M&S claims that Sparks, which will launch nationwide on 22 October, will go beyond the "generic" discount nature of loyalty schemes in order to offer its customers "life-enhancing" rewards. The plastic Sparks card works by giving shoppers 10 sparks -- a special non-monetary currency -- for every purchase as well as for every GBP1 spent. There is also a 25 sparks reward for members who post product reviews and 50 sparks for customers who use the M&S sustainable Shwop service.

Music streaming service Electric Jukebox plans to take on rivals Apple Music and Spotify with the launch of a new device that allows consumers to stream music via their TV without a monthly subscription fee. Founder and CEO Rob Lewis told a press conference yesterday that the complexity of services today means that "streaming isn't working", claiming that take-up currently stands at just 8% of consumers.

Netflix chief Reed Hastings blamed changes at credit card companies for subscribers leaving the service as the company reported disappointing growth figures on Wednesday. The business had predicted U.S. subscriber growth of 1.15 million users; in fact it had added only 880,000 in the third quarter of 2015 -- down not only from its prediction but from its third-quarter 2014 increase of 980,000. The company's stock price plummeted nearly 12% on the news and then bounced back somewhat.

The prototype drone has finished construction in Somerset, and Facebook says it will be performing the first test flight in the coming months -- but the location will not be revealed. Facebook is already used by over a billion people on Earth, more than any other social network on the planet. But the company has ambitious plans to expand the availability of the internet through a series of autonomous drones circling high up in the sky.

Sky Media, the advertising sales division of Sky, has created a GBP500,000 production fund to encourage smaller brands to create ads on the broadcaster's Adsmart platform. Adsmart launched in January last year. It allows advertisers to deliver TV ads to different areas of Sky customers based on their postcodes, age, or lifestyle based on data held about them by Sky ad public sources such as Experian. The audience-targeting feature will allow smaller brands' ads to appear in ad breaks during popular shows.

Boots UK has teamed with eight media partners to advise and support people in beauty, health, optical and pregnancy. The retailer has partnered with Bauer Media, ITV and Time Inc to target a younger female audience with inspirational tips and how-to content. A deal with Global, ITV and Trinity Mirror Solutions will see Boots produce health content, which addresses concerns people may have. News UK will feature the opticians' side, and through Netmums, Boots will target mothers.

Facebook has announced a raft of new changes to its video offering that will bring it more in line with rival YouTube's product. The company, which tripled the volume of user uploaded video in 2014, has its eyes set on becoming a popular video ecosystem to take a substantial chunk of Google's YouTube ad revenue. It claims its algorithms will curate suitable videos from friends and families in addition to trending topics on the site.

The magazine's reputation, built over decades, means that 'You can take every single naked picture out of Playboy, and will you be able to sell it at Walmart?' Playboy's announcement that it will no longer print nude photos may not translate to increased sales if the publisher is banking on the mainstream market, experts say. Playboy's readership at the end of 2014 was more than 1 million and has now dropped to 800,000 -- a decline that Mr Magazine blogger Samir Husni blames Playboy's founder, Hugh Hefner.

Four out of five advertisers and marketers plan to increase their use of social media next year, even if many are unsure of how to measure its effectiveness, according to new research. The Content Marketing Association's study, The Role of Social in Content Marketing, found that 80% would increase the use of social within content marketing strategies next year, although 42% said they were unsure of their ability to accurately measure its return on investment. Only 28% said they were confident.

One of Europe's largest publishers, Axel Springer, has stepped up its efforts to protect online advertising revenues by banning readers who use ad blockers from accessing its Bild tabloid Web site. Bild, Europe's top-selling tabloid, will now ask visitors to turn off their ad blocker or pay a monthly subscription fee of EUR2.99 which then allows browsing with limited ads. In a statement released today Bild.de said "whoever does not switch off the ad blocker or does not pay cannot see any content on Bild.de, as of now."