YouTube updates captioning options for improved accessibility
YouTube’s latest feature has now been announced as one which allows its creators to easily outsource the creation and editing of subtitles on their videos within the YouTube Studio app. While YouTube does currently offer automated subtitles, these may not always be accurate and so this feature will now allow users to grant access to a third party to manage subtitles on their clips. This has been introduced with the aim of improving the quality and readability of captions on video content, thus improving the accessibility of the app as a whole.
Why is this important?
Modern social apps are constantly striving for improved accessibility on their platforms, as it allows a broader range of people to access their content and in turn accommodates those who may not have previously been able to use their apps properly. Any step towards improved accessibility is likely a positive one, and with over 70 million deaf people worldwide this seemingly small addition to the app could have a large impact on many users’ ability to effectively use the app.
What drove OOH’s record March
March has been hailed as one of the out-of-home media sector's biggest ever trading months as people returned to the office, city centres and local high streets with the lifting of restrictions. OOH is really benefiting from the blended working from home and working from the office approach we now see. We are seeing different patterns, people travelling at different times in different ways, spending more time on their local high street, but also as a result going into larger city centres more at weekends.
Why is this important?
Audiences are also beginning to travel more widely than they have been for the last two years, with positive impacts across different OOH formats. This is the first 'post-pandemic' public holiday and between the high levels of vaccine uptake and the boosters working, there is an attitude of wanting to get back to normality. There is also a continued desire to be together with loved ones or have a break while children are on holiday and possibly a change of scenery.
Google Ads launches manager account dashboards
Google Ads has now announced five new improvements making dashboards faster and easier to use. Advertisers will now be able to use dashboards at the manager account level. The changes will now include: changing date ranges and filters for the entire dashboard, adding interactive table cards, rich formatting features and conditional formatting, downloading higher-quality reports more quickly, resizing cards and layouts dynamically based on window size and finally, creating a dashboard card by copying over existing saved reports.
Why is this important?
Typically these dashboards only show data from individual accounts. By using the dashboard with the new updates, advertisers should be able to see potential issues or opportunities easier, across multiple accounts. This will mean marketers can see a higher level view of Google Ads performance, cost and other key metrics.
Campaign of the Week: Persil’s hoax video game, ‘Tag’
Persil’s latest campaign comes in the form of an elaborate fake video game trailer, in a targeted effort to reach younger audiences. The minute-long advertisement was made using a real video game creation engine and creates hype for a brand-new game, until ending with the line “Only available in real life”, revealing it was really an advertisement for playing outdoors.
The ad is part of Persil’s ‘Dirt is Good’ Project and shows a group of children experiencing all sorts of outdoor activities during a game of tag, such as sliding down a muddy hill and climbing up a small cliff, effectively portraying “the most realistic graphics real life can offer”.
