Marketing news

• Spotify makes fun of strange user-generated playlist names in latest clever campaign

  13-02-2017 21:52
  
  Spotify bid adieu to 2016 with a campaign that cleverly used its troves of listener data to poke a little fun at some of its users (like the person who played Justin Bieber’s “Sorry” 42 times on Valentine’s Day). The music streaming service is at it again with a similar campaign for 2017, except this time it’s having fun with some of the bizarre playlists that its users have made.
  Created by Wieden + Kennedy New York, the campaign includes three online videos that f
  
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• Email, LinkedIn and white papers remain key strategies in lead gen for B2B marketers, study suggests

  13-02-2017 21:09
  
  Delivering quality leads is a more important objective for B2B marketers in the US than driving more leads – but it’s also a bigger challenge. That’s according to DemandWave’s 6th annual State of B2B Digital Marketing Report, which examines the channels, content types and social platforms that B2B marketers are using to generate leads.
  Channels - Email tops the list
  Not too surprisingly given its popularity, email tops the list of lead-generating channels for the B2B mark
  
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• Retail e-commerce brought in $109bn in US last quarter

  13-02-2017 20:12
  
  Comscore today reported Q4 2016 U.S. retail e-commerce spending from desktop computers and mobile devices. For Q4 2016, $109.3bn was spent online, marking an 18% increase versus the same quarter in 2015. Tablte
   
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  The majority of online buying occurred on desktop computers, with $86.6bn spent, up 13% versus one year ago. Meanwhile, spending on smartphones and tablets contributed $22.7 billion, with a significantly higher year-over-year growth rate than desktop at 45%.
  Ov
  
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• YouTube Kids to air original programming from creators like tween popstars L2M

  13-02-2017 19:55
  
  YouTube has announced plans to run original programming on its YouTube kids app.
  The shows will be developed by YouTube Red, the Google-owned platform's streaming subscriber service, with four new series being hosted for children within the app's walls. 
  The move marks the first time YouTube Red has invested in creators making original content for family audiences according to company. 
  The new series have been developed by established creators including Joe and Cody of TheAtlanticCraf
  
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• Commercial radio to be ‘released from shackles’ of regulation, promises government

  13-02-2017 19:26
  
  The UK government has launched a consultation to overhaul the complex rules placed upon national and local radio stations, which the Department of Media, Culture and Sport (DCMS) believes are currently ‘shackled to an outdated regulatory system’.
  Under the proposals, stations will be given more flexibility on content decisions and provided with more ways to invest in attracting and keeping radio listeners, in particular younger listeners currently apathetic to commercial radio.
  DCMS
  
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• John Cena, Will Smith and Ariana Grande star in Apple Music's Carpool Karaoke teaser

  13-02-2017 19:23
  
  Apple Music has released a teaser ad for its forthcoming Carpool Karaoke series, enlisting celebrities like John Cena, Will Smith, Alicia Keys and original host James Corden to front the spot. 
  The ad debuted at the Grammys on Sunday night, and comes six months after Apple acquired the rights to the viral juggernaut. 
  The series, which will stand alone from The Late Late Show original segment, will follow the same format as Corden's brainchild with a few Apple-esque upgrades.
  
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• P&G marketing chief Feitoza: Ariel campaign is tackling 'first wash anxiety'

  13-02-2017 19:09
  
  Ariel has teamed up with fashion designer Giles Deacon to promote its three-in-one pods, in a campaign that tackles "first wash anxiety" according to its northern European marketing chief.
  
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• John Oliver takes out series of TV ads to 'educate' President Trump

  13-02-2017 18:28
  
  Comedian and TV host John Oliver is taking aim at President Trump with a series of targeted ads aiming to educate the leader.
  The British presenter's HBO show, Last Week Tonight, has stumped up for three slots poised to run on Fox News Channel, CNN and MSNBC in the Washington D.C. market.
  Oliver explained on Sunday night (12 February) in his show’s season debut that the spots are intended to "educate" the former Apprentice host on subjects about which he has shown himself to
  
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• Canadian stationary store tells a heartwarming love story in Valentine’s Day ad

  13-02-2017 18:13
  
  The notion of actually writing out a note to someone seems quaint when you consider that communicating via emoji has now become the norm, but a Canadian stationary store called Take Note is hoping that its latest campaign will inspire people to put down their phones for a little and reconsider the power of putting pen to paper.
  The short film, created by BBDO Toronto, tells the story of one couple’s relationship through the handwritten notes that they’ve written to one another. The n
  
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• National Express expands One Black Bear brief to include Eurolines

  13-02-2017 17:47
  
  National Express has appointed One Black Bear as the creative lead on its Eurolines coach business, which serves more than 450 locations cities across continental Europe.
  The agency has been tasked with devising a completely new creative platform as part of a programme of campaign activity planned throughout the year. The creative approach centres around the ever-expanding popularity of ‘destination review culture’ and will feature humorous/ridiculous reviews of Eurolines destination
  
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• PCH/Media continues adtech repositioning, strikes header bidding deal with OpenX

  13-02-2017 17:14
  
  Publishers Clearing House (PCH) – a direct marketing firm associated with sweepstakes – has struck a deal with OpenX that will see it use the adtech firm’s header bidding technology to help bolster ad revenue yield after early beta tests bolstered revenue 26%.  
  PCH, which claims audience numbers of over 100 million unique users each month, is now working with OpenX’s technology  to segment its audiences, and then offer brands the opportunity to advertiser to it
  
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• the7stars is first media agency to adopt IBSA's tougher framework contract

  13-02-2017 17:11
  
  ISBA has finally managed to persuade a leading media agency, the7stars, to adopt its framework agency contract - ten months after the trade body first issued the guidelines to advertisers.
  
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• The7stars first media agency to adopt ISBA's tougher framework contract

  13-02-2017 17:11
  
  ISBA has finally managed to persuade a leading media agency, the7stars, to adopt its framework agency contract - ten months after the trade body first issued the guidelines to advertisers.
  
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• The7stars first media agency to adopt IBSA's tougher framework contract

  13-02-2017 17:11
  
  ISBA has finally managed to persuade a leading media agency, the7stars, to adopt its framework agency contract - ten months after the trade body first issued the guidelines to advertisers.
  
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• Wunderman wins big with BT and EE direct marketing account

  13-02-2017 17:01
  
  BT has awarded its consolidated direct marketing and CRM account to Wunderman in one of the biggest account wins in the sector in recent years.
  
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• Uzbek film Daydi suspended until marketers stop pretending it features Morgan Freeman

  13-02-2017 16:46
  
  Oscar winning actor Morgan Freeman has lent his talents to over 120 movies according to IMDB, however, a Uzbek production has landed in hot water for trying to bring that substantial filmography to 121 titles.
  The release of Uzbek action movie ‘Daydi’ has been brought to a standstill for featuring the likeness of Morgan Freeman on the promotional materials despite the fact that the actor never makes an appearance in the production and has absolutely nothing to do with the project.
  A
  
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• Dunnhumby chief Simon Hay steps down

  13-02-2017 16:23
  
  Simon Hay, the global chief executive of customer data analysis company Dunnhumby, is leaving the business after 25 years.
  
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• Why Google’s ex-marketing director moved to an education startup

  13-02-2017 16:17
  
  After nine years at tech giant Google, James Elias rejoined the startup world as CMO at education startup Avado, claiming that digital learning for businesses “hasn’t been cracked yet”.
  “I had nine amazing years at Google,” says Elias, who notes the “pretty extraordinary growth” of the business during his time there. While he describes his former role as marketing director in UK and Ireland as “a fantastic opportunity”, he felt compelled to
  
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• Huawei highlights cloud, video and 5G focus in MWC briefing

  13-02-2017 16:04
  
  Chinese electronics company Huawei has underlined the foundations of its plan to secure global growth verges on cloud technology investment. 
  Mobile World Live quotes Ken Wang, president of global marketing and solutions sales at the company, who was speaking at a Mobile World Congress 2017 brief in London, as saying the company will soon reveal “seven all-cloud solutions” during the convention in Barcelona. The company will look to position itself as “the real busine
  
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• Oscar winner Asif Kapadia on collaborating with Burberry

  13-02-2017 15:30
  
  “Storytelling is always important. Without storytelling there’s nothing really,” states Oscar- and Bafta-winning director Asif Kapadia.
  “I want audiences to go away and think about [what they’ve just seen]. I want them to revisit it and maybe see something else, whether it’s a one-minute film, a TV movie or a feature film. You’ve got to get into their head and under their skin, and that always comes from a story or an idea that’s original.”
  
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• How to fight caring fatigue in cause marketing

  13-02-2017 15:00
  It’s been just a month since the start of the new administration, and already we’ve seen a surge of civil action in this country not seen in years. According to Vox, the Women’s March drew 4.2 million people nationwide, making it the largest protest action in American history. Constant crises have mobilized people to contribute their time, money and energy to all manner of cause-based organizations. The ACLU alone raised $24 million over the weekend following the executive orde
  
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• Enough is enough for ad fraud and meaningless metrics

  13-02-2017 15:00
  
  Marco Bertozzi, Spotify, VP, Europe, highlights the recent controversy around the measurement of online advertising, and concludes that strict metrics will be the new norm in ad land.  
  It's the end of the road for most of what we consider to be the norm in digital advertising. There are 600 million reasons why, according to a Meemetrics survey, that stated £600m was wasted on advertising in 2016 alone because they were not hitting standards.
  The much-discussed Marc Pritchard IAB
  
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• Marketoonist on ‘super bowl advertising’

  13-02-2017 14:24
  
  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 ‘super bowl advertising’ appeared first on Marketing Week.
  
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• Brands celebrate Galentine's Day with Marks & Spencer, Interflora and more jumping onboard

  13-02-2017 14:23
  
  Tomorrow may be Valentine's Day but the 13 February unofficially marks Galentine's Day - a day of celebration first coined by TV show Parks and Recreation character Leslie Knope. 
  This year brands have been quick to recognise the increasingly popular holiday, with Marks & Spencer, Asos, Malibu and Interflora taking to social media to toast to "ladies being ladies." 
  Those confused about the origins of Galentine's Day should look no further than series two of NBC's Parks a
  
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• Brand strategy spend on the rise in B2B marketing, study reports

  13-02-2017 14:04
  
   In the next five years, 81.3% of B2B companies expect to invest more in their brand strategies, with an anticipated increase of up to 20% in 2017. This spend comes on top of the 86.7% increase that took place over the past five years according to a recent survey by brand strategy consultancy Spencer Brenneman. graphic
   
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  "There was lots of data out there on how B2C companies were investing in their brands, but very little for B2B. So, we set out to find it," said Dougla
  
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• The Washington Post lands on Snapchat Discover to bring breaking news to millennials

  13-02-2017 13:54
  
  The Washington Post is following in the footsteps of the New York Times by launching its very own channel on Snapchat Discover. 
  The paper is placing an emphasis on breaking news, and will be the first editorial partner on Snapchat to publish multiple updates throughout the day, seven days a week. 
  Snapchat has around 40 publishing partners globally which create magazine-style daily editions for readers, but the Post plans to use the messaging app to break news in the US, Canada a
  
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• Jaguar Land Rover’s InMotion arm launches accelerator for mobility and smart transportation startups

  13-02-2017 13:48
  
  Jaguar Land Rover’s innovation arm InMotion is launching an accelerator to find the next generation of mobility and smart transportation startups.
  InMotion launched last year as an independent company funded by the Jaguar Land Rover brand. It is charged with building mobility apps and services – the carmaker’s answer to fostering innovation internally.
  Now the auto brand is looking to collaborate with startups to speed this process along. The InMotion Accelerator programme will
  
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• Netflix needs more content than ever to feed its worldwide growth

  13-02-2017 13:20
  
  With the rising global success of its platform, the streaming service Netflix aims to deliver the biggest and most diverse slate in Netflix history - with more than 1,000 hours of new series, films, stand-up specials, documentaries and more for members around the world, the company announced.
  "We aren't in the business of creating 'one size fits all' programming, or building slates to fill a finite number of hours of a programming grid," said Ted Sarandos, chief content officer at Netflix. "We'r
  
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• Digital ad transparency, Valentine's Day & 50 under 30: The Drum editor's Overview

  13-02-2017 12:54
  
  Brands react - or don't - over unwitting 'funding' of terrorism claims 
  Over the last few days the Times has run a series of news stories relating to the 'funding' of terrorism by the ad industry with a number of major advertisers seeing their ads appear alongside extremist video content. 
  This demonstrates one of the major serious issues the industry still faces when it comes to programmatic advertising. However what has been interesting is the reaction - or lack of - to suc
  
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• Pilgrim's Choice set to review advertising after splitting with Karmarama

  13-02-2017 12:37
  
  Karmarama has split with Pilgrim's Choice owner Ornua Foods after the agency picked up Mondelez's Philadelphia ad account last month.
  
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• If we did the social media for... Christian Grey

  13-02-2017 12:31
  
  Unless you’ve been hiding in a velvet-walled sex dungeon for the last five years you’ll have heard of E L James’ sexy ‘50 Shades’ series featuring the dishy kinkster, Christian Grey.
  The first film of the trilogy, 50 Shades of Grey, was released in 2015 to much criticism from feminists, sadists and quite a few other -ists and now, just in time for Valentine’s Day, we’re about to go 50 Shades Darker. In case you have been hiding in that sex dungeon, you f
  
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• Creative Works: Featuring 180 Amsterdam, SomeOne, Leith and more

  13-02-2017 12:00
  
  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 20 February.
  For
  
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• Sears and Kmart drop Trump products

  13-02-2017 11:43
  
  Fortune has reported that both Sears and Kmart have removed 31 Trump Home items from their online products, choosing instead to focus on more profitable home line items.
  Neither of the stores carried Trump Home products in their stores, and only featured them online. Kmart is a wholly owned subsidiary of Sears Holdings.
  "As part of the company's initiative to optimize its online product assortment, we constantly refine that assortment to focus on our most profitable items," spokesperson Brian Ha
  
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• Sonos echoes Apple’s seminal 1984 ad during the Grammys

  13-02-2017 11:06
  
  American audio electronics company Sonos is informing the public how to break household silence in a homage to one of the most iconic ads of all time.
  The company paid homage to Apple’s ‘1984’ Mac ad that aired during the Super Bowl, with its own video that debuted during the The Grammys (12 February).
  After a minute of tense silence interspersed with Hans Zimmer-eqsue horns, Apple’s memorable hammer toss is replaced with one of the company’s speakers bein
  
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• Cheating husband seeks €45m damages from Uber for revealing affair

  13-02-2017 10:58
  
  A cheating French businessman is reportedly seeking €45m damages from ride-hailing service Uber after the apps notifications inadvertently alerted his wife to his furtive forays to his mistress.
  Unfortunately for the hapless husband, app notifications of the journey were transmitted to his wife’s phone having logged into the taxi service from it on a previous occasion, exposing his lies.
  Displaying a knack for understatement, the unnamed man’s lawyer rued that the notifications
  
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• Prince’s legacy lives on in the cloud after albums return to streaming services

  13-02-2017 10:38
  
  Prince fans can rejoice today after the artist’s legacy work, pulled from streaming services such as Spotify, Apple Music and Pandora, two years ago are now back online for people to enjoy.
  Notoriously protective of his intellectual property Prince famously pulled his back catalogue of work from all platforms save for Tidal in 2015 but that decision has been reversed with 27 albums and compilation albums from Warner Bros; including famous works such as Purple Rain and Controversy, re-appea
  
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• SNL mocks social good brands at the Super Bowl with ridiculous pitches for Cheetos

  13-02-2017 10:29
  
  Saturday Night Live is mocking brands with a message at the Super Bowl, showing two rival agencies pitching two very different ads for Cheetos.
  The irreverent pitch process sees two agencies contend for the $5m slot during the big game. It becomes clear that the brand is looking for a superfluous cause to get behind.
  In the social good pitches, which are set to sad acoustic music, Alec Baldwin and Aidy Bryant put forward a series of heavy-hitting ads championing equality, immigration a
  
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• Former Tesco marketer Jill Easterbrook joins embattled clothing brand Boden as CEO

  13-02-2017 10:27
  
  Jill Easterbrook, the former top marketer and chief transformation officer at Tesco, has joined clothing brand Boden as chief executive.
  Easterbrook spent 15 years at Tesco in a number of different roles, including group strategy director and managing director for clothing. However, with the arrival of Dave Lewis to the business, she became the group’s top marketer in 2014 but was then swiftly replaced by Robin Terell – who has now also departed – just six months later.
  She the
  
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• #LoveIsLove Valentine’s challenge: Reimagine classic ads with LGBT leading roles

  13-02-2017 10:20
  
  Slowly but surely more and more brands are beginning to include LGBT role models in their ads with Tiffany & Co, Honeymaid and Kellogg’s just a few of the brands embracing diversity.
  However, looking at these ads there’s still stereotypes at play with the majority of LGBT-led ads featuring gay, white men. 
  Taking the lead from photographer, Bronac McNeill, who wrote on Friday “it’s time for the industry to put its money where its mouth is and push clients into cr
  
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• Executive departures strike a discordant note at SoundCloud

  13-02-2017 10:11
  
  SoundCloud has suffered the loss of two senior executives in quick succession as the music streaming service seeks to get itself into shape for a fundraising drive – amidst reports in the Financial Times that its cash reserves are beginning to peter out.
  Marc Strigel, SoundCloud’s chief operating officer and finance director Markus Harder both headed for the exit door to pursue unspecified fresh opportunities.
  Commenting on the media reports a SoundCloud spokeswoman said: "SoundCloud
  
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• Review recap: Powerade, Costa, Halfords

  13-02-2017 09:31
  
  Campaign's roundup of account reviews across advertising and media
  
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• A tenth of American Facebook users consider the platform to be a news outlet

  13-02-2017 09:21
  
  A tenth of US Facebook members have labeled the social network as a news, according to a new Pew Research Center study – undermining Facebook’s protestations that it is not a media company.
  The same study found that half of all US respondents failed to remember which website they read particular news stories on, highlighting the pernicious ability of fake news stories to infiltrate the wider public consciousness.
  A total of 2,000 American adults were quizzed in February last year, wh
  
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• Jaguar Land Rover suspends UK digital ads after 'terror funding' claims

  13-02-2017 09:17
  
  Jaguar Land Rover has suspended all its digital advertising in the UK following last week's investigation by The Times which named the company among brands which unwittingly funded terror groups.
  
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• Brand 2020: How Coca-Cola, Mondelez, BBC and Paddy Power feel about marketing going in-house

  13-02-2017 09:14
  
  In 2016 The Blueprint and The Drum Network launched Agency 2020 – an initiative which brought together innovative agency heads to talk about what agencies will look like in the year 2020? As a follow-up to those findings, we have turned the tables and asked brands what they will look like in terms of shape, structure and purpose in the years ahead, as we launch Brand 2020.
  Change is a constant within agencies who are continually evolving to meet the demands of the clients to whom they
  
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• BBH production arm scoops Bafta

  13-02-2017 09:05
  
  Black Sheep Studios, the video production unit at Bartle Bogle Hegarty, has won a Bafta for a short film about the refugee crisis.
  
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• BBH production arm and Somesuch scoop Bafta

  13-02-2017 09:05
  
  Black Sheep Studios, the video production unit at Bartle Bogle Hegarty, and Somesuch have won a Bafta for a short film about the refugee crisis.
  
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• Looking back as the Mirror Group Pensions scandal rears its ugly head once again

  13-02-2017 09:04
  
  The Mirror group pension scandal, which rocked Fleet Street some 25 years ago, is back in the news.
  I remember it well. I was present  as a Mirror Group executive when a late night meeting at the HQ of Mirror group lawyers Travers Smith and Braithwaite in London halted a proposed court action to recover £425m lent to a desperate Robert Maxwell to shore up the then troubled Mirror company.
  The tycoon had died just over a month earlier when, alone on a cruise, he vanished from
  
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• Meet the young women making waves in digital in The Drum's 50 under 30

  13-02-2017 09:00
  
  In the fast-moving world of digital, it is rare to stop and reflect on talent, but it’s clear that the industry has it in abundance and we wanted to highlight some of the top trailblazing young women making their mark in this traditionally male-dominated industry.
  The Drum’s 50 under 30 does just that. After calling on our readers to share their nominations of women who had broken the mould and gone above and beyond before reaching the age of 30, the final 50 were curated with the he
  
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• McDonald’s marketing boss on agency relationships, digital disruptors and fake views

  13-02-2017 08:55
  
  It is exactly 10 years since Alistair Macrow joined McDonald’s as UK marketing director. The move from Blockbuster to the fast food chain “was a fairly obvious one”, he says, due to the brand’s scale and societal importance.
  “You find yourself involved in the social make-up of the country. We are serving the best part of 90% of the UK population over the course of a year. You know you have an impact on people’s lives so it was a move I could make pretty comfo
  
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• Yahoo, Heineken & Amazon: Everything that matters this morning

  13-02-2017 08:35
  
  Amazon set for fashion foray
  Amazon is reportedly gearing up to launch its fashion line in the spring. According to Drapers, it has poached senior design and buying experts from Marks & Spencer and Primark and the fashion line is now in production.
  This is just the latest phase in Amazon’s attempts to take a bigger share of the global fashion market. Last year, it launched a photography studio in east London. And earlier this month it promoted its fashion credentials by highlighting t
  
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