AC works launches Korean versions of free stock image websites

Source: AC works. Screen capture of illustAC.

AC works, which already has over 2.3 million users in Japan, is now expanding internationally. The company has launched the Korean version of its flagship stock image websites photoAC, illustAC and silhouetteAC. 

Traditionally, the stock image industry imposed a number of restrictions on the use of a stock image, charging each time the image is used for different purposes. Stock images and the vector files that govern their shapes often cost money, for example. Once an image is purchased, it can typically be used in limited circumstances, for example once in an advertising campaign for a specific website. Royalties may need to be paid each time the image appears. Recognisable people featured in an image must sign a model release to allow the image to be used freely, under any circumstances. Images may also come with other stipulations, such as who they may be credited to, whether they can be edited, or if they can be used in commercial settings.

AC works has cut through the complexity with the three sites, which offer free high-quality images and vectors which can be downloaded and used for commercial purposes, with no credit title required. PhotoAC has acquired all rights from photographers and models so that there are no image rights to worry about. IllustAC and silhouetteAC also offer editable AI/EPS format vector files for free. AC works further dispenses with account registration or requiring an app to use the services. Images can be downloaded with a single click, the company said.

The company plans to expand its content portfolio, and aims to reach more than 20 million users worldwide by 2020.

Snap outfits that you like, so this app can tell you where to buy it

ULab has launched HotSpotting World, an intelligent fashion concierge mobile application powered by image recognition technology and the Braintree payment platform.

To shop, users simply scan a picture of the item they are looking for, after which the software will search a product database of more than 18 million entries for the closest match.

“HotSpotting World revolutionises the way we shop. Our crop-and-shop tool enables consumers to buy in an instant what they see and like without wasting any time to search for the item,” said Allen Loh, Co-founder and Managing Partner of ULab.

“As much as our app benefits consumers, HotSpotting World also provides a call-for-action opportunity for merchandisers as well as media outlets turning exposure into immediate sales for advertisers.”

From October, readers of the app’s magazine partners will be able to use HotSpotting World to scan any page of their favourite magazines and be directed to exclusive online content or an online shop. Partners include publishers of popular consumer titles in Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand.

Interested?

HotSpotting World is available for download in App Store and Google Play.

ImageCrowd sees market gap for Asian stock photography marketplace

Source: ImageCrowd. From left, the ImageCrowd team: Ou Shiwei, Waverijn,
Jiang, and Wilson.

ImageCrowd, a multilingual platform, aims to crowdsource Asian photography by connecting international buyers to Asian photographers in their native language. Through ImageCrowd, buyers can make specific requests and ImageCrowd will crowdsource matching photos. Photographers, be they professional or amateur, can submit their photographs for the buyers’ consideration. Any unbought photos will be collated into a stock photography database.

"The latest trend to programmatic and targeted visual campaigns increase the demand for images more than tenfold. Content driven marketing is rapidly rising, which requires fast, authentic (not staged) and raw photos from real life,” comments Gijs Waverijn, CEO of ImageCrowd.

Overcoming language and copyright issues

Acquiring a common database of images from Asia has been inhibited by two key issues. The first is that local photographers may not speak the languages that buyers speak. The other issue is that of licensing. Local image users rarely respect the photographer’s copyrights, which has resulted in a reluctance by photographers to work as stock photographers, contributing to the lack of quality local photos in Asia.

Danny Wilson, co-founder and CTO for ImageCrowd says, “ImageCrowd seeks to overcome these issues with a language matrix and licensing agreements that are imbedded in the software and processes. In fact, our innovative approach to the language matrix design has been recognised by a grant for innovation, which awarded us funds to further develop the technology.”

The idea for the matrix came from Jiang Ting, co-founder of ImageCrowd and who also founded Bridge86, a multilingual advertising and marketing agency that specialises in copywriting and translation for Asia Pacific (APAC) markets.

"The matrix overcomes language barriers by automatically mapping keywords and tags associated with the images, which means that we can present accurately tagged content to the reader in their native language. The photos are therefore accessible to any buyer, irrespective of their native language,” Jiang said.

The market for photos is huge and growing. Xerox says that coloured visuals increase people's willingness to read a piece of content by 80%. Waverijn said, "Our research tells us that in 2016 content creators are prioritising creating more engaging content, especially visual content*. Visual assets, including photos, are core to how a brand story is communicated. If supported by relevant images, the content is read, whereas without relevant images, the same content is not read**.

*Four in 10 (39%) of marketers believe that more of their budget should be allocated to the acquisition or creation of compelling visual assets (CMO Council); 73% of content creators plan to prioritise creating more engaging content in 2016, and 55% plan to prioritise creating visual content (Content Marketing Institute)

**Two thirds (65%) of senior marketing executives believe that visual assets (photos, video, illustrations and infographics) are core to how their brand story is communicated (CMO Council); Content with relevant images gets 94% more views than content without relevant images (Kissmetrics)

Body confidence comes with age, says YouGov global survey

A recent YouGov global survey* has found that the majority of adults are happy with their weight and body image, and that body confidence tends to mature with age. The survey also notes that there is concern that celebrity culture undermines the body image of young people in nearly all countries surveyed.

For the US, Australia, and most of the European and Asia Pacific countries surveyed older people are significantly more likely to be happy about their body shape than those in their twenties and thirties.

Of the twenty-five countries surveyed, Indonesians are the most positive about their body image overall, with more than three quarters (78%) claiming they are happy with their body weight and shape. Residents from Saudi Arabia (72%), Oman (70%) and Qatar (70%) are the next happiest with their body image overall.

Men in general are more positive about their weight and appearance than women. Only in Saudi Arabia are women more comfortable with their looks than the men with 74% of Saudi women claiming they are happy with the way they look compared to 70% of Saudi men.

Looking at APAC countries, in Indonesia, only 75% of women are happy with their looks compared to 81% of Indonesia men. In Malaysia, 60% women are happy with their looks while 65% Malaysia men are happy with their looks. In Singapore, the percentages are 62% and 66%; in Thailand it’s 63% and 68%; and in Australia, it’s 58% and 67%. Women in Hong Kong are the least body-confident with only 44% claiming they are happy with their appearance compared to 55% of Hong Kong men.

In seventeen of the twenty-five countries surveyed more than half of responders think that celebrity culture has a negative impact on young people. In Australia 67% think celebrity culture has a negative effect on young people. In Indonesia, 58% think the same. However, people in Singapore and Malaysia are more neutral, with only 43% and 41% think celebrity culture has a negative effect on young people, while in Thailand and Hong Kong, a lower percentage of 38% and 37% response that they think celebrity culture has a negative effect on young people.

In general the countries surveyed in the Middle East and Asia Pacific have a more positive view of the impact of celebrity culture on young people. Around a third in the UAE (34%) and Qatar (31%) think celebrity culture can have a positive effect, along with 41% in Mainland China and over one in three (34%) in Malaysia and Thailand.

*The total sample size was 22,140 adults, surveyed in the US, UK, France, Germany, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Egypt, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Mainland China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Australia. Fieldwork was undertaken between April 28 and May 13 2015. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all adults (aged 18+).

Digi partners Telenor to offer subscribers a free image storage service

Digi has introduced Capture, a free mobile app and service to back up images in the cloud that is offered by Telenor. 

Capture allows users to save and back up photos and videos from their devices automatically to protect them in case they lose their phone, or need to transfer them when buying a new device. It also acts as additional storage, particularly for entry level devices with less space.

Non-Digi customers can download and use Capture with 2GB of storage space at no cost. Digi customers are offered 30GB of storage space and zero Internet charges for all uploads and downloads via the app. Digi Postpaid customers on SmartPlan 108 and above are entitled to 100GB of space. The service is available on iOS, Android and through  Web browsers.

“Capture allows Malaysians to take photos and videos without worrying about losing these memories and Digi customers can even do so without worrying about data charges. With today’s high definition photos and video recordings, our smartphones and tablets quickly run out of storage space. Having Capture means we no longer have to worry about that,” said Christian Thrane, Digi’s Chief Marketing Officer.

“At Digi, and Telenor Group, we want to empower people to do more through no  content creation and internet connectivity.”

Interested? 

Digi customers can send an SMS containing the word “Capture” to 20000 to receive instructions on downloading the app and activating the service.

Capture can be downloaded separately

iOS conceptualisation tool Instaviz 2.0 debuts

Pixelglow Software, which focuses on developing intuitive business applications, has launched Instaviz 2.0. Released in December 2008, Instaviz allows users to visualise, refine and share ideas and concepts, and is one of the most popular diagramming apps on the iOS platform.

Source: Pixelglow Software. Click on the image to view a larger version.

Instaviz is regularly seen in the Top 100 Business Apps list at the App Store, and over 17,700 copies have been purchased, Pixelglow says. Users have rated it three-and-a-half out of five stars at the App Store.

"Here's what I like about it," said Terry White, Worldwide Design Evangelist for Adobe Systems. "I don't have to worry about picking tools to draw the various shapes. I have a tool right here: it's my finger!"

Users start by sketching some rough shapes, adding some text, then linking the shapes together. Instaviz neatens the shapes and arranges them elegantly as the users work, turning them into coherent diagrams that can be customised with different fonts, colours, styles and shapes. The work can be shared through email, messages, or AirDrop, as well as on social media such as Facebook, Twitter or WhatsApp.

Version 2.0 is a major rewrite of what the company says is the first iOS diagram sketcher. Diagrams, mind maps and flowcharts can be shared more easily with the new version, said Australia-based Pixelglow Developer Glen Low.

"I've always seen Instaviz as an extension of my mind," Low said. "When I have an idea or relation in my head, I want to get it down quickly without fussing about where to place the concepts, or getting stuck in endless popups and modes. In pursuing that seamless experience for all users, I've rebuilt the app from the ground up over 4.5 years to create this new version."

Low has revamped the user interface and included help demo videos for the upgraded app. New features include:

• Fresh graphics, icons and toolbars
• Improved layout, text, animation, interaction and rendering
• Enhanced font, colour and style settings
• Sharing through email, message, print, over-the-air and social media
• Help demo videos
• Support for iOS 7 and 8
• Compatibility with iPhone 5, 6, and 6+ screen formats

Instaviz 2.0* is US$7.99 and available worldwide exclusively through the App Store Productivity category. Existing users can upgrade for free. Multiple languages are supported, including English, Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional), and Japanese.

Interested?

Purchase the app

*Device requirements: iPhone 4, iPad 2, iPod Touch 5G or better; iOS 7, 8 or better; 4MB of space.

GMC gets on Instagram to show PanoGrams and #GMCprecision

Source: GMC.

GMC has introduced #GMCprecision, a new hashtag to go with its Instagram-based panoramic photography campaign.

The month-long campaign, launched in the US on May 22, illustrates the attention to detail in its vehicles. GMC is one of the first automotive brands to create “PanoGrams” via the Instagram Carousel format that debuted earlier this year. It allows consumers to swipe through a series of photos in a single ad, similar to the way a traditional magazine publishes a multi-page spread of a single image. PanoGrams showcase a series of photos within the carousel that stitch into one panoramic image, with an added link to GMC's website for additional information.

Instagram/Facebook’s Creative Shop team worked closely with GMC to identify, select and photograph the #GMCprecision venues. They include a wind farm – viewed from a GMC Sierra Denali pickup and made to look infinite because of how the photographer captured the towering turbines against clouds and filtered sunlight – and a private residence in southern California. The GMC Yukon Denali and Terrain Denali are featured in the architecture treatment.

“We chose Instagram because of its successful track record of creating communities of discerning photography enthusiasts who can rally around a brand,” said Duncan Aldred, US VP, GMC. “Highlighting the precision of our vehicles within the context of beautiful photography helps us connect with consumers who embrace precision in all aspects of their lives.”

GMC will integrate its PanoGrams and companion content into the brand’s other digital media channels, such as Facebook.

“GMC’s PanoGrams are an incredibly creative and beautiful use of Instagram’s Carousel format,” said Michelle Morris, Group Director, Auto, Facebook & Instagram. “Instagram is all about capturing striking moments, and combining the interiors of their new Sierra with breathtaking exteriors is an excellent way to call attention to GMC’s great vehicles.”

The #GMCprecision social play is part of GMC’s Precision campaign, which launched in the US with television ads in March. GMC said that through May 31, GMC sales have been up 15% year over year as more customers shift to trucks, crossovers and SUVs. This uptake is partially attributed to the campaign.