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Intelligent highways and underground bins: the best green innovations of the week
A number of eye-catching and potentially transformational innovations have emerged that could help businesses and nations deliver on resource efficiency, low-carbon transitions and combat climate change. Here, edie rounds-up six of the best.
Bristol City Council declares 'ecological emergency', invests in battery storage
Bristol City Council has this week passed a motion to declare an 'ecological emergency' and approved plans to install a battery storage unit at City Hall.
'A critical decade': Sky commits to net-zero emissions by 2030
Broadcaster Sky has today (4 February) unveiled a new commitment to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2030 through strategies to make its products more energy efficient, its film and TV more sustainable and by engaging consumers and the value chain to "go zero".
UK aviation launches net-zero commitment for 2050, but won't cap growth
Key members of the UK aviation industry, including Boeing, Virgin Atlantic and London City Airport are among a coalition that has pledged to achieve net-zero carbon emissions in the sector by 2050, to assist with the UK's overall net-zero strategy.
BT introduces fines for hardware hoarders in bid to reduce waste
Telecoms giant BT will charge wi-fi customers £50 if they do not send their routers back at the end of their contracts, in an effort to minimise its plastic and electronic waste.
DPD to add 300 electric vans to UK delivery fleet
Parcel delivery firm DPD has issued an agreement to integrate 300 Nissan electric vans into its fleet by May 2020, put the firm on track to have the largest electric vehicle (EV) delivery fleet in the UK.
New CCUS project to turn biomass emissions into plastic products
Drax Group is set to pilot technology which will see carbon emissions captured from its biomass plant in Yorkshire and used to displace oil in the production of plastics.
Corporate clean energy contracts grew by 40% in 2019
Corporate purchasing of clean energy contracts reached almost 20 gigawatts (GW) in 2019, an increase of more than 40% on the previous year's record, according to new analysis from BloombergNEF (BNEF).
Carmakers make joint pledge to make battery supply chains sustainable
Volvo, Audi and BMW are among the cohort of carmakers to have joined a joint initiative aimed at creating battery value chains that are environmentally and socially sustainable.
Gresham House inks deal to optimise 74MW of storage capacity
UK-based grid battery owner Gresham House has agreed to a multi-year deal with Habitat Energy to optimise 74MW of energy storage capacity, which will see machine learning applied to maximise the value of the assets and extend their lifespan.
Big names including Amazon and Ikea spearhead new corporate EV alliance
A new alliance aimed at helping businesses to accelerate the transition to electric vehicles (EVs) is being spearheaded by some of the world's most recognisable corporates, including Amazon, Ikea and Siemens.
UK commercial properties wasting £60m in avoidable energy bills
UK businesses are wasting energy to the tune of £60m in unnecessary energy bills, according to a new Green Alliance report that is calling for better commercial energy management to help reach the UK's climate targets.
Government boosts funding for on-street EV charging
The government has doubled its funding for the installation of electric vehicle (EV) chargers on residential streets to £10 million.
'Transformation through transparency': How Microsoft will collaborate to meet its carbon-negative goals
EXCLUSIVE: As it strives to meet its boldest sustainability target to date - becoming "carbon-negative" by 2030 - Microsoft will need to forge innovative collaborations with businesses across and beyond its supply chain.
UPS and Trinity College Dublin partner on new urban eco package hub
Logistics giant UPS has launched a five-year partnership with the University of Dublin's Trinity College Dublin to integrate a sustainable last-mile delivery service on campus and offer internships and graduate opportunities.
Naked products and take-back schemes: How are businesses designing their way out of single-use plastics?
To mark edie's Plastics Week of content dedicated to helping businesses design their way out of single-use plastics, this round-up features the innovative ways that business giants have started to turn the tide on plastics waste.
Electric buses to operate in Glasgow for first time in 60 years
Electric buses will run on a commercial route in Glasgow for the first time since the 1960s, after bus operator First Glasgow introduced two new vehicles to assist with the city's net-zero aspirations.
Massive rise in EV charging points needed to reach EU climate goals, analysis finds
Europe needs a fifteen-fold increase in electric vehicle public charging points by 2030 to support the EU's goal of becoming "climate neutral" by mid-century, according to new research published Wednesday (8 January).
Decade of ascendency: New hydrogen fuel cell capacity surpassed 1GW in 2019
More than 1GW of global hydrogen fuel capacity was added in 2019, marking the first time the sector has surpassed the gigawatt milestone, with experts claiming that this could be a decade of "ascendency" for the technology.
edie launches free business guide on hazardous waste
Companies and organisations looking to understand issues around hazardous waste now have access to a new edie business guide which breaks down everything you need to know about the subject.
Electric car registrations surged to record levels in 2019
More electric cars were registered in the UK during 2019 than any other year to date, as diesel car registrations fell by more than one-fifth on a year-on-year basis.
Horizon scanning: Eight innovations set to shake-up sustainability in 2020
The past 12 months proved to be an exciting time for green innovation, with new products and systems emerging and scaling amid a backdrop of climate protests. Here, edie scans the horizon for innovations that could transform sustainability in 2020.
Fiat Chrysler and Peugeot merger aims to lead 'new era of sustainable mobility'
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) and Groupe PSA, the parent companies of Fiat Chrysler and Peugeot, have claimed their merger will place the newly created entity at "the forefront of a new era of sustainable mobility".
Five top takeaways from edie's energy storage masterclass
On Tuesday (17 December), edie hosted a masterclass with EDF Energy on energy storage and onsite renewable generation. Here, we round up the key insights and information on this crucial issue for sustainability and energy managers.
TODAY: edie’s webinar on exploring onsite energy storage and renewables solutions
edie readers have until 1pm today to register for our webinar on energy storage and onsite renewable solutions.
UK towns and cities to benefit from Google's climate management tech
Google will enable more than 100 global areas across to access a digital tool which helps towns and cities to measure and reduce their carbon footprint, including major UK cities.
Mars and Nestle spearhead chemicals recycling scheme for plastics
Mars and Nestlé have teamed up with packaging solutions firm Citeo, energy giant Total and recycling technology provider Recycling Technologies to develop an industrial chemical recycling process for plastic packaging in France.
America's Pledge and Europe's Green Deal: What happened on days 8 & 9 of COP25?
COP25 - the UN's annual two-week-long climate summit - has entered its second week in Madrid. Here, edie rounds up all the key news and views from the last few days of the event.
Zalando commits to onsite solar and green building certification across fulfilment centres
Online fashion platform Zalando has committed to placing solar panels and low-carbon technology on all its new and existing fulfilment centres by 2023, as the company pushes ahead with its net-zero commitment.
COP25: Drax to become carbon negative by 2030
UK energy company Drax will announce ambitions to become carbon negative by 2030 at the UN's COP25 climate summit in Madrid today (Tuesday, December 10).
OVO Energy and Mitsubishi forge net-zero transport partnership
OVO Energy and Mitsubishi Motors have announced a new UK partnership to help accelerate the decarbonisation of the transport sector in order to assist with the legally enshrined net-zero target for 2050.
IEA strengthens clean energy commitments after investor criticism
The International Energy Agency (IEA) has published its first communique in a decade, covering topics including the clean energy transition, after a meeting with world leaders at COP25 in Madrid.
EIB unveils plans to boost hydrogen investment
The European Investment Bank (EIB) has partnered with a coalition of C-suite executives from the transport, heavy industry and energy sectors in a bid to accelerate financing for hydrogen solutions.
Meet edie's 30 Under 30 Class of 2019: Charlie Jardine, EO Charging
This series profiles the members of edie's 30 Under 30 - a nomination-based community of 30 hugely talented young sustainability and energy professionals who have already achieved great things or are showing fantastic promise. Next up: Charlie Jardine, founder and chief executive of EO charging.
Red Bull fits air filtration technology in new company cars
International energy drinks company Red Bull has installed air filtration devices into a fleet of new cars operating in central London to protect drivers from pollution, after new research found that in-car air quality in the region can be up to four times higher recommended safety limits.
Plans submitted for subsidy-free solar farm at Gloucester army barracks
Plans have been submitted by a subsidiary of Swindon Borough Council to build a subsidy-free solar farm at the Duke of Gloucester Barracks in Gloucestershire that would generate enough renewable energy to power the equivalent of 350 homes for the year.
BNEF: Battery prices have plummeted 87% since 2010
The global market for battery energy storage - from car-sized units to utility-scale arrays - has grown rapidly in 2019 amid falling costs, new research from Bloomberg NEF (BNEF) has found.
Google partners with Ellen MacArthur Foundation to tackle plastic pollution using tech
Google will increase its efforts to develop and scale up new technologies that tackle plastics waste and pollution, after joining the Ellen MacArthur Foundation's New Plastics Economy initiative.
M&S launches digital viscose map to boost fashion supply chain transparency
Retail giant Marks & Spencer (M&S) has launched a digital map highlighting all textile suppliers through which it sources man-man cellulosic fibres (MMCF) including viscose.
Sustainable Business Covered podcast: Green university leagues and energy storage
Episode 76 of edie's Sustainable Business Covered podcast features interviews with the University of Gloucestershire's director of sustainability Dr Alex, Ryan on topping a green university league, EDF Energy on a new storage master series as well as a chat with company Xerox's vice president for environment, health, safety and sustainability Wendi Latko.
Green Friday: The retailers championing sustainability over spending for Black Friday 2019
Today (29 November) is Black Friday, the biggest sales event of the year. But with consumers increasingly prioritising purpose over profit and climate change climbing the ranking of public priorities, some retailers are taking note and using the occasion to champion resource efficiency, social sustainability and environmental conservation.
edie launches free business guide to energy storage
Companies and organisations looking to capitalise on the benefits of energy storage now have access to a new edie business guide which breaks down everything you need to know about the technology.
Speakers announced for edie's webinar on onsite renewables and energy storage
A free webinar on 17 December at 1pm aims to assess the landscape for energy storage and onsite renewable generation for businesses.
Morrisons launches discounted boxes of food past 'best before' date
Morrisons has partnered with food redistribution app Too Good to Go to offer discounted boxes of products that are past their 'best before' dates to customers.
AB InBev completes its first zero-emission beer delivery
Anheuser-Busch InBev (AB InBev) has announced the completion of its first zero-emission beer delivery, 18 months after placing an order for 800 hydrogen-electric semi-trucks.
Five top tips for improving energy efficiency on the road to net-zero
During an interactive webinar hosted by edie on Wednesday (20 November), experts from Direct Line Group (DLG) and BiU provided expert advice on how businesses of all sizes and sectors can improve energy efficiency in line with net-zero targets. Here, edie rounds up the key takeaways.
Available on demand: Energy efficiency 2.0 webinar for Net-Zero November
Shai Guness, compliance and CSR manager at Direct Line Group, spoke during an edie webinar, which will took place on Wednesday 20 November at 2pm (GMT) that outlined the role of energy efficiency in delivering net-zero.
Sustainable Business Covered podcast: The Net-Zero November business relay
Episode 75 of the Sustainable Business Covered podcast lands during edie's Net-Zero November and delivers five exclusive interviews with energy and sustainability experts from the likes of National Trust, Costa and Yorkshire Water to discuss how businesses can transition to net-zero emissions.
EasyJet to offset all flight emissions, pushes for electric aircraft vision
EasyJet has become the first airline to operate net-zero flights, after agreeing to offset all emissions from fuel starting today (19 November) and will continue to work on rolling out electric aircraft in the future.
Policy gaps stifling profitability of digital revolution for clean transport
A new report from think tank The Green Alliance has warned that policy gaps and the uncertainty of Brexit is halting investment from manufacturers into the "new competitiveness frontier" of smart technology for electric vehicles (EVs), which risks pushing the UK's net-zero emissions goal out of reach.
REA: Policy gaps mean Britain is failing to finance 'crucial' shift to flexible power system
Britain is failing to attract and facilitate investment in the transition to a flexible electricity system - a transition described as "crucial" to the delivery of the UK's 2050 net-zero target.
Air cleaning project at Marylebone Station extended for another year
BNP Paribas, Chiltern Railways and advertising firm JCDecaux have agreed to expand an air-cleaning project at London's Marylebone Station for a further year, after positive first-year results.
Formula 1 targets net-zero by 2030
Formula 1 (F1) has today (12 November) set a 2030 net-zero target that covers the on-track activity of its cars and the series' wider operations.
Homes and businesses deliver flexible green energy to Cornwall's Local Energy Market
A fully automated Local Energy Market (LEM) in Cornwall has, for the first time, seen the local Distribution System Operator (DSO) and the National Grid ESO procure flexible green energy from businesses and households simultaneously.
Google launches incubator for SDG-aligned startups
Google has this week launched a new "accelerator" programme for startups, aimed at supporting new firms striving to drive progress against one or more of the UN's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Plans for zero-carbon industrial hub fleshed out in new roadmap
Drax, Equinor and National Grid have published a new roadmap fleshing out their plans to create the world's first zero-carbon industrial hub in the Humber region by 2040.
Google workers call on company to adopt aggressive climate plan
More than 1,000 Google workers have signed a public letter calling on their employer to commit to an aggressive "company-wide climate plan" including the cancellation of contracts with fossil fuel firms and the halting of donations to climate change deniers.
Virgin Media owner unveils plans for 1,200 on-street EV chargers
Telecommunications giant Liberty Global, the owner of Virgin Media, has unveiled detailer around a new project aiming to "revolutionise" on-street electric vehicle (EV) charging in the UK.
UK Government launches business fund to deliver net-zero industrial clusters
The UK Government has opened two innovation funds aimed at helping businesses plan and deploy technology to help reach net-zero emissions by 2050.
Henkel invests in recycling innovation for flexible plastics packaging
Consumer goods giant Henkel has invested in a startup that has developed a recycling technology for flexible plastics packaging which contains aluminium foil, such as crisp packets, juice pouches and single-use toiletry sachets.
Danone partners with The Ocean Cleanup Project to remove plastic pollution from rivers
Evian, through its parent company Danone, has forged a partnership with Dutch startup The Ocean Cleanup Project in order to develop and scale up innovations aimed at "catching" and removing plastic debris from rivers and waterways.
REA: Ofgem failing to realise crucial role of flexibility in reaching net-zero
With the UK's energy system becoming increasingly "democratised" and businesses and individuals generating and selling, as well as buying, energy, regulator Ofgem is not taking sufficient measures to bring about a flexible energy future.
E-sustainability Alliance: Defra launches new coalition championing green IT
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has launched a new initiative bringing together businesses, NGOs and policymakers in a joint ambition to making the UK's information technology (IT) sector more sustainable.
Amazon launches three major renewables projects
Amazon has announced three major renewable energy deals, including the largest corporate wind power purchase agreement in Europe, as it pushes towards a goal to source 100% renewable energy across its global operations by 2030.
Sustainability 2.0 roundtable: What's stopping businesses from investing in green innovations?
In an era of unparalleled technological advancements - and with the UK's net-zero target looming - businesses of all sizes can reap rewards from investing in scalable technologies with positive social and environmental impacts. So, what's stopping UK plc identifying and investing in green innovations?
Available to watch on demand: edie's webinar on electric vehicles
Speakers from UPS, Nottingham City Council and Centrica Business Solutions appeared on edie's webinar on Tuesday (22 October) to discuss game-changing developments to business efforts to increase the uptake of electric vehicles (EVs). It is now available to watch on-demand.
BP invests £19.5m in innovative pilot plant for 'unrecyclable' plastics
BP's Petrochemicals arm has unveiled plans for a multi-million dollar investment in an innovative recycling technology designed to create a second life for "previously unrecyclable" packaging.
Irish homes to form 'virtual power plant' with solar and battery storage
Irish utility Energia and technology firm Moixa have partnered to in a bid to create a 120 kWh 'virtual power plant' (VPP), consisting of home smart batteries, rooftop solar and electric vehicles (EVs).
Government consults on green license plates for electric vehicles
The UK Government has launched a consultation on introducing green license plates for electric vehicles (EVs) to make them easily recognisable and gain access to benefits such as cheaper parking and access to bus lanes.
Renewable energy to expand by 50% in next five years - report
Global supplies of renewable electricity are growing faster than expected and could expand by 50% in the next five years, powered by a resurgence in solar energy.
UK airline industry calls on Government to spur sector to net-zero
The industry body for UK airlines believes that a renewed partnership with the Government can help the sector achieve net-zero emissions by 2050, as long as investment opportunities into green technologies are created.
Sustainable Business Covered podcast: A circular economy technology tour with HPE
For episode 73 of the Sustainable Business Covered podcast, edie reporter Sarah George takes a tour of Hewlett Packard Enterprises' (HPE) Technology Renewal Centre in Scotland - a facility helping to tackle e-waste by refurbishing and recycling retired business tech.
Cargill, Maersk Tankers and Mitsui & Co team up on 'over-the-shelf' emissions technology for shipping
Food and agribusiness Cargill has launched a collaborative partnership with shipping firm Maersk Tankers and logistics firm Mitsui & Co to trial and develop fuel-saving technologies aimed at lowering emissions in the shipping sector.
Northern Powergrid trials EV energy storage technology
Northern Powergrid has announced it will run an energy storage trial involving electric vans in order to restore power to customers during a power cut.
Paper beer bottles: Carlsberg's bio-based packaging to be shared with corporate giants
EXCLUSIVE: Danish brewer Carlsberg has unveiled prototypes of the world's first beer bottles made from recyclable and bio-based materials, with the company's sustainability director claiming that the innovation could have "endless impact" if upscaled collaboratively by corporates including Coca-Cola and L'Oreal.
Google's city emissions tool expands into Europe
Google's online emissions dataset tool to help city planners build policies to lower emissions has launched across Europe today, with Dublin, Krakow, Birmingham, and the greater metropolitan area of Manchester set to use it to assist with planning developments.
Bloomberg and mayors call for Global Green New Deal to 'marry economy and ecology'
The Mayors of cities including Los Angeles, Copenhagen and Paris have issued a rallying call for the adoption of a Global Green New Deal that recognises the threat of the climate emergency and strives to transition to a low-carbon future through a fair and just transition.
How closed-loop supply chains are spurring Apple's decarbonisation efforts
EXCLUSIVE: Apple's vice president of environment, policy and social initiatives Lisa Jackson believes that companies should look at the synergies between the circular economy and decarbonisation in order to create resilient supply chains.
Massive wind turbines and microplastic weather forecasts: The best green innovations of the week
Every week, numerous eye-catching and potentially transformational innovations are being developed to help businesses and nations turn their green ambitions into actions. Here, we round up six of the best.
Total signs cleantech deal to produce hydrogen at refineries
French energy giant Total has signed a cooperation agreement with the Sunfire cleantech company to integrate capture waste heat and CO2 at a German refinery to create synthetic methanol and hydrogen to be used to reduce energy and transport emissions.
Capgemini turns to AI to fix food supply chain sustainability
Business consulting giant Capgemini has launched a project which uses artificial intelligence (AI) to support farmers in improving environmental practices on their land.
E-waste: Can businesses solve the world's fastest-growing domestic waste stream?
edie reporter Sarah George places the world's fastest-growing domestic waste stream, e-waste, under the microscope, and investigates how businesses are tackling the global phenomenon.
Billions wanted: Report sets net-zero price as Siemens aims for £100bn green project pipeline
Technology firm Siemens has signed an agreement with a coalition of 94 local authority political leaders across the UK to help unlock green investment towards clean energy projects, as a new report warns that up to £20bn may be required annually to deliver the UK's net-zero commitment.
RWE to become carbon-neutral by 2040
German utilities giant RWE has unveiled a new strategy to transform itself into a carbon-neutral company by 2040 by funnelling billions into renewables projects, decommissioning existing coal-fired plants and backing carbon capture and storage technology.
World Green Building Week: Ten of Europe's most eye-catching sustainable buildings
To mark World Green Building Week, edie is showcasing ten European buildings with best-practice sustainability credentials.
Report: Batteries could cut global transport and power emissions by 30%
A rapid acceleration of battery uptake among the global transport and power sectors could slash their collective annual emissions by 30% by 2030, a new report has concluded.
Google, Ikea, make major new renewable energy investments
Ingka Group - the largest retailer within Ikea's franchise system - has confirmed that it is on track to exceed its renewable energy targets after a string of recent investments, in the same week that Google has made its biggest renewable energy purchase to date.
Net-zero cities can unlock $24tn opportunity, report finds
Investment into readily available technologies could reduce emissions from cities by 90% by 2050, while creating a global economic benefit worth almost $24trn (£19trn), a new report has claimed.
Zero-emission planes and boats that double as microgrids: The best green innovations of the week
Every week, numerous eye-catching and potentially transformational innovations are being developed to help businesses and nations turn their green ambitions into actions. Here, we round up six of the best.
Nissan and EDF partner to launch V2G EV charging offer for businesses
Nissan and EDF have signed an agreement to collaboratively develop and launch a "smart" electric vehicle (EV) charging package for businesses, including vehicle-to-grid (V2G) capacity.
Subsidy-free solar 'coming of age' thanks to battery technology
Subsidy-free solar projects are "coming of age" thanks to the falling costs and flexibility of co-located battery storage technology, according to a new report which claims that more than 5GW of solar capacity could be deployed in the UK without subsidies by 2030.


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Do you accept payments for goods and services via Venmo, PayPal, or other “cash apps?” Are you doing business on Airbnb, Etsy, or eBay? If the answer is “yes,” your income tax filing will be subject to another layer of complexity this year.
According to a new provision in the tax code, which took effect this January, third-party payment platforms are now required to issue member users and the IRS a 1099-K form for “business transactions” totaling over $600.
To clarify the definition of a “business transaction,” the IRS is looking for payments on goods and services, including tips, that reach the $600 threshold.
In the past, these portals and platforms were only required to issue a 1099-K to businesses that completed over 200 “business transactions,” totaling more than $20,000 in revenue annually.
This new and significantly lower bar is destined to rope in far more taxpayers, including many operating in the freelance and “gig economy” sectors. If you fall into this category, here’s what you need to know:
Expect New Paperwork
Business operators who’ve never received a 1099-K form before can expect one in the coming year. Considering $600 is a nominal figure, this new regulation will likely impact many businesses, including solo operators, solopreneurs, and sole proprietors using online payment portals or doing business on platforms like Etsy and eBay.
No “New” Taxes Are Due
It’s important to keep in mind this requirement does not actually levy any new taxes. Business owners have always been responsible for reporting any income received for goods or services.
The new regulation is aimed at business operators who have sought to reduce their taxable income by under-reporting payments received through online payment portals.
Payment Received Through Zelle Are Exempt
As I noted in a recent Tax Times update, payments received through Zelle are not subject to these new regulations.
The reason being Zelle is owned and operated by a group of major banks for the express purpose of facilitating “bank-to-bank transactions” but not the “settlement” of funds, which the transaction participants are considered responsible for.
All of this said, Zelle transactions are still reported in some cases. Registered corporations making business-to-business payments over Zelle must report such transactions to the IRS and issue the receiving business either a 1099-NEC for non-employee compensation or a 1099-MISC form.
Not Applicable to Reimbursements or Online Resale of Used Belongs
The rule doesn’t apply to personal transactions between two individuals. If, for example, you’re repaying a friend or family member for concert or sport event tickets or splitting the cost of holiday gifts or a group dinner out, no taxes are due.
As I also covered in a recent Tax Times update, the new rule doesn’t apply to the online resale of old personal items. Let’s say you’re selling an old bike, used laptop or phone, or another potentially high-priced item from your latest garage or attic clean-out on eBay or Craigslist — You don’t owe any taxes on these transactions.
Though it’s worth noting, you may receive a tax form from these platforms. But you can just ignore it because the underlying regulation is not applicable.
How Will New Regulations Governing Online Payments Impact Your Taxes?
If you’re operating a business, no matter how small, and you’ve received payments of $600 or more via Venmo, PayPal, or other similar “cash apps” over the course of the past year, expect a 1099-K.
If you’re not sure how to deal with this paperwork or have more questions about how this additional revenue will impact your income taxes, get in touch for a FREE consultation!

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‘Trivago guy’ makes a comeback in Paytm ad. What makes the move a smart one?
Remember that ‘Trivago Guy’? A very familiar face in all Trivago ads, who was often trolled and found ‘annoying’ by some, Abhinav Kumar now crops up in Paytm ads. The former Country Manager of Trivago joined Paytm as Vice President - Product Marketing in September 2019.
Kumar features in Paytm’s latest campaign that seeks to position their one QR code for merchants business to resolve customer confusion at a ‘dukaan’.
The ad shows the shopkeeper and his wife recognising Abhinav Kumar from TV. This is because Kumar is instantly recognisable as the ‘Trivago Guy’, who was a quintessential part of all Trivago campaigns in 2017 and 2018.
Trivago was one of the top 10 most advertised brands on television for 2018 as per BARC data for the period January 1, 2018 to December 22, 2018 and from December 22-28, 2018, with 536,908 and 11,557 ad insertions, respectively. Following the advertising blitz, the character of the ‘Trivago guy’ became a well-known face to viewers. (Sourced from various media reports)
Communications Consultant Karthik Srinivasan opined, “Paytm is not looking at this campaign from a B2B perspective, but rather leveraging the broader awareness and familiarity of the ‘Trivago guy’, which obviously came from the media spends of Trivago.”
Srinivasan applauds the move by Paytm, because Abhinav Kumar has equity in the minds of the audience and had generated media attention when he switched jobs to Paytm. “There are a few examples in India where there is a spirit sequel of a thought, where one brand uses the familiarity of another brand for their own benefit,” he added.
He cited the example of Peloton ad, seller of exercycles and treadmills in the US, which launched this commercial the month before Christmas.
While a lot of it may have been hyperbole, ‘The Gift That Gives Back’ creative was widely criticised on social media for being sexist and dystopian. It certainly came across as inauthentic to audiences. Despite the negative press – or perhaps because of it – the ad and the woman featuring in the ad were widely recognisable to the public, a fact which was leveraged by actor and marketing stuntman Ryan Reynolds to promote his brand, ‘Aviation Gin’.
Brand Haier found itself in hot water when they released a campaign mocking the famous ‘Mr Murthy’ character prominently featured in Voltas AC ads.
Since both brands compete in the same category, Voltas actually took Haier’s creative agency Zero:Zero Creative Solutions to court for disparaging their ad.
Paytm’s tongue-in-cheek campaign is also mocking in its tone, but it is not brand Trivago that it is making fun of.
“It is for the advertising fraternity to know that Paytm has leveraged the ‘Trivago guy’, but what about the larger subset of the population the campaign is intended for?” asks Vinod Kunj, Founder & CEO of thought blurb. He remarked, “This is an interesting character. If you do a dipstick around the ‘Trivago guy’, there is a uniform reaction to him.”
Kunj observed that people are likely to say ‘He is so irritating’; ‘He’s got such a nasal voice’. “The ‘Trivago guy’ represents a new phenomenon of a dysfunctional brand ambassador. I call him the meme man. A whole lot of WhatsApp memes are shared mocking the original Trivago ads, making the character popular.”
He further felt, “The Trivago ads have nothing. There is no creativity, art direction, performance; one would think the entire ad is dysfunctional. With his nasal tone and denim and ill-fitting jacket, the ‘Trivago guy’ appealed to certain segments in Tier 3 and Tier 1 audiences who are creating memes. Somewhere he struck a chord.” While that may be true for the Trivago ad, Kunj believed that Abhinav Kumar has matured as an actor and the creative execution of the Paytm ad is far better.
Here are some memes featuring Trivago guy.
It helped that Abhinav Kumar is prominent and active on his social media handles on Twitter and LinkedIn. He often engages with people who tag him in memes on Twitter.
“The Trivago guy was someone the audiences loved to hate. His appearance in the Paytm ad makes it stand out, otherwise it would just have been one of those payment ads,” said Ricardo Vaz, Associate Creative Director – Copy, Enormous Brands. He added, “The style of delivery in the Trivago ad was very instructional, which works in the Paytm ad which is targeted towards the merchant side.”
Vaz opined that since the ad is interesting, even if the viewer doesn’t know who the ‘Trivago guy’ is, they might be compelled to search for him on Google since there is a heavy reference regarding his appearance on TV.
Near the end of the Paytm ad, the Trivago guy tells the ‘dukaandar’ and his wife that they will also appear on TV, hinting that perhaps Paytm may roll out a TVC at a later date. While experts agree that leveraging the Trivago guy’s equity was a good move by Paytm, they might want to wait and watch the reception on social media before they launch a larger TV campaign.
At the time of filing this report, the advertisement posted on the personal LinkedIn handle of Abhinav Kumar has gone viral and opened to a positive reception.


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When someone dons training gear, they typically want to improve their health in some way.
New research from the Center for Environmental Health (CEH) is alarming because of this. The team discovered that six famous athletic shirt brands and eight well-known sports bra brands both contained excessive amounts of the environmental toxin bisphenol A. (BPA).
Director of the CEH Illegal Toxic Threats Program Kaya Allan Sugerman stated in a news statement that studies have revealed that after handling receipt paper for a short period of time, BPA can enter the bloodstream through the skin. It is troubling to find such high amounts of BPA in our apparel because sports bras and athletic shirts are worn for hours at a time and are intended to cause perspiration.
BPA is an estrogen-mimicking hormone disruptor. The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences states that its primary industrial application is in the production of polycarbonate plastics. According to CNN, people are most likely to come into contact with it through the lining of cans and other food containers, but it has also been discovered in toys and floors.
Diabetes, cancer, heart disease, asthma in young girls, and even early mortality have all been linked to it as well as other detrimental health impacts. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) discovered it in 93% of examined urine samples, demonstrating how prevalent it is in the environment.
According to Dr. Jimena D az Leiva, director of science at CEH, “the issue with BPA is that it can mimic hormones like estrogen and block other hormone receptors, affecting the concentration of hormones in our systems and having detrimental health impacts.” Numerous health issues in offspring have been linked to even low amounts of exposure during pregnancy.
These issues include atypical mammary gland and ovarian development, which can raise the risk of breast or ovarian cancer later in life. Even at modest exposure levels like those present in modern humans, these effects are still there.
The CEH assessed popular sports bra and athletic shirt brands over the last six months in its most recent round of testing. They discovered that shirts from companies like The North Face, Brooks, Mizuno, Athleta, New Balance, and Reebok as well as bras from companies like PINK, Asics, The North Face, Brooks, All in Motion, Nike, FILA all tested positive for the chemical and that using them could expose a person to up to 22 times the safety limit for BPA set by California law.
According to CNN, the relevant statute is known as Proposition 65, which came into effect in the state in 1986 and established a three-microgram daily safe limit for BPA exposure through the skin. All of the brands that tested positive on October 12 received legal letters from CEH, and the NGO will wait six months before taking further action while the brands work together to find a solution.
According to a statement from the firm obtained by Fast Company, “At The North Face, our commitment to product safety is unwavering, as is our compliance with all local, state, and federal laws addressing product safety.” We are looking into the claims made in the alert published by the Center for Environmental Health.
Read More: Sheep and Goats Compete for Resources as Ice Melts from U.S. Mountains.!
Major news organizations’ inquiries for comments from the other mentioned corporations were not answered.
BPA has already been discovered by CEH in clothes. Baby socks and other goods made of polyester and spandex frequently include them. However, the organization has successfully pressured more than 90 companies to alter the way their clothing is created to eliminate BPA. This builds on earlier successes in other fields.
According to a statement from CEH to CNN, our legal action has been successful in pressuring entire sectors to remove particular chemicals from products like children’s confectionery or toys. These cases serve to protect consumers not just in California but across the entire nation.
This is due to the fact that it is typically impractical for a business to alter its methods only for the California market.
Read More: “Up in Smoke: How 2020’s Wildfires Negated 18 Years of California Climate Policy”
In the end, CEH wants garment manufacturers to stop using BPA, but in the interim, it advised individuals to protect themselves by removing their athletic apparel as soon as they are finished exercising. The website Motherly also advised washing polyester items in cold water before letting them drip dry and choosing bras and blouses made of natural fibers rather than polyester.
The article Popular Sports Bra and Athletic Gear Brands Have High BPA Levels first appeared on EcoWatch.


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DEARBORN, Michigan (Reuters) - Ford Motor Co will receive nearly $5.9 billion in U.S. government loans to build fuel-efficient vehicles as the Obama administration deepened its commitment to reshaping the cash-strapped auto industry.
Japan’s Nissan Motor Co Ltd will receive $1.6 billion and start-up Tesla Motors Inc will receive $465 million in low-cost loans to build all-electric cars in the first wave of financing from an Energy Department program intended to offset the cost meeting sharply higher new fuel economy standards.
“By supporting key technologies and sound business plans, we can jump-start the production of fuel-efficient vehicles in America,” Energy Secretary Steven Chu said at an event at Ford’s sprawling engineering and product development campus.
“These investments will come back to our country many times over by creating new jobs, reducing our dependence on oil, and reducing our greenhouse gas emissions,” he said.
The Energy Department has $17 billion remaining in funding under a program first authorized by Congress in 2007. Chu said the agency would work quickly to approve further loans in the coming months to other auto companies.
The announcement of the first round of funding at Ford represented a win for the automaker, the United Auto Workers union and Michigan’s congressional delegation after an intense lobbying effort to get the long-stalled funding approved.
One of the conditions of receiving the subsidized loans was a determination of viability. That ruled out Ford’s rivals Chrysler and General Motors Corp since they have been pushed through a federally funded bankruptcy process.
FORD‘S BETTER IDEA
Ford will receive loans through 2011 to retool factories in Michigan, Ohio, Illinois, Kentucky and Missouri. Part of the funding will cover the cost of converting two truck plants to make new small cars.
The loan is part of a $14 billion investment Ford plans in advanced technology vehicles over the next seven years. The automaker hopes most of that will come from government loans.
Chu said the Obama administration was already in talks with Chrysler Group on new funding. The No. 3 U.S. automaker, which is majority owned by a union health care trust, is operating under the management control of Italy’s Fiat SpA.
Fiat has pledged to build a new small car at one of Chrysler’s U.S. plants.
GM, which remains in Chapter 11, has been having “technical” discussions with U.S. officials on its planned projects that could qualify for funding, Chu said.
GM plans to emerge from bankruptcy through a sale process similar to the one used at Chrysler. The new GM will be majority owned by the U.S. Treasury.
“There is money there -- I wouldn’t say set aside -- but we are trying to stretch these dollars as far as we can,” Chu told reporters when asked about funding for GM and Chrysler.
Before Tuesday’s announcement, the Obama administration had already committed almost $80 billion in emergency funding for the embattled U.S. auto industry. That includes bankruptcy financing and other loans to GM and Chrysler, support for parts suppliers and an investment in GMAC LLC.
Ford is the only U.S. automaker that has not received bailout funding, opting to go it alone with a strategy of cutting labor costs in negotiations with the UAW and reducing debt through market transactions.
Mulally said the government loans would help Ford transform its line-up to focus more on small cars, hybrids and pure electric-drive vehicles. “It will give us a competitive advantage in that we are making the vehicles that people really want and value,” he said.
Nissan qualified for the loans because its Smyrna, Tennessee
plant is over 20 years old. The Japanese automaker will use the funding to build a battery assembly facility and retool an existing line to build a new electric car starting in 2012.
Tesla, based in San Carlos, California, will receive funds to bring its Model S battery-powered sedan to market. The start-up markets an electric sports car for over $100,000 but plans to slash the cost of its second model -- a family sedan -- by almost half.
Founder Elon Musk, who has said Tesla could turn profitable by next month, called the federal funding a vote of confidence.
“In order to put to rest any question of business viability we thought it was a pretty important thing to aspire to,” he said. “Fortunately we’ve been able to achieve it.”
Additional reporting by John Crawley, Nichola Groom and Bernie Woodall; editing by John Wallace, Tim Dobbyn and Bernard Orr


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Zürich, 29. March 2017. Advertised jobs have increased in the procurement, supply chain and logistics (“PSC”) by an average of 38% between March 2016 and March 2017, according to the Michael Page Swiss Job Index. As a result, salary packages in the PSC industry have remained strong and are now rivalling those of the finance industry, in some roles. For example, directors can earn over CHF 200,000 with the opportunity to add 10-30% from bonuses (see table below). In addition, top candidates for sought-after roles can expect to receive multiple offers.
This strong year-on-year growth was the result of pressure on the profit margins of Swiss-based companies and the world-beating resilience of the national supply chain. The PSC job categories showing the strongest growth in advertised job vacancies (March 2016 – March 2017) were:
- Logistics Specialist +51%
- Inventory Planner +42%
- Purchasing Specialist +19%
Procurement and Supply Chain Directors Highest Paid
The following table provides an overview of salary levels for the key types of PSC roles:
In companies where salary levels are capped, due to the current economic environment, employers have instead opted for increasing ancillary benefits to attract top talent. Such benefits include, for example, gym memberships, parking, and counting the time worked in public transport as part of the legal working time.
“The outlook for the rest of the year remains positive from both an employer and candidate perspective”, according to Nicolai Mikkelsen, Director, Michael Page. “We are already seeing especially strong demand for inventory supply chain and third-party manufacturing planning specialists. At the same time, there is an increasingly strong supply of qualified candidates with a Swiss working background thanks to the local educational opportunities, the depth of the PSC industry and the growing awareness amongst candidates of the opportunities in the industry”.
Download the PDF here.


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Google Inc. is calling upon its millions of users to chart a new direction for its online maps.
As part of an initiative being launched Thursday, the Internet search leader will provide free tools designed to make it easy for people to share their knowledge about their neighborhoods and other favorite places by creating customized maps that can assemble information from a variety of sources.
The map creators will be given the option to make the content public or keep it private.
Thousands of hybrid maps, often called "mashups," are already available on the Web, documenting everything from local housing markets to active volcanoes.
But cobbling together an online map typically requires some computer coding skills.
Google has tailored its tools for a mass audience, making map mashups as easy to produce as pointing and clicking a computer mouse. The Mountain View-based company is hoping the simplicity will generate millions of highly specialized maps that can be stored in its search index.
Until now, Google's two-year-old maps had primarily been used for driving directions and finding local businesses. The more personal maps should open up new avenues as users share insights about their favorite vacation spots or a wide range of academic subjects, said Jessica Lee, product manager of Google maps.
"This is a big change," Lee said. "Even if we cut loose all our developers, we could never create maps with the same depth and quality as our users can."
While testing the new tools, Google's own engineers created maps focused on U.S. Route 66, the Hawaiian island of Kauai, Major League Baseball stadiums and voting patterns in the 2004 presidential election.
If Google succeeds in its effort to build a vast storehouse of customized maps, its Web site could become an even more popular Internet destination. Achieving that goal would give Google even more opportunities to display the online ads that accounted for most of its $3.1 billion profit last year.
The feature also could drive more traffic to Google's YouTube because the new toolkit also includes an option to embed video into the customized maps.
Google's maps already are a big draw, with 22.2 million U.S. visitors during February, according to the most recent data available from comScore Media Metrix. That ranked Google maps third in its category, trailing AOL's Mapquest (45.1 million visitors) and Yahoo (29.1 million visitors).
The concept of mapping mashups was popularized by a computer animation engineer, Paul Rademacher, who charted apartment listings from Craigslist. Google has since hired Rademacher to work in its mapping department.


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How research platform PrimeInvestor is enabling customers to make smart financial choices
India Startup Outlook Report 2020 by InnoVen Capital suggests that fintech will be the hottest sector this year. However, experts suggest that while digital payments have been a big hit in India, digital investments are yet to come to the limelight. This can be mostly attributed to the poor financial literacy rate in India.
While there is no concrete data available, a survey by Standard & Poor’s Financial Services reveals that less than 25 percent of South-Asian countries’ adult population is financially literate.
However, with the increasing number of fintech startups in the country, urban India, mostly the millennials, have started investing in a DIY (Do-it-Yourself) fashion. While everyone wants to save up and get the maximum return on investments, not many know which plan works best for them. This is where PrimeInvestor.in comes in.
Founded in August 2019, PrimeInvestor is a research-as-a-service platform, providing recommendations for financial products. It has put together a team of experienced researchers to provide quality recommendations for financial products, at an annual subscription cost of Rs 2,500.
The Chennai-based startup was founded by Srikanth Meenakshi, former co-founder of digital investment platform FundsIndia, and its research team heads Vidya Bala and Bhavana Acharya.
PrimeInvestor is certified by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), and is incubated in the FinBlue programme of Software Technology Parks of India (Ministry of Electronics and Commerce).
The founding team at PrimeInvestor.in
Team of experts
“People are gravitating more towards direct-to-manufacturer approach for obtaining financial products like direct mutual funds and low-cost insurance. While they do save on expenses and fees on doing so, they often end up with products which cost more in the form of sub-optimal returns,” says 51-year-old Srikanth, who has a master’s in Computer Science from Oregon State University.
Srikanth, along with Vidya (40), a chartered accountant, and Bhavana (34), who has an MBA in finance, exited FundsIndia mid last year to focus full time on PrimeInvestor. Working on the R&D for six-months, PrimeInvestor rolled out its services in February this year.
The startup is bootstrapped with Rs 25 lakh, with equal contribution from each of the co-founders. The present team size is five, but, “We are looking to grow to about 10 by the end of this year,” Srikanth says.
How does it work?
Users or investors can subscribe to the platform and start using it immediately. PrimeInvestor offers a bouquet of investment packages and solutions for its subscribers. It has 20 portfolios that users get to select from, based on their needs or life-situation.
Srikanth explains: “We have portfolios for different time-frames, different goals (like retirement or education), and different needs (regular income, growth, etc).”
It also offers something called Prime Portfolios, which is based on life situations such as starting a new job, becoming a parent, retirement, etc. Users get the exact investment choices (funds, deposits, and government schemes, with percentage allocation for each). The platform also provides detailed guidance and rationale for each of these portfolios.
“A lay investor can simply pick any of the portfolio(s) relevant to them and buy the same in any platform of their choice,” says Srikanth. The platform then updates the user on the developments of the platform’s portfolio.
A more discerning investor can use PrimeInvestor’s recommended list of funds and ETFs to build their own goals.
“They will receive updates every quarter on whether there are any changes in our view in the funds they hold,” he adds.
For experienced investors, PrimeInvestor has introduced ‘Theme Park’ to pick funds, ETFs for a theme, or the strategy they believe in. A theme park is essentially where users can go with an investment idea and seek guidance on how to implement that idea in the market. Finally, all users get to use PrimeInvestor’s review tool to receive expert opinion on their portfolio.
According to the team, all the research and recommendations are updated every quarter. Besides this, PrimeInvestor publishes quality content based on strategy calls, recommendations, and market analysis, thrice a week. All these products, packages, and content services are made available for an annual subscription fee of Rs 2,500.
Personal finance affects the entire working class. Having said that, PrimeInvestor targets people who either invest, or are curious about investing.
“Of the Rs 15 lakh crore individual investors’ assets in mutual funds, one-fifth is through DIY investors. Association of Mutual Funds India suggests that over 20 lakh investments could be through the DIY mode. That is a sizable sweet-spot market for our business,” says Srikanth.
Players including PersonalFN, MoneyLife, Value Research, and Morning Star also provide research as a service. However, Srikanth believes the offerings of these players are limited or exclusive, while PrimeInvestor’s services span over all product classes in the financial market.
PrimeInvestor’s only source of revenue is the subscription fee it charges from its customers, and does not depend on any commission, brokerage, or ad revenue.
Since its launch, the startup claims to be having 2,000 registered users, and 500 paying subscribers.
“This has been achieved with no paid marketing spends, and with only word-of-mouth and social media posts announcing our launch,” says Srikanth.
While it is too early to comment on a run-rate, PrimeInvestor is targeting a 100 percent growth every year, for the next three years. In fact, Srikanth says they are not looking at raising funds yet, and are well-placed financially.
(Edited by Megha Reddy)


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Just when you thought the iPhone 8 was going to boast a truly revolutionary design, along comes a leak that potentially throws cold water on those ambitions. It might not even be called the iPhone 8 at all.
A new report citing a source "with intimate knowledge of Apple's manufacturing facility," claims Apple's tenth anniversary flagship won't live up to previous iPhone 8 rumors. Updated 3/31 with new report on 3D sensing components.
The information comes from iDrop News, which says that it spoke privately to a Foxconn employee. The biggest surprise is that the report claims that the iPhone 8 will sport a fingerprint sensor on the back, similar to the Galaxy S8.
This treatment flies in the face of previous reports that say that the iPhone 8 will integrate the Touch ID sensor into the front of the display. Samsung reportedly tried to do something similar with the S8 but apparently ditched those efforts when it found that the available solutions didn't work well enough.
Second, the iDrop News says that the iPhone 8 will not have a glass back and will instead be metal. The reason for this move is apparently to ensure better durability. The S8 and LG G6 both have backs made of Gorilla Glass.
A leaked image from the site shows that the next iPhone will have a front that's almost all screen and a dual camera setup on the back, but the orientation will be flipped so that they're vertical. Up front, the iPhone 8 mockup has dual cameras as well, which does line up with previous reports about the device offering a 3D camera that could be used for facial recognition and also augmented reality features.
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The sensors could enable all sorts of applications, writes Morgan Stanley's Charlie Chan, including facial recognition, gesture sensing 3D modeling and photo shooting enhancements. Apparently, 3D modeling has the greatest potential, as it can be used for AR and VR apps like gaming and virtual social networks.
iDrop News isn't the first to report this, but the site says that the iPhone 8 will actually be called the iPhone Edition instead. There is a precedent here, as Apple sells a higher-end Apple Watch Edition that costs $1,249, which is hundreds more than the standard Apple Watch Series 2.
Previous rumors have suggested that the iPhone 8 could cost $1,000 or more, so this name change is certainly feasible. The handset would likely sit above refreshed iPhone 7s and iPhone 7s Plus models in the lineup. The name sounds a little pretentious to us, but we won't know for sure until Apple announces the new phone, likely in September.
Mark Spoonauer is the global editor in chief of Tom's Guide and has covered technology for over 20 years. In addition to overseeing the direction of Tom's Guide, Mark specializes in covering all things mobile, having reviewed dozens of smartphones and other gadgets. He has spoken at key industry events and appears regularly on TV to discuss the latest trends, including Cheddar, Fox Business and other outlets. Mark was previously editor in chief of Laptop Mag, and his work has appeared in Wired, Popular Science and Inc. Follow him on Twitter at @mspoonauer.


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No agency brands will be eliminated and no layoffs are expected.
Kate Cronin had been promoted from agency co-president to global CEO in October.
The new offering will tap the expertise of some 2,000 people already working on health-related business across the network’s agency brands.
Top news, insights and analysis every weekday
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At a time when government and consumer officials are sharply criticizing the power and profits of Norway’s four major grocery retailers, comes news that the recently retired boss of one of them received relatively whopping pay over the past three years.
Newspaper Dagens Næringsliv (DN) reported this week that Sverre Leiro of NorgesGruppen, which operates major grocery chains like Meny and Kiwi, was paid NOK 40 million ( around USD 6.5 million) in the form of salary, bonus and other benefits since 2008. That’s high in Norway, where it’s not popular for executives to earn so much more than average employees. In addition came the dividends Leiro earned on his stock in the company that controls more than 40 percent of Norway’s grocery market and has been a target of the recent criticism.
Leiro stepped down on April 1 at the age of 63, three years after he had initially planned to retire. NorgesGruppen, however, wanted him to stay on, so the high pay is viewed as an extraordinary incentive for his three extra years of service.
Other NorgesGruppen executives also earned well, according to the firm’s annual report, with five of them collectively netting more than NOK 100 million during the same period. New chief executive Tommy Korneliussen told DN he could understand “that folks react” to the “large sums.” But he claimed NorgesGruppen is “a large company, and salaries are in line with the market.” He also thought it was misleading to add up the pay over a three-year period. He earned around NOK 14 million during the period before he rose to the top spot.
Views and News staff


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In March 2020, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recognized the need for more data to address the gaps in current research related to the safety of cannabidiol (CBD). Therefore, the FDA sought to collaborate with relevant stakeholders to gather data and address these gaps. Specifically, the FDA aimed to engage stakeholders to address gaps in research relating to acute and long-term outcomes related to male reproductive toxicity and liver toxicity; as well as, the impact of CBD on driving, interactions with alcohol, and dermal penetration.
On May 17, 2022, one study produced in response to the FDA’s 2020 request, released the results of its study, which demonstrated that consumption of CBD products “is not associated with elevated liver tests, low testosterone levels, or daytime drowsiness.” This study is an important step in filling the information gap surrounding CBD consumption and ensuring the FDA has all necessary information to develop the appropriate regulatory system needed to protect consumers. Read more about the study here.


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IBM cuts NetFinity prices
Readies itself for new introductions
Big Blue said today it has cut prices on some of its NetFinity servers. The cuts, of up to 20 per cent, are on selected models in the 5500 and 7000 range. According to Tony John, NetFinity product marketing manager at IBM UK, the cuts are in preparation for new introductions of processors by Intel next Monday. IBM will introduce its Xeon range on the 22 September, as planned, said John
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Florida-based hiring solution Unrabble has been a company since 2009, but it has only recently launched its resume-alternative service in September of last year. The new hiring solution is looking to change the game by allowing businesses to smartly search rich profiles instead of traditional resumÃ©s.
Unrabble’s rich profiles enable candidates to focus on detailing their skills, integrate video and social media profiles, and highlight their accomplishments. Businesses on the hiring end can easily find a pool of appropriate candidates without having to use the arbitrary keyword roundup that many job boards rely on.
Co-founders Kevin Watson, Chris Rickborn, and Marc Slack were searching for a new business venture when they came up with the idea for improving the muddled hiring process.
“After selling our previous tech company, my two colleagues and I began thinking about the ‘next thing,’” wrote Unrabble CEO Kevin Watson. “A common thread was that we recognized pain points and inefficiencies inherent in the hiring process, so we began strategizing ways that would dramatically improve it.”
The strategizing process took the founders two full years to get the concept right, and by late last year the service was ready to go live. Since then more than 3,000 business have begun using Unrabble, said Watson. Just last month the editors of Start2Cloud, a an online portal focused on cloud solutions for businesses, gave the company its editor’s choice award in the HR category.
“The current hiring process is broken,” wrote Watson. “Unrabble was born to be different from the start. If we were going to create a ‘make your life simpler’ hiring solution, it had to be fresh and move beyond the ‘old way’ of hiring.”
Currently Unrabble offers both free and premium solutions for businesses of all sizes. The free plan allows companies to search for one open position at a time, and the higher-end $49 per month plan features up to ten postings at once. The service will even provide larger, custom plans for businesses looking to scale its hiring process.
Though he didn’t comment specifically on when or if the company will be doing any fundraising, Watson did say that Unrabble is “certainly interested in hearing from motivated investors.”


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Speakers announced for Cool Logistics Global. This event for the cold chain and perishable cargoes industries takes place 19 – 21 October 2021.
Our speaker line up:
Diego Barriga, Director Lancaster Logistics and Foodcareplus
Steve Cameron, Principal, Cameron Maritime Resources
Andy Connell, Lead Technical Consultant, A-Bar-C Services
Stefano Di Paolo, President and GM, Great White Fleet Ltd, Chiquita Brands
Martin Dixon, Head of Research Products, Drewry and Director, Drewry Group
Thomas Eskesen, Founder, Eskesen Advisory
JuanAndres Ferrari, Director Perishables Supply Chain, AJC Sourcing
Adam Forste, Co-Founder and Managing Partner, Bay Grove Capital, Co-Executive Chairman, Lineage Logistics Holdings
Amit Hasak, CEO, Transship Corp
Michel Looten, Director Maritime, Seabury Cargo
Andrew Lorimar, CEO, Datamar
Johannes Naninga, CEO and Owner, Guangzhou Port (Europe) BV, Port of Nansha
Hanno Reeser, New Silk Way Logistics, Director, Strategic Development, H.Essers Transport
Ole Schack-Petersen, Director, Broom Group
Sarah Schlueter, Senior Director Niche Products, Hapag-Lloyd AG
Sebastian Steinmueller, Director Global Reefer Competency Centre, DHL Global Forwarding
David Sussmann, President, Seafoodia & Founder, Pure Ocean Fund
Eelke Westra, Programme Manager Post-Harvest Quality, Wageningen Food & Biobased Research, Wageningen University
Michael Yarwood, Director Loss Prevention, TT Club
Places are limited for this event. Bookings are now open for our offer price of £199 to 10 September 2021.
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Join our esteemed line-up of speakers and discuss the latest industry topics
Lineage opens headquarters in Madrid
New headquarters highlights continued investment in the region and lays the foundation for continued growth
ONE boosts reefer fleet
Ocean Network Express (ONE) is expanding its reefer fleet by adding 6,500 new units.
Cool Logistics team attends GCCA’s European Cold Chain Conference
The GCCA conference in Barcelona provided food for thought!


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December saw Iowa break the record for the amount of money wagered in sports betting, for a fourth consecutive month
The amount wagered was up by 159.9% when compared to the same period in the previous year (2019) with new highs recorded both online and in retail spending. However, sports betting did decline when compared to November 2020.
The revenue recorded for December amounted to $7.5million where the total amount of money wagered came in at $104.8million, which is an increase of 76.7% compared to December 2019. Having said that, November 2020 saw total revenues reach $8.1million which is more than December by $600,000.
The legalisation of online betting in 2019 has certainly helped the state as online gambling made up most of the revenue at $4.6million, up by 156.3% from December 2019, from stakes totaling $78.1million, another record up by 133.5% from the previous year too.
Another encouraging stastistic is that, unlike online betting, retail revenue remained resistent compared to November, generating a total of $2.9million, up 31.8% from the previous record.
Furthermore, tax revenue of $508,747 was earned through sports betting.
Who were the top performers?
- William Hill’s sportsbook at Penn National Gaming’s Prairie Meadows Racetrack and Casino (pictured)
The market leaders brought in $1.7million revenue (total bets = $22.5million). Online accounted for $1.5million with $159,632 through retail.
- Ameristar II casino
Surprisingly, this operator managed to rank in second even though they do not have any online operations. The revenue recorded amounted to $771,345 on $5.8million worth of bets. All these bets were placed in person.
- Diamond Jo Casino (sportsbook operated by FanDuel)
Revenue - $751,010 on the total amount of $10.9million. Online brought in the majority of their revenue - $599,252 on $6.3million worth of bets
- Wild Rose Casino Jefferson’s DraftKings sportsbook
Revenue - $696,934 on $13.0m handle
The United States has seen a number of states benefit from sports betting as a number of records have been broken in Pennsylvania, Tennessee and Iowa with other states such as New York looking at sports betting in a bid to boost their economy.
About SiGMA Pitch:
Following a very successful run, the 5th edition of SiGMA Pitch is back for Spring 2021. Over 100 startups will be selected to showcase their products and initiatives throughout the event. Each startup will have a small booth at SiGMA surrounded by top investors and mentors. However, only the judges' top ten make it to the Pitch during the final leg of the Summit. Increase your chance of being one of the top 100 by providing a 3-minute video-introduction upon participation! Apply now.


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New amendments to South Africa’s Competition Act, introduced last week, aim to open to economy to more new entrants – but they won’t ban economic concentration.
The draft bill was gazetted for public comment for 60 days (see it here), on Friday December 1, by Economic development Minister Ebrahim Patel (pictured above).
It follows advice received from a panel of legal and economic experts (see this earlier post) on how competition legislation can be sharpened to help open the economy to more small businesses and black entrepreneurs,
A recent analysis by the Competition Commission of 2,150 merger reports between 2009 to 2016 found that 70% of 31 economic sectors analysed are dominated by firms that hold more than 45% market share in that sector.
The existing Competition Act does not enable the Competition Commission or the Competition Tribunal to address concentration, but only collusion and market abuse, notes a memorandum attached to the bill.
Two options to regulate concentration
In the memorandum, the department notes that there were two options to regulate market concentration.
The first approach is to have predefined thresholds of concentration or untransformed ownership profiles, which if reached, would trigger measures to de-concentrate the market or restructure firms or a combination of both measures.
The memorandum however does not reveal what these measures are.
The second approach – which the department and experts favoured – is to opt for an evaluation of concentration, largely through the use of market inquiries.
The department argues in some cases economic concentration is a necessary feature in certain sectors where economies of scale are required. Furthermore the outlawing of concentration would not necessarily induce entry or lower barriers to entry for firms.
Banning market concentration would also difficult to implement because it would require the setting of thresholds of concentration in multiple specific product and geographic markets, which would have to be based on a prior detailed analysis of each market.
In addition there is no international precedent in either competition law or economics for outlawing concentration and ownership profiles without reference to the anti-competitive effects of abuse of dominance, or for that matter, merger control.
There was also some concern - voiced by commentators in a newspaper article on Sunday - that in the wrong hands, a ban on economic concentration could be used by politicians to meet their own means.
The department instead proposes to strengthen provisions of the act that prohibit collusion, abuse of dominance and price discrimination should be strengthened.
Among others these include for instance guidelines on how to determine excessive prices and making it unlawful for dominant firms from requesting suppliers to set the sale of their goods or services at excessively low prices.
The bill also creates a mechanism for stopping “creeping concentration”, where companies acquire competitors slowly.
Getting dominant firms to back SMEs
Through the bill the department envisages that market inquiries (which will have to be wrapped up within 18 months) will become the chief mechanism for analysing and tackling the structural problems in a market.
Linked to this, the Competition Commission and Tribunal will be able to make an appropriate order regarding any condition relating to the merger. For instance it may rule on jobs to be retained or black small firms to be assisted.
The state wants to adopt the same approach it used for the Wallmart-Massmart merger in 2011 - where on condition that the deal was okayed Wallmart was made to set up a programme to develop local suppliers and guarantee the jobs of workers (see this post).
Similarly the 2015 merger involving ABInBev and SABMiller was approved on provision of support to small businesses - with R1 billion ($73m) to be disbursed over a period of five years to black farmers and suppliers (revealed in the Competition Commission latest annual report).
The idea then is to investigate markets and then force big dominant companies to provide support to small, mostly black firms,
This is perhaps a more wise and measured way to go about things, and black small businesses could ultimately benefit from more access to markets, funding and support. But only if it also leads to more jobs - that will be the crunch.
Timm is a South African who writes on small business in emerging economies. Follow Small Business Insight on Twitter at @Smallbinsight and on Facebook.
Stephen Timm is a


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On 3rd October 2019, we celebrated 25 years in business at Marcus Wareing’s Gilbert Scott restaurant in London. Long standing and cherished friends from the industry joined us for a champagne reception and three-course meal to celebrate the landmark.
Guests were treated to a creamy Burrata starter, Chateaubriand main course and a scrumptious fig dessert, accompanied by a selection of wines paired perfectly with the food by the Gilbert Scott sommelier.
Jacqueline Mariani started the company in 1994 as a marketing services specialist and expanded into PR soon afterwards, re-branding as jmm PR in 2017. The company has gathered a host of very loyal clients, having worked with some for over 20 years. Jacqueline gave an overview of the development of the company and journey in the industry along with some anecdotes to entertain guests.
Commenting on the company’s achievement, Jacqueline remarks, “It was a wonderful day of celebration, to recognise all our great friends across the industry and media, as well as enjoy a well-deserved lunch together. The conversation was flowing, and laughter filled the room, it was a day I will cherish and remember always.
“Without our wonderful clients, and the relationships we have developed with the faithful industry media, we would, of course, not be here.
“I am so proud of the superb jmm PR team for which our continued success is entirely down to their tremendous enthusiasm, hard work, and loyalty. The next 25 years is very bright for the PR industry with such industrious, creative, intelligent and social media savvy communicators.”
- The jmm PR team at the Gilbert Scott: (left to right) Briar Wooldridge, Hannah Cottis, Jacqueline Mariani, Steph Amos and Tessa Ross
- jmm PR celebrated its 25th anniversary with a three-course dinner
For further press information please contact:
Jacqueline at jmm PR
T: 01536 414555
22nd October 2019


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What Would Tesla Be Without Musk?
We think it would be harmful to investors for the SEC to ban Musk from running a public company.
Tesla (TSLA) CEO Elon Musk issued a blog post late on Aug. 24 saying that after meeting with the board and large and small Tesla shareholders, Tesla will remain a public company. We are not changing our fair value estimate on this news. We are not surprised to read Musk's meetings revealed concerns from shareholders about being able to own equity in a private company. His Aug. 24 post said, "There is also no proven path for most retail investors to own shares if we were private. Although the majority of shareholders I spoke to said they would remain with Tesla if we went private, the sentiment, in a nutshell, was 'please don’t do this.'" It also said institutional investors have internal compliance rules limiting private ownership. As we discussed in our Aug. 13 note, it was not clear to us how retail investors who are not accredited investors would be able to keep their equity if Tesla went private. We speculated a special purpose vehicle would be publicly traded for retail investors.
Musk reiterated on Aug. 24 that he believes he has more than sufficient funding to take Tesla private, but this initial claim in an Aug. 7 tweet is reportedly under investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission via subpoenas to board members. Given Musk said he had a July 31 meeting with the Saudi Arabian sovereign wealth fund, we think it may be difficult for the SEC to say the Aug. 7 "funding secured" tweet was untruthful and purely designed to hurt the short sellers that Musk despises. We also think at this time that it would be harmful to investors for the SEC to ban Musk from running a public company. We think for now Musk is effectively Tesla and without him Tesla is just a capital-intensive automaker burning cash with too much debt due soon. Musk revealed in a recent New York Times interview that the company has searched for a COO in the past to take some pressure off him. We think that is a good idea but we think it will be hard to find someone willing to take the job.
|Morningstar Premium Members gain exclusive access to our full analyst reports, including fair value estimates, bull and bear breakdowns, and risk analyses. Not a Premium Member? Get this and other reports immediately when you try Morningstar Premium free for 14 days.|
David Whiston does not own (actual or beneficial) shares in any of the securities mentioned above. Find out about Morningstar’s editorial policies.


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This could be one of the biggest releases this year in 2021 … AMD is planning to launch the Zen 3 Ryzen Threadripper 5000 series this coming August!
Taken from TPU … The AMD Zen 3 architecture provided significant performance improvements with the company releasing server, desktop, and mobile processors featuring the architecture. AMD is yet to update their Threadripper lineup with the new architecture however that looks set to change with the company reportedly preparing to announce the next generation “Chagall” Threadripper 5000 processors in August.
The Threadripper family is in dire need of a refresh with the latest 3000 series processors being launched back in November 2019. The new processors should be compatible with existing TRX40 motherboards with a simple BIOS update.


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Stocks / Indices
When Apples FallJuly 26, 2020
COVID-conflicted, tech-inflated markets plus the US-Sino 5G conundrum seem to have Apple presently fighting a 2-front war.
In the former case, equity markets are finally taking a long hard look at the virus-impacted economy and wondering if perhaps all that misery could somehow impact investor thirst for shares, if maybe companies closing down may affect their value, and so forth. In the latter case, the battle for the 5G infrastructure could hamper the company’s release of its upcoming iPhone 12, kicking the company in the income bone to the tune of up to 7%.
Despite its 70% surge since year’s start, Goldman Sachs last week cited Apple’s “unsustainable” share price, saying it could drop well below $299. Indeed, Deutsche Bank in early July expressed concern for the share’s surprising rebound since mid- April.
Add to that, US state investigations into the company’s consumer protection performance, and we have one worm-infested fruit.
A Sickly Apple
Analysts began suspecting all was not well below the peel almost 3 months ago when Fortune ran a fundamental guide on the share. It ascribed Apple’s stellar performance to its sub-par valuation, which offered a 20% The benefit one receives on an investment., frequent buybacks and a very loose Profit/Earnings ratio.
In fact, over a 5-year period, profits actually only rose by about 2.5% each year, no more than a The unit of price change for bonds (1%), futures (0.01%), shares ($1) and mortgage fees (1% of the p... more than The rise in prices for goods and services, resulting in the deterioration of a currency’s purchasi.... But it was pumping an inordinate ratio of its earnings into dividends and buybacks, investing almost zero capital. The problem here is that the buybacks (the major bite of the apple) have become less feasible as the price of the share unjustifiably rises.
The exaggerated return on shares made Apple a prime buy, and it was the demand for these shares, not their inherent value, that drove prices up. Now, with the Fall, shares seem a bit pricey, a sentiment echoed by the downwinds arriving from the rest of the sector.
Last year’s third quarter was perhaps the harbinger of ill tidings. A not-yet COVID-impacted A location or entity where people and entities can negotiate and trade assets of value. saw Apple revenues rise by a pithy 2% YoY while its year-over-year profits fell.
This was the quarter just before Apple TV+ appeared, and already the lower-priced iPhone 11 was hurting the bottom line. The iPhone division reported a 9.2% drop in revenues, this for a product contributing 57% of the entire cake.
And since Apple sees itself as primarily a hardware company, it had – unlike Microsoft and IBM – no gently expanding cloud sector to fall back on.
Goldman’s largest fear so far is the suspicion that Apple may not provide forward guidance when it reveals quarterly earnings towards the end of the week. They believe the downward trend in sales could continue and cost the firm up to 16% in profits next year, as well.
Considering the recent stock surge, Goldman analysts expect a correction to well below their previous estimate of $299 and are currently targetting $268 – even if Thursday’s results are in line with the consensus.
Kicking Good Fruit when it’s Down
Apple’s current CEO, Tim Cook, regularly extols the company’s performance even when the skies turn sombre. This week, he will be appearing before Congress alongside other Big Tech peers in what some see as a White House crackdown on techno disobedience.
At this point, Apple is being cited in Texas and four other states for potential violations of the Deceptive Practices Act – accusations which are being echoed in other countries, as well.


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Here’s What Sent Tesla’s Shares to Record Highs
The month of May has seen many firsts for electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA). The company reported its first profitable quarter ever on May 8; Consumer Reports gave its Model S sedan a near-perfect score of 99 out of 100, noting that it may just be the best car ever, excluding the limitations of the vehicle’s battery life; and, on Tuesday, shares soared above $100 for the first time in Tesla’s 3-year history as a public company. The stock even traded as high as $104.31 per share, pushing the stock’s gains for the year to date to more than 200 percent.
As the company has proven it can make its vehicles profitable and produce them on a large scale, investors have grown increasingly confident. The most recent boost to Tesla’s stock price came as the company prepares to announce an expansion of the charger network for its electric vehicles this week.
Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk said on May 20 that the network expansion announcement would be pushed back to this week, so that the news would come once the company had fully repaid its U.S. Energy Department loan. Tesla now owes the federal government nothing. On May 22, the company wired $451.8 million to the DOE, paying off the full amount borrowed plus interest nine years early thanks to the profitable quarter.
Tesla began installing solar-powered supercharger stations on major U.S. highways last year, enabling motorists to rapidly recharge the battery-powered Model S and extending the driving rage of the electric vehicle. Each $69,000 car can travel as far as 265 miles per charge. But as most charging states are currently in California, Musk has said that the company will enlarge the network of stations that allow a car to recharge in about 30 minutes.
Contributing to the buzz surrounding Tesla was the field visit to Tesla’s manufacturing facility in Fremont, California by analysts from Goldman Sachs. Both the plant tour and their meeting with Musk highlighted that demand for the Model S remains strong. In North America, current order rates are running at approximately 20,000 units on an annualized basis, and the company believes it will end the year at a 23,000 to 25,000 annualized run rate, which will likely help the company increase its gross margin to 25 percent. The company highlighted several improvements in its manufacturing process that should also help drive margins above their current levels. These strategies included reduction in temporary workers, increased efficiencies and reduced scrappage, streamlining of operations leading to a reduction in full time employee man-hours, and a significant improvement in logistics costs.
The meeting also brought to light additional information regarding the battery performance of Tesla’s electric vehicles; as ValueWalk reported, the company believes that the cost per kilowatt-hour will decline to less than $100 over the next 10 years, a 75 percent reduction from current levels. Over the longer-term, Tesla is envisioning a technology that will lower the time spent recharging to be less than the time it takes to fill up the gas tank of a standard internal combustion vehicle.
Follow Meghan on Twitter @MFoley_WSCS


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Aspen Technology stock soars on double-digit revenue growth
Stock in Aspen Technology Inc. (Nasdaq: AZPN) spiked as high as 16 percent in the first hour of trading Wednesday after the provider of software and services to process industries reported revenue of $77.3 million, and increase of 16 percent year over year, for the last three months of 2012.
The company, which began more than 30 years ago in a lab at MIT, announced its second quarter financial results on Tuesday after the close of the markets, in which President and CEO Mark Fusco said the Burlington, Mass.-based company “delivered strong second quarter results that exceeded our guidance on all key metrics.”
The company’s net income for the second quarter as nearly $10 million, or 10 cents a share, more than two-and-a-half times the net income of $3.8 million, or 4 cents a share, for same quarter a year ago.
“We continue to see strong customer demand and product usage patterns, which contributed to our solid year-over-year annual spend growth of nearly 13 percent during the second quarter,” said Fusco in a statement. “The company’s operational execution remains at a high level, which is evidenced by free cash flow generation of $34.5 million during the quarter. With over $50 million of free cash flow generated during the first half of our fiscal year, we feel very good about the company’s position as we are heading into our seasonally strongest cash flow quarter.”
The company said it had $175.2 million in cash as of Dec. 31, 2012, $11.9 million more that three months prior, and after using $19.7 million in cash to repurchase shares of common stock and reducing secured borrowings by $5.6 million. The company says it has now fully repaid its secured borrowings.
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“We received word that a number of different brands were postponing or canceling their launches” during the pandemic, said Mike Montgomery, chief executive officer and co-founder of Blue Run, “and so that created this window for us. I think people were looking for something new; they were looking for something different; they were looking for something kind of interesting.”
Blue Run was formed by Montgomery, a longtime political strategist and consultant, and four other whiskey fans. It made a splash in October 2020 with its first release of 2,600 bottles priced at about $170 each. They sold out in less than two weeks. The company made an even bigger splash at the 2021 San Francisco World Spirits Competition, where two of its offerings won best single-barrel bourbon 11 years and older and best small-batch bourbon 11 years and older. Blue Run has put out ten releases of bourbon and rye since it was founded, most selling out within minutes.
The startup is capitalizing on its core tenets — youth culture, aspiration and inclusivity — to bring high-quality bourbon to a broader audience beyond the traditional demographic of middle-aged white men. “Today’s bourbon drinker doesn’t look anything like it did 20 to 30 years ago,” Montgomery said. “It’s more diverse now.”
Blue Run’s first release was available online and in stores in Kentucky and Georgia; the company has since expanded distribution to more than 20 states, Washington, D.C., and Canada, but online sales remain key to connecting with consumers.
But it’s what’s in the bottle that will keep bourbon fans coming back. In a stroke of inspired audacity, Blue Run asked Jim Rutledge, an industry icon and former master distiller at bourbon brand Four Roses, to join the startup. He agreed to be a “liquid adviser.” (Think of Michael Jordan joining your pickup basketball team.) He oversaw the first few releases by selecting and blending whiskey from barrels purchased from an undisclosed distillery. He now helps guide Blue Run’s own distilling.
Joining him is the company’s first hire, Shaylyn Gammon, as whiskey director, a rising star in a male-dominated industry who combines a research-and-development background with the artistic ability to develop unique flavors. The Russell’s Reserve 13-year-old bourbon she created was named the best American whiskey of 2021 by renowned spirits critic Fred Minnick. That achievement was all the more impressive because she created the bourbon entirely without tasting it: She was pregnant at the time. “So much about taste is smell,” she said, “so I would do it by aroma.”
The company, which has raised nearly $15 million in outside money and has been profitable almost from the beginning, has a revenue target of $15 million for 2022 and estimates significant increases in the following years. Blue Run just announced a $51 million expansion in Georgetown that will include a distillery and future headquarters.


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Suffolk and Norfolk mushroom grower geared for growth after securing deal with major retailer
- Credit: Archant
A mushrooms operation in Suffolk and Norfolk is set for growth after securing a long-term contract with a national retail chain.
Waveney Mushrooms, a family-owned business, says it is planning to invest in its operations and create new jobs after clinching a long-term supply deal with Aldi to stock its produce until 2021.
The firm, which operates farms across the two counties including at Bungay, has supplied Aldi for 20 years.
The three-year deal will enable the grower to further invest in its packing and growing facilities, drive efficiency and create new jobs, it says.
Since the partnership began, Waveney, which employs 175 staff, has supplied over 20,000 tonnes of produce to the retailer and the investment has led to the creation of more than 80 new jobs at its sites.
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The partnership also encouraged the business to invest a seven figure sum into a new farm that will open in October to fill demand from Aldi.
Waveney Mushrooms general manager Jon Fuller said: “We’ve come a long way since our business began in 1990, and continued investment from Aldi is encouraging us to grow and modernise more than ever before.
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“This show of support for British farmers, such as ourselves, as well as their simple ways of working and clear forecasting helps us to grow year on year – in terms of our yield, employees and turnover.”
Aldi said it was committed to supporting local growers and 100% of its core mushroom lines are supplied by British farmers.
Julie Ashfield, managing director of buying at Aldi UK, said: “Our approach when working with suppliers is to build a genuine partnership based on trust and fairness.
“We support British farmers up and down the country, and the relationship we have with Waveney Mushrooms is a good example of this in practice. We look forward to working with them for many more years to come.”


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COVID era business and the 2020 technology evolution
New Years day of 2020 was full of promise for consumers and businesses alike. We were all excited and enthusiastic to start the decade. Little did we know that the first quarter of this year was going to bring forth a forced technology evolution that would radically change every aspect of life, both professionally and personally. We’ve entered the space of COVID era business and things have changed forever.
The United States alone has increased its mobile usage by 40% since March.Statista
COVID era business has forced companies to become more technology-enabled… In turn, forcing consumers to become more technology-enabled as well. Now more than ever we have suddenly become more reliant on technology for business. A recent article published by The New York Times “The Virus Changed The Way We Internet” reference stunning stats regarding technology usage since the pandemic occurred.
Another recent study by Statista shows that in COVID era business, mobile devices have dominated all others in usage and time on screen. The United States alone has increased its mobile usage by 40% since March.
Adjusting your marketing efforts to meet today’s consumer behavior
Companies willing to embrace this new era of technology will accel and thrive. Those who don’t will be socially distanced out of existence… Here are a few strategies you can apply to increase your marketing efforts based on today’s technology-enabled consumer.
SMS – Sending text messages isn’t simply fast and consumer-friendly but text massages also receive a 97-98% open rate, compared to email campaigns that have a 20% average open rate (on a good day). SMS communication ensures your message is being delivered and seen by your prospect.
Mobile Design – Having a mobile-optimized website or landing page is critical to ensure your prospect has a delightful experience. Having a non-mobile-optimized web experience increases their likelihood to retreat from your site and continue their search.
Site Load Speed – According to 2018 research by Google, 53% of mobile users leave a site that takes longer than three seconds to load and that number continues to increase. This could cut your marketing efforts in half if not addressed before you launch your campaign.
The future is bright for companies who embrace mobile marketing
At Nurture Boss we’ve helped bridge the gap between tech-enabled consumers and companies trying to keep up with the mobile marketing shift. Not only do we provide SMS delivery and mobile designed templates that load at record-breaking speeds, we also provide a layer of personalization designed to speak directly to the consumer. These key elements make Nurture Boss an extremely effective marketing engine.
Schedule A Demo Now to learn more about Nurture Boss
The overall population isn’t going back to the way things used to be. Smart companies and consumers are evolving at a rapid pace due to the new circumstances we have to live by. Are you?