The science of branding: Neuro-Insight CEO Heather Andrew on brands and brains December 14, 2015 Emotion is not enough, says Heather Andrew When Cadbury’s drumming gorilla was unleashed in 2007, its soundtrack and surrealism allowed the confectioner to draw a line under its salmonella scare, and boosted sales by 9 per cent. But an entertaining advert is not enough. The role which branding plays within the advert is crucial, [...]
Cracking the emerging company finance problem – Invest Comment December 14, 2015 An important sector of the UK economy – private companies making profits of between £1m and £5m each year – is not getting the attention it deserves. These firms (also known as emerging companies) don’t grab the headlines like large FTSE 100 businesses. Nor do they receive the media coverage enjoyed by fast-growth startups. And [...]
Digital Single Market: The impact for marketers December 13, 2015 The European Commission’s Digital Single Market (DSM) strategy aims to remove cross-border regulation, making it easier for digital businesses to operate across Europe. The EU estimates that it could add €415bn to GDP and create 3.8m extra jobs. The Commission’s latest proposals, released last week, cover copyright and digital contracts, and seek to make it easier [...]
Robert Dyas Christmas advert wins weirdest ad of 2015 for “we’re gay, straight and bi” YouTube video December 13, 2015 We've had John Lewis's Christmas advert bonanza, then the Man on the Moon spoof (from Aldi, who else), as well as the curveball surprise hit of the Christmas ad season (a Spanish lottery ad, if you missed it). Now, we have the winner of the title for weirdest ad of the year (and not just Christmas). Of [...]
From Tesco’s share price and Donald Trump’s hot air to property prices spiralling out of control: Here’s what got us talking this week December 11, 2015 The most expensive car of the year sold for a cool £18m. The shadow City minister played hard to get.. And we remembered all sorts of things about the last 12 months. Here's What Got us Talking 1) You're probably not working at one of the best companies in the UK And, seeing as it's [...]
EA’s new eSports division shows investors should stop ignoring and undervaluing competitive video gaming’s golden growth potential December 11, 2015 Last month, the best-performing media release of the year was revealed. It wasn’t Spectre, Adele’s new album or tickets for U2’s latest global tour. It was Fallout 4, a game from Bethesda Game Studios, which made $750m (£497.6m) in a single day of sales. One of the biggest industries you may not yet have heard [...]
As Apple’s iPhone 6S lands will mobile payments change the way we live? December 11, 2015 Today’s smartphones can do incredible things. Need a ride around London? Just tap the Uber app. Fresh flowers or food from a local restaurant delivered straight to your door? Try Bloom & Wild or Deliveroo. These apps are fantastic, but there's a new smartphone feature set to fundamentally revolutionise the high street and how [...]
City Moves for 11 December 2015 | Who’s switching jobs December 10, 2015 KEMP LITTLE LLP Vicky Cooper has been appointed by Kemp Little LLP as a partner in the technology and digital media law firm’s IP & technology disputes group. Vicky will work closely with the firm’s commercial technology team, bolstering Kemp Little’s IT dispute resolution capability. Vicky specialises in helping both suppliers and customers in the [...]
Trumpmania has gone global – and it’s undermining liberalism the world over December 10, 2015 As if total domination of the US media wasn’t enough, presidential candidate Donald Trump has managed to get his name splattered over every global news outlet for the past three days. It normally requires an extraordinarily inspirational, or devious, act to justify that kind of international attention and – to be fair to the press [...]
Mayfair, flamingos and Berlin: London’s retailers and marketers have held the Square Mile’s (and Germany’s) best Christmas parties so far December 10, 2015 Last week, The Capitalist delivered the sad news that around a quarter of businesses weren’t even planning a Christmas party, and issued an appeal for the City’s most raucous office do. Well, boy did you guys deliver. Wednesday was a big one for London’s financial marketers and PRs. Johnny Hornby, founder of WPP-backed communications group [...]