "firehose partnership" with the agency, will go ahead this week.
Apple touted as most valuable billion dollar brand in the United States
Apple is currently the most valuable billion dollar brand in the United States, this according to a recent report published by the Silicon Valley Business Journal. According to the chart above, which was compiled by Brand Finance, Apple's brand today is worth $104.6 billion. That's well ahead of both Google and Microsoft who occupy the next two slots with brand values of $68.6 and $62.7 billion respectively. Brand Finance, a brand-valuation consulting agency, chose members of the "Billion Dollar Brands" club by estimating the royalty rate that would be charged for use of the brand and factoring in future revenue. It ranked the top 500 companies in the U.S. On a state by state basis, both California and New York house more top brands than any other state. You can check out the full listing of the top 500 most valuable billion dollar brands over here.
Apple passes Coke and Google to become 2013's most valuable brand
Over the past 13 years of Interbrand's chart of the most valuable global brands, one company has kept its sweet, bubbly perch at number one -- Coca-Cola. The Atlanta-based beverage maker's run at the top ends today; Interbrand's 2013 report, released last night, sees Coke bumped down to number three behind No. 2 (and biggest gainer) Google and the world's most valuable brand, Apple. Interbrand's analysis puts the value of Apple's brand at close to US$100 billion, and the recent record-breaking launch of the iPhone 5c and 5s served only to burnish the company's image. The report glowingly details Apple's achievement: "For revolutionizing the way we work, play and communicate-and for mastering the ability to surprise and delight -- Apple has set a high bar for aesthetics, simplicity and ease of use that all other tech brands are now expected to match, and that Apple itself is expected to continually exceed." Among the superlatives for Apple's brand performance are a nod to the company's retail presence ("performing 17 times better than any other physical retail store") and the anticipation for a possible leap into wearable computing (citing the hiring of Yves Saint Laurent CEO Paul Denève and Nike FuelBand guru Jay Blahnik). The report also acknowledges the challenges to the company's brand power, including competition from Microsoft, Android and Samsung. [via The New York Times]
Interbrand: Apple now most valuable brand, worth estimated at $98.3 billion
Coca-Cola's 13-year tenure as "Best Global Brand" is over, however the new leader shouldn't really surprise you. Apple knocked Penelope Cruz's favorite soft drink from the number one spot on Interbrands' annual valuation report, but after posting massive revenues time and again -- including a company-record $54.5 billion in January -- this isn't too startling. Cook and friends started their ascent at the eighth spot in 2011, and climbed to second place in 2012 before stealing the top prize in the latest list. Interbrand pegs Cupertino's brand valuation at $98.3 billion, which isn't exactly pocket change. Don't cry for the Sprite-maker though, it's still on the podium according to The New York Times, but behind another tech-powerhouse: Google.
NVIDIA Tegra 4i shows up in mysterious 'brand' phone, promises Q1 2014 debut
While we've yet to see NVIDIA's Tegra 4i show up in any commercially available hardware, the company is still keen to remind us it's on the way. This time, the 28nm Cortex-A9 chip is making an appearance inside what appears to be a new, revised reference design or white-label phone. Spotted over on AnandTech, the mysterious device sports "brand," er, branding (we're guessing to be replaced by operator markings), along with a 4.8-inch 720p display, a 13-megapixel shooter and LTE / HSPA+ that would cover multiple (yet unspecified) regions. This does appear to be a little more than just a demo unit though, with NVIDIA telling AnandTech that the device will come to market sometime in Q1 2014, costing $300 - $400 sans contract in 8, 16 or 32GB varieties. Other Tegra 4i handsets are also said to be in the works, starting as low as $200 commitment-free.
Draw Something turns one under Zynga's banner, celebrates 100 million downloads
It's hard to believe that it's only been one year since Draw Something debuted on the App Store. Few apps have run the full cycle of popularity faster than Draw Something, which started as a huge word-of-mouth release before being acquired by Zynga. A year later, many iOS gamers have Draw Something in their rearview mirrors, but the executive in charge of the game says it's not over yet. Dan Porter is the CEO behind Draw Something's original developer. He now serves as a VP and General Manager at Zynga. Porter recently spoke with Mashable about what's going on with the game these days. Even though Draw Something has fallen out of the public eye, Porter notes, the game continues to be very popular with more than 11 billion drawings created, and more than 28,000 years of game play contributed by players. Traffic has leveled off, admits Porter, but the game still has a sizable amount of daily active users and has topped 100 million downloads. So how can Draw Something regain the limelight it once enjoyed? Porter didn't share Zynga's plans, but he says there are some surprises in the pipeline, while name-dropping both Coca-Cola and kryptonite. So, more branding deals and corporate partnerships, I'd guess. Here's an interesting thought experiment: If you were running Draw Something, how would you get it back to its initial popularity? If it were me, I'd slim the app back down. The Zynga purchase has added all sorts of crufty nonsense to the experience and the initial popularity was based on just how simple and fun the original game was. At the same time, though, I'd also build out the metagame a little bit. The core back-and-forth drawing game should stay simple, but I'd add some progression elements like goals and achievements to keep veteran players interested. Finally, I'd rebrand it as a newer, better version ("Draw Something Else," maybe?), just because I think the original Draw Something brand was hurt so much by the Zynga acquisition. But we'll have to see what Porter and his team have planned. He says that despite the well-publicized transition, they're still all together and hard at work on improving the game.
DeNA and Square Enix to release new mobile Final Fantasy game
DeNA is one of the larger social networks coming out of Asia lately (they're probably best known around these parts for buying mobile game developer ngmoco), and the company announced this morning that it's teamed up with Final Fantasy creators Square Enix to publish a new Final Fantasy-branded title on iOS and Android. Final Fantasy Airborne Brigade is the name, and it's a casual social game centered on flying airships around a fantasy setting, working together with other players to bring down bad guys, earn experience and level up characters and their abilities. The game is due out on the App Store soon, and will be a free download, so when it does arrive, we'll be able to check it all out and see how it works right away. But even more interesting than the actual game at this point is the deal behind it: DeNA is using the much-loved Final Fantasy brand to try and grow its network of connected gamers. This is a really strong push for DeNA in the West, and while it (and other Eastern social networks) have made lots of tries at attracting gamers' attention before, using the much-loved Final Fantasy brand is probably their strongest tactic yet. They're asking fans to sign up on the website right now (thus getting them involved in the big Mobage network), and offering a special "Cloud" card in the game for doing so, featuring the popular character from Final Fantasy VII. It remains to be seen if this move will work, but again: DeNA and their competitors have been fishing for new users in the Western market for a while now, and the Square Enix brand is probably their most powerful bait yet. Show full PR text DeNA and Square Enix Partner to Bring FINAL FANTASY AIRBORNE BRIGADE Mobile Game to Players in United States and Canada Pre-registration for the Free Game Guarantees an Exclusive Complimentary In-game Card Featuring the Character "Cloud" SAN FRANCISCO – November 29, 2012 – Following the game's success with more than three million registered users in Japan, DeNA Co., Ltd. (TSE: 2432) and Square Enix Co., Ltd. announced today that the two companies are bringing FINAL FANTASY® AIRBORNE BRIGADE™ to mobile phone users in the US and Canada. This is the first FINAL FANTASY free-to-play social game to be released in English. FINAL FANTASY AIRBORNE BRIGADE is an easy-to-play social game where players cooperate and adventure through a world inspired by the popular FINAL FANTASY series. Each player rides an airship, and forms groups called airborne brigades in order to fight powerful bosses. Each player gains experience, and levels up by adventuring through quest regions. They will encounter foes and obtain abilities and items straight from the FINAL FANTASY series. "We're very proud to offer FINAL FANTASY fans based in the US and Canada our own take on the themes and ideals of the series with the upcoming launch of the mobile game FINAL FANTASY AIRBORNE BRIGADE," said Kenji Kobayashi, executive games director at DeNA. "In celebration of the franchise's 25th anniversary this year, we strived to create a unique gameplay experience where players can elevate each other through fun, cooperative play." The game appeals to FINAL FANTASY fans as well as players new to the franchise. FINAL FANTASY AIRBORNE BRIGADE will be available soon as a free download on Android and iOS devices. Players can pre-register for the game and be alerted via email as soon as the game is available for free download. Pre-registered players can obtain a free three-month exclusive in-game card featuring Cloud, one of the most popular FINAL FANTASY characters of all time, which will help them during boss battles. To pre-register for FINAL FANTASY AIRBORNE BRIGADE, please visit: ffairbornebrigade.com
The Joystiq Indie Pitch: Brand
Indie developers are the starving artists of the video-game world, often brilliant and innovative, but also misunderstood, underfunded and more prone to writing free-form poetry on their LiveJournals. We believe they deserve a wider audience with the Joystiq Indie Pitch: This week, Guillaume Boucher-Vidal, founder and CEO of Nine Dots Studio, talks the craft of customization, XBLIG sales and launching near Diablo 3, with Brand. What's your game called and what's it about?The game is called Brand and it's about building a sword fit for a king. The game is in 3D, but the gameplay is in 2D. It features three large explorable levels, in a somewhat similar fashion to games of the Metroidvania genre, although a little simpler.How do you support yourselves, working full-time at Nine Dots with no salary? Is it worth it?I had saved up about $25,000 before starting the business, and I started doing a few consulting jobs to fill in my pockets a little whenever I can. Some guys work on the side, while others get support from their parents. It's not an ideal situation for anyone, but we try to make the most of it.We're all young and it's the right time to make these sacrifices. I think it's definitely worth it. The experience is unique, and even if Nine Dots was to fail, we'd still have a very strong portfolio piece, a unique background and we'd be of the very few developers who could proudly say: "We made the game we wanted to make, the way we wanted to do it." Some people have been in the industry for 15 years and can't say that.%Gallery-169115%
Facebook marks one billion users by launching its first major ad
It's managed to get to one billion users without the aid of a traditional ad campaign, but the social network has now taken advantage of that milestone to try something different. Mark Zuckerberg has today introduced the company's first proper ad, a one minute and thirty second video dubbed "The Things That Connect Us" that was produced by ad agency Wieden & Kennedy and directed by Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu. According to Zuckerberg, the ad was made to "honor the people we serve" and "express what our place is on this earth," adding that Facebook belongs to a "rich tradition of people making things that bring us together." Like chairs. See it for yourself below.
Interbrand: Apple, Amazon, Samsung fast becoming brand darlings, ousting crusty traditional labels
Interbrand likes to give the world's top companies a brand value, or a mix of their on-the-ground fiscal performance with an estimate of the premium they can ask through name alone. While there are a lot of traditional names in the consulting company's 2012 list, the surprise this year is just how aggressively technology has invaded the top of the charts. It's a good year to be a part of the mobile ecosystem: a very profitable Apple was by far the fastest grower and clinched second place in the list behind only Coca-Cola, while Kindle Fire creator Amazon (20th place) and Apple's frequent rival Samsung (ninth) also shot past brands as big as Disney and Toyota. A special nod goes out to 69th-place Facebook, whose IPO this year and its recognition put it past companies like Porsche almost overnight. Not everyone in technology came out a winner -- Microsoft, Nokia and RIM were among those that took a bruising -- but Interbrand's rankings hint that it's better to be making tablets than designer handbags.
