The irony of the filter bubble for advertisers is bittersweet February 6, 2017 "Algorithm" became a dirty word in 2016; few know what one is, fewer know how one actually works. Sure sounds scary though. “Filter bubble” can be added to that list, the latter a product of the former. The notion that social media algorithms nurture confirmation bias through reflecting self-affirming views, and therefore prejudice, is rife. [...]
Making his mark on Mediacom UK: Meet chief executive Josh Krichefski February 6, 2017 I’m waiting in the lobby of MediaCom’s home in Holborn to meet Josh Krichefski; a six storey hive, buzzing with the to-and-fro of a thousand-strong population, tied together by a dominating atrium. Expecting to head straight to the executive suite on the top floor, his assistant instead guides me to the second: “he likes to [...]
Do strong brands make good investments? Brand Finance certainly think so February 1, 2017 When purchasing consumer goods, we’re attracted to brands we know and love. We buy Coca Cola, rather than an own brand product. We prefer Ray Ban sunglasses, Colgate toothpaste, Apple’s iPhone. And we’re willing to pay a premium for the privilege. Consumers have an affinity with the real thing, not just through overt awareness – [...]
The NASDAQ of advertising: Reprogramming programmatic with Infectious Media January 30, 2017 About 10 years ago, programmatic advertising was but a twinkle in the eye of some Silicon Valley bods, determined to bring about a sea change to digital advertising transactions. They were unaware, perhaps, of the flood that opening this sluice would bring to AdLand, nor the landscape that would remain when the new tide washed [...]
It matters not whether a payday lender or a dog groomer, morally policing advertising is a dangerous precedent January 30, 2017 One of the many perks of living in a democratic capitalist society is the laissez faire relationship between (legitimate, legal) business and government. But questions must be asked when giants step on smaller businesses. Especially when based on the moral posturing of a cabal of pious zealots. Such is the case with Google, who in [...]
It’s time to get over the mythical “Brexit Effect” on advertising spend January 23, 2017 Brexit means Brexit; it’s neither black nor white, hard or soft, red, white or blue. We’re leaving the Single Market and possibly the Customs Union; disowning the ECJ, but keeping EU laws for now. The final deal will be presented to parliament, and we can all get on with our lives. For Adland, the news should [...]
How well do you know your audience? Not as well as Spredfast’s Leo Ryan January 23, 2017 In the 1970s German philosopher Jurgen Habermas concocted the notion of Offentlichkeit – better known as the public sphere, or “an area in social life where individuals can come together to freely discuss and identify societal problems”. Some 40 years on, the advent of social media has realised his ideal tenfold, and the mass sharing [...]
Would you let your boss track your every move? January 20, 2017 After drinking a tad too much, you flop into bed in the early hours. You rise for work on time, just about. You freshen up, in an inebriated stupor, stumble hastily to work, and mumble your way through the morning, hungover. By lunchtime, you think you’ve got away with it, but your boss thinks not. [...]
Goodbye Piccadilly: A short history of the Piccadilly Circus advertising billboards January 16, 2017 On only a handful of occasions in its 100-year history has the hotchpotch of billboards at Piccadilly Circus been intentionally switched off during peacetime. Most famously, when Winston Churchill died, and later, Princess Diana. The advertising space, recognisable around the world, is symbolic of the national mood; it wears black when we mourn. But today, minus [...]
Mumsnet’s Justine Roberts talks community, the value of debate, and bursting the filter bubble January 16, 2017 Time poverty is clearly an issue for Justine Roberts. I have just 40 minutes on the phone with the Mumsnet founder and chief executive to disseminate a lifetime of achievement: PPE student at Oxford, a stint in the City, a journalist with a sports beat and, most recently, a recipient of a CBE for services [...]
