Marketing news

• USA Today Network launches VR news show and ad unit

  21-10-2016 23:46
  
  USA Today Network has released its first ad unit in VR, or what it calls the cubemercial, in a new weekly VR show, VRtually There, in partnership with Toyota.
  According to a press release, the VR ad unit uses 2D assets in a VR environment and places the viewer in a cube surrounded with a brand’s creative assets for a maximum of 15 seconds, creating “an immersive experience between the consumer and the brand unlike any other.”
  The so-called cubemercial, which features Toyota&rsq
  
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• Five show-stopping music festival brand activations from 2016

  21-10-2016 22:53
  
  There’s no questioning that music festivals have become a staple in pop culture. What were formerly relegated to the fringes of music and counterculture have now secured themselves squarely in the mainstream—much to the chagrin of festival purists who claim that these experiences have “jumped the shark.”
  As with any cultural movement, brands have been eager to find ways to get involved. It’s a smart strategy for marketers who are vying for millennial dollars in part
  
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• Wieden+Kennedy serves up Trump BS (sandwiches) in Portland

  21-10-2016 22:26
  
  In yet another Donald Trump-inspired “thing,” Portland indie Wieden+Kennedy is rolling out the Trump BS in the form of something that Portlanders have a deep love of: food carts. Yes, the self-proclaimed food cart capital of the world (or at least the US — where is a fact-checker when you need them), which leans awfully far to the left, will be home to the Trump stunt — serving up baloney sandwiches during lunch at Portland's Pioneer Courthouse Square, one of the main gat
  
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• Georgia-Pacific’s CMO explains how his ‘not big’ and ‘definitely not cool’ company has driven growth through storytelling

  21-10-2016 21:13
  
  During a talk at the ANA Masters of Marketing Conference in Orlando, Georgia-Pacific’s chief marketing officer Douwe Bergsma explained how the company’s focus on storytelling has helped its portfolio of brands, which include Brawny, Angel Soft and Dixie, experience strong growth over the past two years.
  About two years ago, the paper products company began to get serious about its storytelling capabilities when it hired Droga5, Cutwater, Deutsch and The Martin Agency to work on
  
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• DDOS attack on Dyn server kills access to Amazon, Twitter, Spotify and more

  21-10-2016 18:48
  
  A denial of service attack (DDOS) on server company Dyn, has restricted access to the likes of Twitter, Reddit, Spotify, Github, Airbnb, SoundCloud, PayPal and Netflix on the East Coast of the United States.
  The company acknowledged the attack: “We have begun monitoring and mitigating a DDoS attack against our Dyn Managed DNS infrastructure. Our engineers are continuing to work on mitigating this issue.”
  It occurred 7am ET and lasted for two hours followed by intermittent o
  
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• DNA Recruit: Account Director - Global Network Agency - London

  21-10-2016 18:25
  
  £55000.00 per annum + bonus & benefits:DNA Recruit:
  We are looking for an Account Director with Shopper and Pharmaceutical experience to join the London office of a global activation agency.Our client is probably one of the world's largest activation, award-winning, multi-practice marketing agency who infl
  London
  
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• Snapchat swipes back at Amnesty in data row - 'we care deeply about privacy'

  21-10-2016 18:01
  
  Snapchat has reportedly hit back at Amnesty International after the human rights group alleged that major messaging apps were failing to take basic measures to ensure privacy. 
  A letter penned by Snapchat's general counsel, Chris Handman, addressed to Amnesty's head of technology and human rights Sherif Elsayed-Ali said the upstart cared "deeply about privacy," and that it has taken "great strides to preserve those freedoms."
  Published in i newspaper today
  
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• How IBM will help police forces to find missing people faster at The Drum’s Do It Day

  21-10-2016 17:40
  
  Thousands of people go missing every year in the UK, the majority of them 18 to 25-year-olds. And the first 24 hours in any missing person case are critical, the chances of a positive outcome after this time diminishing significantly.
  It is with this in mind that IBM has created an app using cognitive technology to help UK police forces gain access to and analyse all relevant data – including historical cases, transport routes and even weather – with which to plan effective search ca
  
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• Unlicensed to Kill: Pierce Brosnan sorry for ad promoting carcinogenic Indian chew tobacco product

  21-10-2016 17:35
  
  Former James Bond actor Pierce Brosnan has apologised for his controversial appearance in an Indian advertisement promoting a brand largely known for producing chewing tobacco.
  Brosnan told People magazine the ad made “unauthorised and deceptive use” of his image, with him claiming he was told the product was a “breath freshener/tooth whitener [and] all-natural, containing neither tobacco, supari, nor any other harmful ingredient”.
  The product, pan masala and gutka are re
  
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• First Facebook Live campaign aims to inspire experimentation

  21-10-2016 17:29 via campaignlive.com
  
  Streaming video, TV spots and outdoor ads running in the US and UK will focus on tips for curious users
  
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• Branded video review with Redpill: Mads Mikkelsen, Krokodil, and SickKids

  21-10-2016 16:58
  
  Every fortnight, REDPILL reviews three new or relevant branded videos and assesses the reasons behind their social performance. REDPILL’s rating system scores videos across five categories (awarding a maximum of 20% for each category): originality; on brand; creativity; craft; and shareability. The sum of all five scores produces a rating out of 100%.
  Le Fantôme: a Jake Scott film starring Mads Mikkelsen and the new Ford Edge.Rating: 56%
  Remember when BMW was making branded content b
  
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• Marketing’s toughest jobs: Why innovation is key to cutting through

  21-10-2016 16:54
  
  Illustration credit: BloodBrosIn 2010, tobacco, the public sector, accountancy, law and financial services were singled out as the most difficult industries to market in a survey commissioned by Marketing Week. Six years on much has changed, so what is now considered the toughest sell?
  Societal concerns have evolved, technology has created a plethora of new opportunities for marketers – along with a new set of rules and regulations –  and
  
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• How Funworks injects improv, sketch comedy and legit fun into creativity

  21-10-2016 16:46
  
  Steve Martin famously said that “comedy is not pretty.” When humor produces winning campaigns, however, it can be highly effective. Geico. Bud Light’s “Real Men of Genius”. Apple’s “I’m a Mac”. Classics from back in the day like Wendy’s “Where’ the Beef” and FedEx’s fast-talking John Moschitta, Jr.
  And the list goes on and on.
  San Francisco indie Funworks adds plenty of comedy to the creative process, which is hi
  
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• People on the move: hires and departures including Starbucks, Think Jam, MainAd and more

  21-10-2016 16:32
  
  This week has seen another wave of appointments and departures at brands, media owners and agencies. The Drum has rounded up the key moves from the EMEA, APAC and North America regions below.
   
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  Hearst
  Hearst UK chief executive Anna Jones is stepping down from the role in 2017 to co-found AllBright, a funding platform for female-led businesses in the UK.
  Jones completes her tenure as chief executive of Hearst in February 2017 after five years with the company. She is going on
  
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• Interpublic upgrades 2016 growth forecast after 'solid' third quarter

  21-10-2016 16:27 via campaignlive.co.uk
  
  Interpublic Group has posted "solid" revenue and profit increases for the third quarter of the year and has upgraded its full year organic growth forecast to be between 4% and 5%.
  
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• The invisible evolution of blackness: A new cultural moment

  21-10-2016 16:16
  
  Increasingly, blacks are challenging predetermined life paths and taking it upon themselves to go their own way, rejecting stereotypes and expectations of who they are, or who they could be, based on their ethnicity.
  This behavioral shift has led to a black renaissance where African-Americans are increasingly leading the charge to carve out space and a moment in culture to demonstrate the breadth of their diversity.
  This new black cultural moment couldn’t exist without broader societal shi
  
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• Tesco trials digital receipts and self-scanner tech that aims to reduce theft

  21-10-2016 16:15
  
  Tesco is trialling Tap&Tag technology, which replaces paper receipts with digital receipts when customers make a purchase at one of its stores.
  To use the system, customers simply tap on the Tap&Tag console at the checkout with any contactless bank card or NFC enabled phone. And following an online registration, a digital receipt is sent instantly via email, app or web portal to the customer’s chosen device. There is also an option for participating retailers to attach offers and p
  
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• Financial Times readers more likely to turn off adblockers if content access is completely restricted

  21-10-2016 16:00
  
  The Financial Times’ anti-ad blocking trial, whereby readers were given varying content restrictions to see what proved most effective in convincing blockers to whitelist, has reportedly proven that completely restricting content grants the highest conversion rate with two thirds of readers whitelisting the site.
  The FT took a sample of 15,000 registered users, split them into three groups, and gave each group them varying degrees of access to content unless whitelisted.
  The results found
  
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• YouTube takes a swipe at Facebook over silent videos

  21-10-2016 15:59
  
  YouTube has joined Snapchat in taking a swipe at Facebook over watching videos without sound. Both Facebook and Twitter autoplay video ads without sound, leaving users to click on specific videos and ad if they want to hear anything.
  YouTube said that 96% of its users now watch video with the sound on and that this “has an impact on advertising”.
  “People come to YouTube to watch video with the sound on. It is really important to not scroll with the sound off,” said Peter
  
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• Excedrin offers a cure for #DebateHeadache – and maybe Twitter’s, too?

  21-10-2016 15:38
  
  Headache medicine Excedrin turned our collective lemons into lemonade Wednesday night during the third and final presidential debate.
  That’s because social media analytics firm Talkwalker, which says it uses 1500 servers to process posts from 150 million websites every 15 minutes to measure public sentiment on social, found Excedrin’s sponsored hashtag, #DebateHeadache, trended with approximately 46,000 mentions during the debate. (By way of comparison, #DebateNight was used mor
  
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• FT finds four in ten users will turn off ad-blockers just by being asked

  21-10-2016 15:23 via campaignlive.co.uk
  
  Almost four in ten people using ad-blockers are "whitelisting" the Financial Times' website and agreeing to view ads after being asked to do so, a survey by the newspaper reports.
  
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• Notes on Blindness, a virtual reality journey into the world of blindness

  21-10-2016 15:03
  
  To promote the feature film Notes on Blindness, Franco-German TV network Arte has released an impressive virtual reality (VR) experience called Notes on Blindness: Into Darkness. The VR experience, available in French, German and English, is based on the cognitive and emotional experience of John Hull, who suffered through decades of gradual deterioration until he went completely blind at the age of 48.
  Quand on vit la cécité, tous nos sens sont décuplé
  
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• Tesco, Unilever and Asos: 5 things that mattered this week

  21-10-2016 14:15
  
  Tesco’s price spat sends Unilever’s brand perceptions plunging
  It made national headlines but was short-lived, as the pricing row between Tesco and Unilever ended within 24 hours. It was caused after Unilever reportedly raised the price of its products by 10% in a bid, it said, to offset the higher cost of importing caused by the weak pound following the Brexit vote. In response, Tesco decided to pull dozens of Unilever’s brands from its shelves.
  READ MORE: Mark Ritson &n
  
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• JCDecaux announces launch of 4K screens, yet stands by its billboard inventory as rivals ditch theirs

  21-10-2016 13:56
  
  Out of home agency JCDecaux is showing no signs of retiring its traditional billboard offering, bucking the trend set by the likes of Clear Channel of aspiring toward a digital-only inventory.
  The group announced it will be bringing 4K screens to the UK in 2017 at Wednesday’s (18 October) IAB Digital Upfronts, promising high definition OOH advertising initially on its six-sheets and within the mall environment. The company also announced further investment into its digital offering through
  
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• Why your agency should behave like a dotcom

  21-10-2016 13:54
  
  I’ve long observed, and having worked in a dotcom and now agency-side, that dotcoms tend to act differently in comparison to multi-channel businesses – especially those business that have ‘added digital on’ to more traditional ‘offline’ routes to market in recent years.
  In large, I put this down to the fact that years ago dotcoms recognised that their consumer world actually changed faster than they could react to it. This drove them to internally realign thei
  
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• Scottish courts back minimum alcohol pricing despite challenge by Scotch whisky industry

  21-10-2016 13:36
  
  Scottish courts have backed plans to set a minimum price for alcohol in Scotland, ruling against a challenge by the Scotch whisky industry, which claimed the plans were a breach of European Law.
  The court of session in Edinburgh rejected the challenge by the alcohol industry, and under the plans a price of 50p per unit of alcohol would be set, which means a bottle of spirits will cost at least £14.
  Scottish government’s public health minister, Aileen Campbell, said: “
  
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• Iceland customers most likely to have backed Brexit, Ocado a remain stronghold

  21-10-2016 13:25
  
  YouGov data has granted insight into the voting patterns of supermarket shoppers, painting the differing demographics granting footfall to each store.
  A study of more than 100,000 consumers from YouGov, showed that Iceland customers were most likely to have voted Leave in the EU referendum – around 65% of consumers. It was followed by Morrisons (56%), Asda (54%), Aldi (52%), Lidl (52%) and Tesco (50%).
  At the other end of the spectrum, Ocado proved to be the most remain store, boasting a c
  
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• Nintendo's Console Advertising through the years

  21-10-2016 13:12
  
  On Thursday, Nintendo pulled back the veil on Project NX, and announced the launch of its hybrid games console, the Nintendo Switch.
  As the company's first new console launch since the unveil of the underperforming Wii U in 2012, Nintendo's marketing drive for Switch will be vital in getting back to former glories.
  In keeping with the release of the Switch, The Drum looks back at the evolution of Nintendo's console ads.
  Nintendo Entertainment System (NES)
  
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• A history of Nintendo ads as it kicks of the marketing for the Switch

  21-10-2016 13:12
  
  On Thursday, Nintendo pulled back the veil on Project NX, and announced the launch of its hybrid games console, the Nintendo Switch.
  As the company's first new console launch since the unveil of the underperforming Wii U in 2012, Nintendo's marketing drive for Switch will be vital in getting back to former glories.
  In keeping with the release of the Switch, The Drum looks back at the evolution of Nintendo's console ads.
  Nintendo Entertainment System (NES)
  
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• Economist Group acquires Signal Noise to disrupt visual data storytelling for its clients

  21-10-2016 13:00
  
  The Economist Group has acquired London-based data design studio Signal Noise  for an undisclosed sum as it expands its fast-growing content solutions business.
  Signal Noise was founded in 2010 by Matthew Falla, Christian Thümer and Hem Patel and the company creates data visualisations, tools and dashboards for clients which include Accenture, EE and Unilever.
  Marketing and tech growth consultancy Waypoint Partners advised Signal Noise on the deal and Waypoint co-founder Mile
  
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• What Cancer Research UK learnt from its YouTube telethon

  21-10-2016 12:56
  
  Cancer Research UK’s Stand Up To Cancer campaign has extended its reach and engagement on YouTube, as it gives full control over the event to YouTubers and moves away from “generic” fundraising.
  Last year was the first time Cancer Research UK (CRUK) had run the event on YouTube as it looked for ways to talk about the campaign when it was not on TV. CRUK and Channel 4 run the telethon on TV every other year.
  At the time, CRUK said the activity was about testing how effective Yo
  
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• Facebook names ReFuel4 as Innovator of the Year for tackling the issue of ad fatigue

  21-10-2016 12:30
  
  Facebook has named data-driven creative platform ReFuel4 as ‘Innovator of the Year 2016’ at its Global Partner Summit. ReFuel4 was selected for solving the problem of ad fatigue, a problem plaguing the $190B digital media market.
  Ad fatigue is caused when a target audience of consumers is repeatedly shown the same ad. Audiences very quickly learn to ignore the ads, which wastes media budget. This is easily addressed by simply having more ad versions per campaign. Advertiser
  
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• Blockchain: Facebook's biggest threat

  21-10-2016 12:28
  
  Remember when you first opened a Facebook account? It was interesting, new and importantly, completely free of charge. Or so we thought. Fast-forward to the present day and our relationship with the social network has soured. It’s the same with Google, Twitter and Instagram too. Somewhere along the line the internet giants started getting more out of us than we do from them.
  It all comes down to our personal data. We surrendered it thoughtlessly and have been rewarded for our mistake with
  
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• The Design Museum promotes its relocation with video celebrating iconic designs

  21-10-2016 12:18
  
  The Design Museum has embraced some of the most iconic retro designs for a new video promoting its relaunch, focused on 'opening and closing'.
  Created by Gravity Road and directed by Daniel de Viciola , the video will air in cinemas and be bolstered by a social media and out-of-home campaign. 
  The drive promotes the fact the Design Museum is moving to its new home in West London in November 2016.
  Leading with the proposition, that it is the museum “that never closes”, the creati
  
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• Facebook integrates with Delivery.com and Slice as it hones in on food

  21-10-2016 12:11
  
  Facebook is always expanding its offering, be it with the rollout of Marketplace, bots, 360 video, Workplace and more, but now it also appears interested in becoming a food delivery hub to strengthen its value to both brands and consumers.
  A recent blog has announced that restaurants and takeaways available on Delivery.com or Slice can now link their menus to the social network.
  The news may sound warning alarms for industry leaders JustEat and HungryHouse although the site looks to be expanding
  
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• Kodak reveals retro rebrand as its Ektra smartphone for photography enthusiasts is teased

  21-10-2016 12:03
  
  Kodak is returning to its roots with a rebrand, playing off its classic yellow and red K logo.
  Design Week reports that the identity was created by New York-based studio Work-Order, and was announced in parallel with its new photography-focused smartphone. 
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  The Ektra, built by Bullitt Group, will look to leverage the long-standing Kodak brand to secure a foothold in the mobile hardware market.
  The reveal comes weeks after Google entered the mobile market in earnest with
  
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• Stan Collymore: ‘The super broadcaster that can show Premier League games anywhere, anytime is coming’

  21-10-2016 11:59
  
  Footballer turned pundit Stan Collymore is braced for a future where people are more likely to watch their favourite sports on a social network than they are a TV network.
  That shift will arrive sooner than many think, he believes, as the likes of Twitter start to fill the cracks that have emerged in the sports broadcast model. And while they won’t shatter it anytime soon, the model is under such commercial pressure to offset the costs of ballooning rights that Collymore thinks online medi
  
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• Pinterest launches service to connect brands with influencers

  21-10-2016 11:44
  
  Pinterest is continuing its charm offensive on advertisers with the launch of a service that matches brands and marketers with content creators.
  Dubbed the Pin Collective, the visual search engine has handpicked a group of online influencers, publishers and production companies to help brands of all sizes create “inspiring, actionable Pins”.
  “Our goal is to make sure brands have what they need to produce content that’s optimized for Pinterest’s visual format and Pin
  
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• Subaru ‘Make a Dog’s Day’ is Buzzfeed’s first Facebook Live for a brand

  21-10-2016 11:40
  
  Buzzfeed has created a Facebook Live video for a brand partner for the first time as it looked to show the strength of live video on its platforms.
  A Subaru branded video called ‘Make a Dog’s Day’ streamed on Thursday evening (21 October), for just over an hour – showing dogs having the time of their life.
  Just what happy dogs have to do with a Japanese autobrand is hard to decipher but the creative, as of Friday morning, drummed up 205k views and 705 shares on Buzzfeed A
  
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• Man of the moment, Ken Bone appears in Izod ad – the brand behind that red sweater

  21-10-2016 10:46
  
  Ever since he was propelled into social media stardom for seemingly asking a question during the second presidential debate, red-sweatered Ken Bone is now serving as an ambassador for Izod.
  The brand, responsible for Bone’s dashing red knitwear, is looking to utilise the meme-ready figure to encourage the US population to cast their vote in the upcoming election.
  “I don’t think I’m going to continue to be internet-famous forever, that’s not my expectation. At some p
  
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• British American Tobacco lights up $47bn Reynolds takeover

  21-10-2016 10:44
  
  British American Tobacco (BAT) has revealed plans to buy out the remaining 57.8 per cent stake in Reynolds, its US partner, in a deal valued at $47bn.
  Motivated by a desire to maximise efficiencies of scale, BAT believes it can realise $400m of cost savings following the deal, which it views as a ‘logical progression’ of a 2004 decision to become a minority shareholder in Reynolds.
  Such a move, if concluded, would draw some of the cigarette industries biggest brands such as Lucky Str
  
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• Creative agency It’s Nice That relaunches as Anyways

  21-10-2016 10:41
  
  Creative agency It’s Nice That has relaunched as Anyways.
  The overhaul happened this month led by founders Will Hudson (left) and Alex Bec (right). It marks the next phase in the agency’s growth, which began as a university project in 2010 and has already undergone a previous rebrand from INT Works.
  To celebrate the relaunch, the agency is showing case studies from previous clients such as Nike, Metro, Uniqlo, Converse, Unilever and the BBC for the first time. Among the cas
  
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• Swedish Cancer Society thwarts Facebook breast cancer awareness ad ban by going square

  21-10-2016 10:34
  
  Facebook was forced to apologise earlier this week after it accidentally removed a video campaign from the Swedish Cancer Society about breast cancer awareness, but now the group has now come up with a clever way to avoid Facebook’s censorship; turning breasts square.
  Video of Swedish Cancer Society "Breast School&a
  
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• Online gambling firms probed over pay out hurdles

  21-10-2016 10:22
  
  The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has opened an investigation into whether any laws have been broken by online gambling firms by erecting hurdles to players attempting to claim their winnings.
  Explosive growth in the sector has seen the number of Britons regularly logging in for an online flutter hit 5.5 million, but many are unimpressed with the procedures for obtaining their money when lady luck strikes.
  Nisha Arora, the CMA's senior director for consumer enforcement, said: “Ga
  
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• Wins this week: Canon, Blue Dragon, Save the Children

  21-10-2016 10:09 via campaignlive.co.uk
  
  Canon has appointed VCCP as its first integrated agency as it looks to ditch product-based consumer marketing in favour of focusing on people's wider relationships with images.
  
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• Campaign Viral Chart: Charlize Theron's latest Dior ad is most shared

  21-10-2016 10:03 via campaignlive.co.uk
  
  Christian Dior's fragrance ad starring actress Charlize Theron was most shared on social media this week. The spot shows the longtime brand spokeswoman running and frolicking through the sea.
  
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• Morning Bulletin: Nintendo Switch, newspaper websites fall and Tesco trio on fraud rap

  21-10-2016 10:01
  
  This morning sees much of the press dedicate coverage to the newly unveiled Nintendo Switch, an interchangeable console and tablet which hopes to carve out a niche alongside smartphones. We also look at an across the board decline in UK newspaper website traffic and the fate of three former Tesco executives on trial for fraud.
  A trio of disgraced former Tesco directors are to stand trial for fraud next September according to Retail Week, after they were charged in relation to a £263m accou
  
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• KFC moves on from ‘shouty’ messaging to build brand love

  21-10-2016 10:00
  
  KFC is shifting its marketing focus way from “shouty” messaging and “real” food to building brand love among consumers.
  It has introduced a new visual identity, created by BBH, which focuses on typography-led executions and has a Colonel stamp of quality. All communications are also characterised by a witty tone of voice.
  As part of the shift, KFC is releasing an outdoor poster with the headline ‘It’s f******n’ good’, which it says brings “a
  
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• Excuse me for leaving first: understanding a culture of overworking in Asia

  21-10-2016 09:59
  
  In any country overtime is a necessity for the marketing industry. We need it to meet deadlines and ensure that the most creative idea possible  goes through to the pitch. Stress and depression is a concern for the industry worldwide but a tragic suicide case in Japan has brought the issue of overwork in Asia firmly into the spotlight.
  Japanese advertising giant Dentsu has been at the epicenter of what is an ongoing conversation for industry and businesses in Japan. Dentsu is facing an inve
  
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