Sales & Marketing news

• Iceland ad shows problem with regulations that are frozen in time

  12-11-2018 18:08 via warc.com
  The banning of a Christmas TV ad for retailer Iceland highlights contradictions at the heart of the UK's political ad regulations – rules, argues politicaladvertising.co.uk’s Benedict Pringle,...
  
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• How to deliver insight-driven growth in 2019

  12-11-2018 17:09
  Before we dive into the ‘how’, it’s always wise to stop and ask ‘why?’. Why do we need to grow? What actually drives it? Is growth just a bogeyman used by your boss to prod you to do more work?
  The simple answer is no: the need to grow isn’t a made-up stick used to beat you with, it’s built into the very fabric of our economic system.
  According to the Cambridge Journal of Economics: “A capitalist firm operating in a competitive market is subje
  
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• The (re)humanization of marketing in a consumer-centric world

  12-11-2018 17:00 via warc.com
  At the 2018 ANA Masters of Marketing, customer-centricity emerged as a necessary part of a successful strategy. MediaLink’s Jason Shulweis explores marketing’s re-humanization.
  
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• How Premier Inn proved the value of service

  12-11-2018 16:33
  Premier Inn has fundamentally changed the way it views and delivers customer service after undertaking a research project that has helped it improve the level of return visits.
  Things have also changed from an internal perspective, with the way it targets, motivates, trains and rewards people being overhauled at all levels within the business, meaning the insight team has earned its place at the table for strategic decision making.
  Measuring the value of service is complex and can be relatively
  
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• How brands can spot influencers with fake followers

  12-11-2018 16:11
  Conversations surrounding follower fraud have punctuated 2018’s influencer marketing narrative, tarnishing the reputation of an industry built on trust and authenticity.
  From exposés across a variety of media titles analysing the quantities of fake followers attributed to the social accounts of brands and influencers, to Unilever chief marketing and communications officer Keith Weed’s pledge to cease working with influencers that have purchased followers, it certainly has bee
  
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• Retail footfall, ad spend, job applications: 5 killer stats to start your week

  12-11-2018 15:21
  1. Marketing industry sees influx of job applications
  Job application rates within the marketing industry climbed 13.1% in October, compared to September. Meanwhile, vacancies were up 12.6%, meaning application rates outpaced job growth in the sector.
  The figures mean marketing has made it into the top 10 best sectors for hiring right now. Hospitality was the leader, with a 33.9% increase in applications, followed by design and agriculture. Marketing slots in at ninth.
  Candidate registrati
  
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• Britain’s financial regulator is slapping down the City's "bad apples" and won’t let up any time soon

  12-11-2018 11:12 via feedproxy.google.com
  FCA bans 28% more directors in 12 months from September 2017 to 2018
  “The FCA will be looking to send a message out that it is not turning a blind eye to poor conduct” says law firm RPC.
  The FCA spent a total of £300,000 in legal fees to pursue a case banning one directorThe Financial Conduct Authority has banned 23 so-called "bad apples" from working in the industry in the past 12 months.
  That's according to figures from London law firm RPC, which said in a report to
  
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• WeWork, EE, Christmas ad spend: Everything that matters this morning

  12-11-2018 08:20
  Advertisers’ Christmas spend to hit record £6.4bn
  Businesses will spend £6.4bn on Christmas advertising throughout the final quarter of the year, up 5% on 2017, according to economic forecast data from the Advertising Association.
  Brands spent £6.1bn on festive advertising during the last quarter of 2017, meaning 28% of the total £22.1bn spent on advertising last year was invested in the run-up of Christmas.
  Music plays an important role in many brands’ Chris
  
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• Iceland, eBay, Movember: Everything that matters this morning

  12-11-2018 08:20
  Iceland sets life-size orangutan free in London streets
  Iceland has unleashed a life-size “distressed” orangutan on the streets of London as part of a wider campaign against deforestation for palm oil.
  The move comes after the frozen food giant had its Christmas ad banned after Clearcast deemed the Greenpeace advert could not be shown on TV because of Greenpeace’s political roots.
  Iceland hopes the displaced ape, which is controlled remotely thanks to animatronics, will help h
  
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• EE, Virgin Media, Facebook: Everything that matters this morning

  12-11-2018 08:20
  EE and Virgin Media fined £13.3m for overcharging customers
  Ofcom has fined EE and Virgin Media a combined £13.3m for overcharging phone and broadband customers who wanted to leave their contracts early.
  The regulator found that EE, which was fined £6.3m, overcharged 400,000 customers who ended their contracts early, meaning in total they overpaid by up to £4.3m.
  EE admitted it had “miscalculated early-exit charges”, meaning that the affected customers were a
  
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• eBay, Iceland, News UK: Everything that matters this morning

  12-11-2018 08:20
  Ebay unveils new-look advertising offer
  Ebay has revealed a new ‘insights and influence’ based advertising offer as a response calls from brands looking for more transparency and effectiveness across all customer touchpoints.
  According to eBay Advertising, the offer is designed to help advertisers deliver impactful campaigns by providing greater control and better insights.
  The team will work with brands and agencies in a bid to help them understand, target and influence customer gr
  
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• Diageo, Premier Foods, consumer spending: Everything that matters this morning

  12-11-2018 08:20
  Mr Kipling brand relaunch helps sales growth at Premier Foods
  Premier Foods saw revenues rise 1.3% in the first half of the year as the relaunch of the Mr Kipling brand and product innovation at its Batchelors brand drove growth. Half-year trading profit was up 6.2% to £51m, while net debt was £26m lower, with CEO Gavin Darby showing this performance shows the resilience of the group despite the hot summer.
  “Mr Kipling, the Group’s largest brand was key to this growth fo
  
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• Alibaba, VW, Tesco : Everything that matters this morning

  12-11-2018 08:20
  Alibaba’s Singles Day smashes records
  Alibaba’s annual Singles Day global shopping extravaganza reached a new record this year, making $1bn (£774m) in sales in 85 seconds and just under $10bn in the first hour of the 24-hour period.
  Customers spent $30.8bn overall, a 27% increase on the previous year, with e-commerce sales beating world records.
  “Today we witnessed the strength and rise of China’s consumption economy and consumers’ continued pursuit to upgrad
  
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• A $2 trillion strategist warns that a trap has formed in the biggest tech stocks — and pinpoints where you should put your money instead

  12-11-2018 02:00 via feedproxy.google.com
  The returns that investors have come to enjoy from large-cap tech stocks during this bull market are not going to continue, according to Alicia Levine, the chief market strategist at BNY Mellon Investment Management.
  In an exclusive interview with Business Insider, she explained why the sector has become a trap for investors seeking to replicate their prior success. 
  She also outlined areas of the market where investors should rotate into instead. Past performance is not indicativ
  
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• Sainsbury’s goes big for Christmas with all-singing, all-dancing ad

  12-11-2018 01:01
  Sainsbury’s new Christmas advert, ‘The Big Night’, launches today (12 November), a glitzy and theatrical take on the classic school nativity play.
  The ad follows a young girl dressed as a star nervously stepping on stage before giving the audience a rendition of the New Radicals’ classic 90s song, ‘You Get What You Give’, which just so happens to fall in line with the theme of this year’s campaign: ‘We give all we’ve got for the ones we
  
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• Battle of the birds: Chicken and turkey go beak-to-beak in KFC Christmas ad

  12-11-2018 01:01
  Did you know there’s only one day of the year you can’t get KFC? If you didn’t, KFC is about to make sure you never forget, as it lets one of its resident chickens out of its box to remind its poultry arch-nemesis who’s really boss.
  All in the spirit of Christmas, of course, with the tense 60-second spot looking to hammer home the message to the nation that while Christmas is for turkey, “chicken rules the roost” for the other 364 days of the year.
  As KFC&rsq
  
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• TAG-certified channels cut ad fraud by 84%

  12-11-2018 01:00 via warc.com
  Digital ads that met the standards set by the Trustworthy Accountability Group (TAG) witnessed 84% less fraud and invalid traffic in the first seven months of 2018, according to a new report from the advertising industry safety body.TAG...
  
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• Pizza Hut gets a taste for digital testing

  12-11-2018 01:00 via warc.com
  Pizza Hut, the quick-service restaurant chain, is using digital testing to ensure that changes to its online hub make the right impression on consumers from a behavioral and attitudinal perspective alike.Rachel Lorraine, director/strategic pricing...
  
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• How finance can transform marketing

  12-11-2018 01:00 via warc.com
  A key behaviour of brands with a strong effectiveness culture is language and communication, and between marketing and finance in particular, research suggests.Marketing consultant Fran Cassidy ran discussion groups and workshops in England and...
  
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• Ford adds e-scooters to its product range

  12-11-2018 01:00 via warc.com
  Ford, along with many other multinational automakers, is actively developing electric vehicles, but now the Detroit-based company sees commercial opportunities with a much smaller mode of transport – the electric scooter.The automaker
  
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• China's rich trove of data offers opportunities

  12-11-2018 01:00 via warc.com
  China is one of the most digitally advanced markets in the world, and a rich trove of consumer data offers exciting marketing opportunities for brands both online and offline.E-commerce will increase from 23% to 31% of purchases in China by 2020...
  
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• Brands need to master mobile in Vietnam

  12-11-2018 01:00 via warc.com
  Vietnam is technologically advanced in terms of network and smartphone penetration, integrated marketing communications across multiple channels is increasingly used and prioritising mobile marketing is no longer a trend, but a must-have, a new WARC...
  
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• The CEO of SAP spent months convincing this startup to ditch its IPO and take his $8 billion offer: Here's why SAP wanted Qualtrics so badly (SAP)

  12-11-2018 00:31 via feedproxy.google.com
  SAP announced on Sunday that it was acquiring IPO-bound startup Qualtrics for $8 billion in cash.
  Qualtrics was on track for an IPO that would have valued the company at $4.8 billion in the middle of its price range. But McDermott, who had been talking with Qualtrics CEO Ryan Smith for months, was insistent, and eventually came up with an offer that the startup couldn't refuse.
  Qualtrics offers comprehensive market research and data analysis cloud software that complements SAPs offerings.
  N
  
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• SAP is buying Utah-based startup Qualtrics for $8 billion — days before it's scheduled to IPO (SAP)

  12-11-2018 00:28 via feedproxy.google.com
  SAP has announced its intent to buy Qualtrics for $8 billion. 
  Qualtrics is a Utah-based startup that helps companies gather feedback and refine their products.
  Qualtrics, which was last valued at $2.5 billion, was just days away from its IPO.
  That IPO could have valued the company at $5 billion or more, right out of the gate.SAP, the German database giant, has announced an $8 billion all-cash deal to acquire Utah-based Qualtrics, a startup last privately valued at $2.5 billion. 
  Notab
  
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