Morning Bulletin: Amazon mounts grocery push, PC woe and BT Broadbanned
Amazon is making waves this morning with plans to launch a wave of bricks and mortar grocery stores across the US in addition to a new music subscription service. We also take a look at continuing woe in the PC industry with declining sales together with a banned Ryan Reynolds BT broadband ad.
Campaign kicks off with contradictory findings on the Brexit front, with the latest industry analysis indicating that marketers have actually increased their ad spending since the vote despite accompanying political and economic volatility.
In a surprise move Amazon has indicated that it will further commit to bricks and mortar retail stores in the US after putting forward plans to open a series of physical outlets around the country.
Not content with grocery stores the ever expanding e-tailer has also launched a new music streaming service to lock horns with Spotify and Apple. Amazon Music Unlimited will allow subscribers to access an archive of tracks from as little as $3.99 per month.
A BT broadband advert starring Ryan Reynolds has been forced off-air following a complaint from rivals Virgin Media that its claim to offer the fastest broadband at the cheapest price was ‘misleading’.
The Times reports that teenager Connor Jones has become the first person to be fined in a so-called ‘killer clown’ craze sweeping Britain. The 18 year old was charged £90 for a public order offence after scaring children outside a Welsh school.
The Verge reports that the PC industry is now in the midst of its ‘longest decline in history’ with global shipments falling 5.7 per cent in the third quarter of 2016 to 68.9m units – its eighth consecutive decline.
Kim Kardashian is to sue the website MediaTakeOut.com over a report in which it alleged the reality TV star had faked a recent robbery in Paris. According to Business Insider Kardashian is seeking undisclosed damages from the title for being wrongly portrayed as a thief and a liar.
Omnivirt has fired up a virtual reality distribution platform which will allow brands to promote their 360 degree videos and VR advertising by distributing it across ad networks and exchanges such as Smaato, Mopub and AdsOptimal – as it seeks to gain a headstart on its rivals on the much-hyped sector according to AdExchanger.
August American journal The New York Times has today launched an international edition as part of a revamp which includes a new design, additional news content and a greater emphasis on analysis in an effort to see whether it can grow its struggling print base.
Marketing agency Huge has gotten a little bigger this morning after it announced its first foray into the publishing sector with Magenta – a weekly online magazine geared toward design and technology fans.