Marketing news

• How Sony’s marketing nearly destroyed the Ghostbusters

  20-07-2016 23:41
  
  There are right ways to market a movie or event and then there is the Sony way.
  Although during this article I talk about the movie industry, something I know a little about from working on marketing of some previous films, I will also discuss the modern landscape of growth hacking an event, community - or any market. The principles are the same. Unfortunately for the Sony marketing department they are using an old playbook which the rest of us threw out years ago.
  Perhaps the odds were stacked
  
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• Connecting the dots: Finding key influencers in content marketing is worth the effort, report suggests

  20-07-2016 21:16
  
  The role of influencers providing the gateway to B2B decision makers and consumers is a key component in a modern content marketing strategy, however the challenge for the marketing and communications professionals is to identify their key influencers in order to build effective influencer engagement programs.
  Which people and brands have the biggest impact on discussions about content marketing on Twitter? Onalytica looked at 410,454 tweets posted during a 90-day period that included &ldqu
  
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• Adidas’s ‘Impossible is Nothing’ campaign starring Muhammad Ali wins top marketing moment

  20-07-2016 21:12
  
  Adidas’s ‘Impossible is Nothing’ campaign featuring boxing legend Muhammad Ali was crowned the top marketing moment from the last 120 years at the Advertising Club of New York’s 120th anniversary party and annual meeting of members on July 19.
  The campaign received the most votes in The Drum’s 120 Marketing Moments series, which this year showcased the top commercials, innovations and milestones that have happened within the industry over the past 120 years. All mom
  
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• US Creative Work of the Week: Cotton - How to Avoid Sweaty Summer Moments

  20-07-2016 19:40
  
  New Yorkers desperate for tips and tricks to help them endure the city’s heat wave might learn a thing or two from DDB New York’s latest campaign for Cotton.
  As city dwellers suffer through stinky subway rides and stuffy apartments, Cotton’s two-minute video humorously reminds viewers that cotton clothing breathes easier than other fabrics and therefore might help prevent things like “sweaty underboobs” or armpits that smell like someone “wiped them with some
  
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• Avast researchers spoof Wi-Fi and hack RNC attendees to prove a point about cyber security

  20-07-2016 19:23
  
  Researchers at Avast cyber security company have exposed the dangers of connecting to public Wi-Fi locations, by perpetrating a stunt at the Republican National Convention.
  Offering free internet access at the convention using fake Wi-Fi networks such as “Google Starbucks”, “Xfinitywifi”, “Attwifi”, “I vote Trump! free Internet” and “I vote Hillary! free Internet”, the company gained access to, it says, the personal details of more than
  
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• Chesterfield FC's marketing chief departs following fake raffle winner ‘farce’

  20-07-2016 18:29
  
  Chesterfield Football Club’s marketing and commercial head has left the club under a cloud of controversy after an internal investigation found he had rigged a raffle for a place at the club’s pre-season training camp in Hungary.
  The League One club confirmed that their head of commercial and marketing, Kevin Fitzgerald, has departed after a supporter discovered that the winner of the raffle did not exist.
  The competition, which only sold four of the £20 raffle tickets, was won
  
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• Google AI cuts data center power use by 15%

  20-07-2016 18:15
  
  Google is one of the world’s leading AI researchers and it is making good use of its head start with the technology to cut costs and emissions in its data centres.
  The company says that it has lessened its server cooling bill by 40 per cent, utilising AI technology like DeepMind to regulate energy expenditure. It said a “general intelligence framework” helps increase the efficiency of its cooling towers, resulting in a 15 per cent drop in power use.
  On the applications of
  
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• Secret Marketer: Ideas are the easy bit – it’s implementation that’s hard

  20-07-2016 18:14
  
  A lot of people believe having an idea is the hardest part of marketing. The fact is that the idea is probably the easiest part. The world is full of ideas, and most aren’t that good. For marketers, the difficulty is convincing the organisation why your idea is a great one and to do something about it. In the wider world, the toughest bit of any good idea is creating and finding the talent, time and money to evaluate and test the idea.
  A related fallacy I often hear from new digital a
  
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• Esso positions itself as a facilitator of emotions with 'Journeys That Matter' campaign

  20-07-2016 17:55
  
  Esso has embarked on a major European marketing push which aims to portray the brand in a more compassionate light with its 'Journeys That Matter' campaign.
  The petroleum energy giant has partnered with creative agency adam&eve  to launch an emotional new ad directed by Nick Gordon which follows  Sophie’s journey as she travels many miles and across borders to revisit a past love.
  Paul Cohen, executive creative director at adam&eveDDB, said the campaign was attempting to
  
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• Facebook Messenger catches up with WhatsApp as it hits 1 billion users milestone

  20-07-2016 17:33
  
  Facebook Messenger has joined the one billion users club, catching up with sister company WhatsApp. 
  The world's largest social network shared the news via a blog post announcing that one billion people each month send messages via its private platform. 
  To mark the occasion, Facebook is going to send a billion 'thank yous' to Messenger subscribers in the form of floating balloon animations that users can send to their friends within the app "to add a touch of whimsy and delight to any
  
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• Why we need to think of our digital experiences as products

  20-07-2016 17:27
  
  Great digital experiences will provide a meaningful financial return. Everyone in the digital space believes that sentiment to be true, but it is one we struggle to quantify.  In most instances, the impact is masked by a thousand other factors because the link is not as direct as we wish it to be. Occasionally, though, a new digital product comes along with such a unique and compelling experience, the financial linkage becomes readily apparent.  
  Pokémon Go is just that product.
  
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• Unilever makes play to become a consumer services brand with Dollar Shave Club deal

  20-07-2016 17:23
  
  Unilever has acquired online-only subscription service Dollar Shave Club for a rumoured $1bn (£760m). The FMCG startup delivers razors straight to customers’ doorsteps for a fixed monthly price and has rapidly disrupted the shaving market, still dominated by Procter & Gamble‘s Gillette brand.
  Dollar Shave Club holds 54% of the online shaving marketing in the US, according to Euromonitor, and 5% of the total shaving market. By comparison Gillette’s share of the on
  
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• Adblock Plus brands China as a bully for prohibiting adblocking

  20-07-2016 17:02
  
  Adblock Plus has hit back at China’s newly announced move to ban ad blocking, stating that it will pull out of the country if there is any danger consumers could face any “wrath” for using the app.
  Last week, China released new Internet Advertising Interim Rules which among other things look to prohibit the use of applications to block, skip or fast forward online ads, providing a quandary for the ABP which says that 159m people in China block ads on mobile.
  Ben
  
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• Spotify bolsters programmatic offering as it strikes deals with Rubicon Project, AppNexus and the Trade Desk

  20-07-2016 16:52
  
  Spotify is getting serious about its programmatic offering by opening up its audio ad inventory and inking deals with the Rubicon Project, AppNexus and the Trade Desk to automate the highly-coveted audio slots.
  Spotify has made no secret of its desire to be the dominant seller of automated audio inventory, having already outlined its intent to make all its media available this way within the next five years. Previously, only display and video inventory was able to be bought this way, with the ne
  
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• Macy's tests an AI shopping assistant powered by Watson

  20-07-2016 16:52
  
  Macy's is prepping an AI shopping assistant on the back of a new partnership with IBM.
  The new system, called Macy’s On Call, is a mobile tool that will help shoppers find their way round 10 US stores piloting the system.
  Customers will be able to ask select questions such as where certain brands and departments are located with it using Watson’s Natural Language Classifier API and Satisfi, an intelligent engagement platform, to understand and respond to input.
   “Bringing
  
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• Russell Parsons: Procurement should be seen as marketing’s strategic partner, not its enemy

  20-07-2016 16:40
  
  There are many contenders for the title ‘marketing’s best friend’. Externally, a strong case can be made for advertising or marketing technology, for example, but on a strategic and internal level the field is open. Is it the chief information officer, given the role of data in marketing planning and campaign delivery? Is it the chief technology officer, who can help a marketer navigate the crowded digital landscape? Is it HR, which not only has the key to increasing marketing
  
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• Mercedes pilots a semi-autonomous bus in Amsterdam

  20-07-2016 16:36
  
  Mercedes-Benz is looking to looking to bolster public transport by making buses operate “even more safely, efficiently, and comfortably” with the eventual rollout of technology from its semi-autonomous CityPilot bus.
  The auto giant said in a statement: “The CityPilot is able to recognize traffic lights, communicate with them, and safely negotiate junctions controlled by them. It can also recognise obstacles, especially pedestrians on the road, and brake autonomously.”
  The
  
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• What does Brexit mean for marketing budgets?

  20-07-2016 16:10
  
  It’s less than a month since Britain’s decision to leave the EU was revealed. Here three of this year’s Vision 100 inductees share their first thoughts on what it might mean for marketers.
  Microsoft’s UK CMO Paul Davies thinks it will make marketers more risk averse in the short to medium term, but warns against this and instead urges marketers to “be more adventurous”.
  As it will be difficult to get budget increases signed off, Kevin Sinfield, head of brand m
  
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• Going 360: Jacob’s Creek invites wine lovers into their vineyards

  20-07-2016 15:40
  
  Jacob’s Creek has launched a series of 360 degree films that transport wine drinkers to the heart of the Australian wine country for an aerial tour of the brand's vineyards.  
  The series launches with six short films, created by digital creative agency Impero, each showcasing what Jacob’s Creek is 'Made By' – including the beautiful vineyards of the Barossa and Adelaide Hills, alongside the Home of Jacob’s Creek.
  At each point in the experience, on screen graphi
  
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• Generating sales leads remains a pressure point for majority of B2B marketers, study suggests

  20-07-2016 15:38
  
  More than half of B2B marketers charged with overseeing the quality and management of data are 'significantly' pressured by upper management to generate additional leads based on the data.
  According to the survey by The Telemarketing Company, 59 per cent of B2B marketers feel under more pressure than ever to generate successful sales leads while there is still confusion surrounding lead generation with about 24 per cent saying that sales and marketing do not have a shared def
  
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• Halfords launches range of Wiggins kids’ bikes with Chapter

  20-07-2016 15:28
  
  Cycling and motoring retailer Halfords is to launch its Wiggins range of children’s bikes, inspired by Sir Bradley Wiggins, with help from marketing agency Chapter.
  The range boasts 10 different models, each named after a stage town from the 2012 Tour de France, which Wiggins won.
  Chapter was appointed to develop the range research, planning and design development with creative thinking, linked to the Halfords’ ‘You Can Fly’ brand strategy inspired by the personality and
  
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• The Financial Times thinks the programmatic time is nigh for cost-per-hour as Red Bull, Credit Suisse and more commit to attention metric

  20-07-2016 15:24
  
  Sooner rather than later brands will be able to buy time-based ads programmatically on the Financial Times as it looks to scale the “minority sport” that has already wooed the likes of Red Bull and IBM.
  It’s an inevitable step in the publisher’s attempts to fully realise a metric it believes could account for half of its media inventory someday. From three campaigns bought this way at launch in 2014, to 21 the following year and 16 already this year, momentum is building
  
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• Red Sofa London: MW Visual Digital Designer

  20-07-2016 15:19
  
  £30000.00 - £40000.00 per annum:Red Sofa London:
  Amazing Digital Design career opportunity working with top tier CDs and ECDs. The role would best suit an ambitious Mid Weight Visual UI Designer with approx 4 yrs Digital / Creative agency experience.
  London
  
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• Mondelēz CMO Dana Anderson on why marketers must ‘stop crying into their beer’ and embrace change

  20-07-2016 15:16
  
  Meeting Mondelēz’s CMO Dana Anderson is a whirlwind. Despite being small in stature, her charisma and way of talking are larger than life. She frantically flicks through presentation notes to make a point, whispers one minute and shouts the next – leaving you captivated but also slightly concerned you are not keeping up with her train of thought.
  Even before the first question is thrown her way, she highlights a talk she is about to give at the Cannes Lions festival.
  
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• Online estate agent Yopa launches advertising review

  20-07-2016 15:13 via campaignlive.co.uk
  
  Yopa, the start-up digital estate agent, is on the hunt for an ad agency as it aims to win market share in the burgeoning online home-selling market.
  
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• Watkins exits Guardian Labs to become partner at Mofilm

  20-07-2016 14:38 via campaignlive.co.uk
  
  Mofilm, the crowdsource platform majority-owned by David Jones' You & Mr Jones, has appointed Anna Watkins, managing director at Guardian Labs, as a partner.
  
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• MRM Meteorite on alert as General Motors rethinks DM for Vauxhall

  20-07-2016 14:35 via campaignlive.co.uk
  
  General Motors UK has contacted agencies about its direct marketing account for Vauxhall, putting four-year incumbent MRM Meteorite on alert.
  
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• Why procurement must be marketing’s new best friend

  20-07-2016 14:31
  
  Procurement has always been a bugbear for both marketers and agencies. Brands need to buy a huge array of marketing services, but the processes by which they choose and pay for them are a frequent source of friction, as procurement departments – whose priorities and reporting lines vary from company to company – seek to balance marketing objectives with value for money.
  These pressures look set to increase, following the UK’s vote to leave the European Union, with economic
  
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• Tesco hires comms director from Coca-Cola as brand repair job continues

  20-07-2016 14:30
  
  Tesco has brought in Jane Laurie as group communications director, replacing Rebecca Shelley who left the role earlier this year after four years, the latter of which were spent trying to limit the damage caused to the brand by the accounting scandal.
  Laurie, who will join on the 10 October, will lean heavily on her experience at Coca-Cola where she was, until recently, heading up its European public affairs and communications.
  She’s also held similar roles at Diageo and Boots.
  “Over
  
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• gyro appoints human resources pro MC Martin as global chief talent officer

  20-07-2016 14:13
  
  B2B agency Gyro has appointed MC Martin as its first global chief talent officer.
  In the new role she will be charged with ensuring the business' unique culture continues - which is defined as its unique process of connecting humans to business - and is referred to as UNO. 
  Martin is expected to bring extensive experience as a proven global human resources innovator and leader with over 20 years working in the industry including  BBH, Interbrand, Ogilvy and TBWA. She most recently
  
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• MediaSense launches ad tech consultancy Stack I/O

  20-07-2016 14:08 via campaignlive.co.uk
  
  MediaSense, the media consultancy, has launched what it is calling Europe's first independent advertising and marketing tech consultancy.
  
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• 'The Man in the High Castle' is the most popular show on Amazon Prime Video

  20-07-2016 14:00
  
   
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  The Man in the High Castle was the most popular show on Amazon Prime Video, proving once again that word-of-mouth plus binge watching can equal to a show's growing success in a streaming world. The top ten TV shows accounted for 36% of the shows viewed. Here are the full insights from Jumpshot.
  Insights from Jumpshot:
  The Top 10 TV shows accounted for 36% of all the TV shows viewed on Amazon Prime this past week, a stark contrast to the week beginning of 6/23 when the top 10 s
  
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• Post-Brexit search trends reveal no changes to searches for holidays in immediate aftermath, but show surge in political questions

  20-07-2016 13:40
  
  The UK’s interest in politics has increased by 7000 per cent post-Brexit, according to internet search data from consumer behaviour tracker Hitwise.
  While there was a 300 per cent increase in searches from Brits looking to move abroad in the immediate aftermath of Britain’s vote to leave the EU, there was no change to search trends in relation to shoppers looking for holidays or flights online, according to the research.
  The data was collected from a range of search providers, which
  
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• RBS CMO: Advertisers should remember they need agencies

  20-07-2016 13:17
  
  I have been in advertising for a number of years and worked across many great agencies and brands. At times, our industry has made me immensely proud. At others, less so. We are facing numerous challenges (ad blocking, ad fraud, declining consumer trust) and it’s vital we work together to uphold our industry’s integrity as we confront them.
  I am currently CMO for RBS. I have seen first hand what happens when trust breaks down between counterparties, customers, regulators and lawmake
  
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• David Wheldon: Advertisers should remember they need agencies

  20-07-2016 13:17
  
  I have been in advertising for a number of years and worked across many great agencies and brands, as well as having a role as President of the WFA. At times, our industry has made me immensely proud. At others, less so. We are facing numerous challenges (ad blocking, ad fraud, declining consumer trust) and it’s vital we work together to uphold our industry’s integrity as we confront them.
  I am currently CMO for RBS. I have seen first hand what happens when trust breaks down between
  
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• NBA partners with Twitter to launch new exclusive live stream shows

  20-07-2016 13:08
  
  The NBA has partnered with Twitter to bring live original content to the social media giants various platforms including Twitter, Vine and Periscope.
  The partnership will include a new weekly live stream pregame show which will incorporate “first-of-its-kind elements” created specifically for integration with Twitter conversation. The free programme will be featured exclusively on Twitter during the 2016/17 season and will be accompanied by an additional to-be-determined show th
  
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• Industry seeks talks with new-look government amid Brexit anxiety

  20-07-2016 12:58 via campaignlive.co.uk
  
  Theresa May's newly appointed ministers must open a dialogue with the marketing industries right away in order to protect the UK's competitiveness, agency and brand leaders have said.
  
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• Gumtree gets with Bauer Media’s Kiss and Box TV to promote its job section

  20-07-2016 12:55
  
  Bauer Media’s Kiss FM UK and Box TV have signed a four-month partnership with Gumtree that will raise awareness of the site's functionality as a place to access job applications.
  The deal, planned and brokered by the7stars, launched on Tuesday (19 July) featuring on-air trails, a branded hub, video content, an experiential two-day audition event and a presenter academy which will see Kiss and Gumtree offer listeners interview tips and advice on job opportunities.
  The deal will be unde
  
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• Agencies vie for spot on revamped government roster

  20-07-2016 12:48 via campaignlive.co.uk
  
  Ad agencies hoping for a place on the government's revamped roster face a busy August as the process finally kicks off after months of delay.
  
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• Innocent taps Mother for a smooth growth in Europe

  20-07-2016 12:22
  
  Innocent has selected Mother as its new communications agency, taking the crown after a three-way pitch.
  Mother is tasked with developing brand comms across an expanding Pan-European business.
  Tim Clarke, group marketing and innovation director, Innocent, said: "We were very impressed by all of the agencies we met throughout the pitch process.
  “Mother in particular really grasped our ambition, and we're excited to have them on board as our agency partner as we drive the continued growth of
  
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• Kellogg's gets hit with ASA ban for Special K ads claming 'nutitious' benefits

  20-07-2016 12:18
  
  Kellogg’s is the latest brand to fall foul of the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), receiving a ban for two of its Special K ads after the regulator was sent complaints over health claims made by the food giant.
  A TV ad for Special K’s porridge and a separate web promotion were found to breach ASA rules because they didn't clearly signpost how the brand's health claims were substantiated.
  The TV spot claimed in a voiceover that the brand’s five grain super porridge wa
  
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• How Nectar uses AI to make loyalty smarter

  20-07-2016 12:15 via campaignlive.co.uk
  
  Nectar is the biggest loyalty programme in the UK, with 19 million members, but is having to adapt to the digital age.
  
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• Barcelona end speculation over shirt sponsorship with new Qatar Airways deal

  20-07-2016 11:55
  
  Barcelona have ended speculation over their lucrative shirt sponsorship after announcing a one-year extension with Qatar Airways.
  The new deal will be worth a reported £29.3m (€35m), according to Spanish media reports, which is slightly more than the previous £27.6m (€33m) per-season deal it agreed with Qatar Airways in 2010.
  The continued partnership with Qatar began to look unlikely amid reports that the Catalan club were close to agreeing a four year shirt sponsorship de
  
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• Data Storytelling Awards entry deadline extended

  20-07-2016 11:49
  
  Last year’s winners at the Data Storytelling AwardsThere are a range of categories to enter including personalisation, data-driven business and loyalty and relationship marketing.
  All the entries will be judged by top marketers including TfL’s Julie Dixon and Nick Bonney, head of insight at Camelot. The winners will be awarded based on factors including the brief, the work and the results.
  Stuart McDonald, regional head of customer insight EMEA at AIG and one of the judges for the aw
  
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• Unilever takes a cut of on-demand sector with $1bn purchase of Dollar Shave Club

  20-07-2016 11:45
  
  Consumer goods giant Unilever is positioning itself in the burgeoning field of on-demand toiletries after snapping up Dollar Shave Club for a cool $1bn.
  The e-commerce platform distributes high-quality razors direct to subscribers' homes for a monthly membership fee of between $1 and $9.
  According to Venturebeat the acquisition is likely to see Dollar Shave Club chief Michael Dublin remain in post while bringing its 3.2 million members under the Unilever umbrella.
  The innovative male grooming bu
  
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• Experian highlight plight of 7.5m UK digital ‘dawdlers’

  20-07-2016 11:40
  
  A new report compiled by Experian has highlighted the growing societal schism between those who have embraced digital technology and services and those left behind.
  In the latter camp the global information services company identifies 7.5m Britons who have been ‘left behind’, classing these digital holdouts as ‘dawdlers’ whilst other segments of the population charge ahead as high usage ‘devotees’ or moderate ‘day-to-day doers’.
  Richard Jenkings, s
  
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• AOL and MEC launch Michelin Car Connections content hub with Keanu Reeves and Gard Hollinger Le Mans video

  20-07-2016 11:33
  
  AOL  and media agency MEC have created a Michelin content hub called Car Connections, celebrating the tire brand with videos, images and articles created by motoring icons and journalists.
  The hub launched with a behind-the-scenes film of the 2016 Le Mans 24 Hours tapping star talent from Keanu Reeves and Gard Hollinger of Arch Motorcycle.
  The campaign will be live for six months on both MSN and AOL’s global video distribution platforms. Tom Hosking, head of partner studio, AOL Intern
  
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• Unilever makes play for online razor market with $1bn acquisition of Dollar Shave Club

  20-07-2016 11:30 via campaignlive.co.uk
  
  Unilever has acquired male grooming subscription service Dollar Shave Club (DSC), in move that will see it go head-to-head with arch-rival Procter & Gamble's market leading razor brand Gillette.
  
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• Brexit could hit digital marketing hardest in skills shortage, says survey

  20-07-2016 11:29 via campaignlive.co.uk
  
  Employers expect a marketing skills shortage in the second half of the year and the Brexit vote has added to their concerns about being able to find good marketing professionals, a new survey shows.
  
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• Turkey of the week: Walkers "Lift" by AMV BBDO

  20-07-2016 11:28 via campaignlive.co.uk
  
  Simon Gwynn thought this ad for Walkers' cone-shaped snack Bugles was the stuff of childhood nightmares.
  
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