Publicis swoops for data giant LiveRamp in $2.2bn deal
Publicis Groupe has agreed to buy US data-driven marketing giant LiveRamp in a $2.2bn deal, as the French agency group…
Indepth
Car finance marketing sparks 100,000 complaints a day
The Information Commissioner’s Office has been inundated with complaints about unsolicited marketing activity for motor finance compensation claims, with 100,000…
AA/WARC reaction: Trust is the new advertising stardust
This week’s AA/WARC Expenditure Report has revealed that advertising and marketing industry is continuing to grow at pace in the face of…
Industry shows its mettle as adspend hits the top corner
The UK advertising market continues to be one of the powerhouses of the UK economy, recording a 6.4% year-on-year…
ICO finally publishes ‘soft opt-in’ guidance for charities
The Information Commissioner’s Office has finally published its full guidance on how charities can use the new data protection rules…
Royal Mail vows to invest £500m to improve services
Royal Mail has committed to invest over £500m in its operation to improve postal deliveries, claiming it will result in…
Bellwether Reaction: Hailing the return of the C-word
This week’s IPA Bellwether Report has revealed that UK companies are holding their nerve as the geopolitical crisis rages on,…
Marketing budgets on the rise as brands hold their nerve
UK companies appear to have shrugged off concerns over the war in the Middle East to revise their marketing budgets…
Can direct mail still thrive under endless price rises?
Royal Mail’s recent price hikes might not have exactly come out of the blue; after all, there have been multiple…
Royal Mail crisis triggers fears of direct mail backlash
The Royal Mail delivery crisis, which has led to accusations that parcels are being prioritised over letters, has sparked fears…
Omnicom to wield axe again in ‘structural demolition’
Omnicom has sent shockwaves through its agencies – as well as the wider advertising industry – with a major escalation…
£3.3bn in skills funding goes begging over Levy muddle
UK businesses, including those in the advertising and marketing industry, are missing out on billions of pounds in workforce development…
Call to protect freelancers, ‘the lifeblood of the industry’
With this week’s IPA Agency Census revealing major challenges in the sector – and increasing concerns over profitability – agencies…
Guidance ‘black hole’ sparks charity soft opt-in warning
Charity marketers have been warned to take a “softly, softly” approach to the new data protection rules which came into…
AA/WARC reaction: Trust or bust for a 2026 ad thrust
This week’s AA/WARC Expenditure Report has painted a far more positive picture than the recent IPA Bellwether Report, with the…
Ain’t no stopping us now: 2026 adspend to top £50bn
The global and domestic economy might be as fragile as Donald Trump’s ego, but UK advertising continues to smash through,…
ICO inaction exposed again as EU GDPR fines top €7bn
The UK Information Commissioner’s Office “softly, softly” approach has been exposed once more with a new report showing GDPR fines…
Bellwether Reaction: ‘Stay agile, prioritise targeting’
This week’s IPA Bellwether Report has revealed that, perhaps unsurprisingly, the marketing and advertising industry has been caught up in…
Budgets on life support as Trump gives firms the willies
Marketing budgets flatlined during Q4 as businesses exercised caution in the wake of ongoing economic uncertainty – especially over Donald…
Decision Marketing at 15: Cream always rises to the top
With adland seemingly going into mass mourning due to Omnicom “retiring” established advertising agency brands DDB, FCB and Mullen Lowe,…
Decision Marketing at 15: Why data now rules the world
Back in 2010, the data-driven marketing industry was still heavily reliant on the likes of Experian, Equifax and Callcredit, whose…
Decision Marketing at 15: Who’s the boss of the DMAs?
Few would doubt that the DMA Awards, which in various guises can trace their roots back nearly 50 years, are…
Decision Marketing at 15: In tribute to industry legends
Like every sector, the data-driven marketing industry has its leaders and its followers, and, over the years, the business has…
Decision Marketing at 15: Can anyone crush the giants?
There is little doubt that over the past 15 years, the rise of the US tech giants has fundamentally reshaped…
Decision Marketing at 15: Rise of creators, warts and all
In 2010, the concept of the creator economy and influencer marketing barely existed in the UK; fast forward 15 years…
Decision Marketing at 15: The rise of omnichannel retail
Remember the days when you could pop into BHS, then Debenhams, before having a nose round Topshop, Topman, Miss Selfridge,…
Decision Marketing at 15: Puppy or vicious watchdog?
There is little doubt that the past 15 years have proved the most challenging for the Information Commissioner’s Office since…
Decision Marketing at 15: The march of the robot army
There is little doubt that the rise of AI has been one of the major trends that has shaped the…
Decision Marketing at 15: The ‘Big Bang’ for retail media
Remember the days when retail media was called shopper marketing, and was dominated by gondola ends, shelf-wobblers and take-ones devised…
Decision Marketing at 15: Direct mail the great survivor
Back in 2010, many were predicting that the humble mailshot would soon be “swimming with the fishes”, with digital’s promise…
Decision Marketing at 15: How data sparked a revolution
It is fair to say that the advertising and marketing industry has experienced more fundamental change over the past 15…
Industry responds to Budget: ‘Don’t panic, don’t panic’
Rachel Reeves’ Autumn Budget has thrown up the traditional mix of winners and losers, with increasing tax burdens on businesses,…
MPs urged to investigate ICO ‘collapse in enforcement’
Pressure is mounting on Parliament to bring the Information Commissioner’s Office to account amid claims that MPs should launch a…
Youth revolt: ‘We’re no longer slaves to the algorithm’
Marketers’ relentless pursuit of digital optimisation is sparking a cultural revolt, as younger consumers – particularly Gen Z – increasingly…
Vast majority of GenAI initiatives remain stuck in pilots
Public Enemy’s anthemic Don’t Believe the Hype might be nearly 40 years old but it seems the sentiment could not…
Waitrose, Tesco, Sky, Liberty, Aldi: Winter wonderland
Yes, you guessed it, we are back on the festive advertising trail and it seems there is no stopping them…
M&S Food, Barbour, Matalan, Morrisons, Lidl: Jingle bells
Just when you thought it was safe to go back to the telly for something that was not to do…
John Lewis, Coke, Boots, Shelter, Debenhams let it snow
Another day, another shower of festive ads has burst on to screens large and small across the UK, and even…
M&S, Argos, Asda, Sainsbury’s, TreasureTress…they’re off
The 2025 Christmas advertising battle has officially opened, naturally with retailers first out of the blocks. And, with only 53…
Up, up and away as 2025 adspend is set to hit £46bn
UK advertising spend is continuing to outperform the UK economy and is expected to increase by 7.3% to a total…
Forget the grapevine, science proves music boosts ads
Music might have been a mainstay in advertising for decades but a new scientific study claims to have finally revealed…
Creative Equals wades into Reform adland racism row
Creative Equals, the global marketing organisation that works with brands to improve their diversity, equity, and inclusion strategies, has called…
Direct mail ‘more trusted than TV, OOH, press or email’
Direct mail and door drops have emerged as the strongest communication channels when it comes to building – and even…
Fresh boost as firms shift budgets to targeted marketing
Direct marketing continued its impressive performance in Q3 2025, according to the latest IPA Bellwether Report, with brand owners increasingly…
The Female Lead opens data-driven marketing agency
The Female Lead, the organisation set up by Edwina Dunn in 2015 to increase the visibility of women’s success stories…
Less is not more: Marketers ‘must go big or go home’
Marketers are risking a “death spiral” of smaller budgets, smaller campaigns and lower profits, with a new analysis revealing that…
Marketers are from Mars; consumers are from Venus
Marketers and consumers are so far apart on the ad platforms they believe are most effective that they might as…
BA is first brand to fly with real-time ITVX ‘pause ads’
Brand owners can now target consumers with highly-personalised real-time ads when they pause TV shows on ITV’s streaming service, with…
Marketers urged to embrace power trio to make AI rock
Marketers must wake up to the classic triumverate of human creativity, empathy, and cultural intelligence to successfully swerve the major…
WPP crusade doubles down on ‘holy trinity of marketing’
WPP is continuing to ramp up its technology offering with a “first-of-a-kind collaboration” designed to reimagine how brands engage with…