We’ve seen some great new marketing campaigns over the last week from Channel 4 and Facebook. And in the world of technology we’ve discussed some interesting news from McDonald’s, and an unfortunate story featuring smart assistants.

You want fries with your digital transformation?

The restaurant industry has embraced digital transformation and we’ve seen noticeable changes from the way we order our food to the way we pay for it. Now, McDonald’s is hoping to extend its digital transformation further by offering personalised experiences to customers.

McDonald’s has acquired Dynamic Yield—a personalisation and decisions technology—and plans to use it to tailor what customers see on its outdoor drive-thru menus. Customers will see items based on external factors like the weather and traffic, but they’ll also see suggestions based on things they’ve bought before.

McDonald’s isn’t keeping this technology to itself. In fact, it’s letting Dynamic Yield continue to seek out new clients and work with other brands to offer the same service. That’s an interesting move. Rather than use this acquisition to benefit its own restaurant business, McDonald’s is laying the groundwork to establish itself in the software as a service market too.

Hey Siri, find me a number for customer services

Have you relied on a smart voice assistant to answer your queries? These days most of us have. But it turns out that asking the likes of Siri and Alexa to find a customer service number could actually be putting you on the phone with scammers.

According to the Better Business Bureau, scammers are putting out fake numbers specifically for smart assistants to find. Unfortunately, the public are more susceptible to these scams because we don’t expect our smart assistants to be out to get us. When Siri gives you the number you assume it’s correct and so your guard is instantly lowered—which criminals are keen to exploit.

Would you like to make a complaint?

They say all press is good press, and Channel 4 is showing us just how true that is with its latest campaign. The broadcaster is no stranger to controversy, and here it’s using viewers’ complaints to advertise its services and talent. The complaints are every bit as British as you’d expect them to be—from asking Prue Leith not to speak with her mouth full, to asking the Derry Girls to include subtitles. The ad is brilliantly put together and showcases exactly what it is about Channel 4 the Nation loves—its ability to spark debate and challenge viewers’ perceptions.

Privacy is personal

When you think of Facebook and privacy together, you’re probably not thinking of something positive. The company has had more than its fair share of scandals involving the misuse of users’ data. But all that aside, Facebook has created a new ad campaign to teach its users how to manage their own privacy settings on the platform.

No matter what you think of Facebook, it has put together a slick ad. The use of beachgoers to demonstrate different levels of privacy settings is an image we can all understand and relate to. This won’t solve all Facebook’s problems—it’s unlikely to have people trusting Facebook and its motives again—but it should help users know they have more control of their settings than they first thought.

Posted by John on 10 September 2019