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What businesses need to know about WhatsApp Business
gwarner | January 22, 2018
Yesterday, popular messaging service WhatsApp announced the launch of WhatsApp Business, which it says it has designed with small businesses in mind, to help them communicate more easily with their customers. It claims it will also make…
Could 2018 be the dawning of calm technology?
gwarner | January 4, 2018
The principles of “calm computing” and “calm technology” were coined way back in 1995 by PARC Researchers Mark Weiser and John Seely Brown, in reaction to what they saw as the rise of ubiquitous computing and consequently “feeling overwhelmed…
A year in review…our favourite digital marketing trends of 2017
gwarner | December 14, 2017
As we near the end of 2017, it’s customary to look back on what has been another significant year in digital, and take stock of how we’ve evolved as an industry. In particular, we thought…
Facebook relaunches failed Events app as Facebook Local
gwarner | December 5, 2017
As we near the end of 2017, localised content continues to be paramount for the world’s search and social media giants. Facebook is the latest in the pack to revise its local offering, relaunching its…
Snapchat teams up with BMW to launch its new AR ‘try before you buy’ Lens
gwarner | November 27, 2017
“At some point, we’re going to look back and think, how did we not have a digital layer on the physical world,” said Greg Jones, director of VR and AR at Google, last month. It’s a…
Twitter launches Promote Mode for SMEs…here’s what you need to know
gwarner | November 21, 2017
Twitter has unveiled a new, self-serve advertising subscription for small businesses, which it is calling Twitter Promote Mode. The service has been designed to enable SMEs to more easily run Promoted Tweet campaigns across the…
Google allow paid ads in Google My Business listings
gwarner | November 15, 2017
The worst kept secret is that Google are looking to monetise the local channel. By linking Google My Business (GMB) with your Paid Media campaigns your ads are eligible to appear in the local results.…
Google’s Home Services ads program rebrands and expands in the US
gwarner | November 14, 2017
It might not have reached the UK yet, but the recent news that Google’s Home Services ad program is rebranding as Local Services by Google, and expanding to 17 US cities with plans to be in…
Six tips for working with digital influencers this Christmas
gwarner | November 6, 2017
The festive season is almost upon us, and now’s the time for online retailers to be promoting their Christmas bestsellers, if they aren’t already. Christmas is such a critical time of the business year, and…
Ebay launches visual search for its customers
gwarner | November 2, 2017
There has been much talk this year of voice search, yet not so much attention has been given to visual search, which has been quietly bubbling beneath the surface. There’s no denying that our world…
How did Dove manage to make the same racist mistake…again?
gwarner | October 13, 2017
Getting called out for creating a racist ad once, is unacceptable and embarrassing. But being accused of making the same mistake, again, is quite frankly…mind boggling. At the start of this week, personal care brand…
Price Comparison Rivals on Google Shopping: The perfect solution for Google? But what does it mean for the rest of us?
gwarner | October 9, 2017
What’s happened to Product Listing Ads (PLAs)? In June 2017, The European Commission slapped a record 2.4-billion-euro ($2.8 billion) fine on the world’s most popular internet search engine. A result of Google “abusing its dominance…
With digital ‘trust fatigue’ rising, is direct mail falling back in favour with consumers?
gwarner | October 2, 2017
I recently received a letter from my local department store containing no less than six free hot drinks vouchers, and if I’m honest, it made my day! I put this down to the fact that…
Twitter battle: The Science Museum versus The Natural History Museum
gwarner | September 25, 2017
Last week I followed what was quite possibly the most entertaining use I have ever seen of Twitter. It was stunningly adlib, and showcased just how effective Twitter can be when the right brains are…
Is gender-neutral branding the future?
gwarner | September 18, 2017
The gender-neutral branding debate resurged this summer when shoe manufacturer Clarks received a barrage of complaints over its “sexist” school shoes, and in particular a girls’ range named the “Dolly Babe” (which compared with its “Leaders”…
Why we need to talk about transparency in influencer marketing…
gwarner | September 7, 2017
The influencer marketing space has boomed over the past few years with brands of all shapes and sizes getting involved, largely driven by rising consumer preference for the opinion of trusted individuals, over and above…
Why there is a difference in the number of comments shown on Facebook ads manager and the ad itself
gwarner | September 3, 2017
Recently, I ran a Facebook ad campaign for a client and upon reviewing the performance, noticed that Facebook was showing me three different figures for the number of post comments. On the ads manager I…
Twitter celebrates 10 years of the #hashtag
gwarner | August 30, 2017
It’s been 10 years since the hashtag first appeared on Twitter, created by Chris Messina, a developer at Google at the time. It was his idea to use the # US pound sign as a…
How today’s big 4 tech giants appeal to human biology…but is this good for our health?
gwarner | August 9, 2017
To understand why today’s leading digital businesses are so successful, we need to bring it back to human biology, says Scott Galloway, founder of digital performance company L2 Inc. Google, Amazon, Facebook, Apple…we turn to…
The three big problems that we see with voice-controlled technology
gwarner | July 31, 2017
Voice controlled-technology is changing computer-human interfaces in the home and across a broad spectrum of industries, ranging from medical and banking through to business applications and industrial robotics. According to Mary Meeker’s 2017 Internet Trends Report,…
Facebook’s crackdown on over-sharers…here’s what businesses need to know
gwarner | July 17, 2017
In a move that’s very reminiscent of Google five or so years ago, Facebook has in the past few days made a big change to its News Feed algorithm which it says will “reduce the…
4 Common Issues With Google Analytics Accounts
gwarner | July 14, 2017
Many of our clients use Google Analytics as their main web analytics reporting tool. Therefore, we often get many queries on why “my data isn’t coming through correctly” or “not working as I would have…
SEO: The Movie, a documentary telling the history of search marketing
gwarner | July 4, 2017
[iframe src=”https://www.youtube.com/embed/RtFlAicK3xw?rel=0″ width=”560″ height=”315″] Over the past few days, a new documentary about the history of SEO has been released, produced by digital marketing firm Ignite Visibility. ‘SEO:The Movie’ has already amassed more than 81,000 views…
What local advertisers need to know about addressable TV advertising
gwarner | July 3, 2017
ITV recently said that it plans to launch addressable TV within the next 12 months, enabling smaller and local businesses to target ads on a household-by-household basis. Its intention is to persuade smaller advertisers to divert…
Digital trends: How are US consumers searching for local businesses?
gwarner | June 29, 2017
Often, research into digital behaviour is segmented by age or generation, and by demographic group, but rarely are trends investigated between cities. A new US-focused study by The Local Search Association, which looks at digital…
The Guardian and Observer newspapers to become tabloids next year
gwarner | June 16, 2017
It’s a sign of the times, and the state of print journalism in the UK, that The Guardian and its sister Sunday paper The Observer will become tabloid newspapers from early 2018. Their shrinking size,…
2017 General Election: key search trends
gwarner | June 9, 2017
This morning in Britain we woke to the news of a hung parliament, with the Conservatives having failed to secure a majority vote. There will be lots to play for in the coming days, and…
Are brands actually listening to customer reviews?
gwarner | June 5, 2017
The world of customer reviews is changing. There was a time where a customer had to go into a store to complain; this then evolved into phoning customer services to resolve a query; then came…
Bing rolls out bots for local businesses
gwarner | May 31, 2017
Setting its sights on the restaurant sector first, Microsoft Bing has begun integrating chatbots into its local business search results. Through its newly launched Business Bot program, bots will automatically be created from data in Bing…
2017 General Election: a time sensitive political SEO omnishambles?
gwarner | May 8, 2017
Companies with sites that target time sensitive terms, for example, ‘flowers’ and ‘chocolates’ around Valentine’s Day or Mother’s Day, need to make sure that both their technical SEO and content is correctly implemented well ahead…
Two-thirds of consumers don’t trust brands to keep their personal data safe
gwarner | April 28, 2017
A new Gigya poll of 4,002 adults, spanning the UK and the US equally, has found that 68% of consumers don’t trust brands to keep their personal information secure. It’s a worrying finding in light of the…
Implementing Customer Journey Mapping | The New Consumer Journey
gwarner | April 27, 2017
Last month DAC London and Ambergreen (the newest member to the DAC family) held an breakfast at Clerkenwell London called the New Consumer Journey. Over croissants and coffee, we discussed how brands, through the use of…
What’s trending in the world of apps?
gwarner | April 26, 2017
Mobile apps are today used more than mobile browsers. They currently account for 84.9% of total mobile time spent (a 10.3% increase on last year), and nearly 20% of total media time, for US adults.…
Trends in native advertising that you need to be aware of
gwarner | April 24, 2017
With today’s consumers being attracted by authenticity and increasingly resistant to traditional advertising methods, it’s no surprise that the popularity of native advertising is growing steadily. Forecasts highlight its potential to soon dominate advertising with…
Online news consumption: The biggest trends to get to grips with in 2017
gwarner | April 5, 2017
Reports of ‘fake news’ and the millennial and Gen Z population becoming increasingly sceptical of traditional news sources, have been rife this year so far…but despite this, online news and media consumption is booming. A…
Protected: The New Consumer Journey | Presentation
gwarner | April 4, 2017
There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.
Is political correctness stifling the online advertising industry?
gwarner | April 3, 2017
I recently came across an article published on Brainsauce entitled 23 Hilariously Un-Politically Correct Vintage Ads
Should Google be doing more to safeguard the reputation of its advertisers?
gwarner | March 24, 2017
Over the past few days, a flurry of high profile brands and organisations, including French advertising group Havas, M&S, the Guardian, BBC, J Sainsbury Plc, Audi, Transport for London and the UK Government, have pulled…
Guerrilla Marketing: The most bananas campaigns of 2016
gwarner | March 15, 2017
Guerrilla marketing is often associated with the radical and extreme. Once a fringe movement in the world of advertising, it has easily made its way into the mainstream, providing an effective way for breaking through…
LPM: How we put Dreams’ local search issues to bed
gwarner | February 27, 2017
This year we received a commendation from the Drum DADI awards for our work with Dreams, where we achieved an extremely impressive ROI and facilitated a massive improvement in their store visibility. Take a look…
Designing for mobile: The device resolution cheat sheet
gwarner | February 24, 2017
When designing for mobile it is important to use the correct screen resolutions for each device to create a sharp product. With the extensive range of devices available to users, it’s a huge pain having…
2017 – the year big data goes mainstream?
gwarner | February 10, 2017
For many businesses, data analytics is currently used for reporting the success or failure of business performance rather than helping to driving vital decision making. 2017 is the year this changes according to top analysts…
Content and the ‘Creator Economy’: what does it mean for businesses?
gwarner | February 6, 2017
The average click through rate on a digital ad is 0.17%; less than two clicks per 1,000 impressions. Consumer trust in brand-driven advertising is in sharp decline and has been for quite some time; eye…
Tone of voice: How 3 brands use language to speak to their consumers
gwarner | January 26, 2017
Tone of voice is absolutely essential to every business in helping it to develop an emotional connection with customers. Some of the most successful brands are so because they have a distinctive, consistent, effective tone…A sporting bonanza: Comparing the world’s biggest sporting events
gwarner | July 13, 2016
With the limp body of English hopes in the Euros barely cold, preparations have already begun for gearing up for the summer’s next big sporting event. Take down the St George’s Crosses and put out…
The power of podcasts – an unexploited tool
gwarner | April 2, 2016
2015 has been a good year for the podcast, taking them from an unnoticed tab in the iTunes menu to the boredom killer of choice on those long commutes. I constantly notice the odd chuckle…