Marketing news

• Latest Mattel creative celebrates #DadsWhoPlayBarbie

  23-01-2017 22:41
  
  In another Barbie first, the brand is speaking directly to dads in its latest campaign that encourages men to play with their daughters.
  The creative includes a 90-second video with six dads and their daughters playing Barbie and trying out various careers, like doctor, teacher and astronaut. It was developed with BBDO San Francisco and is an extension of Barbie’s You Can Be Anything campaign, which, as the name implies, invites girls to imagine they can be anything when they gro
  
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• Lowe’s, Toys R Us and Vox Media hire new CMOs

  23-01-2017 22:18
  
  Lowe’s, Toys “R” Us and Vox Media have all announced the appointments of new CMOs.
   
  Lowe’s Companies, Inc., announced that Jocelyn Wong has been appointed to the position of chief marketing officer. Wong most recently served as senior vice president and general merchandising manager for the seasonal business. She will report to Michael P. McDermott, chief customer officer, and succeeds Marci P. Grebstein, who has left the company.
   
  
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• Cindy Gallop reveals the hardest part of running a sex startup (hint: it's you)

  23-01-2017 22:03
  
  The latest in our series of interviews between a rising copywriter and a senior executive about making it in the ad industry.
  
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• Cracked TV broadens its millennial base and availability as an app

  23-01-2017 21:48
  
  Cracked, the leading digital-media satire brand for millennials, is now available in the Apple TV App Store, offering new videos and long-running series including Webby Award Winner "After Hours," "Honest Ads" and "We're Not Alone."
  "Our loyal and tech-savvy fans are already on the Apple TV platform, and as we expand our OTT footprint, we believe it is important to convert new audiences to our brand," said Mandy Ng Rusin, vice president and general manager of Cracked. "Millennials can now enjoy
  
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• Advertising on the big game during the great divide

  23-01-2017 21:32
  
  Every year the Super Bowl inherently divides the nation. By teams. By conferences. By favorite or underdog. But this year I think we can all agree that our country will be divided like never before. By the Elites vs. the Working Class, Haters vs. Lovers, Liberals vs. Conservatives, Skeptics vs. Believers, Cities vs. Rural, Fake News vs. Real.
  As a marketer, you have to be wondering how such a dynamic will bode for your massive media dollars that were hoping to capture the attention of over 100 m
  
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• My favorite Super Bowl ad: 72andSunny's Glenn Cole

  23-01-2017 20:56
  
  Ahead of Super Bowl 51, The Drum has asked some of the industry’s most influential people to reflect on their favorite Super Bowl ad of all time and discuss why it stands out to them.
  We’ve also asked them to give their thoughts on whether they think social media has helped or hurt the effectiveness of the coveted Super Bowl spot. Over the past few years, many brands have chosen to leverage the power of social media by teasing or releasing their Super Bowl spots online days befo
  
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• B2B marketers use social media more often but still do not see enough ROI, report states

  23-01-2017 20:48
  
  A growing percentage of US business-to-business (B2B) marketers say they are using social media to promote their businesses with a recent poll suggesting that the second most widely used tactic for customer acquisition is social media, surpassed only by email marketing. But according to many B2B executives, social media marketing has not always lived up to expectations, particularly when it comes to metrics like return on investment (ROI).State of B2B Social Media Marketing
   
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• Snapchat Discover to clamp down on overtly sexual articles and clickbait ahead of IPO

  23-01-2017 20:32
  
  Snapchat Discover has unveiled a fresh set of guidelines for publishers as it seeks to clamp down on "questionable pictures" which lack news or editorial value.
  The new guidelines mean that Snapchat publisher partners, which include the likes of BuzzFeed, Cosmopolitan, Vice and the Sun, will be unable to show "sensitive content, including profanity, overly-sexualized content, and violent content" unless it is deemed of particular relevance to the corresponding article. 
  Explicit images disp
  
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• McDonald’s puts focus on food delivery and ‘ordering ahead’ in tech drive

  23-01-2017 18:43
  
  McDonald’s is shifting its focus towards technology-led initiatives in a bid to prioritise the consumer experience and meet their demands for increased convenience and simplicity.
  Speaking on an investor call today (23 January), CEO Steve Easterbrook said the fast food brand has been trialling food delivery in the US. Business Insider reported in December last year the brand was partnering with UberEATS to deliver to consumers living in Orlando, Tampa and Miami.
  “We did a very small
  
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• Trump inauguration sets record numbers for streaming

  23-01-2017 18:37
  
  Trying to count millions of people in public may be difficult, as the latest feud between the Trump administration and the media over how many attended the Trump inauguration clearly displays. But tracking numbers online is a more exact science, and streaming numbers for the inauguration set a record, according to Akamai Technologies, a US-based content delivery network, in a story by Advanced Television.
  The 2017 presidential inauguration, according to Akamai, is the largest single live news ev
  
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• Kia unveils teaser spot starring Melissa McCarthy ahead of Super Bowl

  23-01-2017 18:34
  
  Kia is wasting no time in teasing its Super Bowl ad this year. After releasing two short teaser spots last week, the automaker has now released another teaser spot that stars its celebrity spokesperson Melissa McCarthy.
  The latest teaser purposefully leaves viewers in the dark as to what sort of conundrum the comedian will find herself in come game day  – it simply features McCarthy decked out in safari gear as she frantically runs through a desert. The spot ends with the message &ldq
  
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• Disney kicks off marketing for Star Wars Episode VIII teasing new logo and movie name

  23-01-2017 18:31
  
  Disney, fresh off the release of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story has activated the marketing for its next movie in the Star Wars series.
  On Monday 23 January, the company revealed the name of the second movie in the latest trilogy, it has been officially branded ‘The Last Jedi’.
  The reveal from Lucasfilm also displayed a title card imbued with red font for the first time.
  A statement on the Star Wars website read: “We have the greatest fans in this or any other galaxy. In app
  
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• Could Theresa May's 'modern' industrial strategy be a post-Brexit boon for the UK's creative and tech industries?

  23-01-2017 18:30
  
  British prime minister Theresa May has today unveiled her post-Brexit industrial strategy, placing investment in cutting-edge technology and greater state intervention front and centre.  
  May has said her vision will be underpinned by a "fresh approach to government" in order to ensure that people “in all corners” of Britain share in the benefits of the country’s business success with a 10-point plan.
  Self-styled as a “modern,” industrial strategy the greenpape
  
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• Kingfisher consolidates bulk of European media into MEC

  23-01-2017 17:44
  
  Kingfisher, the owner of B&Q, has retained MEC in the UK and appointed a further five markets to the agency following a competitive pitch process.
  
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• Trump billboard urges businesses to invest in outdoor advertising

  23-01-2017 17:38
  
  An ad featuring the gurning face of newly inaugurated US president Donald Trump has appeared on a billboard site in Leeds.
  
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• Five takeaways for personalisation from CES

  23-01-2017 17:38
  
  Creating personalised experiences for customers is a tricky business admitted panellists at the Adobe and Publicis Groupe session at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas earlier this month.
  Senior executives on the panel from Publicis.Sapient, Mediavest Spark, Adobe, and Publicis Media said the data and technology is there to help deliver personalised consumer experiences – but it is too easy to get swayed by confusing industry jargon or what tactics Amazon or Walmart are
  
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• John Wittesaele appointed EMEA president of Xaxis

  23-01-2017 17:12
  
  WPP-owned programmatic media platform, Xaxis, has named managing director of Group M Connect, John Wittesaele as president, EMEA, reporting to global president, Nicolas Bidon.
  
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• TurboTax unveils Humpty Dumpty as star of its Super Bowl spot

  23-01-2017 17:05
  
  TurboTax revealed its latest star in a commercial that first aired during the AFC Championship Game Sunday night.
  Humpty Dumpty made his ignominious debut in the official 45-second spot, first seen broken and bleeding yolk on the ground at the base of a wall. When the king’s men come to his aid to help put him back together, they discover that he fell off of the wall because he was doing his taxes on his mobile device. Humpty defends his actions, even while in traction in the hospital
  
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• Lexus reveals extended version of its Super Bowl ad starring dancer Lil Buck

  23-01-2017 16:46
  
  Lexus wants people to #ExperienceAmazing with its new spot slated for the Super Bowl, touting its sleek new Lexus LC 500 performance coupe and redesigned Lexus LS 500 luxury sedan.
  Two versions of the spot, created by agency Team One, will be released. The first has been unveiled by Lexus, a 60-second extended version of its Super Bowl spot featuring the LC 500. The spot features dancer and movement artist Lil Buck moving to the music of Sia’s “Move Your Body.” The second spot,
  
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• From hair salons to handymen at the tap of an app – taking on-demand services for a road test

  23-01-2017 16:45
  
  Whether it's takeaways or hair salons or handymen, the rise of on-demand services has improved our lifestyles for the better, saving time, optimising our everyday workflow and helping to minimise stress.
  Marketplaces have been launched across the spectrum of digital niche services, aggregating these verticals. As a co-founder of Booxscale, our vision is to bring all these marketplaces together into a single performance based-platform, and create the marketplace of marketplaces. I have hence made
  
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• SoundCloud taps Triton for US programmatic ad sales

  23-01-2017 16:42
  
  SoundCloud is looking to more efficiently monetise the content on its audio platform by expanding its partnership with Triton Digital.
  Now ad buyers can target specific audiences automatically, targeting them via various demographics such as age and listening habits through the a2x platform.
  Audio advertising platform Triton Digital already offers similar services to Pandora, Spotify and iHeartRadio, additionally it was utilsing programmatic in Australia, Canada and New Zealand before the wider
  
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• Marketoonist on ‘misleading’ marketing

  23-01-2017 16:28
  
  Tom Fishburne is founder of Marketoon Studios. Follow his work at marketoonist.com or on Twitter @tomfishburne
  See more of the Marketoonist here
  The post Marketoonist on ‘misleading’ marketing appeared first on Marketing Week.
  
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• How university marketing is evolving post-Brexit

  23-01-2017 16:28
  
  University of Reading students with Radio One DJ Huw Stephens as part of their Reading Festival collaboration with NMEEngaging millennials is all just part of the job description for marketers in the university sector. While brands scratch their heads devising plans that will resonate with 16- to 24-year-olds, higher education marketers need to find ways to appeal to the Gen Z market on a daily basis.
  Following the deadline for UCAS applications last week (15 January) marketing teams are in
  
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• Industry welcomes govt support for creative industries

  23-01-2017 16:25
  
  Industry bodies have welcomed the inclusion of the creative industries as one of the five key sectors recognised in the government's industrial strategy consultation announced today.
  
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• Secret Marketer: What have the Romans ever done for us? They invented marketing

  23-01-2017 16:23
  
  In Monty Python’s ‘Life of Brian’ film, a rag-tag bunch of pseudo-revolutionaries called The People’s Front of Judea asked the question: “What have the Romans ever done for us?” Apart from the sanitation, the medicine, education, wine, public order, irrigation, roads, the fresh water system and public health, it turns out they gave us one more thing: a guide to being a great marketer.
  The Romans were making use of communication platforms over 2,000 years ago
  
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• Top keywords for B2B marketers are 'email marketing' and 'online video', study suggests

  23-01-2017 16:21
  
  A new study, in which 'intent signaling data' was monitored and analyzed to identify the direction in which B2B marketers nationwide are moving, found the greatest increase in interest in the keywords "email-related marketing" and "online video marketing."
  The online activities of companies nationwide were monitored for a period of two years to establish baseline activity levels while these online activities for the 30-day period from November 15, 2016 to December 15, 2016 were monitored and com
  
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• Squarespace will return to the Super Bowl this year with an ad starring John Malkovich

  23-01-2017 16:08
  
  Website building platform Squarespace is returning to the Super Bowl for the fourth year in a row with an ad starring actor (and now fashion designer) John Malkovich.
  While creative details of the spot have not yet been revealed, Malkovich recently starred in a documentary-style ad for Squarespace to promote both his new eponymous fashion line and the fact that he used Squarespace to build his line’s website.
  The three-minute video, which was created in partnership with creative colle
  
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• Sprint takes 33% Tidal stake, offering exclusives to it's 45m users

  23-01-2017 16:03
  
  Sprint has announced today (23 February) that is has purchased a 33% stake in Tidal.
  The telecommunications company has hopes to provide it’s retail customers with exclusive content that isn’t available to other Tidal subscribers.
  The music streaming service, co-owned by Jay-Z, Beyonce and a host of other A-list artists, will see Sprint’s chief executive, Marcelo Claure, join the board of directors. However Jay-Z has assured in a statement that himself and the other artist
  
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• Celebrating 2016's scammiest ads - and the return of The Drum Chip Shop Awards

  23-01-2017 16:01
  
  Agencies fight tooth and nail to win an industry award recognising the quality of their work, but 2016 showed that some creatives would stop at nothing to win these accolades, even if it included resorting to scam ads.
  To inform The Drum’s virtuous readers who are likely fully unaware of the unprincipled ads sullying the industry's most glamorous awards shows, scam ads are ads that never run, but are entered into awards under the pretense that they did. Or maybe they were placed
  
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• CBS sports tips its hat to the town that hosts the Super Bowl-bound New England Patriots

  23-01-2017 15:01
  
  The New England Patriots won the AFC championship last night against the Pittsburgh Steelers 36-17 on its home turf  and prior to last night's game, CBS sports paid homage to the small dairy town that hosts one of the most successful football franchises in recent memory with its video "The Last Stop."
  Narrated by rock star Jon Bon Jovi – who was in the owner's box at the stadium on game night – in a short video that began with CBS commentator Jim Nantz saying “Th
  
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• 'The Man In The High Castle' continues to dominate as most popular digital series in the US

  23-01-2017 15:00
  
  The Man in the High Castle continues to dominate. Here are the full insights from Parrot Analytics. 
  For 29 December, 2016 – 4 January, 2017 - Top 5 Digital Original Series in the US and Average Demand Expressions™:
  The Man In The High Castle, Amazon: 18,287,243
  The Grand Tour, Amazon: 15,396,884
  Stranger Things, Netflix: 14,620,216
  Travelers, Netflix: 14,226,082
  Marvel's Luke Cage, Netflix: 8,423,077
  Insights from Parrot:
  Over the holidays, Amazon Video titles did qui
  
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• Merck appoints Starcom to bring 'agility, digital savvy and scale' to global healthcare account

  23-01-2017 14:41
  
  Merck Consumer Healthcare has tapped Starcom as its global media agency partner.
  Following a competitive pitch and “an appropriate transition period” from Arena Media, the agency will take up responsibility for brands including Neurobion, Bion3, Nasivin, Seven Seas, DoloNeurobion and Femibion. The account is worth an estimated £50m.
  Beate Rosenthal, global brand director, Merck Consumer Healthcare, said: “Starcom’s global organisation and profound expertise in
  
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• Digital skills drove 2016 media M&A activity

  23-01-2017 14:15
  
  Nearly three-quarters (73%) of the 285 media and marketing deals that happened in the UK last year had a digital focus, according to a study by accountancy firm Kingston Smith.
  
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• Capcom leverages horrific London escape the room experience to promote Resident Evil 7

  23-01-2017 14:15
  
  To celebrate the impending return of the Resident Evil video game franchise, a zombie-heavy, horror survival game that made its name on the PlayStation, publisher Capcom called for the rollout of Escape the Room-like experiences that ape the fear players suffer in the game.
  The experience also ran in London's Shoreditch, the Capcom team was tasked with creating a unique experience capable of emulating the game series' atmosphere while generating buzz – especially among influencers and
  
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• Nat Geo Wild, Mashable to create two digital series

  23-01-2017 14:00
  
  Nat Geo Wild and Mashable have announced a partnership to co-produce and co-distribute two original digital series. The partnership will combine Nat Geo’s film and photo archives with Mashable’s digital production know-how and will distribute them online and on social.
  The first of the two series will look at how animals use tools to survive in their natural habitats. The second of the two series will be a comedy where Mashable will use its humor coupled with some of National Ge
  
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• Google testing mobile feature that replaces nearby business results with local inventory ads

  23-01-2017 13:48
  
  Google is stepping up its efforts to monetise search queries on mobile by replacing results of local business with ads.
  The Alphabet company is currently running tests for local inventory ads (LIA) on mobile, which sees search queries yield relevant ads rather than locals business results which the company’s ‘local pack’ would usually offer up.
  It's a similar feature which Argos tested early last year which allowed the retailer to ensure that its marketing spend isn&r
  
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• Vox Pop: Bringing back the renaissance marketing trends in 2017 (Part 1)

  23-01-2017 13:10
  
  From top left to right: Movidiam, Zazzle Media, Return on Digital, JJ Marketing, Icrossing. From bottom left to right: Salamandra, Rooster Punk, Strawberry, Lab, AgencyUK
  Marketing 'renaissance' trends are back. Email, direct mail, podcasts; the hark back to arguably simpler times communicating with audiences has been noted over the past year or so. For example, the podcast renaissance has been around for a while with hit series like This American Life and Serial, and we expect brands to continu
  
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• Danone appoints Droga5 London for global yoghurts account

  23-01-2017 12:37
  
  Droga5 London has beaten Adam & Eve/DDB, Mother and the incumbent, BETC Paris, to the global creative account for the Danone brand of yoghurts.
  
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• Huawei partners with London's Saatchi Gallery to examine history of the 'selfie'

  23-01-2017 12:23
  
  Huawei is partnering with London's Saatchi Gallery for an exhibition examining selfies and self-expression in art history - part of a push by the Chinese electronics firm to increase its presence in the UK.
  
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• Thomas Barta: Marketing jargon is a major career killer

  23-01-2017 12:00
  
  Great marketing communication is jargon-free so the customer message makes it through loud and clear. So why do so many marketers believe using marketing jargon inside their company is okay? It’s not. It’s a career killer.
  “Can you hear me now?” asks the guy in Verizon Wireless’s iconic TV ads. He always gets a thumbs up from his colleagues on the other end of the line proving he gets reception everywhere. Many marketers aren’t that l
  
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• Marketing jargon is a major career killer

  23-01-2017 12:00
  
  Great marketing communication is jargon-free so the customer message makes it through loud and clear. So why do so many marketers believe using marketing jargon inside their company is okay? It’s not. It’s a career killer.
  “Can you hear me now?” asks the guy in Verizon Wireless’s iconic TV ads. He always gets a thumbs up from his colleagues on the other end of the line proving he gets reception everywhere. Many marketers aren’t that l
  
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• Russell Ramsey to leave JWT

  23-01-2017 11:49
  
  Russell Ramsey is stepping down as executive creative director of J Walter Thompson London after nine years in the role and will be replaced by digital creative chief Lucas Peon.
  
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• Johnston Press faces overhaul of company’s management

  23-01-2017 11:37
  
  Activist investor Crystal Amber, which in January took the largest stake in the publisher, is expected to hold talks with interim chairman this week to demand an overhaul of the company’s management, that could put chief executive Ashley Highfield’s job at risk.
  Camilla Rhodes, the interim chairman who stepped up a few weeks ago after Ian Russell departed in December, is said to have called in restructuring experts Rothschild to aid the struggling publisher, according to the Daily Te
  
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• Starcom wins £50m Merck media

  23-01-2017 11:34
  
  Starcom has won Merck Consumer Healthcare's estimated £50m media account outside the US in a global consolidation.
  
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• Former M&S head of design joins Landor as ECD London

  23-01-2017 11:25
  
  The former head of design and production at Marks & Spencer, Richard Jones, has been appointed by brand consulting and design agency Landor as executive creative director in London. 
  In the role he oversees all creative output at Landor’s London office. His nearly 30 years’ experience in design and branding has seen Jones work across a diverse range of brands including Vodafone, Gilette, P&G, Unilever, Chevrolet.
  Commenting on his new position, Jones said: “It
  
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• Scottish Football Association's Darryl Broadfoot joins growing creative agency Frame

  23-01-2017 11:20
  
  The Scottish Football Association’s (SFA) head of communications, Darryl Broadfoot, has joined creative agency Frame.
  Broadfoot joins the Glasgow-based firm as a partner and is expected to commence his role on 27 March.
  The arrival of the Herald’s former chief football writer marks a period of growth for the agency which hired Alison Downs, the former head of PR firm Stripe, in August 2016. Account manager at The Big Partnership, Paddy Baxter, has also joined Frame and will start in
  
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• Creative Work of the Week: Mitsubishi Motors proves 'where some follow others lead'

  23-01-2017 11:17
  
  Mitsubishi Motors has taken its ‘where some follow others lead’ mantra to heart, winning this week’s European Creative Work of the Week title.
  Created by Golley Slater Cardiff, the campaign treads a new path for the brand in a bid to prove it’s the market leader in the plug-in hybrid category.
  Spanning TV, print, digital and social media, the multi-million-pound push sees mythical creatures from a Minotaur to Medusa take centre stage.
  Featuring photography from Jan Doeppe
  
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• Samsung’s flagship Galaxy S8 to be a no-show at Mobile World Congress

  23-01-2017 11:11
  
  Samsung has admitted that its hotly anticipated Galaxy S8 device will miss the most significant trade show of the year, Mobile World Congress on 27 February.
  The South Korean firm is keen to get back on the front foot after the debacle surrounding exploding batteries on the Galaxy Note 7, prompting it to take its time for the current release to prevent a repeat.
  Rather than rush a launch, Samsung has refused to be drawn on a release window, ending the manufacturers tradition of launching its dev
  
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• Waste management firm Biffa appoints Connect to improve customer experience

  23-01-2017 11:07
  
  Connect, the Midlands based technology-centric marketing agency, has been appointed strategic marketing partner for leading UK waste management company Biffa.
  The agency with offices in Birmingham and Wolverhampton has been appointed to a three-year contract managing all creative communication services across the various operating divisions of the Biffa business. This news sees the forming of a long-term, closely integrated relationship where Connect take the lead across brand development, campa
  
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• Waste management firm Biffa appoints Connect

  23-01-2017 11:07
  
  Connect, the Midlands based technology-centric marketing agency, has been appointed strategic marketing partner for leading UK waste management company Biffa.
  The agency with offices in Birmingham and Wolverhampton has been appointed to a three-year contract managing all creative communication services across the various operating divisions of the Biffa business. This news sees the forming of a long-term, closely integrated relationship where Connect take the lead across brand development, campa
  
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