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Showing posts from March, 2021

As trust in social platforms erodes, F&N looks to create meaningful DTC relationships

The issues of transparency, return of investments and brand reputation have diminished marketers’ faith in the leading social media channels. The Drum finds out how food and beverage firm Fraser and Neave (F&N) is adapting its social media strategy. Controversies around hate speech, online bullying, extremist content and fake news have demonstrated time and again that over-reliance on social platforms to reach customers can be dangerous for brand marketers. These controversies have had a negative impact on trust in some news sources, hurting the reputations of traditional media outlets, search engines, owned media and social media. The recent Edelman Trust Barometer 2021 found less than one-in-five Singaporeans practice good information hygiene. This is an area of concern – majority of respondents (60%) indicated they were willing to share or forward news items that they found interesting. As a result, many marketers are shifting to a strategy of owning customer journeys and

Inside the Amazon Fresh store

Like snagging the belt hook on your jeans when rushing out the door, being held up when you’re in a hurry can lead to feelings of great irritation. In convenience shopping, it’s similar. Tackling these issues head on is Amazon Fresh. The new, completely contactless store (a first for the UK) opened its Ealing store doors on Thursday 4 March. We went to experience it first-hand.   How does it work? To access the store, you need to open your Amazon Shopping app, click the basket, click ‘Fresh Code’ and then scan your unique QR code at the gate to operate. Easy. Once inside, it’s all pretty straightforward again. The ‘halo’ which surrounds you heat maps your journey and is combined with weighing mechanisms on the shelves that can tell when you’ve picked something up and then charge you at the end. If you change your mind and put something back before leaving, it simply reverses the process and you won’t be billed. Take what you want and skip on out. You don’t even need to rescan your

Finalists revealed for The Drum Awards for Search 2021

The Drum Awards for Search recognize creative thinking, strategy, and technological innovation – setting the standard for best practice across both organic and paid. Search remains a crucial weapon in any advertiser’s arsenal and is among the most effective ways to connect with customers. This year’s judging panel brought together an international group of senior marketers from companies such as Squarespace, Net-A-Porter, Essence, Merkle and LinkedIn. The jury was led by Miracle Inameti-Archibong, head of SEO at Erudite. The judges got together via Zoom to discuss the entries and create a shortlist. You can see the full list below and join the conversation on social with #TheDrumAwards. While we won’t be able to get together in person, you can safely join the celebrations on Wednesday 28 April 2021 as we announce this year’s winners at a lively virtual ceremony. Register here to get an email reminder. Finalists Automotive and Transport Evolved Search for Select Car Leasing

Creative Works, including Vodafone, KFC and NHS

Welcome to The Drum’s Creative Works, in partnership with  Adobe Stock , dedicated to showing the best creative work from around the globe. Scroll through the latest work from the likes of Dazn, KFC, Burger King, NHS and more, then click through to the  global Creative Works site  and see what stands out. For project information, creative credits and more, click on the project to expand to full screen and then click on the stars to vote for your favorite. To submit work for our Creative Works section, please fill out this online form . : 'Get Home Safe ' Agency: Client: Date: March 2021 Presently, if employees jump into a taxi to get home before 9pm, this is viewed as a taxable benefit.  And so, concerned the rule may discourage bosses from keeping staff safe, the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising (IPA) is lobbying the UK government, calling on it to amend the HMRC rule that tax taxi expenses.  Creature London has spearheaded the 'Get Home Safe'

How e-commerce might function on a cookie-less web

Cadi Jones, commercial director EMEA at adtech software experts Beeswax, is often tasked with demystifying digital advertising for marketers. She’s now taking these efforts wider, this week detailing what drove the ecommerce boom and how it will change the face of consumerism as privacy regulations shake up ad land.  The pandemic has changed people’s behavior. As a community, digital marketing professionals tend to be early adopters of new technologies, and so it can be hard to notice the moment when things we’ve been doing for years become mainstream. It’s even harder during a pandemic, when we’re (mostly) confined to our homes and not mixing outside of our bubbles, to see changes that are happening with ’real people’ living outside of London, doing ’real’ jobs. You’d have to have been living under a rock to have missed the rapid acceleration of e-commerce. The first sector to witness this transformation were the grocers. Based on Nielsen data, by the end of 2020 a total of 8.5m UK

Female gamers: here to play, here to stay

The face of gaming is changing, literally. And there's no more apt time to talk about it than now, during Women's History Month. When you look at current gamer statistics, the rise of the female gamer is apparent. In Asia, often considered the global capital of gaming and a region that accounts for almost half of the world's gaming revenue,  38% of the 1.33 billion gamers are women . In Europe, 45% of gamers are women , and in the U.S., women make up 41% of the gaming community . Across platforms – mobile, PC, and console – women make up 46% of gamers . For mobile gaming specifically, women's sessions last 25% longer than men's . Women overwhelmingly favor single-player mode games (86%), although Call of Duty and Fortnight have their fair share of female gamers – 36% and 34% , respectively. One of the most interesting and perhaps surprising sub-segments of female gamers is mothers. A study from Activision Blizzard revealed that 71% of mothers between the ages of

Tata Consultancy Services CMO on the 'nuts and bolts' of its new branding

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), the leading global IT services, consulting and business solutions organization, which is part of the Indian conglomerate Tata Group has launched its new brand statement ‘Building on belief’. The Drum spoke to Rajashree R, chief marketing officer, TCS about the new vision. The idea behind the launch is to articulate its mission and relationship with customers as it embarks on its next decade of transformation-led growth, as per the company statement. UK based brand consultancy Brandpie has worked on the IT company’s new brand articulation.    The new statement was arrived at after an extensive brand positioning exercise, done by the brand where more than 100 customers and several 100 TCS associates participated with more than 70% of participants being millennials. “After this extensive consultation, ‘Building on Belief’ was identified as our brand statement”, shares Rajashree R, chief marketing officer, TCS in an exclusive chat with The Drum. A formid

Tata Consultancy Services CMO on the 'nuts and bolts' of its new brand

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), the leading global IT services, consulting and business solutions organization, which is part of the Indian conglomerate Tata Group has launched its new brand statement ‘Building on belief’. The Drum spoke to Rajashree R, chief marketing officer, TCS about the new vision. The idea behind the launch is to articulate its mission and relationship with customers as it embarks on its next decade of transformation-led growth, as per the company statement. UK based brand consultancy Brandpie has worked on the IT company’s new brand articulation.    The new statement was arrived at after an extensive brand positioning exercise, done by the brand where more than 100 customers and several 100 TCS associates participated with more than 70% of participants being millennials. “After this extensive consultation, ‘Building on Belief’ was identified as our brand statement”, shares Rajashree R, chief marketing officer, TCS in an exclusive chat with The Drum. A formid

The state of streaming

The rise of streaming looks unstoppable. With 74% of US consumers subscribing to a streaming service, according to findings from The Leichtman Research Group, the landscape has become intensely competitive. There are over 200 platforms now available to viewers globally, and more than 20 in the US alone. While the focus is often on established streaming platforms such as Netflix or Amazon Prime Video, the shift to streaming has taken hold for traditional broadcast powerhouses such as NBC (Peacock), ABC (Hulu and Disney+) and CBS (CBS All Access and Paramount+). In today’s television landscape, every show – regardless of where it originally airs – is now a streaming show. Networks are now making decisions about which shows to greenlight or renew based on a program's streaming audience, more than its live audience. This represents a fundamental shift in how content is distributed and consumed. And it demands a shift in how advertisers think about reaching audiences.  <iframe id=

It’s time to look again at LinkedIn as a B2C platform

Since its launch in 2003, LinkedIn has evolved to become the largest professional networking platform in the world, with over 750 million registered members globally and more than 30 million members in the UK alone. As part of The Drum’s recent Digital Transformation Festival , US editor Kenneth Hein spoke with Will Aldington Smyth, agency partner lead, EMEA at LinkedIn and Lauren Ogúndèkó, head of response digital and Board member at PHD UK to find out how and why LinkedIn has moved far beyond its roots as a B2B focused ‘digital Rolodex’ to become, surprisingly, one of the most effective B2C channels available to marketers in 2021. Watch the full LinkedIn B2C roundtable here. Describing the gradual evolution of the platform, Aldington Smyth said: “It’s fair to say that LinkedIn was initially viewed mainly as a digital rolodex, CV depository and job board. Today, people come to LinkedIn for a much wider variety of reasons: to be inspired; to connect with others; to find out about di

Sonic branding for emotional connection, not emotional manipulation

Our mental health, and awareness of it, have never been so essential to our existence. Personal or professional, this past year has challenged many of us to finally understand that emotional well-being is not something to take for granted; that, basically, we cannot function if we are not emotionally connected. And it is not just Covid-19 that has shed a blinding light on this revelation, but an overwhelmingly charged social and political atmosphere, on a global scale. For many years, brands have been among the first to take risks in support of diversity and equality, to foster understanding, and even revolutionize societies. The trailblazers of days past will not be forgotten; however, it may not have been so detrimental to their survival to get it right. Consumers can easily see past the bells and whistles, the celebrity endorsements, and the glitz and glamour, to pinpoint the truth. If we don’t feel that the message is authentic, if there is an ounce of doubt, the brand platform w