Volkswagen, the German carmaker, has launched a review of its global media agency arrangements from 2017 onwards. The decision could spell the end of a 16-year agency agreement with WPP's MediaCom, which was first appointed in 1998 by the group, which makes VW, Audi, Seat and Skoda cars. The review comes despite VW re-appointing MediaCom to provide it with strategic media insight and planning and buying services for all of the Volkswagen Group brands, until the end of 2016, just last year.

Microsoft's voice-activated personal assistant Cortana has been showcased across the UK in an ad campaign that reacts in real time to surroundings. Dentsu Aegis Network, LivePoster and m:united (McCann Worldgroup's Microsoft team) have made the most of data sources and out-of-home (OOH) tech to tailor contextual, real time ads throughout the UK. The executions, boasting the versatility of the digital assistant, are capable of delivering thousands of engaging, geo-specific ads to consumers.

Google is adding a "buy button" to shopping ads on mobile search -- but it's not just about boosting conversion, argues Alistair Dent, head of product strategy at iProspect UK. Google has confirmed that it is bringing the "buy button" to its search results on mobile in an attempt to smooth the path between consumers looking at a product online and actually buying it. It is believed that the button will appear on paid product listings. Over the last year Google has been working on its e-commerce and retail-specific offering.