Crowdfunding isn’t just about money, but communicating with customers – the best businesses are the best listeners November 22, 2018 Consumers are increasingly sceptical of industry leaders, disloyal to brands, well-researched in the products and services they need, and not willing to be talked at. Through social media, they listen to one another about which brands are worth caring about, and which are not. The brands that are the best communicators are also the best [...]
John Lewis, Sainsbury’s, or M&S? Whose Christmas ad was best this year November 20, 2018 So this is Christmas. And what have you done? Another year over, and the festive ads just begun. Yes, ’tis the season for brands to splash the cash on fancy holiday-themed adverts in hope of attracting that sweet Christmas shopping revenue. Retailer John Lewis has been the reigning champion of the season for the past [...]
Twitter picks a man named John Lewis as the star of its new Christmas advert November 20, 2018 Every year, a man named John Lewis in Virginia receives over 50,000 tweets intended for UK department store John Lewis and Partners. This year, he's been made the star of Twitter's Christmas advert. Lewis secured the Twitter username @JohnLewis in 2007, and has become known for his witty responses to people who confuse him for [...]
Tesla’s Model 3 sedan on sale in China as Elon Musk plans to increase global operation November 17, 2018 Tesla's new Model 3 sedan is now available to order in China as the company continue to expand its global operation, particularly targetting the Asian market. On the company's website it says that Model 3 deliveries to China will begin in 2019 and Tesla CEO Elon Musk confirmed via his Twitter account that they will [...]
The hidden meanings behind the Q&A November 16, 2018 You've finished your presentation. You remembered to look at the audience, rather than at the massive screen behind you, so it actually seemed like a presentation rather than a modern corporate version of temple worship. You didn’t just read out the slide deck, so no one is wondering why you bothered with a presentation at [...]
DEBATE: Should we be concerned that the Brexit secretary didn’t realise the extent to which we rely on Dover-Calais trade? November 9, 2018 Should we be concerned that the Brexit secretary didn’t realise the extent to which we rely on Dover-Calais trade? Richard Angell, director of the think tank Progress, says YES. The admission by Brexit secretary Dominic Raab that he “hadn’t quite understood” how “reliant on the Dover-Calais crossing” the UK is would be funny if it [...]
Truce or dare: A Trump stunt, or the end of the US-China trade war? November 6, 2018 Last Thursday, Donald Trump took to Twitter to tell the world that trade talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping were “moving along nicely”. His words prompted a rise in Asian stock markets; the Shanghai Composite index climbed by almost 2.7 per cent during trading on Friday, and the Hang Seng surged by about 4.2 per cent, [...]
The US midterms show that mixing politics and advertising makes a volatile concoction November 5, 2018 The US midterm elections tomorrow are set to be a significant milestone. With record voter attendance expected and the structural balance of Congress at stake, these midterms will either reduce Donald Trump’s power, or give him a mandate to pursue his political goals. It is of no surprise then, with so much on the line, [...]
Former Cabinet secretary Sir Jeremy Heywood dies of cancer aged 56 November 4, 2018 Former Cabinet secretary and head of the civil service Sir Jeremy Heywood has died of cancer, aged 56. Heywood, who served in Downing Street under Labour Prime Ministers Tony Blair and Gordon Brown and Tory leaders David Cameron and Theresa May, retired from the civil service on 24 October to focus on his cancer treatment. Downing Street confirmed [...]
Iranian oil sanctions loom as US gears up for ‘toughest sanctions regime ever imposed’ November 3, 2018 Politicians and businesses are bracing themselves for new US sanctions on Iranian oil that are set to come into effect on Monday, in what the White House has branded as its "toughest ever" measures imposed on Tehran. The US is planning to reinstate all US sanctions on Iran removed under the 2015 nuclear deal, in a [...]