Brands such as Unilever see demonstrable sales growth from socially and environmentally conscious business practices, which is one reason why the FMCG giant comes first in a new index that ranks the top 100 global companies based on their "brand purpose." Companies that follow through on a "brand purpose" to add meaning to products and services enable consumers to trust and connect on an emotional level, according to a new index that ranks the top 100 companies on this measure.

A renewed Volkswagen strategy will now see it focus heavily on establishing its environmental credentials as it pins a turnaround on creating best-in-class electric cars and clean exhaust emission systems. At a meeting of the newly formed Volkswagen Brand Board of Management yesterday, it culled its annual investment spend by one billion euros (GBP746m) a year to focus on electric vehicles and guaranteeing that its diesel vehicles will only be equipped with exhaust emissions systems that use "the best environmental technology."

Ad avoidance is on the rise, prompting major changes in how brands should engage with mobile audiences in particular, with speakers at yesterday's Ad:Tech London conference claiming advertisers will have to increase investment in native formats as well as address their search strategies as a result. Apple recently issued its iOS9 update with ad-blocking software integrated into it, and has led to an upsurge in ad blocking although media-buyers are not necessarily frightened by the trend.

A year since Coca-Cola launched Coke Life, the brand has built up a loyal group of core buyers, but questions remain over whether sales have been high enough for Coca-Cola and what impact the "one brand" marketing strategy introduced earlier this year has had. Sales figures from IRI show that since the introduction of the new product in August 2014, the Life brand has grown into a GBP28.9m business. The line currently represents 2.43% of the total Coca-Cola portfolio.

Facebook is looking to cement itself as a credible e-commerce platform among retailers ahead of the Christmas rush with the launch of new features, including faster landing pages and a shoppable section that curates products. First up, Canvas -- which has been positioned as an antidote to issues that currently prevent consumers making final purchases via mobile, namely slow load times on sites that aren't optimised for the mobile Web (which, in other words, require too many clicks).

A celebrity backed ad-campaign run on Outdoor Plus' sites in association with Campaign has achieved double the industry average for spontaneous awareness. Andy Murray, Idris Elba and Paloma Faith were among the celebrities who sent personal messages to Londoners in a digital outdoor campaign by Outdoor Plus, doubling spontaneous awareness levels. Each message composed for the "#Message2London" campaign used a maximum of 10 words. No fees were paid to the celebrities.

A shell company set up by Nick Candy, the property tycoon, to target a natural resources deal has been used instead for the reverse takeover of an advertising company run by the founder of Aegis. Mithril Capital Management, which raised GBP3.4 million last year from a stock market listing, will acquire Agenda 21, a Soho-based digital company, for GBP12 million. The company plans to change its name to the less mystical "Be Heard" once its transformation into an advertising business is complete.

Volkswagen is starting its offensive to salvage consumer trust with numerous newspaper ads aimed at reassuring customers. The ad headline states: "We have broken the most important part in our vehicles: your trust." According to YouGov's Brand Index figures, Volkswagen's overall index, which includes measurements such as reputation, value and satisfaction, has dropped 32 points over the past month, placing the brand at the bottom of a list of 34 competitors. It formerly held the top spot.

WPP has hired Sean Larkins, the deputy director of UK government communications, to be the group's director of consulting and capability for its Government & Public Sector Practice. Larkins begins the new role after leading the reform of the UK government's communications on behalf of the Prime Minister's Office and the Cabinet Office. He was also responsible for the Government Communication Service's professional development programme, which catered for nearly 4,000 civil servants.

'Financial Times' journalists have accused new owner Nikkei of breaking promises and seeking to take GBP5m a year out of staff pension schemes. The Japanese publisher is proposing to close the current final salary pension scheme to existing members, switching them instead over to a defined contribution scheme. Staff believe the move will slash pension entitlement for the 240 staff in the final salary scheme, which awards members a guaranteed proportion of their final salary on retirement.