Sophie McNeill

KWINKIDINK RECORDING! Were you unable to make it to the live stream? Fear not. We now have a recording that we can share! Simply use the link below to donate £10, send us a screenshot of your payment confirmation and we will send you the recording! If you bought tickets to our live stream but would still like a recording, the cost is only £5! All profits going to Mind 💚 https://lnkd.in/ef6Ta__5

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Now that it has been more than a week since MAD//FEST LONDON, I've had a chance to reflect on the panel discussion titled 'Connected TV: What Do Brands and Agencies Need to Know?' 📺 Education, Education, Education CTV/OTT is growing exponentially and becoming increasingly complicated. Agencies and brands need to use DSPs that truly empower them. It's crucial not only to activate CTV as part of their omnichannel strategy but also to provide the necessary support and education. I highly recommend the StackAdapt Academy to level up with its Free Online Programmatic Course: https://lnkd.in/dp9KVRWz 🌐 The Importance of an Omnichannel Strategy Launching CTV and following up with different channels can significantly increase reach. When used effectively, it can be a powerful tool for clean and effective storytelling. ↘⤵⤴↘ Fragmented Landscape There is still a lot of work to do! As a channel, CTV is still fairly fragmented, which can cause challenges from delivery to reporting. Publishers, SSPs, and DSPs need to consolidate further. There's a lot of work to be done, but as an industry, we will get there! Huge thanks to my expert co-panellists Zachary Belmont from Paramount, Catherine Lofthouse from dentsu, Alex Jacobs from SINE Digital, Ben Orford from LG Ad Solutions, and our brilliant moderator Paul Gubbins! #MarketingAndAdvertising #dsp #StackAdapt #CTV #OTT #ConnectedTV

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Yesterday the DMA (Data & Marketing Association) UK launched its Value of Measurement 2024 Report, which I’ve had the pleasure of working with them on to shape & finalise along with the rest of the Measurement Taskforce. We all know that once we’ve done the hard work of securing budget for marketing activity, it is imperative that we can report back to the board what this investment has returned. The methodology of marketing measurement MUST be defined up front – how will you do it, what are the measures of success etc. For example, the board do not want to hear about open rates since these are KPIs and not the language of the board room. The board DOES want to hear about return on investment, incremental revenue and profit as these are business effects. Things like open rates are of course fine to track as KPIs to see trends over time. Take a read of the report - https://lnkd.in/eDumxyEy #DMA #Measurement #Report #Marketing #Event

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Really proud of this PR activation. Great brand awareness but more importantly it actually makes a real difference: https://lnkd.in/egAKM_r3

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In today’s competitive digital world, traditional advertising struggles to resonate with consumers. Enter branded content – an innovative approach to connect with your audience effectively. By crafting valuable and engaging content, you can establish genuine connections with your audience. Let Bauer Media Group assist you in developing branded content that aligns with your brand's identity and resonates with your consumers' hearts. #BrandedContent #DigitalMarketing

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As Channel 4 reveal their brilliant and most accessible sponsorship idents yet for Paralympics partners Allianz and Toyota, I'm reminded of the stat that only around 1 in 4 of UK TV ads are supplied with closed captions. That's 75% of ads that aren't fully accessible to the estimated 12 million UK adults who are deaf, have hearing loss or tinnitus (RNID). Not to mention the millions more who just prefer to watch TV with closed captions. Clearcast is leading the way in making TV advertising more accessible, and you now have the choice to add closed captions in parallel with the clearance process, choosing from several providers. Let's make this Paralympics a watershed moment for accessible TV advertising. And if you want to know a bit more about it, how about this handy Thinkbox Accessible TV Advertising hub in the comments ⬇ ⬇ #Accessibility | #AccessibleAdvertising | #Paralympics | Vanessa Vidad | Michelle Yeadon | Channel 4 Sales | Rupinder Downie | Bobi Carley | Phil Smith | Katie Jackson | Halima Kalim | Sam Smith | Alyx Leeming | Cass Coakley | Flock Associates | T&Pm | Mindshare | The Media Leader UK

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Multi-million pound funding boost for home-grown video game developers More than £3 million of government funding has been awarded to emerging video game developers and start-up studios to help them scale their businesses and create the next British gaming hits. 22 rising star video game studios receive awards from UK Games Fund £3 million worth of grants to help companies get games in development ready for market Funding awarded as part of government plans to grow creative industries by £50bn by 2030 Grants of up to £150,000 from the UK Games Fund (UKGF) will help 22 high-potential games companies hire more staff, secure publishing deals and unlock more private investment. The funding has been awarded to companies across the UK including GLITCHERS, a Bafta-nominated studio that has used video games to teach children about money and help scientists fight dementia. Their grant will help them develop The Last Eden - a first-person game set in the rainforests of the Congo Basin where players can track wildlife guided by real-world experts.  Meanwhile Triangular Pixels, another Bafta-nominated studio known for their innovative virtual reality technology, will use their Content Fund grant to develop Unseen Diplomacy 2 - a VR spy game where players can turn their living rooms into real-life assault courses. As part of the Creative Industries Sector Vision launched last year, the government invested an extra £5 million in the UKGF to establish a new Content Fund - focused on getting UK games in development ready for market - taking total government investment in the UKGF between 2022 and 2025 to £13.4 million.  In 2023 the UK video game consumer market was worth £7.8 billion*, more than doubling its value since 2013. Some of the world’s best-selling video games have been made in the UK, including Tomb Raider, the Grand Theft Auto series, Little Big Planet and Lego: Star Wars.  Alongside the Content Fund, UKGF continues to award grants of up to £30,000 to upcoming video game developers and early-stage studios to help them turn their drawing board ideas into working prototype games and showcase these to investors. UKGF also supports graduate talent development through its DunDev and Tranzfuser programmes.  UK video games companies can still apply for grants from the remaining portion of the £5 million Content Fund. https://lnkd.in/eDqr8cXv .

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A lot has changed at Glastonbury Festival since the first time I attended in 1999 - some terrifying 25 years ago 😱 Whilst brands do now have a presence at the festival (notably this year Vodafone, Chilly’s, Co-op and Naked Sprout) the organisers commendably continue to put its charity partners centre stage on site. Of the big three - Greenpeace, Oxfam, WaterAid - it was The Greenpeace Field that stood out for me this year. A real masterclass in how to do brand experience right at an existing event... 📍 LOCATION: A huge footprint in a prime position at the festival. Prominent, welcoming, accessible (and arguably consistently busier than Vodafone’s charging station) at a high footfall event perfect for reaching a captive target audience. 📸 UGC: Some of the most content-worthy builds the festival has to offer; hard to imagine just how many of the 210k+ ticket holders took a photo or posted a TikTok of the 22-metre-tall Rave Tree complete with “Jungle is Massive” message emblazoned above a suspended DJ booth.    👋 ENGAGEMENT: Well-versed volunteers (aka well-trained Brand Ambassadors) with a clear objective and consumer-friendly way to sign up new members. 🎸 ENTERTAINMENT: A stage with a curated, diverse line-up boasting some of the most talked about performances from over the weekend (see Lambrini Girls, Nabihah Iqbal, Cosmo Sheldrake, Frank Turner, Jayda G). 🕰️ DWELL TIME: The Greenpeace Bar, a walk-through sculptural installation and shaded seating spots - all encouraged extended visits to the area. 🌳 SUSTAINABILITY: A sustainable approach to their build - it’s obvious that consideration had been taken from the materials used, to the annual re-use of the core set dressing components and the inclusion of a plant-based stall. 🏃‍♀️ ADDED VALUE & REACH: Playing host & starting line to the Ravers 2 Racers 5km fun run around the festival site, a skate vert ramp and a giant drop slide for the kids - all ensured there really was something for everyone + further visibility & opportunity for both data & content capture. In summary, the value exchange and engagement Greenpeace offered its potential new members at the festival made their mission clear, their experience contextually relevant, memorable & measurable and their brand presence completely unmissable 👏 Regardless of whether festivalgoers signed up on the day or chose to support the cause once they’d returned home from their stay in Somerset, I can’t help but think Greenpeace must have had a win at Glastonbury again this year ✅ --- PrettyGreen

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I love scraping the web for great data, I love finding and analysing authoritative data, I love creatively bringing datasets together to find compelling insights but the satisfaction of good FOI data is hard to beat! 💪 The power of FOI data is the fact it’s both authoritative and not readily available, which when you get it right makes a great campaign, as showcased below 👇 Massive credit to Helena Maniglia for the amazing idea 💡and Courtney Cole for the great work in pulling it all together and turning it into this superb campaign 👏 #digitalPR #seo #data #FOI

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Long overdue portfolio update, with new clients, and new projects for fab returning clients. If you're on the lookout for an annual report, impact report, presentation or social media assets - do get in touch. All likes and shares also much appreciated to help visibility! #freelancedesigner #socialmedia #graphicdesign #annualreport #impactreport #presentations

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It’s often joked about how New Year resolutions tend to fade once ‘Auld Lang Syne’ has finished. But could these lapses become a thing of the past? Our research suggests so. Wellness, once relegated in significance post-January, is now receiving sustained search interest from consumers throughout the year - and this is creating an opportunity for brands. With wellness becoming a perpetual priority for consumers, brands equipped with agile strategies, leveraging real-time insights and automated advertising solutions, can navigate these evolving behaviours and foster meaningful engagement. Find out why here. 👇 https://lnkd.in/dmAqKicp #ThinkWithGoogle #MentalHealthMonth #Wellness

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MAD//FEST LONDON 💡 Starting point of future proofing your brand - taking a deep look into what economic forces are in play Sustainability check in - how are you doing and what does your report reveal; unlock new comms and get innovative with new insight Vinted Show me the money! - nothing wrong admitting what you’re trying to do in business. Yet, think about your exit plan: you can make money but it’s what you do with it that makes the difference Roger Wade

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It’s a big week for Kairos! Not only have we just landed multi-million pound investment but we’re also rebranding and consolidating all of our group’s agencies under one brand-spanking-New(Gen) roof. We’re bringing together Kyma (our Creator business), Horizon (our eSports & Talent business), and Kairos Media (our Social-first creative agency), to create an agency that’s properly fit for the future. NewGen bridges the gap between brands and creators, sitting perfectly at the intersection between culture, community, creators and creativity where all the magic happens in social. For all the newness, there are some things that remain. From years of cutting our teeth in the gaming space (arguably the birthplace of online communities), we’ve had a head start on understanding how communities live, breathe, connect and thrive online and we leverage that for our clients and creators every day, building from communities up and from social out - in gaming and beyond. If anything, that superpower will be supercharged now as NewGen. It's been a mammoth undertaking by the team to secure investment in parallel with a rebrand, whilst also restructuring our entire operation. Shout out to the whole NewGen team for working tirelessly on making it all happen. We now have a clear vision, plan and solid foundations on which to build a new generation of agency - one that's ready to help our clients face the future that's facing them. FOR THE NOW AND THE NEXT! 🚀 thenewgen.com

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Really enjoyed this session with Rachael Glynne (LinkedIn) and James Johnstone (Mediaworks) earlier in the week - crazy to think we had over 300 people join this live masterclass and the feedback received has been hugely positive! If you missed it, please use the links to access the session and don’t miss out on our offer of free consultations for further added value. Already looking forward to the next Mediaworks masterclass - do follow to stay up to date on future learning opportunities! #digitalmarketing #linkedin #learning #mediaworks

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Having read this…   BBC News - More people turning away from news (https://lnkd.in/eHsxdvqV) …it's clear that people are choosing to avoid the news and from feeling overwhelmed or fatigued with the news cycle.   If the news broadcasters choose not to change the emphasis of the content they'd like us to consume, we can choose for ourselves.   Along with choosing to avoid the negative, why not choose to actively seek out the positive. I find it energising and creatively inspiring to hear about good people and groundbreaking projects. Wondering where to start?   Choose…   Positive journalism Positive.news Goodgoodgood.co   Positive individuals David Heiatt - The Chicken Shed Chronicles is my favourite weekly newsletter https://lnkd.in/eQiMursA Per Hakansson - Love the simple mantra of fewer better things https://lnkd.in/eSEe8Jjc Positive organisations Nesta - An innovation agency for social good https://www.nesta.org.uk/ Poscasts The Hidden 20% - Inspirational people who think differently https://lnkd.in/emQeQ5sf At work Make a point of celebrating good news, innovation, breakthroughs, hurdling hurdles and achieving good things. https://lnkd.in/gPKGmJJz   Curating a more positive news feed has had a direct impact on my mood and my approach to life and work. Why not track your mood and give it a go (https://moodapp.io/). It's not always easy but it is a choice.   Enjoy your day   #positivenews #choosegood

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Want to Level Up Your Instagram Reels? Instagram is testing in-stream performance tips to help creators improve engagement. These insights are a game-changer for fine-tuning your strategy and making content that really stands out. A big shoutout to Becky Angle from Angled Marketing for being part of this journey as we share more quick tips and updates! We’re just getting started with this series, so stay tuned for more actionable insights to elevate your social media game. Let us know in the comments—what social media updates or trends do YOU want to learn more about? #InstagramTips #SocialMediaUpdates #ContentStrategy #ReelsEngagement #instagram

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How important are video ads to your Paid Social campaigns? 🎥 If your answer is 'not much', you might be holding your revenue performance back. Our friends at Pour Moi Ltd stepped up video asset production, and the results have been very exciting💰. Performance Marketing Manager Alistair says "Video has been critical to our revenue growth, driving results through web sales, partnered retailers & our physical stores. With Propellernet's help, we’ve moved from relying on capturing demand to actively creating it; reshaping our strategy." If you want to know how we did it, the case study is linked in the comments. 📈

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After Google removed cache links from search snippets earlier this year, they have now announced a new partnership with The Internet Archive’s ‘Wayback Machine’. In this week’s Thursday Thought, I discuss how it is now easier than ever to access the past, which can be used for insights for your upcoming marketing strategies. #digitalmarketing #googleupdates

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