More Opinion articles

From an angry systems analyst paying out of his own pocket to place a full-page ad in the Guardian, to corporate apologies and M&C Saatchi Thatcher tributes – newspapers are still one of the strongest advertising mediums for sheer impact in a digital age. Why? By Raymond Snoddy.

No-one can deny that the reputation of newspapers is under attack says Newsworks’ CEO Rufus Olins. Putting the exploits of Hacked Off to one side for the moment, there is a perception that technology is killing the business. People don’t stop to think that if radio and television didn’t kill it, why should the arrival of more recent platforms? Why shouldn’t media find their place alongside one another?

The content marketing industry is rapidly evolving with the onset of digital says Clare Hill, managing director of the CMA. From near field communications and ‘slowmercials’, to augmented reality and QR codes, technology is driving unique consumer engagements. So which brands have them working best?

Whenever I think of tobacco companies and advertising, I think of cockroaches: however hard the government stamps on their efforts to promote themselves, they keep coming up the drainpipe and inserting themselves into your life, says Dominic Mills.

Over 50% of the population now has a smartphone. Digital ad revenue is over £5.5 billion and more than £500 million of that is on mobile. Facebook has 15 million mobile users every day, and 50% of all internet sessions on mobile are on Facebook or from Facebook links. These are big numbers. So what’s everyone waiting for?, asks Addictive! founder Simon Andrews. It’s time to experiment and start learning.

“It’s like porn: hard to describe but you know it when you see it,” said Cameron Yuill, founder and CEO of AdGent Digital, when asked what makes a good video advert. And Yuill is certain that it won’t be long until all online advertising is video, and even has a name for this prediction – ‘Cam’s Law’. Newsline caught up with him to discuss the implications for brands and advertisers.

18 months ago Greg Grimmer caused some distress with his column, poking fun at a certain – newly re-branded – media trade body. Has he changed his mind since then? After an awkward lunch with the CEO and some interesting conferences, things may have turned a corner…

Appointing James Harding as director of news and current affairs of the BBC is a courageous move by director-general Tony Hall, says Raymond Snoddy. It’s a tough job being in charge of 3,000 journalists, so what is Harding going to be up against in the new role, and how would he have handled the most recent kerfuffles at the BBC? Pens ready; its time for an exam…

Alarm bells rang when YouGov reported that almost one third of young adults say they have not read a newspaper in the last 12 months, however people seem to have forgotten that this means that 70% of young adults do read newspapers. The young are not abandoning newsbrands and newsbrands are far from dead, says Carat’s associate director Stephanie Arlett.

Two-timing the TV has been going on for years – from getting up during the adverts to make a cup of tea, to grannies doing their knitting during an episode of Corrie. And now, advertising brands have mobiles and tablets to contend with as well. However, instead of brands seeing these as a threat, they should be using dual screening as an opportunity to get people talking about them, says Starcom MediaVest’s Steve Smith.