Verizon has named Leslie Berland as Chief Marketing Officer, effective 9 January 2024.

Berland has over 20 years of experience in strategic and creative marketing, having held senior positions at brands such as Peloton, American Express and Twitter, where she she defined and deepened the social media giant’s influence on a global scale.

In her new position, she will lead all aspects of the American telecoms multinational’s global brand and marketing strategy, including marketing activation and creative, marketing effectiveness, consumer insights, media and strategic partnerships.

Most recently, Berland served as CMO at Peloton where she led global marketing and communications and launched a new brand identity to grow and galvanise its member community.

She said: “Verizon’s brand is at an exciting inflection point as the fundamental need for human connection has never been more critical

“What we offer today and what we’re building for the future is rooted in Verizon’s commitment to bring people closer together and enable them to thrive. I can think of no better story to tell, and I’m thrilled to join a world-class team driving growth for the business, reinvigorating the customer experience and lifting up the communities in which we serve.”

Berland will join the company’s executive leadership team and report directly to Verizon Chairman and CEO Hans Vestberg.

He added: “There has never been a more transformative time for our industry. While our networks and technology are core to realising the promise ahead, the strength of our brand is critical to delivering on our strategy and maintaining our momentum.

“Leslie has spent her career at the helm of some of the most iconic brands, transforming their marketing efforts to connect more meaningfully with customers and drive impact across channels.

“She brings a combination of creativity and business acumen that will help steer and scale our marketing strategy while capitalising on our next phase of growth.”

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The Met Unframed, developed in partnership with production studio Unit9, is a virtual art and gaming experience powered by Verizon’s 5G Ultra Wideband. The experience, which runs for five weeks, enables online visitors to explore digital galleries and play games to unlock augmented reality (AR) versions of the art that can be displayed virtually inside their own homes.

“The Met Unframed brings the Museum to audiences wherever they are in an innovative viewing experience, in which users can virtually visit iconic spaces and engage with The Met’s masterpieces, learn more about the works in a playful way and through AR, and enjoy bringing the art into one’s own surroundings,” said Max Hollein, Director of The Metropolitan Museum of Art. “The Met Unframed expands the ways in which we can understand, experience, and appreciate art.”

It features more than a dozen digitally rendered galleries and almost 50 works of art from across The Met’s collection. Virtual visitors can enjoy works from the likes of Vincent Van Gogh, Jackson Pollock, Carmen Herrera, Rembrandt van Rijn, El Anatsui, Mark Bradford, Margareta Haverman, and others.

“The Met Unframed enhances digital inclusivity for an audience that may have never experienced art in such a personal way,” said Andrew McKechnie, Chief Creative Officer at Verizon. “We’re utilizing the power of technology and enhancements enabled by Verizon 5G, to provide extensive access, in-depth education, and opportunities for interactivity and sharing, for beloved works of art from one of the world’s most renowned museums.”

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On 1 December, Sony Imaging Products & Solutions, Sony Mobile Communications, and Verizon collaborated to demonstrate how 5G technology and streaming can be used in live sports broadcasting. During the NFL’s Texans vs. New England Patriots game earlier this month, a camera person from NBC Sports used Sony’s PXW-Z450 shoulder camcorder to capture the game. The video was sent through to a production room in the NRG Stadium, with the help of Sony’s prototype transmitter box, Xperia 5G mmWave device, and Verizon’s 5G Ultra-Wideband network.

The success of the live broadcast experiment proved that 5G-connected cameras could have a large impact on the way telecoms display future live sporting events. By combining Verizon’s 5G Ultra-Wideband low latency and high bandwidth with Sony’s mobile device, video, and encoding expertise enabled low-latency high-quality video, the broadcast was sent in almost real time to NBC producers. In the future, the same 5G-connected cameras could be used to transmit to remote production teams that aren’t located at the site of the sporting event. Another advantage to 5G is the use of wireless connectivity, so cameras can use all angles and positions to capture the games.

“We are extremely pleased to have completed a successful 5G collaboration with Verizon,” said Mikio Kita, senior general manager of Media Solution Business Division, Professional Products & Solutions Group, Sony Imaging Products & Solutions Inc. “Sony is uniquely positioned to offer an end-to-end solution for professional content creation and mobile communication technology, and our joint achievement on this proof of concept of live sports production will pave the way for wider 5G applications.”

“Verizon’s 5G network is built to transform industries and we’re thrilled to demonstrate how it can change the way live sports broadcasts are captured and delivered,” said Nicki Palmer, chief product development officer at Verizon. “5G’s high bandwidth and low latency can enable high definition video to be streamed essentially in real time and captured with no wires on the field.”

“It was exciting to see Sony’s 5G product coming to life,” said David Mazza, CTO, NBC Sports Group. “The picture quality is excellent, and we look forward to the day when we can deploy a wireless camera this easily as part of the 5G rollouts around the country.”

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Snap will work with Verizon’s 5G Labs to develop augmented reality features and experiences, including working on different ways to experience live events through Snapchat. The pair will also work on activations in Verizon’s marketing and throughout the Snapchat advertising platform, part of which will see Verizon having sponsorship placements within Snap Originals video series.

“5G will change the way people live, work and play and we’re partnering with leading companies like Snap Inc. to create unique experiences and new offerings,” said Frank Boulben, senior vice president of marketing & products at Verizon Consumer Group. “Our strategy is to partner with the best brands to ensure our customers have exclusive access to cutting edge technology and services. Our 5G Ultra Wideband technology should change the way mobile users forever experience places and events, evolving the way they see the world.”

Jared Grusd, chief strategy officer at Snap Inc., added: “Major advances in high-bandwidth experiences are fuelling the future of augmented reality. We are thrilled to partner with Verizon to move the industry forward through the development of creative and innovative 5G experiences on Snapchat.”

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Tumblr, the once-thriving blogging platform, is being sold to WordPress owner Automattic Inc. for a fraction of its 2013 asking price, according to The Wall Street Journal. In 2013, Yahoo purchased Tumblr for $1.1bn, and when Verizon absorbed Yahoo shortly after, it also inherited Tumblr. Unfortunately, other sharing platforms including Facebook, Instagram, and Reddit have come to overshadow Tumblr, making it more of a burden for Verizon than an asset.

While Automattic’s purchasing amount hasn’t been disclosed, Axios reports it is somewhere “well below $20m”, meaning both Yahoo and Verizon are taking a steep loss with the deal. Still, Automattic believes the purchase is a smart move, and that Tumblr will fit in well with its suite of existing platforms.

“Tumblr is one of the Web’s most iconic brands,” said Matt Mullenweg, Automattic CEO. “It is an essential venue to share new ideas, cultures and experiences, helping millions create and build communities around their shared interests. We are excited to add it to our lineup, which already includes WordPress .com, WooCommerce, Jetpack, Simplenote, Longreads, and more.”

As part of the acquisition, around 200 Tumblr employees will join Automattic. This could be exactly what Tumblr needs to revive its user base, as Sensor Tower reported first-time users for Tumblr’s mobile app declined 33 per cent year-over-year last quarter. A huge hit to the platform was its 2018 ban on pornographic content, which was a huge factor in Tumblr’s popularity.

“We couldn’t be more excited to be joining a team that has a similar mission. Many of you know WordPress.com, Automattic’s flagship product. WordPress.com and Tumblr were both early pioneers among blogging platforms,” said Tumblr in a blog post. “Automattic shares our vision to build passionate communities around shared interests and to democratize publishing so that anyone with a story can tell it, especially when they come from under-heard voices and marginalized communities.”

“Today’s announcement is the culmination of a thoughtful, thorough and strategic process,” said Guru Gowrappan, CEO, Verizon Media. “Tumblr is a marquee brand that has started movements, allowed for true identities to blossom and become home to many creative communities and fandoms. We are proud of what the team has accomplished and are happy to have found the perfect partner in Automattic, whose expertise and track record will unlock new and exciting possibilities for Tumblr and its users.”

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Today, Verizon has followed up on its promise to expand its 5G Ultra Wideband service to four more U.S cities – Washington DC, Atlanta, Detroit, and Indianapolis. Earlier this year, Verizon already launched its 5G mobility services in areas of Chicago, Denver, Minneapolis, Providence and St. Paul.

In order to take advantage of Verizon’s 5G Ultra Wideband network, customers must purchase one of five 5G-enabled smartphones, including the LG V50 ThinQ 5G™, the moto z3 and z4 combined with the 5G moto mod, the Samsung Galaxy S10 5G or the Inseego MiFi® M1000.

“Verizon continues its steady expansion of 5G Ultra Wideband service and is excited to bring the 5G future to Atlanta, Detroit, Indianapolis and Washington, DC,” said Kyle Malady, Verizon’s chief technology officer. “Customers in these cities are at the forefront of game-changing technology, with access to download speeds and bandwidth that will power the future of consumer, business and government mobile applications. Similarly, cities that embrace new technology, like 5G Ultra Wideband, have a leg up in competition to attract businesses and create jobs.”

Verizon customers will be able to access the 5G network in most public spaces within participating cities, including public parks, college campuses, landmarks, and sports stadiums. The carrier has announced plans to launch its 5G Ultra Wideband network in Boston, Charlotte, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, Dallas, Des Moines, Houston, Kansas City, Little Rock, Memphis, Phoenix, San Diego, and Salt Lake City, with more to come.

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The tool, which is for the Verizon digital content arm’s demand side platform (DSP), offers performance insights and optimisation recommendations for each channel, ad format, and exchange.

“At Verizon Media, trust and transparency are more than just buzzwords,” said Iván Markman, chief business officer at Verizon Media. “We believe in the power of consistently delivering new technologies, platforms and tools that unlock deeper insights into programmatic supply and performance. With today’s announcement, we are continuing to take a leadership role, bringing our DSP customers granular omnichannel intelligence at the auction level, giving them everything they need to understand how and where to best allocate budgets.”

According Verizon Media, the transparency tool offers a 360-degree view of its DSP customer’s omnichannel programmatic environment, breaking down audience reach and cost analyses by channel, ad format, and exchange.

“We believe in leading the DSP market to give advertising partners transparency on everything from reach and cost across channels, formats and exchanges, and help them predict what will work best down the road,” concluded Markman.

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“This action arises out of Defendants collection of geolocation data and the unauthorized dissemination to third-parties of the geolocation data collected from its users cell phones,” introed one of the proposed lawsuits. “AT&T admittedly sells customer geolocation data to third-parties, including but not limited to data aggregators, who in turn, are able to use or resell the geolocation data with little or no oversight by AT&T. This is an action seeking damages for AT&T gross failure to safeguard highly personal and private consumer geolocation data in violation of federal law.”

The classes involved would include all four carriers’ customers in the US, between 2014 and 2019, totaling around 300m people. Broken down, 100m of those customers come from Verizon, another 100m from AT&T, 50m from Sprint, and the remaining 50m from T-Mobile. The classes haven’t yet released the specific amount of damages they are seeking.

The class-action lawsuits stemmed from a broken promise in 2018, when all four carriers said they would stop selling their customers real-time location data to third parties after a security breach involving Securus. It was discovered that Securus, which produced prison phones, was offering law enforcement officers a service to track almost any phone in America.

Although all four carriers claimed they immediately stopped the mining and selling of location data, in 2019 it was found that “T-Mobile, Sprint, and AT&T are [still] selling access to their customers location data and that data is ending up in the hands of bounty hunters and others not authorized to possess it, letting them track most phones in the country.”

“The facts dont support this lawsuit, and we will fight it,” said AT&T, the only carrier involved to release a comment. “Location-based services like roadside assistance, fraud protection, and medical device alerts have clear and even life-saving benefits. We only share location data with customer consent. We stopped sharing location data with aggregators after reports of misuse.”

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Verizon has announced a new partnership with Google that will give Verizon customers access to YouTube TV, a cable-free live TV service that includes over 70 networks. That means participating customers can watch YouTube TV on all devices, including phones, tablets, and laptops, through Verizon’s commercial 5G network. YouTube TV will also become available on TV’s that are powered with Verizon Fios broadband.

“Our network and technology leadership uniquely positions us to lead the content revolution, which centers around choice for our customers,” said Erin McPherson, head of content strategy and acquisition, Verizon. “As we pave the path forward on 5G, we’ll continue to bring our customers options and access to premium content by teaming up with the best providers in the industry and leveraging our network as-a service strategy. We were first in the world to bring commercial 5G to our customers and now another first on the content front as we offer our customers access to YouTube TV on whatever platform they choose.”

Verizon hasn’t disclosed many other details about the collaboration, such as how much it will cost customers or when it will launch. However, the company did say it will “offer unique, high-value YouTube TV promotions to customers across platforms.”

YouTube TV’s networks include ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, HGTV, Food Network, TBS, CNN, ESPN, FX, and some on-demand content. One membership to YouTube TV allows for six accounts per household. Currently, YouTube TV costs around $50 a month as a standalone service.

“YouTube TV has become known for its best-in-class user experience that enhances the way users watch live TV today,” said Heather Rivera, global head of product partnerships at YouTube. “With this partnership, were making it simple and seamless for Verizons customers to sign up to enjoy YouTube TV on-the-go on their mobile phones or tablets or at home on their big screen devices.”

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Verizon debuted its 5G Ultra Wideband Network in select areas of Chicago and Minneapolis today, giving customers early access to the nation’s first commercial 5G network for smartphones. In order to take advantage of the commercial 5G network, customers must have Verizon’s exclusive moto z3 smartphone and compatible 5G moto mod attachment.

Customers using the commercial 5G network can expect typical download speeds of 450 Mbps, but may reach speeds as high as almost 1 Gbps, and latency less than 30 milliseconds. When customers leave the 5G Ultra Wideband coverage area, they will be automatically connected to Verizon’s 4G LTE Network.

Although the network is only available in Chicago and Minneapolis, Verizon has announced it will expand the 5G Ultra Wideband Network to more than 30 U.S cities before the year is over. 

“Verizon customers will be the first in the world to have the power of 5G in their hands,” said Hans Vestberg, Verizon’s chairman and chief executive officer. “This is the latest in our string of 5G firsts. Verizon launched the first commercial broadband 5G service last October, Verizon 5G Home, and now we’re lighting up our 5G Ultra Wideband network in Chicago and Minneapolis, providing the world’s first commercial 5G mobile service with a 5G-enabled smartphone.”

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