What heatwave? M&S is already filming its Christmas advert August 7, 2016 It may be a sweltering weekend of sunshine and clear blue skies, but one street in London has already seen snowfall – albeit the fake kind – after one high street favourite started shooting its Christmas advert. Yep, you heard that right. It may be the height of summer, but the Marks & Spencer is getting [...]
Midlands Engine shifts up a gear as Highways England announces progress on major regional schemes November 16, 2016 Don't get too excited, but it looks like it could just be full steam ahead for the Midlands Engine after Highways England announced major progress on multi-million pound projects. The plan to invest in the region's infrastructure and businesses has been boosted by Highways England chief executive Jim O'Sullivan announcing significant developments on a number of projects. He also [...]
City A.M.’s Devilishly Difficult 2017 Sports Quiz Part 2: The odd and business stories from the sporting year December 21, 2017 It has been another vintage year of sporting drama, from the triumphs of Anthony Joshua and Lewis Hamilton to the disappointments of England’s failed Ashes defence and Usain Bolt’s anticlimactic farewell. But as the dust settles on 2017, how much have you remembered about those defining moments, or the storylines playing out off the field, [...]
John Lewis Partnership bonus scheme 2015: Three charts showing just how generous it is historically despite it being cut this year December 22, 2015 The bonus pot for staff working at Waitrose and middle England's favourite department store John Lewis has shrunk by 22 per cent compared to 2013, its largest cut in at least five years. Some 93,800 partners will share a total payout of £156.2m, the equivalent of 11 per cent of each person’s annual salary, or an additional [...]
Advertising expenditure forecast up despite Brexit uncertainty November 14, 2016 A WPP-owned group has upgraded its UK advertising growth forecasts for this year and next despite uncertainty around the UK’s Brexit vote. Expenditure is expected to grow 7.2 per cent in 2016, up from a previous estimate of 6.3 per cent. The same level of growth is forecast by GroupM for 2017, up from 5.8 per cent. [...]
John Lewis and Argos Christmas adverts 2015: Sentimental or rational? The Christmas campaign conundrum November 8, 2015 Brands have long used sentimentality to draw custom at Christmas. John Lewis has been a standard-bearer for emotional Christmas placements, and this year's offering, which encourages donations to Age UK, is no different. Last year's "Monty the Penguin" spot has received 24m YouTube views, and the retailer's like for like sales grew by 4.8 per [...]
Do schmaltzy Christmas ads cheer up revenues? November 15, 2016 What do a robin, a boxer dog, a cartoon character called Dave and Mrs Santa Claus have in common? It may sound like the start of a bad joke but this motley crew all have starring roles in 2016's Christmas adverts for major retailers. So far, the M&S ad appears to be the biggest hit [...]
Cheap iPhones and Apple Watches? Here are the best Apple Black Friday deals November 25, 2016 Retailers always go big on tech and electronics for Black Friday, but Apple itself did not jump into the fray last year. In 2016, the company has changed its tune and will hold a "one day shopping event" on Black Friday. The exact deals have not yet been revealed, but will be available here, so [...]
Brands need to grow a backbone and stop pandering to the left’s virtue signalling December 5, 2016 On both sides of the pond, a censorious precedent is being set in the name of “brand values”. It’s a petulant reaction to the moral posturing of internet losers. And I don’t mean “losers” in the perjorative, playground sense – I mean literally, those on the losing side of either Brexit, or the presidential election. [...]
The biggest Christmas adverts of 2015: From John Lewis’ Man on the Moon and Sainsbury’s Mog the Cat to Justino, Warburtons and Burberry December 3, 2015 John Lewis and Sainsbury’s have tussled over our affections pitting Man against Cat in their bid to create this year’s most heartwarming Christmas advert, with the retail giant's tear-jerker finally beating the supermarket's more upbeat offering. Sainbury’s Christmas advert featuring Mog the Cat was quickly crowned 2015’s winner by City A.M.’s own reviewer, who praised [...]