Netflix, Philip Morris, Ryanair: Everything that matters this morning - Marketing Week
Good morning and welcome to Marketing Week’s round-up of the news that matters in the marketing world today.
Philip Morris is launching a new campaign today to encourage smokers to give up cigarettes. The Hold My Light campaign aims to persuade smokers to go smoke-free by encouraging friends and family to offer rewards in the first 30 days of quitting.
The campaign suggests four ways to give up cigarettes, including going cold turkey, using nicotine patches, vaping and using heated tobacco products.
The £2m campaign will run across digital and print media and has its own website, www.holdmylight.co.uk, which suggest how people can support such as cooking dinner for quitters.
Peter Nixon, managing director of Philip Morris says: “This campaign breaks new ground which is an important next step in our company going smoke-free and ultimately stop selling cigarettes.”
Hold My Light is part of the brands position that people should quit smoking despite selling cigarettes however, the company does provide alternatives such as heated tobacco and like e-cigarettes.
Most forms of tobacco advertising and promotion in the UK are banned, and rules introduced last year mean cigarettes and tobacco must be sold in plain green packets.
Netflix personalisation is causing controversy as black users accuse the streaming service of using artwork to mislead them about the level of diversity in films.
For one film, Like Father, the artwork fails to show its two white leads instead some subscribers see a poster featuring two of the films African-American actors. Love Actually is another example of a movie with a predominantly white cast but the actor Chiwetel Ejiofor is spotlighted on the artwork despite playing a minor role.
It is thought the posters are designed to encourage black users to watch films thinking it will be more diverse but some have hit back arguing that the move is deceptive.
Hamleys could be put up for sale as the toymaker’s deals with poor results.
The company’s owner, C.banner International, bought Hamleys in 2015 but is is said to have started a strategic review after being approached by potential buyers. However there is no guarantee the a sale will go ahead.
The iconic toymaker replaced its head of finance last week after reporting a £9.2m loss – a 500 per cent decrease in profits.
According to Sky News, corporate finance firm Vermillion Partners has been hired to advise C.banner and hold discussions with potential buyers but it is unlikely to sell before the Christmas period.
A sale would mark the fourth time Hamleys has changed owners since 2003 and be another sign of a struggling British high street.
READ MORE: Hamleys reaches endgame under ownership of China’s C.banner
Ryanair has blamed strikes by pilots and cabin crew for a decline in profits but is optimistic about its future. The airline reported a 7% fall in profits for its half year results which chief executive Michael O’Leary blamed on a number of factors including strikes and the “the worst summer of ATC [air traffic control] disruptions on record”.
However, O’Leary cited a 6% rise in traffic and 96% capacity on planes as reasons to be optimistic. The company says it maintains its forecasts for the full year after warning that profits would be 12% lower earlier this month.
The news comes amid controversy as the airline dealt with a media storm this weekend. A video has appeared online showing a white passenger racially abusing a black woman in her 70s with many accusing the company failing take action and removing the belligerent passenger from the flight.
READ MORE: Ryanair warns fares to remain soft as summer profit falls 7 percent
Premium taxi firm Addison Lee plans to be using self-driving cars across London by 2021. The company has joined forces with Oxbotica, an autonomous vehicle software company, to provide self-driving cars for ride-sharing services in the capital.
The two companies will begin creating detailed digital maps of London’s roads ahead of the move which will pit it against Uber, which is also planning to roll out driverless cars.
Addison Lee boss Andy Boland said he wanted the firm to be at the “forefront” of the shift to self-driving cars. He explained: “Urban transport will change beyond recognition in the next 10 years with the introduction of self-driving services, and we intend to be at the very forefront of this change by acting now.”
He added the technology would help the firm “address congestion, free space used for parking and improve urban air quality”.
READ MORE; Addison Lee plans to put self-driving cabs on London’s streets by 2021
