Super Bowl 50: How much does it cost to run an advert at the Super Bowl? This is how much the likes of Chrysler, Bud Light and Jaguar pay for just a moment of screentime alongside Beyonce February 7, 2016 Advertisers are known for splashing the cash but, when it comes to astronomical invoices for just a moment of fame, there's no event quite like the Super Bowl, which this year sees the Carolina Panthers take on the Denver Broncos. But what can marketers expect for their dosh if they've chosen to lay out a pretty penny for a [...]
In 2016, the global ambitions of the NFL and NBA are an example for every sports organisation to follow February 6, 2016 In the $100bn (£68.7bn) global sports industry, teams must think of themselves as technology companies as well as traditional sports businesses. In a competitive, borderless marketplace, the success and growth of individual sports teams is increasingly dependent on them being able to build an international community of fans. Successful sports teams now operate like a [...]
UK skills shortage: Misconception about STEM subjects are failing young people February 5, 2016 When less than one in ten students leave secondary school with an A-Level in maths and physics, it's clear that the country has a problem on its hands. The UK STEM skills deficit has been reported widely for many years, but now is the time for us to take action. Put simply, Britain is facing a skills crisis. [...]
The seven weird habits of highly successful people, from Bill Gates to Marissa Mayer and Warren Buffett February 4, 2016 Bill Gates has revealed that he used to keep tabs on his employees' movements to assess when they were and were not in work – and if, like him, they were diligently in on the weekend. But he's not the only business leader with a quirky obsession or two – here we take a look at some [...]
Billy Zane talks Zoolander 2, the future of Hollywood and having the ghosts of Picasso and Hemingway hanging over him February 4, 2016 Billy Zane is drawing me a diagram of his Theory of Everything. He’s on his fourth draft and a little pile of crumpled sheets of paper are piling up beside his Bloody Mary. It’s a kind of business model for the creative industries, a way to bring together media, advertising, luxury goods and philanthropy, dotted [...]
Nokia’s fall after the patent license arbitration with Samsung shows investors overreact wildly to intellectual property news February 4, 2016 When Nokia released information about the outcome of its patent licensing arbitration with Samsung, its share price fell by over 10 per cent within hours. This is not the first time that stock prices have reacted in an unpredictable fashion to intellectual property (IP) news. The poster child for this mispricing was when GoPro stock [...]
Oscar Wilde’s grandson Merlin Holland on Dorian Gray, censorship and posthumous pardons February 3, 2016 After years in the back room, Oscar has finally found his way onto the Oxford English syllabus,” says Merlin Holland, with both pride and indignation. Most of us in this noisy cafe off Carnaby Street wouldn’t be on first name terms with Oscar Wilde, but as his only living grandson and the sole executor of [...]
Super Bowl 50 2016: Watch the best Super Bowl TV adverts of all time in this top 10 chart February 3, 2016 The Super Bowl is nearly upon us and that means one thing – the world's biggest brands putting a lot of time, effort, and especially money, into creating the most hilarious/talked about/touching/viral (delete as appropriate) advert. The new round of ads are starting to be revealed, but they have some stiff competition from previous successes [...]
Yahoo announces job cuts and “aggressive strategic plan” February 2, 2016 Yahoo today announced plans to axe 15 per cent of its workforce, roughly 1,600 jobs, as part of an "aggressive strategic plan" to help transform the company. The job cuts will reduce its employees to about 9,000 by the end of 2016. The announcement of the cuts came as Yahoo reported a $4.3bn (£3bn) loss [...]
This is how addicted we are to our smartphones: One in three millennials have walked into something while looking at their phone February 2, 2016 Ever walked headfirst into a lamp post because you were focusing less on your surroundings than on following an unfolding Twitter debate on your phone? If you’re under 30 years old, chances are your answer is yes, according to a new study on millennials’ smartphone habits which reveals the (terrifying) full extent of our phone [...]