ITV talked up as post-Brexit vote foreign takeover target August 3, 2016 Downton Abbey broadcaster ITV is being talked up as a foreign takeover target in the aftermath of the UK’s Brexit vote. The company, which currently has a market capitalisation of £7.8bn, has been linked by analysts with moves from the US and Europe. Alex DeGroote, a media analyst at Peel Hunt, told Morning Wire: “It certainly [...]
Saatchi ad boss Kevin Roberts resigns after gender row August 3, 2016 One of advertising's top bosses has resigned after a storm surrounding comments he made about women working in the industry. Saatchi and Saatchi chairman Kevin Roberts, who had been put on a "leave of absence" by the agency's owner Publicis Groupe, has said he will leave the company at the start of September. He had planned to retire in May [...]
The advertising industry isn’t feeling quite so gloomy about Brexit now August 2, 2016 Sir Martin Sorrell’s reaction to the UK’s Brexit vote was: “This is not good news, to say the least.” But the latest forecasts from the advertising industry, including from GroupM, which is part of Sorrell’s WPP, appear more upbeat. In a worst-case scenario, GroupM’s worldwide media and market forecasts report predicts a 4.5 per cent [...]
BBC not happy – MPs want to know which of its stars earn more than the Prime Minister August 2, 2016 The BBC should have to disclose the salaries of all those it pays more than the Prime Minister, a group of influential MPs has ruled. But the corporation is not happy about the suggestion, claiming it would represent a “poacher’s charters” that would not be in the interest of licence fee payers. Currently, while the corporation [...]
Advertising spend is expected to keep growing after Brexit vote (in some sectors, at least) August 2, 2016 Advertising expenditure in the UK is predicted to grow this year and next, despite uncertainty around the Brexit vote. But forecasts from the Advertising Association/ Warc Expenditure Report are down on previous estimates from before the EU referendum. Total UK adspend is expected to grow 4.2 per cent to £20.9bn this year, down from the [...]
Ascential step away from print advertising exposure helps media company grow August 1, 2016 Ascential, the business-to-business media company that floated in London this year, has reported a 13.5 per cent revenue growth in the first half of the year. The figures Turnover on a reported basis was £202.5m, up from £178.4m in the first half of 2015. The company’s adjusted earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda), [...]
Trinity Mirror boss: New Day failed because consumers didn’t want what they said they wanted August 1, 2016 Trinity Mirror’s New Day newspaper – launched this year and closed after less than three months – failed because consumers did not want what they said they wanted, according to the publisher’s chief executive. Asked why the daily title did not succeed, Simon Fox told Morning Wire: “I think because, at the end of the day, what [...]
No Brexit blues for Dave, Del Boy or Rodney: Business as usual for UKTV after referendum August 1, 2016 It’s “business as usual” for UKTV, the owner of TV channels Dave and Gold, after the UK’s Brexit vote. The company has today reported that it is “outpacing the British broadcast market”, with a record share of commercial impacts (SOCI), claiming 9.74 per cent, and “significant growth” of audience share and on-demand viewing in the first half [...]
Mobile momentum: Why advertising on handheld devices will allow Google and Facebook to sustain their remarkable growth August 1, 2016 If there was any lingering doubt about the potential of mobile advertising, it was put paid to last week. Advertising’s two behemoths, Google and Facebook, beat analysts’ expectations for growth in the second quarter, thanks largely to the rise of mobile advertising. In its statement, Google’s parent company Alphabet said that not only were companies continuing [...]
Branding and buyouts: Brand Union’s Toby Southgate on corporate takeovers, Tesco’s farms and Tesla’s higher purpose August 1, 2016 Perceptions of brands change over time,” says Toby Southgate, worldwide chief executive of Brand Union. “And building them takes a long time. It’s not about the final push over the line.” A consultative arm of WPP, Brand Union specialises in brand strategy, and has shaped the identity of some of the world’s biggest names, including Vodafone, Absolut [...]