Donald Trump signs executive order to regulate social media firms May 28, 2020 US president Donald Trump has this evening signed an executive order designed to weaken the legal protections around social media companies. The move comes after the president became embroiled in a dispute with Twitter, which marked one of his tweets with a fact check warning over its inaccurate claims. The president said that the order [...]
How technology is helping to maintain positive workplace culture during self-isolation March 31, 2020 Covid-19 has been disruptive to many aspects of our lives – including our work. For most organisations, remote working is quickly becoming the new normal, yet it’s a muscle many are just starting to develop. And while this transition is vital to keep employees safe, it brings with it a wealth of new challenges. Without [...]
How Yorkshire Tea turned a storm in a teacup into a marketing success March 2, 2020 Yorkshire Tea unwittingly found itself in the middle of a Twitter storm last week when the new chancellor, Rishi Sunak, published a seemingly innocuous image of himself “making tea for the team”. The photo featured the brand like a poorly orchestrated influencer marketing campaign. Soon after, the company was faced with a torrent of abuse [...]
It’s time for marketers to give the emoji a thumbs up and a smiley face February 6, 2020 There is a clear rule of thumb in the world of marketing: emojis equal engagement. Emails with an emoji in the subject line have better click-throughs, and social media posts with images get more responses. Given this, why do some marketers still feel that these modern-day hieroglyphics are a formality fail, especially in a business setting? [...]
The biggest tech breakthroughs of the last decade December 18, 2019 It is easy to forget, as we approach the end of not just 2019 but also the decade, just how far technology has developed over the past 10 years. To mark the end of the era, City A.M. asked several experts for what they think have been the biggest technological breakthroughs or advancements made in [...]
Social media lessons from TikTok, Tencent and Weibo December 2, 2019 The average consumer would be forgiven for not knowing their Tencent from their Sina Weibo. In fact, it’s unlikely that they have heard of either platform. Yet these are two of the biggest social media companies in the world, bringing in billions in revenue each year. From transferring money, playing games, and even booking doctors [...]
The big problem with political advertising on social media November 11, 2019 With the upcoming UK General Election, the primaries for the Democratic presidential nominee in the US, and the race for the White House next year, politics is once again centre stage. Candidates on both sides of the Atlantic will be turning once more to political advertising to win over voters – and one area of [...]
Don’t dismiss small publications, they serve a role in PR November 11, 2019 “Do our customers read that publication anyway?” It’s a question that any chief executive or marketer should ask. Marketing that’s not targeted at your audience is waste — or so the theory goes. Brands should of course aim for coverage in relevant media. But what about leads from publications that aren’t strictly on point? Sometimes [...]
Dataminr is helping to save local journalism October 31, 2019 Journalism is in a tough spot. For decades, money and jobs in the industry have been in decline. The government’s Cairncross review, released last year, revealed the scope of the problem. It found that total press industry revenues had declined by more than half over the previous 10 years, and that the number of full-time [...]
Virtual influencers pose ethical dilemmas for the ad industry October 28, 2019 Last month, I reported on the rise of virtual influencers – fake online personalities created using computer-generated imagery and controlled by brands or media agencies. The most famous example is Lil Miquela, a fictional character invented by LA-based studio Brud. “She” has 1.7m followers on Instagram, has appeared in a Calvin Klein commercial alongside the [...]