This Week: UK Advertising in the Media 31.03.23

New IPA president to launch ‘people first’ agenda 

Josh Krichefski to focus on attracting, retaining and looking after talent. 

Elon Musk memo suggests Twitter worth less than half of what he paid for it 

Calculation based on leaked offer to staff that implies firm valued at $20bn compared with $44bn he bought it for. 

Global campaign pushes Legoland Parks as space for creative development 

Created by TBWA\MCR, the global campaign focuses on Legoland Parks’ vital place in the Lego universe. 

VCCP ventures into employer branding with VCCP BEE launch 

The specialism aims to tackle the ‘engagement gap’ between brands and their employees. 

How Tesco used ‘brand shaping insights’ to take calculated risks 

The supermarket giant developed a ‘Happiness Platform’ to mine insights into British life, helping it curate a programme of “caring acts” designed to serve both brand and audience. 

‘The model is broken’: UK’s regional newspapers fight for survival in a digital world 

As Reach makes more job cuts on local titles, is a sustainable future in sight for local journalism to hold power to account?  

Sustainability as important as first-party data, says Coca-Cola ASEAN marketing boss 

Marketers should consider sustainability as important as collecting first-party data, according to Coca-Cola’s lead APAC marketer. 

The problem with the EU’s new greenwashing crackdown 

The EU commission unveiled its highly anticipated proposed directive on green marketing this week. 

Young creatives pen open letter to industry execs over fossil fuel clients 

200 design and advertising students reject working with fossil fuel clients. 

Scaffardi named MD of Adwanted Events & Publishing 

Since joining the company in 2019, Scaffardi has launched new event brands such as Future of Audio Europe, Future of Gaming and Future of Media, as well as evolving The Future of Brands. 

Ford And AMV BBDO Unveil Round -The-World Adventure To Launch Explorer Range 

Modern day reinvention of land-mark trip will promote new electric SUV. 

School Reports: A to Z 

How did your agency score in this year’s School Reports? 

School Reports: VCCP overtakes Adam & Eve/DDB as biggest creative shop by billings 

Advertising agency increased its billings by a third last year. 

School Reports: Essence biggest faller among top 10 media shops in Nielsen table 

WPP outfit merged with the UK’s biggest media agency Mediacom earlier this year. 

Will agency groups continue to outperform tech companies? 

Analysts and agency bosses explain why holding groups have had a better year than pure-play tech companies. 

Holdco earnings show that turbulent tech sector could learn from big marketing groups 

Green Square’s Barry Dudley looks into the performance of the big agency groups following their annual earnings presentation. 

Talon acquires independent out-of-home agency Evolve 

Evolve has worked with businesses such as The Lego Group and Hugo Boss. 

B2B spend on TV advertising has doubled since 2018 

Much of the growth is being driven by the democratisation of software for SMEs, with web hosting firms Ionos By 1&1 and GoDaddy, as well as financial services brands Sage and Intuit, featuring in the top 10 B2B advertisers on TV last year. 

Made for Advertising ticks the right boxes – but is it just unhelpful clutter? 

Made for Advertising sites generate low quality ads that are less valuable and effective, writes law partner Nick Swimer. 

World Out-of-Home Organization elects Sustainability Task Force 

The World Out of Home Organization (WOO) has chosen 12 international out-of-home professionals to make out-of-home (OOH) more “green”. 

Never Stop Imagining with the Latest Samsung Commercial from Christian Bevilacqua 

The film uses inspiring imagery mixed with a combination of live action and AI technology. 

How GDPR’s impact on marketing caused a £1.5bn hit to the UK economy 

Data regulation has sapped confidence from brands. 

Channel 4 tests reduced ad loads on its streaming platform 

The UK broadcaster has signed up 30 advertisers to trial fewer ads and new formats. 

‘Opening Eyes, Hearts And Minds’, Newly Elected IPA President Talks ‘People First’ Agenda 

His inaugural speech was followed by a live Q&A with Creative Salon. In fighting talk, Josh Krichefski explains how his agenda will help drive relevance for the industry. 

Are Retail Media Networks Lacking Creativity? 

As the retail media landscape continues its staggering rise, it’s worth exploring standards of creativity, measurement and innovation. 

Government push for C4 privatisation meant radio was ‘left out in cold’ 

Former Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries and ex-Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s desire to push forward with privatising Channel 4 led to the UK’s radio sector being “left out in the cold” during last year’s consultation about the future of broadcasting. 

Government media bill will stop advertisers getting lost in the noise 

Matt Payton analyses the government’s draft Media Bill and what could happen if the bill isn’t passed. 

Marc Nohr steps down from group CEO role at Miroma Group 

He will pursue a portfolio career chairing several companies. 

Only path to true net zero is to not make products or ads, says Patagonia marketer 

The outdoor clothing giant is revered for its responsible business and advertising model, but its senior marketer for Europe tells The Drum you won’t ever hear him call it a sustainable company. 

The New Privacy Paradigm: How Brands and Agencies Can Navigate the Modern World of Data 

Some of the industry’s data experts speak to LBB’s Josh Neufeldt about today’s era of data ethics, stricter privacy regulations, and how these changes can prove beneficial from an effectiveness perspective. 

Pick of the Week: Icelandair spot is easy to watch, hard to forget 

The film shows how people can stopover in Iceland while using the airline. 

Vanish docudrama elevates the gender gap in autism diagnoses 

Campaign won Channel 4’s annual Diversity in Advertising Award. 

School Reports 2023: Poor diversity has its price 

While the School Reports show the situation continues to improve on the gender pay-gap front, as well as on diverse representation, progress remains slow, which could end up costing agencies dear. 

Brands’ biggest AI opportunity is in making customers believe the bullshit 

Artificial intelligence is mostly a distraction from marketing fundamentals – unless you convince your market AI makes your brand better than the competition. 

GPT-4-powered Bing Chat introduces ads – and experts believe it’s a natural fit 

Users can expect to see sponsored results and ads in their Bing Chat experience in the near future. For many in the field, the decision to marry advertising and generative AI is an obvious one. 

Google launches Ads Transparency Center 

Google has started rolling out its Ads Transparency Center which will allow users to learn more about ads they see, including on YouTube, Search and Display. 

Drops in the Ocean OOH campaign will address the fragility of Britain’s wildlife habitats 

Ocean’s Drops in the Ocean environmental OOH fund will support 13 causes all fighting climate change. 

Pot Noodle “Nothing fills a hole like Pot Noodle” by Adam & Eve/DDB 

Pot Noodle, the Unilever snack brand, has been positioned as filling a hole and this tongue-in-cheek film takes that a step further showing the noodles in all sorts of holes such as a pool table pocket, a bird house and a washing machine drum.