Written by Marc Nohr, CEO Last weekend, a data company commanded the front page of the Financial Times for exploiting customer data. But it wasn’t a story about the latest Cambridge Analytica/Facebook data infringement. Or another example of Google’s virtual monopoly of search habits. It was about Bounty, a company that has been providing information and […]
It’s awards season and we’re kicking it off by winning – ‘Best Consumer Brand Event’ for Carlsberg Cabin at the Event Production Awards. Congratulations to the Fold7 and Brand Experience arm, Hyperactive. Boom!
A warm welcome this week to Michelle Hickey, who joins us as Head of Production, heading up our film, video and Content production department. Michelle has extensive experience working for some of the world’s most recognised brands, having previously held the role of senior producer at Leo Burnett, overseeing campaigns for brands including McDonald’s, NSPCC […]
By Ryan Newey, CCO and Founder Last month, Carlsberg unveiled a new pub. Its maiden pint was pulled not in a well-trafficked city-centre location, but in a woodland clearing. Instead of a glamorous launch party, the cheers of just six people greeted the first round. It’s a little odd to think of a big beer […]
By Yelena Gaufman, Strategy Partner Gaming, like other facets of culture, offers a huge untapped opportunity to engage with new audiences – but brands and agencies must truly immerse themselves in communities to realise the potential. In the midst of the World Cup, there was a parallel conversation which rallied millions of diehard fans to fever […]
Verity Messett – Head of Content Content marketers have an anxious relationship with the idea of attention. Always have had. Our existence depends on our ability to command the attention of The Audience (conceptualised as a mercurial, yet screen-rapt, horde) and, if their attention goes away, we are done for. The current wave of anxiety about […]
CONTENT: The majority of YouTubers eke out a meagre crust Bloomberg’s latest report shows that most influencers actually don’t make enough money to survive. It’s not the glamorous life that we think it can be, more like working two-jobs, eating Tide pods and hoping for your big YouTube break. Plus there’s going to be a […]
Photo credit: Vimeo CONTENT: Has the New York Times’ 360 video experiment paid off? After a year of experimenting with posting 360 videos on a daily basis, the New York Times has some really interesting practical insights for brands wanting to publish this type of video as part of their campaigns. WATCH: Oxfam’s The […]
Photo Credit: Strategy Labs TREND: When will you care about your data being hacked? Information is the new currency. And your personal data is gold-dust. Equifax got hacked big time, management sold millions of shares and bungled the fix causing their CEO to resign and their share price to drop near 20%. The dust hasn’t […]
Image Credit: YouTube CONTENT: Netflix makes Stranger Things into an 80s video game Can’t quite remember what happened in season one of Stranger Things? A novel idea here from Netflix rather than simply take the existing footage and edit it into a supercut. They created a story that’s watching of its own merit that harks […]
Image Credit: Living Lines Library INNOVATION Weed, alcohol and gun vending machines Something off the wall but highly shareable. These new fangled machines apparently have been tested so that kids won’t be able to get hold of alcohol, pharmaceuticals, casino chips, emergency pregnancy tests, cannabis, and (seriously) firearms… until they learn how to hack them! […]
Photo Credit: Viceland It’s the next installment of our weekly series looking at content, trends, tech and creative inspiration. TREND: Home shopping and album exclusives You’re too young to imagine buying something on a home shopping channel. You’re too cool you say, you’re too hip with your apps and next-day Amazon fulfillment. But with QVC buying […]
In Denmark, there is a word ‘arbejdsglaede’. It doesn’t exist in English, but it translates to meaning ‘work’ and ‘happiness’. So for the next month, we Foldsters are living #TheDanishWay in order to find a little ‘arbejdsglaede’. Now of course living Danishly means gorging ourselves on Danish pastries and enjoying Carlsberg on tap. But it […]
Our CEO, Marc Nohr has been enlisted by the IPA to chair its commercial leadership group, establishing a new agenda as the industry comes under increasing pressure to adapt to the rise of martech giants and management consultancies. As part of his new growth agenda, Marc will work with leading commercial agency heads to examine […]
We were thrilled to find out last week, that our Trust Your Touch campaign for CoppaFeel! won a Campaigns for Good Awards for Best Public Awareness Campaign in the Charity or NGO category. See the campaign here.
Many brands have bloomed online by forging communities more akin to a subculture of fans than ‘consumers’. Combining the appeals of ecommerce – low overheads and economies of scale – with an ability to tap incredibly engaged communities using social media and data has played out well for many brands, particularly in the fashion and […]
It’s not about exactly how many people are in each job role, but creating the right culture and focusing on outcomes. This article was originally featured in Campaign, written by our CEO Marc Nohr. When Marc Pritchard called on his agencies to boost the proportion of creatives to account teams on his business he made a […]
Following the success of the UK relaunch campaign, we have been appointed by Carlsberg to build on the global brand positioning and deliver a global creative platform. The work is set to start rolling out at the start of 2018, and once launched, it will be the first global campaign running simultaneously in all markets, providing […]
Photo Credit: Complex CONTENT: 5 Social Media Trends for 2018 Yes, this is a ‘listicle’, but it’s a really useful one that summarises what brands and agencies working in content are looking at, investing in and working towards. Scroll halfway down the list. WATCH: Complex Hustle This series from the hip-hop magazine is aimed […]
Photo Credit: YouTube TECH: Google x Levis Smart Jacket It’s 2017, and we’re still not wearing ‘smart clothes’. The Back To The Future shoes have come and gone, and apart from a few limited releases and prototypes, 99.9% of our fashion remains distinctly analogue. We can see items like this smart jacket hitting critical mass […]
TREND: Amazon is the number one app for teens Millenials do love to do them some shopping. It’s the app that they just “can’t go without”. With 38% of product searches happening on Amazon first (not Google), Amazon is quickly becoming the de facto search app. Combined with free music and video on Prime, the […]
Image source: Daily Dot TREND: Twitter’s got no new friends Twitter was on the out. Then the Trump presidential campaign happened and changed everything. He pretty much single-handedly gave Twitter a second-wind and it had the potential to carve out a niche in the social landscape. But those hopes seem to be gone. Its average monthly […]
Photo Credit: ThisBugsLife. In the first of our new series, Karel and Sarah from the Content Team will be bringing you our weekly highlights. Expect a mix of interesting reads plus trends from the worlds of content and technology. We’ll also be throwing you a healthy dose of creative inspiration and topping it off with […]
We were chuffed to hear that Campaign Magazine has named us as one of the best places to work in the industry. This is all down to the ambition, generosity and curiosity of our incredible colleagues who make Fold7 the best place to work.
Behold! This year’s Christmas cards have ben hand knitted by grannies. These ‘Digital Detox Sox’ are a cosy place for you to lock away your mobile phones this holiday and spend quality time with your loved ones.
By Ryan Newey, CCO and Founder. Creativity is a tricky quality to define. I’ve seen it assigned to a department or a team, treated as a skill to be learned or held up, like a shaman’s magic, as the ability to tap into an idea mainline and channel its goods to the mortal realm. To […]
By Yelena Gaufman, Strategy Partner The ongoing disruption of banking is a well-documented process, and depending on who you ask the outcome is a foregone conclusion. Though the likes of Monzo, Revolut and Starling offering compelling new visions of financial services, there’s more to these brands’ success than innovation alone. With an Accenture report released […]
Agencies can be a conservative lot when it comes to structural innovation. So Procter & Gamble’s marketing chief Marc Pritchard has decided to shake things up a bit and announce not one but three new agency models. Perhaps the most intriguing is his “People First” amalgamation of talent from roster agencies, brought together to service the FMCG […]
The dust is now settling on the brand dust-ups kicked off on International Women’s Day. Verity Messett – Content Strategy Director. McDonald’s “MFeminism” debacle is the highest profile ‘marketing fail’ of IWD ‘18. And yet its inverted arches forming a W have emerged as the day’s iconic image. It’s probably the one we’ll remember. Design-wise […]
We are delighted to announce that we have been appointed by Northgate, the UK’s largest commercial vehicle rental provider, following a competitive pitch involving three other agencies. The brief represents a step-change in the marketing investment by the business, beyond previous activity. Effective immediately, our remit will be to build brand equity and a lead generation pipeline across the […]
CONTENT: The biggest drop in Facebook organic reach we’ve ever seen Although Facebook denies this is a long-term programme, and only a regional test (that could last a few months), this shows the direction they’re heading in. Not good news for any brands or publishers who want to post a lot of organic content. […]
Photo Credit: YouTube CONTENT – Samsung Home: The Domestics Kudos to Samsung who resisted the urge to shoehorn product into every possible opening and created a series that’s not only likeable but fun to watch. It’s the classic twist on the odd-couple relationship with a 2017 makeover, featuring online celebrities living together, with a smart […]
Photo Credit: RTC Web TECH: Why Amazon wants to get in on your messages The unstoppable goliath that is Amazon could be soon making a messaging app. As our use of social media has matured, we’ve moved to using them as our primary communication platform and it looks like Amazon may want a piece of […]
Image source: Guy Parker-Rees. CONTENT: It turns out even content publishers and traditional media owners can fall into the trap of failing to invest in social media marketing! UBS teamed up with Vice and Vanity Fair to create a content creation arm called ‘Unlimited’ but admits now that it was at the expense of “good old fashioned marketing”. IE – they were […]
Image Credit: High Snobiety. You can keep your Jamies, Ramsays and your Hestons. I have a chef and presenter to beat them all. Eddie Huang is back for another of his VICELAND series “Huang’s World”. A post shared by Eddie Huang (@mreddiehuang) on May 17, 2017 at 5:12pm PDT Eddie’s an author, chef and founder […]
By Marc Nohr, CEO. 2018 didn’t do much for adland’s optimism. The year ended with news headlines dominated by Brexit paralysis, the slide in global equities and a wider economic slowdown, while adland reeled from the collapse of WPP’s share price and the sudden disappearance of some of its most famous names. These broader macroeconomic […]
The Christmas ads are here and elbowing one another out of the way to get the best seat at our festively decorated dinner tables. John Lewis has held the seat for many years, and we’ve told adland what we think of #EltonJohnLewis, but I think we’re ready for a new guest that perhaps might spark […]
By Yelena Gaufman, Strategy Partner I wrote half this post with my phone on the desk, and half with my phone in my drawer. Can you guess which was written more quickly? The fact is, we can’t ignore the promise of a new notification, or on the other hand the uncertainty of a blank screen […]
By Yelena Gaufman, Strategy Partner Challenger bank Starling has recently launched what it calls a “ground-breaking” new bank card design intended to bring the brand into line with the way people use debit cards today. This move poses an interesting question for the cohort of disruptive fintech brands, including Starling of course: what does it […]
Fold7 has been appointed by Denmark’s official tourism organisation, VisitDenmark, following a competitive pitch. We will be working on a new positioning piece for Denmark and various cross-national campaigns through the year. “Fold7 are true ambassadors of Denmark. With an incredible insight about our culture they are giving us new perspectives on how to communicate Denmark as a […]
CONTENT: How Fake News Spreads on Twitter “Falsehood flies, and the truth comes limping after it,” Jonathan Swift once wrote. He made that statement in 1710. We live in a world where it’s hard to tell what if you are reading is fact or fiction. This is the biggest study ever looking at how fake […]
SOCIAL: Snapchat launches a redesign that separates your friends from brands Snapchat has redesigned their feed to make it easier for users to communicate with their friends and consume branded content by splitting the feed. Snapchat’s real aim will be to monetise how brands appear in the new column (eg pay to be featured at […]
CONTENT: HBO and Steven Soderbergh are making an interactive mini TV series using an app. In an age of ‘I want, I get’, broadcasters are getting savvy to consumer appetite and have split apart the idea of a linear narrative, replacing it with a story you can watch from different perspectives using an app. I […]
Photo Credit: King James READ: Learn to actively listen “You cannot truly listen to anyone and do anything else at the same time.” — M. Scott Peck. That quote shocked me; not all but most of the time that I’m “listening” I’m also probably doing something else. This blog post talks about active listening, and how […]
Image Credit: 9 to 5 Mac CONTENT: Apple investing 1 Billion in their own content Every man and their dog are now making original content. You’ve been doing it for years with your hilarious Snaps and Instagram Stories. Someone should invest in you, but until that day comes round, companies continue to plough more money […]
Photo Credit: High Snobiety CONTENT: More ads coming to Facebook Messenger Continuing its quest to squeeze every last penny out of their eco-system, Facebook is launching more ads, this time to Messenger. Advertising is already available on Messenger albeit fairly limited, Facebook will now be pushing ads to the main home-screen. Messenger only works because […]
Yelena – Fold7 Strategy Partner gives her top 5 tips based our recent work for Carlsberg. Reinventing a brand makes for a great case study. Don’t we all want the power to change a brand’s fortunes? But this exciting prospect comes with great responsibility. It’s a classic risk-return trade-off. Get it right, fame. Get it […]