The algorithm may have fast become global shorthand for the brutal simplicity to be found in data-driven marketing, but the growing focus on emotional analytics is proving that the algorithm can in fact have a heart. It is a shift that will be of great importance for brands and, inevitably, has spawned a new rash of …

The effectiveness of digital advertising is increasingly being called into question as marketers’ concerns over transparency, measurement, ad fraud and viewability compound. The debate ramped up when Marc Pritchard, chief brand officer at the world’s largest advertiser Procter & Gamble, made a speech earlier this year on the subject, heralding a new era in digital …

Some 15 campaigns from last year have been recognised for their creativity and effectiveness in the latest industry study from the Gunn Report. But its Cases for Creativity 2016 report also noted that just six of the total were campaigns on behalf of commercial brands – the others being not-for-profit or corporate social responsibility – …

Marketers need to be warier and demand more openness when it comes to digital metrics, says News UK’s chief marketing officer for The Times and Sunday Times Catherine Newman. Ad fraud and ad viewability are dominating the headlines this year, with Procter & Gamble’s chief brand officer Marc Pritchard recently urging the industry to clean …

Would you agree that advertising is one facet of marketing? Yes? Okay, then advertising technology (adtech) is naturally one facet of marketing technology (martech). If you like diagrams, you can visualize adtech as a small circle contained entirely within a larger circle of martech. Adtech is a subset of martech. But for years, people have …

Having launched and sold several successful brands including Powwownow, Andrew Pearce is turning his sights to the online greetings card market with new brand Thortful. Andrew Pearce is proud to put his money where his mouth is. A serial entrepreneur who has founded four companies, including conference call brand Powwownow, he has seen the value …

This year’s Mobile World Congress agenda has seen a rise in talks about content but it comes at a time where advertisers have numerous platforms to choose from and Vice’s chief executive, Shane Smith, believes that there’s too much investment in the latter. He said: “If you embrace new technologies you are going to need …

Let’s start with a story. To analyze the effectiveness of its TV commercial storyboard, Makro, an international digital and in-store retailer, asked neuroscience research firm Neurensics to conduct an f-MRI study to determine people’s reactions. The experiments showed that the storyboard scored lower than average in effectiveness: “It activated more negative than positive emotions. In …

WPP CEO Sir Martin Sorrell says short-termism is the biggest threat to future growth; he believes President Trump’s pro-business agenda will help solve the problem.Sir Martin Sorrell’s greatest worry and what he believes will have the greatest negative impact on future growth is short-termism. Speaking this morning (2 March) at Deloitte’s Media and Telecoms conference, the WPP boss said: “It’s not three-month-old …