(FROM THE WALL STREET JOURNAL 9/2/15)
Axel Springer Teams
With Samsung on App
Axel Springer, Europe's largest publisher, and Samsung, the
world's largest cellphone maker, have announced a content
partnership in which news stories created and curated by the German
publisher will appear exclusively on the South Korean tech giant's
phones in Europe.
The stories will be packaged in an app called Upday and will be
divided into two sections: "Need to Know" and "Want to Know."
Need to Know will display short articles written by a dedicated
Springer editorial team. Want to Know will display algorithmically
curated content from partner publishers, with links to those
publishers' sites.
J.K. Shin, president of Samsung's IT & Mobile Communications
business signed the deal with Axel Springer Chief Executive
Matthias Dopfner on Tuesday, and the app launches Thursday in
Poland and Germany, with content in both countries' languages.
Axel Springer spokeswoman Sandra Petersen said new editorial
teams will be established in every European country to which the
partnership expands. Upday currently has 50 employees, with
one-third on the editorial operation, the spokeswoman said.
Upday won't be preinstalled on Samsung phones, so users will
have to download it from the Google Inc. app store. That is a
twist, as Mr. Dopfner is arguably Europe's most vocal critic of
Google's market dominance on the continent. He especially opposes
its policy of showing snippets from several large German newspapers
without paying for the right to post them. Google has historically
said it directs huge volumes of readers -- and therefore adds
dollars -- to news sites.
-- Amir Mizroch
Google Logo Gets
A Brand-New Look
The world's largest search giant has a new logo.
The new font for Google Inc.'s name includes the same colors as
the previous font, but the new font is a sans-serif variety. There
is also a new compact version of the logo that shows just the
letter 'G' in the company's red, yellow, green and blue colors.
Google unveiled the changes in a blog post Tuesday. On Google's
home page, a hand appears to erase the old logo and write the new
one with chalk.
Google's logo makeover is part of a trend of Silicon Valley
companies simplifying their logos. "The redesign follows the same
pattern of removing extra curves or detailing that Microsoft,
Facebook, Twitter and other peers have taken over the past few
years," said Michu Benaim Steiner, a partner at In-House
International, a design and communications firm.
The decision to use a serif or sans serif font typically has to
do with choosing the attributes a company wants to emphasize,
according to Richard Westendorf, executive creative director at
brand consulting firm Landor Associates. "Sans serif traditionally
is thought of as more modern or approachable. And serif conversely
more traditional, credentialed and 'serious,'" Mr. Westendorf
said.
The company says its new logo reflects the fact that its users
now interact with Google from many different gadgets, compared with
when the company launched as a search engine that users reached
from just one type of device-- their personal computer.
Not everyone loved the change. Some people panned it, including
on Google's official blog post.
"A major redesign of an iconic logo often triggers mass
rejection almost as a reflex. So it's not surprising that the new
Google logo might cause a similar strong reaction," said Ms.
Steiner.
-- Georgia Wells
Apple and Luxury Are
On Two-Way Street
As Ian Rogers's move to LVMH shows, the road between Apple Inc.
and the luxury-goods industry is a two-way street.
LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SA announced Tuesday that it is
hiring the former Apple executive, who created Apple's online radio
station Beats 1, as its new chief digital officer.
Mr. Rogers will help brands such as Louis Vuitton, Fendi, Moet
& Chandon and Bulgari as they try to catch up in e-commerce and
social media.
Mr. Rogers is the highest-profile executive the luxury-goods
industry has plucked from Apple.
Apple, on the other hand, has poached several from luxury,
notably Angela Ahrendts, formerly chief executive at Burberry Group
PLC, and Paul Deneve, who ran Yves Saint Laurent.
Why do Apple and the luxury-goods industry covet each other's
leaders so much? They have a lot in common, starting with their
customers. The same person who buys a Louis Vuitton bag or a
Christian Dior suit is very likely to own an iPhone.
Luxury CEOs such as LVMH's Bernard Arnault often cite Apple as
the brand they admire the most. The luxury-goods industry would
like to think it shares Apple's characteristics, such as a cult
following and iconic design.
-- Christina Passariello
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
September 01, 2015 19:47 ET (23:47 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2015 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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