Marketing news

• OOH company trolls P&G’s Marc Pritchard about viewability

  06-02-2017 22:39
  
  Last week, Procter & Gamble’s chief brand officer Marc Pritchard outlined the company’s plans to fight ad fraud, review media agency contracts and adopt industrywide viewability metrics, all of which are part of P&G’s broader strategy to regulate a decidedly messy digital landscape that has ultimately hurt advertisers.
  In response to his statements, Lamar Advertising – an out-of-home company that provides ad space on billboards, bus shelters and the like – h
  
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• Kia and Audi rank highly in Super Bowl postmortems

  06-02-2017 22:30
  
  Melissa McCarthy’s turn as a tireless ecowarrior for Kia won the 2017 USA Today Ad Meter, which USA Today said marked Kia’s first Ad Meter win – and first top five finish.
  The spot was the highest ranked among male and females, 21 to 34, in the annual consumer assessment of Super Bowl ads.
  In addition, marketing services and research consultancy BrainJuicer said Kia’s Hero’s Journey was the most emotional ad of Super Bowl 51 based on consumers’ reactions.
  &ldq
  
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• Ruffian signs Oscar-nominated director David Mackenzie to commercial roster

  06-02-2017 22:13
  
  Fresh from his film being Oscar-nominated, British film director David Mackenzie has signed with LA-based commercial production company Ruffian for commercial representation.
  Mackenzie joins following his first Oscar nomination for Hell or High Water, a powerful, modern neo-western heist drama in the race for Best Picture at the 89th Academy Awards later this month.
   
  Mackenzie’s character-driven, sweeping style should translate well to the commercial front, with the di
  
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• These brands won the Super Bowl on Twitter

  06-02-2017 21:25
  
  More than 27.6 million tweets were sent last night during Super Bowl 51, and, as always, people were talking about the ads as much as they were about the game itself (although likely less so this year). 
  Here are the brands that "won" the ad game based on the number of tweets sent about them:
  1. Pepsi (@pepsi)
  2. T-Mobile (@TMobile)
  3. Avocados from Mexico (@AvosfromMexico)
  4. Budweiser (@Budweiser)
  5. Mr. Clean (@RealMrClean)
  6. Audi (@Audi)
  7. Skittles (@Skittles)
  8. 84 Lumber (@84Lu
  
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• Only 4% of people can distinguish fake news from truth, Channel 4 study finds

  06-02-2017 21:00
  
  Only 4% of UK adults can correctly identify whether a news story is true or fake, according to a recent survey by Channel 4 as part of its Fake News Week.
  The Yougov poll was carried out over a two-day period from a sample of 1,684 UK adults weighted to be representative by age, gender, education qualification, social grade, as well as the 2015 election vote, EU referendum vote, government office region and political attention.
  When those surveyed were shown six individual news stories, thr
  
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• Activision Blizzard Studios co-president thinks it is ‘absolutely’ capable of a show that matches the quality of HBO’s Westworld’

  06-02-2017 20:01
  
  For Activision Blizzard Studios, it would seem the key to breaking the entertainment industry’s long history of turning good video games into bad films and TV shows is to produce them itself.
  Proof is in the fact that its first show – Skylanders Academy – has already been renewed for a third season by Netflix, just months after the first debuted on the video-streaming service in 175 countries and before the second has even finished production. While Activision Blizzard Studios
  
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• So much terrible content, so little time to consume it: Why brands need to abandon interruptive ads

  06-02-2017 18:36
  
  We as people have become so time stressed, so attention fractured, that we have to choose wisely where to invest our effort and our eyeballs. Oh! There’s a Tweet I should probably read…
  Just kidding. But not really. [It was Instagram…who reads Twitter anymore now that Trump has stunk up the joint?]
  It’s not like it used to be when people were attention starved and looking for forms of entertainment, no matter whether it came from a brand or a TV station or a movie studi
  
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• Super Bowl 2017: The best and worst ads

  06-02-2017 18:31
  
  Brands that ramped up the humour in their Super Bowl slot achieved better emotional resonance with consumers compared to politicised ads, as people sought light relief from the current state of affairs in the US.
  A lucrative advertising slot at the Super Bowl is a huge investment for brands looking to benefit from the millions of viewers that tune in to watch the game, and new analysis shows those that chose ‘funny’ creative resonated more with audiences in 2017.
  Almost 112 million
  
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• Gaming YouTuber changes plea to guilty in Fifa gambling case

  06-02-2017 18:14
  
  A YouTuber and his business partner have plead guilty of encouraging people to bet on videogame Fifa using a virtual currency. 
  Craig Douglas, who runs a YouTube channel under the pseudonym Nepenthez and Dylan Rigby, who helped Douglas run now defunct website FutGalaxy, had previously entered a guilty plea. 
  FutGalaxy let players transfer virtual currencies from Fifa 17 and use it to bet on real-world football games. Douglas promoted the website to his 1.3 mill
  
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• There’s more to AI for marketers than cost savings

  06-02-2017 18:09
  
  IBM recently announced that it has been using its artificial intelligence programme, Watson, to plan and buy online media. By using AI, IBM has managed to reduce its cost per click by on average 31%, a statistic that it is understandably proud of.
  But while AI is useful for cost-saving, it has a far greater potential in making advertising more effective at changing people’s opinions.
  Children always know the best possible time to ask their parents for something – when they’re i
  
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• WPP launches health and wellness unit

  06-02-2017 18:07
  
  Global communications service group WPP announced the formation of WPP Health & Wellness, a sub-holding company it said unites its “broad capability” under one banner to “significantly advance its [offering] and partnership with clients across the spectrum of health and wellness," the company said in a press release.
  “Created with a strong global perspective on the challenges and opportunities in today’s health industry, WPP Health & Wellness will build on W
  
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• Snapchat must prove to marketers it has mass appeal

  06-02-2017 17:34
  
  Snapchat must do more to prove its worth to brands in the wake of its IPO filing, with marketers suggesting the platform is too restrictive and fails to cater to a mass audience.
  On Friday (3 February), Snapchat filed for a $3bn IPO. As part of the filing, the company admitted it faces challenges convincing advertisers over the veracity of its ad business.
  The filing highlighted that while revenues came in at $404.5m (£324m) last year, up from $58.7m (£47m) in 2015, its net loss wide
  
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• IMDB shutters ‘no longer positive’ message boards, migrates chat to social channels

  06-02-2017 17:34
  
  IMDB is reflecting a wider trend in digital media, deciding now’s the time to shut down message boards on its website.
  Following in the footsteps of Vice and The Guardian, the movie database is closing its message board, which reportedly sees 250m users a month.
  To make up for the absence of the forum, and undoubtedly diminishing its responsibility for comments and spats around its brand, the company has directed movie fans to its Twitter, Facebook, Snapchat, Tumblr, YouTube and Pinte
  
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• IAB taps Roisin Donnelly to chair new advertiser steering group

  06-02-2017 17:29
  
  P&G's former brand director for northern Europe, Roisin Donnelly, will chair the Internet Advertising Bureau's new Advertiser Steering Group.
  
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• Under Armour pays tribute to Tom Brady after Patriots Super Bowl win

  06-02-2017 17:16
  
  After the New England Patriots made a massive comeback to beat the Atlanta Falcons in overtime at yesterday's game, Under Armour released an ad to congratulate Tom Brady on his fifth Super Bowl win.
  The hokey ad features Bostonians marveling over the famed quarterback and the fact that he was able to clinch another Super Bowl championship at the age of 39. The video is meant to illustrate just how much of an icon Brady is in New England – at one point, a local woman deadpans that every kid
  
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• DNA Recruit: Senior (Digital) Account/Project Manager - Digital Agency

  06-02-2017 17:13
  
  £33000.00 - £38000.00 per annum + benefits:DNA Recruit:
  Hybrid account handling / delivery role within an award winning, independent, digital agency.London
  
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• Facebook and Twitter could face £2m fines from UK government for failing to combat abuse

  06-02-2017 17:02
  
  A group of MPs have suggested fining companies like Facebook and Twitter up to £2m if they fail to curb online harassment and bullying. 
  The proposal is part of a private member's bill spearheaded by Labour MP Anna Turley dubbed the 'Malicious Communications (Social Media) bill', which would see the formation of a register of social media firms operating in the UK regulated by Ofcom. 
  If passed into law, the legislation would see culture secretary Karen Bradley determine the
  
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• Pamela Anderson subverts Valentine's Day in Coco de Mer ad

  06-02-2017 16:58
  
  Pamela Anderson is fronting a campaign from Coco de Mer encouraging women to take back control of Valentine's Day.
  
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• Neither fit nor first: have the slimmed down gyms got Fitness First on the ropes?

  06-02-2017 16:54
  
  Across the country millions of new year’s resolutions will have been made in the past few weeks, with a large proportion revolving around getting fitter over the coming 12 months.
  In recent years, the gym market has become increasingly competitive with companies vying for sign-ups offering a more functional experience and month-by-month subscription packages as opposed to long-term commitments.
  So this week The Drum’s Mystery Shopper looks at how the gym market (as opposed to the hea
  
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• Rubicon Project & Integral Ad Science ink viewability deal to assure advertisers over independent measurement

  06-02-2017 16:49
  
  Rubicon Project has paired with Integral Ad Science (IAS) to better assure advertisers that ads bought on its network will actually be seen, as marketers become increasingly demanding of media space bought using programmatic technologies. 
  The under-fire adtech outfit has today (February 6) announced that it has partnered with IAS to provide media buyers with “viewability scores” for display and video ad placements on its exchange.
  This means that advertisers working with Rubico
  
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• Industry-specific marketing training: Highly relevant or too niche?

  06-02-2017 16:14
  
  There is currently much discussion around the value of marketing qualifications and whether formal training is required. In one of Marketing Week’s most read articles of 2016, columnist Mark Ritson sparked a lively debate following his assertion that marketing experts should have a formal qualification.
  He said: “If [marketers] are being held up as experts in the discipline of marketing – not just digital communications, you will note – you would certainly
  
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• Will Donald Trump's presidency drive digital talent out of the US?

  06-02-2017 16:13
  
  The first call came shortly after the election. Probably a one-off I thought... then a few more after the inauguration. And then a lot more over the last few days. To explain, I run Propel, a recruitment consultancy for the digital world. And these calls were from the United States. And they wanted out.
  The recruitment market is a great barometer for how the digital industry as a whole is doing. We can see the growth areas at a very early stage by noting the number of roles we have in that space
  
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• Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.2 Twitter emoji build on Super Bowl trailer buzz

  06-02-2017 15:40
  
  Marvel’s Guardian’s of the Galaxy Vol. 2 has bolstered its marketing weight (after dominating movie mentions during the Super Bowl) with a package of specialized Twitter emoji.
  The movie launched its teaser 5 February, with it generating the most movie buzz during the Super Bowl, although significantly less then Netflix’s Stranger Things Season 2, which won the day.
  Disney’s Marvel is looking to capitalize upon this high engagement with a slew of specialized characte
  
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• ‘Reduce risk by giving your agencies hell’

  06-02-2017 15:12
  
  In my many moons in agency new-business, the most dramatic shift I saw was how marketers approached ‘credentials’ meetings. When assessing network agencies offering established services, they were confident. But when weighing-up emerging disciplines like creative technology, content and service design, they weren’t.
  Once assured and reserved, they would become curious and confessional. It felt like they were searching for something. So why the new disciplinary angst?
  In search
  
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• Cards Against Humanity mocks Super Bowl marketing culture with a potato marked ‘advertisement’

  06-02-2017 15:09
  
  Super Bowl ads provide brands the chance to gain exposure to one of the largest, engaged audiences available but the media space comes for a price (somewhere upwards of $5m for 30 seconds).
  Irreverent party game Cards Against Humanity has decided to parody the ad culture around the Super Bowl in its new video ‘Potato’ (which did not actually air during the big game).
  The company took to Medium to give a (fake) breakdown of its marketing plans for the big day, to explain why it was no
  
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• WPP launches new health and wellness sub-holding company

  06-02-2017 14:32
  
  WPP has grouped all its health-oriented specialist agencies under a new umbrella: WPP Health & Wellness.
  
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• Walkers Crisps on UEFA sponsorship and keeping its Gary Lineker ads fresh

  06-02-2017 14:05
  
  As Walkers Crisps kicks off the second year of a three-year UEFA sponsorship campaign The Drum caught up with UK brand manager John Savage to find out the benefits of backing football and how, after over 20 years of working with Gary Lineker, it keeps its ads fresh.
  Two years in to your sponsorship of UEFA how beneficial has it been for the brand? Is it a relationship you see continuing past the three year deal you currently have?
  It’s the perfect platform for the brand, as great sporting
  
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• Why man and machine must work together as Watson AI infiltrates media buying

  06-02-2017 13:58
  
  Last week IBM announced that they have been using Watson (their AI intelligence programme) with success in buying programmatic media, quoting that they had seen significantly increased performance as a result.
  In their example, IBM claimed a reduction in cost per click by as much as 71% - impressive stuff.
  But it should come as no surprise that Watson is capable of optimising media against a KPI better than any human or algorithm can. After all, Watson has far greater processing power than any o
  
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• #BreakingSocial: Watch The Drum's new series where Social Chain CEO Steve Bartlett gives his hot take on the latest social media stories

  06-02-2017 13:49
  
  Social Chain chief executive Steve Bartlett has teamed up with The Drum to give his hot take on breaking social media news in our new #BreakingSocial series. 
  From Snapchat's IPO to Facebook's fake news furore it can be hard to keep up with the fast-paced world of social, but don't worry we've got you covered as and when it happens.
  The first video looks at why Facebook is stepping on Snapchat's toes and testing its own version of Stories above the news feed. Described by The
  
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• Brand Beckham will take more than a minor email leak about knighthoods to bring it down

  06-02-2017 13:45
  
  No one likes a show-off. Even if you’ve won 19 major trophies in a 20 year football career and have reinvented yourself into a $1bn empire spanning fashion, music and film, it isn’t a good look to cry out for recognition.
  Yet any obituary of Brand Beckham in light of the email leak is staggeringly premature. If the brand were a publically listed company its share price would be having more a wobble than a tumble. David Beckham has constructed a vehicle infinitely bigger than himself.
  
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• BBC's Planet Earth II hopes to tame North America with six episode Snapchat show

  06-02-2017 13:13
  
  BBC Worldwide looks to be making good on the broadcaster’s wider promise to become “digital first” sealing a deal with Snapchat that will see exclusive, shortform content shared through the platform.
  As the beloved David Attenborough-led documentary Planet Earth II looks to air on BBC America and BBC Earth (in Canada) later in February, the corporation has tapped into Snapchat to generate buzz around the launch.
  A six-episode show created for the mobile app will air f
  
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• ‘Marketers should be accredited like lawyers’, says new DMA chair

  06-02-2017 13:01
  
  Marketers should be subject to “an accreditation like lawyers, accountants and others” in order to boost flagging trust in the industry, according to the incoming chair of the Direct Marketing Association (DMA), who wants to see “definite movement” in this direction by 2020.
  Karmarama co-owner Mark Runacus, who has just begun a three-year term chairing the DMA board, says: “If we all had to be regularly accredited with things like the [DMA Code] as part of our etho
  
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• Which brands won big on social media at the Super Bowl?

  06-02-2017 12:38
  
  Building supplies company 84 Lumber triumphed as the most-discussed brand on social media during last night's Super Bowl, thanks to its film about a Mexican family's journey to the US.
  
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• Facebook and Google back France's fight against fake news

  06-02-2017 12:25
  
  Facebook, along with Google, has launched an initiative to tackle fake news stories in France as its presidential election approaches.
  
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• Proctor & Gamble, The Grammys, How to Win Awards - The Drum's editor's week in advance

  06-02-2017 12:02
  
  P&G’s stance for media transparency
  Last week, Proctor & Gamble’s top marketer told the IAB’s Annual Leadership Meeting in Florida that the company was reviewing all of its agency contracts as it moves for more transparency, taking a much-needed stand following the hullabaloo caused last year over kickbacks and general charging conduct.
  The stance, part of four-point plan the business has put in place to exert greater control over the quality of its media stra
  
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• The AI doctor will see you now: How Babylon is getting people to trust a chatbot

  06-02-2017 12:00
  
  Convincing people to let artificial intelligence diagnose them is no mean feat and yet healthcare app Babylon believes it can be done if its marketing stresses the technology won’t replace doctors but rather amplify their proficiency.
  Strong brand awareness is key to establishing the free to download app that triage patients without human intervention based on reported symptoms as well as offer video consultations for a monthly fee or one-off payment.
  Should its marketing prove successful
  
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• Creative Work of the Week: Great Ormond Street Hospital celebrates the 'ordinary'

  06-02-2017 11:50
  
  It’s been Ad of the Day and now AMV BBDO’s ‘Ordinary World’ campaign for Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) has scooped our European Creative Work of the Week title.
  Drawing attention to all the little things we take for granted in ‘Ordinary World’, the campaign is based on the insight that no child wants to be in hospital missing out.
  “The campaign highlights the importance for patients of Great Ormond Street Hospital to return to the ordinary world,&r
  
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• M&C Saatchi to counter far-right hate speech in £60m anti-extremism campaign

  06-02-2017 11:49
  
  Advertising agency M&C Saatchi has been brought on board by the UK government to lead a £60m advertising campaign to combat extremism, hate speech and racism.
  Focused on far-right ideology the initiative seeks to counter online propaganda by harnessing social media amidst growing concern at expansion of the ‘alt-right’ movement in the UK and continental Europe.
  In the US too such views are gaining ground with Steve Bannon of Breitbart News, labelled a neo-fascist, elevated
  
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• Snapchat voices Brexit fears in $3bn IPO

  06-02-2017 11:30
  
  Snapchat parent Snap cited a potential Brexit downturn as a negative event for its business when filing for its $3bn IPO after basing a ‘significant portion’ of its business in the UK.
  In its filing, Snap wrote: “Exposure to United Kingdom political developments, including the outcome of the referendum on membership in the European Union, could be costly and difficult to comply with and could seriously harm our business.”
  Just last month Snap announced that it was alighti
  
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• Skoda’s path to premium credentials starts with Bradley Wiggins-fronted ad

  06-02-2017 11:29
  
  After establishing the engineering qualities of its brand over the past 10 years, Skoda is now looking to bolster its perception as a premium brand and its advertising has made a shift to reflect that with a Bradley Wiggins-fronted ad that suggests its drivers – like the cyclist – are ‘driven by something different.’
  It’s one of the first campaign to come from Skoda’s UK head of marketing, Kirsten Stagg, since she rejoined from parent company Volkswagen last O
  
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• The brands that scored big at the Super Bowl: Immigration and equality themes resonated most

  06-02-2017 11:21
  
  During the big game, brands were jostling for retention in viewers’ minds, one of the best ways to measure this is through social media engagement. Data from Amobee revealed the top performing brands at the Super Bowl.
  An immigration thread appears to have tied three of the top ten brand campaigns together, all the more political in light of the controversy around Donald Trump's flailing travel ban. Other top brands adopted equal pay and equality campaigns too, hinting that
  
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• Seven League taps former Twitter UK media partnerships lead Lewis Wiltshire

  06-02-2017 11:20
  
  Digital sports consultancy Seven League has hired Lewis Wiltshire, Twitter's former UK senior director of media partnerships as consulting partner. 
  Wiltshire left Twitter at the end of December after almost five years building the social network's business outwith the US. He was the platform's first UK head of sport and inaugural global sports chair.
  Seven League has confirmed that he will be a consulting partner in the business, joining in mid-February. 
  The agency, which was founded
  
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• R/GA partners with ten startups in Internet of Things venture

  06-02-2017 11:18
  
  Ten firms representing the next generation of entrepreneurs and startups using Internet of Things to transform culture are partnering with R/GA.
  
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• Creative Works: Featuring Lucky Generals, SomeOne, Now, Soul and more

  06-02-2017 11:00
  
  Welcome to The Drum Creative Works, in partnership with Workfront.
  As always this section is dedicated to showing the best creative work and gives you, the reader, the chance to decide which work we feature as our 'Creative Work of the Week'. 
  We've now introduced our new five-star voting system. To vote for your favourite, make sure you click on the stars. The winner be chosen based on the average rating and the number of votes cast. Voting closes on Monday 13 February.
  
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• Content, content, content: How to build a successful online strategy

  06-02-2017 11:00
  
  We live in a world of interruption. Despite all the encouraging words spoken by the world’s marketers promising to move away from the crack cocaine of push advertising, we’ve failed.
  Huge improvements in targeting have certainly helped improve advertisement direction and delivery. But the reality is that focus has, for too long, remained on what adtech can deliver, rather than what the audience wants. Adblockers are a cast iron testament to this belief.
  It’s a bold statement, b
  
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• Agencies urged to identify top female talent for #CEFutureLeaders showcase

  06-02-2017 10:47
  
  To promote gender equality in the creative industries, Campaign and Creative Equals have partnered to identify 30 of the UK's most promising female talent.
  
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• Cochlear's latest cinema ad is actually a hearing test in disguise

  06-02-2017 10:43
  
  Australian hearing solution brand Cochlear has launched an advert, designed to raise the awareness of hearing issues by showing people whether they have a problem with their hearing within the ad.
  The video, shown online as well as in the cinema, has two different endings, depending on whether you can hear the low-level audio of certain parts of the plot.
  The advert follows a couple throughout the years of their relationship, eventually asking people at the end whether love lasted or was lost. T
  
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• Google Super Bowl ad inadvertently triggers voice-activated Google Home speakers

  06-02-2017 10:22
  
  Google has inadvertently found itself reaching out to millions of homes equipped with its voice-activated assistant after airing a Super Bowl ad featuring the hi-tech device.
  Viewers of last night’s big match were perturbed to find their gadgets sparking into life upon hearing the phrase ‘Okay, Google’ emanate from their television sets, an activation phrase used to alert the gadget to await instruction.
  Instead, the advert left the devices merely confused however, meekly sayin
  
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• Advertising's alternative facts and the dull truth

  06-02-2017 10:19
  
  You’ll probably have heard the quote often attributed to Churchill (the politician, not the dog) that a lie can get half way around the world before the truth has put its pants on.
  Churchill said that before social media – although Trevor Beattie has wonderfully reimagined this.
  In our age of instant, unquestioning dissemination, the truth hasn’t even sleepily fumbled for the light switch let alone some pants before the lie has merrily gone global. Maybe the truth should j
  
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• Apple, Google & Microsoft amongst US tech firms opposing Trump travel ban

  06-02-2017 09:59
  
  Apple, Facebook, Google, Microsoft, Intel and Twitter are amongst the US tech giants to register their formal opposition to a temporary travel ban imposed by president Trump by drafting a joint legal brief opposing the measure.
  Close to 100 businesses have put their names to the document, filed in the US Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit, with the likes of eBay, Netflix, Uber and Levi also backing the intervention.
  The joint brief read: “The Order represents a significant departure from
  
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