Marketing news

• TV Ad Spend Weekly: Google Home takes it to the Max in Olympics closing week

  01-03-2018 22:14
  Brands continue to invest heavily in above-the-line content, and television is still seen as the place brands want to be. Each week, in partnership with Kantar Media, The Drum looks at which brands have been investing the most on newly-launched creative on US national broadcast and cable TV.
  The Winter Olympics took the gold for new TV ad spending for the third week in a row. New commercials airing during the games accounted for 34 percent of all new national expenditures during the week of Febr
  
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• P&G’s Marc Pritchard calls for an end to the ‘archaic Mad Men model’

  01-03-2018 21:41
  Procter & Gamble’s (P&G) Marc Pritchard is calling for an end to the “archaic Mad Men model” as he turns his attention to cutting out the layers of complexity that he believes exist within the agency model.
  Speaking at the Association of National Advertisers’ annual conference in Florida, Pritchard said marketers have been “steadily outsourcing work to agencies” but he believes this needs to stop because there are now “too many touchpoints”
  
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• P&G's Marc Pritchard calls for 'fewer project managers' at agencies as he vows to destroy 'maze of complexity'

  01-03-2018 20:16 via campaignlive.com
  The archaic "Mad Men" model must end by stripping away anything that doesn't add to creative output.
  
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• P&G's Marc Pritchard calls for 'fewer project managers' as he vows to destroy 'maze of complexity'

  01-03-2018 20:16 via campaignlive.com
  The archaic "Mad Men" model must end by stripping away anything that doesn't add to creative output.
  
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• Kroger-owned Fred Meyer will stop selling guns to anyone under 21

  01-03-2018 19:09
  Grocery giant Kroger will stop selling guns to anyone under 21 at its regional chain of Fred Meyer stores.
  The grocer is the latest to add its name to the list of companies who are changing their gun policies following the mass shooting at a high school in Parkland, Florida last month that killed 17 people. Both Walmart and Dick’s Sporting Goods have also said they won’t sell guns to anyone under the age of 21 in recent days.
  Dick’s also plans to stop selling assault-style
  
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• Bauer Media to launch Alexa skills for all 69 of its radio brands

  01-03-2018 19:07 via campaignlive.co.uk
  Bauer Media is launching Alexa skills for all of its 69 radio brands, starting with its national radio brands including KISS, Magic Radio and Absolute Radio.
  
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• Murdering widower is thwarted by dead wife's pension pot in disturbing equal pay spot

  01-03-2018 18:39
  To mark Equal Pay Day Europe, Belgian agency Mortierbrigade has created a rather unsettling film starring a young man and his older bride, in which the financially unfruitful death of the latter acts as a call to pay women more cash while they’re still alive.
  With a soundtrack from Kid Francescoli album With Julia, ‘Close the pay gap, close the pension gap’ follows a young man and his much older wife from marriage to her final days as a feeble pensioner.
  The man is shown w
  
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• AC Hotels by Marriott unveils design rich campaign that lets travelers 'unpack' the details

  01-03-2018 17:58
  A new campaign for AC Hotels by Marriott by Fred & Farid New York (FF New York), takes an artistic approach in pointing out the rich design details in its establishments, making it unlike any other hotel advertisement.
  The ‘Unpacked’ creative campaign is a series of videos and images for the entrepreneurial-minded, design-conscious business traveler, according to a release, and it points out the finer details rather than just showing a hotel room or overview, giving a peek behind
  
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• Eat Natural moves into experiences with summer activations

  01-03-2018 17:55 via campaignlive.co.uk
  Eat Natural, the snacks brand, will be giving people a chance to create their own cereal bars as part of a move into experiential marketing.
  
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• Why Microsoft is hiring autistic talent to drive creativity

  01-03-2018 17:26 via campaignlive.co.uk
  Microsoft has said that its ongoing drive to hire autistic talent and spearhead inclusive design is driving creativity and innovation across the business.
  
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• Casumo collaborates with Kitty to create 'Play Absurd' campaign

  01-03-2018 17:15
  Casumo, a gamification focused casino company, has developed its first ever UK creative campaign in a bid to transform its brand perception and establish itself as an entertainment brand.
  The campaign, conceptualised and produced by creative agency Kitty, is currently releasing video content which features various comedians and online personalities, including Anto Sharp, Gina Yashere and Justin Moorhouse. The campaign uncovers absurd competitive UK sports, such as bog snorkelling, egg throwing a
  
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• Sony Pictures Releasing UK appoints Spinnaker as retained digital agency

  01-03-2018 17:13
  Following a pitch Sony Pictures UK has re-appointed Spinnaker as the retained agency handling the digital marketing for its UK theatrical releases. The 2018 Sony slate includes Peter Rabbit, Hotel Transylvania 3, The Equalizer 2 and Venom.
  Spinnaker will be responsible for strategy and creative across display advertising and social channels including Facebook, Snapchat and Instagram.
  Josh Heaton-Armstrong, head of digital at Sony Pictures Releasing (UK) said: “Continuing our working relati
  
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• Lee Stafford appoints Media Bounty for new Choco Locks launch

  01-03-2018 16:02
  Haircare brand Lee Stafford has joined forces with creative social media agency, Media Bounty, to promote the launch of its new Choco Locks range.
  The Boots-exclusive collection, launched in stores nationwide and online in February.
  London-based agency, Media Bounty, will support the launch with an integrated campaign leveraging branded content creation, influencer engagement and paid media strategy.
  Amy Miles, head of PR and communications at Lee Stafford, said: “We are very excited about
  
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• Lacoste replaces crocodile logo, Johnnie Walker introduces ‘Jane Walker’: International round-up

  01-03-2018 15:59
  Lacoste replaces crocodile logo with endangered species
  Lacoste will do away with its iconic crocodile logo as part of a campaign to try and help save 10 of the world’s most endangered species.
  Partnering with the International Union for Conservation of Nature, the brand will replace the crocodile – which has featured on its polo shirts for 85 years – with depictions of 10 endangered animals.
  The number of shirts available with each logo will depend on how many of the correspon
  
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• Sorrell admits creative is hurting more than media as WPP shares plunge

  01-03-2018 15:42 via campaignlive.co.uk
  Sir Martin Sorrell has admitted WPP is facing both cyclical and structural pressures and has cut its long-term earnings growth target, sending the shares down as much as 14%.
  
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• Just Eat’s CMO on adapting his leadership style to avoid being like ‘a bull in a china shop’

  01-03-2018 15:35
  Barnaby Dawe is not afraid of change. He describes himself as someone who is “always hungry” and throughout his career he has set his sights on what he wants to achieve and gone for it.
  After leaving university with a degree in languages, Dawe started his career working for an investor relations publisher doing subscription marketing and events, but after five years decided his heart wasn’t in corporate finance.
  “I’m a great believer in doing something you really lo
  
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• Creative Director's Choice: Zach Lyons of Schiefer Chopshop on the honesty of Nissan's #SheDrives

  01-03-2018 15:22
  Creative Director’s Choice gives creative directors a chance to highlight the current work they think is the best out in the ad world – the ads and campaigns they believe are making a difference.
  This week, Zach Lyons, chief creative officer and founding partner at content and media agency Schiefer Chopshop, praises Nissan’s #SheDrives campaign in Saudi Arabia for its honesty.
  Show me entity :: 18532
  I love the Nissan #SheDrives campaign because of its honesty, sincerity,
  
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• ‘More agile’ pitch process aims to halve the time taken to match brands with agencies

  01-03-2018 15:14
  A new pitching process has been launched that is claimed to help brands find agencies better suited to meeting business objectives in half the time.
  Oystercatchers, which is owned by Marketing Week publisher Centaur Media, today (1 March) unveiled its ‘Modern Marketing Pitch’, which aims cut the length of time it takes for brands to find an agency from about three months to six to seven weeks.
  Chief among the changes are the ditching of ‘request for information’ doc
  
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• Marie Curie unveils Garden of Light to launch daffodil appeal

  01-03-2018 15:09
  In spite of the UK's freezing weather, Marie Curie has launched its spring fundraising campaign in London, with 4,000 light-up daffodils filling Paternoster Square near St Paul's cathedral each representing the number of people helped each year. 
  The annual spring campaign is part of the Great Daffodil Appeal, an annual call for people to donate to the terminal illness charity.
  In the video above, fundraising director Alex Hyde-Smith said: "We knew we wanted to do something to bring th
  
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• O2 asks motorists if they feel 'stuck' as snow storms grip UK

  01-03-2018 14:42 via campaignlive.co.uk
  O2 has launched out-of-home poster ads asking if motorists are feeling "stuck", in the week when much of the UK has ground to a halt due to snowstorms and sub-zero temperatures.
  
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• Heritage honey producer Rice's rebrands to Local Hive and promotes conservation efforts

  01-03-2018 13:23
  Most people may not know where their honey comes from or be aware of its many benefits. Colorado-based honey producer Rice’s Honey hopes to change that by changing the name and packaging of its flagship honey brand to 'Local Hive.'
  The brand, a leading producer of raw and unfiltered honey since 1924, is also featuring a new label design, new website, updated digital advertising and social media in its effort to raise the profile of local honey and help promote all pollinators and sustainab
  
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• Commercial power doesn't stop at New Year

  01-03-2018 13:19
  Though resolutions are common in January, it isn’t necessarily the best, or only time of year to connect with customers seeking change.
  On the first day of the new year, I resolved to use my iPhone a lot less. However, most people I know did Dry January – and they weren’t alone. With over 3.1 million people in the UK choosing to give up alcohol during the month, abstinence and self-control have become the new signals of cool in British culture. This trend reflects a rhythm and
  
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• How animation made ad land (and how ad land made animation)

  01-03-2018 13:15
  The British Film Institute’s (BFI) new archive of animated ads tells the story of two industries bound by symbiosis: while animation broke down the confines of reality for creatives, the ad industry proved a profitable playpen for the first generation of animators.
  The earliest ads to feature animation appeared in the cinemas of the 1920s, rolling out in the same pre-feature slot they appear in today. As precursors to advertising’s current love affair with personalisation, these spot
  
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• WPP reports 14.6% gender pay gap: JWT, AKQA and Grey show biggest discrepancies

  01-03-2018 12:47
  WPP has published its gender pay report, revealing a gap of 14.6% across all the agencies that qualified for the study (those with over 250 staff). Among the worst agencies for pay discrepancies between men and women were JWT, AKQA and Grey.
  The holding company reported two sets of numbers for 18 agency groups. A figure for the median pay gap, defined as the difference between the midpoints in the ranges of men’s and women’s pay, and the mean pay gap which is the difference in t
  
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• Roast founder Bishop to advise new agency owners to ask the hard questions early at Agency Acceleration Day

  01-03-2018 12:34
  Launching a new agency is an incredibly exciting time, but as the founder of agencies such as Steak, Minute Steak and Roast, Ollie Bishop, will discuss at The Drum’s Agency Acceleration Day conference later this month, the sheer buzz of launching something new can often mean important longer-term questions don’t always get asked at the right time.
  Bishop co-founded his Steak Group in 2005 and also went on to launch Steak Americas, Steak Asia Pacific and Minute Steak before selling th
  
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• Roast and Kitty founder Bishop to advise new agency owners to ask the hard questions early at Agency Acceleration Day

  01-03-2018 12:34
  Launching a new agency is an incredibly exciting time, but as the founder of agencies such as Steak, Minute Steak and Roast, Ollie Bishop, will discuss at The Drum’s Agency Acceleration Day conference later this month, the sheer buzz of launching something new can often mean important longer-term questions don’t always get asked at the right time.
  Bishop co-founded his Steak Group in 2005 and also went on to launch Steak Americas, Steak Asia Pacific and Minute Steak before selling th
  
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• Kobe Bryant, Kevin Hart and Simone Biles run to make the world go around in Nike's 'Choose Go' film

  01-03-2018 12:22
  Kobe Bryant, Edinson Cavani, Kylian Mbappe, sprinter Ge Manqi, gymnast Simone Biles and comedian-runner Kevin Hart band together to run in unison to propel the Earth back into motion after it apparently stops in Nike's 'Running to make the world go round' campaign.
  The fictitious 'Choose Go' film begins with a news presenter announcing a 'Stopocalypse' which means that the Earth has stopped rotating on its axis. A protagonist watches a hamster run and starts running herself and asks everyon
  
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• The true stories of creating 'big moment' ad campaigns, from the Super Bowl to John Lewis Christmas

  01-03-2018 12:17 via campaignlive.co.uk
  The Campaign podcast sits down with creative leaders behind John Lewis' Christmas ad and Amazon's Super Bowl spot to find out what it's really like to work under that kind of pressure.
  
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• Direct Line CMO on how #DiverseMinds will drive innovation from the edges

  01-03-2018 12:07 via campaignlive.co.uk
  The greatest innovation in marketing will come "from the edges", making it a business priority to embrace neurodiversity, according to Direct Line Group marketing director Mark Evans.
  
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• Rachel Forde steps down as UK chief executive of Spark Foundry

  01-03-2018 11:45 via campaignlive.co.uk
  Rachel Forde is to step down as UK chief executive of Spark Foundry after 20 years at parent company Publicis Groupe.
  
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• From landmark live show to interviewee targets – how Sky News is tackling TV's gender gap

  01-03-2018 11:30
  While clouds of speculation hang over the very existence of Sky News, the network is claiming to be free of the profound gender-based inequalities that the rival BBC is accused of perpetuating.
  With Comcast and 21st Century Fox now set for a bidding war for the ownership of Sky, the future of the rolling news channel has become a key issue for the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), which is reviewing Fox's planned acquisition.
  Sky News's director of content, Cristina Nicolotti Squires, tel
  
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• Lacoste to replace its crocodile with endangered species in conservation campaign

  01-03-2018 11:29
  Lacoste is putting its weight behind a campaign to save the world’s most endangered species – by replacing its iconic crocodile logo in favour of a menagerie of ten critters that are threatened by extinction.
  The move will see the fashion brand pull the famous reptile icons from its polo shirts for the first time in its 85-year history to make way for a limited edition set of garments developed by creative agency BETC Paris in partnership with the International Union for Co
  
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• JWT London pay gap is 45% in favour of men, WPP survey reveals

  01-03-2018 11:03 via campaignlive.co.uk
  The median pay gap at J Walter Thompson London is 44.7% in favour of men, WPP revealed in its Gender Pay Gap report today.
  
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• Daniel Fisher exits Martin London

  01-03-2018 10:55 via campaignlive.co.uk
  Daniel Fisher, the executive creative director of Martin London, has left the Interpublic-owned agency.
  
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• Havas strengthens creative, digital & production arms with triple appointments

  01-03-2018 10:49
  Havas UK has bolstered its creative, digital and production expertise with a hat trick of senior hires to its leadership team.
  This will see Patrick Cahill join creative agency Havas London as joint head of integrated production, while Shirin Majid heads to sport and entertainment agency Cake to serve as executive creative director.
  They will be joined by Sally Barr who will straddle both agencies as head of social.
  In his new post, Cahill – a former senior producer at Adam&E
  
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• PHE launches Alexa skill and Messenger chatbot to help new mums breastfeed

  01-03-2018 10:37 via campaignlive.co.uk
  Public Health England has turned to the latest technology to create the "24/7 Breastfeeding Friend" under its Start4Life programme.
  
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• PHE launches Alexa skill and Messenger chatbot to help new moms breastfeed

  01-03-2018 10:37 via campaignlive.co.uk
  Public Health England has turned to the latest technology to create the "24/7 Breastfeeding Friend" under its Start4Life programme.
  
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• WPP's like-for-like revenue fell slightly in 2017 in less than 'pretty' year

  01-03-2018 10:23 via campaignlive.co.uk
  WPP reported a slight fall in ogaanic revenue for 2017 in what was described as "not a pretty year" by chief executive Sir Martin Sorrell.
  
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• WPP's like-for-like revenue dips in less than 'pretty' 2017

  01-03-2018 10:23 via campaignlive.co.uk
  WPP reported a slight fall in ogaanic revenue for 2017 in what was described as "not a pretty year" by chief executive Sir Martin Sorrell.
  
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• Ocelot Partners acquires Ocean Outdoor and eyes further consolidation of the sector

  01-03-2018 10:18
  Out-of-home advertising specialist Ocean Outdoor has been snapped up by acquisitions vehicle Ocelot Partners, as a springboard for planned consolidation of the sector.
  Aiming to unify the fragmented landscape of the sector at present, Ocelot will rebrand itself as Ocean Outdoor Ltd upon closure of the deal on 28 March to capitalise on the established presence of the UK market leader which reported full year revenues of £67m in 2017.
  Building on Ocean’s existing strengths an
  
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• Ocean Outdoor to float on stock market after Searchlight sells in £200m deal

  01-03-2018 10:07 via campaignlive.co.uk
  Ocean Outdoor is to float on the London stock market after its private equity owner, Searchlight, sold to new investors, Ocelot Partners, in a £200m deal.
  
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• End of an era as Express editors exit in wake of Trinity Mirror takeover

  01-03-2018 09:32
  Today’s completion of a long-awaited takeover of Northern & Shell’s publishing assets by Trinity Mirror has sparked a flurry of departures at The Express as a host of senior editors take the opportunity to depart.
  Chief among them is Hugh Whittlow who has taken the decision to retire as editor of the Daily Express rather than continue under the new leadership while his counterpart at the Daily Star, editor-in-chief Dan Neesom, departs to pursue a career in freelance writing and b
  
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• HBO creates Westworld experience in Austin

  01-03-2018 09:30 via campaignlive.co.uk
  HBO, the US TV company, is creating a Westworld experience to mark the return of the hit show.
  
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• WPP to ramp up consolidation as Sir Martin Sorrell says 2017 'not pretty' for agency giant

  01-03-2018 09:21
  The boss of WPP has pledged to accelerate the "simplification" of its structure after the world’s largest marcomms group reported a 0.9% fall in 2017 net sales and a 0.3% drop in annual revenues.
  Sir Martin Sorrell said 2017 “was not a pretty year” for the company and cited the impact of technological disruption and the emergence of zero-based budgeters among the factors for its sluggish performance.
  WPP has forecast no growth for 2018 and will now "escalate" the programme
  
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• Spotify’s IPO filing shows strong revenue gains, but steep losses

  01-03-2018 09:00
  Spotify has filed a prospectus with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) signaling its long-awaited initial public offering (IPO), with the music streaming service disclosing a growth rate of 45% last year, although 2017 losses exceeded $1bn.
  The filing states that its total user base numbers 159 million total monthly users, with 71 million using its premium service while the remainder access its ad-supported offering, with Spotify defining this split as a “two-sided market
  
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• Hotel Ramada creates accessible tourism initiative for visually-impaired

  01-03-2018 08:37
  Hotel Ramada in Ajmer, India has introduced an accessible tourism initiative called the Blind Faith Upgrade through which it can transform any of its room into a visually-impaired friendly room.
  The initiative, jointly conceptualised by Isobar India, made available Braille enabled phone- keys, Braille literature and audio assist and reusable tactile paving for the visually challenged guests at the hotel who travel to Ajmer for pilgrimage. 
  Manish Gupta, general manager, Hotel Ramada, Ajmer
  
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• Hope Hicks, said to be Trump's Girl Friday, to quit the White House

  01-03-2018 07:01
  IN yet another shock for the White House , Hope Hicks, President Trump’s communications director and one of his longest-serving advisers,  plans  to leave her post  in the next few weeks.
  She announced this yesterday - the day after a gruelling nine-hour interrogation by the House Intelligence committee.
  She refused to talk about her times with Trump as president but admitted she told “little white lies” for him .  But she said  she had had never lied a
  
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• Netflix acquires worldwide rights to Singaporean filmmaker's creative odyssey film

  01-03-2018 05:41
  Netflix has acquired the worldwide rights to Singaporean filmmaker Sandi Tan’s creative odyssey film Shirkers, which had its world premiere at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival.
  The film would have been released in Singapore in 1992 , had the 16mm footage not been stolen by its American collaborator Georges Cardona, who disappeared.
  Tan, now a novelist in Los Angeles, returns to the country of her youth and to the memories of a man who both enabled and thwarted her dreams.  She returns
  
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• Ad of the day: Air New Zealand's newest safety video taps Adrian Grenier to showcase global climate change

  01-03-2018 05:14
  Air New Zealand has released the latest in the series of its popular safety videos, this time shining a global spotlight on Antarctica, as well as the climate and environmental science underway there.
  The video, titled ‘World’s Coolest Safety Video’, stars Hollywood actor and environmentalist Adrian Grenier. It takes viewers on a journey to Antarctica, where Kiwi scientists are tackling the most pressing questions on global climate change.
  The airline tapped on its partnerships
  
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