FMCG news

• Under the radar, Ranker quietly builds a huge online footprint

  11-08-2016 23:50
  
  As far as time vampires go, social media is still a big-toothed giant. Going down the Facebook, Twitter or Snapchat rabbit hole consumes plenty of the coveted Millennial generation’s time each day. Listicles are particularly popular – those top whatever lists that garner a gaggle of opinionated responses on everything from the Top 7 Best TV Shows of the ’90s to the Top 10 Apps for Kids, and everything in between and beyond.
  BuzzFeed is certainly atop the list generator podium,
  
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• Digital out-of-home revenues posted double digit growth last year in the US

  11-08-2016 21:35
  
  Last year, digital-out-of-home advertising revenues in the US grew 11 percent to $2.7bn, marking the medium’s fastest growth rate in five years, according to research firm PQ Media.
  The research states that digital out-of-home revenues “grew at an accelerated rate in 2015 just one year after recording the second slowest expansion (3.1 percent) since PQ Media began tracking digital out-of-home in 2000.” This year, PQ Media predicts digital out-of-home revenues to grow 8.7 percen
  
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• CMA issues warning to marketers around paid-for influencer endorsements following Social Chain investigation

  11-08-2016 19:50
  
  The UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has signaled that it is prepared to clampdown on social media campaigns that mislead consumers. 
  The government division, which is Britain's primary competition and consumer authority, has issued a warning to brands and marketers around online reviews and endorsements following an investigation into the marketing practices of digital agency Social Chain. 
  The CMA has taken enforcement against the Manchester-based social shop for usi
  
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• Dairy farmer protests could halt milk collections: Müller

  11-08-2016 19:24
  
  Farmers for Action is planning further blockades of Müller sites in protest at the processor’s milk pricing policy
  
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• AdBlock Plus has already found a way for users to block Facebook ads again, but the social giant laments 'blunt' approach

  11-08-2016 19:09
  
  Earlier this week Facebook declared war on ad blockers, prompting an angry response from one of the biggest ad blocking tools on the market, AdBlock Plus, which now claims it has a 'workaround'. But Facebook has hit back, claiming the 'workaround' 'punishes users', as it blocks both user generated, and commercial content. 
  Commenting on Facebook's decision to overpower ad blocking tools on the desktop version of its news feed for the first time, the ad blocking firm said the social network
  
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• Ad block Plus has already found a simple way for users to block Facebook ads again

  11-08-2016 19:09
  
  Earlier this week Facebook declared war on ad blockers, prompting an angry response from one of the biggest ad blocking tools on the market, Adblock Plus. 
  Commenting on Facebook's decision to overpower ad blocking tools on the desktop version of its news feed for the first time, the ad blocking firm said the social network was "anti-user," urging it to quit playing decade-old "cat-and-mouse games."
  Just two days on, Adblock Plus has boldly published a second blog on the matter, which offer
  
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• The parallels between Netflix's Narcos and the actual real-life events

  11-08-2016 19:00
  
  The true story of the rise and fall of Colombian kingpin Pablo Escobar will continue when Netflix releases season two of its critically acclaimed series "Narcos" on September 2nd. To shorten fans' waiting time, the streaming service launched the Tumblr-based site 'Narcopedia', an interactive experience taking viewers through the history of cocaine and providing in-depth information on the war on drugs. The whole experience draws parallels between the actual events and how they are portrayed on t
  
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• GMB union wins fight to represent Lidl's warehouse workers

  11-08-2016 18:41
  
  Dispute dates back to November when GMB applied to represent employees at Lidl’s Bridgend DC
  
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• A thousand words is worth a picture: women share how sexism in the industry has affected them

  11-08-2016 18:34
  
  Nothing tells a story better than a story. And boy did the women of ad land have a lot to say in response to The 3% Movement’s “Elephant on Madison Avenue” survey about sexism and gender bias in the industry.
  In case anyone has lingering doubts whether sexism is a “thing of the past,” or “an isolated case”, 500 women told in excruciating detail that it is neither.
  Here’s just a sampling of unedited responses from our July survey:
  Sexual Harassment/
  
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• Archant announces advertising auction for The New European

  11-08-2016 18:28
  
  Newspaper and magazine publisher, Archant, has announced it has opened up commercial space on The New European for a number of media auctions, on the back of the pop up newspaper’s extended publication run.
  Media agencies and brands will have the chance to bid on advertising space, including full page adverts and sponsorship, on the new newspaper.
  The auction will be run in participation with sensibledevelopment.com and Mediaforce and is running from today (11 August) until the 16 August w
  
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• Return on Rio: Are Olympic sponsors properly measuring their impact?

  11-08-2016 18:13
  
  Legacy. We heard a lot about it when London 2012 was in full swing. Legacy for the country. Legacy for the next generation of athletes and Olympic hopefuls. Legacy for our sporting infrastructure. Legacy for our kids in inspiring them to take up sport. And yes – I am sure legacy was at the forefront of the brand marketers’ minds who invested in and sponsored the 2012 Olympic Games.
  But did it happen? Did the experience of the Olympics from the schools to the pools, from the classroom
  
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• BlueGlass appoints David Iwanow as director of strategy

  11-08-2016 17:48
  
  SEO and content marketing agency BlueGlass has appointed David Iwanow as its director of strategy.
  Iwanow, who has previously worked with eBay in Amsterdam and Razorfish in Sydney, joins BlueGlass with a brief to innovate and strengthen the agency’s core SEO and content marketing offerings.
  BlueGlass founder and chief executive Kevin Gibbons said of the appointment: “This is an exciting time for BlueGlass. We’ve grown significantly over the last 12 months and are working with s
  
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• Did Twitter censor President Obama's Q&A? Former Twitter CEO denies BuzzFeed report that the site secretly blocked abusive tweets

  11-08-2016 17:44
  
  A report by BuzzFeed News has claimed that President Obama's 2015 #AskPOTUS town hall Q&A was censored by the social network following orders from then-chief executive Disk Costolo. 
  Sources familiar with the matter alleged that Costlo, who stepped down as Twitter boss in June last year, ordered the site's employees to implement an in-house algorithm in order to filter out unsavory language directed at Obama.
  A second source claimed that Twitter's media par
  
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• Travelers are greeted with boxes of chicken at baggage claim in Bojangles ad

  11-08-2016 17:41
  
  Chicken & biscuits fast food joint Bojangles’ recently rolled hundreds of boxes of its chicken down a baggage carousel at the Charlotte airport to greet weary travelers with a surprise pick-me-up.
  The stunt, which was filmed and is now running as a 30-second TV spot, is the cornerstone of the Charlotte-based chain’s latest campaign, ‘Random Acts of Bo.’ Created by Charlotte agency Boone Oakley, the goal of the campaign is to “remind consumers that Bojangles&rsqu
  
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• Agency behind Rule40 parody Twitter bot knew it was 'infringing' IOC rules

  11-08-2016 17:11 via campaignlive.co.uk
  
  An agency has confessed to setting up the @official_Rule40 account, a parody Twitter account which tweeted to anyone using official Olympics hashtags on Twitter.
  
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• Chelsea target younger fans with new online store in avatar-based messaging app 'Rawr'

  11-08-2016 17:10
  
  Chelsea have partnered with avatar-based messaging app Rawr to open a new line of digital revenue through its own in-app store.
  The launch of the Chelsea Football Club digital store will allow users to browse and purchase unique club items for their avatar to wear, in what is a first for the messaging app. The products can be purchased with in-app currency, which can be accumulated over time by using the app or purchased outright.
  Available within the store will be the 2016/17 Chelsea home and g
  
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• Fruit tea habit costing Brits more as prices rise in mults

  11-08-2016 16:51
  
  British millennials are shunning traditional cuppas in favour of fruit and herbal teas, says Mintel research
  
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• David Barnett lands GSK Northern Europe general manager role

  11-08-2016 16:51
  
  Barnett will oversee all commercial operations across Great Britain, Ireland, the Nordics and Benelux
  
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• Product recall cost potato supplier Swancote Foods nearly £600k

  11-08-2016 16:51
  
  Some 45 own-label ready meal lines were pulled due to metal contamination fears…
  
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• Itsu serves up sales rise as demand for healthy food continues

  11-08-2016 16:51
  
  Itsu has recorded a healthy 22% rise in revenues to £82.6m thanks to a 2.3% increase in like-for-like sales and another 10 store openings.
  
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• Co-op Bank brings back ‘It’s Good to be Different’ with bolstered social media

  11-08-2016 16:51
  
  The Co-op bank has brought back the ‘It’s Good to Be Different’ brand campaign it launched earlier this year, but said the “biggest success” was the “positive reaction to social content". As a result it has worked with charity partner Hospice UK to create new social content to complement the push.
  The campaign first launched in February to highlight the bank’s ethical credentials as part of a continued effort to overcome the damage done by financial
  
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• Snaffling Pig snacks brand secures £70k from Dragons’ Den

  11-08-2016 16:48
  
  Dragon Nick Jenkins negotiated a 20% share in the business
  
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• The New European launches auction to sell ad space

  11-08-2016 16:41 via campaignlive.co.uk
  
  The New European, the pop-up newspaper for pro-Europeans, will begin selling ad space using an online auction.
  
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• MOTD teases Gary Lineker pants presentation after Leicester City wager

  11-08-2016 16:37
  
  To promote the return of the English Premier League and as a result, Match of the Day, the BBC’s is teasing that Gary Lineker will present the show wearing only his underwear.
  Lineker in December said he would present the show almost in commando if his old team Leicester City won the league.
  Against all the odds, the Foxes took the top spot in a historic and highly improbable victory.
  YES! If Leicester win the @premierleague I'll do the first MOTD of next season in just my undies.
  &md
  
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• Microsoft doubletaps Gfinity and Major League Gaming for $1m Gears of War 4 tour

  11-08-2016 16:25
  
  Microsoft and games studio the Coalition has enlisted esports organisers Gfinity and Major League Gaming (MLG) to organise global professional heats between players of its upcoming shooter title, Gears of War 4.
  A $1m prize pool will be opened to regional winners of the tour as Microsoft looks to make the Gears of War 4, an Xbox One and PC exclusive title, the defacto shooter game of esports professionals, playing catchup with the likes of Call of Duty and Counter Strike.
  Martin Wyatt,
  
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• PG Tips kicks off personalised mugs on-pack promotion

  11-08-2016 16:22
  
  The push will run until the end of September, with 500,000 mugs available
  
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• The Drum's Recruitment Business Awards nominations revealed, have you made the shortlist?

  11-08-2016 16:09
  
  The Drum's Recruitment Business Awards, now in their fourteenth year, have unveiled the nominations for 2016.
  Designed to celebrate everything from Land's End consultancies to John O' Groats agencies, the awards seek to celebrate the crowning glory of the recruitment industry with a focus on agencies outwith London. 
  Categories this year include Best Online Campaign, Best Art Direction, Best Use of Social Media and Best Digital Engagement. 
  Leading the pack with 13 nominations is&
  
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• Are we suffering from digital marketing blindness?

  11-08-2016 15:59
  
  Just 15 short years ago, the marketing landscape looked very different.
  SEO was a secret closely guarded by those in the know, and a specialism filled with black hat techniques such as link-farming and blog comment stuffing.
  Pay per click was in its relative infancy, still being puzzled over, after Google’s AdWords product was introduced in 2000 and with Myspace not launched until mid-2003, the most social media got was slyly staring at a fellow commuter’s newspaper. In fact, a look
  
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• Refresco volumes hit by bad weather and private label challenges

  11-08-2016 15:39
  
  Refresco has warned that volumes will be below full-year expectations as poor summer weather and challenges in the private label business affected the European soft drinks bottler.
  
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• Canadian Blood Services runs Grindr ads even though sexually-active gay men can’t donate blood

  11-08-2016 15:38
  
  The Canadian Blood Services (CBS) has received flak after its digital blood donation drive served some ads through Grindr, a gay hook-up app.
  The ads caused distress with some users (shown below) because Canadian gay men cannot donate blood if they’ve been sexually active in the last five years – although that restriction will be reduced to one year as of 15 August.
  On this waiting period, the CBS claims: “A one-year deferral period, which was implemented in 2016, was chosen as
  
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• Samsung creates 360 degree video of Team GB's Rio Olympics home

  11-08-2016 15:33
  
  Samsung is offering an exclusive behind the scenes look at Team GB’s Rio Olympics base in a new 360° tour.
  Using a similar approach to other sponsors, the electronic giant is using its official Rio Olympics and Team GB sponsorship as a means of providing fans with greater access to the Games.
  The 360° tour of British House, the team’s headquarters set afoot the Corcovado in the shadow of the Christ the Redeemer statue, provides fans with an immersive view of the property befo
  
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• Power from the top: Elon Musk wants to make roofs solar

  11-08-2016 15:30
  
  We’ve all seen solar panels on roofs. Maybe they’re to heat a pool or provide extra energy to the home from the sun. Often, they look like extremely shiny black panels fastened to a roof. Not terribly aesthetically pleasing, but functional.
  Entrepreneur and high-tech investor Elon Musk, of Tesla fame, wants to take the solar roof panel idea a step further through SolarCity, a company his Tesla company is in the process of buying in a $2.6 billion stock offer agreed upon by both compa
  
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• Building Ikea furniture on acid: And why didn’t anyone think of this before?

  11-08-2016 15:24
  
  Did you ever really look at your hands, man? Did you ever really look at someone else’s hands building Ikea furniture on acid? Apparently, someone thought this was a great idea, and it has made for a viral YouTube channel that has been snaking its way through the social channels like a paisley serpent through a habitrail (I’m not the only one that saw that, right?).
  Not that we condone this, mind you, but Hikea is quickly gaining traction takes on the ultimate mashup – the frus
  
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• Industry warned consumers are 'frustrated' by advertising

  11-08-2016 15:20 via campaignlive.co.uk
  
  Consumers are "frustrated and annoyed" by the advertising experience, according to Stephan Loerke, the CEO of the World Federation of Advertisers.
  
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• Arianna Huffington departs the Huffington Post to buckle down on her health startup Thrive

  11-08-2016 15:08
  
  The Huffington Post is to lose its co-founder and editor-in-chief Arianna Huffington as she looks to build Thrive Global, her newly funded health startup.
  In June 2015 she signed a deal which would see her stay at the media company until 2019.
   Since then, however, Thrive has secured Series A funding and she subsequently announced today (11 August) that she will leave the company to put her energy into Thrive. 
  “I really thought I could do both, but as we started building it up,
  
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• Foundry tech specialist Norican Group appoints Mando to develop Sitecore website

  11-08-2016 14:36
  
  Foundry and surface preparation solution provider Norican Group has appointed creative digital agency Mando to develop a Sitcore platform website.
  Norican Group was created by the merger of DISA (complete foundry solutions) and Wheelabrator (surface preparation solutions) in September 2008 and has positioned itself as the world's leading provider of technology and services to improve its customers’ metallic parts. The group works with a world-wide customer base, employs 2500 people in 5 co
  
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• Bakkavor reports strong revenue group in UK and overseas

  11-08-2016 14:29
  
  Food group Bakkavor increased revenues 3.2% to £438.7m in the second quarter as it grew business with the supermarkets in the UK and the overseas business continued to soar.
  
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• 7thingsmedia shuts down

  11-08-2016 14:26
  
  Digital media agency 7thingsmedia has shut down, The Drum understands.
  Staff at the agency's UK and New York offices have already been told and consequently paid in full, according to a source close to the business. The agency's Singapore business had been closed some time ago. 
  7thingsmedia has been contacted and its response will be added shortly.
  The decision to wind the business down stems from a loss of business revenue over time that compounded ever-growing rental fees
  
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• Moving away from YouTube, Machinima adds Amazon, Sky to growing OTT offerings

  11-08-2016 14:12
  
   
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  With a host of layoffs following a $24 million funding round in 2015, Machinima, the video game focused digital network, seems to have set its sights on diversifying its revenue stream to include OTT providers like Amazon Video, rather than hedge its bets on YouTube. Machinima programming will now be available on Amazon Prime Video as an add-on subscription service, as well as on Sky Q, the ad-supported digital VOD service launched this year by Sky in the U.K.  
  “Th
  
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• #SaveTwitter: Tweeters go into meltdown as hoax wrongly claims the social network will close in 2017

  11-08-2016 14:03
  
  Twitter users have been duped into thinking the social network is closing down in 2017 thanks to a hoax hashtag.
  #SaveTwitter has been the number one trend in the UK and the US this morning (11 August), despite Twitter confirming to The Drum and other publications that there is no truth to the rumours.
  The claims appeared to imply that Twitter has being shut down because of its ongoing issues around abuse and bullying online, which it has been making moves to combat.
  While the origins of the spe
  
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• The FMCG products with huge growth potential in Africa - Bizcommunity.com

  11-08-2016 13:46
  
  The FMCG products with huge growth potential in Africa
  Bizcommunity.com
  No consumer market anywhere is the world is exempt from the demand for fast moving consumer goods (FMCG). In Africa the demand for better quality and more sophisticated products and brands is increasing as populations grow and living standards ...
  
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• Samworth Brothers ramps up food to go with Deli Bite range

  11-08-2016 13:15
  
  Deli Bite comprises traditional sandwiches, wraps, pasta salads, paninis, filled crusty rolls, toasties and flapjacks
  
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• Premier Foods makes Sensational additions to Paxo stuffing range

  11-08-2016 13:15
  
  Joining Paxo’s portfolio of stuffing mixes is a four-strong range made with speciality breads
  
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• Planet Organic adds gluten-free bread by Good Grain Bakery

  11-08-2016 13:11
  
  The line-up includes sliced loaves in brown, seeded and caraway varieties (rsp: £3.25/450g), as well as crostini snack packs
  
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• Ghostbusters has reportedly lost about $50m for Sony, but studio says it has plans to 'further exploit' the Ghostbusters universe

  11-08-2016 13:10
  
  Sony and its financial partners are poised make a loss of around $50m thanks to Ghostbusters, which has reportedly brought in just $180m worldwide almost a month after its release. 
  The all-female reboot of the 1984 classic is likely to end up losing around $75m in total, sources familiar with the matter told Variety. They said with Sony's financial hit falling closer to the $50m mark because of a co-financing arrangement with Village Roadshow, which it inked back in 2014 to migat
  
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• Amazon Echo’s voice assistant Alexa will soon be able to unlock and interact with BMWs

  11-08-2016 13:03
  
  BMW is soon to open up control of its cars to Amazon Echo voice-activated assistant Alexa, as it looks to bolster the tech-enabled convenience afforded by its cars.
  “Later this year” the company is set to open up Amazon Echo commands that will allow users to check in on the state of their BMWs (like remaining fuel) and issue an unlock order on the motor.
  The company issued a statement: “The skill integration into Amazon Echo and Alexa-enabled devices demonstrates BMW’s le
  
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• Why Facebook represents a fearsome opponent for ad blockers

  11-08-2016 13:00
  
  The news that Facebook is going to stop users blocking ads is very welcome. 
  While you can argue that ad blockers give users power over what they are exposed to online, they also damage the businesses of companies that depend on advertising revenue, and it’s good to see a company like Facebook, with both scale and great technology, fighting back.
  Data from the IAB earlier this year says that 22 per cent of UK internet users use an ad blocker, and that the numbers are rising. It varies
  
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• Watford's sponsorship ties with Football Manager will open access to game's valuable player database

  11-08-2016 12:58
  
  Watford have extended their sponsorship agreement with Sega and Sports Interactive in a deal which will grant the club’s scouts and coaches access to the extensive Football Manager database.
  The continuation of the partnership with the Japanese (Saga) and British video (Sports Interactive) game developers will be centred around their flagship Football Manager (FM) computer game.
  Football Manager branding will be advertised throughout the Watford’s Vicarage Road stadium via LED and du
  
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• Lucky Generals invests in first sports marketing startup as agency plots expansion

  11-08-2016 12:55
  
  Creative shop Lucky Generals has invested in a sports marketing startup as the agency looks to expand its offering three years after opening its doors.
  Called Dark Horses, the company is led by Simon Dent, formerly business director at BBH Sport. Lucky Enterprises will own a majority share in the business but Dent will also own a significant stake.  
  It will sit within Lucky Generals’ Clarkenwell office and while it will pitch independently and have its own clients, Dark Hor
  
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• Magazine ABCs: Top 100 for first half of 2016

  11-08-2016 12:30 via campaignlive.co.uk
  
  The UK's most actively purchased magazines and digital editions have been revealed for the first half of 2016.
  
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