Welcome to Alice In Medialand, a sideways glance at the absurdities of a life working in the media industry.

There is something interesting going on at the Times and Metro – but the rest of the market rather struggled last month with most titles recording period-on-period declines.

The IAB is set to launch a Video Steering Group in the new year to help prove the effectiveness of video as a brand medium.

Bauer’s digital creative director has said podcasts and e-commerce will be a big focus next year.

Speaking at Media Playground 2016, Sean Dromgoole, founder of GameVision, explains how VR could open up new opportunities for advertisers.

From emerging tech and digital opportunities, to a new era of publisher collaboration, magazine media has much to look forward to, says Adam Bullock, co-founder of Contented.

Media Playground 2016: Smart packaging, a shelf that reorders products on your behalf and a new era of programmatic commerce. How should brands approach the Internet of Things?

Smith formerly sat on ISBA’s Executive Committee while commercial and operations director of Camelot. In grocery retail he has held marketing and management positions on the boards of Kwiksave and Somerfield.

The $540m deal will see what Adobe called the creation of an “end-to-end independent advertising and data management solution” that it hopes will simplify a complex and fragmented process for brands.

P&G’s Rachel Forde has been named UK CEO, while Nigel Waring has been appointed chief operating officer.