As we get ready for Christmas, Waze, the live navigation app, has announced the launch of its new ‘holiday theme’ to get motorists in the festive spirit as they hit the roads. From the 9th, until the 31st December, Waze users will be able to activate the holiday theme on their app, which includes: Turning cars into Santa’s sleigh on the Waze map, having Santa as a navigation voice to guide users and activating the Santa mood and travelling as the man himself to show the festive spirit.
As an addition to Waze’s holiday theme, its unploughed roads feature also aims to keep motorists safe as they travel over the festive period. The capability allows drivers to send a report to the app when a road has not been ploughed or gritted, which will then notify others in the area of the road conditions ahead of them. The feature can be found under “Hazards -> Weather -> Unploughed road”. It highlights Waze’s commitment to helping its community across the globe to navigate traffic through all driving conditions more efficiently and safely.
Amplify, the marketing agency that joins the dots between people, brands and culture, has partnered with Brixton Finishing School, the creative industry disruptor aimed at finding and developing diverse, young talent, as part of the agency’s ongoing mission to connect with, enable and champion young creative talent from all walks of life. Starting with immediate effect, Amplify will support Brixton Finishing School’s 10-week premium learning experience for 18-25s alongside its recently announced eight-week Ad-Cademy.
Amplify’s support includes creating brand experience-themed curriculum content and real-world agency experience for both courses. The partnership also provides the opportunity for ongoing mentoring through access to the agency’s talent across departments and ranks. Amplify will focus on developing educational content that gives students a deep dive into brand experience and all its touchpoints: strategy, creative, content and production.
The Conscious Advertising Network (CAN) has announced a new member to their growing network. m/SIX, a leading international media network, have joined CAN, the UK-based voluntary coalition of 70+ organisations, as a part of their growing commitment to drive positive change within the advertising industry and implement the highest standard across areas like ad fraud and hate speech. m/SIX has pledged its full commitment to CAN’s six manifestos which closely align with their own values, and are actively supporting CAN’s work as a driving force for positive change across the industry. m/SIX is especially keen to work with CAN to codify their ways of working to ensure the highest standard across areas like ad fraud and hate speech, whilst also increasing awareness surrounding the importance of diversity and inclusion in advertising.
The Journey Further Book Club has joined forces with Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library to provide books for young children living in care this Christmas. The Leeds and Manchester agency, which runs a book club for time-pressured marketers, has launched the Journey Further Book Swap initiative, which encourages readers to buy a copy of their favourite fiction book and in return, they will receive a brand new book from an independent retailer. As part of the campaign, £2 from every swap will be donated to Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library which will go towards providing storybooks for children aged five and under living in care during the festive season.
CARE International has appointed independent agency The Kite Factory to develop their media planning & buying strategy. CARE International, an INGO charity, was looking for a media partner to deliver its ambitious Supporter Acquisition targets over the next three years. This includes their market-leading product Lendwithcare, a peer-to peer/crowdfunding platform that allows people to make a loan through a local partner to a low-income small business owner. Supporters get to choose who they loan to and when the loan is repaid they can “reinvest” in another entrepreneur. This is a UK charity sector leading initiative and sets the benchmark for innovation in donations. Through hardworking performance as well as building consideration for future growth The Kite Factory will deploy effective media strategies across all media channels to ensure Care International hit its ambitious targets.
Wagamama has opted for a social-first strategy to launch the new editions from its celebrated menu. Created by the award-winning social media specialists, Born Social, the campaign features a number of bold, distinctive creative executions each focusing on key menu additions including Wagamama’s trio of immune-boosting juices and a selection of new and revised dishes flying the flag for gluten-free goodness. Targeting 15-35YO foodies, the ingredients are the star of the show. Big, bold and centre stage they rub shoulders with eye-catching overlaid text, cute design flourishes (‘immunity loading…’ anyone?) and a restrained smattering of 3D elements – all designed to pack a punch and stop those overly-exercised thumbs in their tracks. The campaign features across multiple social media platforms including Instagram and Facebook.
Music video platform Vevo has announced that Vevo’s catalogue of more than 450,000 music videos and original content is now available for free on millions of VIZIO SmartCast TVs. VIZIO users can now stream Vevo music videos 24/7 directly on their TVs. The launch on VIZIO smart TVs is part of Vevo’s expansion in the connected television space, as consumers increasingly choose to view music video content at home. An internal analysis of Vevo’s viewership metrics reveals 27% year-over-year growth (Jan-Nov 2020 vs. Jan-Nov 2019) of music video consumption globally across connected television devices.
Cloud Technology Solutions (CTS), a Google Cloud Premier partner, has secured a contract with South East Water to digitally transform its CRM system, My Account, as part of the organisation’s five-year strategic plan. The project will see CTS migrate My Account to Google Cloud, improving customer service operations and driving innovation by teaming with CTS’s developers and platform engineers. The migration will allow South East Water to make use of Firebase – a Google platform that enables businesses to build their own apps – improving communication and interaction with its 2.2 million customers. CTS will also deliver a full change management service to ensure a smooth transition to Google Cloud. Once migrated, CTS will build functionalities into South East Water’s CRM systems to enhance the customer service experience, a key aim of the five-year strategy, and automate operational processes where feasible.
