Posts made in April, 2014

on Apr 17, 2014

By Ishbel Macleod Omnicom merger deal will close in Q3. This comes after Publicis reported 0.7 per cent growth in Q4 of 2013. Maurice Levy, CEO, said that first-quarter margins were “slightly better”, without providing a comparable 2013 figure. “Organic growth will not accelerate in the second quarter because of tough comparables, but it will in the third quarter,” he said. “Europe remains fragile in my view, while China should see mid-single-digit growth, and digital double-digit growth.” Digital revenue across the company was up 10.4 per cent to €653m, accounting for over 40 per cent of the total revenue for the corporation. Read full story › Source: The Drum...

on Apr 17, 2014

By John Glenday Jeremy Paxman has spoken out against the present direction of the BBC by labelling it ‘smug’ and ‘complacent’ whilst exerting an undue influence in Britain’s online media landscape. The Newsnight presenter railed against the public service broadcaster on a range of issues from the eye-watering payoffs divvyed out to departing executives to the scale of its gargantuan online news operation. Speaking to the guardian Paxman said: “It is smug. I love the BBC in many ways, but at the same time it has made me loathe aspects of it, and that is a very odd state of affairs. “When I see people being Read full story › Source: The Drum...

on Apr 17, 2014

By John Glenday A Canadian teenager has become the first hacker to be arrested in relation to exploiting network vulnerabilities opened up by the so-called Heartbleed Bug after he was caught stealing 900 social insurance numbers from the Canadian Revenue Agency. The 19 year-old was picked up by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police after the incident, who said in a statement: “It is believed that [Mr] Solis-Reyes was able to extract private information held by CRA by exploiting the vulnerability known as the Heartbleed bug.” Solis-Reyes has been charged with ‘unauthorised use of a computer’ and ‘mischief in relation to data’ and will appear in Read full story › Source: The Drum...

on Apr 17, 2014

By Ishbel Macleod Google’s revenue for the first quarter of 2014 was $15.4bn, up 19 per cent from the same period last year, with its websites accounting for 68 per cent of total revenues. “We completed another great quarter,” said Larry Page, CEO of Google. “We got lots of product improvements done, especially on mobile. I’m also excited with progress on our emerging businesses.” The results also noted that net loss from discontinued operations in the first quarter of 2014 was $198m, compared to $182m in the first quarter of 2013. This comes from the sale of Motorola Mobile in January 2014. Further details Read full story › Source: The Drum...

on Apr 17, 2014

By Gillian West Ikea is continuing its crusade to get people thinking differently about the way they live at home with its latest ‘Wonderful Everyday’ creative celebrating the heart of the home, the kitchen. “We spend a great deal of time and money planning a wonderful two week holiday, but pay little attention to the things we do in the other three hundred and fifty one days of the year, and this is what we’re really curious about – the everyday,” explained Peter Wright, Ikea UK and Ireland marketing manager. Debuting Good Friday (18 April) the creative explores and celebrates life in the kitchen and Read full story › Source: The Drum...