Three marketing/media/PR stories. Two agency updates. Read in five minutes.
   
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TV SMOKERS
Truth Initiative, a US public health organisation, has been calling out TV shows with viewers aged 15-24 that show what they describe as “tobacco incidents” (we think they mean smoking). The hit Netflix drama Stranger Things tops the list with 182 scenes featuring cigarettes. Netflix has been singled out for criticism by the anti-smoking organisation, with research claiming their programmes have more than twice the average number of scenes featuring smoking. Other Netflix shows; Orange Is the New Black and House of Cards were both criticised. “We’re interested to find out more about the study”, a Netflix spokesman said. Robin Koval, CEO of Truth Initiative, said he believes there is “a pervasive re-emergence of smoking across screens that is glamourizing and renormalizing a deadly habit to millions of impressionable young people”. The Motion Picture Association of America has hit back saying film-makers were protected by the first amendment, which safeguards free speech.
A view from Rule 5...
The Motion Picture Association needs to have a serious rethink. Smoking isn’t speech, on screen activity has been proved to influence behaviour and smoking causes serious harm. On a lesser note we’d like to point out that ‘renormalizing’ isn’t a word in the context they use it (it's a part of quantum field theory).
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INSTA-GRAB
Instagram is launching shoppable posts. The new feature will allow brands and retailers to tag products in organic posts which consumers can then tap to make a purchase. Amy Cole, Instagram’s head of business development says: “Users can go through Instagram without having to switch between apps and with a couple of taps buy the product.” The shopping feature works like the current tagging but instead of people, brands can tag products. A click will bring up the price of the product and from there, users can click through to more product details and a purchase option without going into the product website. The ‘Shop Now’ link then takes them to the brands transaction page. Shopping is only available to those with Instagram business accounts. It has been available in the US but is now rolling out to the UK, Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, and Spain. Instagram has been trialling the feature in the UK with swimwear brand Heidi Klein, Mahabis and Marks and Spencer. Brands will be able to see what posts gain the most product clicks and which product tags were the most popular.
A view from Rule 5...
The potential for this is huge, particularly for the retail and fashion industries. It brings inspiration and purchase really close together.
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GOOGLE FIGHTBACK
Google has committed over £200m to the fight against fake news. The company says its aim is to “help build a stronger future for news”. The money will be spent over the next three years to disrupt political fabrication and support news publishers. Google's chief business officer, Philipp Schindler said: "Our mission to build a more informed world is inherently tied to the reporting of journalists and news organisation.” He added: “People come to Google looking for information they can trust, and that information often comes from the reporting of journalists and news organisations around the world. While the demand for quality journalism is as high as it’s ever been, the business of journalism is under pressure, as publications around the world face challenges.” As part of the programme Google will be working with the Harvard, Stanford University and the Local Media Association. A key objective will be to help young people enabling them to distinguish fake news from true and accurate reporting. Google is also providing news organisations with News Consumer Insights, a new dashboard built on top of Google Analytics.
A view from Rule 5...
This is a really important initiative. Let's hope Google can help us all win the war with fake news and bogus journalism.
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RED DEVILS
The agency has been appointed to work with Super League club Salford Red Devils. The club was recently acquired by a consortium of supporters through a new holding company Salford RD Holdings. Rule 5 will work with the club to build its regional and national profile and strengthen its links with Salford and the region. Salford Red Devils Director, Andrew Rosler said: “It’s really important for us to work with the local business community so it was exciting to discover an agency based in Salford, recognised for award-winning work nationally and internationally in the sports sector. The agency is experienced in the promotion of grass-roots initiatives through to global events and it is this expertise that makes Rule 5 the perfect fit for us.” Rule 5 Founding Partner Rob Brown added: “Rugby League is exhilarating and uniquely northern. Salford Red Devils is a big club playing at the highest level in the sport.”
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DOUBLE BILL
Rule 5 founders, Jules and Rob, have both been named in separate lists of business influencers in the same week. Jules appears in Manchester’s Women of the Year in A-Magazine. The list of 25 of the city’s most successful women includes Commonwealth Games gold medal winner Diane Modahl and Shadow Secretary of State for Education, Angela Rayner MP. The magazine published the guide to mark the centenary of votes being given to some women in 1918. Jules told the magazine: “Emmeline Pankhurst provided women with a voice and it’s a voice that continues to shout loudly.” Co-founder of the agency Rob Brown is featured in PR Week’s 2018 Power Book. It lists “the most influential and respected comms professionals in the UK today” and was described by PRWeek UK editor-in-chief Danny Rogers as “the most rigorously compiled edition since I launched it in 2007.”
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