Gambling company Betfair has signed a deal with News UK to sponsor two shows as part of The Sun’s ‘Sun Originals’ video series. The sponsorship will see Betfair supporting the Sun Originals shows ‘Tactics Exposed’ and ‘Weekend Wager’ for the remainder of the football season. The Betfair sponsorship will see the brand incorporated into the shows’ title sequences and advertising boards as well as on-air during the shows themselves. In addition, Betfair’s experts will contribute to discussions in Weekend Wager around betting strategies. Sun Originals is The Sun’s new video commissioning stream, which sees the brand producing video programming for its website and third-party channels.
A new survey from Teads, an omnichannel ad monetisation platform, has revealed the ultimate travel inspirations for UK holiday makers, with 80% of consumers stating that special offers from adverts impact their travel decisions. This is followed by 65% who cite visual imagery as an important inspiration, highlighting the power of creatives for effective ad campaigns. At the other end of the scale, just one in 20 (5%) of UK holiday makers admit that the use of an influencer or celebrity would inspire them to choose a holiday destination. The survey also unveils the most popular holidays for UK travellers, with beach holidays topping the list (51%), followed by city breaks (46%), visiting family and friends (34%), sightseeing (34%) and a country or rural escape (31%). Download the Teads Travel Compass Report.
The Guardian and global advertising technology leader The Trade Desk has announced their newly expanded partnership to provide advertisers with direct access to its premium digital advertising inventory through OpenPath. The move comes as The Guardian continues to invest in building its programmatic sales operations across the US, UK and Australia. With fewer intermediaries, OpenPath provides advertisers with a more direct connection to premium digital advertising inventory, enhancing transparency while enabling publishers to maximise revenue. In this way, OpenPath also eliminates the inefficiencies often present in the supply chain for digital advertising, including the opaque privileges of the walled gardens.
Ecommerce merchants are bracing themselves for a significant rise in AI-powered fraud over the next 12 months, according to a new report from fraud prevention platform Ravelin. The majority (91%) of retailers, travel companies, digital goods providers, and marketplaces are worried about criminals turning to AI to attack them and their customers and there is concern that many different types of fraud will spike in the coming year. Ravelin’s AI V AI report shows 64% of merchants fear they have already been targeted by fraudsters using artificial intelligence. There is also concern that AI-enabled fraud will impact company growth (51%) and revenue (39%). The new AI report uses data from Ravelin’s Global Fraud Trends Survey, including previously unreleased data.
Bazaarvoice, a provider of user-generated content (UGC) and social commerce solutions, has released its third annual Shopper Preference Report. The study of over 8,000 global consumers shows that as inflation continues to impact household budgets, shoppers are making significant changes to their buying habits, with affordability and trust driving purchasing decisions. The hardest-hit categories include grocery (71%), food and beverages (60%), and health and beauty (25%).
Almost half of UK marketers (45%) are concerned they may use personal data without consumer consent, according to new data released in the fifth edition of the Braze Customer Engagement Review (CER). The report combines data from the Braze platform with the results of a global survey developed in partnership with Wakefield Research, surveying 2,300 senior marketing executives in 18 countries. Data privacy concerns have impacted marketers’ plans for more advanced personalisation efforts, with key worries including customer consent (45%), regulatory and compliance issues (39%), and internal team concerns (38%). This research shows that industry leaders are unable to decipher what is and isn’t ethical use of customer data.
Content studio and digital media network Little Dot Studios has achieved 2025 Premier Partner status in the Google Partners programme through their work in supporting its partners across a variety of paid media growth and activation work in the US, UK and EMEA. Little Dot Studios’ has been named a 2025 Premier Partner, meaning that they are among the top 3% of Google Partners participants in their respective countries, signalling their leading expertise in Google Ads, as well as not only their ability to establish new client relationships but also their commitment to long-term partnerships, evolving alongside client needs over multiple years. Their high standard of care ensures they consistently help clients achieve their key objectives and KPIs.
Media Smart, an education programme for the UK advertising and media industry, has partnered with TikTok to produce a collection of creator-led videos and resources to help parents, caregivers and teachers feel confident supporting teens’ use of online platforms. The campaign, first rolling out in the UK before launching in EU territories, sees TikTok content creators invite their audience to a crash course in digital creation, advertising content and online safety. Media Smart worked with youth creative agency, Livity, to develop the creative alongside young people and parents from concept to delivery. They selected six ambassadors for the campaign: young creators (aged 18+) and parent creators, to deliver bespoke content for the UK as well as Germany, Sweden and France.
Ecommerce platform Rakuten France has chosen Mirakl Ads, Mirakl’s retail media solution, to integrate into its digital ecosystem and power its digital advertising strategy. Rakuten France is now leveraging Mirakl Ads’ AI-powered technology, having managed retail media in-house since 2013, to fuel growth and provide more value to its network of sellers and customers.
*News UK (publisher of The Sun) is a client of Bluestripe Communications, owned by Bluestripe Group, publisher of NDA
