Marketing news

• United details plan to become a ‘more customer-focused airline’

  28-04-2017 21:02
  
  After potentially killing a giant rabbit named Simon and allegedly breaking the clubs of Australian pro golfer Mat Goggin – not to mention forcibly re-accommodating a passenger and barring girls for wearing leggings – United Airlines is out with a ten-point plan to change “how it flies, serves and respects its customers”.
  This was released the same day the airline announced it “reached an amicable resolution” with forcibly removed passenger David Dao
  
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• The Circle joins other movies about privacy, secrets and surveillance

  28-04-2017 20:00
  
  Privacy is in the news again. One recent story tells how Uber worked around Apple’s rules for apps to track individual phones, even after an individual deleted the app.
  That story has been rebutted by Uber, but it’s reopened concerns about how we are tracked through the super-computers we willingly carry around in our pockets or purses. That same story included the revelation that Unroll.me, a service that lets one mass-unsubscribe from email lists, was selling user information and d
  
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• The power of compassionate design: A look inside Nike Freestyle

  28-04-2017 19:15
  
  Since the first Nike swoosh entered the world in 1972, the sportswear company has written a large book with many chapters. 
  One of those chapters has been of great benefit to Doernbecher Children’s Hospital in Portland, Oregon. For 14 years, Nike, in association with the hospital, has recruited a select number of patients to help design shoes (and, more recently, apparel) that are auctioned off as a benefit for programs at the hospital. 
  The program, Nike Freestyle, pairs pa
  
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• A month of controversy: United Airlines and Pepsi missteps fuel April's online chatter

  28-04-2017 18:44
  
  Every month there tends to be a theme that unifies the top trends of that month. For April, that theme was a new crop of brand related controversies.
  From Pepsi’s Tone Deaf Ad, to United Airlines’ PR nightmare, to Bill O’Reilly’s dismissal from Fox, April has been jam-packed with brands trying to avoid the controversial issues that became synonymous with these brands on social media.
  Taykey analyzed the two big controversies, Pepsi’s Ad and United Airlines' violent
  
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• Wunderman MENA tackles tough issue of divorce in powerful campaign

  28-04-2017 18:22
  
  Divorce in the Arab world is seen as a man’s prerogative, and a subject not often discussed. Wunderman MENA has taken steps to address divorce in a new video campaign that brings a real father and daughter together.
   
  “Speak Your Heart” is an effort by Brooke Bond Red Label Tea (Unilever) to tackle bold subjects in Arab society that spark mass, heartfelt debates.
   
  The video and behind-the-scenes interview feature Ohoud, an entrepreneur and a mother, as she seeks
  
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• Spotify and Disney generate retro playlists with Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 ad hub

  28-04-2017 18:16
  
  Disney is heavily pushing music in its marketing of the latest Marvel powerhouse Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.2, sealing a partnership with audio streaming company Spotify to generate exclusive retro playlists.
  The ‘Throwback Your Playlist’ experience, accessible here, allows users across 16 countries to generate 70s playlists inspired by the songs they enjoy and the movie’s soundtrack – using audio recognition algorithms. Users of the free tier will also see video and dis
  
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• How Anthony Joshua could propel boxing into a new commercial era

  28-04-2017 17:57
  
  Anthony Joshua’s fight with Wladimir Klitschko on Saturday night is one of the most anticipated heavyweight boxing matches in recent memory, but spectacle aside, the Brit is fast becoming one of the most marketable athletes boxing has ever seen and has the potential to propel the sport into a new commercial era.
  Around 90,000 people will be packed into a sold-out Wembley to watch the fight with many more watching at home and in pubs and clubs nationwide. The interest spans far beyond the U
  
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• Global manufacturer Norican Group localises marketing with multilingual Sitecore XP solution from Mando

  28-04-2017 17:32
  
  Norican Group, a global supplier of technology and services to the surface preparation and metallic parts industries, has unveiled an online multi-lingual Sitecore XP 8.2 solution, created by Mando.
  Norican approached Mando for an overhaul of its website strategy, design and development; the websites needed to be capable of handling multiple languages, be localised for each territory in which they operate and improve both the volume and quality of their leads.
  The new Sitecore XP 8.2 platform fe
  
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• A shop that accepts CVs as currency is Budapest agency Possible's secret to recruitment

  28-04-2017 17:17
  
  Budapest-based digital creative agency Possible has turned its homepage into a shop that accepts CVs as a currency in a unique skilled worker drive.
  The agency is using its website as a recruitment tool called the ‘Shop of Possibilities’, pushing Hungarian-themed wares in exchange for applicants who provide a CV and LinkedIn profile.
  Giovanni Pintaude, executive creative director, said that the purpose of the campaign was to both “sell” the company and the wider Budapest
  
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• Observer editor John Mulholland will become interim editor of Guardian US

  28-04-2017 17:14
  
  Guardian News and Media editor-in-chief Katharine Viner said John Mulholland, editor of the Observer, will take on interim leadership of Guardian US during the maternity leave of Guardian US editor Lee Glendinning.
  According to the company Mulholland will be based in the Guardian US’s New York headquarters from July until the fall, after which time he will return to his Observer editorship.
  Meanwhile, Observer deputy editor Paul Webster will take on editing duties of the paper during
  
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• Wikitribune is the latest weapon in the fight against fake news, but will it succeed?

  28-04-2017 17:03
  
  Jimmy Wales, the co-founder of Wikipedia, announced this week the launch of Wikitribune to fight fake news with evidenced-based journalism. "The news is broken and we can fix it," Wales declares.
  Bending the news for political and commercial purposes is nothing new –propaganda and its record of use stretches back to ancient Rome and before. The difference today is that mass communication and, in particular, the rise of the internet and citizen journalism have spawned a culture of truth dis
  
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• Bethesda sanity checks Prey fans with graphic Rorschach Test

  28-04-2017 16:42
  
  Gaming company Bethesda is looking to dip into the psyche of gamers with an interactive Rorschach test promoting the return of the Prey series to consoles.
  Creative agency Midnight Oil has delivered TranStar Personality Test, a digital hub designed to build the background to the Transtar space station that is on the hunt for a very specific type of colonist.
  Sean Salter, creative director of Midnight Oil, said: “As big fans of Bethesda, TranStar Awaits was a very exciting project to be a p
  
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• L’Oréal, Coke and P&G: 5 things that mattered this week

  28-04-2017 16:10
  
  L’Oréal places big bet on artificial intelligence
  Ever wanted to buy someone a beauty gift but been unsure what to buy them? Well, L’Oréal is hoping to help with the launch of an artificial intelligence-powered Facebook Messenger bot.
  Launching in Canada first, the service aims to help consumers find the right beauty box gift for their friends based on a series of questions that define their friend’s beauty profile and help consumers select the right brand and pro
  
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• BrewDog wants to ‘reclaim craft’ with LoneWolf spirits launch

  28-04-2017 16:04
  
  BrewDog’s vodka and gin brand LoneWolf is hoping to reclaim craftsmanship, as it believes too many spirit brands “tinker at the edges and sell their product as craft”.
  The brand celebrated its London launch yesterday (27 April), where it introduced the public, shareholders and independent cocktail bar owners to its gin and vodka offering.
  BrewDog is predominantly known for its craft beer range, and was recently valued at $1.24bn (£960m). Doug Bairner, managing director of
  
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• Unlimited launches 200-person CRM agency in Bristol

  28-04-2017 15:55 via campaignlive.co.uk
  
  Unlimited Group is joining together two Bristol-based agencies to create a new CRM shop that will be one of the largest outside London.
  
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• Google and Facebook now control 20% of global adspend

  28-04-2017 15:26 via campaignlive.co.uk
  
  Google and Facebook control 20% of all media ad spend worldwide, up from 11% in 2012.
  
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• Just Eat makes big bet on The X Factor sponsorship in hunt for consideration

  28-04-2017 15:12
  
  Just Eat will use its sponsorship of The X Factor to bring its brand into the homes of more families with the aim of moving more consumers along the purchase funnel from awareness to consideration.
  Just Eat will be the main broadcast sponsor for The X Factor this year, after TalkTalk decided to end its 10-year tie-up with the programme. The multi-year deal, thought to be worth in the region of £30m, is one of the biggest and most high-profile on TV, with millions of viewers still tuning in
  
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• Ad of the Day: Renault’s Dream Cradle rocks babies to sleep

  28-04-2017 14:57
  
  Apparently there’s a slew of new parents who take their young ones on car rides in order to soothe them into a state of sleep. This concept is the focus of a campaign from Renault.
  To mimic the relaxing vibes generated by car journeys, the auto brand, in conjunction with global babycare company Chicco, has created the ‘The Dream Cradle’. The cradle simulates the motions a child would experience in the back of a Renault.
  The cradle can be controlled by a dedi
  
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• Genderless bots are the wave of the future

  28-04-2017 14:00
  
  Artificial intelligence (AI), or machines that can think like people, doesn’t need gender. But many of the AI-based assistants and bots we interact with every day have at least an implied gender.
  There are a number of reasons for this. For starters, gender helps humanize machines. This, in turn, makes it easier to interact with them. And that’s an important consideration, say, the first time you ask Siri for directions or Alexa for the weather forecast. But it also raises q
  
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• Jockey 'Show Em What's Underneath' campaign sees war orphan turned ballerina Michaela DePrince spread hope and perserverance

  28-04-2017 13:56
  
  Underwear brand Jockey has launched a new ad campaign featuring Michaela DePrince, a war orphan turned ballerina demonstrating human endurance and overcoming obstacles in its 'Show ‘Em What’s Underneath' campaign. 
  The campaign introduces Michaela proudly wearing Jockey in an intimate video and series of portraits illustrating what's underneath it all, both literally and figuratively. Michaela explains she grew up in Sierra Leone, her father was killed by rebels, and her mo
  
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• Audi underlines its lunar ambitions in Alien: Covenant branded video and movie placement

  28-04-2017 13:53
  
  German car manufacturer Audi is the latest brand to jump aboard 20th Century Fox’s upcoming addition to the Alien franchise in a branded ad documenting a close encounter with a Xenomorph.
  The Ridley Scott-directed movie Alien: Covenant also counts among its partners AMD which co-released a Michael Fassbender-led short ‘Meet Walter’. Now the auto brand has rolled out some branded video of its own, showing the AI-driven Audi lunar quattro patrolling the colony ship covenant.
  In a
  
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• Reebok reveals two new pairs of Aliens sneakers in retro ad

  28-04-2017 13:08
  
  Reebok is celebrating the impending return of the Alien franchise to the big screen with the release of  two new pairs of sneakers paying homage to the series' iconic visuals.
  The partnership has birthed two new pairs of trainers celebrating so reminiscent of the “climactic clash from Aliens” that fans and collectors’ chests may burst in excitement.
  Taking design cues from the Queen Alien and Power Loader, the ‘Queen’ and ‘Powerloader’ trainers
  
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• Premier League clubs to put a price on social media videos for sponsors

  28-04-2017 13:01
  
  Rather than bundle social video into sponsorship deals, Premier League clubs want to carve out its commercial value to convince sponsors to pay more for that engagement.
  The modern-day newsfeed is as stuffed with posts from wannabe stars and celebrity spats as it is with videos from training grounds and changing rooms. Yet many of those creating this content aren’t sure of its commercial worth as it becomes increasingly hard to ignore how much more exposure football teams can get on social
  
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• People on the move featuring Leo Burnett, Taxi, Yo Sushi, Equator and more

  28-04-2017 13:00
  
  This week has seen another wave of appointments and departures at brands, media owners and agencies. The Drum has rounded up the key moves from the EMEA, APAC and North America regions below.
   
  Loading...
  Taxi Studio
  Taxi Studio has announced the appointment of Kate Lenton as managing director as Brian Mansfield steps up to assume the role of chairman.
  Lenton, who was previously managing and strategy parter is taking over the role from Mansfield who has been promoted after eight years.
  
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• Business on the move featuring X Factor, Microsoft, Sellotape, Boux Avenue and more

  28-04-2017 12:50
  
  Havas London has won the BMW owned Rolls Royce business where it will oversee the creative, digital and direct activity of the brand as well as working on the launch of the elite car brands’ global campaigns.
  Adam&Eve/DDB has been selected by Sky to handle its sports account following a competitive pitch. The agency also handles the broadcasters digital and social for Sky Mobile.
  Bio Oil has appointed PR consultancy Finn to lead the brands biggest investment in digital marketing over t
  
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• Locate in Kent employs Zest to attract business investment to medical trust

  28-04-2017 12:48
  
  Locate in Kent, Kent and Medway's official investment promotion agency, has appointed Zest The Agency to cover its marketing and PR.
  Zest will work in collaboration with Locate in Kent to plan and deliver its marketing and communications strategy in order to attract business investment to Kent and Medway. This will include media relations, digital marketing, exhibitions and trades shows, and a complete PR service. The contract started on 3 April 2017 for an initial 18-month term.
  Anita Glov
  
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• Cauli Rice turns up the heat with TV and online campaign

  28-04-2017 12:40
  
  Cauli Rice, the world’s first long-life, preservative-free cauliflower rice brand, has appointed Media Agency Group to work on an awareness campaign over the next 12 months.
  The new partnership has commenced with strategic TV advertising activity, with MAG securing key spots at peak times on ITV across UK. MAG is also handling elements of Cauli Rice’s online advertising activity by coordinating high-exposure and highly-targeted YouTube ad campaigns.
  Founders Gem Misa and Jamie H
  
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• Campaign TV: Where to seek inspiration outside advertising

  28-04-2017 12:16 via campaignlive.co.uk
  
  If you want to stay inspired, sometimes it's best to look outside your work, top creatives said at the D&AD Festival this week.
  
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• Starbucks on battling the ‘devastating’ impact of changing consumer behaviour

  28-04-2017 11:57
  
  Despite Starbucks’ recent Unicorn Frappucino bumping sales, it failed to provide analysts with cheer.Starbucks is fighting the current decline in consumer footfall in its stores by linking up mobile and digital with an “immersive and experiential” retail experience.
  Speaking on a results call yesterday (27 April), the brand’s new CEO Kevin Johnson started his presentation by responding to a recent Wall Street Journal article, which noted that more US retail stores have c
  
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• Google shrugs off YouTube controversy as charm offensive wins over advertisers

  28-04-2017 11:45
  
  The brand safety controversy, which saw hundreds of brands pull advertising on from YouTube, has had little, if any, impact on its parent company Google and its revenues.
  YouTube found itself at the centre of a scandal earlier this year after an investigation by The Times found that brand ads were appearing next to content from terrorists, white supremacists and pornographers. The issue led to brands including Marks & Spencer, Tesco and RBS pulling ads from the site, with many saying they wo
  
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• Google shrugs off YouTube controversy as charm offensive convinces advertisers

  28-04-2017 11:45
  
  The brand safety controversy, which saw hundreds of brands pull advertising on from YouTube, has had little, if any, impact on its parent company Google and its revenues.
  YouTube found itself at the centre of a scandal earlier this year after an investigation by The Times found that brand ads were appearing next to content from terrorists, white supremacists and pornographers. The issue led to brands including Marks & Spencer, Tesco and RBS pulling ads from the site, with many saying they wo
  
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• Sorrell says Google is doing more than Facebook to allay brands' concerns

  28-04-2017 11:39 via campaignlive.co.uk
  
  Google has done "a considerable amount" to allay concerns about brand safety but Facebook "haven't done as much", according to Sir Martin Sorrell.
  
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• Cancer Research top marketer leaves after 17 years

  28-04-2017 11:19 via campaignlive.co.uk
  
  Cancer Research UK's director of brand, marketing and communications, Anthony Newman, has joined Sea Life as global brand director.
  
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• Andy Sandoz to leave Havas

  28-04-2017 11:18 via campaignlive.co.uk
  
  Havas London's joint executive creative director, Andy Sandoz, is leaving the agency to pursue "personal projects".
  
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• Facebook releases latest global government requests report

  28-04-2017 11:09
  
  Facebook has charted a 9% increase in global government data requests over the second half of 2016 in its latest transparency report, a period which saw the total number of requests rise from 59,229 to 64,279.
  Expanding on these requests the social network further revealed that around half of all requests from US law enforcement carried a non-disclosure clause which blocked Facebook from notifying the individual concerned.
  Delving further into the detail Facebook showed that the number of conten
  
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• Realise ECD Don Smith leaves to launch 'invention and disruption' business

  28-04-2017 10:51
  
  Realise executive creative director Don Smith has left the agency after eight years to start his own business for creative inventive ideas. 
  The new shop will be named One Hundred Flowers, which he described as "an invention and destruction practice."
  Smith, who moved into Realise when it was solely based in Edinburgh, has been with the company throughout its growth into London and acquisition by St Ives Group. He previously worked for creative agencies such as The Leith Agency and The
  
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• Facebook enables video creators to claw back cash from pirated content

  28-04-2017 10:40
  
  Facebook has followed the example set by YouTube in allowing video creators to earn money from their work when it has been pirated by others.
  A new tool contained within its rights manager software enables producers to trace unapproved versions of their work appearing on the site by way of video matching software capable of identifying moving images that have been copied and reposted by others.
  Up until now this gave people the opportunity to either leave the content online or have it remov
  
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• Costa picks BBH as global ad agency

  28-04-2017 10:18 via campaignlive.co.uk
  
  Costa, the high street coffee chain, has appointed Bartle Bogle Hegarty London as its global advertising agency after a competitive pitch.
  
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• Confident Amazon turns to India as it smashes earnings predictions

  28-04-2017 10:17
  
  Online retailer Amazon has surprised on the upside after posting a 23 per cent year-on-year rise in revenues in its latest quarter to $35.71bn, beating consensus forecasts of a figure around the $35.3bn mark.
  The news sent Amazon’s share price surging by five per cent as investors digested the news that the company hadn’t just beaten earnings expectations but smashed them after reporting $1.48 per share as opposed to the $1.12 which had been expected.
  In pursuit of further growth, Am
  
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• eBay to sponsor Capital breakfast show

  28-04-2017 10:11 via campaignlive.co.uk
  
  Online retailer eBay is to sponsor the breakfast shows on Capital and Capital XTRA in the latest example of a tech company investing in traditional broadcast media.
  
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• YouTube instigates hunt for next Justin Bieber via cover song competition series

  28-04-2017 09:55
  
  YouTube and production firm EndemolShine have joined forces with US TV host and producer Ryan Seacrest to instigate a hunt for the next Justin Bieber by way of a cover song competition series.
  Best.Cover.Ever is set to stream as a YouTube exclusive with viewers treated to the sight of a line-up of top musicians tutoring and cajoling a procession of aspiring artists in a  format which likely prove familiar to reality TV fans.
  Each host musician will select one of their greatest hits for the
  
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• Wins this week: Sky, Rolls-Royce, Microsoft

  28-04-2017 09:36 via campaignlive.co.uk
  
  Campaign's weekly roundup of account moves across advertising and media.
  
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• Musical.ly in harmony with Apple Music following latest tie-up

  28-04-2017 09:23
  
  Popular music video app Musical.ly has joined the Apple fold in a bid to extend its global reach with Apple Music, providing the snippets of songs used to power the service from Friday.
  The tie-up makes sense from Apple’s point of view as well as it gains a new marketing partner in the process but is bad news for UK provider 7digital, which has been shouldered aside as a tunes provider.
  Following the new partnership Musical.ly will be able to expand the territories it operates in from 30 t
  
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• Dolce & Gabbana pulls campaign from Weibo and WeChat following a public backlash

  28-04-2017 09:17
  
  A Dolce & Gabbana social media campaign, DGLovesChina, has backfired with the brand removing the images from Weibo and WeChat following a public backlash.
  Dolce & Gabbana launched the images and films across its social media platforms as part of digital campaign to promote the brand’s first fashion show in Beijing, which was held last week.
  The images featured models clad in Dolce & Gabbana clothing posing among locals and tourists at Beijing tourist attractions, including Tian
  
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• Fuck-ups can boost creativity, says Erik Kessels

  28-04-2017 09:15 via campaignlive.co.uk
  
  If you want to be more creative, you have to be willing to "fuck up" more, says Erik Kessels, the creative director of KesselsKramer.
  
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• Can a beer really end intolerance and unite society? Yes, says Heineken

  28-04-2017 09:00 via campaignlive.co.uk
  
  Social video experts at Be On review "Open your world", the latest viral from Heineken.
  
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• Amazon first quarter sales jump 23% thanks to India

  28-04-2017 08:12 via campaignlive.co.uk
  
  Amazon's first quarter net sales leapt 23% to $35.7bn (£27.7bn), crediting its success to strong performance in India.
  
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• Behind All 4's new personalised VOD ads that call out the names of viewers

  28-04-2017 07:33
  
  Channel 4 earlier this week unveiled a new video on demand advertising package allowing brands to directly address viewers - in practise this meant first adopters 20th Century Fox, Foster' and Ronseal, could grab the attention of by literally calling out their names in their creative.
  Most strikingly, the feature ran at the end of an ad for 20th Century Fox's Alien: Covenant urging viewers to flee from the movie's extraterrestrial menace, a surprising addition to already unsettling creative
  
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• Google ad revenue surges 18% despite YouTube boycott

  28-04-2017 07:18 via campaignlive.co.uk
  
  Google's advertising revenue leapt 18% to $21.4bn (£16.6bn) in the first three months of the year despite the ongoing YouTube advertising boycott.
  
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• Qantas promotes Australia to UK direct flights with emotional new films

  28-04-2017 05:15
  
  Qantas is promoting its “groundbreaking” direct flights from Perth to London with two emotional films about homecomings.
  The campaign, which will run in both Australia and the UK, tell the story of a Perth family reuniting with family in the UK, and a young Australian couple reuniting in Perth.   
  The campaign features Martha Marlow’s emotive version of the Randy Newman classic track ‘Feels like Home’. It launched online this week ahead of a TV launch on S
  
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