Interviews, insight & analysis on digital media & marketing

New Business Bulletin: Space & Time, Footballco, Onfido and many more

International healthcare business Alliance Pharma has appointed Space & Time as its media partner for its Consumer Healthcare business in the UK. The appointment was made without a pitch. Space & Time will manage the paid media for Alliance Pharma, whose range of brands include Kelo-Cote and Ashton & Parsons, with the overall objective of driving sales across the product portfolio. Work has already begun with the first campaigns going live in Q1 2022.

Footballco, the world’s largest football content and media business, has acquired the football brand, Mundial Studio, creators of Mundial magazine and the Giant podcast. Launched in 2014, Mundial has established itself as the leading publisher of long-form football journalism and built up a passionate fanbase through its quarterly magazine. Publication of the magazine paused at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic but, through Footballco’s acquisition, it has been confirmed that the print title will be returning with an issue planned for June to coincide with the 2022 Women’s Euros. Known for its fan-centric view of the global game and a deep-dive approach to editorial, Mundial magazine covers the game in ways not often serviced by mainstream football media, as their content explores the intersection between sport and culture and uncovers untold stories in football.

As demand for digital services continues to surge, TSB has launched a new customer onboarding journey through the TSB Mobile Banking App, which will enable people to access a Spend & Save current account in just 10 minutes. TSB has partnered with Onfido, a global identity verification and authentication provider so TSB customers can sign up for a Spend and Save account simply by taking a photo of their identity document (ID) and a short video of their face. Onfido’s technology first checks that the ID is genuine and then matches it to the user’s face using biometric technology. This ensures the ID is not fraudulent and that the person presenting the identity is its legitimate owner and is physically present – making it the most secure journey to date. Customers can then start their digital journey anywhere, anytime, and gain access to all the benefits of the Spend & Save account. The account is underpinned by TSB’s award-winning Fraud Refund Guarantee offering customers market-leading fraud protections.

Emplifi, the unified customer experience platform, has announced that it is supporting non-government organisations (NGOs) providing aid to Ukraine, by providing free access to its Social Marketing Cloud. The initiative is intended to enable humanitarian organisations to better communicate with their audience and make it faster and easier to collaborate, plan, create and publish critical social media content. 

FD Technologies has announced that it has entered into a strategic partnership agreement with Microsoft to expand the reach of its KX Insights streaming data analytics platform as more organisations look to modernise their data infrastructure for real-time decision making. Firstly, KX Insights will be embedded natively on the Microsoft Azure platform as a first class service, with KX generating revenue based on consumption. Secondly, KX has agreed to work with Microsoft to target new applications and services that will accelerate innovation and growth for organisations in the financial services sector.

Finsu, conscious fashion pioneer, has announced the launch of its online platform which aggregates thousands of products from fashion brands to make sustainable shopping quicker and easier. Since going live in December 2021, Finsu has already seen a 66% increase in daily unique visitors with traffic growing double-digits month-on-month. Finsu has developed a first of its kind impact assessment tool which powers their online marketplace. Shoppers can now easily filter brands by their practices, compare conscious credentials and shop online. With easy to understand data, users are empowered to make more sustainable choices within seconds. 

Attivo Networks®, experts in identity security and lateral movement attack prevention, have announced it has expanded its award-winning Active Directory Protection portfolio with capabilities to efficiently detect identity-based attacks at the domain controller from all endpoints. The new ADSecure-DC solution provides threat protection from attacks originating from Windows as well as Mac, Linux, IoT/OT devices, and unmanaged devices which are limited in their ability to run traditional endpoint protection software. 

Sekel Tech is launching its successful hyperlocal SaaS platform in the UK, where  hyperlocal activity, marketing and engagement has emerged as a major business imperative for enterprises particularly for those with 100+ locations.  Sekel Tech plans substantial investment to rapidly scale up and grow UK market share, establish a London office and use the UK as a base to then extend further into the EMEA region.  It points to data such as the UK having recorded a 39% increase in hyperlocal food deliveries over the last three years with a rapid evolution in digital logistics tools and technology as a key reason why it believes the UK market is ready for Sekel Tech.