More Opinion articles

Placing the Sun online behind a paywall is an all-or-nothing bet by News International, so you can be certain the company will be throwing a considerable amount of promotional cash at the platform to lure in and maintain readers says Dominic Mills. However, it’s the newsbrand’s competitors who have the most to get excited about – and whoever the first port of call for Sun readers is, the one thing they won’t be doing is putting up a paywall…

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.

The last few weeks have seen high profile changes in British production finance and NMG’s John R Barnard believes these will have a significant and beneficial impact on the UK product placement market – opening the doors to UK marketers looking for quality brand integration in long shelf-life films and TV dramas that will travel the world.

The latest RAJAR results report, along with the usual ups and downs, a potentially seminal moment in the life of digital radio: half of the UK adult population now listens to the radio on a digital platform. Unfortunately this is not ‘the’ 50% that has been touted by the Government as the tipping point for any digital switch over, but it’s still positive news says IPSOS MediaCT’s Andy Haylett.

From Sun+ Premier League clips and BT’s ‘free sports’ deal to ITV’s England qualifiers coverage and even Channel 4’s Paralympics win – sport is shaking up vast swathes of the media. Yet the only certainty in all this flurry of activity is that there will be only one winner says Raymond Snoddy…

Agency teams that work in silos across their respective channels are out of touch with the way today’s consumers operate as shoppers increasingly look for tailored, personalised interactions from brands. So what needs to change? Colin Grieves from Experian’s Alchemy Social takes a look…

Do influencers really exist? Way back in 2000, when Facebook was but a twinkle in Mark Zuckerberg’s eye, Malcolm Gladwell’s The Tipping Point introduced the concept of “mavens”, the so-called super-consumers brands hungrily pursue as the Holy Grail of engagement. We all knew then that word of mouth was a powerful tool – but really, how influential could an individual be? The Future Foundation’s Karen Canty investigates.

In the wake of ‘soda taxes’ – in which governments are seeking to address the huge rise in global obesity – the implications for the likes of Coke are huge – which is why it has launched a new charm offensive. But Coke’s latest campaign is yuck; pure corporate hokum says Dominic Mills, and the idea of it sponsoring a government health campaign is just as ridiculous.

Starcom MediaVest’s Steve Smith takes a look at the union between out-of-home and mobile and explains why it’s so important that brands optimise their mobile platforms.

Simon Andrews, founder of Addictive! this week talks about how mobile devices are being utilised across the globe and why brands should be embracing digital out-of-home advertising.