Marketing news

• WPP picks up advertising and media duties for Walgreens Boots Alliance

  31-01-2017 22:35
  
  Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA) has chosen a team of WPP agencies to handle its marketing and advertising efforts moving forward.
  WBA, which owns pharmacy chains including US-based Walgreens and UK-based Boots, has tasked the holding company with traditional and digital advertising efforts, media investment management, promotion and relationship marketing, public affairs, media relations and communications.
  A dedicated group of staffers dubbed “Team WBA” will handle the account o
  
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• Discovery and Sky agree to new deal on portfolio of 12 channels

  31-01-2017 22:22
  
  Fans of Discovery Channel spoke up and were heard. Thanks to those voices, Discovery Communications and Sky have agreed to a new deal, which finds Discovery’s portfolio of 12 channels continuing to be available on Sky. In addition, Discovery Channel will continue to be available on NOW TV in the UK after 31 January.
   
  “We want to thank our millions of viewers and fans for their overwhelming support over the last few days. We have been humbled by the strength of the passion
  
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• Facebook, Google & Amazon need to adopt a Walled Garden 2.0 approach or they will face a decline in ad revenue

  31-01-2017 22:00
  
  Reflecting on the hard line metric requirements laid down by Procter & Gamble’s (P&G)  marketing chief, Wayne Blodwell, chief executive officer at The Programmatic Advisory, argues this could really move the needle in the online advertising industry by disrupting the ‘monopolistic’ practices of the ad industry’s walled gardens. 
  Marc Pritchard, chief brand officer at the world’s biggest-spending advertiser P&G, spoke this week at the IAB Leader
  
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• Baby boomers embrace the gig economy while millennials seek balance, report suggests

  31-01-2017 21:49
  
  Mindshare North America's annual Culture Vulture Trends report, released today, looks at the latest consumer shifts and cultural trends forecast to grow over the next year and suggests that its time to reject FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) along with mindfulness apps, myth debunking, and a shift away from the focus on millennials.
  The annual report also notes that  67% of Americans surveyed are 'tapped out' with productivity and growth suggesting that the focus is shifting back to the baby boom
  
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• Amnesty International to #TakeAction with live-social campaign looking driving support for refugees in Kenya and Lebanon

  31-01-2017 20:37
  
  As the civil war continues in Syria and Donald Trump’s recent travel ban and anti-immigration rhetoric very much driving discourse around refugees, Amnesty International is looking to channel the maelstrom of outrage on social media into something a little more positive.
  Working with O&M London and photojournalist agency Magnum Photos, the group will share a series of short films on social media in a global campaign adding to the Outrage Is Not Enough drive.
  The teams in Kenya and Leba
  
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• Oprah Winfrey tapped to join CBS as special contributor to 60 Minutes

  31-01-2017 20:29
  
  Oprah Winfrey will become a special contributor to the award-winning news show "60 Minutes," it was announced today by the news magazine's executive producer, Jeff Fager.
  Ms. Winfrey will make her first appearance on CBS News' legendary Sunday night broadcast this fall.
  "There is only one Oprah Winfrey," said Fager. "Her body of work is extraordinary, including thousands of interviews with people from all walks of life. She is a  talented woman with a level of integrity that sets her apart
  
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• Snickers, Skittles and Mr. Clean dominate pre-game buzz

  31-01-2017 19:56
  
  Over the past month, there have been more than 75,000 posts on social media specifically about Super Bowl ads, but more than 50% -- or 40,000 -- have been posted in the past week. That’s according to analysis by social data intelligence company Talkwalker, which also said Snickers has been mentioned 5,046 times, Skittles has been mentioned 4,444 times and Mr. Clean 4,278 times in the last seven days.
  In the past 24 hours in particular, Talkwalker said no company has been mentioned more tha
  
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• Bill on H-1B visas, affecting primarily foreign IT workers, back in US Congress

  31-01-2017 19:13
  
  A bill backing key changes in the H-1B program that allows skilled workers from countries like India to fill high-tech jobs in the US has been re-introduced in the US Congress by two lawmakers who claim it will help crack down on work visa abuse, the BBC reports.
  The ‘Protect and Grow American Jobs Act’ makes important changes to the eligibility requirements for H-1B visa exemptions was re-introduced last week by Republican Darrell Issa and Scott Peters; both from California.
  Th
  
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• Only 5% of Super Mario Run’s 78m players bought the game

  31-01-2017 19:11
  
  Cracks seem to have appeared in Nintendo’s premium mobile gaming strategy as the company released sales results for the $10 game.
  The iOS-only smartphone game hit the market on 15 December and granted players a few trial levels before asking them to fork out $10 for full access – a high fee in an industry saturated with free-to-play titles.
  The Japanese gaming giant said the game has been downloaded 78 million times, but behind the encouraging figures was another story; tha
  
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• Lego Batman to take over Channel 4 ads

  31-01-2017 18:52
  
  A Lego Batman is taking over Channel 4's ad breaks as Warner Bros promotes The Lego Batman Movie.
  
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• Marc USA launches new campaign for Ruby Tuesday

  31-01-2017 18:42
  
  Causal dining chain Ruby Tuesday has launched a new fully-integrated ad campaign celebrating the restaurant’s newly-expanded fresh garden bar.
   
  Marc USA was recently named the agency of record for Ruby Tuesday. The agency was selected by Ruby Tuesday to handle its advertising following an agency review managed by Select Resources International.
   
  The centerpiece of the campaign is a new television ad highlighting the new garden bar’s 55 items, with a suburban mom rapping a
  
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• Football Association poaches Microsoft 's digital boss to head its marketing

  31-01-2017 18:36
  
  The Football Association (FA) has poached Microsoft’s head of digital, Georgina Lewis, to lead the marketing for English football.
  Lewis take up the head of marketing position left by Russell James, who moved internally at the end of 2016. The role is currently being held by long-term FA consultant Ed Coan on an interim basis until Lewis’ starts on 27 February.
  Lewis said she was “thrilled” to be joining a brand which she believes “has meaning far beyond football in
  
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• Amnesty social campaign lets refugees respond in real time to tweeters

  31-01-2017 18:25
  
  Amnesty International is raising support for the refugee crisis with a social media campaign enabling refugees to respond in real time to tweets.
  
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• FA raids Microsoft for new head of marketing

  31-01-2017 18:18
  
  The Football association has appointed Georgina Lewis, currently head of digital at Microsoft, as its head of marketing.
  
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• Gillette cuts into League of Legends eSports with global ESL partnership

  31-01-2017 18:14
  
  Shaving brand Gillette has entered the eSports market with gusto with it revealing a sponsorship of the League of Legends Intel Extreme Masters (IEM) World Championship in Katowice, Poland 24-26 February.
  The male-centred brand is set to benefit from the widespread exposure granted through the deal which will see it tied to arguably the most widely played eSports game, League of Legends, in a tournament hosted by ESL, one of the leading networks in the industry.
  Specialised razor handles will be
  
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• Young girls repeat Taylor Swift’s Album of the Year acceptance speech in Grammys spot

  31-01-2017 18:08
  
  With the 59th Annual Grammy Awards just days away, The Recording Academy has released a one-minute film that features young girls repeating the words of the acceptance speech Taylor Swift gave last February after she won Album of the Year for “1989.”
  In the spot, young performers, athletes and musicians repeat Swift’s empowering words verbatim to help motivate themselves as they work towards their own dreams. The video ends with footage of Swift’s actual Grammys speech as
  
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• Snapchat opens up its APIs to all advertisers, quickening monetisation march

  31-01-2017 18:05
  
  Brands no longer need to go directly through Snapchat to buy their ads in a move that opens the floodgates to a larger volume of advertisers that perhaps have been reluctant to spend with the app due to its limitations
  Snap has been working toward this ever since it began offering self-serve advertising to more than 400 brands such as Nissan and Gatorade four months ago. Early results have been promising and by firing up its ad technology platform and allowing third-party partners to plug into t
  
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• Super Bowl ad analysis shows Microsoft inspires us while Doritos makes us laugh

  31-01-2017 17:59
  
  TV and digital video analytics firm Ace Metrix has revealed its list of the most emotionally impactful Super Bowl ads since 2010, which it says US viewers found the most inspirational, heartwarming and humorous, as well as the least relatable. 
  The lists were derived via natural language processing, or “scientific calculation based on the frequency of emotive words and phrases used in viewer comments,” Ace Metrix said.
  “Using advanced NLP and analytic techniques, we are ab
  
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• Planet Fitness' judgement-free zone vows to be more than just a gym

  31-01-2017 17:58
  
  Jessica Correa, senior vice president of marketing for Planet Fitness, addressed the Ad Club of Boston recently on  how the success of the Planet Fitness "judgment free" zone has resonated both within the company and to the public at large and has resulted in a larger focus and message of outreach. 
  Correa outlined how the company and its franchisees have evolved from a "judgment-free" gym to advocates of an "anti-judgment, anti-bullying" brand message that ultimately states: "The worl
  
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• Facebook publishes timely update on third-party verification as P&G's cry for transparency ripples through industry

  31-01-2017 17:58
  
  As pressure mounts for online media owners to be open to third party measurement, Facebook has revealed a series of expansions to its third-party verification as well as its own viewability measurement programme and more cross-measurement tools. 
  Facebook’s timing of this update is coincidental, to say the least.  
  One of the world’s biggest advertisers P&G laid down the gauntlet this week when its top marketer Marc Pritchard said that he would no longer be satisfied wi
  
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• Apple moves into sports sponsorship with FC Bayern Munich partnership

  31-01-2017 17:48
  
  German football club Bayern Munich have signed an exclusive partnership with Apple Music as music streaming service steps up its push into sports marketing.
  The deal will see Bayern players and staff curate playlists and generate unique content for Apple Music such as football-related videos and interviews.
  It builds on previous ties with company through the club’s partnership with Apple-owned Beats by Dre, who will continue to be Bayern Munich’s official sound partner.
  The
  
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• Manchester United Limited: Media Marketing Executive

  31-01-2017 17:41
  
  Competitive:Manchester United Limited:
  As part of a busy media department this role is to work within the Media Marketing team, supporting the Media Marketing Managers...
  This role will be based at the Stadium Site, Chester Road Building
  
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• Xaxis global president on AI and why he made the leap into programmatic from Yahoo

  31-01-2017 17:27
  
  Once misunderstood, programmatic, the art of using machines to buy ads, is now becoming more prevalent in the advertising industry.
  Last year, 73 per cent of advertisers’ total budgets were spent on programmatic and this number is only expected to rise this year. For Nicolas Bidon, global president of Xaxis, the reach of programmatic extends far beyond what most brands and agencies might expect.
  “It frees up time for people in [brands and] agencies to focus more on the creative story
  
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• The most uplifting ads I've seen in 2017

  31-01-2017 17:23
  
  At the start of each year, I’ve made it a bit of a tradition to share powerful ads I find especially relevant for the times. Most of the clients I work with are going through some sort of major life or career transition, and brand relaunch campaigns can be a great point of reference and inspiration when you’re trying to relaunch your own personal brand.
  Way back in January 2015, I shared ads that captured the idea of relaunching yourself with attitude during a time when I r
  
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• Sunshine poaches Gravity Road's Katie Lee

  31-01-2017 17:20
  
  Gravity Road's Katie Lee is joining Sunshine as managing director.
  
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• Offering pro bono services to charities is beneficial to agencies in more ways than one

  31-01-2017 17:17
  
  Charity is one of those paradoxical terms; everybody aspires to get involved in it, but with a busy city job and projects on the go, it usually gets demoted to the bottom of the priority list and not many of us find the time to properly invest in it. But, what happens if agencies were to combine charity with their work and kill two birds with one stone?
  When our chief executive officer Stephan Briggs made the decision to start a digital partnership with local charity Big Hearts, we had no idea i
  
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• TV ad market worsens as Brexit concerns linger

  31-01-2017 17:14
  
  The TV ad market has worsened since the start of the year, with the first quarter facing a fall of at least 6% as Brexit continues to undermine confidence.
  
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• Mindful Play app the latest way Seattle’s Smashing Ideas is doing good on the digital front

  31-01-2017 17:12
  
  Smashing Ideas, out of Seattle, has morphed over the past 20 years, moving from a digital animation agency to a company helping to make real change in the digital and marketing world. With its latest product, Mindful Play, the company is changing the way children cope with stress and anxiety, and hopefully changing the way adults deal with those children. The Penguin Random House / Bertelsmann company has done smart work for companies as diverse as Nickelodeon and Panasonic, as well as
  
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• AMV BBDO lands consolidated Dixons Carphone account

  31-01-2017 17:09
  
  Dixons Carphone has consolidated its advertising into Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO without a pitch.
  
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• Facebook expands third-party verification with Nielsen and ComScore

  31-01-2017 17:07
  
  Ahead of its full-year earnings call tomorrow, Facebook has expanded its third-party verification partnerships to try and avert future metrics blunders.
  
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• Pitch update: Max Factor, Infiniti, Rolls-Royce, KFC, Vauxhall, Thorntons

  31-01-2017 17:01
  
  Max Factor is holding tissue meetings, while KFC has shortlisted agencies.
  
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• Facebook defends metrics errors as it puts focus on transparency

  31-01-2017 17:00
  
  Facebook does not believe marketers were concerned following last year’s metrics issues, as it says third-party partnerships and “transparency” have left it in a good position.
  The tech giant came under fire last year after admitting it had discovered a number of errors in the way it measures audiences across a range of its products. In September it said it had overstated how long users watch videos for on its site by up to 80%. And with further investigations it found it had
  
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• Gillette partners with world's biggest esports event company ESL

  31-01-2017 16:49
  
  P&G male grooming brand Gillette is getting into the lucrative esports market by sponsoring the Intel Extreme Masters event in Katowice, Poland this month, and unveiling one of the biggest stars in esports as its latest ambassador.
  
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• Budweiser’s immigrant themed Super Bowl ad signals start of ‘ambition inspired’ positioning

  31-01-2017 16:15
  
  Budweiser will use the weighty medium of the Super Bowl to kick off a year-long campaign that celebrates the idea of the American Dream, beginning with a cinematic spot that tells the story of Adolphus Busch, the immigrant co founder of parent company Anheuser-Busch.
  The spot named ‘Born the Hard Way’ and created by Anomaly, tells the story of Budweiser’s origin, and follows Busch as he makes the journey from Germany to the US to follow his dreams against the odds.
  Vice preside
  
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• P&G confirms media review in UK and Northern Europe amid transparency concerns

  31-01-2017 15:35
  
  Procter & Gamble has launched a media pitch in the UK, Ireland and four other northern European markets in the Nordics.
  
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• My favorite Super Bowl ad: GS&P's Margaret Johnson

  31-01-2017 15:30
  
  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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• Ocado reveals the fruit of its automation labour, a robotic hand prototype

  31-01-2017 15:28
  
  Online UK supermarket Ocado has lifted the lid on an automated robotic hand that it is working on with Disney and EU universities that could one day change how its warehouses are operated.
  While its common knowledge that retailers, most prominently perhaps Amazon, are looking to streamline their processes with automation, the robotic hand on show is the first major example of Ocado utilising tech to shake up the market in such a way.
  The device can handle fruit and veg, with the developers havin
  
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• Healthy food retailer Snap Kitchen names Supermoon as first AOR

  31-01-2017 15:10
  
  Healthy pre-made food retailer Snap Kitchen, based in Austin, Texas, has chosen Supermoon, of Santa Monica, California, as its first agency of record.Tressie Lieberman
   
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  Supermoon, which specializes in young brands, will be managing brand strategy and digital, video, out-of-home advertising and experiential creative execution for Snap Kitchen’s 45 locations across Austin, Houston, Dallas, Philadelphia, Chicago and Washington DC.
  Snap Kitchen is led by chief marketing office
  
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• The dos and don’ts of being a good Brownlee Brothers sponsor

  31-01-2017 15:09
  
  Alistair and Jonny Brownlee might begrudge being famous for a brotherly moment they both would rather forget but the two realise the fame it has brought them can propel their niche sport to a bigger audience.
  The triathletes shot to international acclaim when Alistair helped an exhausted Jonny over the finish line at the Triathlon World Series in Cozumel. It took barely a few hours for the image of the brothers in arms to become a sport classic, sparking news reports, shares and messages of supp
  
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• Skittles sends former NFL star Marshawn Lynch to Scotland to talk Super Bowl and kilts

  31-01-2017 15:08
  
  With this year’s Super Bowl in Houston, Texas just days away Skittles decided to send former NFL player and brand enthusiast Marshawn Lynch to Houston, Scotland to discuss the big game with locals.
  The ad shows the former Seahawks running back riding a BMX bike with a bag full of Skittles attached to the handlebars through the small village in the central lowlands of Scotland.
  Lynch’s interactions with the locals and his reaction to the clash of cultures makes for comical viewing as
  
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• Channel 4 makes first major global investment with paid-for US launch of Walter Presents

  31-01-2017 15:00
  
  Channel 4’s online streaming service Walter Presents, launched one year ago as a way to introduce foreign-language drama to a UK audience, is set to expand into the US in March, marking the first time the broadcaster will attach a price tag to its service.
  Dubbed the ‘Netflix of international drama’, the streaming service launched in January 2016 on Channel 4’s on-demand service All4.
  The service is fronted by Walter Iuzzolino, an Italian former television producer, who c
  
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• Campaign toasts the best of creative tech

  31-01-2017 14:56
  
  Campaign is honouring the industry's most creative and effective campaigns harnessing technology with a new awards programme led by Google's top UK marketer.
  
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• L'Oréal commits to more digital marketing spend

  31-01-2017 14:53
  
  L'Oréal is strengthening its marketing with a greater investment in digital, the chief digital officer at the world's third-biggest advertiser has said.
  
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• Mr Peanut makes UK ad debut in Planters campaign that highlights its ‘Nut-tricious’ side

  31-01-2017 14:50
  
  Nut brand Planters is set to appear on UK screens for the first time ever in a campaign that aims to demonstrate that it is a versatile and healthy snack.
  Starring brand ambassador Mr Peanut, the £2.5m campaign carries the strapline line ‘Deliciously Nut-tricious and includes a 30-second TV ad that features a selection of scenarios that Planters’ range of nuts can be enjoyed in. It also shows Mr Peanut, which recently had its 100th birthday, with a number of other fruit and nut
  
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• IPG Mediabrands opens global social media shop

  31-01-2017 14:49
  
  IPG Mediabrands is launching a global social media and digital content agency called Mediabrands Society.
  
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• Sadoun will not be 'clone' at Publicis helm, Lévy says

  31-01-2017 14:36
  
  Maurice Lévy has vowed not to be the puppet master pulling Arthur Sadoun's strings when he hands over control of Publicis Groupe to his protégé.
  
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• WPP poised to scoop Walgreens Boots Alliance global accounts in $600m coup

  31-01-2017 14:06
  
  WPP is poised to land Walgreens Boots Alliance's media and creative accounts in an estimated $600m global coup.
  
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• Google dethrones Apple as world's most valuable brand

  31-01-2017 14:05
  
  Google is once again the world's most valuable brand, according to the latest Brand Finance Global 500 list, after it closed a gap of almost $60bn to overtake Apple, which had held the top spot since 2012.
  
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• JIAA joins IAB as IAB Japan

  31-01-2017 14:00
  
  The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) and the Japan Interactive Advertising Association (JIAA) said JIAA will become the 43rd national IAB licensee known as IAB Japan.
  Led by JIAA Chairperson Yoshio Takada, the organization will work with the IAB to “drive common goals, promote global standards and guidelines, create better ads and improve consumer experience and advance social trust and the industry’s interests in the Japanese marketplace,” a press release stated.
  The IAB s
  
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• British Heart Foundation to take over The Sun with 'unexpected' ads

  31-01-2017 13:58
  
  The British Heart Foundation will take over The Sun with press ads written live in response to editorial coverage in a campaign highlighting the unexpected devastation of heart disease.
  
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