By Ali Hanan Diversity is a trending topic across adland right now, but the most urgent issue to address is gender equality in creative departments. As IPA president Tom Knox says: “It remains an uncomfortable truth that men dominate creative departments and this cannot be good for creativity and our ability to solve our clients’ business problems.” With more female creatives, I believe we could shape better workplaces, better connect with customers and be more culturally relevant as an industry, particularly with our powerful female consumer base who make 85 per cent of all purchasing decisions. The IPA’s research shows women make up just 24 Read full story › Source: The Drum...
Read MoreBy Natalie Mortimer Diageo’s increased marketing spend in Europe has helped the maker of Guinness and Tanqueray Gin grow its sales by 4 per cent in the UK in the second quarter, boosted by an 11 per cent surge in sales of Baileys, according to the Q2 results. The drinks giant this year rolled out a comprehensive marketing strategy around the Irish cream liqueur, to build on the brand’s ongoing transformation from a Christmas drink to a year-round option, focussing on pairing Baileys with coffee. Smirnoff net sales were up 1 per cent supported by a full year of the £4.5m Read full story › Source: The Drum...
Read MoreBy John Glenday British Gas has weathered a seven per cent fall in profits over the first half of the year following an exodus of some 400,000 customers who’ve switched supplier. Centrica, parent company of the utilities giant, reported a UK home operating profit of £516m over the period, a figure driven south by increased competition and large numbers of customers reaching the end of fixed term contracts. Dismissing any suggestion that Brexit may have had a hand to play in the dismal figures Centrica stated: “… the result creates general uncertainty which adds to challenges for UK businesses in all sectors, with implementation plans Read full story › Source: The Drum...
Read MoreBy John Glenday Google has been forced to implement an urgent update to its search algorithm following complaints that a search for ‘presidential candidates’ failed to return the name of Donald Trump, who is heading the Republican ticket. The incomplete search query returned the names of Democratic nominee Hilary Clinton at the top of the results with Bernie Sanders and even Green Party candidate Jill Stein also earning a mention, although Trump was nowhere to be seen. This discrepancy immediately drew criticism of left-wing bias at Google but the tech giant insisted that the lapse was merely the consequence of a ‘technical bug’ in the Read full story › Source: The Drum...
Read MoreBy John McCarthy Amazon has moved closer to crowdfunding website Kickstarter as it looks to provide a sales ecosystem for successfully funded projects. The drive comes as an extension of the etailer’s Amazon Launchpad program, which now features 300 hundred funded products from the site ranging from electronics to books to kitchen appliances. Users can also browse the goods in by category such as STEM, Always be Learning, Exquisite Objects, Inventing the Future, and Public Benefit. With the introduction of the site, Piper’s Computer Kit, Zivix’s jamstik Plus Portable Smart Guitar and MudWatt’s Clean Energy kit are all available for purchase. Amazon claims to have Read full story › Source: The Drum...
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