Marketing news

• A 'naughty or nice' list: the best and worst ad tech & digital media trends of 2017

  20-12-2017 23:26
  The ad tech industry is a fast-moving and innovative environment. It’s also very competitive and full of gimmicks and buzzwords in place of technology and real solutions. Santa’s a little preoccupied this time of year, so I thought I’d give him a hand with a “naughty or nice” list—the best (and worst) trends in ad tech and digital media—to help marketers break through the hype and kick off the New Year with confidence. See which ones are meaningful &ndas
  
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• ‘For brands, the only way to be noticed is to be inside the content’: BEN’s CEO on the evolution of brand integration

  20-12-2017 21:55
  What’s the Story? is a storytelling video series dedicated to learning what truly makes a great story, told through the lens of the world’s talent and practitioners of the craft in entertainment, marketing and beyond.
  Gary Shenk, chief executive officer at Branded Entertainment Network (BEN), has been on the forefront of brand integration for a number of years — and is clearly bullish on its effectiveness for brands.
  In the early days, brands dabbled in brand integrat
  
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• Why 2018 will be the year consultancies poach high-value marketing strategy budgets from agencies

  20-12-2017 21:07
  Consultancies aren’t just parking their yachts off the French Riviera at Cannes. They’re setting their sights on major marketing budgets, and 2018 will be the year they start their conquest to remake the industry.
  The CMO budget is the last line item on the balance sheet that companies like Accenture, IBM, and Deloitte haven’t touched. In the agency world, many are shrugging off consultancies’ maneuvering as irrelevant to their business and clients. While market inertia m
  
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• KFC taps ‘unknown actor’ to play Colonel Sanders in latest TV push

  20-12-2017 19:54
  Actors including Rob Lowe, Norm Macdonald and Jim Gaffigan have all taken turns playing KFC’s iconic Colonel Sanders, but the latest man to land the role is one who’s still waiting for his big break.
  The fried chicken chain has purposely cast someone who lacks star power to play the mascot in its latest TV push, which is promoting KFC’s “value” meals, like its $5 Fill Up combos and $3.99 pot pies.
  According to a tongue-in-cheek press release, KFC strategically decid
  
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• US Creative Work of the Week: HoneyBaked ham is better than 'Kelly Baked'

  20-12-2017 19:35
  People love ham for the holidays, and apparently they love watching glamour shots of perfectly baked ham versus a frustrated woman who can't seem to get a ham right. HoneyBaked Ham's holiday ad came out on top as our US Creative Work of the Week as voted by our readers.
  In the humorous spot, we see poor Kelly, who chose to bake her own ham rather than going with the ease of getting a perfectly cooked ham from HoneyBaked. In the chain's first television commercial in over 10 years, the
  
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• What this year's Cyber Weekend results can prepare us for in 2018

  20-12-2017 17:48
  As the e-commerce world readies itself for the last push of 2017, in-house teams and agency partners alike will be finishing up their final rounds of Cyber Weekend number crunching.
  With figures now emerging, everything points towards 2017 being another bumper year. Black Friday sales up. Cyber Monday sales up. People are both buying and spending more, and, perhaps most encouragingly for our sector, an increasing proportion are doing so online.
  While it’s clear that the four-day period is
  
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• Transparency and Trust: How to boost returns on marketing investment in 2018 and beyond?

  20-12-2017 16:59
  With the continuing fall out of Brexit and how it impacts on consumer confidence, a knock-on effect will be how that influences brand budgets, and as a consequence, a push for real focus on ROI as a metric for customer success, according to Bing UK head of strategic sales, Aaron McGrath.
  McGrath says there are two areas that should be questioned. How does the industry really drive ROI and efficiency? And how does it continue to build trust with consumers?
  He expresses that ROI has always been a
  
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• McCann scoops global Chivas Regal account

  20-12-2017 16:50 via campaignlive.co.uk
  McCann London has won the global advertising business for the Pernod Ricard-owned Scotch whisky brand Chivas Regal.
  
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• McCann London scoops global Chivas Regal account

  20-12-2017 16:50 via campaignlive.co.uk
  McCann London has won the global advertising business for the Pernod Ricard-owned Scotch whisky brand Chivas Regal.
  
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• People on the move featuring Debenhams, the Guardian, DNA, Mindshare and more

  20-12-2017 16:00
  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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  Debenhams
  Debenhams has created three new managing director roles as part of an internal restructure that has seen the business pivot around three units: Beauty and Beauty Services, Fashion and Home, and Food and Events.
  Two of the new managing director roles will be filled
  
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• Kim Jong-un crackers, client feedback carols & Santa's Photoshop: the best agency Christmas cards from around the globe

  20-12-2017 16:00
  Grey London: Hyrrs
    
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  Grey London rounded up a grim year filled with public misogyny, unequal pay and sexual harassment stories with a proudly feminist Christmas album. Cleverly titled Hyrrs (not Hymns), the LP features seven rewritten tracks of classic carols; for example, Deck the Halls becomes Kick The Balls (Of Patriarchy) and In the Bleak Winter becomes Female Sexual Pleasure.
  The album artwork features the typeface Lacuna, which was created by femal
  
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• Great design underpins great digital says British Design Fund director: The Drum Design Awards 2018 open to entries

  20-12-2017 16:00
  Digital is not the only contributor to the future; great design is what underpins great digital according to John Mathers, design director of the British Design Fund, an early stage investment fund that invests in, and provides support for, early stage UK product design. 
  Speaking exclusively to The Drum, he believes that it is a really important time for design as a contributor to the economy.  A 2015 report by the Design Council showed that the design economy generated &pou
  
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• Marriott to be first advertiser to use Echo outdoor ad technology

  20-12-2017 15:59 via campaignlive.co.uk
  Marriott Hotels is today launching the world's first campaign using Echo, a projection technology from UK start-up Lightvert, which creates the optical illusion of images projected into the night sky.
  
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• Ad of the Day: Beautiful animation calls attention to plight of refugees

  20-12-2017 15:29
  An Iranian refugee is helping to call attention to the global refugee crisis in a new spot for Help Refugees, an organisation working on the frontline of the refugee crisis in Europe and beyond.
  After winning a global competition to create the first official music video for Elton John’s ‘Rocket Man’, Iranian refugee and artist Majid Adin has teamed up with Help Refugees and Blinkink to create ‘The Journey’, a short film depicting the struggles of a separat
  
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• Sarah Vizard: Marketers need a better answer to the ROI question

  20-12-2017 15:11
  Criticism is often levelled at marketers and marketing departments for their inability to speak the language of the boardroom and prove return on investment (ROI). The topic has been the subject of innumerable conferences, events and pieces of research as the industry desperately attempts to shake off its “weak and fluffy” reputation and prove real financial results.
  Just in the past few months, two of the industry’s biggest advocates – the IPA and Thinkbox – have l
  
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• Why the ad industry is struggling with apprenticeships

  20-12-2017 15:06
  Much is made of marketing’s need to ensure it has a pipeline of talent with the right skills for the future, particularly as digital and data become increasingly integral to the day job. There is also a need to get people from more diverse backgrounds into an industry that still under-represents BAME people, as well as women, particularly at a senior level.
  Specific industry apprenticeships ought to be a key means of addressing the shortage of those skills among young people. However, a he
  
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• A look at ads.txt adoption, its benefits, and the challenges ahead

  20-12-2017 15:00
  The introduction of ads.txt by the IAB Tech Lab this year is arguably one of the key breakthroughs to repair trust in digital advertising in 2017, a sector that remains buoyant in terms of growth, but is not without its detractors, especially with the growth of automated trading technologies. The Drum explores its evolution. 
  A report published today (December 20) by MediaRadar claims that only 20% of the top 3,000 publisher sites have implemented ads.txt, a mechanism introduced to the
  
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• US Creative Works: Featuring Swift, DNA Seattle, McCann Health and more

  20-12-2017 14:30
  Welcome to The Drum's US Creative Works, in partnership with Workfront.
  This section is dedicated to showing the best creative work in North and South America and gives our readers the chance to decide which work we feature as our 'Creative Work of the Week.’
  For project information, creative credits and more, click on the project to expand to full screen and click on the stars to vote. To submit work for our US Creative Works section, fill out this online form.
  To vote for
  
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• Keith Weed: My big takeaways from 2017

  20-12-2017 14:15
  It’s that time of year when articles turn en masse to reflections of the year, so here are a couple of overarching thoughts that, for me, have really characterised 2017.
  1. This has been the year for video
  Firstly let’s look at the area of technology. Although we’ve been earnestly repeating the ‘this year will be the year of video’ mantra every January for at least the last three years, it feels like 2017 finally was video’s year.
  As the prevalence of video ra
  
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• Keith Weed: 2017 has been a big year for video, measurement and diversity

  20-12-2017 14:15
  It’s that time of year when articles turn en masse to reflections of the year, so here are a couple of overarching thoughts that, for me, have really characterised 2017.
  1. This has been the year for video
  Firstly let’s look at the area of technology. Although we’ve been earnestly repeating the ‘this year will be the year of video’ mantra every January for at least the last three years, it feels like 2017 finally was video’s year.
  As the prevalence of video ra
  
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• J. Walter Thompson London rebrands Christmas Eve as Zip It Day | Christmas in Ad Land

  20-12-2017 14:00
  Christmas Eve – a day of excitement for family and friends the world over since circa 336AD, and clearly overdue for a zip-themed rebrand. Follow the team at J. Walter Thompson as they launch Zip It Day on 24 December, as part of The Drum’s documentary series Christmas in Ad Land.
  Watch as JWT’s crack team brainstorm their way to ‘refreshing’ the identity of one of the most well-known days of the year, all in the name of client satisfaction.
  Christmas in Ad Lan
  
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• Auto Trader launches search tool in new ad

  20-12-2017 13:59 via campaignlive.co.uk
  Auto Trader, the online site for new and used cars, is launching a TV ad for people looking for a new start.
  
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• A vibrant 2017 for marcomms deals

  20-12-2017 13:50
  With the final data on Q4 still to arrive, confirmed deal volumes in the marcomms sector for the first three quarters of the year are down on 2016. Overall there were 216 marcomms deals in Q3, on a par with the 219 seen in each of the previous two quarters. This amounted to 654 in the first nine months of 2017, down from 785 in the same period last year.  
  However, a downturn in volume doesn’t equate to a lack of intriguing activity, vibrancy or great opp
  
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• Giffgaff’s tie-up with illustrator Flo Perry celebrates gifting traditions from across the globe

  20-12-2017 13:45
  Ahead of the 25 December, Giffgaff has partnered with illustrator Flo Perry to depict 10 weird and wonderful gift giving traditions from around the world, in celebration of its biannual Payback scheme.
  Perry’s colourful, designs are all surrounded by a square border of baubles, snow globes and unicorns, and feature customs from Mongolia to the Massai Mara in Kenya. The illustrations include Japan’s use of furoshiki cloth to wrap presents, Thailand’s fear of giving presents asso
  
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• Snap opens accelerator programme to start-ups in EMEA

  20-12-2017 13:28 via campaignlive.co.uk
  Snap is extending its Accelerate programme to the EMEA region, offering VC-backed start-ups a chance to kickstart and scale their advertising business on Snapchat.
  
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• Campaign Diary: Top Trumps brings a new dimension to the Top 20 Creatives

  20-12-2017 13:20 via campaignlive.co.uk
  A young creative team have come up with a fun way to compare Campaign's best creatives of 2017.
  
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• ‘Celebrate craft with an emphasis of traditional skills intersecting with technology’: The Drum Roses Awards 2018 open for entries

  20-12-2017 13:00
  It is time for regional agencies to gather all their best work from the last 12 months, The Drum Roses Awards are open for business.
  “Last year I saw a lot of great craft. It’s great to see more clients investing into the power of craft to connect with audiences. I think we will see more of that hopefully. More craft with an emphasis of traditional skills intersecting with technology,” said Wayne Deakin, a former judge for The Drum Roses Awards. Looking ahead to 2018, the forme
  
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• You cannot tailor customers to your idea, you have to tailor your campaign

  20-12-2017 12:48
  Humans are complicated creatures that are difficult to figure out – or at least that's what we like to think. The reality is although we have different IQs, personalities and interests, the decision-making process is an emotional one. Once agencies stop focusing on logic and start focusing on emotion, they completely change the game of advertising.
  Cambridge Analytica is an  example of a company that invested in science over the last few years of working in politic
  
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• A black book strategy: How to curate friends and influence people

  20-12-2017 12:44
  ‘Tis the season to look back. For many of us, that includes reviewing this year’s additions to our precious black book, a veritable well of black gold to oil our brand’s success -  if we know how to use it.   
  It’s not enough to collect contacts these days. They say you are what you eat, but you’re also who you know, and who you’re seen to know. In influencing terms, you’re as powerful as the people you hang out with. 
  On your own, yo
  
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• Kellogg's seeks to shake off "old fashioned" Special K dieting perceptions

  20-12-2017 12:34 via campaignlive.co.uk
  Kellogg's is repositioning its Special K breakfast cereal, with a focus on the nutritional benefits of the product.
  
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• Hack your Christmas: Boost your knowledge with a trivia game

  20-12-2017 12:29
  It’s 4pm on 25 December. The chocolate log has been polished off and you’re on your fourth glass of wine, but you’ve hit that barren patch between the Queen and Doctor Who. Your witty repartee has totally dried up and Granny is in danger of falling asleep. It’s the moment someone inevitably suggests playing a board game.
  We can already hear you groaning, but instead, you could choose to come prepared and propose something you would actually gain from – that’s
  
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• AdVent: Alex Lubar, CEO at McCann London, shares his irritation with Brexit uncertainty

  20-12-2017 12:28
  As the end of 2017 approaches, The Drum has asked leaders in the industry what has put a bee in their bonnet this year via the medium of AdVent.
  For Alex Lubar, chief executive at McCann London, it’s Brexit that has caused the biggest irritation, with clients less likely to invest with long-term spend and talent unsure of their future in the company.
  Explaining his fears in the above video, Lubar said: “When the Brexit news came out 18 months ago there was an immediate anxiety a
  
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• Why Star Wars is partnering with EDF to get girls to consider STEM careers

  20-12-2017 11:53 via campaignlive.co.uk
  The scale and cultural impact of the Star Wars franchise means it has a responsibility to make a positive difference, Disney's UK chief marketing officer Anna Hill told Campaign.
  
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• Five London activations to visit over the Christmas break

  20-12-2017 11:47 via campaignlive.co.uk
  For many in events the last experience has been and gone and work is drawing to a close, so why not take in some activations over the festive break. Campaign rounds up five of the best in London.
  
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• Alibaba Cloud to open its first data centre in India to aid SMEs

  20-12-2017 11:44
  Alibaba has continued to intensify its India operations with its computing arm Alibaba Cloud having announced the opening on its new India data centre in Mumbai in January 2018 to meet the increasing demand for cloud computing services among SMEs.
  Alibaba Cloud will appoint a local team of professional consultants to provide service planning, implementation and after-sales support.
  The moves Follows Alibaba Group's CEO Daniel Zhang being named as
  
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• Debenhams promotes marketing director Richard Cristofoli

  20-12-2017 11:40 via campaignlive.co.uk
  Richard Cristofoli, formerly marketing director at Debenhams, has been promoted to managing director of beauty, beauty services and marketing.
  
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• Debenhams restructures around three business units to be overseen by three new MDs

  20-12-2017 11:36
  Debenhams has restructured its business around three units that puts greater emphasis on its ambitions in the beauty sector, forming part of its 'Redesigned' turnaround strategy established in April. 
  The three business units include Beauty and Beauty Services, Fashion and Home, and Food and Events.
  As part of the restructure, the department store has also created three new managing director roles to oversee the three business units in a structure it hopes will encourage "more visibili
  
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• The future of digital marketing: predictions for 2018

  20-12-2017 11:09
  As the year draws to a close, Return asks its senior team to reflect on 2017 and offer predictions for 2018. Topics raised include programmatic and shoppable video, voice search, and shifts in online search and targeting... 
   
  Guy Levine, founder and chief executive
  AI and big data will continue to be on the agenda for 2018, however the gulf will widen between the companies who know how to use it and those who don’t. When brands believe technology will mitigate their need to
  
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• Nick Manning departs Ebiquity after 10 years

  20-12-2017 10:43 via campaignlive.co.uk
  Nick Manning, chief strategy officer of Ebiquity, is leaving after 10 years as a director of the media auditing and insight firm.
  
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• Wired sets up holiday pop-up store in New York

  20-12-2017 10:39 via campaignlive.co.uk
  Wired, the US tech title owned by Condé Nast, has set up a holiday pop-up shop in New York.
  
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• Errors in ads.txt 'costing 15% of publishers money'

  20-12-2017 10:35 via campaignlive.co.uk
  An analysis of 30,000 websites has found that around 15% of publishers that have adopted ads.txt have made errors that may be costing them money.
  
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• Auto Trader looks to shake off 'petrolhead' image with campaign that connects digital and offline

  20-12-2017 10:30
  Auto Trader is turning its focus to relatable life moments with a fresh brand proposition which aims to tackle its “perception challenge” and broaden the brand’s appeal among a young audience. 
  This year the marketplace has been firmly focused on bulking up its in-house digital capabilities, and it is now poised to funnel investment into an above-the-line push which will re-target consumers by cultivating data from digital and offline. 
  To show the platform isn't
  
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• Emirates wants to help Australians find their True North with the help of Spotify

  20-12-2017 10:23
  Emirates has collaborated with Spotify to help Australians discover their ideal travel destination and find their ‘True North’ as part of a new campaign.
  The campaign is an interactive and personalised experience that connects users with destinations across the globe that are aligned with their listening history and musical preferences on Spotify, using a custom algorithm on the True North microsite.
  Visitors can identify their True North by linking their Spotify account and answerin
  
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• Pitch update: Mother pulls out of PG Tips, plus Microsoft, Royal British Legion, Paddy Power and more

  20-12-2017 10:02 via campaignlive.co.uk
  Keep up to date with the latest in agency new business with Campaign's Thursday round-up of pitch lists, reviews and wins.
  
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• Cryptocurrency platform Monaco taps former Prudential exec as new CMO

  20-12-2017 10:02
  Cryptocurrency platform, Monaco, has announced a series of new appointments to its senior management team, including former Prudential chief marketing officer, Sean Rach as CMO.
  Founded in June 2016, Monaco build technologies like its Monaco Visa card and mobile app, which allow users to buy, exchange, and spend fiat and cryptocurrencies, such as bitcoin and ethereum, at perfect interbank exchange rates. The company is headquartered in Switzerland with offices in Hong Kong and Singapore.
  Rach jo
  
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• Mobile no longer a marketing after-thought. Entries for the MOMA Awards 2018 now open

  20-12-2017 10:00
  Mobile is rapidly becoming its own marketing channel, rather than an ‘add-on’ that replicates desktop and TV ads, to mobile video programmatic platform TabMoUK's managing director, Chris Childs.
  Looking ahead to 2018, Childs said: “We’ll see a huge rise in mobile-specific strategies now being developed by brands, with a strong focus on mobile-led data, creatives and better access to premium content.
  "Expandable screens and built in projectors in the next ge
  
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• The World's Most Creative Women: Melissa Ditson, 360i Europe

  20-12-2017 09:00
  In a continuing drive for greater diversity and inclusion in marketing and advertising, a new feature by The Drum highlights conversations with top creative women in the industry. 
  All were nominated for The Drum’s global Woman of the Year award at The Drum Creative Awards, sponsored by Facebook, One Minute Briefs and in partnership with Creative Equals. The award is designed to push equality boundaries within the creative industry to spark discussion and action.
  From icons and p
  
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• Adidas India tells runners that the motivation to run comes from within in latest film

  20-12-2017 08:31
  Adidas India wants to tell women that it is on them to run and that motivation should come from within and not outside in its latest campaign, titled #ItsOnYou.
  The campaign video, which was conceptualised by Dentsu Aegis Network's Isobar, show women running, while a background voice narrates how not the playlist on their phone, the alarm clock or their favorite quote will inspire them to run. Its all about how much they themselves want to run, the voice explains.
  Sunil Gupta
  
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• Why are advertisers still failing to represent lesbians?

  20-12-2017 08:30
  When is the last time you saw an ad featuring a gay woman? Chances are you might not even be able to recall a single commercial. And you wouldn’t be wrong thinking they are few and far between.
  Research by Lloyds Banking Group published in 2016 showed that just 19% of people featured in advertising are from minority groups, and of those only 0.06% are from the LGBT community despite this group making up 1.7% of the British population.
  Lloyds then surveyed consumers to get their opinions an
  
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• The Marketing Week Podcast: The marketing moments and mishaps of 2017

  20-12-2017 08:00
  From brands getting political and marketers taking back control to Uber’s many flaws being revealed and questions being asked about influencers, 2017 was a busy year for marketing.
  In this end of year podcast, Marketing Week editor Russell Parsons is joined by special projects editor Michael Barnett and features editor Lucy Tesseras to reflect on the marketing moments, campaigns, heroes and villains of 2017, as well as the hot topics for next year.
  For more on our review of 2017 and predi
  
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