Marketing news

• US Creative Work of the Week: Xcel aims to personalize energy in campaign created by Yamamoto

  17-08-2016 21:11
  
  Regional utility provider Xcel energy recently rolled out a campaign called ‘Always Delivering’ in an attempt to bring some softness and personalization to an industry that can often feel like an amalgamation of faceless corporations.
  Created by Xcel’s agency of record Yamamoto, which won the account earlier this year, the campaign has been voted by readers as US Creative Work of the Week.  
  The ads feature an upbeat Xcel employee who spends his days delivering energy door
  
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• DigitasLBi appoints Emily Macdonald as head of programmatic

  17-08-2016 19:53
  
  DigitasLBi has strengthened its programmatic offering with the appointment of Emily Macdonald as head of programmatic.
  In the newly created role Macdonald will help to further develop DigitasLBi’s programmatic capabilities across the whole agency, helping its clients to navigate the ad tech landscape in order to gain competitive advantage.
  Having spent 18 years working in digital media and ad tech, Macdonald has held positions at the likes of WPP, News UK and Microsoft. Most recently, she
  
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• Uswitch calls ad review

  17-08-2016 19:11
  
  Price comparison Uswitch has called an advertising review just months after it was snapped up by Zoopla.
  The move will see incumbent creative shop Thinking Juice compete to retain the business. Uswitch is currently prepping a list of agencies that will be invited to pitch for the account.
  In a statement the price comparison site said: "We confirm that we are reviewing our advertising agency arrangements. AAR is helping us to draw up a shortlist and Thinking Juice, who we currently work with, wil
  
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• Facebook Messenger revises chatbot brand policy to expedite responses and in some cases allow ads

  17-08-2016 19:09
  
  Facebook Messenger is looking to make its Messenger chat app a more hospitable place for brands by extending their ability to harness standard chat bot ads through the service.
  The social media network has refined its policies to cement how often - and when brands can communicate with users. In the past restricted these practises in the platform’s early days fearing users would mark the communications as spam.
  The company now offers two bot messaging types; standard and subscript
  
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• Carling partners with Sky Sports to launch new Friday night football show

  17-08-2016 18:47
  
  Carling is building on its Premier league sponsorship with the launch of a new Friday night football show which will air across Sky Sports television channels and its digital platforms.
  The ‘Carling In Off The Bar’ show will be hosted by Soccer AM’s Adam Smith and Laura Woods and will complement Sky Sports’ new Friday Night Premier League coverage.
  The programme will feature celebrity guests and challenges and will offer viewers an entertaining look back on the week in fo
  
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• Founder of the shouting panel discussion, John McLaughlin dies at 89

  17-08-2016 18:36
  
  John McLaughlin, host of the respected public affairs show “The McLaughlin Group,” passed away at age 89 on Tuesday after complications from prostate cancer, according to Eleanor Clift, a journalist and colleague. McLaughlin had missed his first show in 34 years just days earlier.
  McLaughlin was known for his feisty nature, his ability to pit liberals and conservatives in heated discussion and get a rapid-fire political argument, often ending with the host cutting people off abruptly
  
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• Canadian women award P&G, Samsung and Sport Chek with best Olympic ad medals

  17-08-2016 18:21
  
  Marketing agency Harbinger has ranked Canadian women’s favourite Olympics-themed ads with P&G, Samsung and Sport Chek all placing on the podium in that respective order.
  In August, the agency queried 1,514 Canadian women between 24 and 63 on their top three Olympics ads currently airing on TV or online.
  Taking the top spot was P&G ‘Thank You, Mom – Strong’, followed by ‘Samsung The Anthem’ and ‘Sport Chek Olympic Manifesto’ (hit the links t
  
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• Healthline breaks ahead of the pack as one of the fastest growing health information web domains in the U.S., report says

  17-08-2016 18:13
  
  US Healthline Media announced today that it has seen 39 per cent audience growth within the past year with 63 million unique visitors a month visiting their site, making it one of the fastest growing health information web domains in the US.  
  Based on Comscore's June 2016 report, Healthline.com grew from the sixth to the third largest health information web domain over the past year, reaching 26 million unique monthly visitors in the health information category where many others are f
  
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• Can 360-degree video campaigns be more than just a fad?

  17-08-2016 18:11
  
  Forget about shooting a standard video clip – brands are now expected to give their audience a full 360-degree experience. So far, numerous brands across a variety of sectors have attempted to make it their own. Meanwhile, digital brands such as YouTube, Facebook and Snapchat are also putting a heavy focus on 360 video to encourage brands to host campaigns on their platform.
  Cadbury Dairy Milk Buttons launched virtual reality experience campaign ‘Memory Lane’ last month. It all
  
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• The demise of Ogilvy Labs spotlights the agency challenges of honouring innovation

  17-08-2016 18:00
  
  Marketers increasingly want revenue-spinning ideas as well as campaigns but the challenge of providing innovation at scale to make it a worthwhile investment is difficult for agencies, as Ogilvy’s bosses can attest.
  Getting “better” and “faster” was how Annette King, the UK chief executive of the agency, justified the decision to shut down Ogilvy Labs after nine years earlier this month. In its place will be “new capabilities” she continued, albeit witho
  
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• Ice buckets and push-ups show B2B marketers the way

  17-08-2016 17:58
  
  If you cast your mind back to 2014 you may remember the flurry of fundraising challenges that hit our social feeds. We had the no makeup selfie raising money for cancer research, and the ice bucket challenge – it’s unlikely you’ll forget that one if you took part. We are now seeing the 22 push-up challenge, to raise awareness for veteran suicide, gaining some huge traction. 
  Despite the cynics, no one can deny that they were a hit. And last week we heard that the
  
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• Dove Style+Care wants to transform from being 'something consumers want, to something consumers desire'

  17-08-2016 17:44
  
  Haircare brand Dove Style+Care has redesigned its packaging range in hopes of shifting the brand from being a necessary purchase to a desirable product.
  The North American Unilever-owned brand wanted to “re-energise” its packaging to feel more premium and modern, and tasked JDO Brand & Design with redesigning the range. The brief was to communicate Dove Style+Care’s styling attributes as well its caring for hair qualities.
  The resulting design features a new brand lock-up t
  
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• Cisco Systems primed to cut a fifth of its workforce as it moves focus to cloud and software

  17-08-2016 17:44
  
  A total of 14,000 jobs are reportedly to be cut at network hardware producer Cisco as it looks to reign in its workforce.
  The California-based company is reportedly set to transition away from its network hardware production to enter software-as-a-service and Cloud-based business.
  The company currently boasts over 70,000 members of staff and the reported cuts could lessen that by up to 17,000 heads according to a report from CRN.
  The company has already offered retirement plans to many employees
  
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• Brand Recruitment: Content Marketing Executive

  17-08-2016 17:43
  
  £25000 - £30000 per annum + benefits:Brand Recruitment:
  Content Marketing Executive, Market Harborough -This exciting, forward thinking, organisation are seeking a Content Marketing Executive to take a forward thinking position
  Market Harborough
  
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• How the National Lottery will ride the Olympic success of Team GB

  17-08-2016 17:37
  
  Camelot – which runs the National Lottery – is planning to host a national Sports Day and launched above-the-line campaign following the success of the British Olympic team in Rio.
  Most brands sponsoring the Olympics would love to be able to say that they are one of the main reasons an athlete has achieved a gold media. Most don’t, and have to settle for paying inordinate sums just to have their name in a stadium or on TV. But the National Lottery has been intrinsically tied to
  
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• Brand Recruitment: PPC Executive/Specialist

  17-08-2016 17:29
  
  benefits:Brand Recruitment:
  PPC Executive/Specialist, Market Harborough -This exciting, forward thinking, organisation are seeking a PPC Executive/Specialist to take a position supporting their Head of Marketing.
  Market Harborough
  
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• Everything you need to know about content marketing episode 3: 'Great content is nothing if it can't be found'

  17-08-2016 17:20
  
  Content marketing is fast-becoming an established tent-pole in many brands’ communications plan. 
  The Content Marketing Association estimates that the industry is worth around £5bn in the UK alone, more if you include native content, growing 25 per cent year on year.
  Great content, such as articles and videos that can entertain, inform, educate or excite, can help marketers cut through. But, according to Pulsepoint’s head of demand EMEA Ben Pheloung, too often marketers fo
  
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• Under Armour's, Kevin Plank, reveals how much the Olympics has boosted the brand

  17-08-2016 17:12
  
  Under Armour’s approach to marketing around the Olympics has highlighted the potential for non-official sponsors to capitalise on the Game’s new relaxed marketing rules, after the company’s chief executive revealed that stock was up by almost 10 per cent since 5 August.
  Speaking on CNBC's ‘Power Lunch’ show, Under Armour’s chief executive, Kevin Plank, said the brand’s stock was up by more than 9 per cent since the start of the Rio Olympics.
  "Really wher
  
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• Brand Recruitment: Client Strategy Director

  17-08-2016 17:06
  
  £75000 - £100000 per annum + OTE £150,000, negotiable:Brand Recruitment:
  Client Strategy Director, Abingdon -A leading marketing agency based in a beautiful area of rural Oxfordshire is currently looking for a Client Strategy Director
  Abingdon
  
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• Microsoft's Cortana mocks Apple's Siri in Surface ad

  17-08-2016 17:02 via campaignlive.co.uk
  
  Microsoft has responded cattily to a recent Apple spot trying to position the iPad Pro as a computer, using Cortana to point out the superiority of a keyboard and Office.
  
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• IBT Media refocuses efforts on advertising and events

  17-08-2016 16:36
  
  IBT Media is putting increased focus on advertising and events, announcing it will add two separate arms to its UK business to house these divisions just months after coming under fire for aggressive cuts to its editorial staff in the US.
  The publisher, which owns titles the International Business Times UK and Newsweek Europe, claims it has seen record traffic to its news sites in recent months.
  According to its internal Google Analytics stats, IBTimes UK reached a record 22.9m unique users for
  
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• The Drum and Merkle launch a marketer’s guide to driving TV tune-in

  17-08-2016 16:35
  
  The Drum, in association with Merkle, has launched a report examining the challenges faced by TV networks in delivering effective tune-in campaigns in today’s fragmented TV market and the solutions now available to overcome them.
  The explosion of channels and devices for TV consumption means the brand marketing strategies traditionally used by networks are no longer fit for purpose. Instead, networks must look to direct-response tactics, a new area for many TV marketers.
  However, there a n
  
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• What the UK needs to do to be a major contender in the digital economy

  17-08-2016 16:20
  
  I love the Olympics. One of my favorite parts of the Games is athletes’ responses when they realise they have won a medal. Their faces light up in genuine emotion that you rarely see captured in such a powerful way. And then I wonder about the athlete who finished in fourth place – unquestionably the toughest position in the competition and not where anyone wants to be.
  Seeing the recent Barclays report showing the United Kingdom finished in fourth place in its global Digital Develop
  
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• Donald Trump hasn’t spent a dime on TV ads yet and Hillary Clinton’s already $61m in the black

  17-08-2016 16:19
  
  Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has reportedly so far refused to invest in TV ads, with his TV ad spend paling in comparison to the supposed $61m spent on the slots by Hillary Clinton’s campaign.
  NBC and its partner Advertising Analytics have released figures claiming Green representative Jill Stein and Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson have also spent more than Trump, $189,000 and $15,000 respectively.
  However, the Wall Street Journal reports that Trump is poised to air hi
  
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• Pinterest joins the video ad battle

  17-08-2016 15:49
  
  Pinterest is launching video ads in the UKPinterest is launching video ads on its platform as it looks to compete with rival digital platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube for brands’ growing video ad budgets.
  Its first video format, which it is testing in beta mode, will allow brands to pay to have their videos appear in users’ home or category feeds. However, Pinterest is taking a different approach to its rivals in terms of how it presents those ads.
  While on social netwo
  
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• Former Eurostar marketer launches performance event backed by Olympic psychologists

  17-08-2016 15:38 via campaignlive.co.uk
  
  Emma Harris, the former Eurostar marketing director, has teamed up with Olympic psychologists to host an event designed to improve the performance of individuals and teams in the creative industries.
  
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• What's next for Mondelez as its chief media officer Bonin Bough hunts a brighter spotlight?

  17-08-2016 15:00
  
  Mondelez’s chief media and e-commerce officer has left the company following a near-four year stint. He’s set to spend time outside of the industry, having been plucked by CNBC executives to front a new TV show in Cleveland – a fitting move for a marketer Fast Company once described “as much a celebrity as any of the headliners at the festivals he sponsors.”
  Bough's reputation as a visionary thinker was firmly established during his four years at Pepsico where 
  
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• TV piracy is increasing and the US is in the lead, new study says

  17-08-2016 15:00
  
   
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  Piracy analytics experts Muso, recently released their first report on audience behavior, specifically related to TV and film. The key insight to pay attention to, according to Muso, "out of the total 78.49bn film and television piracy site visits, 73.69% (57.84bn) were visits to streaming sites."
  Streaming is on the rise as major torrent aggregators like Kick Ass Torrents have recently been taken down by the US Federal Government.
  Muso explained to Found Remote that pirates a
  
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• Joint wins Kettle Chips ad account

  17-08-2016 14:56 via campaignlive.co.uk
  
  Kettle Foods, the owner of Kettle Chips, has appointed Joint as its lead creative agency following a competitive pitch.
  
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• Publicis’ LiquidThread president Olivier Gers hired as IAAF CEO to ‘build its fan base and re-establish trust’

  17-08-2016 14:48
  
  The International Association of Athletics Federations‎ (IAAF) has appointed Olivier Gers, the UK-based global president of LiquidThread, a division of Publicis Media Group, as its new chief executive.
  He joins after a six-month hunt for a replacement during which interim chief Jean Gracia helped oversee a restructure of the IAAF. It claims he came top of a shortlist of 200 candidates, with his 20 years in commercial marketing a large incentive for the hire.
  Sebastian Coe remains the pr
  
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• The Drum interviews Sir Steve Redgrave live in Rio with Samsung’s virtual reality

  17-08-2016 14:20
  
  The Drum was transported to Rio de Janeiro earlier this week for a press conference with Olympic legend Sir Steve Redgrave, but not by plane.
  We were invited to M&C Saatchi’s office in London and presented with Samsung Gear VR headsets in order to interview Redgrave in real time. The 360 VR made it seem as if we were sat directly in front of the retired athlete at British House in Rio, while he watched us on a screen that broadcast a stream of the room in Soho.
  It was the third in a se
  
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• Samsung uses VR headsets to host Sir Steve Redgrave live interview from Rio Olympics

  17-08-2016 14:20
  
  The Drum was transported to Rio de Janeiro earlier this week for a press conference with Olympic legend Sir Steve Redgrave, but not by plane.
  We were invited to M&C Saatchi’s office in London and presented with Samsung Gear VR headsets in order to interview Redgrave in real time. The 360 VR made it seem as if we were sat directly in front of the retired athlete at British House in Rio, while he watched us on a screen that broadcast a stream of the room in Soho.
  It was the third in a se
  
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• Social Buzz Show: Link Humans' Laurence Hebbard reveals how to reinvigorate your personal brand, and why it matters

  17-08-2016 14:06
  
  Laurence Hebberd (@LaurenceHebberd) senior account manager at Link Humans and head of events for online community #SMLondon pulled up a seat on this week's Social Buzz show to chat. 
  Up for discussion was the idea of personal branding and Hebberd offered up five things individuals can do to further their social media presence. 
  From having a strong headshot to getting your bio spot on, the check list covered everything. But most important of all? Originality, said H
  
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• 'Doctor Who' is most watched TV show on Amazon Prime Video as fans await new season

  17-08-2016 14:00
  
   
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  Doctor Who has risen to the top as fans catch up and re-watch episodes in anticipation of season 10, which recently started filming. Mozart in the Jungle also increased in popularity after season three's release date was announced at the TCAs. 
  Insights from Jumpshot:
  These top 10 shows accounted for 35% of all the TV shows viewed on Amazon Prime this past week. 
  Waiting for the Doctor: Doctor Who from the BBC took the #1 position t
  
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• West Ham sponsor Betway apologises for tweet criticising Michail Antonio

  17-08-2016 13:34
  
  West Ham United's official shirt sponsor, Betway, has apologised for criticising Michail Antonio on social media during the club’s Premier League season opener.
  The betting firm posted a scathing comment on the midfielder’s performance in defence as the team lost 2-1 to Chelsea on Monday night (15 August) with Antonio giving away a penalty in the process.Antonio has been an accident waiting to happen in defence, #WHUFC fans will hope that's the end of the experiment. pic.twitter.com/
  
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• Facial recognition – a powerful ad tool or privacy nightmare?

  17-08-2016 13:30
  
  It may sound like science fiction but tech that identifies VIP shoppers could soon be used for customer loyalty schemesWhenever the future of advertising is discussed, thoughts often turn to the sci-fi image of a stalked Tom Cruise in Minority Report being recognised and served intrusive, personalised advertising as he tries to escape a futuristic city.Hence, recent claims by Russian app FindFace that it could identify people in public by their profile picture on a Russian social media site were
  
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• I’m trackin’ it: McDonald’s rolls out activity-tracking wearable with Happy Meals

  17-08-2016 13:27
  
  McDonald’s is a company looking to embrace technological developments to entice outlet footfall as it faces tight competition from fast-food rivals, supermarkets and disruptive new restaurant models.
  In Canada and the US, the company is giving a kids activity tracker away with its Happy Meals, tracking steps and encouraging children to burn off those calories. It company has launched the wearables to run parallel with the Olympic Games urging users to “Keep up with your friends and y
  
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• Pinterest gets serious about video as it unveils new ad format with General Mills, bareMinerals and Kate Spade as launch partners

  17-08-2016 13:23
  
  In its ongoing quest to woo advertisers, Pinterest has revealed a ‘Promoted Video’ product for brands. The new ads will let companies share video content with the platform's 100 million users.
  The mobile-online tool will boost the visual bookmarking site’s ‘Promoted Pins’ and e-commerce offerings, and is currently being tested in the UK and US.
  The format will comprise of silent GIF-style ads that users have to click-to-play upon seeing them in t
  
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• Twitter moves into broadcaster territory as it pushes live TV shows on Periscope

  17-08-2016 13:04
  
  Twitter is attempting to position itself as the go-to social broadcaster, launching live shows such as Pint and Periscope to illustrate to brands the creative potential of its livestreaming arm.
  Pint and Periscope is a monthly series that will see Twitter staff conduct a live interview with a member of the creative agency community. The idea is educate people on the potential of Periscope both as a brand building platform and a revenue driver, while the platform is still in i
  
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• Domino’s Pizza explains why it is chasing Facebook bots

  17-08-2016 12:44
  
  Domino’s Pizza is launching a Facebook Messenger bot in a bid to engage customers and create a ‘conversational transactional experience’.
  The bot, called @DOMThePizzaBot, was created by Domino’s Pizza with We Are Social and Talkbe to allow consumers to place an order simply by messaging the word ‘pizza’.
  Facebook opened up its Messenger platform in April this year, allowing brands to display codes that can be scanned by users to start an instant conversation
  
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• NFL UK appoints Clifford French to drive conversation with fans through talent and influencer partnerships

  17-08-2016 12:40
  
  The NFL UK has appointed sport and entertainment consultancy, Clifford French, to help drive its rapidly growing presence in the UK through a new campaign focused on talent and influencer partnerships in the UK.
  The London-based agency has been appointed on a nine month contract and will immediately begin work on a season-long programme focused on creating content which will increase engagement with fans.
  The campaign will focus on key stages in the NFL season such as the season kick-off next mo
  
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• XHamster strips backs its porn hamster logo after crowdsourced rebrand

  17-08-2016 12:38
  
  Pornography brand xHamster has unrolled a logo refresh upon its original hamster creative that has adorned the site for eight years.
  Launching with the site back in 2007, the hamster avatar has “evolved” after a crowdsourced rebrand effort featuring 40 designers from across the world.
  A total of 190 entries were submitted to the brand with it eventually settling on a stripped back monotone entry. 
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  Alexander Hawkins, chief marketing officer of xHamster, told
  
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• Product choices – latest Marketoonist

  17-08-2016 12:35
  
  Tom Fishburne is founder of Marketoon Studios. Follow his work at marketoonist.com or on Twitter @tomfishburne
  See more of the Marketoonist here
  
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• How table tennis wants to embrace a ‘lifestyle spirit’ in brand and game overhaul

  17-08-2016 12:33
  
  The game of table tennis has been given a makeover as the governing body for the sport looks to drive youth participation and make it more appealable on a global level.
  The International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) has worked with Brand Union to introduce not only a new branding strategy but also a new format for the sport named Table Tennis X (TTX), a new time-bound format that reduces the skills gap between participants and increasing the level of variety to gameplay.  Specia
  
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• Tomorrow Recruitment: Studio Manager - Fixed Term Contract

  17-08-2016 11:54
  
  £40000 - £50000 per annum:Tomorrow Recruitment:
  A well-known high street retailer is looking for a Studio Manager on a 12-month fixed term contract to join their team.
  London
  
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• 'What's for tea?' BBC presenter moves to clarify 'sexist' comment about Olympic gold medalist Laura Trott

  17-08-2016 11:54
  
  BBC Sports commentator Chris Boardman has come under fire from viewers for a seemingly “sexist” comment he made about Rio 2016 gold medal winner Laura Trott.
  Trott, now Britain’s most successful female Olympic athlete of all-time, joined her partner and fellow cyclist Jason Kenny in the Rio Velodrome yesterday after he too scooped gold at the Games.
  As the couple celebrated their success Boardman could be heard saying in the background: “‘She’s [Trott] do
  
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• The changing face of retail by Missouri Creative

  17-08-2016 11:43
  
  A change of pace in customer expectation has brought unprecedented challenges for retailers in recent years and shows no signs of slacking off. In a multi-channel world of smart technologies, fast and furious pace of life and high levels of competition, retailers and brands are all thinking outside the box and fashioning fresh tactics. You need to be smarter than ever to maintain relevance, not just by stepping outside the box, but by pulling apart the walls to reshape it completely.
  Despite the
  
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• Twitch moves to purchase video game community Curse

  17-08-2016 11:40
  
  Amazon-owned Twitch, the live streaming platform, is to cement its focus on videogames with the purchase of Curse, a community and software producer dedicated to gaming, for an undisclosed sum.
  By doing so Twitch will acquire a raft of websites, mod databases and guides for titles such as World of Warcraft, league of Legends and NFL titles as well as popular forums for games such as Minecraft, Pokemon and Diablo III.
  Another innovation of Curse is an online meeting place for online team mates to
  
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• Should advertisers have to pay more for 100% viewability?

  17-08-2016 11:38
  
  Premium publishers are beginning to offer advertisers 100 per cent viewability – but of course it comes at a premium. Should advertisers have to pay extra for guaranteed viewability, something that many brands expect as standard? 
  Of course the viewability discussion has been raging for some time, with two polarised views.
  In June, Keith Weed, Unilever’s chief marketing and communications officer, said: “How much of an ad do [consumers] have to see before you pay for
  
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• Intel flies above the competition with drone quadcopter aimed at software developers

  17-08-2016 11:20
  
  Semiconductor manufacturer Intel is to target software developers with a new ready-to-fly drone quadcopter as it seeks to grab a slice of the increasingly lucrative sector.
  Unlike rival systems the Aero will bypass commercial operators and hobbyists to reach out directly to programmers with a suite of bells and whistles including compatibility with the Linux OS, RealSense for vision and preloaded AirMap’s software.
  Intel is the first chip maker to directly manufacture its own drone, leapfr
  
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