5 things that mattered this week

With Instagram launching its new logo design to unify its family of apps and research highlighting that just 8% of brands are ‘very satisfied’ with their agency partners, here are some of this week’s biggest marketing stories.

Instagram launches new logo in a bid to unify its family of apps

Though keeping its iconic camera, this week Instagram launched its new logo and rainbow colours. The changes are reflected within the user interface of Instagram and its family of apps.

Removing the brand’s name from the logo, the update aims to unify the brand’s family of apps including Layout, Boomerang and Hyperlapse.

An Instagram spokesman explained: “As our family of apps has grown, it was important to make them look more consistent with Instagram and each other. This also gave us an opportunity to better represent what the apps help you create – a collage of photos, or a mini video that loops forward and backward.

“The simpler app design puts the focus on your photos and videos, and keeps your favourite features in the same place.”

Just 8% of brands are ‘very satisfied’ with their agency partners

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We looked at how the client-agency relationship is changing with more brands considering taking activity in-house.

As digital channels began to grow more important a decade or so ago, many brands expanded the number of agencies they worked with to generate ideas tailored to those channels. Now many companies are moving in the other direction, but not necessarily going back to the pre-digital model where a lead creative agency and media agency would have been a marketer’s two main relationships.

Pret A Manger, mobile network Three and beauty brand owner Coty are among brands that have moved some or all of their ad creation work in-house, while others businesses have set up start-up incubators to help them innovate more quickly and stay ahead of technological developments.

A survey conducted by Marketing Week shows that just over half (52%) of marketers are fairly happy with the service they receive from agency partners but fewer than one in 10 (8%) state they are ‘very satisfied’.

 

Food and drink industry welcomes stricter rules on advertising junk food to children

Looking at snacks

This week the food and drink industry announced it would welcome plans to introduce more stringent rules around advertising food and drinks high in salt, sugar and fat to children as the ad regulator launched an investigation.
The news came amid widespread concerns around childhood obesity and the need to ensure the rules reflect changing media habits.

The main proposals included:

  • Introducing new rules to limit where advertising for food and soft drink products high in fat, salt or sugar can be placed in all non-broadcast media
  • Exploring whether the rules should prohibit advertising HFSS products to children under 12 or under 16
  • Applying the existing rules prohibiting the use of promotions and licensed characters and celebrities popular with children to HFSS product advertising only, allowing more creative ways for healthier foods to be advertised to children

The CAP admits that advertising has only a “modest effect” on children’s food preferences, with external factors such as education, exercise and parents’ behavior playing greater roles. However, it says that even a “relatively small positive impact” is worth it given that a third of children are overweight or obese and the cost this brings to society.

Núria Antoja, marketing manager for chocolate countlines in the UK and Ireland at Cadbury owner Mondelez, told Marketing Week: “We have a commitment to have only brands with under 250 calories and we always give advice on the right portion size and the right quantity to eat.”

The regulator is calling on parents, schools, public health officials, regulatory bodies and food and drink brands to help with its consultation. The closing date is 5pm on 22 July.

M&S and Channel 4 call on marketing industry to help them take sustainability mainstream

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Marks & Spencer and Channel 4 have both admitted they are struggling to bring the idea of sustainability to life for consumers and are asking the marketing industry to help them find the “creative breakthrough” that takes it mainstream.
Speaking at the IPA’s event on Conscious Capitalism (11 May), Mike Barry, the director of M&S’s Plan A sustainable business, said the role of ad agencies will have to change from coming up with ad campaigns to really understanding a business and how it communicates in a new world where consumers are increasingly interested in brands that have social purpose. Brands will need to start speaking up about issues.

His comments came after he admitted M&S has done little marketing of its sustainability, instead choosing to promote it mainly through its stores and staff.

“We’re looking for solutions on how to communicate in this new world and we are using out stores and staff more and more,” he said.

Businesses are also concerned that sustainability will impact their bottom line, but Barry said its efforts brought M&S cost savings of £160m in 2014.

Channel 4’s CEO David Abraham agreed that coverage on sustainability needs improving or a “creative breakthrough” that can bring it to life.

Discover all the winners from this year’s Marketing Week Awards
MW Awards

This week Lenny Henry joined Marketing Week at the Roundhouse for the Marketing Week Awards.

16 awards were given to the leading lights in the industry, with big winners on the night including Aldi, Direct Line and Lidl:

Brand of the Year: Aldi

Marketing Team of the Year: Aldi

CEO Award for Marketing: Direct Line

Visionary Marketer of the Year: Arnd Pickhardt

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