Happy's marketing news - 23.06.17
It’s been a busy week in the marketing world, here’s what has caught our eye!
Pride in London believes the advertising industry still has a “long way to go” on LGBT representation, and is urging brands to help combat a recent rise in gay hate crimes. This weekend, Pride In London will launch four 30-second films, created by agency WCRS, on Channel 4, with each focusing on the story of a fictional character who has lost a loved one due to coming out.The ads reflect the stories of gay, bi, trans and lesbian characters. The ‘Love Happens Here’ campaign, which also features a special 90-second cinema ad, will run until 8 July when Pride marches will take place across the UK. The honest ads take the unusual step of apologising, with a gay character, for example, seen to say sorry for not taking the needs of the bisexual community seriously enough in the past.
The Football Association is ending a £4m-a-year sponsorship deal with Ladbrokes, claiming it is “inappropriate” for the organisation to have commercial relationships with betting companies. The deal ends just a year into a four-year contract and comes at the conclusion of a three-month review into the governing body’s relationship with gambling. The FA’s decision to cut ties with gambling also comes in the wake of accusations made by former Burnley footballer Joey Barton, who was banned from the sport for 18 months in April for illegally placing hundreds of bets on matches. At the time of his sentencing Barton blasted the FA for its “dependence on betting companies”.
Deloitte’s Media Metrics report has revealed that the UK media sector is continuing to grow, with the combined revenue from the country’s top 100 companies reaching £96.3bn. That marks an 11% increase from 2016, as television production and distribution generated £40bn in revenue, while the social media sub-sector showed the fastest growth over the last three years. The sector has been buoyed by the falling pound, leading to favourable rates for export. There’s also been a strong demand for live events in both business and consumer markets.
Instant message app WhatsApp is becoming one of the prevailing ways people discover and discuss news, according to a study. But use of the messaging app appears to vary widely between countries. In Malaysia, more than 50% of those surveyed said they used WhatsApp for news at least once a week. But in the US, the figure was only three per cent, and in the UK it was five per cent. The Digital News Report also indicates the Brexit debate has led to growing mistrust of the UK’s media. It said only 43% of respondents declared that the news could be trusted – down from 50% last year – with the BBC in particular criticised for having both a pro-EU bias and failing to expose the “distortions” of the leave campaign.
Facebook’s VP of global marketing solutions Carolyn Everson says women should be their “authentic selves” in order to climb the career ladder. Speaking to Marketing Week at the Cannes Lions Festival this week, Everson said she believes there has never been a better time for women to be in tech or marketing due to an increased appetite among companies to have better gender diversity across all aspects of their businesses. “My advice to others is to dream big, because at this point anything is possible. There should be no limit to what women can do. There is definitely a higher level of awareness around gender equality, and so I’m incredibly optimistic about the future for women [in business],” she says. Everson, who is responsible for looking after medium and large businesses as well as the agency community for Facebook, said the days of women following outdated advice on how women should behave are over.
