Bull or bear? FTSE’s in a bull market but bond investors are predicting gloom July 13, 2016 Investment markets are being driven by two trends, as bonds predict a gloomy outlook of low growth, but optimistic equities surge into a bull market. The FTSE 100 closed above 6,282 this week, a rise of more than 20 per cent from the low of 5,537 it touched on 11 February. A bull run’s a promising [...]
Predictive power: Black Swan’s Jeff Headley on marketing intelligence, flu prevention and why the internet is the largest real-time focus group in the world July 11, 2016 Marketing is fundamentally about prediction: what does the consumer want, and when do they want it? From New Coke in 1985, the modernisation of the Gap logo in 2010, and BIC’s pink “for her” biros just four years ago, the history of marketing is littered with flops which better consumer testing could have avoided. Since 2011, [...]
Women and advertising: J Walter Thompson’s group planning head Rachel Pashley explains why ads should stop resorting to crude stereotypes June 27, 2016 "As a woman working in the marketing industry, I was continually confronted by creative briefs which referred to women as Busy Working Mum,” says Rachel Pashley, group planning head at J Walter Thompson (JWT) London. Pashley is behind the agency’s Female Tribes insight study into women around the world, so that they may be treated by [...]
Dove and Persil maker Unilever to wash out gender stereotyping from adverts June 22, 2016 Unilever has vowed to step away from gender stereotyping in adverts. The company behind Dove, Persil and Magnum has made the pledge after it commissioning research showing 40 per cent of women do not identify with other women they see in adverts. Read more: Khan: "Beach body ready" adverts should be banned “Stereotyping in advertising is [...]
What will happen to UK equities if we leave the European Union? June 21, 2016 The pound and the FTSE soared yesterday, as the Remain camp wrestled back its lead in the polls. But the outcome of Thursday’s EU referendum is far from clear, with pundits saying that voter turnout will be pivotal in determining whether the UK stays or leaves. If Article 50 is triggered and sterling dives, what should [...]
Nissan has launched legal action against Vote Leave, arguing that the Brexit campaign has used the firm’s branding despite repeated requests to desist June 20, 2016 Nissan is to sue the official Brexit campaign Vote Leave over repeated use of the Japanese firm's logo. The manufacturer said that the Leave camp has continued to use Nissan branding in campaign materials, despite “repeated requests” not to do so. “Permission to use our name and logo was not requested. If it was, it [...]
EU referendum: Economic scare stories are getting dangerous June 20, 2016 With just days to go until the country votes, and after a pause following the tragic and appalling events of last week, referendum campaigning has resumed. The Remain camp has been gaining ground, but its lead is not comfortable enough for David Cameron to sleep easily. Warnings about the potential impact of Brexit on the economy [...]
Three of Britain’s largest employers have threatened to sue Vote Leave over Brexit-backing leaflets which included their corporate logos June 16, 2016 Bosses at three of the UK's largest employers have threatened legal action on Vote Leave after the Brexiteers included the firms' corporate logos in flyers. The chief executives of Unilever, Airbus and General Electric wrote a letter to the Leave camp yesterday, claiming that the letters constituted misrepresentation, as all three strongly back a Remain vote. In [...]
City Moves for 13 June 2016 | Who’s switching jobs June 13, 2016 Teneo Teneo, the global advisory firm, has announced that international rugby legend Brian O’Driscoll will join their Teneo Sports division as a senior advisor and will work closely with Teneo Sport’s leadership team. Brian was the captain of the Ireland Rugby team from 2004 -2012 and captained Leinster Rugby from 2005 until the end of [...]
City Moves for 8 June 2016 | Who’s switching jobs June 8, 2016 National Football League UK Melissa Brown, a sales and marketing executive with more than 15 years’ experience in the entertainment industry, has joined the National Football League’s London office to take responsibility for further growing the league’s commercial performance in the UK. Melissa joins the NFLUK office as vice-president of commercial partnerships following a stint [...]