What’s in a name? isobel’s Paul Houlding talks independence, supercharging and bacon April 11, 2016 Sometimes in advertising, you need to be wrong to be right – to produce a tension,” says Paul Houlding, managing partner and co-founder of independent creative shop isobel. It’s that kind of thinking which led him and his three partners to christen their agency with the middle name shared by their daughters when they started [...]
Neuroscience is great, but advertising needs more rule-breakers April 11, 2016 As a species, humans hate uncertainty and love rules. When it comes to the big questions in life, such as “why are we here?”, history shows that we’d far rather make something up, or at the very least develop a theory, than simply admit to ignorance. Uncertainty is a disquieting feeling. However much we might [...]
O consumer, where art thou? Near founder Anil Mathews on location intelligence and Facebook’s Free Basics April 4, 2016 It was once said that you can tell a lot about a man by his shoes. With today’s levels of smartphone penetration, you can probably tell more by his location data. By tracking the consumer’s journey both online and in the real world, location intelligence platforms are able to identify travellers, shoppers, students and other segmented [...]
Porn-no more for Richard Desmond as he sells adult entertainment network Portland TV for less than £1m April 1, 2016 Richard Desmond, the owner of the Daily Express and Daily Star newspapers, has sold his adult entertainment network. Northern and Shell has announced the sale of Portland TV, the company behind Television X and Red Hot, for less than £1m as part of a management buy-out deal. Read more: Desmond hopes Mirror boss "Fox off" [...]
Former New York Times editor Jill Abramson to join Guardian as political columnist March 28, 2016 The former executive editor of the New York Times, Jill Abramson, will formally join the Guardian's US arm as a political columnist, the newspaper announced today. "For over 40 years, Jill has been a trailblazer for women in journalism, and brings an unparalleled knowledge of the relationship between politics and the media in the US," Lee [...]
As last edition of Independent newspaper is published, owner says future will be “global, digital – and profitable” March 26, 2016 The final edition of The Independent newspaper came out today. And owner Evgeny Lebedev described the future of the title as "global, digital – and profitable". The last edition of The Independent featured a nearly-blank cover stating: "Stop press". Today's @Independent, with stunning cover wrap and splash, is the best newspaper in Britain. Also our last. Buy it! [...]
Benefits of Channel 4 privatisation “inherently uncertain”, Ernst and Young report commissioned by broadcaster finds March 23, 2016 The benefits of privatising Channel 4 are "inherently uncertain", according to a new report commissioned by the broadcaster. Channel 4 has today published a report produced by Ernst and Young (EY) as the government reviews whether it should have a different ownership structure. It emerged last summer that the government was considering privatising Channel 4. [...]
Independent journalists facing pay cuts of up to 50 per cent if they switch from newspaper to online-only title March 22, 2016 Independent newspaper journalists switching from print to digital are facing pay cuts of up to 50 per cent. The National Union of Journalists has said it is "concerned for the future" of The Independent, which is moving this week to become digital-only. And The Guardian today reports that some journalists are being asked to take pay cuts of [...]
Johnston Press share price shoots up after newspaper publisher reports pre-tax profits rise of more than 20 per cent ahead of i deal completion March 22, 2016 Shares in newspaper publisher Johnston Press shot up this morning after the company reported a pre-tax profits rise of more than 20 per cent. The figures In the 52 weeks to 2 January 2016, Johnston Press reported a 6.8 per cent year-on-year fall in revenue, from £260m to £242.3m. But the company also cut its [...]
After the government’s volte-face on the sugar tax, will marketeers be left with a crashing low? March 22, 2016 Should the announcement of a sugar tax in last week’s Budget have marketeers worried? It certainly represents a volte-face on the part of the government. In October, when the advisory group Public Health England (PHE) released a report recommending measures to tackle childhood obesity, including a sugar tax of 10 to 20 per cent, a [...]