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Users Are Passionate about their AR-style Firearms
NEWTOWN, Conn. — Owners of modern sporting rifles (MSR)–those rifles based on the AR platform–are among the most passionate gun owners.
Most shoot their rifles often and wish they had time to shoot them even more. Most use them for target shooting. Most own multiple modern sporting rifles. Most enjoy accessorizing them.
Given these and other insights into ownership, it’s no wonder MSRs were among the hottest sellers during the firearms sales boom from late 2008 through early 2010.
With so many MSRs purchased during that period, the National Shooting Sports Foundation, the trade association for the firearms and ammunition industry, wanted to learn more about owners’ use and attitudes related to these firearms. A survey conducted in 2010 on behalf of NSSF by Sports Marketing Surveys has been compiled into the NSSF Modern Sporting Rifle (MSR) Comprehensive Consumer Report. The complete survey and a description of the methodology used are available at www.nssf.org/MSR/facts.cfm.
“The findings give NSSF a baseline for future research into the ownership and use of these popular sporting firearms,” said Jim Curcuruto, NSSF’s director of industry research and analysis. “Our goal was to learn more about this category, and we certainly did.”
Included in the survey findings are these 21 fascinating facts about owners of modern sporting rifles who responded to the survey:
- 60 percent of MSR owners that responded to the study own multiple MSRs, with the average owned being 2.6.
- 30 percent of all MSR owners purchased their first rifle in 2009 or 2010.
- 99 percent of all MSR owners owned some type of firearm prior to their first MSR purchase.
- 9 out of 10 owned a handgun prior to acquiring their first MSR, and 34 percent of those under age 35 owned a paintball gun before owning their MSR.
- Nearly half (44 percent) of MSR owners are current or former military or law enforcement members.
- 51 percent of MSR owners have a shooting-range membership.
- 8 out of every 10 MSR owners purchased their MSR new.
- 39 percent of all MSR owners purchased their most recent MSR at an independent retail store, with the average purchase price being $1,083.
- 3 out of every 4 MSRs most recently purchased were chambered in .223/5.56mm.
- MSR owners consider accuracy and reliability to be the 2 most important things to consider when buying a MSR.
- 84 percent of MSR owners have at least 1 accessory on their rifle, and they spend an average of $436 on after-market accessories and customization.
- 71 percent of MSR owners use a scope or red-dot as their primary optic. Older owners prefer scopes; younger owners prefer red-dot optics.
- One-third of MSR owners use a 30-plus round magazine most often in their MSR.
- The 3 most-owned accessories were a rifle sling (81 percent), soft carrying case (70 percent) and mounted rifle scope (68 percent).
- 25 percent of those who own 3 or more MSRs describe their MSRs as heavily accessorized (4-plus accessories).
- Recreational target shooting (8.9 out of 10) was the No. 1-rated reason for owning a MSR in terms of importance. Home defense was next (7.7/10), followed by collecting (6.28/10) and varmint hunting (6.23/10).
- 95 percent of owners said they have used their MSRs in the last 12 months, and 29 percent of owners shoot their MSRs more than once per month.
- 25 percent of owners shot more than 1,000 rounds out of their MSR in the last 12 months.
- 8 out of 10 owners feel they have not been able to shoot their MSR as much as they would like in the last 12 months.
- Not having enough free time and the cost of ammo are the 2 main issues preventing MSR owners from shooting as much as they would like.
- The typical MSR owner is 35-plus years old, married and has some college education.
NSSF has led the way in educating sportsmen and the public about modern sporting rifles. These AR-style rifles are sometimes incorrectly referred to as assault rifles or assault weapons. They are not. (The AR stands for ArmaLite, the company that developed the rifle in the 1950s.) The rifles do resemble military firearms such as the M4, but the similarities are cosmetic only. The AR-style rifle functions like other semi-automatic sporting firearms, firing one round with each pull of the trigger. Since the 19th century, civilian sporting rifles have evolved from their military predecessors, and the modern sporting rifle follows that tradition. Gun owners who want to be accurately informed on the subject can learn more at www.nssf.org/msr.


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Plaid supports FedNow real-time payments, providing faster, more secure, and smoother payments for companies and consumers.
In its Instant Payouts feature on Plaid Transfer, data network Plaid announced that FedNow, a real-time payment system, will soon be supported. The decision was made in response to the rising demand for on-demand, real-time payment services from both businesses and consumers.
The flexible platform Plaid Transfer will handle many rails, giving users access to a variety of payment solutions like ACH (Automated Clearing House), RTP (Real-Time Payments), and the future FedNow service.
The system will also include cognitive components that will determine whether an account qualifies for quick payments and enable dynamic routing for FedNow, RTP, and ACH (Same Day or normal) transactions.
The extended cooperation between Plaid and Cross River Bank, which is well-known for offering embedded financial solutions, is a crucial facet of this progress.
In order to demonstrate its dedication to financial innovation and provide quicker, more secure, and seamless payment experiences, Cross River will be among the first bank partners to offer support for Plaid’s real-time payment solutions.
Cross River’s head of fintech banking, Adam Goller, stated: “Millions of Plaid customers will have access to their money when and where they need it by combining the benefits of our proprietary banking core and cutting-edge API technology with Plaid’s expertise in financial technology solutions.
Due to their solid working relationship and Cross River’s proprietary API technology, which enables quick and easy connections to numerous payment networks, including ACH, RTP®, and the upcoming FedNowSM Service, Cross River was chosen as the first financial institution to support Plaid’s real-time solutions.
Real-time payments have many benefits for both businesses and customers, according to Plaid’s head of payments John Anderson. He said: “Real-time payments can deliver significant efficiency and cost benefits to businesses and help them deliver amazing new experiences for consumers by delivering money when and where they need it.”
Payouts made through traditional banking procedures can take several days to clear, disrupting both businesses and customers. However, according to the Federal Reserve, a 2022 AFP Digital Payments Survey found that faster payments had a positive effect on 92% of worldwide organizations and that 70% of consumers are satisfied with the faster payment processing.

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It’s finally now official Intel’s Gaming GPUs Confirmed to Launch Next Month. Intel’s first-ever discrete GPUs specifically designed for gaming will be available for laptops this month. Desktop GPUs will be available in the second quarter of 2022 and workstations will be getting the Intel Arc graphics cards in the third quarter of this year.
The announcement was made via the official IntelGraphics Twitter handle.
For those who aren’t aware, Intel Arc GPUs are designed to compete with the Nvidia RTX 3000 GPUs, with the same performance and price.
However, that’s one of the announcements Intel released this week. The American chipmaker also revealed the cloud gaming service Project Endgame. It lets you lease Intel’s graphics cards in the cloud to provide the benefit of an “always-accessible, low-latency computing experience.”
The specifics of Project Endgame are still unclear however it is believed that Intel is developing. An all-encompassing front-end gaming service similar to the NVIDIA GeForce Now. Intel hasn’t disclosed any particulars like the type of access to GPUs it’ll offer its customers. What the cost will be, and if it’s intended exclusively for gaming.
However, since Intel is evidently fighting to win gamers, we’re expecting that the price. Service will be comparable to the other cloud gaming competitors like Google Stadia, Xbox Cloud Gaming, etc. Therefore, no specific date for the launch yet as Intel has only stated that it will launch later in the year.


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Well, it looks like some else will be keeping the light on for popular video game and community forums, ResetEra as it has been acquired by Swedish media company, MOBA Network for $4.55 million USD.
After reaching a deal for the forums, $3.55 million has already been paid with the final $1 million will be paid at a later date in 2021. For anyone unaware, MOBA Network already owns a number of sites dedicated to online communities, including Mobafire.com, Dotafire.com, Smitefire.com, Owfire.com, Leaguespy.net and more. The company also manages the Union For Gamers YouTube Network, which deals with more than 1,000 creators on the platform, so it’s no stranger to the gaming space.
“We are very excited and proud to welcome ResetEra.com – one of the world’s largest gaming forum and community brands – to our growing number of brands,” MOBA CEO, Björn Mannerqvist said in a statement.
“We see significant opportunities to develop ResetEra, continue to grow traffic flows, improve the sales development and extract synergies within the MOBA Group.”
ResetEra was created during the fallout of NeoGaf after the site’s owner was accused of sexual misconduct allegations. Members decided to distance themselves from the site which led to the formation and migration of ResetEra in 2017 which emphasizes diversity and inclusivity. The forums currently has near 55,000 members, it generates on average about 60 million page views a month and currently has about 45 million forum posts.
The price that MOBA Network ended up paying was well over the asking price as ResetEra generated $700,000 USD over the last 12 months leading up to August 31st. The site generated revenue through ad sales, and subscriptions to remove ads. For ResetEra members worried, the site says nothing is changing under new management as the same operational team that has been running and moderating the site to this point isn’t going anywhere.


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Despite powerful competitors snapping at its heels, Netflix is a force to be reckoned with in the streaming and entertainment world.
The subscription-based streaming service has over 23 million subscribers and reported a revenue of over $8 billion in the first quarter of 2023 according to Statista. Those are some eye-opening numbers to contend with and the brand shows no intention of slowing down.
You just need to look at its content over the years to see its rising success: Bridgerton, Stranger Things, Downton Abbey, The Crown, Tiger King, Squid Game and Money Heist.
Let’s look at how its marketing strategy has changed over the years and where it stands in the face of powerful rivals like Disney+, Amazon Prime Video, and Apple TV+.
In essence, Netflix’s success is due to the brand’s ability to evolve and the speed at which it does so. It’s this ability to pivot that has enabled its marketing strategy to change and move away from long-held beliefs such as ‘ad spending not resulting in more viewers’.
Another driving success factor is its technology. Netflix's recommendation engine was created to do one key thing - drive personalization. Its goal is to ensure that subscribers get the content they want and are interested in. This requires the collection of data and the creation of tailored customer journeys for every user. That’s no small feat.
Another key reason is the content. Netflix invests a huge amount of money in original content. This vision and investment have seen it create hit shows and get nominations and wins for Oscars, Emmys, BAFTAs, SAGs, Golden Globes, and even Grammys.
When it comes to content and brand authority, Netflix is hard to beat. Its cutting-edge content, commitment to spotlighting foreign language content such as the French hit ‘Call My Agent’, and commitment to UX have kept the platform in the driving seat—but some of its rivals are thriving too.
The content on Disney+ is enviable even by Netflix standards. With Pixar (Toy Story), Marvel (Iron Man and the rest!), Lucasfilm (Star Wars) and Hulu (Keeping Up with the Kardashians) content along with its lower membership price point, Disney+ draws in subscribers to the tune of over 234 million (that’s more than Netflix).
However, according to Nasdaq, subscriber count has become a murky metric. Instead average revenue per user (ARPU) can be more telling. In Q4 of 2022, Netflix's monthly ARPU stood at $11.76, while Disney+'s domestic ARPU was $5.95.
Check out our case study ‘The Enduring Innovation and Magic of Disney’ for an in-depth look at that brand’s full marketing picture.
Apple TV+ is another streaming service gaining ground with an estimated 25 million paid subscribers and 50 million users that get the platform free with the purchase of an Apple device (as of March 2022). ‘The Morning Show’ featuring Jennifer Aniston and Reece Witherspoon proved a huge hit for the platform. However, with only around 80 series, movies, and documentaries, it pales in comparison to Netflix’s library of over 5000 items.
Amazon Prime Video is well placed to capture a share of the streaming market seeing as its parent company Amazon is one of the most recognizable ecommerce brands in the world. The video platform has 190 million subscribers worldwide with successful original content such as Fleabag (a co-production with the BBC) and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. However, the platform has been criticized for a lot of its content being user-generated and some of it questionable according to the Wall Street Journal.
Other competitors are YouTube TV, Paramount+, Sling, and HBO Max.
Netflix’s marketing budget has remained fairly consistent, increasing to $2.5 billion in 2022 from $2.2 billion in 2020.
However, the way in which Netflix spends money is changing. The marketing strategy has moved from a focus on the brand itself to shining a light on individual titles, according to the New York Times.
Take ‘Wednesday’, a spin-off Addams Family-inspired show featuring Jenna Ortega. Along with advertising in airports and on the Uber app, Netflix shifted money from Twitter and Instagram to TikTok after a scene of Wednesday dancing was copied by others and went viral.
“I’m trying to enable creativity, because I want to bring all of this content to more people around the world,” Lee Dicus said. “I also want the rest of Netflix to understand what the marketing strategy is: We support the content organization.”
The point is that Netflix is now more focused on the content that’s being produced while embracing both new (TikTok) and old (billboards) channels to do that.
To boost revenue and attract more subscribers, Netflix offers a range of subscription plans, from ‘Basic with Ads’ to ‘Premium’.
The launch of the lower-cost subscription in November 2022 was intended to attract more cost-conscious users after a sharp decline in the first half of the year when the subscriber base fell by 1.2 million amid a rocky global economy and growing competition.
The brand also clamped down on ‘password sharing’ in subscriptions as it wants to limit the number of devices people can use to access their service. It sent letters to subscribers that shared their passwords outside their household as this can now only be allowed by paying for an extra user each month.
“Netflix is balancing new ad revenue coming in with the potential of subscription revenue being lost from existing users downgrading,” says Wedbush Securities media analyst, Michael Pachter to TIME magazine. “But it’s going to take some time for the advertising business to fully monetize.”
The ‘Basic with Ads’ is the cheapest plan at $6.99 a month as it shows advertising and only allows it to be used on one device. In contrast, the ‘Premium’ plan is $19.99 a month with no ads and enables HD, and 4K Ultra HK along with four streams at once.
However, brands have been clamoring to advertise on Netflix for years due to its vast audience base. The new plan reached about 1 million monthly active users in the U.S. after its second month (Jan 2023), according to internal data seen by Bloomberg with many of those being lapsed or new users, accounting for 20 percent of new sign-ups in the country.
While advertisers voiced their frustration with the lack of targeting and measurement on the ad platform initially, Netflix revealed it has chosen Nielsen’s DAR for audience measurement, DoubleVerify and Integral Ad Science for ad verification and outcomes-based measurement provider EDO.
The company also unveiled sponsorship opportunities to buy pre-roll spots for specific shows and shared plans to run campaigns tied to holidays so buyers can target audiences when they’re most engaged.
“For years, we tried to keep our business as simple as possible so we could grow as fast as possible. We [still] have a long way to go to build scale in advertising” Co-CEO of Netflix, Ted Sarandos
When it comes to promotion, Netflix isn’t afraid to be bold. The success of their marketing is down to their ability to think outside the box and tap into what their audience is interested in.
Take ‘The Marquee’, high-tech billboards with humorous messages that relate to Netflix content and resonate with the public. The messages are changed every week and are in high-traffic locations such as Sunset Boulevard in L.A., Times Square in New York, and the Trevi Fountain in Rome.
One billboard was used to promote Arnold Schwarzenegger’s new show ‘Fubar’ on Netflix.
“The point of the board is to have fun, be edgy, and push all the way to the edge,” Marian Lee Dicus, CMO of Netflix said. “I know it’s a lot of pressure because they have to come up with a new message every week, but if they’re just using it for something lame, I’d rather not do it.”
Another example is the guerilla-style campaign the streaming giant ran on the back of the success of their show ‘Squid Game’. In one of the show’s episodes ‘Green Light, Red Light’ a giant doll appeared that resonated with audiences.
Netflix used it to promote the show and create a buzz by placing installations of the doll in Australia, the Philippines, the USA, Korea, and England. People were also invited to play games to win prizes and share pictures of the installation on social media to receive a “Squid Game”-themed gift.
The result? ‘Squid Game’ helped Netflix gain 4.38 million subscribers according to Valens Research and went viral across social media. The hashtag #squidgame has reached 82 billion views on TikTok.
When it comes to data, Netflix knows what it’s doing. The streaming service collects a huge amount of data every day - and unlike many brands - puts every piece of information to use; to create a better customer journey, to create a content library that feels personal to a user.
What’s important is how they analyze and measure their data. Netflix appears to constantly learn from the information it gets and changes to drive better performance and make its content work harder.
For example, before 2019, Netflix counted 70 percent completion of an episode or movie as a ‘view’, its main engagement metric. At the end of 2019, it changed a ‘view’ to ‘any watch time’ of two minutes or longer. In 2021, the metric changed again, moving away from the ‘number of views’ to ‘minutes watched’ as reported in Entrepreneur.
Credited with introducing ‘binge watching’, Netflix uses clever tactics to keep subscribers on the service. They use auto-play so a new episode starts automatically without any clicking or action on the user's part. If a series or movie is finished, similar recommendations are offered to push people to watch something else.
In 2021 Netflix launched a ‘Top 10 on Netflix’ website, a place to showcase its most popular content broken down into global and country-specific lists. The metric used for these lists is ‘engagement as measured by hours viewed’ as the company believes it’s “a strong indicator of a title’s popularity, as well as overall member satisfaction”.
There’s no doubt that streaming is popular, but it’s also a very competitive space. While Netflix currently has the edge, the brand knows it needs to keep innovating to keep that coveted position.
Let’s recap the key reasons Netflix is such a successful brand. It:
There’s little doubt that Netflix will keep growing and evolving based on internal and external factors. The crucial factor in its success is that it wants to keep getting better and is prepared to do the work to get there.
(Originally published in March 2021. Updated June 2023)


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In early 2019 Spotify opened up its flagship algo-personalised playlist, Discover Weekly, to brand sponsorships. However, so far the option for advertisers to sponsor the playlist has only been tested in North America and Latin America, as well as the UK.
Now it’s crossing the seas to Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Nine countries, to be specific: Austria, Belgium, Ireland, Poland, Portugal, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Switzerland and Turkey. So, not the biggest markets in mainland Europe yet, but an expansion nonetheless.
Spotify’s regional sales boss Rak Patel said that the tests so far have “had great feedback from brands that have seized the opportunity to engage with a hyper-captivated audience”.
This being advertising, the sponsorships only happen on Spotify’s free tier, but not for paying subscribers’ Discover Weekly playlists.
Music Ally’s next Learn Live webinar will help you understand what’s required for artists to thrive in new international markets!


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FSA reveals further details of mortgage and GI reviews
The reviews, announced by FSA managing director Clive Briault over the last year, will investigate the effectiveness of the regimes, focusing initially on how far the FSA conduct of business requirements for mortgage and GI firms are delivering the intended outcomes for consumers.
The FSA has identified disclosure requirements and advice and selling standards as key areas within both the mortgage and GI regimes where it plans to undertake consumer research.
The reviews will employ a variety of different tools to test the effectiveness of the regimes. The review teams will analyse statistical information, including regulatory returns, and market and economic data such as changes in prices and charges.
There will also be mystery shopping to test if consumers are clear whether a sale is advised or non-advised and whether suitable mortgage and GI recommendations are being made.
Dan Waters, director of retail policy division at the FSA, said: “Naturally we recognise it is still early days and we have to be realistic about the timescales in which the various objectives of the new regime may be achieved. That’s why the reviews are rolling programmes which will measure the outcomes of the regimes in stages.”
Tony Jones, managing director of Pink Home Loans, commented: “It’s encouraging the FSA is continuing to carry out these reviews and progress is definitely being made in the right direction especially among intermediaries. Though there must be a cost-benefit analysis as it is important that the advantages outweigh the regulatory costs and the FSA still has a lot of work to do to fulfil its objectives.”


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Coffee shop giant Starbucks has unveiled one the first of its new look stores in Scotland as part of a £24m refurbishment programme across the UK.
Starbucks, which has 54 stores in Scotland employing more than 800 partners, chose its Royal Mile outlet in Edinburgh to showcase its new approach to store design which is attempting to make them more distinctively local.
Features include a large community table made by an Edinburgh company using 100 per cent antique reclaimed wood, a library area with soft comfortable seating and vintage feature wallpaper.
Darcy Willson-Rymer, managing director of Starbucks UK and Ireland, said Scotland was one of the best performing parts of its UK business and the refurbishment represented a significant investment in its future north of the border.
Designers looked at the neighbourhood and took inspiration from the city before drawing up their plans for the store.
Tim Pfeiffer, senior vice president, Starbucks global design claimed it was the first retailer in its sector to adopt this approach to store design.
"We took our inspiration for our Royal Mile store from its historical setting", he said.
"From street signs and local woodcraft to frosted glass, we wanted to create a vintage feel that celebrates the citys heritage whilst providing a comfortable environment that people will really enjoy spending time in."
Most of the work on the store was carried out by Scottish companies including a Dundee firm which made the decorative woodwork and panelling plus the bookshelves.


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There is clearly pent-up demand for in-person meetings post-pandemic. For MIG this means physical networking events worldwide are back on the agenda.
The latest event sees MIG joining a cohort of German innovators in an AHK business trip to the Philippines to explore partnership potential with their Filipino counterparts. Our Sales Director, Jörg-Michael Reuther, explains why MIG-ESP® coating system can help the Philippines decarbonise its buildings.
With skyrocketing energy prices and growing climate awareness, the Filipino government is ramping up support for industries and businesses to accelerate decarbonisation. This presents a great opportunity for us to enter a rapidly growing market that is receptive to innovative energy technologies.


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One way or the other, it seems Amazon has designs on replacing your local supermarket.
The company is already testing the no-checkout Amazon Go store, where folks can simply walk out with their groceries and has designs on bringing them to the UK.
Now the Seattle-based firm is making it even easier to pick up some ingredients for dinner… without even leaving the car.
Related: Best Amazon Deals for May 2017
The AmazonFresh Pickup stores, the first of which have now opened in Seattle, let customers order their shopping online and then simply drive to the store and wait for an attendant to bring out their stuff, all neatly bagged.
The service is free for Prime members and orders will be ready just 15 minutes after they’re placed. There’s also no minimum order.
The prices aren’t actually that bad either, most items seem comparable with a local supermarket. Given the ease of ordering there’s some serious incentive here for Prime members.
Does this sound preferable to a Tesco trip? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.


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A new section where LinkedIn Tech Stack spotlights an up-and-coming startup – and its strategy behind a recent fundraise.
Stensul, a startup that helps enterprises design and create marketing emails and landing pages faster, has just raised $34.5 million in Series C funding. Growth equity firm Sageview Capital led the round, which also included existing investors like U.S. Venture Partners, Javelin Venture Partners, Uncork Capital and Lowercase Capital.
The New York-based company plans to use the funds to grow its roster of clients and expand its offerings to enable those clients to create multi-channel marketing assets more efficiently, such as generative AI tools within the platform that can help users generate multiple subject headlines or rewrite copy in their brand voice, said CEO and founder Noah Dinkin.
“We realized that the size of the opportunity was far bigger than email alone,” Dinkin said. “We have delivered real ROI for customers, and seen really strong retention metrics from some of these companies.”
Stensul integrates with the likes of Salesforce Marketing Cloud, Oracle Marketing Cloud and Adobe Marketing Cloud, so that multiple members in a marketing team can collaborate on assets in a single platform, Dinkin touted. Its clients include Cisco, BlackRock, Equifax and Yahoo.
The company says its platform helps businesses focus on strategy and results rather than wasting time on back-and-forth production activities, boosting efficiency and performance metrics. It claims to have helped Cisco, for example, reduce the time it takes to create a campaign by 90%, saving the company’s team over 26,000 hours a month.


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The list included adverts from: Money Supermarket (1,513 complaints), Booking.com (683), PayPal UK (464), Booking.com (407), Protein World (380), British Heart Foundation (219), Booking.com (201), UK Department of Health (181), Nicocigs (145) and Omega Pharma (136).
The investigation into Protein World’s London Tube adverts was sparked by a social media campaign which won 71,111 petition signatories. Critics claimed the posters asking ‘Are You Beach Body Ready?’ put pressure on women to adhere to a certain body type.
The headline-grabbing campaign culminated in 380 complaints logged with the ASA. However in its final ruling the ASA concluded the advert was not likely to “shame women who had different body shapes into believing they needed to take a slimming supplement to feel confident wearing swimwear in public”.
The ASA said at the time it had to be blind to such social media "white heat" and when this public "noise" was removed from the picture there was little reason to ban the advert.
Viewers said Omega Pharma’s advert for its slimming aid XLS Medical presented an irresponsible approach to body image and confidence in its presentation of a healthy, slim young woman apparently unhappy about her weight before a beach holiday.
The company did not respond to our request for comment in time for the publication but told us at the time of the ruling it had not meant to “cause offence, simply to highlight the variety of healthy weight-loss and weight-maintenance goals and motivations XLS-Medical can support with”.
This was the only complaint within the top ten list upheld by the ASA.
The list was dominated by issues of harm and offence.
For example the public disapproved of the British Heart Foundation’s “distressing” depiction of a boy whose father had died from a heart attack.
Meanwhile the UK Department of Health upset viewers with its “graphic and gruesome” anti-smoking campaign, which showed a man rolling a cigarette made of blood and flesh.
Money Supermarket’s advert received the most complaints by far. Viewers said the images of a man dancing down a street in denim shorts and high heels was “overtly sexual”.
However, the ASA said in reality 75% of its caseload was made up of complaints about misleading advertising.
In a statement, ASA chief executive Guy Parker said: “Our top 10 for 2015 will no doubt get people talking about whether the ads are or aren’t offensive, but there are important issues at stake here. Advertisers must take care not to cause serious or widespread offence, but we don’t play a number’s game.”
“And while matters of offence can grab the headlines, the bulk of our work is the less glamorous task of tackling misleading advertising. That’s why we’re taking a more proactive approach to address the issues which affect consumers the most before complaints need to be made.”
The ASA said if such complaints of misleading advertising were upheld, it would “not hesitate” to impose a ban.
A history of complaints
The investigation into body image pressure was the second ASA enquiry involving Protein World last year. Earlier in the year the authority upheld a complaint that the company was using unauthorised health claims on its products.
In the April ruling the ASA wrote: “We considered the product's name ‘Slender Blend’ was in itself a health claim, which implied weight loss. We had not seen evidence that ‘Slender Blend’ was an authorised health claim.”
Nearly one year on and the company has just launched a new bikini-clad campaign using the brand name Slender Blend for a weight loss meal replacement product.
The ASA told us it had been working with the company “behind the scenes” to help it bring its claims in line with what is permitted under the EU Nutrition and Health Claims Register (NHCR).
However a spokesperson said this week the substance of these discussions was confidential, stating, "further to our ruling our Compliance team is now satisfied that the marketing claims that were formerly in breach of the Advertising Code in that ruling aren’t likely to be so anymore.”
It is unclear what changes have been made to the product or if further science has come to validate the brand name under the NHCR.
The company did not respond to our request for comment by publication.
This complaint led to the company’s expulsion from the European Specialist Sports Nutrition Alliance (ESSNA).


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Despite lackluster foot traffic on what are usually high traffic days, holiday sales in the U.S increased 11% from 2019.
What this data doesn’t capture, is all of the people who bought online but still went to the physical store, whether going inside or curbside, to pick up their order.
This week we dive into consumer trends that are slipping through the data and changing the shopping experience.
THIS WEEK’S HIGHLIGHTS
- DOORCOUNTS WEBINAR TODAY: Join us today at 12 pm EST for our weekly webinar. CLICK HERE TO REGISTER FOR WEBINAR.
- Changing shopping trends: How relationship commerce is reshaping retail.
- The world of returns: Why 16.6% or $761 billion in merchandise sold in 2021 is expected to be returned.
FOOT TRAFFIC TRENDS
Industry insights so you can convert your foot traffic into more sales.
Five Trends Changing The Way Customers Shop In 2022
According to data from Sensormatic Solutions, Thanksgiving foot traffic was down 90% in 2021, and traffic on Black Friday was down 28% from 2019.
Even with lackluster foot traffic on what are usually high traffic days, holiday sales in the U.S increased 11% from 2019.
As we said earlier, foot traffic data doesn’t capture all of the people who bought online but still went to the physical store and utilized curbside pickup. Although foot traffic data may not show it, emerging trends such as BOPIS and curbside pickup have changed the way consumers shop.
While online shopping isn’t new, the trend of shopping on mobile devices has skyrocketed in the last few years. According to Shopify’s yearly reports, mobile orders have accounted for over half of Shopify’s sales since 2014.
Not only has the way people shopped changed, but the beliefs that fuel their purchase has also changed. In the U.S., 71% of millennials say climate change is our most pressing social issue and are more likely to buy sustainable goods.
The world of returns
Total retail sales reached $4.583 trillion in 2021. Out of the $4.583 trillion, 16.6%, or $761 billion in merchandise is expected to be returned.
In general, the total rate of return has increased since the 10.6% reported in 2020. A major reason for the increase in returns is due to the increase in e-commerce sales in 2021, which have a higher rate of return compared to in-store purchases.
For every $1 billion in sales, the average retailer incurs $166 million in merchandise returns.
The industries expected to see the most returns are Auto parts (19.4%);
Apparel (12.2%); and Home improvement and housewares (tied at 11.5%). Thankfully, retail analysts expect consumers to return to shopping in-store more than we saw in 2021.
Study: Why marketplaces attract valuable ‘power shoppers’.
Today in Data: How relationship commerce is reshaping retail.
The frontier: These 10 brands are proving physical stores still matter in 2022.
A new look: Retailers use digital blueprints to reinvent the physical store experience.


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The year is 2020. The Australian wildfires of January have been ruled a distant dream, Donald Trump’s acquittance in February ruins a lot of Valentines…
The year is 2020. The Australian wildfires of January have been ruled a distant dream, Donald Trump’s acquittance in February ruins a lot of Valentines, March spanned over a long, dreary century of sleeping and binge-eating as a pandemic is declared, the entire 30 days of April are still missing (please return if found, PLEASE), articles on May’s murder hornets are conveniently scrolled over, and we don’t talk about June, or the Ebola outbreak it saw, or even the potential swine flu pandemic. Hahaha. Ha.
2020 has been eventful, to say the least.
And this doesn’t even begin to cover the million other things that went wrong this year.
By the time July rolled around, we humans, animals of trust and instinct, betrayed and trodden over by 2020’s poor taste in pranks, were wary, holding our breaths, waiting for the next shoe to drop.
But July didn’t deliver the usual package of disappointment and disbelief, not at first.
We began to take comfort in the rare absence of panic, naively believing that it would last, finally. 2020’s curse was over, and peace was imminent.
What we failed to notice was this forsaken month’s long-term game.
With the foundations of harmony built, July realized her plans, on an unremarkable evening of what was supposed to be another unremarkable day, when the world’s favourite social media platform became prey to one of the biggest, most scandalous cryptocurrency scams of the millennium.
From the official accounts of the most prominent public figures across the globe- Bill Gates, Elon Musk, Joe Biden, Barack Obama, Michael Bloomberg, Jeff Bezos, Kim and Kanye, and more, to the most powerful MNCs and businesses the likes of Uber and Apple- all hacked to display a simple, standard, and obviously shady message offering a too good-to-be-true bitcoin deal.
Bitcoins worth in millions, traded and stolen in the short space of an hour from unsuspecting followers who fell for the trap, placing their faith on the small blue verified mark, the damage done as quick and sudden as the attack came, leaving the played in a pitiful frenzy.
All this conversation begs emphasis on one important detail-
Strangely enough, everyone seems to know about it, but not quite enough. There’s nobody who doesn’t comprehend the status and power of this cryptocurrency, yet we couldn’t explain much of its existence if asked.
This scam, like all the others so far, is irreversible. But it can be dissected, deconstructed, broken down and rearranged to form a coherent image. It can be understood.
With that optimism, lets tackle the various oddities and intricacies of this conundrum.
What exactly is this Bitcoin?
For one, don’t let the cute name fool you. A lethal decentralized digital currency operating on free reins, perilous in how it follows no framework, no law, no rules. A wild beast left free to prey and plunder as it desires, a something always in your reach, yet can never quite be grasped. No backing of any official, trusted organisation or person, built from the ground up on the ideas of no boundaries, no limitations, a free world- a lawless outcast.
Maybe you’re wondering, if it’s such a big deal, why has Bitcoin not been restrained yet?
Truth is, it’s not that easy.
To give more context, consider Bitcoin’s sketchy origins.
The inventor and deployer of this massive system remains unknown, despite relentless investigations in the past twelve years. Infamous under the alias of Satoshi Nakamoto, they are as shrouded in mystery as the rest of this scheme and their raison d’être.
The story (or at least, what we know of it) goes like this.
On 18th of August, 2008, an unassuming domain, going by ‘bitcoin.org’ is created. This is followed by a new addition to the cryptocurrency mailing list- a link to a paper, titled ‘Bitcoin: A Peer-to-peer electronic cash system’ authored by the creator Satoshi themself.
The tale beyond this, if researched on the net, will make little sense with all the tech junk terms thrown around like no one’s business. So, we simplify it for you.
User Unknown creates the bitcoin network, embeds a secret text in the block of code referencing a future financial crisis for a bank as mentioned in the local newspaper, the news enough to incentivize the purchase of bitcoins by the code-crackers.
The cryptocurrency goes on to be recognised and supported by the creators of bitcoin’s predecessors, the platform gains increased traction and awareness leading to the first known commercial transaction using bitcoin in 2010, occurring when programmer Laszlo Hanyecz bought two Papa John’s pizzas for 10,000 bitcoins.
Shortly after, Nakamoto mysteriously disappears, handing control of the code repository -the baby of any decent programmer- in the hands of Gavin Andresen, who subsequently became the lead developer and worked for even greater decentralization, aka, making the process of tracing the involved parties even more difficult, if not utterly impossible.
The only solid assumptions on the identity of the inventor, from scrapped pieces of evidence, is that they are fluent in English, might be British, possibly a libertarian, and-
Might be more than one person.
All said and done, this still doesn’t explain…why Bitcoin? Why use it? Apart from the Agatha Christie mysteries’ aura that emanates from its circumstances, where’s the charm?
Glad you asked. (You did…right? We’re going to assume anyway.)
The answer to that, lies in the mechanics of its operation.
Marketplaces called “bitcoin exchanges” allow people to buy or sell bitcoins using different currencies. Coinbase is a leading exchange, along with Bitstamp and Bitfinex.
Transference is just as easy, where people can send bitcoins to each other using mobile apps or their computers, similar to the practice of sending cash digitally. Bitcoins are stored in a digital wallet, functioning either on cloud or the user’s pc, though they admittedly come with their own set of risks.
Bitcoin also offers dysregulation and ease of trade, since international payments are easy and cheap because bitcoins are not tied to any country or subject to regulation, thus involving no fees or configuration issues, i.e. Borderless transfers.
Not everyone purchases it to buy merchandise anonymously. A 2019 survey by Grayscale shows some people just buy bitcoins as an investment, hoping that they’ll go up in value, which is incidentally where much of Bitcoin’s hype arises from.
As the use of Bitcoin as a currency becomes more widespread and understanding of the nature of cryptocurrency more common, investors will be increasingly comfortable with considering it a worthy investment over the coming years.
Transactions are made with no middle men – no banks, no regulators, no state apparatus, no credit card fees-
Sounding like a good deal, yes?
And that’s not even the end, since trading is not the only way to be a proud holder of this puzzling currency.
Prepare to familiarize yourself with a new term- Mining.
The system allows people to compete to ‘mine’ bitcoins, employing computers to solve complex math puzzles and equations. This is, in fact, how bitcoins are ‘created’. Secondary data reveals that, as of the present, a winner is rewarded with 12.5 bitcoins roughly every 10 minutes.
To put that into perspective, in the time you spent reading this article up to this point, someone out there just became 12.5 bitcoins richer.
(If that hurt your empty wallet, it was very much meant to).
The reason so little is known about Bitcoin, and why it is preferred over other mediums, is the existence of an enviable veil of anonymity.
Though each bitcoin transaction is recorded in a public log, names of buyers and sellers are never revealed – only their wallet IDs. While that keeps bitcoin users’ transactions private, it also lets them buy or sell anything without easily tracing it back to them.
That is also why it has become the currency of choice for people online buying drugs or other illicit activities, because it’s ridiculously easy to get away without leaving lasting tracks.
One of the most bizarre benefits, is its resistance to inflation. Before disappearing for good, Nakamoto had set a limit to the total amount of bitcoins that could ever exist, capping it at 21 million.
Study explains that this limit effectively makes Bitcoin inflation-resistant, giving it a major advantage over traditional currencies, all of which are subject to losing value at certain times. Bitcoin will always retain its value, and also make it a viable alternative to traditional currencies in countries where hyperinflation is rampant and cruel, such as Venezuela.
Even realistically, fiat currencies fail to compete with bitcoin in terms of the pros-versus-cons distinction, mostly accounting to the human greed of printing more notes, and procuring them as required.
Of course, governments across the globe are concerned about taxation and their lack of control over the currency, Bitcoin being a constant source of insecurity for the law makers and upholders. Countries like Japan, China and Australia have already begun weighing regulations, though it’s too early to see any tangible result.
The core characteristics of a good candidate for ‘Money’ entails acting as a store of value, allowing convenient remittances, controlling the inflation-deflation balance, and more.
And it is no secret, that Bitcoin fits the bill better than any of the Fiat currencies in operation today. Perhaps a deflationary currency, built on code and mathematics, is the next step in the evolution of human economies. Or perhaps not.
No one, maybe not even Nakamoto, can accurately estimate what will become of Bitcoin in the future. Most odds are in its favour, with the potential of Bitcoin seeming infinite, and the world the perfect environment for it to thrive. There’s always a small chance, of course, that this system fizzles out like a light bulb, giving no outs or escapes.
But remember, that even if the year is 2020, foresight is not. Watching, waiting, and hoping it won’t all crash and burn is the recommended approach from our side- both for studying Bitcoin and its timeline of developments, and awaiting the next quirky disaster to strike Humanity.


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Farmers, growers challenge Hawaii's ban on GMO's with lawsuit
The lawsuit comes less than a week after it was announced that Maui County residents had collected enough signatures to place a temporary moratorium on genetically modified agriculture on the ballot this year, part of a broader backlash against genetically modified farming throughout the state.
Hawaii County passed Bill 113 last year prohibiting genetically engineered farming, with the exception of existing crops such as papayas.
“The prohibition of open air cultivation, propagation, development or testing of genetically engineered crops and plants is intended to prevent the transfer and uncontrolled spread of genetically engineered organisms on to private property, public lands and waterways,” the ordinance says.
The lawsuit filed Monday contends that Bill 113 is backed by no scientific evidence and that genetically modified farming has become a “critical and generally accepted part of agriculture” over the last 20 years. The complaint says that the ordinance violates both state and federal law.
“Bill 113 imposes extreme burdens on Plaintiffs and cripples County farmers’ current and future ability to farm GE crops with no corresponding local benefit,” the lawsuit says.
Molly Stebins, attorney for Hawaii County, said Tuesday morning that the county is still in the process of reviewing the complaint.
The plaintiffs include Hawaii Floriculture and Nursery Association, Hawaii Papaya Industry Association, Big Island Banana Growers Association, Hawaii Cattlemen’s Council, Pacific Floral Exchange, as well as individual farmers and florists such as Richard Ha, Jason Moniz, Gordon Inouye and Eric Tanouye.
The lawsuit says Bill 113 threatens Inouye and Tanouye’s ability to grow orchids and subjects them to fines of $1,000 a day.
The Biotechnology Industry Organization, the word’s largest trade association for the biotech industry representing companies like Monsanto Co., is also among the plaintiffs.
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Other news in this sector:
- 2022-02-24 Consultants in organic farming get to the heart of the matter with growers
- 2022-02-01 U.S. organic produce sales top $9 billion in 2021
- 2021-10-27 Canadian greenhouse grower expands organics program
- 2021-09-27 Organic shoppers demand sustainable packaging
- 2021-09-21 Greenhouse growers present on Organic Produce Summit
- 2021-09-16 The UK horticulture conference created by growers for growers is back!
- 2021-06-03 Booth registration opens for Organic Grower Summit
- 2021-06-01 Pinduoduo embarks on first-of-its-kind study into plant-based meats
- 2021-05-07 Organic pak choi grown in good Dutch soil
- 2021-04-26 The World Food Innovation Awards awards the Monterosa tomato as the best natural and organic product
- 2021-04-23 Strategic organic partnership carries over to upcoming show
- 2021-04-01 "A coherent strategy for organic is essential"
- 2021-03-31 "There are wonderful sustainable initiatives, they are just not organic"
- 2021-03-22 Judge rules: This lettuce can be organic
- 2021-03-08 Regulatory changes expected to restrict smaller companies’ ability to provide beneficial microbes
- 2021-02-01 US: Organic greenhouse tomatoes see increased demand across varieties
- 2021-01-21 Ample organic cauliflower on the market
- 2021-01-11 Both a radish and a root vegetable – the watermelon radish
- 2020-11-09 Eroski develops a new range of organic fruits and vegetables under its own brand
- 2020-11-06 Holiday herb mixes now available


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TopTV’s innovative cinema activation, based on survival in a world full of crazed zombies, not only achieved more than one million views globally on YouTube, but also garnered two silver and one bronze Loerie Awards for its advertising agency, Johannesburg-based Ireland/Davenport.
The 2012 Loerie Awards ceremony was hosted at the CTICC in Cape Town on 22 and 23 September.
The concept promoted The Walking Dead – Season 2, a first and exclusive series on the FX channel, which is broadcast on TopTV (channel 110). The campaign message “Life goes on. Again.’ presented the perfect opportunity to integrate what viewers at the cinema were watching on the big screen with a live activation in the cinema as a blood-thirsty zombie disrupts the audience – infusing reality with fiction. The national consumer activation was executed in three cinemas across South Africa – Sandton City in Johannesburg, Gateway in Durban and Cavendish Square in Cape Town – during October last year, to promote the new season of the popular series, which launched on TopTV in February this year.
The campaign, on behalf of TopTV, was awarded a Silver Loerie in the Internet, Mobile and Interactive Communication: Viral and Community category (for the YouTube video clip), and a Bronze Loerie award in the Live Events, Activations and Sponsorship: Live Activations category (for The Walking Dead cinema activation). The campaign also received a second Silver Loerie Award for the Bedtime television ad in the Television, Film and Video Communication: TV Trailers, Channel and Station Promos category.
Says Heather Kennedy, VP: Marketing of TopTV: “The overall campaign to promote the second season of the hit series The Walking Dead on TopTV was a huge success, with the “live’ cinema activation proving to be effective, innovative and compelling.
“The hype created around it from both a talkability and social media perspective was way beyond our expectations, and the more than a million hits on YouTube to view the video clip is testimony to this. Congratulations are in order for our agency, Ireland/Davenport, for the overall campaign concept that certainly cut through the advertising clutter in its various and unique executions.’
To see the YouTube video clip of the cinema activation, visit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gb3I4R58oZ0


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Online lending marketplace Namaste Credit today said that it still launching its Neobanking solutions for MSMEs ,|and|or is|or still marriage a full-fledged “Digital-Only Bank” with|with thi foundational SaaS play. As thi Neobank ,|and|or is|or currently Namaste Credit aims to|to become the nyakumi|the|every first Neobank to|to offer thi one-s to|to p|number 3 ♡ financial services provider for MSMEs ,|and|or is|or currently offering automated credit ,|and|or is|or currently banking ,|and|or is|or still payment solutions.
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About Namaste Credit
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Lincoln Heights-based retailer Loot Crate Inc., which sells subscription boxes of pop culture apparel and collectibles, closed down its Vernon warehouse and laid off the facility’s 150 workers on July 19.
Loot Crate said it closed the warehouse in Vernon to transfer its shipping and receiving facilities to a third-party logistics company.
“There’s currently no plan to open a new warehouse, as the 3rd party logistics company and their warehouse afford us the opportunity to work out of a singular warehouse location for our primary shipping and receiving needs,” a Loot Crate spokesman said.
The majority of affected employees were warehouse workers while roughly 17 worked as clerks or in administrative positions. Approximately 150 employees were laid off as a result of the warehouse closure.
The spokesman said most employees laid off were encouraged to apply for openings at the company’s headquarters, and those who didn’t transition to other roles were offered severance packages.
Transitioning to a new warehouse and shipping provider “allows us to adapt and grow our shipping capabilities in ways that we weren’t able to before,” the company said.
The company that calls itself “Comic-Con in a box” has raised roughly $41.5 million since launching in 2016, according to industry tracker PitchBook Data Inc. Beverly Hills-based venture capital firm M13 Ventures Management is among Loot Crate’s financial backers, alongside Santa Monica-based Upfront Ventures Management.
The company filed plans for the closure and layoffs with the state Employment Development Department in May. The EDD office published the filing June 1.
Loot Crate now operates only one warehouse in the U.S., in Lock Haven, Pa. It would not disclose the name of the new third-party firm.
Tech reporter Samson Amore can be reached at email@example.com or (323) 556-8335. Follow him on Twitter @samsonamore.


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Friday, January 31st, 2020
(PASO ROBLES, CA) – The California Mid-State Fair is pleased to announce that country music superstar Carrie Underwood has been confirmed to perform in concert on Thursday, July 23 at 7:30 pm. An opening act will be announced at a later date. Underwood’s concert will take place in the Chumash Grandstand Arena at the Paso Robles Event Center. She previously performed at the California Mid-State Fair in 2006 and 2009.
Ticket prices for the show are $36.50, $56.50, $91.50, $131.50, and $181.50 (Pit, standing only) and will go on-sale Friday, February 21, 2020. Tickets will be available starting at 10:00 am online at www.MidStateFair.com
or by calling 1-800-909-FAIR (3247), and at 1:00 pm at the California Mid-State Fair box office located at 2198 Riverside Avenue in Paso Robles.
Carrie Underwood is a true multi-format, multi-media superstar, spanning achievements in music, television, and film. A seven-time GRAMMY® Award winner, she has sold more than 64 million records worldwide and recorded 27 #1 singles, 14 of which she co-wrote. She released her sixth studio album in 2018, the Gold-certified Cry Pretty, which she co-produced.
In 2013, Carrie starred in NBC’s three-hour holiday blockbuster, the Emmy®-winning The Sound of Music Live!, whose airings attracted 44 million viewers. She is founder and lead designer for her fitness and lifestyle brand, CALIA by Carrie Underwood, which launched in 2015.
In 2019, Carrie celebrated her 11th anniversary as a proud member of the Grand Ole Opry and she returned last Fall for her seventh season as the voice of primetime television’s #1 program, NBC’s Sunday Night Football. In October 2019, Carrie wrapped The Cry Pretty Tour 360 featuring an all-female line-up with Maddie & Tae and Runaway June and many sold-out shows including New York’s Madison Square Garden, Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena, and L.A.’s Staples Center. In November, she hosted the CMA Awards for the 12th consecutive year, joined by special guest hosts Dolly Parton and Reba McEntire. In March, HarperCollins/Dey Street books will publish Carrie’s fitness lifestyle book, FIND YOUR PATH: Honor Your Body, Fuel Your Soul, and Get Strong with the Fit52 Life.
The California Mid-State Fair celebrates 75 years in 2020 and runs July 22 – August 2. Connect with us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat and YouTube.
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Last Friday, an Associated Press report dashed Rep. Braun’s false claims that his business was “made in America,” revealing that his company makes and sells its own line of aftermarket auto parts that are made in China. While Rep. Braun, who’s running to represent one of the largest auto manufacturing states in the nation, could have chosen to have Promaxx Automotive parts made anywhere, he chose to have many of them made in China at the expense of Hoosier workers.
As the AP noted, Rep. Braun rarely if ever brings up Promaxx on the campaign trail. He also, however, tends not to bring up how much profit he makes from a business that relies heavily on foreign-manufactured auto parts. Last year alone, Rep. Braun made almost $18 million in profits from Meyer Distributing, yet still chose to source his parts from China instead of Indiana to make a few more bucks.
Those kinds of profits could get Rep. Braun a lot of cheap foreign-made parts. With his $18 million in annual profits from making and selling Chinese auto parts at the expense of Hoosier workers, he could have bought:
“Rep. Braun made tens of millions of dollars in profits last year alone, but that wasn’t enough for him — he chose to source Promaxx parts from China at the expense of Hoosier workers just to pad his bottom line a little more,” said Michael Feldman, spokesman for the Indiana Democratic Party. “If Rep. Braun really cared about being ‘made in America,’ he wouldn’t try and lie to Hoosiers while covering up his immense profits made from selling out to Chinese manufacturers.”


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Whenever we hear about an automaker cutting production due to slow or slowing sales, we tend to think “Uh oh…what’s wrong with this vehicle” – but the production output adjustments for the SRT Viper are about more than just slow sales. It should go without saying that cars like the Viper don’t do so well in the harsh winter weather so regardless of how strong sales have been through the summer months, Chrysler can expect Viper sales to drop through the 4th quarter as many northern buyers are more likely to buy four wheel drive trucks than rear wheel drive supercars. Because of that logical drop in sales, Chrysler has reduced production by 30% as we enter the cold winter months.
To be clear, a 30% production reduction isn’t really as severe as it sounds with the SRT Viper currently being built at a rate of 9 units per day. Once this production adjustment takes effect, the Connor Avenue Plant in Detroit will reduce their output to 6 Viper coupes per day to continue fulfilling previous rumors and to send supercars to dealerships in areas that don’t have winter weather including Florida and California.
Deliveries of the 2013 SRT Viper began full scale in April after a quality control process and a product rollout that took longer than the company expected. Sales (read: deliveries to customers) peaked in June when 97 2013 SRT Viper coupes reached happy new owners around the country but with just 45 Vipers sold in September, last month was technically the worst delivery month for the Viper since sales begin at full speed earlier this year. On the year, 426 Mopar supercars have been sold while another 565 sit in dealerships around the countries and with the slow months ahead and so many vehicles already waiting at dealerships to find their new home – it makes good sense for Chrysler to slow the production rate.
The good news for those works affected by the production decline at the Connor Avenue Viper plant is that with the revised production schedule and less need for manpower, those workers who are no longer needed at the Viper plant will be reassigned to other local production facilities. In other words, none of the workers from the Viper plant have to worry about being laid off as they face this production cut. The Connor Ave plant employs 171 hourly and salaried workers with the current production schedule but with production being reduced by 30% - a decent sized group of those workers can expect to be reassigned to another local plant but no numbers have been announced thus far.
Chrysler expects to build around 2,000 SRT Viper supercars per year but due to the late start for the 2013 model year, only 803 Vipers came out with a 2013 VIN number. The plant has since moved onto building the relatively unchanged 2014 Viper and rumors have indicated that the company is prepared to build as many as 3,000 units for 2014 if there is enough demand.
Source: Automotive News


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Ahead of its developer livestream later today, an industry insider claims the Dead Space remake won’t release in 2022.
As reported by VGC, GamesBeat reporter Jeff Grubb made the claims that Dead Space will not release this year during the latest episode of the GrubbSnax podcast. However, this is not a “reflection of the game being in trouble,” instead “they [Motive] want to make sure that they don’t derail themselves.”
A release date hasn’t been announced
That being said, Electronic Arts or the developers at Motive haven’t officially announced the release date. It was previously reported (also by Jeff Grubb) that Dead Space would release later this year. But now, a 2023 release seems to be more likely.
“It is now likely coming in 2023. It is no longer targeted for October, instead, they are now targeting early 2023,” said Grubb. “They never said anything publicly, this was just my reporting saying internally what they were trying to do, and now they are not trying to do that, they are trying instead to go for early 2023.”
It’s also said that the EA and Motive want to ensure that the Dead Space remake releases in the best state possible. I think that’s something we can all agree on.
“The reasons for [the delay] are myriad, there are plenty of them, mostly they want the game to be as good as possible,” continued Grubb. “They want to make sure this is very good because if it comes out and it’s a success it lays the groundwork for future success. A Dead Space remake has a really high ceiling in terms of how it could sell.”
Hopefully, when the Dead Space developer livestream airs later today, we’ll learn more about when the game is planned to release. For now, we do know that it will release for PC, PS5 as well as Xbox Series X/S.
Are you looking forward to the Dead Space remake? Let us know across our social media channels.
Featured Image Credit: EA/Motive


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State lawmakers want local municipalities in Missouri to foot the bill if they require businesses to develop electric vehicle charging stations.
Spurred by a recent ordinance in St. Louis County and those throughout the country that push costs to businesses, two bills working through the Missouri Legislature would require local governments to pay for the development of electric vehicle charging stations at businesses they mandate have them. With the House version perfected, the Senate heard its version in committee Tuesday.
Much of the testimony focused on the role of government and local control.
"I'm all for it if we want to build infrastructure," Sen. Ben Brown, R-Washington, said while presenting his bill to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Consumer Protection, Energy and the Environment. "Some people describe (the local ordinances) as a partnership with business but this isn't a partnership. This is putting 100 percent of it on the backs of hard-working small businesses and that's not right."
SB 233 would require political subdivisions, such as municipalities, cities and counties, to pay for the installation, maintenance and operation of electric vehicle charging stations at "any nonautomotive fueling station business." The bill also prohibits local governments from requiring businesses to develop more than five charging stations, or the infrastructure to build more than five stations, per lot and states local governments can apply their requirements only to parking lots with more than 30 spaces.
SB 233 has a companion bill in the House, which was altered in committee before receiving final approval Feb. 16.
HB 184, sponsored by Rep. Jim Murphy, R-St. Louis, removes language around "non-automotive fueling station businesses" to make the protections applicable to all businesses and includes specific language that municipalities cannot require schools or religious organizations to develop charging stations. Members of the House attempted to add amendments that would create a statewide task force to study electric vehicle infrastructure and require the state to pay for the charging stations, but both failed.
Brown described his bill as "common sense legislation" meant to support "struggling business owners in an impossible position."
"This is in response to the trend of municipalities mandating that small businesses and property owners install these charging stations at 100 percent their own expense," said Brown, who owns and operates a Chesterfield bar and grill.
Senators on the committee asked about how many municipalities in Missouri have charging station requirements or are considering them. Brown said he didn't have a complete list but was aware of a St. Louis County ordinance. Given trends in other states, he said he expects more local governments to institute similar rules.
When they do, Brown said, local governments should fund the developments with their own budgets.
"We believe that mandating the installation of electric vehicle charging stations at private businesses is not a proper scope or role or function of government, especially local government," Ron Leone, executive director of the Missouri Petroleum Marketers and Convenience Store Association, testified in support of the bill.
Leone said businesses should be able to decide charging station development at their own rate to better keep pace with consumer demand. He wanted the Senate bill changed as the House version was to apply to all businesses.
David Overfelt, president of the Missouri Retailers Association, executive director of the Missouri Tire Industry Association and lobbyist for the Missouri Grocers Association, testified in support of the bill, noting some businesses would be required to have more vehicle charging spots than handicap parking spots.
"This is a mandate, and it's only going to make it tougher in those unincorporated areas of the county to grow and for businesses to improve their sites," Overfelt said.
Ray McCarty, president of Associated Industries of Missouri, testified to remind the lawmakers the state is required to fund any mandates it passes down to municipalities and counties.
"Really, we're applying that same concept to the local governments. If they require this to be done, and take that decision out of the business person's hands, then they should be required to pay for it," McCarty said. "Otherwise, they can let the free market work and let businesses that decide that they want those people hanging around to put in the charging stations that they can make a business case for."
John Madras, testifying on behalf of the Missouri chapter of the Sierra Club against the bill, said local infrastructure was the purview of local governments.
"The role of local government is to organize their environment the way that they would really like them to have them," he said. "What they see coming is a fleet of electric vehicles, both personal and business, and for the most part they want to be ready for this.
"It's the world that we'll be seeing in 20 years, and they want to be ready for it," Madras added.
Irl Scissors, executive director of Electrify Missouri, testified against the bill and cautioned it could have a chilling effect on municipalities looking to prepare for the growth of electric vehicles.
Less than 1 percent of registered vehicles in Missouri were all-electric as of June 2021, according to the electric vehicle infrastructure development plan the Missouri Department of Transportation issued last July. There are approximately 6,740 all-electric vehicles in Missouri, about 0.34 percent of the total number of registered vehicles in the state.
But adoption is trending up.
According to MoDOT, 5.02 percent of vehicles in the state are projected to be all-electric by 2035.
Major brands like Bentley, Jaguar, Cadillac, Lexus, Mercedes-Benz, Volvo and General Motors have announced plans to make their vehicles all-electric by 2035.
Without infrastructure to accommodate that transition, Scissors said municipalities will be at a disadvantage in attracting residents and safely supplying them electricity for their vehicles.
"We're asking municipalities to be forward-thinking and to be ready," he said.
Sen. Mike Cierpiot, a Lee's Summit Republican and chairman of the committee, expressed reservations about the bill.
"At some level, it does bother me," he said. "I may not agree with this mandate but city councils, just like we have the right to be stupid, they have the right to be stupid too if they're elected. So sometimes it bothers me -- I hate the feds telling us what we can do and I'm not sure us telling local governments what they can do is the right thing."
Responding to concerns that the bill runs afoul of local control, Brown said he sees it the opposite way.
"This bill is essential to protect local control," he said. "The most direct form of local is the individual, the business owner. True local control would mean allowing business owners to have the ability to make decisions like this for themselves in a free market environment."


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LEDs Magazine, New Delhi
19 Nov 2021
India’s leading exhibition covering the entire value chain of LED industry, LED Expo New Delhi kicks off its maiden hybrid edition.
Uniting businesses together for the first-time since the lockdown, the three-day fair was inaugurated today at India Exposition Mart Ltd, Greater Noida by dignatories from The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) and Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL).
After two-years of anticipation, LED Expo New Delhi is back with its brand-new edition at Greater Noida which aims to re-connect industries and support business recovery across the value chain of LED lighting sector. About 102 exhibitors have participated in this multi-modal event, bringing along a wide variety of LED products and technologies.
An exclusive report on ‘India Lighting Control System Market (2021-2027)’ was also unveiled today by 6Wresearch. Mr Rajjat Kharbanda, Research Director, 6Wresearch, stated: “According to 6Wresearch, the LED lighting market is expected to register a CAGR of 21.7% during 2021-27F. The revenues of India LED Lighting are estimated to reach around USD 8.2 billion by end of 2027. Further, LED lighting has vast potential in India owing to power shortages and high electricity cost.”
Setting the three-day fair into motion, LED Expo New Delhi 2021 has been inaugurated by:
• Mr Raj Manek, Executive Director and Board Member, Messe Frankfurt Asia Holdings Ltd• Mr Rajjat Kharbanda, Research Director, 6W Research
• Mr Praveen Arora, Vice President – IoT India, Tata Communications Ltd
• Mr Bhavesh Doshi, CEO/KNX Tutor, KNX Solutions
• Ms Nivedita Sehrawat, Design Matrix / IALD
• Dr Vibha Dhawan, Director General, The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI)
• Mr Arun Kumar Mishra, CEO, Energy Efficiency Services Ltd (EESL)
Elaborating on their upcoming plan to facilitate lighting in rural areas and the importance of LED Expo to the lighting industry, Mr Arun Kumar Mishra, CEO, Energy Efficiency Services Ltd (EESL), shared: “For our Street Lighting National Programme, we intend to bring investment to the tune of INR 8,000 crores by 2024 by covering entire rural India, with more than 30 million LED streetlights to be retrofitted/installed by EESL. At present, most of the streetlights used in the Gram Panchayat’s are conventional lights such as Incandescent bulbs, CFLs or FTLs, which consume considerably more energy. It is estimated that there is a potential of reducing energy consumption is up to 50% using energy efficient LED Lighting in place of existing Conventional Street Lights used by the Gram Panchayat’s of India. We, at EESL will continue to work towards illuminating the homes and streets of India with LEDs. I firmly believe that events such as the LED Expo will play a pivotal role in building an awareness around the considerable utility of LEDs in helping India achieve its sustainability goals.”
LED product innovations on the showfloor
With major LED manufacturing brands, like ACME Lighting, ALS (Innovative India Illumination), Aastha LED, CITI Lights, GEEP Industries India, Glow Green, Sri JSB Lighting, K-Lite, Lightberry, Hyance Electric, Optiks Mechatronics and Tata Communications on the deck, LED Expo New Delhi is a platform where visitors can witness the latest technology and designs in the LED industry ranging from smart lights with wi-fi controls, solar street lights and LED deco bulbs.
Some of the leading innovations on the show floor, include:
• Made-in-India Smart Street Lights Controllers by Tata Communications enables City Authorities or Campus administrators to centrally manage and monitor street lights (LED’s and Non LED’s) and achieve additional electricity savings and operational efficiencies
• Smart wi-fi light solution by Lightberry can convert any light of user’s choice to a smart light by controlling it remotely via mobile app or voice commands
• Completely Made-in-India solar street lights and downlights by GK GREEN POWER from components & physical parts to controller design and finished products
• Vacuum aluminium plated LED lens for commercial lighting by Optiks Mechatronics
• The EMS-61000-5A SURGE GENERATOR by Everfine specially designed for simulating lightning strike and producing high voltage energy integrated with alarm and fault notification systems
• Introducing the Made-in-India Angular T5 batten by Korin Opto Electronics Llp that provides vertical lighting benefits, highly-energy saving and covers more than 75% area
• Architectural road & urban luminaries, designer poles and façade lighting landscape luminaries by JDIANM LIGHTING
• Lighting automation systems and smart street lighting services for smart cities, municipal & ULB projects by CITI Lights
• Decorex’s high-end, environment-friendly architectural indoor-outdoor lighting by Sri JSB lighting company
Live knowledge sessions and product demonstrations
Held alongside the physical exhibition, the virtual exhibition is set to feature live knowledge sessions on blue-light hazards from LEDs, benefits and importance of lighting controls in the lighting design process, as well as sessions on architectural lighting designers.
The remaining two-days of the exhibition will also host live product demonstrations from top brands like Citilight, Optiks Mehcatronics, Sri JSB Lighting and Tata Communications, which will also be broadcasted during the virtual exhibition. Similarly, the physical exhibition at Greater Noida will continue to host the industry in-person to witness live product demonstrations and engage in crucial face-to-face business networking.
LED Expo New Delhi is part of Messe Frankfurt’s Light + Building Technology fair portfolio headed by the biennial Light + Building event in Frankfurt, Germany. The next edition will be held from 13 – 18 March 2022.
Messe Frankfurt organises a number of trade fairs for the light and building technology sectors in Asia, Argentina, Russia and the UAE.
Background information on Messe Frankfurt
The Messe Frankfurt Group is the world’s largest trade fair, congress and event organiser with its own exhibition grounds. The Group employs approximately 2,450 people at its headquarters in Frankfurt am Main and in 29 subsidiaries around the world. The company generated annual sales of approximately €257 million in 2020 after having recorded sales of €736 million the previous year. Even in difficult times caused by the coronavirus pandemic, we are globally networked with our industry sectors. We serve our customers’ business interests efficiently within the framework of our Fairs & Events, Locations and Services business fields. One of the Group’s key USPs is its closely-knit global sales network, which extends throughout the world. Our comprehensive range of services – both onsite and online – ensures that customers worldwide enjoy consistently high quality and flexibility when planning, organising and running their events. We are expanding our digital expertise with new business models. The wide range of services includes renting exhibition grounds, trade fair construction and marketing, personnel and food services. With its headquarters in Frankfurt am Main, the company is owned by the City of Frankfurt (60 percent) and the State of Hesse (40 percent). For more information, please visit our website at: www.messefrankfurt.com
LED Expo New Delhi - Messe Frankfurt


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A recent survey has revealed a list of the tiny crimes that a sweeping the whole country, from abusing supermarket self-checkouts to lying about your age for a better deal.
The survey conducted by YouGov found that 74% of British people are ‘micro-criminals.’
They found that the most commonly committed micro-crime is paying someone cash-in-hand knowing that they won’t pay tax, with 43% of us confessing to committing this crime.
Illegally streaming (28%) and downloading (25%) TV shows, movies or music was the next most common micro-crime committed.
Unsurprisingly, younger people are far more likely to have done this, with 57% of 18-24-year-olds admitting to illegal streaming and 48% admitting to illegal downloading, compared to respectively just 8% and 6% of those over the age of 65.
Supermarkets will be relieved to know that their self-service checkouts aren’t a beacon for criminals as the least commonly committed micro-crime on the list was putting a product through on a self-service till for less than it should actually cost, with just 9% of people admitting to this – and only 1% saying they did it frequently.
YouGov predicts we’re stealing £4.2m worth of plastic bags a year and 17% of people have said thay they have taken a plastic bag without paying for it.
Here are the 10 most common micro-crimes:
- Paid someone cash-in-hand so that it costs less, knowing they won’t pay tax: 43%
- Illegally streamed TV shows, movies or music: 28%
- Illegally downloaded TV shows, movies or music: 25%
- Avoided paying for a fare on public transport: 24%
- Told someone a food order was take away rather than eat-in because it costs less: 22%
- Lied about your own age/situation to get a cheaper deal on something: 19%
- Taken a plastic bag at a supermarket without paying for it: 17%
- Lied about your child’s age to get a cheaper deal on something: 16%
- Refilled your drink without paying extra: 16%
- Eaten loose fruit/pic n’ mix at a store without paying for it: 12%.#
How many are you guilty of?


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How Much Revenue Automakers Generate Every Second
Since their invention, automobiles have been a driving force of the global economy.
Used by millions of people to get to work, transport goods, and travel, the modern automobile has become ubiquitous in our daily lives. So much so, that a whopping 92 million cars were produced in just 2019.
To help us understand the might of the auto industry, this infographic from Parts Geek breaks down the earnings of 19 major car companies by an interesting metric—revenue per second.
The Full List of Automakers
Below are the earnings of the 19 automakers featured in the infographic.
The Volkswagen Group claims the top spot with $290.2B in gross revenue, translating to $9,202.88 per second. Capping off the list is the world’s most valuable automaker, Tesla, which generated a relatively smaller $24.6B in gross revenue, or $780.06 per second.
|Automaker||2019 Gross Revenue ($)||2019 Gross Revenue per Second ($)|
A clear takeaway from this data is that Volkswagen and Toyota have a sizable lead over the rest of their peers. Let’s take a closer look at how these two companies operate.
The Volkswagen Group
The Volkswagen Group holds a comprehensive portfolio of brands and services, and has been the world’s largest automaker, by sales, for the past three years.
Beginning with passenger cars and motorcycles, its numerous brands reported the following results for 2019.
|Brand||Vehicle Sales||Sales Revenue* ($)||Average Revenue per Vehicle ($)|
|Audi (includes Lamborghini and Ducatti)||1,200,000||$62.4B||$52,028|
*Based on an exchange rate of 1.12 EUR/USD (Dec. 31, 2019)
Other sources of revenue were Volkswagen’s $44.5B commercial vehicle business, its $4.7B power engineering business, and lastly its $44.4B financial services division.
In total, the Volkswagen Group delivered just short of 11 million vehicles in 2019, besting its 2018 deliveries by 1.3% and setting a new record for the group. While a majority of these vehicles were produced in Europe, the group operates a global production network with a significant presence in Asia.
|Region||Number of locations||Share of total production|
The German automaker has invested billions in China, the world’s largest car market, to scale its electric vehicle (EV) production capabilities.
Toyota Motor Corporation
Toyota Motor Corporation operates a much more concentrated brand portfolio, with Toyota and Lexus being its two most prominent names. This strategy seems to be working well, as Toyota was ranked the ninth most valuable brand in 2019, and was the only automaker to crack the top ten.
A testament to Toyota’s global influence is its relatively balanced breakdown of 2019 revenues by regional market:
- North America: 30%
- Japan: 25%
- Asia: 18%
- Europe: 11.5%
- Other: 15.3%
For comparison, here is Volkswagen’s 2019 revenues by region, which leans heavily towards Europe:
- Europe (excl. Germany): 42%
- Germany: 19%
- North America: 17%
- South America: 4%
- Asia-Pacific: 17%
The Japanese automaker’s popularity in foreign regions is likely the result of its reputation for reliability and affordability. It may also explain why Toyota’s trucks are a common sight in tough environments such as conflict zones of the developing world.
Altogether, Toyota and its subsidiaries sold nearly 9 million vehicles in 2019, setting a new record for the company but just 0.1% higher than its 2018 figure. Similar to Volkswagen, a majority of Toyota’s vehicles are produced in its home region, with the remainder being built around the world.
|Region||Share of total production|
Outside of Japan, Toyota has significant production capabilities in the U.S., where it makes everything from pickup trucks to sedans. In 2016, the Toyota Camry made headlines after being ranked the most American-made car—over 75% of its parts were sourced domestically.
Alternative Revenue Sources
While automobiles represent the core business for these companies, many of them have alternative revenue sources. Honda, for example, produces motorcycles, boat engines, lawn mowers, and even personal jets.
Porsche takes a slightly different approach with its accessories and licensing subsidiary, Porsche Design. Since 2003, a variety of lifestyle goods including eyewear, smartphones, and watches have been sold under the Porsche name. Its most noteworthy project is the Porsche Design Tower Miami, a residential skyscraper which features a robotic car elevator.
Finally, electric vehicle (EV) maker Tesla earns additional revenues by selling carbon credits to other automakers that fail to meet government-imposed quotas on EV sales. Since Tesla only produces EVs, it has no need for its credits and is free to sell them. In the second quarter of 2020, Tesla earned $428 million from selling carbon credits, representing 7% of its total revenues for the period.
The Road Ahead
Additional revenue streams are continuing to open up as automakers integrate new technologies into their cars.
Cadillac and Tesla, two American brands, have both announced that their self-driving capabilities will eventually become a paid subscription service. Meanwhile, Germany’s premium automakers are expanding into wireless services. BMW claims it will become the first automaker to offer 5G connectivity in its cars, while Mercedes now sells downloadable software packages to enhance a driver’s experience.
While it’s too early to say whether or not these services will have a significant impact on an automaker’s bottom line, forecasts claim this so-called “connected car market” will be worth $166 billion by 2025. To put that into perspective, that’s more than half of Volkswagen’s gross revenue in 2019, or $5,264 per second.
Ranked: Electric Vehicle Sales by Model in 2023
Today, electric vehicle sales make up 18% of global vehicle sales. Here are the leading models by sales as of August 2023.
Ranked: Electric Vehicle Sales by Model in 2023
Electric vehicle (EV) sales are gaining momentum, reaching 18% of global vehicle sales in 2023.
As new competitors bring more affordable options and new performance features, the market continues to mature as customers increasingly look to electric options.
This graphic ranks the top-selling EVs worldwide as of August 2023, based on data from CleanTechnica.
The Best Selling EVs in 2023 (Through August)
Below, we show the world’s best selling fully electric vehicles from January to August 2023:
|Tesla Model Y||🇺🇸 U.S.||772,364|
|Tesla Model 3||🇺🇸 U.S.||364,403|
|BYD Atto 3 / Yuan Plus||🇨🇳 China||265,688|
|BYD Dolphin||🇨🇳 China||222,825|
|GAC Aion S||🇨🇳 China||160,693|
|Wuling HongGuang Mini EV||🇨🇳 China||153,399|
|GAC Aion Y||🇨🇳 China||136,619|
|VW ID.4||🇩🇪 Germany||120,154|
|BYD Seagull||🇨🇳 China||95,202|
As we can see, Tesla‘s Model Y still holds a comfortable lead over the competition with 772,364 units sold. That’s more than double the sales of the #2 top selling vehicle, Tesla’s Model 3 (364,403)
But it’s hard to ignore the rising prevalence of Chinese EVs. The next five best selling EV vehicles are Chinese, including three from BYD. The automaker’s Atto 3 (or Yuan Plus, depending on market), is being sold in various countries including Germany, the UK, Japan, and India.
Meanwhile, Chinese automaker GAC Group also had two models of its Aion EV brand make the rankings, with the Aion S selling 160,693 units so far.
Regional market strength is also clear. For Volkswagen’s ID.4 model (120,154 units sold), Europe and China account for the majority of sales.
Given growing cost efficiencies and changing consumer behavior, global EV sales are projected to make up half of new car sales globally by 2035, according to forecasts from Goldman Sachs.
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Microsoft Windows 10 Cloud is tipped to be a low-cost version of Windows 10 designed to run Universal Apps
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Microsoft is reportedly experimenting with a low-cost operating system called Windows 10 Cloud. The new version of Windows 10 is primarily aimed to compete with the growing popularity of Google's Chrome OS.
According to ZDNet's Mary Jo Foley, Windows 10 Cloud will be a simplified version of Windows 10 designed to run Microsoft's Universal Apps available from the Windows Store. The reference to the OS has started appearing in company's Insider Build for Windows 10. The operating could replace Windows RT, which was designed to work with ARM-based processors.
Microsoft is not directly talking about the existence of Windows 10 Cloud OS and its not clear if or when when the OS will be available to consumers. Microsoft is currently planning to roll out the Creators Update to Windows 10 in April with another update planned for later this year. Microsoft has revealed its plan to bring Win32 apps to ARM processors this year. The company also plans to make full-fledged Windows 10 devices powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor.
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