Sales & Marketing news

• We just got a better idea of how much cash Theranos has left in the bank

  16-02-2017 22:40 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  We just got a better picture of Theranos' financial situation. 
  The Wall Street Journal is reporting that the blood-testing company had $200 million left in the bank at the end of 2016 and that the company did not have any material revenue in 2015 or 2016. 
  That's roughly a quarter of the more than $725 million the company raised since it was founded in 2003. It's notable because the company is facing major lawsuits totaling about $240 million. 
  Theranos declined to comment to Bus
  
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• Mark Zuckerberg wrote a nearly 6,000-word letter about the future of Facebook that quotes Abe Lincoln — here are the key points (FB)

  16-02-2017 22:30 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  Mark Zuckerberg has shared a lengthy new letter explaining his vision for the future of Facebook.
  The post is Zuckerberg's first revision to the original founder's letter he wrote ahead of Facebook's public offering more than five years ago. The updated manifesto makes Facebook sound more like a globalist movement than a for-profit company — the word "community" is used 80 times and Zuckerberg ends the letter with an idealistic quote by Abe Lincoln.
  “For the past decade, Facebook ha
  
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• STOCKS FALL: Here's what you need to know (KATE)

  16-02-2017 22:00 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  The major US equity indexes except the Dow closed lower on Thursday, ending a five-day streak of record highs. The Dow scored an all-time closing high. 
  Here's the scoreboard:
  Dow: 20,619.77, +7.91, (0.04%)
  S&P 500: 2,347.22, -2.03, (-0.09%)
  Nasdaq: 5,814.90, -4.54, (-0.08%)
  Snapchat's parent company, Snap Inc., is seeking to price its initial public offering at $14 to $16 a share, setting its valuation below initial expectations. An updated regulatory filing confirm
  
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• US markets are closed on Monday for the Presidents Day holiday

  16-02-2017 20:42 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  It's always good to know when the markets are open and when you can take the day off.
  The New York Stock Exchange has a list of the days on which the biggest stock market in the world is closed for business.
  Bond and other securities markets are somewhat more decentralized, but the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA) has a list of suggested holidays and half days.
  Finally, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange also provides information on when US equity and other futures mark
  
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• The US economy may be catching up to America's Trump-inspired enthusiasm

  16-02-2017 20:32 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  The Trump bump may be finally showing up in the hard data.
  Recent data releases about the US economy appear to show that economic activity in the US has increased, following surges in post-election enthusiasm in surveys.
  Since President Donald Trump was elected in November, various measures of economic confidence — from University of Michigan's consumer confidence to CEO confidence to manufacturing firm confidence — have increased, some hitting record highs.
  While surveys a
  
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• Americans are facing a $50 billion headwind

  16-02-2017 20:27 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  Confidence among middle-income households has risen more than 30 points since President Trump's election, according to a note published by Morgan Stanley Research on Thursday. 
  Middle-income Americans are feeling more optimistic on the back of many of Trump's policies, like anticipated tax cuts, but this hasn't translated into a higher pace of spending and "not everyone is happy," according to the team led by Morgan Stanley Economist Ellen Zentner.
  To understand the reason, Morgan Stan
  
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• The surging Russian ruble has caught the Kremlin's attention

  16-02-2017 19:53 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  The Russian ruble has had a good start to 2017.
  The currency has climbed by nearly 6% against the US dollar since the start of the year, and has been the best performing emerging market currency in February.
  It is down by 0.6% at 57.5953 per dollar as of 12:01 p.m. ET — but is still around levels last seen back in July 2015.
  Notably, there are a couple of unusual things about the currency's recent appreciation: first, the ruble has somewhat disconnected from oil prices, and second, it's no
  
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• We dug into the drug company Martin Shkreli sold out to the feds, and man is it ugly

  16-02-2017 19:43 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  Medicare spent over $500 million on a drug called Acthar in 2015.
  The drug, which was approved by the Food and Drug Administration before it implemented current standards, is the only one in the top 20 for Medicare that isn't considered life-saving.
  Now investors are suing Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals over the company saying Acthar's success is not dependent on government money.
  Now, don't get me wrong — we're no fans of Martin Shkreli.
  But we owe him credit for doing something right. In
  
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• BuzzFeed on making digital shows break through at scale

  16-02-2017 18:21
  
  Whether it’s a 30-second clip on DIY channel Nifty or original drama series ‘Broke’ on YouTube Red, each month BuzzFeed video content clocks up over seven billion global views.
  One in six people in the UK now subscribes to one of BuzzFeed’s Tasty food channels on YouTube, while an episode of ‘Worth It’, the series that pits high-end items like a $1,120 cake against a budget alternative, can rack up more than 12 million views in a month.
  To put that
  
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• CMOs have the shortest tenure in the c-suite

  16-02-2017 17:09
  
  CMOs have the shortest tenure of any member of the c-suite, according to new research.
  The report, by recruiters Korn Ferry, found that the average CMO in the US stays in the job for just 4.1 years, behind the average for the c-suite of 5.3 years. That is half the average tenure for a CEO at eight years, and less than CFO, CIO and chief HR officer (CHRO).
  Part of the reason for this is down to the “exceptionally complex” nature of the CMO role, says the research.
  “Today’
  
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• Amazon Prime reveals revenues for first time

  16-02-2017 16:17
  
  Amazon has published figures for its Amazon Prime subscription membership service for the first time, revealing that its revenues hit $6.4bn (£5.2bn) in 2016.
  While at first glance this figure looks impressive, it’s still some way from what its retail and web divisions generate commercially. In 2016, according to the filing made on the US Securities and Exchange Commission, Amazon Retail brought in $91.4bn (£73.2bn) while Amazon Web Services (its cloud computing arm) made $12.
  
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• International marketing bulletin: Lidl, Unilever, 20th Century Fox

  16-02-2017 14:36
  
  Lidl expands into the US
  Lidl is set to launch its first stores in the US this summer, with plans to open up to 100 locations across the East Coast within a year.
  Lidl’s first 20 stores will be opening in North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia. Lidl currently operates around 10,000 stores in 27 countries.
  Both Lidl and Aldi have been aggressively expanding in Europe. In the United Kingdom, Aldi recently became the fifth biggest grocer, overtaking the Co-operative. Both brands offer l
  
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• Coca-Cola preps Diet Coke push with advertising shift

  16-02-2017 14:29
  
  Coca-Cola is prepping a new campaign for Diet Coke that will see the brand shift even further away from its ‘shirtless hunks’ strategy.
  Diet Coke has enlisted TV presenter Holly Willoughby as its new brand ambassador, saying she will add “a dose of extra fizz” to the brand’s activity this year. She will lend her voice to a new marketing programme that is being promoted on social media with the hashtag #ItStartedWithADietCoke.
  Willoughby is the first year-long brand
  
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• OMD is named agency network of the year

  16-02-2017 01:00
  GLOBAL: OMD was the most awarded agency network in the world last year, according to The Gunn Report for Media 2016, which also found Starcom Mediavest challenged OMD in many countries.First published in 2004,
  
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• NBC News drives polling change

  16-02-2017 01:00
  FORT LAUDERDALE, FL: NBC News is seeking to identify, analyse and address the current flaws in polling techniques – and to help restore confidence in studies related both to politics and as a source of wider insight into public perceptions. ...
  
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• Mobile rises to 21% of US online spend

  16-02-2017 01:00
  WASHINGTON DC: US consumers spent $109.3bn online in Q4 2016, representing an 18% increase on the same period in 2015, the latest estimates have revealed.According to comScore, the cross-platform measurement firm, desktop accounted for the...
  
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• Mattel pushes into China's toy market

  16-02-2017 01:00
  HANGZHOU: US toymaker Mattel is expanding its partnership with Alibaba, the Chinese e-commerce giant, to develop new toys specifically for the growing market in China.According to Alizila, a website that specialises in news about Alibaba Group,...
  
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• Former P&G exec reveals Febreze rethink

  16-02-2017 01:00
  SINGAPORE: Brands should be willing to admit they were wrong and go back to the drawing board when products aren't successful, a former senior executive at Procter & Gamble has said.Deb Henretta, the former Group President of Global e-Business...
  
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• Facebook launches new TV video app

  16-02-2017 01:00
  SAN FRANCISCO: Facebook is ramping up its challenge to YouTube and seeking to attract more ad dollars after announcing the debut of a new video app for smart TV.The new app will initially feature on Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV and Samsung Smart TV...
  
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• Extremism claims spur brands to review ads

  16-02-2017 01:00
  LONDON: A number of major global brands, including Jaguar Land Rover, are said to be reviewing their digital ad budgets following a recent report that their ads have been appearing on extremist websites.According
  
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