Mobile ad spend broke the GBP1bn barrier in the UK in the first half of the year -- the first time it has passed the milestone in a six-month period -- but concerns still remain over the quality of ads and the impact this could have on brand perceptions, according to the latest AA/Warc findings. The report found that mobile ad budgets grew by 52.1% year-on-year between January and the end of June to GBP1.079bn. The UK has the highest spend on mobile in Europe and the third-highest globally, after the US and China.

DLKW Lowe, the incumbent, will not be repitching for the business. Morrisons works with MEC for media and Tribal Worldwide for digital. "Campaign" understands that the retailer has approached creative agencies about the review. The company welcomed David Potts as its new chief executive in February, which led to a number of senior management executives leaving the company, including Nick Collard, the group's customer marketing and digital director.

The UK public would prefer a "modernised" version of the licence fee over turning the BBC into a Netflix-style subscription service, according to new research. The BBC Trust has published the findings of a public consultation that indicates support for a modernised licence fee that takes into account iPlayer being the single most popular funding method.

The publisher of the "Daily Mirror" is poised to announce a GBP220m deal to take control of Local World, which owns more than 100 regional titles, to create a local newspaper powerhouse. The publisher, which already owns a portfolio of more than 100 regional titles, already owns a 20% stake in Local World.

ITV is expected to announce a GBP100m takeover of UTV Media's television channels in Northern Ireland as well as the Republic. UTV Media, which is the owner of the ITV franchise in Northern Ireland and loss-making channel UTV Ireland, has been in talks with ITV since August.

Former "Guardian" editor Alan Rusbridger last night condemned Fleet Street's "daily monstering" of the BBC and News UK's decision to hand over confidential sources to the police. He also spoke of the importance of journalism and urged editors to have the confidence to embrace new technology.

Lenovo's CMO David Roman believes consumers take technology for granted, but says there is much more to the brand's new range of tablets than an extra boost to performance or battery life as it looks to inject some excitement into the category and prove its growing focus on consumer product is paying off.

This is the fourth Diageo brand for Mother, which also works on Pimm's, Tanqueray and J&B. It won the account following a closed pitch process that kicked off earlier this year. Diageo's other roster agencies include Abbott Mead Vickers BDDO (Guinness) and Adam & Eve/DDB (The Singleton Scotch).

The Pool was launched in April by BBC radio presenter Lauren Laverne and delivers content to schedule throughout the day. Each article is labelled with the time it takes to consume. The Publicis Groupe-owned digital agency announced the partnership at its UK NewFront event last week, where Laverne and Baker appeared on a panel.

Unilever's online sales are outpacing the global ecommerce market, propelled by growth from the UK, Ireland and France. The world's second-biggest ad spender said ecommerce sales across its business were growing at 40% compared to 20% for the global market. While it's still early days, the early gambles have the company on track to see its volume ecommerce sales account for around 6% of its retail sales this year.