Posts made in March, 2015

on Mar 31, 2015

By Thomas Hobbs With around a third likely to make up their minds about which candidate to vote for during the course of campaign, there is ample opportunity for communications to sway them, but the political parties’ ability to take advantage looks to be severely limited by lack of trust. The findings come from research carried out exclusively for Marketing Week by research firm Simpson Carpenter. Two thirds of Britons surveyed say they trust news and politics television programmes to provide them with information on the parties and their policies, compared with just 7% who say the same of political advertising. So with voters resounding Read full story › Source: Marketing Week...

on Mar 31, 2015

By Tash Whitmey The concept of wearable technology has been around for a while. Consumers are used to seeing the latest wearable gadgetry in the media and, as such, this level of technological innovation has become the norm. That the idea of wearable is becoming so interwoven in consumers’ everyday life is telling. It is increasingly difficult to draw distinctions between the ‘digital’ and ‘offline’ worlds. However, this level of technological wizardry will be worth very little if the devices themselves don’t deliver a level of enhanced practical and emotional value to people’s lives. In essence, the brave new world of connected devices Read full story › Source: The Drum...

on Mar 31, 2015

By Stephen Lepitak Google is set to take over half of the world’s search advertising spend this year as digital advertising spend is forecast to reach $170.85bn. According to figures released by eMarketer, Google is predicted to take 55 per cent of search advertising spend, followed by Baidu at 8.8 per cent of the worldwide search advertising market that is predicted to reach $81.59bn. Microsoft and Yahoo combined are also expected to take 6.5 per cent of the worldwide search advertising spend, with Bing having increased its share to 4.2 per cent in 2014, and Yahoo predicted to grow by 6.9 per cent Read full story › Source: The Drum...

on Mar 31, 2015

By Stephen Lepitak B&Q is to close 60 stores which is estimated to push 3,000 jobs at risk as a result of slow DIY sales. The decision has been taken by Véronique Laury, the new chief executive of the retailer’s parent company, Kingfisher, after reporting a 7.5 per cent fall in annual profit, with six other stores set to shrink in size also. Of the staff at risk, the company hopes to relocate half into existing stores and 900 in sister retailer, Screwfix. Meanwhile, Kevin O’Byrne CEO for B&Q UK and Ireland is to leave the business on May 15. Kingfisher made a pre-tax Read full story › Source: The Drum...

on Mar 31, 2015

By Seb Joseph Instagram is turning to London’s creative community to kickstart efforts to convince brands the images it hosts can drive business metrics as it evaluates the first UK campaigns that have tried. The social network is planning workshops and events to recruit creatives across the city to try and sustain the high-quality photos its monetisation model is pinned on. The aim is to try and sell its advertising on the value of impressions and subsequent sales lift, similarly to sister site Facebook, in the hope of leveraging its own experience as the key engagement driver. This play began in earnest when its ads Read full story › Source: The Drum...