Barbenheimer lights up cinemas but strikes cast shadow on industry’s future July 24, 2023 Barbie and Oppenheimer, the pop culture power movie duo nicknamed Barbenheimer, had a triumphant opening weekend, reviving cinemas to their pre-pandemic glory – if only for a fleeting weekend. Vue cinemas witnessed their biggest weekend since 2019, raking in nearly £30m at the UK box office according to the UK Cinema Association, as over 500,000 [...]
Elon Musk bids adieu to the Twitter bird as social media giant rebrands to ‘X’ July 24, 2023 Twitter owner Elon Musk revealed the social media giant will bid farewell to its famous blue bird, as a new “X” logo was unveiled this week, in a bid to transform it into an “everything app”. The billionaire Tesla boss announced the revamp, tweeting his desire to “bid adieu” to the Twitter brand and, gradually, [...]
Vodafone slows decline in Europe as new CFO inherits all-too-red balance sheet July 24, 2023 Vodafone has managed to slow revenue declines in vital European markets as CEO Margherita Della Valle looks to turn around the ailing telecoms giant. In what it described as a “better” first quarterly earnings report than what was forecast, Vodafone told markets it had seen a near-6 per cent year on year revenue uplift in [...]
Big tech look ahead: Alphabet, Microsoft, Meta and Amazon shares in focus July 23, 2023 THE RACE to exploit the potential of artificial intelligence will dominate investor chatter around big tech this week, with all the big players set to release results to Wall Street.
As posties strike ends, is Royal Mail’s parent still keen on splitting the business? July 21, 2023 Following the appointment of Martin Seidenberg to the top job at Royal Mail’s parent company, International Distribution Services (IDS) on Thursday, the company’s next moves could be crucial in determining the future direction of Royal Mail, analysts have said. In his speech to the AGM on Thursday, IDS chairman Keith Williams said until it sees [...]
Royal Mail parent group IDS names international parcels boss as new leader July 20, 2023 International Distributions Services (IDS), the parent group of Royal Mail, has named Martin Seidenberg as its new leader as new boss says there’s opportunity ahead, “but we must seize it”. Seidenberg, who has been chief executive of parcel delivery company GLS – which is owned by IDS – will take charge of IDS in August [...]
Netflix: Subscribers up, password sharing down, as clampdown pays off July 20, 2023 Netflix has gained nearly six million subscribers this quarter as its password sharing clampdown bears immediate fruit. Announcing its second quarter results, the company said paid subscribers grew by 4.14m April through June as they rolled out so-called paid sharing in over 100 countries. The firm had become aware that a number of users of [...]
IPA Bellwether: UK businesses boost sales promotions to record levels but pessimism lingers July 20, 2023 UK firms have ramped up sales promotions to an all-time high, leading to a growth in overall marketing budgets, according to the second-quarter IPA Bellwether Report released today. The report, which tracks marketing trends, revealed that sales promotions budgets have reached their highest level in the 23-year history of the survey, as more businesses increased [...]
Andria Vidler to lead Allwyn UK as it gears up to operate the National Lottery July 19, 2023 Lottery operator Allwyn UK has announced the appointment of Andria Vidler as its new boss, as it prepares to take over operation of the National Lottery. Vidler will spearhead Allwyn’s operation of the National Lottery starting in February 2024, as it focuses on maximising funds generated for its giving-back initiative ‘Good Causes’ during its 10-year [...]
Warner Music signs deal with Tiktok to ‘harness’ its viral social media power July 19, 2023 Warner Music Group has inked a multi-year licensing deal with Tiktok to help drive up its revenues and increase marketing opportunities. While specific financial details remain undisclosed, Warner said the venture aims to “harness” the viral media power of the short-video app to bolster revenues and marketing opportunities. Both companies have dubbed the new partnership, [...]