Morning Bulletin: Dentsu dented, Scania clock stunt & supermarkets shrink
This morning’s batch of 10 news snippets includes a PR crisis for Japanese advertising titan Dentsu as it scrambles to contain the fallout from an overcharging scandal. Elsewhere we clock a giant motorised timepiece created by Scania and see why supermarkets might start shrinking their products.
Dentsu has found itself in the midst of a PR jam of its own making after it was revealed that the agency had overcharged Toyota for digital media sales. The revelations have forced Japan’s leading advertising agency to stage emergency talks with over 100 clients to keep them on board according to the FT.
John Lewis has melded the latest cutting edge tech with a medley of items from its extensive homewares connection to create a prototype connected home which will offer curious consumers a chance to see what app-controlled living is like.
Reuters focuses on a request by Taiwan for Google to blur out sensitive satellite images depicting apparent military construction on the island of Itu Aba, potentially representing the further militarisation of a chain of disputed islands in the South China Sea where China has a long history of building runways and docks.
STV looks set to beat the BBC to the punch by launching its own dedicated half hourly UK and global news bulletin whilst its rivals still dither on whether to launch a so-called Scottish Six of their own.
The Times reports that supermarkets are preparing to shrink portion sizes and reformulate their products as an alternative to raising prices after being faced with rising food price inflation in the aftermath of Britain’s Brexit vote.
Truck manufacturer Scania has pulled off a timely stunt to illustrate the reliability of its vehicles after synchronising a fleet of 14 lorries circumnavigating a deserted airfield to give the impression of the moving hands of a clock face when viewed from the air.
An Enid Blyton shop within the picturesque town of Corfe Castle, Dorset, is at the centre of an ugly racism storm after its golliwog newspaper advert featuring the words ‘English Freedom’ was banned by the ASA – despite protestations from the store that it is an innocent character associated with 19th century children’s books.
The Times carries a small business survey indicating confidence has sunk to a four year low amidst widespread concern that the UK economy might weaken following the vote to leave the EU. The Federation of Small Businesses found that confidence slipped for a third consecutive quarter.
Facebook advertisers can benefit from a couple of new measurement tools from this morning after the social media giant launched a number of third-party partnerships which will allow a more accurate measurement of sales and impressions, identifying ads which fail to generate any clicks at all.
Renegade whistleblower Edward Snowden has weighed into the controversy surrounding the default privacy settings on the fledgling Google Allo messaging app, by warning potential customers to steer clear of the software following revelations that the search giant can read every message you send indefinitely.