Lead: Is this the real life? Is this just fantasy? Well, it’s a bit of both. Our cover feature looks at the second time round for virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR). Surfing in on a wave of hype they couldn’t quite deliver on a few years ago, technological leaps forward have driven down the cost of entry and, in light of that levelling of the playing field, we look at what the early adopters have achieved and what we can expect now that AR and VR are within the grasp of everyone.
Tools: Mixcloud wants to be the home of lean-back listening and is creating important links between music, discovery and brands. As services like iTunes and Spotify up the stakes for human-led music discovery, we look at where Mixcloud can play to its strengths and where it can be a powerful partner for acts.
Campaigns: Jack White’s triple-decker video; the Brit Awards push the digital envelope; ‘Left Swipe Dat’ to stop smoking; and Enrique Iglesias runs a remix competition.
Behind The Campaign: Sam Smith’s In The Lonely Hour was the only artist album to sell over 1m copies in both the UK and the US in 2014. Capitol Records’ Tom Paul (head of marketing) and Chris O’Gorman (digital marketing manager), explain how he navigated the hype around winning both the Brits Critics’ Choice and BBC Sound Of 2014 polls, the importance of physical sales and how Google Play helped underwrite the cost of a live ad break takeover.
Tools: platforms to help you reach new audiences
Tools: Kaiber
In the year or so since its launch, AI startup Kaiber has been making waves,…