14th October 2017

Keeping America Compatible with Facebook. ‘What is less speculative and more likely though, is that CZI and Zuckerberg himself are deployed by existing political actors as the last best example of …what today’s Democratic Party wants to be seen as: stewards of a rational, meritocratic society capable of administrating grand projects for large populations….If that happens he would be someone that, as Jane Jacobs wrote in Fortune Magazine, “loves the public but hates the people.”

From Adweek….’It’s not difficult to see where these trends lead. When content can be created instantly, targeted and distributed instantly, and then tweaked and optimised instantly, marketing becomes a whole new ballgame. Inference, inspiration and intuition are—for better or worse—on their way out, replaced by an accelerating loop of test-and-optimise.‘

‘Alongside this need for a new framework, there are new requirements for marketing competencies and capabilities around domains of expertise like data and analytics, customer experience, content, multichannel, and personalisation, which are neither properly understood nor being met. This is acknowledged in the marketing industry but not reflected in any definitive model.’ From Ashley Friedlein and Econsultancy – This is M3 : The Modern Marketing Model.

From emarketer, nearly half of US teens now say they prefer Snapchat over other social media sites, including Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.

My piece on the Econsultancy blog this week. ‘The myth of storytelling in marketing and why brands should encourage ‘story sharing’. 

A compelling ‘info-gif’ from the FT – the changing shape of childhood obesity 1975-2016. As economies have developed, childhood obesity has increased tenfold in 40 years.

Amazon is looking to corner a significant chunk of the video advertising market. eMarketer estimates that US digital ad revenues for the company are expected to reach $1.65 billion by the end of this year. At that level, it would make up 2.0% of total US digital ad spending.However, Amazon will have to tread carefully to avoid upsetting its users, who are accustomed to an ad-free video experience.

‘According to Google and Bing, one in four searches is conducted by talking, not typing, a figure comScore predicts will reach 50 percent by 2020. That same year Echo alone will account for $7 billion in voice transactions—or vcommerce.’ This is how Amazon, Google and Apple Are Giving Brands a Way Into the Conversation.

Smashing communication idea from the world of travel and tourism. Somewhat along the lines of the Swedish Number concept, this Faroe Islands campaign translates phrases into Faroese, rather charmingly articulated by some of the island’s residents.

A great idea and a rather wonderful ad. The Tile app, helps users find items attached to a Tile dongle within a range of about 200 feet. From the ad creators – ‘When we lose something and then find it, it’s an indescribably good feeling. But how could we tell that story so that the lost thing is compelling to everyone? That was the challenge. So, we realised that by transforming something into someone, we could end up with a beautiful love story.‘