More Features articles

In the run-up to the sporting season, the battle between BT and BSkyB continues – and with BSkyB refusing to air its rival’s multi-million pound ads, it’s clear that they’re taking the threat seriously, says Aegis’ Jim Marshall. But what exactly is it that BT is threatening? It certainly isn’t BSkyB’s football coverage…

The problem with the magazine market is the vagary of change, not the shock of collapse says Peter Houston, founder of Flipping Pages Media. It’s like being a frog bobbing about in a pan of water that’s slowly coming to the boil – comfortable enough for the time being, but without the self-awareness to change its situation, the frog’s going to get boiled.

Telefónica’s global director of advertising, Shaun Gregory, argues that as advertising technology starts to ramp up, every form of media will be brought kicking and screaming into the new world. But for the outdoor and mobile environments, where a promising new partnership is blossoming, we need to ensure that the ‘natural marriage’ is not just one of convenience…

We are headed towards a digital future with just three media – video, text and audio – delivered across screens of varying sizes, yet ‘TV’ and ‘radio’ still have very strong connotations. So how should we change our definitions in a connected world? Richard Marks of Research the Media investigates…

Despite past concerns, Freesheets today have a lot going for them argues Tim Carr, director and head of international at adconnection. They travel far and wide, attract new – and multiple – readers, and with the right online offering can lead people towards workable ‘freemium’ content…

Online display advertising has failed and in its wake comes Native Advertising – a term we’ll all be using by 2014, we’re assured. But there is much confusion outside of the US about what it even means, never mind having the know-how to pitch its use to a client. Never fear, because Greg Grimmer has a simpler explanation for what he says is the Next Big Thing.

This year’s festival was about far more than the films – it was about the stars, the parties, the fashion and some real-life drama through an audacious jewellery heist. And while this helped Chopard take the headlines, the ubiquitous presence of brands at the festival reflects the increasingly close relationship between advertising and film, says DCM’s Simon Rees.

This week Simon Andrews looks at why CMOs are being told to fundamentally change their marketing operating models, the argument that we don’t want Big Data – we want clever data, and the impact Yahoo’s Tumblr purchase will have on ads.

Privacy law is changing and the effect on personal data – key to the relationship between brands and consumers – will be monumental, says Colin Strong, Managing Director, GfK NOP Business & Technology. So what can brands do to ensure they don’t get caught out? Ensuring data issues are not ghettoised within a business is step one…

With so much news coming out of Google I/O, it’s inevitable some of the announcements won’t get the attention they deserve, so this week Simon Andrews takes a look at the lesser discussed, yet hugely interesting developments.