It’s time for brands to let their old products pass away February 11, 2019 Corporate giants in the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) sector have been sitting on their hands for the past decade, waiting for the startup bubble to burst so that they can rule the supermarket shelves once again. They’ve been dozing, and are only now realising that these plucky challengers aren’t going away. The number of brands [...]
Quit nostalgic navel-gazing and get excited for the future February 11, 2019 The thing about the 1970s – if you lived through them – is that they were for the most part dull and dour years, devoid of political and economic energy. And as for the fashion, don’t even go there. Yet there seems to be no shortage of fresh-faced tweets proclaiming those years to be something [...]
Premier League plots streaming service for live football matches February 10, 2019 The Premier League is planning to launch its own streaming service for live football matches in a bid to bypass broadcasters and boost revenues. The Netflix-style streaming service was due to be tested in Singapore, but the Premier League backed out of the project. Instead, the league sold rights to the next three seasons to Singapore [...]
A Marie Kondo divorce: Lessons from Netflix’s new TV star February 6, 2019 A new year means a new selection of TV series to help us through the deep dark winter months. This year is no exception, and Netflix’s Tidying Up with Marie Kondo resonates with what are no doubt nationwide resolutions for self, home, and life improvement. It might be surprising to learn that many of the [...]
Viacom launches on-demand streaming app for MTV reality shows February 4, 2019 MTV owner Viacom has launched a new streaming app aimed at younger audiences as it joins a growing list of broadcasters offering an on-demand service. MTV Play, which will initially be available only in the UK, will offer a range of catch-up and box set programmes, as well as a live feed of MTV’s broadcast channel. [...]
Fyre Festival, influencers, and the CMA – why are regulators finally getting involved in the world of social media sponsorship? February 4, 2019 Social media influencers are back in the headlines, and as usual, it’s for all the wrong reasons. Late last month, the government’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) announced that it had told 16 high-profile celebrities – including models Alexa Chung and Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, musician Rita Ora, and YouTube star Zoe Sugg (better known as Zoella) [...]
Trump tore down the walls for the Democrats’ socialist superstar February 1, 2019 Half-baked policy ideas that don’t stand up to economic scrutiny but spread like wildfire across social media. The ability to tear up the rulebook to forge a new path to power. A US politician who is almost certainly dramatically under-qualified for the office they hold, but who has captured the imaginations of millions through sheer charisma [...]
Broadcast TV advertising ‘at the tipping point’ as viewers switch to streaming, report finds January 31, 2019 Traditional TV advertising is approaching a tipping point as sliding viewing figures cast doubt on the cost-efficiency of TV campaigns, a new report has found. A report by media consultancy Ebiquity has forecast a decline in TV ad viewing among adults of 15 to 20 per cent by 2022. These figures increase to 30 per [...]
Fyre Festival is a lesson for all event planners about what not to do January 29, 2019 In its new documentary, Fyre: The Greatest Party that Never Happened, released last week, Netflix pulled back the curtains behind one of the most infamous stitch-ups in the event industry. Entrepreneur Billy McFarland had ambitions to create the “most insane festival ever seen” to spread consumer awareness of his talent booking platform. A strategic and [...]
Editor’s Notes: Davos – a festival of irrelevance and hypocrisy January 25, 2019 Davos brings the same delights every year. From the press release about the number of private jet movements to Oxfam’s annual criticism of the global super-rich, there are predictable elements to this week-long event. Another thing you can always be assured of is that some staggering hypocrisy will be on display. I came across a [...]