Archive
Consultancy
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Stormy Water Ahead for the Labour Party?
September 10, 2015
By Saturday afternoon the waiting will be over and we will know who is the new Leader and the new Deputy Leader of the Labour Party. The announcement will be made at a Special Conference being held in London that morning and the Deputy Leader result will be announced before that of Leader. Whilst the majority of debate and coverage has focused on the leadership candidates, the role of Deputy Leader is crucial in that...
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Has Influencer Marketing Become Redundant?
August 27, 2015
Everyone’s doing it. They’re filming it in parks, kitchens and bedrooms; live Tweeting it; taking photos and broadcasting details on the internet... Some of the biggest brands in the world have engaged bloggers, vloggers, Instagram and Vine stars to endorse their products or services, and nobody wants to be left behind. But when everyone’s doing it, does that mean you’re no longer special? Are brands and PRs turning away from influencer marketing in search of...
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Getting Seen Online is Getting Harder
August 24, 2015
This week, the Internet Advertising Bureau (IAB) launched a new initiative “IAB Believes…” to tackle some of the key problems facing online advertisers – in particular “viewability”. This comes hot on the heels of a report by Adobe suggesting that more people than ever are simply switching off online ads and no longer viewing them - a problem that is estimated to cost the ad industry $21.8bn each year. Part of this is because companies...
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Abstract Digest #5
August 21, 2015
Welcome to another edition of Abstract Digest, collating this weeks news, trends and creativity. Future Google's upcoming Nexus phone might look like this. Lurch to the left or the right? Where Labour and the Tories must position themselves to win in 2020. Facebook looks set to alter the platform to encourage long-form blogging. Aldi and Morrisons will pay farmers more for milk - smart PR move? Starbucks stores are transitioning to serve wine and beer...
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TechMunch: Artificial Intelligence: should we fear the rise of the machines?
August 20, 2015
Robots used to be a thing of the sci-fi world, but this is rapidly changing. Artificial intelligence (AI), the development of machines that can carry out tasks normally only human intelligence is capable of, has progressed a lot over the last few years, making robot technology much more advanced. So advanced, that it has been reported that Japan is opening its doors to a new robot staffed hotel, where robot humanoids (that blink) respond to...
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What the past three months have told us about the next five years, and beyond…
August 14, 2015
Earlier this week I found myself watching a C-SPAN interview of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown from 1993. Coming across as a new brand of Labour politicians, engaging and clearly economically competent, (even for this Conservative), one is left feeling safe, confident, even agreeing with what they are saying. But, to extend the phrase, 22 years is a long time in politics. The two modernising forces in British politics today resemble the Blair and Brown...
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TechMunch: How close are we to drones delivering packages to our front door steps?
August 12, 2015
In the past couple of years, drones have been the hot tech ticket. They’ve barely left the news and debate regarding their use – from security, to privacy, air laws, personal usage and safety issues - has been hotly contested and continues to rage on to this day. After 18 months since Amazon first announced it was testing drones to deliver goods to its customers, how close are we to seeing them speed across the...
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Story Telling In The New Media Age
August 11, 2015
Such a powerful image: thirty five women, beautifully photographed in black and white; sitting unapologetically in front of the camera. The image represented a bold and unquestioning stance by the magazine’s editorial team that challenged long-held perceptions of a TV and entertainment icon, Bill Cosby. There was much that fascinated me in this story. The bravery of the women involved is without question but also the editorial position that led to New York magazine running...
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Demand for Always-on Healthcare – can industry keep up?
August 10, 2015
New research in the UK Digital Health Report, published by Push Doctor, shows that one in four people in the UK admit to self-diagnosing their illnesses online rather than making a doctor’s appointment. The report found that 21.8% of people chose to diagnose their symptoms online because they were unable to get a doctor's appointment (11%) or because their GP wasn't available quickly enough (10.8%). It’s no surprise that ‘Doctor Google’ is often the first...
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Abstract Digest #3
August 7, 2015
Welcome to another edition of Abstract Digest, collating this weeks news, trends and creativity. Future 2016 could see the first HoloLens kits shipped to developers. Is it time to prepare for augmented-reality ads? Urban water slides, Ice cream pop-ups and giant ball pits: Top 75 Interactive Ideas in August. Siri could soon answer your calls and transcribe voicemail messages for you, reportedly launching in 2016. Labour MPs are queuing up to say they won't serve...