Marketing news

• Millwright Holdings acquires Boston-based PR firm Warner Communications

  20-11-2017 22:59
  Boston-based PR firm Warner Communications has been acquired by holding company Millwright Holdings.
  With the deal agreed, Warner Communications will remain independent in Millwright's structure, where all of its agency subsidiaries stay wholly-owned, it has explained.
  The public relations firm holds a roster that includes Aetna, Mass Mutual, Saucony and Cumberland Health, with Carin Warner, Warner’s president, set to join Millwright’s leadership team.
  "
  
  Read more

• Subaru’s Share the Love singalong creative celebrates program beneficiaries

  20-11-2017 20:48
  For its annual Share the Love charity event, Subaru of America’s new advertising campaign features stories of real people whose lives have been touched by the program, from children to dogs and older people in need.
  The automaker's national charity partners: The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA), Make-A-Wish, Meals on Wheels America and National Park Foundation, are all featured in the campaign, brought to life through the stories of these individuals,
  
  Read more

• 85% of UK businesses to invest in artificial intelligence by 2020

  20-11-2017 18:57
  UK companies are increasingly looking to disruptive technology as a means of staying on the top of their game, with nearly nine out of ten plotting investments in artificial intelligence and Internet of Things technology by 2020.
  Research from Deloitte found that more than half of UK businesses plan to invest £10m in digital by 2020. This data is especially important in light of the fact only 10% of respondents saw the UK as a leader in the space.
  The report, comprised of 51 organisations
  
  Read more

• War Child USA debuts $249 campaign on Universal Children’s Day to raise awareness about global spending on war

  20-11-2017 18:18
  Humanitarian organization War Child USA today (November 20) introduced its first campaign in the United States, designed to raise awareness about global spending on war.
  The campaign, ‘$249,’ is entitled after the approximate amount the organization stated that each person, per year for every man, woman and child around the world on funding war (a per capita approximation based on reported global defense spending and world population estimates).
  The campaign was create
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Toyota on its plan to bring robots into the home

  20-11-2017 18:16
  With Google readying a fleet of driverless cars and Uber preparing for flying taxi trips in Los Angeles, the future sci-fi promised us is starting to become more and more of a reality. And Japanese car giant Toyota is hoping it can go on to become the brand most associated with robots.
  Back in November 2015, Toyota announced it was investing $1bn in a new company based in the Silicon Valley dedicated to developing robotics and artificial intelligence. The investment, which will be spread over fi
  
  Read more

• Paperchase pulls Daily Mail ads following online furore as tabloid calls the move 'deeply worrying'

  20-11-2017 18:16
  Stationary retailer Paperchase has made a u-turn on a Christmas wrapping paper promotion it was running with the Daily Mail over the weekend, after customers said they didn't perceive the brand's values to align with those of the paper. 
  Following additional pressure online from the Stop Funding Hate campaign, which lobbies advertisers to stop spending money with right-wing papers it believes to be "spreading hate," the brand took to Twitter to apologise for the tie-up. 
  The Daily
  
  Read more

• How an agency can nurture and grow the diversified talent it attracts

  20-11-2017 18:00
  Resources, skill-sets and other factors weave into the value cost analysis that’s designed to make us all better advertising agencies in the minds of our clients. But our clients yearn for that we more often than not -- break their hearts by not accomplishing? I believe it starts with a huge lie we tell him.
  “We have the best people.”
  We brag and boast about being the best and crafting the best ideas out of thin air. Instead we don’t know the first thing about creativity
  
  Read more

• 'Drive separates the good from the great': Independent Insights featuring Terri & Sandy's Sandy Greenberg

  20-11-2017 18:00
  Welcome to Independent Insights, a regular series that features interviews with independent agency leaders across the country. This week we’re featuring a Q&A with Sandy Greenberg, co-founder of Terri & Sandy. 
  Terri & Sandy is a small, woman-owned creative agency that bears little resemblance to the holding company agencies its founders climbed the ranks in before setting up shop on their own.
  Even so, the 50-person New York-based shop's client roster and output
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• TV industry joins forces in first global initiative to prove power of medium

  20-11-2017 17:57 via campaignlive.co.uk
  TV broadcasters and trade bodies from across the globe have partnered for the first time to give advertisers a single databank about the power of television advertising.
  
  Read more

• Bompas & Parr develops supernatural museum experience

  20-11-2017 17:10 via campaignlive.co.uk
  The multi-sensory experience company, usually known for its spectacular culinary events, has launched a non-food exhibition that focuses on the supernatural.
  
  Read more

• New luxury: are we addicted to excess and waste?

  20-11-2017 16:34
  Perhaps nobody epitomises old luxury quite like Imelda Marcos. 800 pairs of her shoes are now on display in the Marikina Shoe Museum – an extreme form of materialism that is tough to admire in the age of austerity.
  30 years on, luxury is supposed to have grown up and grown a conscience. Futurologists and luxury commentators frequently point out that luxury is becoming 'de-materialised'. Daniela Walker, editor at LS:N Global, puts it this way: “Simply put, buying stuff isn’t as
  
  Read more

• SAP CMO Alicia Tillman on marketers' evolving role, brand safety and implementing innovative thinking

  20-11-2017 16:00
  The mindsets of chief marketing officers have evolved from a product-centric mindset to a more customer-centric one, as it is no longer just about developing eye-catching campaigns. They also serve as both the representative of the brand and the voice of the customer.
  This is according to Alicia Tillman, CMO at software giant SAP in a conversation with The Drum, who adds that the voice of the customer especially, needs to be a part of everything a company does and should be at the heart of all m
  
  Read more

• PV Sindhu uses a robotic arm to defeat an android robot in latest Panasonic film

  20-11-2017 14:51
  Panasonic India has rolled out a futuristic TV ad to promote its latest range of batteries.
  The film, created by Dentsu Aegis Network-owned Milestone Dentsu opens with a badminton player who won silver in the Olympics and the brand's new ambassador PV Sindhu getting equipped with a robotic arm powered by normal zinc-carbon battery. She is seen playing against an android robot which holds the power of 15 batteries. The game is interrupted when Sindhu falls down on the court, and the drained batte
  
  Read more

• Rituals is overhauling its app to compete with the likes of Amazon, but it's treading carefully

  20-11-2017 14:30
  In a landscape where retailers see third-party sellers such as Amazon as both a friend and a rival, luxury cosmetics and home brand Rituals has revealed plans to overhaul its app with a focus on direct-to-consumer sales and brand loyalty.
  Its global digital director, Martijn Van Der Zee, who oversees the brand's e-commerce function, said it's a process he's handling with great care, and a goal that his team will be working towards over the next 12 months. 
  The app launched in 2015
  
  Read more

• Is Christmas marketing peaking too early, rather than piquing excitement?

  20-11-2017 14:30
  Selfridges opened its Christmas shop a full 137 days before the big day, the first Christmas inspired sandwiches went on sales in Boots and M&S before Halloween and the past week has already seen most of the major festive TV ads air.
  But is there any evidence to show whether this is a good or a bad tactic to get consumers shopping?
  A recent poll from Attest Market and Brand Intelligence showed 48% of people are planning to purchase Christmas gifts in the first two weeks of December, with sma
  
  Read more

• How Nature Valley is encouraging people to get into tennis

  20-11-2017 14:12 via campaignlive.co.uk
  General Mills granola bar brand Nature Valley staged a tennis match at Westfield London, pitting British tennis number one Johanna Konta against former Wimbledon champion Pat Cash.
  
  Read more

• Ad of the Day: KFC turns its buckets into step dance drums for a ‘modern British Christmas’

  20-11-2017 14:10
  KFC has foregone CGI and snow-covered scenery for a minimalist setting at Christmas, releasing a festive spot that sees an all-female six-piece perform a stripped down version of Sam Cooke’s 'Good Times' using only the chain’s buckets as percussion.
  The film from Mother London was captured in one take and sweeps through the KFC Bucket song group’s step dance performance in an empty hall strung with Christmas lights. Artists Kayla, Nathalie, Lara, Andrea, Odilia and Nicey were s
  
  Read more

• Hanover acquires and rebrands Bell Pottinger's Middle East wing

  20-11-2017 13:54
  Scandal-hit PR firm Bell Pottinger has advanced its administration efforts by selling off its Middle East wing to Hanover Group.
  The parent group of the newly-acquired agency was brought into disrepute and eventual administration in September after it was found to have run a racially dividing campaign in South Africa for the Gupta family.
  The work saw it expelled from for the industry trade body PRCA. At the time, the group said the campaign was “by any reasonable stand
  
  Read more

• Black Friday CX: Preventing a one-way customer journey

  20-11-2017 13:28 via campaignlive.co.uk
  Brands need to lead customers, psychologically, down the purchase funnel before and after Black Friday
  
  Read more

• The evolutionary psychology of luxury marketing

  20-11-2017 13:25
  What do peacocks’ tails, the grooming of bonobos and a Hermès Birkin bag have in common?
  They are each an instance of what evolutionary psychologists call an ‘index of fitness’.
  An ‘index of fitness’ sounds complicated because it is. In essence, an index is how an individual signals his or her value to other individuals of their species as either social allies or a potential mate.
  Each species has its own type of index, and some species have very specific one
  
  Read more

• GroupM chief digital officer Rob Norman set to retire

  20-11-2017 13:25
  GroupM’s global chief digital officer, Rob Norman is to retire from the role from January next year, the WPP-owned media network has announced.
  Norman, who has worked with CIA and MEC, as well as GroupM, for over three decades, will step down next year but will remain involved in an advisory capacity.
  Kelly Clarke, global chief executive officer for GroupM, commented: “Happily, this is not goodbye. We thank Rob for his loyal service and for continuing to share his passion and vision
  
  Read more

• Battered Honda Accord’s sleek, homemade commercial pays off as car marketplace offers $20,000

  20-11-2017 13:10
  The juxtaposition of seeing a worn-out, used car star in its own well-crafted auto ad has helped a couple get rid of their old Honda after the listing went viral.
  Early in November, California-based filmmaker Max Lanman utilized his skills to create a stunning ad for his girlfriend’s battered 1996 Honda Accord. Little ‘Greenie’ was showcased with drone footage panning over distant vistas and the road-bound glory shots that define the ad genre.
  The used car has been on and off e
  
  Read more

• Teamwork difficulties mean two thirds of UK workers are struggling

  20-11-2017 12:59
  Most workers in British organisations (64%) feel they are ‘struggling’ and ‘out of their depth’, according to Dropbox’s new research on the state of teamwork within businesses in the UK.
  Experts believe that this is caused by impostor syndrome, a condition that makes people feel like as if they are ‘faking it’ at the job they are doing – viewing their role as if they somehow slipped through the net and into their position, and seeing other team mem
  
  Read more

• Red Brick Road wins Hillarys' £24m creative account

  20-11-2017 12:44 via campaignlive.co.uk
  Window dressing and flooring specialist Hillarys Blinds has appointed Red Brick Road to its £24m integrated creative account.
  
  Read more

• Programmatic usage to ascend to two thirds of global digital display market by 2019

  20-11-2017 12:08
  Programmatic trading is on the ascendency with it set to reach the waypoint of 67% of the digital display market by 2019, according to research from Zenith.
  Currently, around 59% of these ads are traded programmatically. Over the next two years, the value of these ads will increase at an average of 21% a year, from $57.5bn in 2017 to $84.9bn in 2019.
  The Programmatic Marketing Forecasts marks a transformation in programmatic from a tool to sell off remnant inventory to the go-to system for sales
  
  Read more

• Young girls pull off slick dance moves to show 'there's more to football than football' in FA's latest film

  20-11-2017 12:01
  The Football Association (FA) rolled out the second phase of its ‘For All’ campaign to promote equality within the sport.
  As part of the campaign, FA TV has rolled out a video conceptualised by VCCP and director Courtney Phillips. The spot shows five young girls performing a hip-hop style dance which turns out to be a goal celebration at a football match, showing that 'there is more to football than football.'
  The campaign focuses on The FA’s ‘Gameplan for Growth&rsq
  
  Read more

• Adapt or die: How technology is transforming in-store shopping experiences

  20-11-2017 12:00
  Brands have been using augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) technologies to create virtual stores or smart glasses - changing the way consumers interact with and perceive brands. But does this mean the end of in-store experiences? And what does this mean for the future of retail?
  The impact of technology in the retail sector was discussed at length in a day of presentations at Tug’s Human Versus Machine four-day expo in London.
  Below are three key highlights
  
  Read more

• Are brands listening to customer reviews?

  20-11-2017 11:48
  The world of customer reviews is changing.
  There was a time where a customer had to go into a store to complain. This then evolved into phoning customer services to resolve a query; then came the age of email – the only medium where, in most instances, the query is not time sensitive.
  The explosion of social media has opened communication channels and customers expect the fastest response when contacting a brand on Facebook and Twitter.
  On the whole, brands have accepted that once they ope
  
  Read more

• Creative Work of the Week: Kitsch snow globe magic makes for a White Christmas with TK Maxx

  20-11-2017 11:37
  Amid the usual round of tear-jerkers, TK Maxx offers light relief with a colourful Christmas ad promoting its promise to blast artificial snow into the gardens of winning customers.
  Voiced by actor Bill Nighy, the spot explains its plans to deliver a White Christmas to customers who find special snow globes in-store. The creative by Wieden+Kennedy London is kitsch and fun, depicting family members submerged in the white stuff to a festive version of the 1975 Pilot hit Magic.
  The campaign is set
  
  Read more

• Rob Norman retires from Group M to make way for 'young generals'

  20-11-2017 11:31 via campaignlive.co.uk
  Rob Norman, who helped to build WPP's Group M into the world's biggest media buyer, is to retire as its chief digital officer.
  
  Read more

• Heathrow's Christmas ad tells the charming love story of its teddy bears Doris and Edward

  20-11-2017 11:29
  Heathrow Airport is looking to appeal to viewers' sentimental side this Christmas, using its festive spot to recount the 50-year-long love story of its much-loved teddy bears, Doris and Edward Bair. 
  The bears were first introduced in 2016 as an elderly couple returning to London to meet their family for Christmas, but this year the airport has plumped for a more nostalgic spot. 
  Set to the sweet sound of Petula Clark's Couldn't Live Without Your Love, the ad opens in the 196
  
  Read more

• Fetch & Follow brings Christmas cheer to dogs and their owners

  20-11-2017 11:24 via campaignlive.co.uk
  Fetch & Follow, the dog lifestyle brand, is staging a Christmas market for dogs, featuring gifts and accessories, a pet deli and luxury treatments.
  
  Read more

• The bears are back in town: Heathrow's endearing teddies return in second Christmas campaign

  20-11-2017 11:19 via campaignlive.co.uk
  Heathrow has brought back its teddy bear characters, Doris and Edward Bair, for a second Christmas campaign created by Havas London.
  
  Read more

• Nike and Foot Looker team up for Sneakeasy footwear pop-up

  20-11-2017 11:08 via campaignlive.co.uk
  Nike and Foot Locker are offering sneaker fans the chance to get their hands on a coveted assortment of Nike and Jordan products and services.
  
  Read more

• Nike and Foot Locker team up for Sneakeasy footwear pop-up

  20-11-2017 11:08 via campaignlive.co.uk
  Nike and Foot Locker are offering sneaker fans the chance to get their hands on a coveted assortment of Nike and Jordan products and services.
  
  Read more

• Leon’s co-founder on why more women should become entrepreneurs

  20-11-2017 11:00
  Allegra McEvedy could certainly be described as entrepreneurial. She is a chef, presenter, consultant, author of eight books, owner of a new restaurant called Albertine and mother of two “gorgeous girls” aged seven and 12 weeks. But perhaps one of her biggest successes is Leon, the healthy fast food chain that she founded alongside Henry Dimbleby and John Vincent in 2004.
  Leon’s sales jumped to £58.4m in the year to 25 December 2016, and it now has 52 restaurants includin
  
  Read more

• Experiential ad spend to expand beyond London as UK-wide hunger grows, predicts Identity's head of digital

  20-11-2017 11:00
  Marketers are looking to create brand experiences. After all, brands that stir strong emotions from the people they target are more effective than any kind of display advertising. That is why agencies, and the brands they work with, are pushing boundaries and breaking new grounds when it comes to experiential marketing.
  An Immersive Experience
  77% of marketers use experiential marketing as a vital part of a brand’s advertising strategy [Experiential Marketing Content Benchmarking Report].
  
  Read more

• Creative Works EMEA featuring Creature, Above + Beyond, Leo Burnett and more

  20-11-2017 10:35
  Welcome to The Drum Creative Works, in partnership with Workfront. 
  As always, this section is dedicated to showing the best creative work and gives you, the reader, the chance to decide which work we feature as our 'Creative Work of the Week'.
  We're using our five-star voting system, so to vote for your favourite, make sure you click on the stars. The winner will be chosen based on the average rating and the number of votes cast. Voting closes on Monday 2
  
  Read more

• 'Is your brand in a happy relationship?': Samsung, RFU and One Feeds Two talk 'brand personality' and 'communication stalemate'

  20-11-2017 10:30
  All companies have the same goal: to be successful. We seldom hear business gurus suggest exposing the personal character of a brand in order reach their goals, but what if talking about a company’s intimate life is the key to defining what a business really is and how it can improve?
  Challenging this stigma, Andy Cosslett, chairman of the the Rugby Football Union (RFU) Board, JP Campbell, co-founder of food charity One Feeds Two, and Mark Hutcheon, communications advisor to Samsung Electr
  
  Read more

• Tencent's focus on entertainment and gaming drives 61% surge in Q3 revenues

  20-11-2017 09:38
  Gaming and entertainment continue to line Tencent’s pocket, with the internet giant posting third-quarter revenues of RMB65.2 billion (US$9.83 billion) a 61% increase year-on-year.
  Tencent, which is valued at $472 and is Asia’s most valuable company, has continued to focus on digital content to drive growth for the company as it moves beyond gaming to focus on monetising its content to grow advertising revenues.
  Tencent’s online gaming revenues grew 48% to RMB26.8bn largely dri
  
  Read more

• IOC is raising awareness of the lack of light at refugee camps in PSA campaign

  20-11-2017 09:00
  The International Olympic Committee (IOC) is raising awareness of light poverty in a global campaign that’s running up until the 2018 Winter Games in Pyeongchang.
  In partnership with the UN Refugee Agency, the IOC is using the PSA effort to call attention to the fact that nine out of 10 people in refugee camps have no access to electric lighting, which hinders the amount of time they can work, play and engage in sports.
  To support its vision of “building a better world through sport,
  
  Read more

• YouTube, Asos, gig economy: Everything that matters this morning

  20-11-2017 08:30
  YouTube under fire again as brands pull ads
  A number of brands have pulled their advertising from YouTube again after an investigation by The Times showed ads apppearing next to clips aimed at or featuring children that were “inappropriate” or “disturbing”. Iceland, O2 and Which? are among companies to have suspended advertising.
  YouTube has now shut down some of the offending channels including one, called Toy Freaks, that had attracted seven billion views.
  This latest n
  
  Read more

• YouTube, Asos Everything that matters this morning

  20-11-2017 08:30
  YouTube under fire again as brands pull ads
  A number of brands have pulled their advertising from YouTube again after an investigation by The Times showed ads apppearing next to clips aimed at or featuring children that were “inappropriate” or “disturbing”. Iceland, O2 and Which? are among companies to have suspended advertising.
  YouTube has now shut down some of the offending channels including one, called Toy Freaks, that had attracted seven billion views.
  This latest n
  
  Read more

• Unilever, Uber, YouTube: Everything that matters this morning

  20-11-2017 08:30
  Unilever begins search for new CEO
  Unilever has begun work to a find a new CEO, with chief executive Paul Polman expected to step down in about 18 months, according to Sky News. While no date has been set for his retirement, Unilever is working with executive search firm Egon Zehnder International to help find a successor.
  Possible internal candidates include CFO Graeme Pitkethley. However, it is understood a substantial international search will take place.
  Under Polman, Unilever has focused on
  
  Read more

• Uber, Paperchase, AI: Everything that matters this morning

  20-11-2017 08:30
  Uber looks to buy 24,000 self-driving Volvo cars
  Uber plans to buy up to 24,000 self-driving cars from Volvo, marking a change from its long-standing business model where contractor drivers buy or lease and maintain their own cars.
  Volvo said in a statement on Monday (20 November) it would provide Uber with its flagship XC90 SUVs equipped with autonomous technology as part of a non-exclusive deal from 2019 to 2021. A Volvo spokesman said it covered up to 24,000 cars.
  Should Uber buy all 24,000 c
  
  Read more

• Uber, ad spend, Samsung: Everything that matters this morning

  20-11-2017 08:30
  Uber concealed hack affecting 57 million people
  Uber concealed a data breach that affected 57 million customers and drivers. The ride-sharing firm hid the breach in 2016 by paying hackers $100,000 (£75,000) to delete the data.
  The hackers stole 57 million names, email addresses and mobile phone numbers, including the names and license plate details of 600,000 drivers. According to Bloomberg, Uber’s former chief executive Travis Kalanick knew about the breach over a year ago.
  Drivers
  
  Read more

• Stop Funding Hate, Thomas Cook, Aston Martin: Everything that matters this morning

  20-11-2017 08:30
  Advertisers condemn attempts by Stop Funding Hate to censor press
  The Advertising Association, ISBA and the News Media Association (NMA) have come together to reject attempts by lobby group Stop Funding Hate to get brands to boycott certain newspapers.
  Paperchase is the brand most recently caught up in controversy after the activist group and some consumers criticised the brand for running a promotion in the Daily Mail. It has since promised to stop advertising with the newspaper but the adverti
  
  Read more

• Blockbuster ads fight product promotions for shrinking Christmas spend

  20-11-2017 08:30
  Rising inflation, interest rates and credit card use, balanced with the falling value of the pound, means it hasn’t been the brightest year for Britain’s economy. And at the start of the fourth quarter, the retail environment couldn’t be more uninspiring.
  Last week, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) reported UK retail sales fell by 0.3% in October from a year earlier – this marks the first annual fall since March 2013. And it claims all the signs point to consumers
  
  Read more

• Colin Lewis: Creativity is just collecting other people’s ideas

  20-11-2017 08:22
  A lot of people tell me I am creative and innovative. In general, marketers are supposed to be seen that way, appearing to conjure ideas out of thin air. Perhaps the creative directors I have worked with in agencies do that, but definitely not me.
  We have all been seduced by the notion of creativity. Given the number of column inches devoted to creativity in every marketing, advertising and design publication since the year dot, you could argue that it is not something you should really admit. T
  
  Read more

• The trials and tribulations for brands inhousing their programmatic advertising

  20-11-2017 08:13
  The trend by brands of in-housing their digital advertising needs is one that will continue to grow over the coming year in a bid for more transparency over their data, and indeed almost two thirds (65%) have improved their internal capabilities including the hiring a head of programmatic over the last 12 months. 
  ‘Digital native’ brands such as King, the studio behind hit video game Candy Crush, as well as online betting exchange Unibet have spent the last 12 months bringing th
  
  Read more

Follow @marketing_UKnws on Twitter!