Posts made in January, 2016

on Jan 25, 2016

By John McCarthy A spokeswoman for presidential hopeful Donald Trump has defended a 2012 tweet implying that Barack Obama and Mitt Romney are not ‘pure breeds’. Katrina Pierson came under attack on social media for the comment from prominent figures including Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling. Despite taking the lead in several GOP polls, Trump has repeatedly been branded as a racist throughout the campaign. Buzzfeed editor-in-chief, Ben Smith, even told the site’s journalists that they are allowed to call the Republican “a liar or a racist” on social media as a matter of fact. The latest scandal emerged in the form of an old Read full story › Source: The Drum...

on Jan 25, 2016

By Terry Tyrrell 2015 saw the immune systems of some of the UK’s leading brands become riddled with viruses. Will they be able to boost their immunity and return to full health this year or will they continue to suffer? Humans need an immune system. So do brands. Think of your brand as a living protection system for your business. Your immune system is your best line of defence as a human being, and exactly the same applies to your brand. Every experience, from the biggest of launches to the tiniest of online interactions needs to be managed to ensure a strong and healthy Read full story › Source: The Drum...

on Jan 25, 2016

By Thomas Hobbs Reports emerged last night (24 January) suggesting that Adidas, the IAAF’s biggest sponsor, had told the athletics’ world governing body it wants to terminate its sponsorship deal three years early. The 11-year tie-up was due to run until 2019 and is reportedly worth up to $6m. However, with a high-profile doping and corruption scandal damaging the reputation of athletics over recent months, it is understood the IAAF and Adidas are currently in talks about ending the contract. In a statement, Adidas didn’t exactly rule out the authenticity of the initial BBC report, simply saying: “As you know Adidas has a Read full story › Source: Marketing Week...

on Jan 25, 2016

By John McCarthy Alphabet has gestured towards the conclusion of the Google Glass brand with the closure of its social media accounts. The company has previously implied that it was wrong to market Glass as a consumer devices with it continuing to work solely on the Enterprise Edition for the workplace. Having published online content using #throughGlass on its social media accounts, including Twitter, Google+ and Instagram, each account has now been closed. Following the rebrand and restructure of Google X, the company claimed that its developments were to be brought under tighter scrutiny with a board named the Foundry tasked with lowering risk Read full story › Source: The Drum...

on Jan 25, 2016

By Tony Connelly As Google prepares to be grilled by members of parliament over its tax deal with HMRC, Boris Johnson has spoken out in defence of the Silicon Valley giant, arguing that it is “absurd” to blame the company for its tax strategies. Google’s recent agreement to pay back taxes of £130m is unlikely to appease those angered by the fact that the company paid less than 3 per cent corporation tax over the last decade. The deal has raised eyebrows among tax experts including The Tax Justice Network which has estimated that Google should be paying about £200m every year in Read full story › Source: The Drum...