What do shag carpets, landlines, and display advertising all have in common? The heyday for each has long since passed. And in the case of display ads, a shiny and new alternative — one that blends word-of-mouth buzz with high frequency — has emerged: influencer marketing.

It’s easy to understand why influencers have more reach than website banners or YouTube adverts. Our company did a joint study with Nielsen on consumer conduct, and we found that

With a limited supply of inventory available to advertisers in its news feed, Facebook seems to be trying out slightly more novel ways of ensuring brands are getting the best bang for their buck.  

Limited to its US users at launch, a new augmented reality (AR) feature will enable customers to virtually try on items “in just one click” from certain ads, including fashion accessories and cosmetics, as well as...

Following its time in the public petri dish over Cambridge Analytica and implications that Russia-backed content on its platform had an influential effect on the US election results, you can’t blame Facebook for being a tad overcautious.

As part of its recently rolled-out political ad policies which requires all political advertisements to undergo verification and feature listed details of the buyer, the social network employs an artificial intelligence (AI) system to identify politically-fuelled ads...

It was only eleven years ago - in 2007 - that I set up the first social media agency in the UK. It seems inconceivable now to look back at a mere decade and see how drastically the social media landscape has shifted since then. We have gone from ‘innovative and cool new thing’ to the very foundation of marketing strategies.

Whilst the advent of social media has profoundly disrupted how marketers operate, everything from blogging to influencers and Wikipedia have seemingly had their day. Ours has...

“The customer is always right” is a popular phrase with interesting origins. While there is no conclusive evidence of when the quote first came to exist, most credit its early popularisation to Chicago retailer Marshall Field. More importantly, though, is that the phrase is an abbreviated version of the original, which stated “right or wrong, the customer is always right.”

Only three words longer, the full quote adds some needed context – that the customer can of course be wrong....

Social video sharing platform YouTube is rolling out a “channel membership” paid subscription option to its top creators, following criticism that its latest ad policies make it hard for publishers to earn money.

In a model already employed by competitors such as Twitch and Patreon, the platform will let publishers with more than 100,000 fans charge $4.99 a month for access to exclusive content, while those with over 10,000 followers will be able to host live-streamed “premieres” and...

In response to the results of a survey by Edelman, which found a glaring loss of trust in social media platforms across the globe, the firm’s CEO has commented that “people are scared”.

Revealed at Cannes Lions yesterday (June 19), a study by the PR firm on over 9,000 consumers found that 70% thought it was up to advertisers to pressure social media sites, such as Facebook and Twitter, into more effectively addressing false information and offensive content.

Speaking to CNBC, the...

As we’ve seen within the last year, the big-spending FMCG giants have demonstrated some hefty lobbying power when it comes to holding the digital marketing industry to account. This time, they’re getting tough on influencer marketing.

At Cannes Lions today (June 18), Unilever’s chief marketing and communications officer, Keith Weed, said that the growing influencer marketing industry was at a pivotal stage and that its members must take “urgent action” in order to rebuild...

A new study by e-commerce martech company Rokt has given refreshed credit to the concept of retail therapy, with 71% of UK consumers claiming to be at their happiest when shopping online.

The survey of over 4,000 consumers worldwide found that the majority are not only at their happiest when browsing the virtual aisles, but are at their most “engaged, focused and open-minded”, presenting marketers with a prime opportunity to target customers in a buying mindset.  

For the UK segment of the...

Following its recent redesign, Reddit has rolled out a new native video ad format that will auto-play by default when a user scrolls through a feed.

The update is part of the massively popular site’s tentative efforts to monetise its 330m active monthly users, which can be widely resistant to any large-scale changes to user experience, particularly when there’s a commercial slant involved.

Users will, however, be able to turn off the autoplay function, while the ads themselves will only be served...