Sales & Marketing news

• Carl Icahn just doubled down on Hertz (HTZ)

  08-11-2016 23:23 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  Hedge fund manager Carl Icahn has more than doubled his stake in Hertz Global Holdings, the parent company of Hertz car rental franchises.
  That's according to a new filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
  Icahn doubled his holding from about 15.6% to about 33.7%, according to Bloomberg.
  Hertz shares collapsed nearly 50% on Tuesday following the release of third-quarter earnings. 
  As Business Insider's Bob Bryan reported, the company missed earnings per share significantly,
  
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• More struggles at Google's parent company as Alphabet scales back its drone plans (GOOG, GOOGL)

  08-11-2016 22:52 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  Google's parent company Alphabet is being forced to scale back its drone delivery program, Project Wing.
  According to a report by Bloomberg's Mark Bergen, some Project Wing staffers are being laid off or reassigned within Alphabet. The company also canceled a plan to deliver Starbucks coffee via drone, a pilot program similar to the one a few months ago with Chipotle.
  The news comes following the departure of David Vos, the former leader of Project Wing. It's also the latest sign that Alphabet i
  
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• STOCKS RISE AS AMERICA VOTES: Here's what you need to know

  08-11-2016 21:59 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  This is it!
  Stocks headed higher for the day as Americans took to the polls, marking the end of the US presidential campaign.
  Based on most proxies, it appears the market is pricing in a victory by Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton.
  We'll have coverage of the election results and the market reaction throughout the night, so check out the live blog for all the latest updates.
  We've also got the headlines of the day, but first, the scoreboard:
  Dow: 18,332.74, +73.14, (+0.40
  
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• A Trump win could slam markets, while a Clinton win looks priced-in

  08-11-2016 21:27 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  After nine straight days of declines, stocks soared on Monday — right on the edge of the 2016 election.
  The Mexican peso, which has become something of a gauge on Republican candidate Donald Trump's prospects over the past couple of months, also took off, rising by about 2.0%. 
  The surge followed Sunday's FBI announcement that it had concluded its probe into new emails found as part of its investigation of Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton
  
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• Facebook brings ads to Messenger

  08-11-2016 19:03
  
  Facebook is rolling out ads on its news feed that open directly into Facebook Messenger chats, giving brands the opportunity to go from mass targeting to one-to-one conversations in a single click.
  The development will offer consumers a native brand experience, mixing customer service and storytelling in a way that also benefits the bottom line, according to Facebook vice president of messaging products David Marcus, speaking to Marketing Week at Web Summit in Lisbon today (8 November
  
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• Argos: Sentimental Christmas ads are too samey

  08-11-2016 17:25
  
  Overly nostalgic and sentimental Christmas ads might have had their day, according to Stephen Vowles, marketing director at Argos.
  The headline Argos Christmas TV ad (created by CHI&Partners) features ice skating yetis and uses the folklore that the mythical creatures move twice as fast as humans to highlight the retailer’s Fast Track Same Day delivery service. In the ad, the yetis wear VR headsets while racing alongside toy versions of Star Wars droid BB-8.
  The campaign will be suppo
  
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• Channel 4: ‘Diversity sells and we’ve proved it’

  08-11-2016 16:53
  
  Channel 4 claims Mars saw positive sales results after winning its Superhumans Wanted competition and producing three ads that championed diversity and disability.
  The broadcaster launched the competition earlier this year, offering the winning brand £1m of commercial airtime throughout the Rio Paralympics. Every pitch had to prominently feature disabled talent and issues. Channel 4 expected between 20 and 30 applicants, but saw nearly 100 brands and agencies enter the competition.
  Maltes
  
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• Boots takes emotional route with Christmas ad celebrating working women

  08-11-2016 16:44
  
  Following last year’s upbeat ad set to Jessie  J’s version of ‘The man with the bag’, Boots has returned to its traditional, emotional roots with a Christmas ad that celebrates women who are working over Christmas.
  The ad introduces itself with the figure that half a million people have to work on Christmas day. It then goes on to show a number of women who have to work over Christmas, including paramedics, firefighters, volunteers, nurses and carers who all &l
  
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• Boots’ Christmas ad celebrates working women

  08-11-2016 16:44
  
  Following last year’s upbeat ad set to Jessie  J’s version of ‘The man with the bag’, Boots has returned to its traditional, emotional roots with a Christmas ad that celebrates women who are working over Christmas.
  The ad introduces itself with the figure that half a million people have to work on Christmas day. It then goes on to show a number of women who have to work over Christmas, including paramedics, firefighters, volunteers, nurses and carers who all &l
  
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• How chat bots are being used to help refugees

  08-11-2016 14:29
  
  Chat bots are lending a helpful hand in the refugee crisis thanks to Refugee Text, an on-demand service informing refugees of their rights in Europe.
  The refugees simply text ‘Hi’ to a mobile phone number to receive an SMS, or message the chat bot via Facebook Messenger or Telegram. The advice supplied by the bot comes from non-governmental organisations such as the Danish Refugee Council and the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC), who upload the latest legal information dire
  
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• M&S cuts ad spend as it focuses on direct marketing

  08-11-2016 14:22
  
  Marks and Spencer (M&S) plans to keep “marketing costs down” by focusing more on direct marketing through its Sparks loyalty programme.
  M&S cut its marketing budget by 9.7% to £84.1m in the six months to 1 October, a drop it attributed to focusing spend around the launch of its loyalty card Sparks.
  But when asked during an analyst briefing today (8 November) whether M&S planned to refocus its efforts on fashion advertising in 2017, its chief executive Steve Rowe su
  
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• Tesco and Asda ditch one big ad for focus on ‘Christmas moments’

  08-11-2016 11:47
  
  Asda and Tesco are ditching the idea of running one big Christmas campaign in favour of shorter clips that look to put customers front and centre.
  Asda’s ‘Christmas made Better’ campaign, created by Saatchi & Saatchi London and Blue 449, is made up of 26 individual moments of Christmas, moving in “rhythm with the season” and looks to build up the anticipation the British public feels in the run-up to the big day.
  According to the grocer, the customer played a &
  
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• Warc Media Awards: Data shortlist revealed

  08-11-2016 01:00
  
  LONDON: A total of 12 papers from seven different markets have been shortlisted for the Best Use of Data category in the Warc Media Awards.These are a comprehensive set of awards covering four categories, including the Best Use of Data, with a...
  
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• Supermarkets drive Aussie mag growth

  08-11-2016 01:00
  
  SYDNEY: Print magazines are experiencing readership growth in Australia, driven largely by interest in the Food & Entertainment category, and, in particular, by the effort of leading supermarkets.Figures from Roy Morgan Research for the year...
  
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• Purpose pays for CVS Health

  08-11-2016 01:00
  
  ORLANDO, FL: CVS Health, the pharmacy-focused retailer, has demonstrated how brand purpose can pay off in practice by sacrificing $2bn in tobacco sales, then reaping the rewards of healthier customers and new business contracts.Norman de Greve,...
  
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• Media owners muse over election viewers

  08-11-2016 01:00
  
  NEW YORK: An extra $55m, at least, has been spent on political advertising on TV and radio in the two weeks before the US presidential election, but media companies are now having to prepare themselves for a potentially very different post-election...
  
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• How Arby's went national

  08-11-2016 01:00
  
  ATLANTA:A small number of highly visible, highly successful – if sometimes risky – marketing initiatives, accompanied by a menu revamp, were instrumental in propelling Arby's, the QSR brand, to national prominence, according to a top executive. ...
  
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• Consumer spending set to grow in China

  08-11-2016 01:00
  
  BEIJING: A combination of more high earners and easier finance is set to drive growth in China's consumer spending over the next decade.A new report from the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) has predicted that the proportion of the population...
  
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• Adapting to the seven ages of brand

  08-11-2016 01:00
  
  LONDON: A brand does not remain static throughout its lifetime, potentially passing through seven stages which marketers need to recognise in order to help it evolve and adapt to new circumstances.Writing in the current issue of Admap, Giles Lury,...
  
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