Marketing news

• Email subscribers are not turning away from brands, but increasingly clicking to open

  16-05-2017 21:42
  
  Email open rates have grown 4% quarter over quarter, with a click through rate at 16%, the highest it has been in four years, according to an email marketing report which claims that subscribers are increasingly opening brand emails.
  Additionally, although it is generally believed that buyers that are also businesses don’t want personalized content, B2B brands have seen the highest CTO rate (19.3%) this past quarter. The report found that using personalized, relevant subject lines and
  
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• Pinterest extends its visual search technology to ads

  16-05-2017 21:39 via campaignlive.com
  
  Automated recommendations will help pinners discover more of what they find appealing.
  
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• Forget ad blocking, your content is next

  16-05-2017 21:33
  
  Like the newly converted, marketers are going all in on content creation. And for good reason. With growing numbers of consumers opting out of digital advertising, brands have realized that simply selling to people is not enough.  The new mantra is creating media that audiences actively want to consume. It’s a tantalizing vision that has played out with a predictable result.  Brands tha
  
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• Why saying “no” could be a brand's savior on social media

  16-05-2017 20:30
  
  Recently I was asked what the biggest challenge for brands on social media will be in five years. It is a question that stuck with me, for both the inherent, puzzle-like quality of trying to figure it out, and how inadvisable it would be to forecast almost anything in 2022. I’ve been hearing about flying cars my whole life, so do I think Kitty Hawk is going to crack that nut just because Silicon Valley is behind it? I’m not holding my breath.
  If you were to go back five years, would
  
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• Grey's logo gets a little less grey as the company turns 100

  16-05-2017 20:20
  
  Grey Advertising, the agency that created the tagline “Leave the Driving to Us for Greyhound, created the ETrade baby and the Pantene “DadDos” and began as a one room, one person operation in 1917 celebrated its centennial this week in New YorK with a new logo. As one of the most iconic names in advertising,  to mark one hundred years of creativity, Jim Heekin, chairman and CEO of Grey, and Michael Houston, global president unveiled the logo to 200 colleagues in
  
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• Facebook issues its own ‘mea culpa’ in a bid to prove transparency

  16-05-2017 19:30
  
  Facebook wants to show advertisers that it is making good on its promise to ramp-up transparency levels with its ad offering, by holding its hands up plus offering to make amends, whenever its product suite has misfired. 
  That’s the message behind a blog post which went live today (May 16), where it conceded that despite efforts to fix measurement issues that advertisers were alerted to during the Fall, some bugs still need to be addressed. 
  However, these issues are being worked
  
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• Mark your calendars: The Drum Search Awards are coming to the US

  16-05-2017 19:24
  
  For the first time ever, The Drum is bringing its Search Awards to the US with the official launch of The Drum Search Awards USA.
  Video of Search Awards USA 
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  That’s right: The Drum, the fifth largest media magazine and news site in the US, has opened entries for its inaugural US search event. The Drum has been organizing awards for more than 20 years, so we know how to celebrate excellence - and we certainly know how to throw a party. Our 2016 Search Awards in London drew m
  
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• How CP+B is getting its Miami mojo back with a Brazilian twist

  16-05-2017 18:31
  
  The ebb and flow of agency fame is nothing new. The “hot shop” concept may have started in the early Doyle Dayne Bernbach days — and has evolved into a veritable carousel of agencies that have inhabited the spotlight.
  Wieden+Kennedy, Chiat\Day, Deutsch, 72andSunny, R/GA are just a few of the many (deserving) shops that have laid claim and gained ink for the honor. Today, Droga5 seems to be one that nabs the headlines in the same way McGarryBowen did a few years back. 
  Abou
  
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• Virgin Trains turns to startups in bid to stop ‘pissing off’ delayed travellers

  16-05-2017 18:23
  
  With regular price hikes, complaints about delays and ongoing strike action on some of the most popular routes in the UK, it’s safe to say rail operators receive a lot of negativity from the British public.
  Amid this backdrop, Virgin Trains has outperformed. On a list of the UK’s 32 biggest transport brands, Virgin Trains is ranked fifth when it comes to its index score, which is a combination of consumer perceptions across metrics including impression, quality, value and reputation.
  
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• ESPN Upfront touts strength of live sports, storytelling and personalities amidst falling revenues

  16-05-2017 18:16
  
  Evoking the feeling of a New Orleans sports rally, complete with lively band and dancers, ESPN made a case for its strength as an advertising partner by featuring its new lineup, its dedication to storytelling and journalism and the power of live sports to give it a competitive edge at its Upfront presentation in New York on Tuesday (May 16) morning. This even when the sports broadcasting giant has seen falling ad revenues and recently had to cut budgets and lay off employees, including some hig
  
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• Brazil’s Lew’Lara\TBWA has created a hack for the blind that replaces ads with helpful info

  16-05-2017 18:03
  
  Banner ads are often relegated to bottom-of-the-barrel status, but the creatives at São Paulo’s Lew’Lara\TBWA have managed to use the inferior ad format as a force for good in a campaign they recently created for a Brazilian visual impairment nonprofit.
  For the 285 million people in the world who are blind or visually impaired, accessing news and information online often means using a screen reader that reads the text aloud to them. However, the reader doesn’t work on ba
  
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• Millennials burdened by financial worries, lack of time survey suggests

  16-05-2017 17:58
  
  Although each generation faces specific challenges, some facts remain the same and a recent survey reports that financial security is the number one concern for millennial parents, with 64% of those surveyed citing finances and money as the number one worry in their life. In addition, 92% of the millennial parents surveyed, (individuals born between 1982 and 2004)  agreed that being financially secure was a major worry spot for themselves and their family. 
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  While being finan
  
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• Instagram moves closer to Snapchat with augmented reality selfie filters

  16-05-2017 17:48
  
  Instagram has rolled out a line of selfie filters, the latest feature inspired by fierce rival Snapchat.
  Having already adopted the competitor platform’s Stories, slideshows, overlays and DM functions, the Facebook-owned company is turning up the heat with the release of selfie filters.
  It comes during a curious time when Snapchat has released new Sponsored World Lenses looking to augment the world through the mobile’s rear camera as rivals fixate on lifting the selfie innovations.
  I
  
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• Mark Ritson: In the AI era, it’s digital ads that face disruption

  16-05-2017 17:47
  
  Given my antipathy to the ‘death’ theme that haunts every possible marketing moment currently, the likelihood of my agreeing with a report entitled ‘The End of Advertising As We Know It’ was slim.
  The fact that the report was written by Forrester, one of the few firms to understand properly and objectively the intersection of marketing and tech, did slightly re-balance things. But not enough to avoid the very loud “harrumph” I uttered as I read a precis of th
  
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• Why the digital user experience is synonymous with brand

  16-05-2017 17:17
  
  Utilities companies offer a great case study for the growing importance of user experience. Whichever supplier you use, the stuff in the pipes is the same: it’s the service wrapped around the gas/electricity/water that you ultimately pay for.
  As competition blossoms in the sector, companies understand that, for some customers, user experience is as much a differentiator as price.
  In 2016, British Gas ended its 14-year relationship with media agency Carat and appointed MediaCom, which repor
  
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• Gillette sponsors China’s top League of Legends team EDG, continuing eSports drive

  16-05-2017 17:01
  
  Gillette has deepened its ties to eSports by sponsoring League of Legends team EDward Gaming, the brand’s first team investment.
  The Chinese team comprised of seven players Yang “Koro1” Tong, Kai “Clearlove” Ming, Yechan “Scout” Lee, Seong-min “Zet” Lee (ADC), Ye “Meiko” Tian, Yuhao “Mouse” Chen, Zhao “Fireloli” Zhiming and Minmin “Minn” Huang, they will no doubt boost the brand’s foothold
  
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• Measuring marketing’s impact on pipeline and revenue are key challenges for B2B marketers, study suggests

  16-05-2017 17:00
  
  Measurement patterns in a marketing campaign have emerged as a top priority for B2B marketers, and one of the biggest challenges, according to a recent study is the difficulty measuring performance and impact.
   The Demand Gen study revealed that most B2B marketers realize shortfalls in their current ability to measure and analyze performance and impact, with 40% agreeing it needs improvement, 36% offering an average score and 9% saying it is poor or inadequate. Marketers are steadfast,
  
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• BT Sport to show free 360 degree VR live stream of Champions League final on YouTube

  16-05-2017 16:59
  
  BT Sport will broadcast this year’s Uefa Champions League Final in 360-degree virtual reality (VR) after announcing it will once again show the game for free on YouTube.
  The broadcaster confirmed it will live stream the Champions League final and Europa League final for free on YouTube as it looks to reach a larger audience than its paying subscriber base.  
  For the first time both fixtures will be available in 4K UHD on YouTube and BT Sport’s linear channels and digital pl
  
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• HealthiNation gains brand support by combining vetted video content with a targeted audience

  16-05-2017 16:51
  
  Big Pharma brands have seen the advantage of utiltizing the pre-vetted nature of medical content videos at HealthiNations, a health video startup that features over 2,000 videos ranging from treating Crohn’s Disease to children's health. 
  For B2B and B2C marketers, with video content that is approved by two physicians, and  90 per cent of its advertisers coming from Pharma companies, the potential for major hospitals, assisted living facilities, medical products, fitness and
  
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• Advertising is viewing culture through spreadsheets

  16-05-2017 16:19
  
  It seems that barely a week goes by now without another tonally misjudged commercial that's getting more attention for its off-beam subject matter than the product it's trying to sell.
  Following the Pepsi commercial a few weeks ago, we now have McDonald's and the question over whether it is exploiting child bereavement.
  Playing on emotions is not new in advertising - in fact, it's the only real way to affect a behaviour change or start a conversation. Emotional techniques from making someone cry
  
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• Wagamama CMO Simon Cope joins Byron Hamburgers as managing director

  16-05-2017 16:13
  
  Byron Hamburgers has appointed Wagamama marketer Simon Cope as its new managing director.
  Cope will join Byron in July and sit on its executive board, focusing on marketing, food development and property.
  He will report to acting executive chairman Dalton Philips while Byron completes its search for a new chief executive following Andrew Manders' departure earlier this month.
  Cope said: “As the pioneers of proper hamburgers in the UK, Byron is uniquely well placed to take advantage of the
  
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• KFC launches digital and CRM review

  16-05-2017 16:12 via campaignlive.co.uk
  
  KFC is looking for a digital and CRM specialist to augment its agency roster after moving its above-the-line from Bartle Bogle Hegarty London to Mother earlier this year.
  
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• TEDxGlasgow announces roster of speakers as ‘leaders and followers’ from BBC, Facebook and Graven

  16-05-2017 16:10
  
  TEDxGlasgow has announced their speaker line up for the upcoming flagship event being held at the SEC Armadillo on 2 June.
  The 20 speakers will take the stage to discuss their angle on the theme ‘lead or follow’, and inspire over 1800 attendees to think about how leading or following can result in innovation and positive development across all areas of society.
  Speakers such as Quentin Somerville, Middle-East correspondent at the BBC, Jonah Jones of Facebook and Kerry Daynes, author
  
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• Ladbrokes overturns ban for casino ad featuring Iron Man

  16-05-2017 15:43 via campaignlive.co.uk
  
  Ladbrokes has overturned a ban of its email ad that features Marvel superhero Iron Man after assuring the standards watchdog that the betting promotion was only targeted at adults.
  
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• Dan Mason joins PrettyGreen agency to tackle its sports division

  16-05-2017 15:36
  
  Sport, entertainment and wellbeing agency PrettyGreen is expanding its Sports Division, with the appointment of Dan Mason as senior account executive.
  Dan joins from sports and entertainment communications agency Clifford French, where he worked on NFL UK and Euro 2016. Dan’s hire follows the announcement of the Virgin Media Twenty’s Plenty brief, in addition to growth from existing clients including MaxiMuscle and the recent launch of GEN-P.
  He remarked: "I’m thrilled to
  
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• Deloitte Digital lures DigitasLBi’s Ilicco Elia to head up mobile division

  16-05-2017 15:30
  
  Deloitte Digital has hired mobile ad industry veteran Ilicco Elia from DigitasLBi as its head of mobile, sending yet another signal of the management consultancy's intention to bolster its marketing services offering. 
  Elia joined Deloitte last week after almost six years at the helm of DigitasLBi, where he led the Publicis-owned agency's efforts to put mobile at the forefront on all client offerings.
  He has been a prominent voice in the UK digital industry, an
  
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• Pitch update: TripAdvisor, Britvic, Alpen

  16-05-2017 15:10 via campaignlive.co.uk
  
  Three agencies are competing for TripAdvisor, while Britvic has decided to run two pitches.
  
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• Limit collaboration to once a day, new study suggests

  16-05-2017 15:03 via campaignlive.co.uk
  
  Collaborative interactions between agencies and their clients should not happen more than once a day, new research has found.
  
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• Commercial radio set for strong growth

  16-05-2017 14:47 via campaignlive.co.uk
  
  Commercial radio ad revenues have risen more than 3% since the start of the year, bucking the gloom seen elsewhere in broadcasting.
  
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• M&S wellbeing drive seeks to combat autopilot trend

  16-05-2017 14:33 via campaignlive.co.uk
  
  Marks & Spencer is aiming to improve the wellbeing of Brits by encouraging them to snap out of "autopilot" behaviours, its top marketer has said.
  
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• Possible appoints Jo Hagger as MD

  16-05-2017 14:24 via campaignlive.co.uk
  
  Jo Hagger, EMEA business partner at Google, has joined WPP's Possible as UK managing director.
  
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• Volvo's Cannes Lions champion 'Life Paint' film banned for being misleading

  16-05-2017 14:23 via campaignlive.co.uk
  
  Volvo ad "Life Paint", which scooped a double Grand Prix for creative agency Grey London at Cannes Lions in 2015, has been banned for giving a misleading impression of the titular road safety product.
  
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• MullenLowe MediaHub poaches the7stars' Myers-Lamptey

  16-05-2017 14:21 via campaignlive.co.uk
  
  Dino Myers-Lamptey, chief strategy officer at the7stars, is joining MullenLowe Mediahub UK as managing director.
  
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• MullenLowe and Unilever win big at Effie UK awards

  16-05-2017 14:20 via campaignlive.co.uk
  
  MullenLowe London has retained its crown as Effie UK's most effective agency, while Ikea and Unilever have been named the most effective brand and marketer respectively.
  
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• McDonald’s pulls ‘dead dad’ ad after string of complaints

  16-05-2017 14:18
  
  UPDATE: McDonald’s has announced it will withdraw the controversial advert, and it will be removed from all media, including TV and cinema, this week.
  “It was never our intention to cause any upset. We are particularly sorry that the advert may have disappointed those people who are most important to us – our customers.
  “Due to the lead-times required by some broadcasters, the last advert will air tomorrow, Wednesday 17 May. We will also review our creative process to ens
  
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• McDonald’s pulls ‘dead dad’ ad after more than 100 complaints

  16-05-2017 14:18
  
  UPDATE: McDonald’s has announced it will withdraw the controversial advert, and will be removed from all media, including TV and cinema, this week.A McDonald’s ad showing a young boy finding common ground with his dead father over a Filet-O-Fish could be investigated by the ad regulator the Advertising Standards Authority after it received more than 100 complaints.
  A spokesman for the ASA admits the ad has prompted a “backlash”, and while he would not give an exact figure
  
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• McDonald’s ‘dead dad’ ad could face investigation after more than 100 complaints

  16-05-2017 14:18
  
  A McDonald’s ad showing a young boy finding common ground with his dead father over a Filet-O-Fish could be investigated by the ad regulator the Advertising Standards Authority after it received more than 100 complaints.
  A spokesman for the ASA admits the ad has prompted a “backlash”, and while he would not give an exact figure said complaints had exceeded more than 100. The number is increasing, with more “still coming in”.
  Complainants have objected that it is ina
  
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• Bolton reunites with Burley to lead Y&R creative team

  16-05-2017 14:09 via campaignlive.co.uk
  
  Y&R London chief creative officer Jonathan Burley has hired his longstanding creative partner Jim Bolton as deputy executive creative director as he looks to build a "renaissance" department.
  
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• Cult LDN attempt to thaw the ice and showcase Austria as summer holiday destination

  16-05-2017 12:57
  
  Cult LDN have commenced the summer campaign for the Austrian National Tourist Office, showcasing Austria as a year-round holidays destination rather than just a ski-lovers winter haven.
  #uncoverAustria is the social movement spearheaded by six influencers. The campaign targets those holiday makers who want are sick of the same-old Mediterranean beach holiday. For those who craved an active, healthy, uplifting break from reality. Something like the opening scene of The Sound of Music: Maria
  
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• LazyVote launches to help cut through election information overload

  16-05-2017 12:36
  
  NEU, digital product development studio based in Glasgow, have launched the LazyVote chatbot to help voters find out more information about the general election on 8 June.
  The messenger chatbot proffers information about who is standing, whether the user is registered, which MPs are in each location, and it allows users to stamp their Facebook profile with who they will vote for.
  As well as providing this data based on the user’s location, it can link to candidates' Twitter and Facebo
  
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• Apple ad shows Portrait Mode transforming fortunes of New Orleans barbershop

  16-05-2017 12:34
  
  Apple is attempting to appeal to the Instagram generation with an ad showcasing the latest iPhone's ‘Portrait Mode’ feature.
  The ad features Apple's “practically magic” tagline and is set in a quiet barbershop in downtown New Orleans which undergoes a radical revitalisation.
  The 60-second spot is packed with shots and packed with people in what is an attempt to highlight the professional output of the Portrait Mode app.  In the video we see the small barbershop
  
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• Sportsbet stakes reputation on disgraced sprinter Ben Johnson

  16-05-2017 12:12
  
  Australian betting firm Sportsbet has taken a gamble of its own after recruiting disgraced Canadian sprinter Ben Johnson for its latest advertising campaign, despite a flood of complaints.
  Johnson was outed as a drugs cheat after testing positive for steroids during the Seoul Olympics in 1988 and has now been drafted out of retirement to promote Sportsbet’s new Android app, using the strapline putting ‘the roid into Android’.
  The advert, which remains on air, drew a stinging re
  
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• Byron hires top marketer from Wagamama as MD

  16-05-2017 12:01 via campaignlive.co.uk
  
  Byron Hamburgers has appointed Simon Cope, global marketing and property director at Asian restaurant chain Wagamama, as its managing director.
  
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• Universal and Tencent sign major licensing deal to accelerate Chinese music market

  16-05-2017 11:56
  
  Record label Universal Music Group and distribution platform Tencent Music Entertainment Group have signed a licensing agreement that will include the distribution and licensing of Universal record labels to Chinese consumers, as well as greater development of Chinese artists.
  Under the terms of the multi-year agreement, Tencent will distribute music from Universal’s roster of record labels and global recording stars on its streaming platforms QQ Music, KuGou and Kuwo.
  Tencent Music E
  
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• Google’s DeepMind NHS data deal deemed illegal by UK government advisory body

  16-05-2017 11:40
  
  A pioneering data sharing deal between the NHS and Google’s DeepMind artificial intelligence division could be about to unravel following reports that the personal health data of some 1.6m individuals had been shared to develop a Streams app for the early detection of a Kidney ailment.
  Criticising the nature of this relationship the National Data Guardian, the UK government’s data safety advisory body, stated that in its view there was no legal basis for the transfer of records on th
  
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• Vodafone pulls out of stadium naming rights deal with West Ham United

  16-05-2017 11:32
  
  Vodafone has confirmed that it has pulled out of its stadium naming rights agreement with West Ham United following months of talks around a possible £20m deal.
  The telecoms giant was reportedly close to agreeing a six-year deal for the naming rights to the former London Olympic stadium, however it has now confirmed that it will not go ahead with the contract.
  The news comes amid an investigation of West Ham United’s transfer business by HMRC which raided the Premier League club&rsqu
  
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• Tesco partnership offers boost to 'free-from' brands

  16-05-2017 11:22 via campaignlive.co.uk
  
  Tesco has teamed up with tech platform Spoon Guru to incorporate its search and discovery function, aimed at people with special diets, into the supermarket's website.
  
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• Uber lends its brand to UK general election voter registration drive

  16-05-2017 11:04
  
  Uber will play its part in getting out the vote during the UK general election on 8 June by showing British customers of the global ride-hailing app a link to the official voter registration page for three days from Friday as they book their ride.
  The intervention is aimed at boosting the numbers of young people on the electoral roll with an exhortation for people ‘not to be a passenger’ in the election campaign but instead get in the driving seat.
  Uber’s brand extension is bei
  
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• King raids Snapchat to hire Brian Ames as ad president

  16-05-2017 11:00
  
  Mobile games developer King has snapped up former Snapchat exec Brian Ames as its president of advertising to bolster its revenue raising powers.
  Ames joins from Snapchat where he served as director of revenue product strategy and analytics where he looked to monetise the app’s sizeable audience. He will fulfill a similar remit at King, ensuring the portfolio of games, including Candy Crush, Bubble Witch and Farm Heroes, offer suitable ad products to brands.
  On the whole, he will handle th
  
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• Maurice Saatchi joins adland in paying tribute to 80s TV director Jon Staton

  16-05-2017 10:54 via campaignlive.co.uk
  
  Lord Saatchi has joined the tributes to Jon Staton, the Saatchi & Saatchi director of TV during one of the agency's most creative and prolific periods, who has died aged 73.
  
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