Sales & Marketing news

• M&S splits ad business as it puts clothing and home up for review

  18-02-2019 19:06
  Marks & Spencer is splitting its ad business, putting its clothing and home account up for review in the latest sign that the retailer is looking to pursue different strategies for the two sides of its business.
  Grey London, which was appointed as lead creative agency across the business in August 2016, will retain the food business. But clothing and home is up for pitch, with M&S currently compiling a long list. It is possible Grey could be on that list, although whether the agency wou
  
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• SoftBank's high leverage is another warning sign on the growing corporate debt crisis

  18-02-2019 18:01 via feedproxy.google.com
  Two major credit ratings agencies have opted not to upgrade SoftBank's debt and may well instead downgrade the already below investment grade company.
  It's another blow to the company's high leverage ratio and a very high level of net debt which stands at $96 billion as of the end of December. 
  Companies with high debt piles have been on a mission to cut levels in 2019 with warnings about poor quality debt becoming starker. SoftBank, the giant fund behind investments including Uber, Sl
  
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• As car sales continue to decline, it's time to reconsider the ownership model

  18-02-2019 17:55 via warc.com
  In the context of declining sales and increasingly urban populations, is it wise for car brands to continue to pursue an ownership model that lumps the consumer with maintenance and parking costs when they might only use their vehicle once a...
  
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• Top ad spenders, in-house talent, retail sales: 5 killer stats to start your week

  18-02-2019 16:05
  1. UK’s top ad spenders tighten their belts
  Procter and Gamble (P&G) has overtaken Sky to reclaim its position as the top spender on traditional advertising in the UK. P&G spent £186.5m in 2018, down from £196.4m in 2017 but enough to make it the best spender. Sky’s expenditure declined 30% year on year to £124.2m.
  Unilever fell out of the top three advertisers for the first time in five years coming in at number seven with spend down 29.2% to £82.9m
  
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• One marketer on how a sabbatical helped her reset mentally and professionally

  18-02-2019 15:43
  Mieke Stones took a three-month sabbatical from her role as head of marketing at London Sport to cycle around Europe.
  “I was experiencing some mental health problems and I had some compassionate leave. It got me thinking that I needed something to aim towards. I knew that I’d been working for my employer for several years and they really valued me. So in my head I just thought, ‘I have no idea what I will use the time for, but I’ve got nothing to lose by asking them if I
  
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• Honda set to close UK car plant with 3,500 jobs at stake in another Brexit blow

  18-02-2019 15:40 via feedproxy.google.com
  Japanese car manufacturer Honda is said to be preparing to shut one of its UK plants with 3,500 jobs on the line. 
  Honda is set to announce a closure to its Swindon plant in 2022. Japanese automaker Honda could be set to cut 3,500 jobs from the UK in plans to close one of its plants. 
  Honda could close its plant in Swindon by 2022, according to Sky News. The plant is the company's only manufacturing operation in the EU with production of its Honda Civic model topping 100,000 a yea
  
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• The era of the all-powerful tech CEO has only just begun, even though Facebook and Snap show why that's a bad thing (SNAP, FB, DBX, ROKU)

  18-02-2019 15:00 via feedproxy.google.com
  At a growing number of companies, particularly in the tech sector, CEOs and other insiders have outsized control over their corporate decisions. 
  The executives have that control through special shares that give them extra votes. Such arrangements used to be rare, but are becoming much more common.
  Lyft and several other tech companies that are likely to hold their initial public offerings this year will likely debut with such dual-class stock structures.
  Companies say such arrangements all
  
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• BMW's North American CEO reveals how the carmaker will continue to create passion and emotion for the luxury brand

  18-02-2019 14:40 via feedproxy.google.com
  Bernhard Kuhnt has been leading BMW's North American business since 2017.
  He's presiding over a big launch of new and refreshed vehicles in 2019.
  Kuhnt is also dealing with BMW's electric-vehicle strategy in the US.Bernhard Kuhnt took over as CEO of BMW North America at a bit of a tough moment for the automaker. In 2016, BMW had just finished third in the US luxury brand race, behind Mercedes-Benz and Lexus.
  In 2017, BMW's total US sales dipped to 305,685 from 313,174 the previous year, but in 2
  
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• Global debt is not yet at financial crisis levels — but could be set for an explosion with China leading the way

  18-02-2019 13:28 via feedproxy.google.com
  Global debt has risen to high levels with US government debt reaching a record $22 trillion recently. 
  Research suggests that the figures aren't as bad as they were during the financial crisis, but could get worse. 
  Deteriorating corporate credit quality and the impact already had by high debt levels on emerging markets are key factors in causing a global economic slowdown. Global debt is at elevated levels, but isn't high enough to draw comparisons with the 2008 financial crisis
  
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• The Insight Show partners with networking forum AURA

  18-02-2019 12:53
  The Insight Show has again partnered with AURA in a deal that will see the networking forum for brand-side insight professionals host its own conference within the show.
  Sessions at the AURA conference will be presented in three parts to meet different objectives: to bolster the influence of insight in conversations with senior marketers, and to improve communication of and engagement with insight-led projects.
  The third part will explore the newest techniques to engage and reward respondents
  I
  
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• Asian markets rip higher as Trump praises 'very productive' trade negotiations with China

  18-02-2019 11:07 via feedproxy.google.com
  Asian markets rocketed higher Monday on trade-war optimism.
  The biggest gains in China came from the Shenzhen Component Index, which rose just shy of 4% during Monday trading.
  Trade discussions between the US and China ended over the weekend, with both nations seemingly positive about them.
  "Trade negotiators have just returned from China where the meetings on Trade were very productive," President Donald Trump tweeted on Saturday night.
  US markets are closed Monday in observance of Presidents D
  
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• A key Barclays investor which backed CEO Jes Staley has cut its entire stake in a major blow to the lender

  18-02-2019 10:51 via feedproxy.google.com
  One of Barclays' largest investors, US hedge fund Tiger Global, has sold its entire holding in the bank. 
  It is a major blow to the lender as it bids to turnaround its performance in its investment banking division. 
  Tiger Global had been a major backer of CEO Jes Staley, but the move points to a weaker sentiment in the lender. One of the largest shareholders in Barclays has cut its stake in the lender during a crucial period for the bank. 
  Tiger Global, a hedge fund, had hel
  
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• This US tech start-up helped a maker of football helmets tap investors with new VC funding platform

  18-02-2019 09:50 via feedproxy.google.com
  Buttonwood Network is attempting to disrupt the way in which late stage start ups secure VC funding by making the process quicker and more efficient.
  The company was only founded six months ago but has already raised $45 million in funding for companies on its software platform. 
  VCs from across the world have taken an interest amid a changing environment for investors with lower fees and greater transparency now key for fundraisings. It's not easy raising money if you're a start-up. F
  
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• Nestle, Uber, Samsung: Everything that matters this morning

  18-02-2019 08:40
  Nestle and Disney pull YouTube ads over abuse claims
  Nestle, Disney and several other big companies have pulled adverts from YouTube following claims they appeared next to offensive content.
  It comes after a vlogger accused YouTube of failing to stop the sexualisation of young girls. He said the platform of made it easy to find videos of young girls, even though comments clearly showed that viewers were sexualising the videos.
  On Sunday, Matt Watson, explained that although the videos themselve
  
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• Lloyds Bank, Burberry, Iceland: Everything that matters this morning

  18-02-2019 08:40
  Lloyds Banking Group praises ‘multi-brand strategy’ for 2018 profit hike
  The Lloyds Banking Group credits the success of its “multi-brand, multi-channel strategy” for driving growth across the business in 2018.
  The group’s statutory profit after tax rose by 24% to £4.4bn for the full year 2018, with a 6% increase in underlying profit to £8.1bn. During the period net income also rose by 2% to £17.8bn.
  The organisation highlighted its increased inve
  
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• John Lewis, White Stuff, RB: Everything that matters this morning

  18-02-2019 08:40
  John Lewis to work with six startups as part of retail innovation programme
  John Lewis is to work with six startups that it believes could transform shopping in the future after a competitive pitch for its retail innovation programme JLAB.
  Eleven companies were invited to pitch to a panel of 10 judges plus a group of customers and John Lewis employees. These ranged from a new way to explore and navigate shops using a smartphone to home beauty services and technology to create so-called urban al
  
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• Facebook, Bose, Porsche: Everything that matters this morning

  18-02-2019 08:40
  Facebook branded a ‘digital gangster’ in government report
  Facebook and its executives have been accused of behaving like “digital gangsters” that consider themselves to be “ahead of and beyond the law” in a new report from the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport select committee.
  The 18-month investigation into disinformation and fake news accuses Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg of contempt for refusing to give evidence on numerous occasions and warns British
  
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• Apple, Kraft Heinz, data privacy: Everything that matters this morning

  18-02-2019 08:40
  Kraft Heinz brands take $15.4bn hit
  Kraft Heinz’s shares plummeted 20% yesterday, knocking $12bn off its stock market value after it posted a quarterly loss and wrote down the value of its Kraft and Oscar Mayer brands by $15.4bn, as well as disclosing an investigation into its accounting practices.
  The gloomy results left the business trading at its lowest point since HJ Heinz Co brought Kraft Foods Group in 2015 and highlights the tough environment for packaged foods business as consumer
  
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• How marketers are switching up their careers with secondments

  18-02-2019 08:00
  With the UK’s national retirement age rising to 67 by 2028, it is widely accepted that people will have multiple careers during their working lives, likely to be over 40 years long.
  To get the most out of their careers, people are now exploring new ways to broaden their horizons, which could be why interest in secondments, rotations and sabbaticals appears to be growing. A recent survey of 2,315 UK workers carried out by employee benefits platform Perkbox found that 64% of respondents con
  
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• How marketers are switching up their careers with sabbaticals and secondments

  18-02-2019 08:00
  With the UK’s national retirement age rising to 67 by 2028, it is widely accepted that people will have multiple careers during their working lives, likely to be over 40 years long.
  To get the most out of their careers, people are now exploring new ways to broaden their horizons, which could be why interest in secondments, rotations and sabbaticals appears to be growing. A recent survey of 2,315 UK workers carried out by employee benefits platform Perkbox found that 64% of respondents con
  
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• Reward loyalty instead of promiscuity

  18-02-2019 01:00 via warc.com
  A client focus on price and transparency puts agency relationships at risk and undermines the chances of producing long-term results, according to the former CMO of Aviva.Jan Gooding told the recent Mediatel Future of Brands conference that her...
  
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• IAB: Big brands step into direct-to-consumer space

  18-02-2019 01:00 via warc.com
  Established companies are taking note of the direct-brand revolution and “following fast” in this space via a mix of acquisitions, partnerships and innovations, according to Randall Rothenberg, CEO of the Interactive Advertising...
  
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• Facebook posts deconstructed

  18-02-2019 01:00 via warc.com
  More than half of all Facebook posts are links, but these generate relatively little interaction, according to new research which highlights how video far outperforms all other post types.Quintly, the social media analytics business, looked at the...
  
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• Big Aussie banks face trust crisis

  18-02-2019 01:00 via warc.com
  National Australia Bank (NAB) has replaced Commonwealth Bank as Australia’s least trusted and most mistrusted bank, but all four of the country’s major banks have significant negative Net Trust Scores, new research shows.The latest Roy...
  
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• Amazon's retreat from New York: A crisis of perception

  18-02-2019 01:00 via warc.com
  Amazon has withdrawn from its decision to build a new headquarters in New York, following opposition from local politicians and activist groups. The move illustrates both a growing discontent with government incentives for big business and the risks...
  
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• 2019 – a year of app consolidation

  18-02-2019 01:00 via warc.com
  The trend towards ‘super-apps’ in Asia shows no signs of slowing, as the leading regional players expand their consumer services and major Chinese ones move into government-related territory.Mark Haycock, MullenLowe group digital...
  
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