My all time favourite ad campaign has to be the Cadbury's Creme Egg Goo to Goo, just loved it, truly imaginative, inspirational, educational and disruptive.

Tech Digest, some of the hottest stories

Google Launches New Messaging App Allo Today

Google has launched its new messaging app to compete with Facebook's duo of WhatsApp and Messenger – two of the largest communications apps in the world.  But Google Allo, available on Android and iOS, doesn't just have its sights set on toppling Mark Zuckerberg's empire, it also features powerful artificial intelligence in the form of a personal assistant; built to compete with Siri, Cortana, and Amazon's Alexa.  http://www.wired.co.uk/article/allo-google-messages-download-features-how-to-use

Hachette Children's strikes publishing deal with child YouTuber Tiana

Hachette Children’s Group is publishing a new book in the Rainbow Magic series inspired by the Toys And Me YouTube channel, presented by child YouTuber Tiana.  http://www.thebookseller.com/news/hcg-strikes-publishing-deal-youtuber-toys-andme-398376

Parents spend 25% less on Books for Boys compared to Girls - A new study reveals

According to the Childwise Monitor Pre-school Report 2016, a survey of parents of 1,000 0-4 year-olds in the UK, parents of girls spend significantly more, £8 every month, than parents of boys.
Childwise research manager Jenny Ehren said the findings emerged even though equal numbers of boys and girls named a book as their most treasured possession for the survey.
“The gender differences in book purchasing for pre-school children are indicative of reading trends that become more significant with age,” she said. “By the time they reach school, boys aged 5-10 read for significantly shorter periods and much less frequently for pleasure than girls of the same age.”http://www.thebookseller.com/news/parents-spend-25-less-books-boys-study-reveals-398381

Live Video Streaming

Video streaming has become one of the most engaging trends as well as the most popular methods to view content across the web today.  The increasing use of mobile devices is also driving video views, and this trend is set to continue in 2016.  The demand on smartphones is expected to increase, as companies – such as YouTube and Facebook – are adding livestreaming features on their mobile apps.

Facebook Slideshow New Video Format

With the recent introduction of a raft of new features for Facebook Slideshow, there’s probably been a better time to try this easy to use video ad feature from Facebook.  Slideshow ads are particularly popular right now, since they provide businesses with the opportunity to present ads in a really visual format without the need to produce a full video. And now the addition of new features like text, music and ore never possible with the original feature have only added to the appeal. http://smallbiztrends.com/2016/09/how-to-make-a-facebook-slideshow-ad.html

Alzheimer’s Research UK - #sharetheorange

Help us spread the word about dementia

Many people think dementia is just a natural part of ageing which means they don’t realise that it is something we could, one day, defeat.

To help change that, and to fight misunderstanding, please share this film about an orange. 

http://www.alzheimersresearchuk.org/orange/

A great campaign Channel 4 Paralympics Campaign - UK First Broadcasting subtitles and signed version of 'We're the superhumans' to cinema screenings for impaired people

Channel 4 has claimed a UK first by broadcasting a subtitled and signed version of its "We're the superhumans" ad at dedicated cinema screenings for hearing impaired people.

The move comes as Channel 4 launches the next phase of its "Superhumans" campaign, which also features posters accompanied by audio commentary of Paralympians winning gold at London 2012. 

The cinema ad will display subtitles and be British sign language interpreted in dedicated screenings for hard of hearing people. The spot was produced with support from the charity Action on Hearing Loss.

Meanwhile, outdoor ads on city bus shelters will feature images of Paralympics GB leading athletes Ellie Simmonds, Richard Whitehead and David Weir. Channel 4 has also partnered with Metro to take over its masthead in a print campaign.

Facebook content has also been created that incorporates the social media platform’s audio assisted technology tool by providing audio description of the video for people with sight loss. 

The ads have been created by 4Creative, Channel 4’s in-house agency, with media handled by OMD UK.

The broadcaster’s ambition to make the campaign accessible to everyone comes as research carried out by Channel 4 shows that 82% of UK adults agree that the Paralympics are important for improving society’s perceptions of disabled people. 

The research also shows that more than 90% who saw the "Superhumans" ad said it was a positive portrayal of disability. 

Dan Brooke, Channel 4’s chief marketing and communications officer, said: "From the outset our ambition was to make this Channel 4’s most accessible campaign ever. 

"We want everyone to be able to share in the excitement of the Rio Paralympics and join in this wonderful celebration.

"The Paralympics and our 'Superhumans' campaign get right to the heart of what Channel 4 stands for – championing diversity, innovation and new talent and celebrating the amazing abilities of both Paralympians and everyday people."

Read more at Channel 4 Paralympics Campaign, Read More

Promoted Video is available to businesses in the US and UK

Promoted Video is available to businesses in the US and UK currently working with a Pinterest account team. 

Pinterest offers more than just views

While other platforms primarily offer video views, Pinterest coupled Promoted Video with featured Pins below the video. Now the 67% of people who say videos on Pinterest inspire them to take action can experience your brand and then simply click below to do more with your products and services. This works great for companies like bareMinerals, who use video to demo their beauty products and feature Pins below that showcase the products used.

Learn more and click here

How to Make Online Advertising a Safer Place - MediaTel

'More Peppa Pig' - Children's Media Consumption Habits and Attitudes

One evening my 2 year old toddler was requesting 'More Peppa Pig', I'd reluctantly allowed her a 30 minute slot to watch her favourite programme, the episode had finished and she pointed to our Samsung Smart TV repeating 'More Peppa Pig' then a little louder 'More Peppa Pig'.  She then grabbed the control and pressed the Sky remote attempting to forward the adverts to get to the next episode.

All too aware of Why to avoid TV before 2 research which suggests screen viewing has negative effects on children's language development, reading skills, short-term memory as well as sleep and attention, I wanted to understand the media consumption of other children.  There is a survey telling us that 40% of infants watch some sort of video by the age of 5 months and this rises to 90% by the age of 2.

What do other data sources say?  OFCOM conducted a study which they started in 2005 analysing Children and Parents Media Consumption and Attitudes.  Over a 10 year period we are able to understand how media consumption habits have changed.  Here are some highlights from the latest 2015 report -

The amount of time 8-11s and 12-15s spend online has more than doubled, from 4.4 hours a week in 2005 to 11.1 hours in 2015.

In 2005, 61% of 8-11s and 67% of 12-15s had access to the internet at home. In 2015 close to nine in in ten 8-11s (91%) and nearly all 12-15s (96%) have internet access at home, either through a fixed broadband connection or through using a mobile network signal.

In 2005 3% of 8-11s and 13% of 12-15s had internet access in their bedroom. In 2015 this has increased to 15% of 8-11s and 34% of 12-15s who have internet access via a desktop, laptop or netbook in their bedroom, and many also use portable devices, like tablets and mobiles, to go online. One in ten 5-15s now only go online

According to OFCOM tablets are proving popular with toddlers, over half of 3-4s and three-quarters of 12-15s use a tablet in 2015.

And since 2005 the mobile phone has overtaken the TV set as the device 12-15s would miss the most.

In 2015 traditional TV is being challenged by other types of audio-visual content. Among 12- 15s who watch both TV and YouTube content, for the first time more say they prefer to watch YouTube videos (29% vs. 25% in 2014) than TV programmes (25% vs. 30% in 2014).

Fewer 12-15s in 2015 nominate Facebook as their main social media profile while more are nominating Snapchat.

So back to the challenge of TV time, a separate article by Babycenter provides the best way to tackle TV time.  The idea is to think of it as refined sugar, the advice is to limit the time your toddler spends watching TV, make screens physically inconvenient, go with calm and quiet programs, watch programming and not television and watch with your child whenever possible.

The research is in and the statistics are eye-opening, I prefer the refined sugar approach and who knows what platforms and media my toddler will be consuming by the time she is a 12 year old, gone will be the days of Snapchat and Facebook?!?