Consumer expectations of the cost of an Apple Watch are way below the actual price, according to research from GfK. The majority (73%) of people interested in the launch of the Apple watch say they are prepared to spend up to GBP299, while 17 percent are prepared to spend between GBP300-GBP399. The basic standard model starts at GBP479 and goes up to GBP949, depending on the face size and strap material. Meanwhile, devices in the luxury Apple Watch Edition collection range from GBP8,000 to GBP13,500.

In 2014, UK ad spend hit its highest rate since 2010, rising 5.8% to GBP18.6bn, according to the annual expenditure report released today by the Advertising Association and Warc. The rise, which has been attributed to the growth of digital, appears to have legs too, with ad spend predicted to hit the GBP20bn barrier by 2016. Last year's growth was driven by Internet advertising and mobile, with both up by respective rates of +15% and +59%. There is also evidence of an increased ad spend on streaming services.

With digital music revenues responsible for nearly half (46%) of music sales globally in 2014, Spotify is readying an improved targeted advertising feature for brands. It could see BBQ brands such as Weber specifically targeting subscribers of Summertime playlists or Coca Cola tailoring its ads to only appear within songs which adhere to its "Happiness" branding -- Hello Pharrell! The service will also enable brands to target ads based on age, geography, genre and language.

Publicis Groupe has announced a 31.7% increase in revenue during its first quarter of 2015 to reach EUR2,103m -- growth the company has attributed to positive exchange rates and the inclusion of Sapient. The impact of half of the group's revenue being in Sterling and Dollars has helped it offset the weakening of the Euro. Revenue through digital activities also increased by 4.7% which meant that it now accounted for just over half (50.2%) of total revenue.

Heathrow Express, digital out-of-home media agency DOOH.com and JCDecaux Airport UK have erected a "journey comparison generator" at Heathrow Airport, which combines real-time traffic, weather and train service information to help customers plan their journey to London. The screens present passengers with the estimated time and costs, measuring up the benefits of using the rail link versus getting a black cab.

The future of the BBC, press regulation and media plurality cropped up regularly with big differences between Labour and the Conservatives, although they kept their manifesto promises on the media vague. The Conservatives kept up pressure on the BBC, while Miliband continued his seemingly popular attempts to challenge media empires. The Lib Dems offer the most comprehensive proposals, including detailed protection for press freedom and commitments to media plurality.

Diet Coke has moved its ad account out of BETC London just three months after it unveiled its new creative campaign. Diet Coke is working with Dawson Pickering, the agency set up last year by BETC London's former executive creative director Neil Dawson and head of copy Clive Pickering. Dawson Pickering is believed to be working with Diet Coke on a project related to the recent "Regret Nothing" campaign. BETC London has worked on the GBP40 million North West Europe and the Nordics account since 2012.

Sky attracted an extra 242,000 customers in the third quarter despite impending price increases and intensifying competition across Europe. The figure was well ahead of the less than 180,000 expected by City analysts, and included the highest growth in the UK for the period in 11 years. It helped deliver a 5% increase in like-for-like sales in the first nine months of the financial year to GBP8.45bn, in line with expectations. The UK was Sky's strongest market, followed by Germany.

Fold7 is splitting with Gocompare.com as the insurance-comparison site considers bringing back its opera-singing mascot, Gio Compario. Fold7 has worked with Gocompare.com for the past two years. It will cease working with the brand immediately. The news follows the completion of Esure's purchase of the 50% of Gocompare.com that it did not already own for GBP95 million on 1 April. Ryan Newey, Fold 7's founder, said the split was due to creative differences.

The European Commission has awarded a EUR3.6m (GBP2.6m) grant to Imperial College London and Realeyes to develop technology that can read how much people like the content or ads that they are watching online. The aim of the project, codenamed "SEWA: Automatic Sentiment Analysis in the Wild," is to develop automated technology that will be able to read a person's emotion when they view content and then establish how this relates to how much they liked the content.