Marketing news

• Facebook’s updates News Feed in its ongoing battle against fake news and spam

  30-06-2017 22:55
  
  Facebook has rounded-off a milestone week with the announcement that it is to tweak its News Feed algorithm in an update geared towards relegating spammers and accounts sharing fake news.
  Adam Mosseri, Facebook’s vice president, News Feed, today (June 30) published a blog post claiming the update would help help reduce low quality links, and underlined the social network’s commitment towards promoting content that accurately informs its 2 billion-plus account holders.
  “As a res
  
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• Facebook updates News Feed in its ongoing battle against fake news and spam

  30-06-2017 22:55
  
  Facebook has rounded-off a milestone week with the announcement that it is to tweak its News Feed algorithm in an update geared towards relegating spammers and accounts sharing fake news.
  Adam Mosseri, Facebook’s vice president, News Feed, today (June 30) published a blog post claiming the update would help help reduce low quality links, and underlined the social network’s commitment towards promoting content that accurately informs its 2 billion-plus account holders.
  “As a res
  
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• BSSP kicks off Fourth of July weekend with video celebrating its own independence

  30-06-2017 22:00
  
  To kick off Fourth of July weekend, San Francisco agency BSSP has created a patriotic video to celebrate its independence from holding companies.  
  The purposely melodramatic video features BSSP staffers dressed in colonial garb while a rendition of ‘America the Beautiful’ plays. In the video, a voiceover details the many pros that come along with independence, like the fact that the shop can do things like rent $350 dollars worth of colonial costumes without blinking an eye.&nb
  
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• SEO company The Hoth convinced 32 people to tattoo its mascot on themselves

  30-06-2017 20:59
  
  Calling it a “creative way to fund your SEO budget”, SEO company The Hoth asked consumers to get its monster mascot “tattooed somewhere on your body” in its Hoth Tattoo Contest.
  In exchange for $3000 in so-called Hoth Credits that can be used toward services to “make a massive impact on your SEO” and $2500 in cash for first prize, the SEO company asked consumers to get tattoos that include a Hoth monster at least one inch in size that also says “The Hoth
  
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• 'Giving up is not an option': Exceptional Women of the World featuring Tricia Clarke-Stone, Narrative

  30-06-2017 20:43
  
  Tricia Clarke-Stone’s professional yin and yang have made her a true success. The yin? Failure — but it's not a bad thing, actually. That her yang is being a rainmaker evens out the CEO of Narrative’s story and puts it on a course for continued greatness.Failure is something that is oft-discussed, especially as it relates to entrepreneurs — but what is telling is that failure engenders growth and self-awareness. True, from the business end, learning from failure is indisp
  
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• PokerStars and Gravity Road feature Usain Bolt and Kevin Hart in #Gameon campaign

  30-06-2017 20:06
  
  Online poker site PokerStars and London-based creative agency Gravity Road are pitting comedian (and frequent PokerStars promoter) Kevin Hart and Olympic gold medal sprinter Usain Bolt in a social media battle.
  #GameOn sees the two superstars face off in a battle of wits. As they take each other on, they will use the metrics of social media as their scorecard to allow fans to decide who wins each of their social beefs, culminating in a battle at the poker table in the Bahamas in Januar
  
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• Condé Nast launches new branded content studio with Aston Martin among the first clients

  30-06-2017 19:05
  
  Condé Nast has launched a new branded content studio called Stories with Aston Martin announced as the first client.
  The dedicated division will be headed up Tristan Taylor who will led a team specialising in video, editorial, social and data which will create campaigns for clients such as Aston Martin.
  “It’s our mission to provide consumer engagement for our advertising partners through content developed by Condé Nast, the leading premium content company, and Stories w
  
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• New York Times programmatic advertising director talks technology challenges and native ad unit, Flex Frame

  30-06-2017 19:00
  
  The New York Times is addressing a lot of the trends that are currently surging the programmatic industry right now. Speaking to its director of programmatic advertising, Sara Badler, she expresses that the biggest challenge right now is with the technology.
  Badler explained: “From a publisher perspective, the New York Times is 100% set up to transact programmatically in the same way we do directly, but the technology platforms and executions are always changing and it's continuously
  
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• Entertainment trends dominate June's online chatter with Wonder Woman, Nintendo and Xbox Leading the Pack

  30-06-2017 18:08
  
  Last month seemed to be all about politics and controversy, but this month’s online conversations shifted towards escapism with buzz for the latest blockbuster hit, Wonder Woman, and new video games and console releases at E3.
  Comic book-related movies have either been a huge success, like Dark Knight, or a big miss, like Suicide Squad. However, the excitement surrounding Wonder Woman made it clear that the movie would be a huge hit.
  Likewise, E3 is always a big event for gamers, with the
  
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• Gen Z increasingly turning away from text-based online content and traditional TV

  30-06-2017 18:00
  
  Younger Internet users (ages 13 to 17) are showing a more significant shift away from text-based online content and slightly more from TV with much of Gen Z time spend on video and social. According to a recent report in eMarketer,  millennials spend more time with video and social, but unlike Gen Z,  they report that they are not cutting back on their time with other media.
  Although the Gen Z and millennial groups agreed they are spending more time streaming f
  
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• Why marketers should be more worried about Apple than Google when it comes to ad blocking

  30-06-2017 17:57
  
  Advertisers were met with a double whammy at the beginning of the month when both Google and Apply outlined new plans to block ads.
  The changes at Apple take effect in its Safari browser. They mean pre-roll ads on videos will no longer auto-play and that tracking will be automatically disabled so advertisers can no longer use cookies to track them across different websites.
  Meanwhile, at Google, its Chrome browser is getting a built-in ad blocker that will block all ads on a site (including its
  
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• Vogue makes Snapchat Discover debut in France

  30-06-2017 17:49
  
  Snapchat has announced a roster of new media partners on its Discover platform for publishers, including Vogue. 
  The fashion bible will publish special editions to Snapchat three times a week, posting content on Saturdays, Tuesdays and Thursdays.
  The move marks the first time the magazine has inked a deal with Snapchat in Europe, having already signed up to Snapchat Discover in the US last year. Condé Nast International told Digiday that the ma
  
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• Pyramid Brewing Co implores drinkers to ‘Find Your Pyramid’ in first campaign from North

  30-06-2017 17:49
  
  Pyramid Brewing Co has picked the Portland, Oregon-based North as its agency of record to relaunch the brand with Pyramid’s first-ever fully integrated consumer campaign, titled ‘Find Your Pyramid’.
  Pyramid is a pioneer of the Pacific Northwest craft beer landscape dating back to the 1980s, but saw that status slip over the last decade when it wasn’t supported with marketing. Now, under parent company North American Brewing Company, it’s reminding consumers why they
  
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• Customer experience with brands ranked 'OK' across key industries, with less than 1% ranked excellent

  30-06-2017 17:44
  
  Although customer experience (CX) remains a key focus for global brands, researchers from Forrester say that brands have a long road ahead with just 0.5% of global brands predicted to achieve customer 'excellence' over the next two years.
  Forrester found that a majority of industries surveyed ranked in the ‘OK’ CX range only.
  In a newly-released report entitled Global Customer Experience Trends 2017 which focuses on retail, insurance and banking,  Forrester analyst Rick Par
  
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• British Airways confirms new director of customer experience

  30-06-2017 17:38
  
  Carolina Martinoli is set to take over as director of brand and customer experience at British Airways in mid-August. She is tasked with strengthening the brand and its relationship with customers.
  She joins from her position as chief customer officer at BA’s sister airline Iberia where she was responsible for marketing. Martinoli took over the role following a management reshuffle which saw the introduction of a customer experience department and she was also part
  
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• People on the move: Featuring Bauer Media, Trailer Park London, Edelman and more

  30-06-2017 17:00
  
  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.
   
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  HuffPost UK
  HuffPost UK has appointed Polly Curtis, the director of media at the British Red Cross and former digital editor of the Guardian, as its editor-in-chief.
  Curtis will be responsible for all editorial output and standards, overseeing a team of editors and 
  
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• Motor Insurers’ Bureau ramps up the horror with new campaign

  30-06-2017 16:26
  
  MIB (Motor Insurers’ Bureau) has unveiled a bold new film as part of its ongoing 'Gone in Seconds' awareness campaign aimed at tackling uninsured driving. 
  The film, called ‘Own Worst Nightmare’, is a homage to the horror film genre, a style which is known to resonate with the 18-24 year old male target audience.
  Using a misdirection technique, the film was shot overnight at a scrap yard in Wokingham with specialist equipment employed to give it a cinematic quality. The in
  
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• Tottenham Hotspur confirm kit deal with Nike

  30-06-2017 16:20
  
  Tottenham Hotspur have today (30 June) confirmed the long-rumoured news that Nike will be the club’s new kit sponsor.
  The Premier League club’s new multi-year deal with Nike will commence ahead of the 2017/18 season after their current deal with Under Armour expired earlier this summer.
  The partnership is unlikely to come as a surprise to many given the images of the new kits on sale in the US that emerged last week. 
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  Tottenham chairman, Daniel Levy, said: &
  
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• Facebook on becoming the ‘next Yellow Pages’

  30-06-2017 16:00
  
  Facebook says in the future consumers will no longer need a contact number to reach brands, as Facebook Messenger will act like a Yellow Pages and allow people to search using the app.
  “Facebook Messenger will act like a whitepaper or Yellow Pages. You’ll be able to search for people in Messenger and you won’t need a phone number. People will be able to contact businesses straight through the platform,” David Marcus, head of messenger at Facebook, said at a press roundtab
  
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• Where are all the white people?

  30-06-2017 15:42
  
  This seems to be a recurring movie on a loop for me.
  Amazing people of color on stage at an industry event — sharing their experiences and point of view. It’s usually different than the usual narrative in the industry which is pervasively white and male. My heart races, in a good way, because I’m seeing and hearing something that sparks something — and not just the diversity of the people on the stage, but the diversity of thought. I nod. I smile. I sometimes cry, hearing
  
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• Gallegos United hires Harvey Marco as CCO and co-president as Dave Damman departs

  30-06-2017 15:00
  
  Creative agenc Gallegos United, part of United Collective, has announced that Harvey Marco has joined the agency as chief creative officer and co-president. This news comes in conjunction with the announcement that current chief creative officer and co-president Dave Damman will leave the agency at the end of July.
  Damman has resigned to focus more attention on the needs of his life outside of work and plans to return to Minnesota to be with family. 
  “It’s bittersweet to le
  
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• Ad of the Day: Mother lands first work for Vauxhall, a swaggering spot starring the ‘Pyjama Mamas’

  30-06-2017 14:05
  
  Vauxhall is rolling out a new campaign to plug its Crossland X SUV today (30 June), having enlisted Mother to create a humorous spot featuring hard working mums who may end up wearing their pyjamas all day, but do so with swagger.
  The ad, which was produced by music director Jake Nava, features slow motion shots of the Pyjama Mamas brushing off the glares of the 'haterz' in the supermarket, at the coffee shop and at the school gates.
  Their 'jam jar’ is the Crossland X, which is spotlighted
  
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• MAC Cosmetics uses two brand films to improve understanding of trans community

  30-06-2017 13:51 via campaignlive.com
  
  The brand released More Than T and Trans102 to celebrate Pride and portray transgender people with humanity and nuance.
  
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• Live cricket returns to BBC while Sky holds off competition from BT to retain its grip on the sport

  30-06-2017 13:44
  
  Live cricket will return to the BBC following an 18-year absence as part of the England and Wales Cricket Board’s (ECB) new broadcast strategy which also sees Sky hold off competition from BT to retain the bulk of the rights.
  The new deals are the most lucrative yet for the ECB and will run from 2020 through to 2024. The BBC’s agreement grants it 10 live matches from the ECB’s new Twenty20 competition as well as two England Twenty20 internationals.
  Sky meanw
  
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• Space150 names Chris Cobb as new creative director in New York office

  30-06-2017 13:42
  
  Independent agency network space150 has hired Chris Cobb as creative director in its New York office, overseeing and growing the office’s creative teams and working with an expanding list of clients, including American Express.
  Cobb joins space150 with experience from leading experiential and digital agencies. He was most recently at Second Story Interactive Studios where he focused on immersive, story-driven digital-to-physical experiences. Prior to that, Cobb spent nearly a decade at Sap
  
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• In advertising, fun is serious business

  30-06-2017 13:30
  
  Ask anyone working in advertising how his or her day is going and you’ll get the same response: “Busy.”
  No doubt this is true—no one in advertising sits around twiddling thumbs all day. But sometimes we say “busy” because we want everyone to know that we’re earning our keep with long hours and sweat equity. “Busy” becomes synonymous with “working” which means “I deserve to be here.” 
  Here’s the problem with
  
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• Why ‘thinking human’ is the key to driving long-term brand growth

  30-06-2017 13:01
  
  The world is changing fast. Negotiating the pace of change is harder than ever and never has more been at stake. Extinction is an increasing threat for brands that are slow to evolve. But long-term business growth is there for the taking if organisations stop living in the past.
  Media Bounty’s inaugural panel discussion event, ‘Thinking Human – Driving Long Term Brand Growth’, brought together key industry thinkers to explore the future for brands. Based on the prese
  
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• Industry bodies welcome kids' online junk food ad ban as lobbyists pledge to 'keep a close eye' on brands

  30-06-2017 12:37
  
  Tough new rules banning online ads for high fat, salt and sugar (HFSS) being targeted towards children are poised to come into force on Saturday (1 July), with both advertising and food industry bodies welcoming the move.
  The restrictions were revealed by The Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP) last year, and will bring online media closer in line with broadcasting rules. Central to the new policy is the prevention of ads which promote sugary and salty food and drink options from appearing a
  
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• Google, Wimbledon, Danone: 5 things that mattered this week and why

  30-06-2017 12:08
  
  Google hit with massive £2.1bn fine as its search strategy is questioned
  If you work for Google then you probably can’t wait for this week to be over.
  Why? Well, earlier this week, Google was hit with a record €2.42bn (£2.1bn) fine for breaching EU antitrust rules, and has been told to end its improper conduct within 90 days or face penalty payments of up to 5% of the average daily turnover of parent company Alphabet.
  The European Commission’s Margrethe Vestager, wh
  
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• Entering creative awards is sanity not vanity

  30-06-2017 12:01
  
  Along with death and taxes, life’s other two certainties are that consumers never admit to being influenced by advertising, and marketing directors are never influenced by ‘cold calls’. It must be true. The research says so. Yet we know for a fact that consumers are influenced by advertising, and marketers are susceptible to cold approaches. (The sales data says so.)
  Similarly, marketing people will tell you that creative awards are not very important in making decisions a
  
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• Diet Coke launches influencer-led digital series

  30-06-2017 11:55 via campaignlive.co.uk
  
  Diet Coke has hired YouTuber Patricia Bright to front Diet Coke Break, a new digital series focusing on themes including fashion, beauty and travel.
  
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• Nike partners with Amazon as it looks to take back control of pricing and distribution

  30-06-2017 11:52
  
  Nike has confirmed it will start selling products directly on Amazon in a move which signals a shift in the balance of power between brands and the e-commerce giant.
  Details of the partnership were laid out during a call with investors with Nike’s management team announcing it will begin selling a limited product assortment, including athletic footwear, apparel and accessories, on Amazon in the US.
  Nike chief executive Mark Parker said the new pilot scheme would attempt to "improve the Nik
  
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• Hair-raising L’Oreal Snapchat lens embraces colour

  30-06-2017 11:47
  
  L’Oreal is embracing Snapchat to illustrate its rainbow hair colour make-up range which will enable over 10 million active daily platform users in the UK to experiment with different shades and textures by simply blowing a kiss – eliminating the need to reach for the hair dye.
  The Colorista Snapchat lens will be available for 24 hours only but can then be unlocked for up to 90 days after this date by redeeming a special code made available at festivals and out of home adverts by
  
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• Crafting your mobile user journey to increase conversion

  30-06-2017 11:34
  
  Brands who have yet to consider a separate mobile strategy could be risking their business growth, with the UK now spending more time online on smartphones than any other device (UKOM, 2017). But a mobile strategy is so much more than adapting your desktop strategy; user behaviour on mobile differs substantially and success for brands here demands an in-depth understanding that the path to purchase on mobile is rarely linear, and is often multi-channel and based on a set of user behaviours.
  Acco
  
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• How John Lewis ad campaigns could have been killed by 'outdated' pre-testing models

  30-06-2017 11:14 via campaignlive.co.uk
  
  James Murphy, the global chief executive of Adam & Eve/DDB, described advertising pre-testing models as being "something from the 1950s" that had threatened to kill John Lewis' advertising campaigns at birth.
  
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• Right-leaning Heat Street digital platform targets mainstream with entertainment focus

  30-06-2017 11:11
  
  Heat Street, the News Corp owned conservative digital media outlet, is to cease its present operation from 4 August in order to shift its focus from politics toward more cultural, gaming and entertainment coverage as part of a handover from Dow Jones to the Marketwatch Group..
  Launched last year, the Murdoch-owned platform was originally led by Conservative MP Louise Mensch but the one-time Tory star quit in May amidst fierce competition from the likes of Breitbart.
  In a statement Dow Jones, Hea
  
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• Formula One hires Virgin Media's Ellie Norman as head of marketing

  30-06-2017 11:08 via campaignlive.co.uk
  
  Formula One has appointed Ellie Norman, head of advertising and sponsorship at Virgin Media, as its head of marketing.
  
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• Wall Street Journal to slash international print runs

  30-06-2017 10:40
  
  The Wall Street Journal is to beat a tactical retreat from print outside the US as publisher News Corp chooses to focus instead on digital subscriptions throughout Europe and Asia.
  According to the Financial Times, this will make physical copies of the business and finance-oriented paper virtually extinct in Europe with copies absent from retailers, airport lounges and hotels.
  Dedicated consumers who wish to grab hold of a copy may still be able to do so via a mail order subscription service how
  
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• Hearst's Wildman leads shake-up with up to 40 jobs at risk

  30-06-2017 10:40 via campaignlive.co.uk
  
  Hearst UK has warned it may cut up to 40 jobs in editorial and commercial departments as part of new chief executive James Wildman's plan to reorganise and simplify the business.
  
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• Vauxhall champions 'pyjama mamas' in bold debut ad campaign by Mother

  30-06-2017 10:36 via campaignlive.co.uk
  
  Vauxhall is taking a creative shift in its advertising with its first campaign by Mother, which features pyjama-clad mums strutting through school gates and supermarkets.
  
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• Wins this week: Sainsbury's, Johnnie Walker, Cadbury

  30-06-2017 10:21 via campaignlive.co.uk
  
  Campaign's round-up of account moves across advertising and media.
  
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• Movers and shakers: Paddy Power, Formula One, MC&C, BBC Creative

  30-06-2017 10:16 via campaignlive.co.uk
  
  Welcome to Campaign's weekly round-up of the hires, departures and promotions across the industry.
  
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• Trinity Mirror posts a 9% drop in group revenue as circulation & advertising falls bite

  30-06-2017 10:10
  
  Publisher Trinity Mirror has recorded a 9% drop in like-for-like group revenue over the first half of the year, amid what the board concedes is a ‘challenging’ trading environment.
  Over the 26-week period to 2 July 2017 Trinity Mirror saw publishing revenue fall by 10% while print declined by an even more precipitous 12%, offset only partially by a 5% rise in digital returns.
  Advertising remains a weak spot for the business, however, with print advertising declining by 21% on the bac
  
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• IAB SG Rolling Heavies: Mplatform's Michel De Rijk on Linkedin etiquette, leadership skills and being a raver

  30-06-2017 10:07
  
  The IAB Singapore has launched ‘Rolling Heavies’, a new video series that puts the most senior digital leaders in APAC, members of the IAB Singapore Board, on a bike to ask them about their career and experiences.
  The fourth in the monthly series features Michel De Rijk, APAC president of Group M’s Mplatform, who talks to Miranda Dimopoulos, CEO of IAB Singapore and ambassador to Southeast Asia about what he learnt about leadership skills while scaling Xaxis quickly in Asi
  
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• Google hires diversity VP as fresh report reveals its workforce is still overwhelmingly white and male

  30-06-2017 09:41
  
  Google has hired a vice-president of diversity in the form of Intel's ex-chief diversity and inclusion officer, Danielle Brown, to help it move the needle in closing the company's gender and race gap. 
  The appointment comes as Google's latest diversity report revealed that its workforce is still overwhelmingly white and male, despite a marginal improvement in the representation of Latino staff. 
  Google, like much of Silicon Valley, has faced criticism for being predomina
  
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• The xx's new music video is also a Calvin Klein ad

  30-06-2017 09:23 via campaignlive.co.uk
  
  Calvin Klein collaborated with The xx to create the indie band's latest music video, a nostalgic tribute to Los Angeles peppered with the brand's clothing.
  
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• Twitter India and Centre for Social Research launch a public education initiative #Tweesurfing to counter online abuse

  30-06-2017 09:03
  
  Twitter and Centre for Social Research (CSR) have launched a public education initiative called #Tweesurfing to improve online behaviour and interaction. 
  The Drum earlier spoke with Twitter India's new country director Taranjeet Singh who said that India has taken the lead as the fastest growing daily audience for Twitter, and therefore it is essential for Twitter to enlighten their users about cyber etiquette.
  Twitter's head of policy in India, Mahima Kaul wrote in a blog p
  
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• Apple ad tries to play your heartstrings like a Jimi Hendrix guitar solo

  30-06-2017 09:01 via campaignlive.co.uk
  
  Social video experts at Unruly review "The archives", the latest viral by Apple.
  
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• Critics claim Fox's takeover of Sky is 'threat to advertisers'

  30-06-2017 08:50 via campaignlive.co.uk
  
  ISBA has warned 21st Century Fox's takeover of Sky represents a potential "threat to advertisers" and welcomed news that culture secretary Karen Bradley is "minded" to launch a competition investigation.
  
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• 'Waitrose Spring' storms Outdoor Media Awards

  30-06-2017 08:16 via campaignlive.co.uk
  
  "Waitrose Spring", a campaign live-streaming Waitrose farms to digital out-of-home sites in busy commuter locations, has stormed the 2017 Outdoor Media Awards run by Clear Channel and Campaign.
  
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