Marketing news

• Tombras Group creates new Amazon division, hiring Marketplace Ignition's Kevin Packler

  28-06-2017 22:14
  
  The Tombras Group, based in Knoxville, Tennessee, announced the creation of a new agency division specially focused on leveraging Amazon’s growing search and display platforms. The team will be led by new hire Kevin Packler, who joins as vice president, director of Amazon services and most recently served as senior consultant at Marketplace Ignition, the Amazon agency acquired by WPP’s Possible last month.
  For Dooley Tombras, executive vice president at the Tombras Group, he see
  
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• Women's March icon MILCK on what makes a great story

  28-06-2017 21:20
  
  Connie Lim, better known as musical artist and poet MILCK, made waves at the Women’s March in Washington DC in January. There, she teamed up with 25 female singers to sing a cappella flashmob performances of her song “Quiet” during the protests.
  The song was MILCK’s cathartic way of dealing with being a survivor of domestic abuse and anorexia, and its lyrics, along with its subsequent social movement #ICantKeepQuiet, is empowering women everywhere to tell their stories.
  T
  
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• US Creative Work of the Week: Russell helps mascots deal with underwear funk

  28-06-2017 20:54
  
  Minor League Baseball mascots have it rough enough, having to sweat out their seasons in heavy suits and 100-plus degree heat. A new documentary-style campaign from Russell and its agency Barkley makes sure these mascots don't get underwear funk by giving them FreshForce Performance Underwear.
  The first of three documentaries featuring the mascots centers on Chico the Chihuahua from El Paso. Directed by British documentary filmmaker Andrew Lang, Chico's story is brought to life th
  
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• Rokkan Hums along in first campaign for Verizon connected car device

  28-06-2017 19:40
  
  Rokkan’s ‘Get Where You’re Going’ campaign highlights the new Hum by Verizon system, an aftermarket connected car device that gives drivers insights about their vehicle and their driving experience.
  The campaign employs nostalgia, emotion and humor to connect with customers. The first two spots highlight the features of Hum with real-life situations. In ‘Big Poppa,' above, a man sees that the check engine light is on in his car, so he pulls over, family in tow, and
  
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• Paddy Power releases in-store faeces ad ripping Costa to pieces

  28-06-2017 19:24
  
  Irreverent bookmaker Paddy Power has taken a swing at a slew of coffee chains that recently scored less than admirably in recent health inspections.
  The sh*t-talking bookmaker, reacting to a widely covered BBC investigation that found "off the scale” traces of faecal bacteria in iced drinks at Starbucks, Costa and Café Nero, used the news event to debase a Costa store unfortunate enough to be a neighbour with a cheeky bit of in-store advertising.
  In particular, seven out of ten samp
  
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• Adult Swim integrates Rick and Morty with pre-existing video games to herald its TV return

  28-06-2017 19:04
  
  Adult Swim is a broadcaster knowledgeable of how to leverage gaming and live-streaming to best excite audiences about its properties, in this case, the third season of Dan Harmon’s animated hit Rick and Morty has been promoted with some smart video game tie-ins.
  Characters from the show are being rolled out across existing games including the enormously successful Rocket League by Psyonix, Move or Die by Those Awesome Guys, Gang Beasts by Boneloaf, and Steam VR Home from Valve.
  A
  
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• Google: Here’s how to use VR to tell better stories

  28-06-2017 18:56
  
  Virtual reality (VR) is emerging as a new storytelling medium, so the Google News Lab, which says it “[collaborates] with journalists and entrepreneurs to help build the future of media," teamed with Google’s creative brand/agency think tank Zoo to conduct a six-month study about what makes VR a distinct storytelling medium and what this means for storytellers.
  Google said the study used ethnography, which “uses in-field observations and interviews to understand a person&r
  
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• Canadian adtech firm partners with radio broadcast company to get advertisers more on target

  28-06-2017 18:30
  
  Canadian adtech company Acurity Ads announced today it has entered into a partnership with Newcap Radio of Canada that will enable radio advertisers to target listeners via desktop and mobile devices. 
  The importance for radio to tap into a wider audience and reach consumers programmatically through digital campaigns is seen as an important addition to traditional offline radio advertising efforts.
  "We continue to see more offline media companies looking to leverage the online digital
  
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• The lightning rod: Beyond the Brief featuring Laura Linthicum, Arnold

  28-06-2017 18:16
  
  If you haven’t bought into the talent of Arnold Worldwide associate creative director/copywriter Laura Linthicum yet, now’s the time.
  Actually, the Florida State alum has been saying this for years, dating back to her time as a two-time MAIP fellow in 2013 and 2014. By the time she graduated from FSU, she’d already had nationally-televised spots for TaxSlayer.com in her portfolio, internships at Mcgarrybowen, Zimmermann, and TBWA on her resume, and a very bright future ahead.
  S
  
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• Bonin Bough thinks brands are still behind when it comes to messaging

  28-06-2017 18:01
  
  Former Mondelez chief media and ecommerce officer Bonin Bough, giving a delayed keynote during Cannes Lions at OMD during lunch, took the stage like a stand-up performer - cadence like a tommy gun, shooting out facts:
  -80% of small business fail in first 18 months
  -5 billion have cell phones but only 1.4 billion have a toothbrush
  -96% have cell phone but less than 90% wear deodorant
  -80% of people look at their cell phones, not their partner, as the last thing before bed
  -The average age now to
  
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• Wellbeing must become a boardroom priority, says Bupa

  28-06-2017 17:43
  
  Business leaders need to be at the forefront of efforts to lift wellbeing out of the HR department and into the boardroom, according to healthcare provider Bupa.
  Speaking today (28 June) at the launch of its 2017 Wellbeing Edit, Bupa corporate director Patrick Watt urged leaders to take a visible stand on ensuring wellbeing is high on the business agenda.
  “Fundamentally, people look to leaders to determine whether this is an authentic agenda or not, and I think it’s hugely encouragin
  
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• Entertainers and their audience: a two-way relationship

  28-06-2017 17:11
  
  Returning from a five day stay in the embrace of Glastonbury 2017 is perhaps an odd time to write a blog about television. Indeed, apart from the 500 hardy souls packing out the Theatre Bar to watch the British Lions test match at 8.30am on Saturday morning, I don’t think a frame of television would have been watched by the 200,000 residents of Worthy Farm.
  But something struck me as an audience member more viscerally than ever before. It was both the symbiotic nature of the relationship b
  
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• Google spends €4.25m on lobbying Brussels amidst EU investigations

  28-06-2017 17:08
  
  Google is spending heavily on lobbying governments and communications staff as part of its strategy to protect its image from allegations of tax avoidance and failure to curb extremist content online.
  According to the EU Transparency Register Google spent €4.25m on lobbying Brussels last year and currently has 14 people directly involved in lobbying the EU, nine of whom have clearance to enter the European parliament.
  While having lobbyist is not uncommon for big companies, Google’s l
  
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• Meredith Corporation's 'Allrecipes' expands Alexa cooking feature with new Amazon Echo show

  28-06-2017 16:59
  
  The iconic chef and cooking show host Julia Childs will never be replaced by technology, but in a true “first,” Meredith Corporation announced today that it has integrated its Allrecipes cooking content from Amazon Alexa to be among the first cooking skills product for Amazon Echo Show devices.
  With this new launch, Allrecipes will enable users to not only speak commands to select from among multiple recipe images, but voice activation will also play, pause a
  
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• Mother banks on VR and AR with investment in Dream Reality Interactive

  28-06-2017 16:45
  
  Mother has today (28 June) announced an investment in virtual and augmented reality startup Dream Reality Interactive (DRI), signaling a recognition of the growing role of the technologies in communications.
  DRI was founded by Dave Ranyard, who in his previous job as head of Sony London Studio worked on PlayStation’s foray into the world of VR. Based in London’s King’s Cross, his team are currently working on projects such as Hold the World, Factory 42’s new production fo
  
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• M&C Saatchi brings Australian brand design consultancy to the UK

  28-06-2017 16:40 via campaignlive.co.uk
  
  M&C Saatchi has launched Sydney-born brand and design consultancy Re in London.
  
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• Brexit means Brexit but not as we know it – Britain's EU divorce and the media

  28-06-2017 16:13
  
  If a week is a long time in politics it does not take the digital dexterity of our favourite figure fudger Diane Abbott to work out a year is even longer. 
  So one year on since the nation voted to Leave, what of the Brexit negotiations which started last Monday, 19 June?
  Visual gag of the week was undoubtedly Her Majesty delivering her Brexit Queen’s Speech wearing her EU hat.
  I have had the honour of meeting various members of the royal family on several occasions. I’m del
  
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• It was the best year ever in Cannes for 'Goodvertising' campaigns – and it was the worst year ever

  28-06-2017 15:50
  
  Leaving Cannes, I feel even more schizophrenic than I did during my hard-working years in ad land.
  On the one hand it’s been the best year ever in the festival’s history for advertising that does more than sell snake oil, call it 'Goodvertising' if you will (doing good for people & planet = doing good for brand & bottom line).
  On the other hand, it seems like most agencies and marketers are treating the biggest issues of our time as a new trend, as if doing good is simply the
  
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• Heathrow Express celebrates 100 million passengers with exclusive pop-up exhibition at Paddington Station

  28-06-2017 15:43
  
  Paddington Station is playing host to an exclusive pop-up photography exhibition with renowned travel blogger and photographer Dave Burt to celebrate Heathrow Express carrying 100 million passengers.
  Open 24 hours a day for one week from today (28 June), the ‘HExhibition’ showcases the diverse range of passengers and staff on Heathrow Express trains, as well as the value of the service.
  The pop up was the brainchild of TVC Group which has worked with Heathrow Express for a year.
  
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• Shutterstock acquires custom content creation platform FlashStock

  28-06-2017 15:39
  
  Stock photo company Shutterstock is acquiring Flashstock, a Toronto-based company that provides custom content to brands. 
  By integrating Flashstock into its product offerings, Shutterstock will now be able to offer customized content to enterprise marketers and brands for their multiple channels. The transaction is expected to close in July 2017.
  "Custom content has been something we always believed would be an important part of our long term strategy. We're thrilled to have
  
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• Mosquitoes infest Discovery Channel branding ahead of documentary premiere

  28-06-2017 15:12
  
  Thousands of blood-sucking insects are to swarm Discovery Channel’s on-air branding, to mark the worldwide premiere of the documentary Mosquito on 6 July.
  From tomorrow digital creations of the deadly bugs will create a buzz at the end credits of programmes and promos as well as on a new channel ident. Created in-house by Discovery Creative London, the density of the creatures will increase as the documentary’s premiere date approaches.
  “Transmitting a killer coc
  
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• Alibaba’s CMO on its ambitions to be the first global Chinese brand

  28-06-2017 15:05
  
  Alibaba might be one of the biggest companies in the world but it believes it still has a job to do when it comes to educating brands and consumers about its services and true value.
  Speaking to Marketing Week at the Cannes Lions Festival last week, the Chinese brand’s CMO Chris Tung shared his thoughts on Kantar Millward Brown’s 2017 BrandZ rankings, which rank the world’s most valuable brands.
  This year’s results placed Google firmly at the top, closely followed by Appl
  
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• A technologist's view of Cannes Lions 2017

  28-06-2017 15:00
  
  The Cannes Lions festival is fixed point in the creative calendar, a longstanding beacon to which creatives the world over have flocked to both show and absorb the very best advertising and marketing campaigns from the previous year.
  Although relatively unknown outside of the advertising industry, winning a Cannes Lion is, for many, the pinnacle of their career. This applies to creatives and brands alike – something that brings brands to the festival in big numbers.
  There have been co
  
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• What Diageo has learned from its marketing mistakes

  28-06-2017 14:35
  
  Guinness is a brand associated with great creative. If prompted to recall the brand’s advertising some might offer the iconic ‘My Goodness, My Guinness’ line or the 1998 ‘Surfer’ ad. Few would plump for ‘Clock’, the 2012 spot that first used the ‘Made of More’ strapline.
  ‘Made of More’ was a purpose statement, an evocation of the Guinness brand – a beer of substance for people of substance. This, however, wasn’t entire
  
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• Marketing jobs on the line as Tesco axes 1,200 head office roles

  28-06-2017 14:12
  
  Tesco is cutting 1,200 jobs at its head office as part of an ongoing cost-cutting drive.
  Although the supermarket giant refused to single out the level of roles set to be axed in each individual department affected, it did confirm there would be job losses “across all functions” including marketing.
  The cuts mean around 25% of staff at Tesco’s head office in Welwyn Garden City will lose their jobs. And they come just a week after Tesco revealed it would cut 1,100 jobs due
  
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• WPP begins journey back to normality following global cyber attack

  28-06-2017 13:39
  
  WPP is aiming to resume normal operations following yesterday’s (27 June) widespread cyber attack which ground several of its businesses to a halt.
  WPP-owned agencies including GroupM, MediaCom, Maxus, JWT and Y&R saw their computer systems, phones and e-mail affected by the ransomware attack which locked out computers with a message saying the user's files had been encrypted and would only be free once they paid 300 in bitcoin. 
  Loading...
  An example of the “Petya” ra
  
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• Publisher data, brand partnerships and AI: takeaways from The Drum’s performance marketing breakfast

  28-06-2017 12:56
  
  Performance marketing and brand marketing are often portrayed as warring factions fighting a battle for client spend between short-term sales goals and long-term brand building objectives.
  But if one thing was apparent at The Drum’s recent Performance Marketing Breakfast, it was that a confluence of technologies and the convergence of the publishing and retail sectors are thrusting performance disciplines into an ever-more prominent position within the marketing mix.
  “The performance
  
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• US Creative Works: Featuring Mekanism, BBDO NY, Copacino+Fujikado and more

  28-06-2017 12:53
  
  Welcome to The Drum's US Creative Works in partnership with Workfront.
  This section is dedicated to showing the best creative work in North & South America and gives you, the reader, the chance to decide which work we feature as our US 'Creative Work of the Week.’
  For project information, credits, and more, click on the project to expand to full screen. To submit work for our US Creative Works section, fill out this online form.
  To vote for your favorite, make
  
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• NBC to offer streaming pass for Premier League games in response to cord-cutting

  28-06-2017 12:25
  
  NBC has revealed plans to begin streaming Premier League games on its digital platform as it looks to entice sports fans unwilling to commit to a cable subscription.
  The launch of the Premier League Pass will see the broadcaster stream 130 fixtures through its NBC Sports Gold platform from the start of the 2017/18 season.
  The pass will cost $50 for the season and will also include access to match replays and additional Premier League content produced by the NBC and by the league itself.
  The new
  
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• Ad of the Day: Uber contrasts a career as a driver with the pitfalls of life on the checkouts

  28-06-2017 12:17
  
  Uber has rolled out the second phase of its ‘Where to?’ campaign with a creative recruitment push highlighting the shift-free benefits of becoming a driver.
  Uber’s in-house creative team again teamed up with BBH to produce two videos contrasting what it’s like working in a supermarket and a supermarket respectively to the self-employed life of a driver for the tech firm.
  Supermarket vs Uber depicts a despondent checkout waiting for his shift to finish, only to see a
  
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• Mother backs VR and AR start-up

  28-06-2017 12:16 via campaignlive.co.uk
  
  Creative agency Mother has invested in Dream Reality Interactive, an AR and VR start-up.
  
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• McDonald's sponsors Capital daytime radio and festivals

  28-06-2017 12:11 via campaignlive.co.uk
  
  Global's Capital has secured McDonald's as daytime sponsor across its radio network as the fast food giant targets 16- to 24-year-old festivalgoers.
  
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• Why are brands failing to connect with people?

  28-06-2017 12:10
  
  At The Playbook our mission is to help our clients to move their audience – emotionally and occasionally physically. Success in that comes down to finding ways to genuinely connect with people, and that starts with a real understanding of how those people think and what has an influence on them. 
  We recently ran a piece of quantitative and qualitative consumer research, talking to over 2,000 people aged 18+, in partnership with Opinium, delving into how successfully brands are managin
  
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• British press backs off Paddy Power Theresa May kiss ad

  28-06-2017 11:45
  
  Paddy Power is reveling in fresh controversy after commissioning a photoshopped image of prime minister Theresa May locking lips with DUP leader Arlene Foster outside Number 10 Downing Street.
  The unlikely couple were placed front and centre of a ‘naughty’ advert/publicity stunt for the Irish betting giant, although the love wasn’t shared by the British press who refused to publish the campaign.
  In a statement Paddy Power said: “This week we attempted to run an adver
  
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• Alibaba ups stake in Lazada to 83%, bringing investment to over $2bn

  28-06-2017 11:38
  
  Alibaba has increased its stake in ecommerce platform Lazada to 83%, up from 51% previously.
  This follows Lazada forging an alliance with Uber and Netflix in Southeast Asia.
  Alibaba will purchase shares of certain Lazada shareholders at a valuation of $3.15bn, an increase in Lazada’s valuation. This will bring Alibaba’s total investment in Lazada to over $2bn, with Lazada continuing to operate as its own brand.
  “As a market leader, Lazada has demonstrated its ability to ex
  
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• Alibaba ups stake in Lazada to 81%, bringing investment to over $2bn

  28-06-2017 11:38
  
  Alibaba has increased its stake in ecommerce platform Lazada to 83%, up from 51% previously.
  This follows Lazada forging an alliance with Uber and Netflix in Southeast Asia.
  Alibaba will purchase shares of certain Lazada shareholders at a valuation of $3.15bn, an increase in Lazada’s valuation. This will bring Alibaba’s total investment in Lazada to over $2bn, with Lazada continuing to operate as its own brand.
  “As a market leader, Lazada has demonstrated its ability to ex
  
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• UK government partners with Bloomberg to attract business support post-Brexit in global campaign

  28-06-2017 11:26
  
  The UK’s Department for International Trade has partnered with Bloomberg Media to create an international media campaign, Believe in the UK, that looks to showcase the strength of the trade and investment opportunities afforded in the country as it cuts ties with the European Union.
  The campaign, devised by Bloomberg Media’s in-house content agency, Bloomberg Media Studios, launches internationally today (28 June).
  A series of editorial features and videos targeting the global busine
  
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• Time Magazine cries foul over fake Trump covers

  28-06-2017 11:16
  
  Time Magazine has demanded that the Trump Organisation remove fake, framed front covers depicting a posing Donald Trump from the walls of its golf clubhouses after being made aware of the fictitious decor.
  At least four Trump resorts in the US, Ireland and Scotland were found to be displaying the framed phony pics, headlined Donald Trump: The ‘Apprentice’ is a television smash!” and “Trump is hitting on all fronts… even TV!”
  The only problem with this is that
  
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• Twitter welcomes Candi Castleberry-Singleton as VP of inclusion and diversity

  28-06-2017 10:43
  
  Twitter has welcomed Candi Castleberry-Singleton into its fold as vice president of inclusion and diversity, as the micro blogging service ramps up efforts to better represent the demographic of its user base at board level.
  Castleberry-Singleton supplants Jeffrey Siminoff in the post following his decision to stand down in February (amid widespread criticism of handing the role to a white male) and will bring a wealth of experience of delivering diversity initiatives within corporate America, h
  
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• Campaign TV: How Accenture's new AI tech combats ad-blocking

  28-06-2017 10:00 via campaignlive.co.uk
  
  Accenture Interactive's R&D unit, based in Sophia Antipolis, France, has created a potential alternative to pre-roll ads.
  
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• KPMG report finds half of UK consumers now concerned by the rise of fake news

  28-06-2017 09:52
  
  A media report compiled by KPMG has recorded rising public concern at the rise of fake news, with half of consumers now troubled by the phenomenon.
  While 12% said they were not fussed about the issue some 46% of under 35’s expressed concern about the content they encountered on social media while only 14% of respondents believed that their own social media feeds challenged their established world views.
  Some 2,000 adults from across the UK were quizzed on their consumption and attitudes to
  
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• UK 2017 Cannes Lions haul declines by a fifth

  28-06-2017 09:42 via campaignlive.co.uk
  
  4Creative was the only UK agency to pick up a Grand Prix, down from three shops last year. State Street Global Advisors was the most-awarded brand.
  
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• India now has Facebook's largest share of users in Asia Pacific

  28-06-2017 09:39
  
  In the same week Facebook announced it hit the 2bn mark, India has become Facebook's largest market in Asia Pacific by share (32.6%) of users, according to an eMarketer report. 
  Around 182.9 million people in India log on to Facebook regularly in 2017, equating to 69.9% of social network users and 42.6% of internet users in India, according to the report. 
  According to Monica Peart, eMarketer’s senior forecasting director: “Mobile devices continue to fal
  
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• Changes at the top as Dentsu Aegis Network announces two key appointments in digital drive

  28-06-2017 09:23
  
  Dentsu Aegis Network has augmented its top leadership team with the appointment of Nick Brien as chief executive officer of DAN Americas and the promotion of Nigel Morris to the newly created position of chief strategy and innovation officer.
  The appointments are designed to further Dentsu Aegis’ ambitions of transforming itself into a 100% digital economy business by 2020 by drawing on the best available talent from the advertising and digital marketing sectors.
  Brien boasts 30 years of h
  
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• Turkey of the week: Virgin Trains "Decision time, Valerie" by Anomaly

  28-06-2017 09:11 via campaignlive.co.uk
  
  Gurjit Degun is feeling anxious after watching the latest Virgin Trains ad.
  
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• Pick of the week: Pride in London "Love happens here" by WCRS

  28-06-2017 09:08 via campaignlive.co.uk
  
  Brittaney Kiefer is heartened by Pride in London's biggest-ever campaign.
  
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• Publicis Groupe's awards bombshell divides industry

  28-06-2017 09:00 via campaignlive.co.uk
  
  Publicis Groupe is facing continued scepticism over its decision to withdraw from awards and trade shows for a year from 1 July, with one top UK marketer warning that he is "not sure they have got it right".
  
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• Audi seeks digital shop ahead of marketing rethink

  28-06-2017 08:51 via campaignlive.co.uk
  
  Audi is on the hunt for a UK digital agency as the company reviews its overall marketing strategy.
  
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• How Wimbledon is using AI to up its content game as it takes over BBC as ‘lead broadcaster’

  28-06-2017 08:48
  
  The upcoming Wimbledon championships mark the last before All England Lawn and Tennis Club (AELTC) takes responsibility from the BBC as the tournament’s lead broadcaster, a shift that has seen it double-down on content production and experiment with new technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI).
  The AELTC has been flexing its digital muscles for some time now, working with IBM over the past two years to overhaul its data-capabilities, website and apps, and forge tech partnership
  
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• Hakuhodo wins pan-European Honda ad account

  28-06-2017 08:47 via campaignlive.co.uk
  Car manufacturer Honda has appointed Hakuhodo Collective to lead advertising strategy across Europe for three years following a four-way pitch.
  
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