More Opinion articles

PepsiCo’s new Mountain Dew ad campaign has been described as ‘arguably the most racist ever’ by a leading black academic. The question is, asks Dominic Mills, how do such things happen? How can a savvy corporation like PepsiCo get it all so wrong?

As today’s websites become more sophisticated and as more consumers interact with brands on web pages to an ever greater degree, the need for marketers and senior members of a business’s management team to understand consumer behaviour in the digital space has never been more pronounced, explains Turn’s managing director, Pierre Naggar.

There are unavoidable failings of execution when it comes to mobile advertising – from bad links to bad optimisation – and in this ‘year of the mobile’, brands must think beyond the desktop past of digital advertising if they’re going to be successful. Campaigns need to be relevant and responsive to devices while respecting the consumer, and this can pose a real challenge for brands and publishers, explains Vibrant Media’s Sam Pattison.

In his latest Mobile Fix, Simon Andrews, founder of Addictive! talks about the importance of advertising across multiple platforms, how brands and publishers are embracing social, and the challenges that face agencies when it comes to newsroom models.

The TV landscape is undergoing a tectonic shift as viewers transition from traditional devices to connected platforms, impacting the ways in which tech-savvy and social consumers perceive and interact with video content. As a result, there are huge implications for TV ad campaign strategies, as Jon Hewson, Advertising Director EMEA at Rovi explains…

After a trip to Las Vegas to take part in CinemaCon, Digital Cinema Media’s CEO Simon Rees shares his thoughts on the creative possibilities 3D technology is opening up for filmmakers and advertisers.

Greg Grimmer this month reports back on one of those crucial pieces of client liaison that doesn’t fall foul of the Bribery Act. Yes, the Media Jolly has survived the recession and remains an essential part of ‘The Business’. So how did he end up getting whiplash?

Two weeks before the Hacked Off Royal Charter goes to the Privy Council for a formal signing off, media lawyer Geoffrey Robertson has reminded us what a poor record British judges have in protecting free speech and has suggested that an ombudsman would be a better resolution. We should listen says Raymond Snoddy, because the concept might break the impasse over competing Royal charters. But is it all too late?

Getting people to talk in depth about a particular subject or piece of content can be useful, but we should never expect that sixty minutes of talking with a bunch of random individuals will uncover anything significant, and in the majority of cases, focus groups hold the potential to do more harm than good, says The Media Native. So how else should we expect to gain valuable insight?

Smartphone penetration is at an all-time high, offering brands a new gateway into the heart of the consumer. However a large proportion of mobile advertising is underwhelming and mobile strategies really need kicking into shape, or brands risk losing consumers for good. So what should a good mobile strategy entail? Claire Spencer, head of insight at UM London, investigates.