Campaign
TV ad spend is forecast to fall by 3% to GBP3.93bn this year, Campaign reports. The figures, from Publicis Groupe's Zenith, forecast a sharp drop in Q1 2017 of 7% to coincide with its forecast of a 12% drop in FMCG ad spending.
Marketing Week
What will the future relationship between brands and agencies look like? An Advertising Week panel chaired by Marketing Week yesterday discussed a new report by IPA and eConsultancy which looks at how agencies will need to combine "systems" and "empathy," offering both technology as well as human-based insights.
The Times
High street sales were up in February, but overall retail sales across Q1 saw their biggest quarterly fall in seven years, "The Times" reports this morning. Higher energy and fuel prices are blamed for eating in to disposable incomes.
Campaign
To avoid the sugar tax being introduced in the UK next year, Coca-Cola has reduced the sugar content of Fanta to 4.6g per 100ml, below the 5g threshold for the new tax. That's down from the current 6.9g per 100ml. The bottle has been redesigned too.
The Telegraph
One in three UK jobs could be taken by a robot or AI with 15 years, according to PwC. "The Telegraph" reveals that the majority will go in waste waste management, transportation and manufacturing. The good news is that while manual, repetitive tasks will go to robots, the report authors predict humans will stay in jobs which require creative and social skills.
BBC
Twitter has struck on a new idea as it battles to make its first dollar in profit -- why not charge heavy users? A new membership option is being considered, according to the BBC, which will give fee payers access to an improved set of tools, including an enhanced version of Tweetdeck.
The Telegraph
Boris Johnson has urged social media companies to take down hate videos quicker, "The Telegraph" reports. The "polluting" messages extremists spread should be taken down as soon as possible because it is important that the battle is won against ISIS not just to the battlefields, but in people's "heart and minds."
Campaign
Coca-Cola is ditching its weekly UK YouTube shows in favour of a more "nimble" digital content strategy. The last of 48 episodes broadcast since the May 2016 launch breaks today. The videos have continued to rack up about 200,000 views each, but UK Marketing Director Aedamar Howlett said there was "more we could do" to engage older teenagers and young adults.
Press Gazette
"Guardian" staff have been told to "anticipate" further redundancies in the UK as the publisher looks to carry out fresh cuts under its three-year plan to turn its finances around. An email to staff today from editor Katherine Viner and chief executive David Pemsel, seen by Press Gazette, outlined expectations for year two of the plan, which came in to effect in January last year.
The Telegraph
Defiant Londoners are heading back to work "as normal," telling those responsible for the terror attack that the events did not succeed in crushing their spirits and making them afraid. A defiant trend popped up on Twitter, as commuters going about their business in the capital in the wake of the attack tweeted "we are not afraid."