Posts made in September, 2016

on Sep 23, 2016

By Nicky Bradley September marks the time when thousands of students start university. Traditionally newspapers are dominated by coverage aimed at those attending university (and their empty nester parents) with a strong focus on Fresher’s shenanigans. I have nothing but goodwill for students embarking on the next step, but I do wish that the media coverage was just as balanced for those exploring non-graduate options. For personal reasons, this is a subject close to my heart. I left school at 16, and university wasn’t even discussed as a possibility. Inspiration was in short supply. School careers advisors presented us with stereotypical female roles (hairdresser, Read full story › Source: The Drum...

on Sep 23, 2016

By The Drum Reporters 1) What level of transparency – financial, operational, media – are you currently providing us? Rather than ignore the warning signs that are Dentsu’s “inappropriate operations” and the findings from this year’s ANA report, the smart marketers see it as a chance to understand what has happened to make agencies feel they have to overcharge, hide kick-backs in order to satisfy their client and stay in the black. Advertisers are never going to cease working with agencies despite these suspicions and so the onus is on them to seize the opportunity to push for improved contracts that work for Read full story › Source: The Drum...

on Sep 23, 2016

By John McCarthy Silicon Vallley millionaire Palmer Luckey has been exposed as the financial backer of a group looking to bolster support for Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump – using memes. Luckey who made his fortune selling virtual reality company Oculus to Facebook was outed as ‘NimbleRichMan’ on Reddit, a user looking to support meme group Nimble America, by matching all donations submitted to the organisation. In a now-deleted post on r/The_Donald – where Trump held a brief AMA several months back – NimbleRichMan said: “You and I are the same. We know Hillary Clinton is corrupt, a warmonger, Read full story › Source: The Drum...

on Sep 23, 2016

By Rebecca Stewart “In October of 1994, three student filmmakers disappeared in the woods near Burkittsville, Maryland, while shooting a documentary. A year later their footage was found…” The premise of the The Blair Witch Project was a simple one, but with a $60,000 budget and eight days of film reel its creators couldn’t have begun to imagine that the movie would go on to gross $248m worldwide. The low-budget flick has transpired to be the fifth highest-earning independent film of all time, but in lieu of the finances for Hollywood-style special effects and a mammoth marketing strategy, the directors instead relied Read full story › Source: The Drum...

on Sep 23, 2016

By John McCarthy At The Drum’s Do It Day, ClientEarth, a charity that funds activist lawyers intent on harnessing and altering environmental law to help secure a cleaner planet, will be on the hunt for creative ideas to help spread awareness of the mortal harm caused by air pollution. Starting at Plan It Day in London next Thursday, creatives will be asked to focus on cleaning up London, one of the world’s most densely populated cities, which boasts around 8.7 million people but endures around 10,000 early deaths caused by air pollution each year – according to a study from the Royal Read full story › Source: The Drum...