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Morgan Stanley’s proposed $13 billion all-stock acquisition of the popular E*TRADE online discount brokerage made big headlines last week. While no major antitrust problems are immediately apparent, the deal is part of a trend of consolidation in the financial services industry triggered by disruptions to profits like zero commission trading. The deal now heads for shareholder and regulatory review.
According to the New York Times, this is the biggest acquisition in the financial sector since the 2008 meltdown, and signals Morgan Stanley’s continued attention to asset wealth management over the more volatile investment banking and trading spaces. Or, as CEO James P. Gorman put it, “the decade-long transition of our firm to a more balance-sheet-light business mix, emphasizing more durable sources of revenue.”
This deal relies on growing success in the so-called “mass affluent segment” – the lower rung of the wealthy, people with between $250,000 and $1 million in assets – which comprises more than 20 million households, according to the Times. Between 12% and 15% of Americans use an online investing/stock trading service each year, figures compiled by Statista show. Morgan Stanley hopes that as members of this segment continue to accrue assets, it will be able to transition them to services Morgan Stanley offers to higher net-worth individuals. Morgan Stanley’s trading revenue in 2009 was $7.72 billion. In 2018 it was $11.55 billion.
According to statements from the two companies, E*TRADE has more than 5.2 million client accounts with more than $360 billion in retail client assets, and Morgan Stanley has 3 million clients and $2.7 trillion in client assets. The combined company will have $3.1 trillion in client assets, 8.2 million retail client relationships and accounts, and 4.6 million stock-plan participants. Morgan Stanley said the deal will increase the company’s wealth management scale, fill product and service gaps, and enhance digital capabilities. Morgan Stanley hopes to become a “top player across all three channels: Financial Advisory, Workplace, and Self-Directed.” As with any good acquisition, the company predicts “significant cost and funding synergies” and “stronger financial performance and shareholder value creation,” buzzwords that delight investors.
A wildly successful disrupter, E*TRADE credits itself with creating the online brokerage category and continues to innovate today. Mike Pizzi, Chief Executive Officer of E*TRADE, said the deal will enable it to deliver “an even more comprehensive suite of wealth management capabilities” and serve a wider spectrum of customers.
Competitors in this space include: TD Ameritrade, Ally Invest, Charles Schwab, Fidelity Investments Inc., Interactive Brokers LLC, Vanguard Brokerage Services, Robinhood Financial, Merrill Edge, T. Rowe Price Group Inc., and Betterment.
Announcement Follows Another Wealth Management Mega-Merger
The E-Trade/Morgan Stanley merger comes on the heels of another wealth management mega-merger: Charles Schwab’s proposed acquisition of TD Ameritrade for $26 billion in stock. As discussed previously, the Charles Schwab/TD Ameritrade merger raises significant antitrust issues and should receive significant attention from the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice. But this is primarily due to both companies’ large market shares in the RIA custodian market, which is not an issue for this deal.
However, while Morgan Stanley’s purchase of E-Trade appears less problematic from a competition standpoint than Charles Schwab’s acquisition of TD Ameritrade, it continues an unsettling trend of consolidation in parts of the financial services industry that mostly affect non-institutional customers. As margins continue to decrease with the implementation of pro-consumer policies (e.g. zero commission fees), large firms are attempting to protect profits by acquiring investor-customers and revenue generating assets (e.g., retail bank deposits) from smaller rivals. This is a major reason behind Charles Schwab’s acquisition of TD Ameritrade, and why some industry analysts have been predicting an E*TRADE acquisition since last fall. And this trend is likely to continue for as long as disruptors like Robinhood continue to offer lower prices and preferred services or reach younger audiences through millennial-friendly technology.
Given this reality, federal regulators should act with heightened awareness of creeping consolidation in the wealth management industry. Regulators should also not hesitate to block or implement conditions on mergers, preferably structural remedies, to ensure healthy, pro-consumer competition is preserved in this market.
Edited by Tom Hagy for MoginRubin LLP.


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Today marks the 25th anniversary of PlayStation, when the very first console in the now colossal brand launched in Japan.
Sony marked this massive milestone for PlayStation by announcing that PlayStation now held the Guinness World Record for being the best-selling home video game console and brand in history.
It’s also now been confirmed that between the original PlayStation console and the PlayStation 4 family of consoles, over 450 million PlayStation home consoles have been sold worldwide. Three out of four of the PlayStation systems sold over 100 million units each, with the PlayStation 3 being the only system not to, with a total of 87.4 million units.
When the sales for Sony’s two handheld PlayStation consoles are also taken into account, the PlayStation brand has sold 526 million systems since it first started. The PSP is reported to have sold 76.4 million units, but the number of units sold for the PlayStation Vita haven’t yet been disclosed by Sony.
The nearest competition for Sony’s title for best-selling home video game console would be Nintendo. Currently Nintendo put their cumulative home hardware sales at 323 million units sold over 36 years, if the Switch can be counted as a home system. Including portable Nintendo systems, such as the GameBoy and Nintendo DS, the number rises to 752 million units for the same period.
The fact that Sony has reached such a large number of PlayStation sales in 25 years is quite remarkable. It shows just how much the platform holder has invested in their gaming communities, opening up their platform for developers to create some truly unique and interesting experiences.
The PlayStation 3 is probably the lowest-selling home console from Sony because it was dwarfed by the Xbox 360 in its generation. With the PlayStation 5 and Project Scarlett looming ever closer, it’s never been more important for Sony to come out on top as the best console at this time next year. Sony’s new console already sounds very promising, but Microsoft could surprise everybody, especially since the hardware details for Project Scarlett are largely shrouded in mystery.

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The company says the hardware inside includes a full-range speaker for vocal and treble notes, a subwoofer for bass, and an omnidirectional two-stage diffuser to spread the sound throughout the room. The LF-S50G is a wireless speaker that can be used smartly in the kitchen with handy clock functionality and is IPX3 splash-proof design with a water repellant surface.
Battlefield 1 In the Name of the Tsar will be available on September 5, 2017. According to the publisher, In the Name of the Tsar will introduce players into the largest front of World War I. There's even better news if you're a Premium Pass member, as you will be able to get your hands on the new content 2 full weeks before it launches! As you'd expect, the Russian army is joining the fight when the DLC drops.
Essential , if you haven't heard already, is a company founded and chaired by Rubin that aspires "to create solutions for the way people live in the 21st century". In an attempt to keep customers sweet and show that they are taking the security issue seriously, the company is offering impacted customers a year of LifeLock , an identity theft protection service, for free.
But it left me wondering: Can someone see I liked them on Tinder Gold ? It's not just from the pool of other people who have Tinder Gold . Basically, your swiping time could be cut in half - or less! - if you already know who's liked you .
The 23.8-inch PC expands the Aspire lineup, and is the slimmest all in one gaming PC ever announced by Acer . The Acer Predator X35 display will hit the market in the first quarter of 2018. Depending on your allegiances, you can get the Predator Orion 9000 with either up to four of AMD's RX Vega GPUs or two of Nvidia's GeForce GTX 1080Ti GPUs in SLI .
Not all the money saving comes from cars; it's in the business model: where we produce the cars, the fact Dacia are sold off the back of the Renault network, often in the same dealership. The model now gets a Dacia's typical lighting theme with four red stacked squares, for a funky look. The 2018 Renault Duster will also bring with it a new paint finish, Atacama Orange.
As billionaire Warren Buffett turns 87 today, his investment firm Berkshire Hathaway Inc has become the single-largest shareholder in Bank of America - the second-biggest bank in the U.S. The billionaire turns 87 on Wednesday. Buffett has run the Omaha, Nebraska-based conglomerate since 1965. If you were to invest $1,000 in Berkshire every year since 1964, your total investment would be worth a little over $111 million today.
Although Mania maintains a "Mostly Positive" user review average on Steam, all 10 reviews displayed on the main Steam store page-those voted by other users as the most helpful-are negative ones, citing the use of Denuvo. One of the developers working on Sonic Mania , who goes by the name " Stealth ", then commented on Sega's forum post, saying: "would you mind terribly updating the wording of your post so it doesn't look like you're trying to imply that the Mania development team are ...
KitGuru Says: There is some "he said, she said" going on here but when it comes down to it, Sonic Mania is still an excellent game and the development team should be proud of it. As reported over on Ars Technica, users attempting to play the game in offline mode will be met with an error message informing that they must be logged on and connected to the Internet in order to play the game.
Samsung sees the Gear Sport as something you'll wear long after your workout ends, thus the ability to swap out a more functional silicon strap for something more fashionable. Most of the specs are the same as for the Gear Sport , barring the 30% lighter weight, less RAM and different form factor that occupies a lot less space on your wrist.
It will be available in "late October". With Google's expansion, Amazon's Echo lineup continuing to grow, and Apple is set to release the HomePod later this year, so we're now forced to pick a speaker - and potentially appliances - that are compatible with not only our smartphones but the digital assistants found on each one.
Xiaomi Mi Mix 2 was earlier speculated to launch on September 12, the same day Apple plans to make the iPhone 8 official in California. The image on the invite also shows a device with nearly no bezels around. The Mi MIX came with a 6.4-inch panel, and it's quite possible that the Mi MIX 2's panel will be larger than 6 inches as well. Simultaneously, Xiaomi India's Vice President and Managing Director, Manu Jain took to Twitter to share his excitement about the Mi Mix 2.
The latest Continental GT will reach 0-60 miles per hour in 3.6 seconds and has a top speed of 207 miles per hour. "The Continental GT encapsulates our desire to innovate as well as celebrate our heritage and is the pinnacle of our design and engineering achievements marking the next step in Bentley's journey".
BlackBerry is no longer manufacturing smartphones on its own. BlackBerry's new smartphone will likely be a follow-up to TCL's DTEK 50 and DTEK 60 which it made before becoming the company's official manufacturer. In an interview, TCL's chief communications officer Francois Mahieu told Engadget that he believes iPhone and Samsung Galaxy users will "make the switch" once the newest BlackBerry is released in October 2017.
Pokemon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon Veteran Trainer's Dual Pack launches on Nintendo 3DS November 17, the same day as the game's standard editions, and is priced at $80. Yeah, that's definitely an anime move if I've ever seen one. You'll get the download code itself from the retailer in question, after which it's just a case of adding the Pokémon to your game.
According to a Mumbai-based retailer Mahesh Telecom, the smartphone has got a price cut and is now available for Rs 65,900. In case you don't remember; the Samsung Galaxy S5 Neo was launched back in 2015, featured with 5.1 inc Full HD sAMOLED display, powered by Exynos 7580 SoC under the Hood.
For the upcoming releases of Pokemon UltraSun/UltraMoon and Fire Emblem Warriors , Nintendo will have some limited edition releases that die-hard fans can purchase. In addition to the game, the premium package ($80) comes with three music CDs and 25 character art cards on 5x7 card stock, and a slip case to hold them.
Gary Hood told the Tuscaloosa News . The sheriff's statement said the victim wasn't cooperative with investigators who spoke to him at a Tuscaloosa hospital. Alabama football coach Nick Saban addressed the shooting at his Monday afternoon press conference. "While this does not appear to be a serious medical situation, Raekwon is still being evaluated".
As TechCrunch notes, the timing of the announcement suggests Sonos will release its new speaker ahead of Apple's HomePod , which isn't scheduled to arrive in Canada until after 2017. Even though Sonos is building its own speaker with smart capabilities, that does not mean that there will be yet another digital assistant. Sonos' speaker will reportedly feature support between multiple voice assistants, according to the FCC filing, which would make it by far the most flexible of the current ...
In another key development, Dell has announced numerous crucial updates to its XPS (XPS 13) and Inspiron systems. Moving on to the Inspiron 5000 series laptops, the 13-inch and 15-inch variants of the 2-in-1 laptop will be receiving the new eighth generation Intel Core processors.
Swift was called a snake when she broke up with Calvin Harris . News, Perry never expected to share the stage with Swift . So, let's break down this video's references to the Taylor Swift universe, scene-by-scene. Thanks to the endless whir of the hype machine and Swift's megastar status, the video is already breaking records-including a massive one previously set by Adele's smoky "Hello".
Xiaomi's Redmi 4A was first seen in November 2016 in China. The Redmi 4A variant with 3GB RAM and 32GB built-in storage will be made available at a price of Rs. The Redmi 4A also supports dual apps feature, allowing you to have two WhatsApp accounts on one device. The rear camera is a 13 MP unit with PDAF and an f/2.2 aperture.
Donkey King: Tipping Stars where the Miiverse had players earning additional stars. Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Tipping Stars (Wii U, Nintendo 3DS): While users will still be able to play Mario vs. Update: Nintendo has released a FAQ on their USA website detailing what will happen with a few first-party games after Miiverse shuts down . Super Smash Bros.
Cintas Corporation now has $14.01 billion valuation. MSFT reported a change of 0.94% over the last week and performed -0.29% over the last month while its year to date (YTD) performance revealed an activity trend of 17.20%. As per Tuesday, April 26, the company rating was initiated by Macquarie Research. Vetr downgraded it to "Strong-Buy" rating and $47.76 target in Thursday, August 27 report.
This is likely there for the sake of the Apple Watch companion app. "By combining Accenture's vast digital capabilities and industry expertise with Apple's market leadership in creating products that delight customers, we are in a ideal position to help our clients transform the way they work".
Another notable change that's soon set to debut in YouTube will strive to better utilize the area below the video player in an effort to allow you to discover new content in more ways, the company said . Earlier this year, YouTube introduced a major redesign of its desktop website which delivered a cleaner look and new features like a " dark mode " for nighttime watching.
It will apparently support multiple music platforms like existing devices and also multiple voice platforms, which sounds interesting. Sonos has lagged behind its rivals in bringing a voice-activated speaker to market, but support for different voice platforms could give the company the edge over its rivals, whose speakers only support the voice assistants of their manufacturers.
Amazon said on Tuesday that its Amazon Echo units can now serve as a multi-room speaker system. For devices that haven't developed their own way to do this, Amazon has also rolled out the Multi-Room Music software development kit (SDK). For instance, you could play your music on a couple of Echos and a set of standalone speakers at the same time. LG has already been pairing its products with smart voice activated devices for the past few years, through open platform and partnership ...
As the automotive industry goes more and more insane for hybrid power to help meet fuel economy goals and to lure in buyers who want to be green, even sports vehicle makers are going hybrid. "A 4x4 needs to be big, it needs to convey safety and security and yet it also needs to be easy to get in and out of". "Some very special customers have seen the vehicle to help guide our thoughts and provide feedback", said Palmer.
By late Monday, neither Uber nor its board members had publicly announced their selection of Khosrowshahi . Uber's long search appears to be over after parting ways with former CEO and co-founder Travis Kalanick . That person also didn't want to be identified because board discussions are supposed to be private. Expedia is part of Barry Diller's IAC $40 billion empire, which holds control of eight public companies, including Match Group, TripAdvisor, HSN, Tree, Interval, and Live ...
Luther and her family were without electricity for several days when Red Cross workers showed up with food and supplies. Their primary goal is to make sure people have a safe place to stay, have medical care and food, but this situation is still unfolding and they expect to have volunteers there for weeks or even longer.
In addition, the new wheels can also be specified in Jet Black for a more aggressive finish. Previously serving as its entry-level variant, the 60Ah version of the i3 will no longer be manufactured following this mid-life update - or Life Cycle Impulse (LCI) in BMW language.
Lenovo-owned Moto brand has been launching budget devices one after the other in a bid to create a name for itself in the mid-range segment and has been fairly successful in doing so with its Moto G5 and Moto E4 devices that were launched earlier this year.
Some say that she based the decision on the Microsoft system the department already uses for its video surveillance system at one of its main headquarters. The slow death of Windows Phone continues. NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton made it clear at the time the original decision was made that it was Tisch's responsibility.
This will hopefully kickstart the first of many new prospects that the company has lined for the next year. The overall build quality of the Dell's Mixed Reality device feels better than the other OEM's. For instance, the headsets start at $299. In addition to lowering the price of a headset, Microsoft is setting new price lows for its companion PCs.


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Ford has reported better than expected financial results for the third quarter on strong US demand for its trucks. The company posted net income of USD2.4bn and an adjusted EBIT of USD3.6bn (versus USD1.8bn Q3 2019), and an adjusted EBIT margin of 9.7%, led by North America at 12.5%.
Ford also said it now expects positive full-year 2020 adjusted EBIT, although the fourth quarter is likely to see a reversal (break-even at best).
The results were seen as a boost for new CEO Jim Farley. “We know that there’s huge value to be unlocked as we turn around our automotive operations,” said Jim Farley. “There will be additional opportunity when we start growing again, which we will do with products and services customers can’t resist.”
Ford generated USD6.3bn in adjusted free cash flow during the third quarter, helped, as expected, by a US$4bn rebuild of supplier payables as vehicle production reached pre-pandemic levels. The company ended the period with cash of nearly USD30bn and total liquidity of more than USD45bn after fully repaying USD15bn in revolving credit drawn down in Q1 to maintain financial flexibility in the early days of the pandemic.
“Challenges from the coronavirus were real and some risks still linger,” said John Lawler, Ford’s CFO. “Throughout the pandemic, we’ve prioritized the safety of our people, the needs of our customers and the strength of our balance sheet, and that helped us post a solid quarter.”
In North America, Ford’s automotive business gained one point of market share, Ford said. North America was the region that delivered profit for Ford in Q3 with a bumper EBIT of USD$3.2bn. Europe posted an EBIT deficit of USD440m, South America’s deficit was USD108m, while China’s loss narrowed (versus Q2 USD136m) to USD58m.
Ford said its Europe business continued to derive benefits from its restructuring program, with a cumulative $1 billion reduction in structural costs since 2018. However, Europe performance was dented by problems with the Kuga PHEV rollout. Ford said the regional business would have been profitable in the third quarter excluding effects associated with a supplier-quality issue (fires) with the new Kuga PHEV and expenses incurred for CO2 pooling (buying credits) to comply with EU emissions regulations.
CEO Farley said electric vehicles are fundamental to the company’s future across its lineup – including in commercial vehicles, and the Lincoln line. Ford will reveal a new, all-electric Transit van for global markets in November.
“By the end of the year, customers will be able to choose from 12 hybrid and fully electric vehicles around the globe and there is much more to come, including developing a complete EV ecosystem,” he said. “We intend to set Ford apart in EVs with capabilities that reach across our product portfolio, like an all-electric F-150 in 2022 that will be a rugged and affordable work pickup, not just a lifestyle vehicle.”
Ford anticipates fourth-quarter adjusted EBIT to be between break-even and a USD500 million loss, down from both the third quarter and year-ago period. Based on that Q4 guidance, the company now expects positive adjusted company EBIT for full-year 2020. The guidance assumes no meaningful change to the current economic environment, continued steady improvement in the stability of the global automotive supply base, and no significant post-Q3 pandemic-related disruptions to production or distribution.
In Q4 Ford expects temporarily lower wholesale shipments of F-150 – about 100,000 units – reflecting a ‘measured production ramp-up to assure a high-quality launch of the 2021 model’. There will also be sequentially higher structural and other costs related to manufacturing launches of Mustang Mach-E and Bronco Sport, advertising launch activities for new products, including the Bronco brand, higher material and other costs, and sequentially lower EBT from Ford Credit.


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Although the latest release from the Federal Reserve reported that the "economy is leveling off," data gathered and analyzed by the Mountain Travel Research Program (MTRiP), revealed a slightly different picture in its most recent Monitor. "Neither MTRiP's national economic indicators or the mountain travel indicators currently support the Feds claim," said Ralf Garrison, author of the monthly report. "At best, signals are mixed and positive indicators remain an exception to the rule."
As evidence of Garrison's assessment, the report pointed out that the Dow Jones Index rose 7.8 percent in July while the Consumer Confidence Index experienced a second consecutive monthly decline in July, down 5.5 percent. Another significant travel industry indicator is the Travel Price Index, which tracks costs associated with consumer and business travel and includes fuel prices, room rates, insurance costs, and activity and ticket purchases. It rose two percent in June for the fifth consecutive monthly increase and resulted in an 0.7 percent decline in consumer spending in July.
"Travel prices are 9.5 percent below 2008 levels according to MTRiP comparisons for the past several years, but consumers are showing little regard for year to year variance in price," observed Garrison. "It appears that if demand isn't there, price alone won't motivate travelers, regardless of the discount."
Looking back July's lodging business followed the winter pattern with low volume and occupancy down 13.3 percent compared to July 08 but was slightly better than June 09—down 14 percent. Room rates in July 09 were down 11.3 percent compared to last July. Reservations taken in July for arrivals in July-December were flat compared to reservations on the books last year for the same time period. Short lead bookings in July were very strong with bookings in July/for July up 30 percent compared to July 2008.
However, a downward trend was being experienced for long-lead advance bookings in November and December—those declines were offset by the last minute reservations in July/for July.
MTRiP's analysts noted that the local and regional business continued to fill-in for the weaker national and international business as it did last winter but "the market-driven shift became a self-fulfilling prophecy as destinations moved marketing dollars and promotional efforts to closer, short-term, and more responsive markets."
"Overall, summer business (May–October) continues to show significant declines from last summer with only an incremental boost in July's short lead bookings to signal an improving market or more optimistic consumers," reported Garrison. "To combat the decline in visitors and to provide incentives to prospective guests, destinations continue to decrease rates from last year– up to 21 percent for next December," he added.
The MTRiP Monitor further notes that special events and occasions such as reunions and weddings are the most consistent travel segments, while business group and conference business is down the most. Bargain lodging, campgrounds, and roadside motels were relatively busy while destination condos, especially luxury units, were weakest.
However, Garrison is quick to point out that MTRiP data is an aggregation of a variety of western mountain destinations and does not include the significant differences in reservations among and between mountain resort communities. "The variances are considerable and noteworthy," he emphasizes. The report also cautioned individual destinations, and their businesses, to track their own results carefully since following overall market trends may be counterproductive in some communities.
"The leveling off suggested by the Federal Reserve would be welcome news," concluded Garrison. "From this point, getting reservations up to a flat comparison with last year is an important first step to recovery in time for the all important winter booking season."


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Reward offered in Vidor bridal store robbery
Published 8:45 am, Wednesday, March 19, 2014
Vidor business owners have banded together in support of one of their own who was the victim of a robbery last week.
The Vidor Merchant's Association is offering a $5,000 reward for information leading to the capture of two men who robbed Cindy's Bridal and Formal on Main Street.
"I've got so many friends," said Cindy's owner Johnnie Andrus of her business neighbors.
In the week since the robbery, Andrus said the police have been very attentive, with an officer coming by every day.
Vidor police detective James Blankenship said he wished the investigation was going better, but for now is following any leads the department receives.
Andrus, who has owned the store for 30 years, said she's also made some changes at the store to provide more security, including installing cameras and panic buttons.
More importantly, she said, she's working with the Vidor Police Department to give the many other women-owned businesses along Main Street some guidance on protecting themselves in similar situations.
"I've always had nice customers, which made me not doubt them," she said of the men who came in under the guise of being customers before robbing the store. "I didn't pay enough attention."
Anyone with information about the robbery is asked to call the Vidor Police Department at (409) 769-4561.


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PaxEx: Inside British Airways Refreshed ELEMIS Travel Spa
To further enhance premium passengers experience, British Airways Travel Spas have undergone an exciting enhancement this May with a stylish new look and an elevated treatment menu.
Renowned interior designer Kelly Hoppen MBE, has partnered with British Airways and ELEMIS to refresh the Heathrow Travel Spas, transforming the travel sanctuary with her trademark style.
All new soft furnishings including curtains, rugs, cushions and throws have been handpicked by Kelly for customers to enjoy as they relax and rejuvenate before, during and after they travel.
The ELEMIS spas have launched a new treatment menu with complimentary 15-minute treatments, including a muscle ease back massage and deep scalp massage, as well as ELEMIS BIOTEC add-ons promising greater benefits to skin, body and wellness.
The new treatment menu focuses on luxury skin and body care with personalised treatments for sleep, relaxation and mindfulness, while new state-of-the-art equipment has been installed in the spas to enhance the treatment menu and the customer experience.
Now in its 12th year, the ELEMIS British Airways Travel Spa partnership continues to offer British Airways customers the very best in innovative, personalised skin therapies.
The new-look spa and treatment menu is available for those flying in First and Club World, and Executive Club Gold Members flying long-haul at the airline’s luxurious ELEMIS Travel spas in Heathrow Terminal 5 and 3. JFK’s terminal 7 will benefit from the revamp later on in 2019.
The spa refresh comes as British Airways is investing £6.5 billion to improve its customer experience over the next five years, including new aircraft, new cabins, new catering, new lounges, WiFi, and new routes.


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How Vox Media slashed its webpage load time in half
Vox Media is slowly climbing out of its performance hole.
Vox’s sites have become synonymous with forward-thinking design and splashy article presentations, but it has paid less attention to how those sites actually perform. This year, though, its engineers started to look more closely at the numbers. What they saw wasn’t pretty. Vox’s seven sites took an average of more than 23 seconds to load, far longer than competing publishers such as Mashable and The Huffington Post. Vox’s engineers had declared “performance bankruptcy.”
A few months later, the situation has improved. Vox has managed to cut its sites’ average page load time to around 11.5 seconds, thanks to a combination of smaller and larger tweaks. The site even hired a pair of “performance engineers” to focus on the problem full-time. It also plans to hire a third, to be assigned to the advertising staff.
“We’d been aware for a while that as we were building these new sites, we were accruing plenty of technical and performance debt that we had to go back and fix,” said Dan Chilton, Vox Media’s front-end engineering director. “We were finding it hard to go back catch up on the issues we had left unsolved.”
Vox started with the low-hanging fruit that would yield the biggest improvements, said Chilton. Vox’s engineers streamlined how Vox’s sites handled their fonts, many of which were redundant and delivered inconsistently. Vox also implemented Google’s WebP image format, which promises to cut image size by up to 34 percent while not sacrificing quality. That tweak alone cut 500 milliseconds off page load time.
Vox Media isn’t alone in its focus on page performance. The Washington Post and GQ have also shortened their page load times. The issue has become a top priority for publishers as the sharp rise in mobile and social traffic has forced them to improve their sites for smartphone readers who have a lower tolerance for sluggish reading experiences. Slow load time on mobile is a formula for disaster.
“All sites are racing to fix this,” said Chilton. “We’re being judged not just by how many visitors we get, but also how fast our products are.”
But not everything is within publishers’ control. The average news site is jammed with a jumble of ad network tags and third-party plug-ins from the likes of Facebook and Twitter, which weigh down pages. Facebook has used publishers’ slow performance to pitch them on its Instant Articles, which Facebook says not only load fast but give publishers an advertising opportunity.
“As a publisher, you have control over fonts and images, but a lot is also coming from all those third parties. The challenge is piecing all of it together,” said Drit Suljoti, chief product officer at Catchpoint Systems, which monitors webpage performance.
Vox has attempted to take control of these third-party elements as well. It has experimented with replacing its Twitter count buttons with a generic version, which Chilton said is lighter and as effective as the former.
“We have control over what we’ve created, but we’re trying to be creative with what we don’t have control over,” he said.
Image courtesy of Shutterstock.
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Meta AI, which first debuted in September, also got a number of updates including ways to search for real-time information through integrations with Google and Bing.
The retail giant paired its insights unit Luminate with Walmart Connect to help suppliers optimize for customer consumption, just in time for the holidays, explained the company’s CRO Seth Dallaire.
In this week’s Digiday+ Research Briefing, we examine BuzzFeed’s plans to pivot the business to an AI-driven tech and media company, how marketers’ use of X and ad spending has dropped dramatically, and how agency executives are fed up with Meta’s ad platform bugs and overcharges, as seen in recent data from Digiday+ Research.


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Jeff Borysiewicz, owner of Florida cigar stores Corona Cigar, is the force behind the effort. He says that the premium cigar industry is made up primarily of small retail business owners who would be severely hurt by such regulation, and says the opposition is dominated by massive anti-tobacco groups.
"We feel like we're a liquor store that's open for business just before prohibition came around. We feel like we're on the cusp of that, unless Congress takes action," Borysiewicz says. "It's a very small industry and unfortunately we're having to deal with the federal government and get involved with politics."
And just how are they getting involved? By creating a hybrid PAC. A group of business owners formed the Puro PAC in December 2011.
Hybrid PACs are two-in-one deals. They are a combination of a traditional PAC that accepts money for candidates, and a super PAC that can take unlimited dollars to make independent expenditures and offset operating costs.
"Everybody that contributes to the PAC, these are individual business people that would much rather be putting their money into their families and businesses than into Washington, D.C.," Borysiewicz says.
Puro PAC has contributed $2,000 to Republican Rep. Bill Posey of Florida, who is the main sponsor of H.R. 1639. The bill has 208 cosponsors and is sitting in the House Energy and Commerce health subcommittee.
Borysiewicz argues that premium cigars aren't bought by children and smoking them is "a lifestyle choice." But it's not just anti-tobacco groups that oppose the bill. Domestic cigar manufacturers and sellers point out that most premium cigars are imported, so preventing restrictions on them puts domestic products on an uneven playing field.
"We understand this Congress is all about 'Make It In America,' and protecting American jobs, but they put domestic manufacturers at a distinct disadvantage if they exempt a majority of imported cigars [from regulations]," says Joe Augustus, senior vice president of external affairs for Swisher International, a major domestic cigar company that also exports products to other countries.
So while Borysiewicz and other premium cigar retailers are busy ramping up support on the Hill for their cause, Augustus and others from the domestic cigar industry are meeting with consponsors of the proposed bills and "trying to get the facts out to them with what we believe is a more accurate assessment of the industry," Augustus says.
Swisher has a PAC, too, although they lag behind Puro's efforts. They've raised $140,015 this cycle and contributed $48,500 to eight House members and nine senators -- 90 percent of whom are Republicans.
Photo: Smoke curls around a cigar as a smoker enjoys a cigar at a shop in Richmond, Va., June 20, 2012. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)
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Palm Beach, FL – October 20, 2021 – FinancialNewsMedia.com News Commentary – Programmatic advertising refers to the automated buying and selling of digital ad space. In contrast to manual advertising, which relies on human interaction and negotiation between publishers and marketers, programmatic ad buying harnesses technology to purchase digital display space. This use of software and algorithms helps streamline ad buying processes, which is why programmatic has become one of the most indispensable digital marketing tools worldwide. According to a report from Statista, in 2020, global programmatic ad spend reached an estimated 129 billion U.S. dollars, with spending set to surpass 150 billion by 2021. The United States remains the leading programmatic advertising market worldwide, but marketers from countries such as China or the UK also embrace the benefits of programmatic buying more vividly than ever. The report said: “In today’s competitive advertising landscape, marketers use programmatic advertising and automation solutions to target audiences based on user data. According to the latest forecasts, the marketing automation software market is on track to reach 17 billion U.S. dollars by 2025, with revenues set to increase almost threefold compared to 2019. Hubspot, Adobe Marketing Cloud, and Oracle Marketing are among the leading marketing automation solution providers worldwide, accounting for a combined market share of almost 50 percent. Other household brands that are particularly popular among advertising publishers include Google Ad Manager, Amazon Publisher Services, and OpenX, which were named the most used supply-side platforms (SSPs) to manage ad inventory in 2020. Active Companies in the markets today include Grove, Inc. (NASDAQ: GRVI), Magnite (MGNI), PubMatic, Inc. (NASDAQ: PUBM), The Trade Desk (NASDAQ: TTD), Rubicon Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ: RBCN).
Statista continued: “Display advertising has arguably experienced the most significant transformation following the programmatic revolution. In 2020, global spending on programmatic display advertising rose to 126 billion U.S. dollars, representing almost 70 percent of total display advertising expenditure. In developed digital markets such as the United Kingdom and the United States, programmatic’a share of display ad spend even exceeded 80 percent that year.”
Grove, Inc. (NASDAQ: GRVI) BREAKING NEWS: Grove Inc. Closes Acquisition of Programmatic Advertising Company Interactive Offers – Grove, Inc. (“Grove” or the “Company”) has completed its previously announced acquisition of Florida based advertising company Interactive Offers. Interactive Offers and it’s SaaS programmatic advertising platform has served the tech space with great success over the last several years. Interactive Offers current revenue projection of $10-12 million for 2022 provides Grove with a solid entry into the Programmatic Ad space and adds a unique in-house advertising platform to leverage and scale its current and future brands.
The closing of the acquisition comes on the back of Grove’s launch of Upexi, it’s new Amazon aggregation division. Interactive Offers’ ad platform is seen as a key asset in this division as sellers will be able to access the platform to drive further product sales, growth, and advertising efficiencies. Grove
Allan Marshall, Chief Executive Officer of Grove stated, “The technology is set up and designed for ease of use and efficiencies in deliverability and reporting across email, native ads, and display. It not only fills a void for our brands but gives all of our clients a unique ad platform that they can take advantage of immediately. With the new revenue stream from our Adtech Technology division, we will look to grow our Programmatic revenues while growing our current brands and additional brands we acquire in the future. The platform is another service available to our clients helping them grow their business and growing the advertising vertical itself.” CONTINUED… For more information about Grove, Inc, please visit https://groveinc.io/investor-relations/.
Other recent developments in the markets include:
Magnite (MGNI), the world’s largest independent sell-side advertising platform, recently announced the acquisition of SpringServe, a leading ad serving platform for connected TV (CTV).
SpringServe’s technology manages multiple aspects of video advertising for CTV publishers such as inventory routing, customized ad experiences, and advanced podding logic. A tight technical integration between ad serving and programmatic capabilities reduces complexity, improves inventory management between multiple parties, enhances functionality, and can reduce costs.
The purchase price was approximately $31 million (net of a prior $2 million investment and subject to adjustments), pursuant to a previously negotiated option agreement that Magnite secured as part of its acquisition of SpotX in April. Last year, SpotX made a minority investment in SpringServe in conjunction with a strategic partnership agreement between the two companies.
PubMatic, Inc. (NASDAQ: PUBM) and Nielsen announced recently that Nielson’s audience data is now available through ubMatic’s Adience Encore, permitting advertisers to buy premium omnichannel inventory layered with quality data for precision targeting and better performance.
Brands can benefit from PubMatic’s extensive reach, enabling advertisers to engage audiences wherever they may be across all digital channels. Through this collaboration, brands may now access Nielsen’s premium audience data, along with insights into consumer behaviour, preferences, and purchasing decisions. Nielsen’s rich audience data has a unique breadth and depth and includes proprietary fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) data, credit card transaction data, psychographic data, intent, and interest data.
The Trade Desk (NASDAQ: TTD), a Global advertising technology leader, recently announced the launch of its new trading platform – Solimar – that will help marketers optimize their digital advertising campaigns across the open internet. Designed in response to a rapidly evolving digital marketing environment, Solimar enables marketers to unleash the power of their valuable first-party data, drive greater precision in their digital marketing campaigns, while advancing consumer-conscious privacy.
The result of more than two years of product development, Solimar addresses key concerns for today’s marketers, including easy and secure onboarding of first-party data; the need to connect marketing performance to business growth goals; an increasingly cross channel digital media environment including the fast growing world of CTV; and a rising focus on digital identity.
Rubicon Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ: RBCN) announced recently that it has entered into an amendment to extend its Section 382 Rights Agreement (the “Rights Agreement”). The Rights Agreement was entered into in an effort to preserve stockholder value by protecting against a possible limitation on the Company’s ability to use its net operating loss carry-forwards, which for U.S. federal income tax purposes were estimated at approximately $188.1 million as of December 31, 2019.
The Rights Agreement was originally entered into in December 2017 and was scheduled to expire on December 18, 2020. The amendment, which has been unanimously approved by the Board of Directors and was approved by stockholders at the Company’s 2020 Annual Meeting, extends the final expiration date of the Rights Agreement to December 18, 2023. Except for the extension of the final expiration date, the Rights Agreement otherwise remains unmodified.
DISCLAIMER: FN Media Group LLC (FNM), which owns and operates FinancialNewsMedia.com and MarketNewsUpdates.com, is a third party publisher and news dissemination service provider, which disseminates electronic information through multiple online media channels. FNM is NOT affiliated in any manner with any company mentioned herein. FNM and its affiliated companies are a news dissemination solutions provider and are NOT a registered broker/dealer/analyst/adviser, holds no investment licenses and may NOT sell, offer to sell or offer to buy any security. FNM’s market updates, news alerts and corporate profiles are NOT a solicitation or recommendation to buy, sell or hold securities. The material in this release is intended to be strictly informational and is NEVER to be construed or interpreted as research material. All readers are strongly urged to perform research and due diligence on their own and consult =a licensed financial professional before considering any level of investing in stocks. All material included herein is republished content and details which were previously disseminated by the companies mentioned in this release. FNM is not liable for any investment decisions by its readers or subscribers. Investors are cautioned that they may lose all or a portion of their investment when investing in stocks. For current services performed FNM has been compensated twenty six hundred dollars for news coverage of the current press releases issued by Grove, Inc. by a non-affiliated third party. FNM HOLDS NO SHARES OF ANY COMPANY NAMED IN THIS RELEASE.
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Nintendo has appointed ex-Pokémon boss Tatsumi Kimishima as its new president following the tragic death of Satoru Iwata in July, the firm said on Monday.
Kimishima comes from a business rather than gaming background, unlike Iwata who was the face of the company for 13 years and famously said in his keynote at the Game Developers Conference in 2005:
"On my business card, I am a corporate president. In my mind, I am a game developer. But in my heart, I am a gamer."
Kimishima previously worked at Pokémon before becoming the CEO of Nintendo America from 2002 and 2006. He notably oversaw the introduction of the Wii console. More recently he was in charge of Nintendo’s Human Resources Division.
He will be the fifth person to hold the post in Nintendo’s 125 years history after Iwata’s death from bile duct cancer earlier this year.
“We aim to strengthen and enhance the management structure of the company following President Satoru Iwata’s passing on July ,” the company said on Monday.
Kimishima will be in charge as representative director as of September 16. He beat a widely-tipped candidate for the job, the Mario creator and acting CEO Shigeru Miyamoto. Miyamoto and fellow CEO Genyo Takeda have been appointed creative fellow and technology fellow, respectively.
His nomination comes as Nintendo is going through a difficult time. Revenue has been falling for six years straight, dropping to 550 billion yen ($4.6 billion) in the 12 months ended March 2015, according to Bloomberg.
The company is also set to release its first game service for smartphones this year, while preparing a new console code-named NX.Reuse content


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BEIJING, China — Microsoft Research Asia. The Uber of China. Tsinghua University. And, some incredible Peking duck.
It’s been a busy past few days in Beijing, where I arrived late Sunday night after riding for five hours on a 186 MPH bullet train from Shanghai.
This week, I’ve been hopping around the nation’s capital during the second part of my GeekWire China trip, which started last week in Shanghai and took me to places like Alibaba and some awesome dumpling joints.
In Beijing, I’ve been fortunate to interview some of the top minds and innovators in this city — people like Microsoft Research Asia Managing Director Dr. Hsiao-Wuen Hon, a 20-year veteran of the tech giant who leads Microsoft’s strategy for research and development in the Asia-Pacific region.
Or, people like Dr. Shi Yuanchun and Dr. Qing-Shan Jia, two accomplished professors at one of China’s top universities that are leading the charge for the Global Innovation Exchange Institute (GIX), a new technology institute based in Bellevue, Wash., created by Seattle’s University of Washington and China’s Tsinghua University with the initial help of $40 million from Microsoft.
Or, people like Bob Zhang, the founding CTO of Didi Kuaidi, China’s largest ride-hailing company that recently invested $100 million in Lyft and is headquartered in a Silicon Valley-like area of Beijing.
My mind is swirling with all the fascinating and inspiring conversations I’ve had over the past week.
I’ll have more details from each of my interviews and meetings in the coming days, but for now, here’s a quick recap of the past five days here in China, including my experience with some of the food options and transportation services here. You can also hear about my travels in this latest GeekWire podcast.
Friday, Nov. 13
Before I arrived in Beijing, I spent a good chunk of Friday at the first-ever University of Washington Innovation Summit, a four-hour long event at a hotel in downtown Shanghai that included a conference and breakout sessions featuring presentations and discussions with some of the UW’s top innovators.
There was an impressive list of speakers from both China and Seattle, all of which had some connection to the UW. As a Husky alum myself, it was cool to be around so many accomplished Huskies — in Shanghai of all places.
The event itself was all about innovations — many of which are coming out of the University of Washington — and how those are helping solve the world’s problems. It was also a time to celebrate GIX, which is all about using a curriculum specifically designed to educate future entrepreneurs and innovators.
UW President Ana Mari Cauce and former Washington governor (and UW graduate) Christine Gregoire made opening remarks, and Microsoft’s China President Ralph Haupter also gave a short talk on how the tech giant is helping encourage more innovation, particularly with its support of GIX.
Other speakers included people well-known in the Seattle startup community with ties to the UW like computer science professor Shwetak Patel, a former GeekWire Newsmaker of the Year and co-founder of connected home startup SNUPI, and Adina Mangubat, a two-time nominee for GeekWire Young Entrepreneur of the Year and CEO of Spiral Genetics. Both talked about their work and research.
Also at the event were Gina Neff, an associate professor of communication who spoke about “data empathy,” and Ben Waters, a Ph.D. candidate in electrical engineering and CEO of WiBotic Inc. who discussed his work with wireless technology.
Saturday, Nov. 14
I spent most of Saturday at the first-ever regular season basketball game — NBA or NCAA — to be played in China. The UW ended up beating Texas, 77-71, in a game that was not only exciting, but historic.
See more photos and read my recap of the game here.
After the game, I had a chance to check out the incredible view from The Bund in Shanghai and try some street food.
Sunday, Nov. 15
Sunday was mostly a travel day, as I took a speedy bullet train 750 miles north to Beijing. But before leaving, I met up with my roommate from freshman year, Victor, who happened to be traveling in Shanghai on business at the exact same time — so random, but so awesome.
After eating some soup and dumplings, Victor and I ventured into one of Shanghai’s “fake” markets where you can buy brand-name watches, purses, basketball jerseys, suitcases, shoes, and a whole lot more that look real on the outside but are actually not authentic.
There was even fake software being sold.
My bullet train ride was smooth and I sat next to a neurologist who was in Shanghai for the weekend doing work. Having spent a year at the University of British Columbia, her English was pretty good and we talked all about the differences between the U.S. and China. To stay in touch, we exchanged contact info on — of course — WeChat.
Five hours later, I arrived in Beijing. Immediately, I noticed how much cooler it was than in Shanghai. I took a few subway rides and eventually arrived at my hotel, ready to explore a new city in China.
Monday, Nov. 16
Monday was all about Tsinghua University and Microsoft Research.
After grabbing a quick bite at my hotel, I jumped on a few subway lines and made it to the Wudaokou area of Beijing where Tsinghua’s campus is located.
As I made the 15-minute walk to the university, I noticed that my eyes were starting to get dry and that more mucus was in my throat than usual. Perhaps I was getting a little sick, but the more likely cause was the air quality in Beijing, which is worse than in Shanghai.
However, I’ve been told that this week has been pretty good for Beijing pollution standards. Still, you can’t see much beyond a mile in this city.
On my way to Tsinghua, street food vendors were cooking up a storm for those looking to eat breakfast on-the-go.
I also noticed Google’s office on my walk.
I finally arrived at Tsinghua’s massive campus and found the “Future Internet Technology Research Center.” Inside a small office, I met with Dr. Shi Yuanchun, a top computer science professor and the dean of GIX, as well as Dr. Qing-Shan Jia, a PhD who is helping create the curriculum and coordinate the framework of GIX.
I came away from our interview feeling somewhat inspired, having just spoken with some of the smartest people at one of the top research universities not only in China, but the world. We talked about why Tsinghua partnered with the UW and how it plans to educate tomorrow’s innovators at GIX to create companies that really help fix problems and make a real impact on the world. I’ll post more from our conversation later on GeekWire.
Afterward, I spent an hour or so walking around Tsinghua’s campus, which is really beautiful. It reminded me a lot of the UW — there are many tranquil areas where you can enjoy nature and meditate, but just a stone’s throw away, you’re weaving your way around packs of university students scurrying to their next class or back to their dormitories. I’ll post more photos from the campus in the coming days, but here’s a sneak peek:
I also noticed this Amazon delivery driver on campus.
After racking up several hundred steps at Tsinghua — I set a new record on Monday with 39,000-plus steps — I hopped on the subway again for yet another inspiring and interesting visit, this time at the headquarters of Microsoft Research Asia.
I spent a good three hours at the building, located in one of Beijing’s more high-tech neighborhoods. Founded in 1998, Microsoft Research Asia is the company’s main research facility in the Asia Pacific region and houses more than 250 researchers and developers, along with thousands of other Microsoft employees.
There is a bevy of Microsoft research conducted in Beijing, ranging from topics like natural user interfaces, next-generation multimedia, data-intensive computing, search and online advertising, and computer science fundamentals. More than 360 technologies from the lab have been transferred to Microsoft products, including Office, Windows, Azure, Bing, Visual Studio, Xbox Kinect, Windows Phone, Cortana and Skype Translator.
I sat down with Microsoft Research Asia Managing Director Dr. Hsiao-Wuen Hon, a corporate vice president of Microsoft and chairman of Microsoft’s Asia-Pacific R&D Group. Hon discussed everything from how his team has changed focus since Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella took over, to Xiaoice, a new artificial intelligence product that Microsoft has rolled out in China and Japan.
Hon has been with Microsoft for 20 years, so it was really cool to hear all the insights he had to share, including those on the future of China’s technology ecosystem. Definitely look forward to our conversation on GeekWire soon.
After our chat, I visited Microsoft’s new visitor center, where the company invites government employees, business partners, university researchers, and many more to learn more about new innovations that Microsoft is developing. I was shown everything from smart refrigerators to new technology that helps curb pollution and traffic in big cities.
Before the day ended, I spent a fun couple of hours with Matt Conger, the CEO of a new startup that provides interpreters on demand called SeekPanda. We stopped at a few bars that were embedded in skinny alleyways, a common theme of Beijing, which feels a lot more of traditional China than Shanghai, which felt more like an international metropolis — though, Beijing is very much an international city, too.
We also ran into the Chinese version of Trader Joe’s.
Tuesday, Nov. 17
On Tuesday, I started my day meeting up with Hunter Lin, CEO and co-founder of an interesting real estate startup called BeiMeiGouFang, also known as North America Real Estate Investment Group Inc.
NAREIG connects high-net-worth real estate investors in China who are interested in buying U.S.-based properties. Lin described the company as somewhat like Seattle-based Redfin, given that the startup features listings on its own site and has its own agents in four U.S. cities that help Chinese people invest in real estate abroad.
After meeting Lin, I spent a few hours at the headquarters of Didi Kuaidi, one of the fastest-growing technology companies in China valued at $15 billion that helps connect taxis and private cars with those needing a ride.
While there I met with Bob Zhang, the founding CTO of Didi. We covered a number of topics and discussed how Didi is competing with Uber, why the company invested $100 million in Lyft, and what it was like merging with Kuadi after founding Didi just three years prior.
The last topic is an interesting case study into mergers, particularly since Didi and Kuadi were previously direct competitors and both were founded less than five years ago.
Part of the incentive to team up is undoubtedly because both companies — which count Chinese tech giants Alibaba and Tencent as investors — feel pressure from other competitors. Though Didi Kuaidi may be considered the “Uber of China,” it is now facing competition from Uber itself, which is not operating in nearly as many cities, but is nonetheless expanding rapidly throughout China.
In a recent Forbes story, the business news site described Uber as Didi Kuaidi’s “mortal enemy.” It will be interesting to watch the two companies battle over market share in China. Uber CEO Travis Kalanick has made it pretty clear that the country is an important priority for his company.
“You’re not going to find a country with 80-plus cities over five million people anywhere else,” Kalanick told The Wall Street Journal earlier this year. “The vastness of the opportunities really isn’t matched in any other market.”
I also noticed another Amazon delivery driver outside of Didi’s office.
For dinner on Tuesday, I enjoyed one of my favorite meals of this trip, and actually one of my favorite meals of all-time, probably. I met up with a friend who recommended I try Peking Duck, a famous duck dish in Beijing.
While we had a number of other mouth-watering dishes, including beef, shrimp, and pork, the duck was the highlight. It’s cooked a very specific way in Beijing and specially sliced right near your table by the cook. You can prepare your own “duck-wraps” using a thin pancake as the wrap that holds together an excellent combination of cucumbers, scallions, plum sauce, and more — with, of course, the succulent duck meat. You can also take the duck skin and lather it with sugar before experiencing a flavor explosion in your mouth.
The restaurant also sat right next to Beijing’s Forbidden City.
I’ve got a few more meetings scheduled in Beijing and will try to sightsee a bit before returning back to Seattle later this week. It has been an amazing trip to China that has given me an incredible amount of perspective, both related to technology and innovation in this country, as well as the culture itself. I’ll be posting more in-depth pieces from my conversations here, so look forward to those.


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Buckaroo provides a payment link that can be used in Reazon’s order-to-cash software when users send invoices and payment reminders. The added functionality via a payment link makes the order-to-cash process more efficient.
Buckaroo is payment solutions provider in the Netherlands that specialises in credit management solutions, subscription services, and e-commerce payments. Reazon is an emerging Dutch fintech that assists organisations in digitising credit management processes and provides order-to-cash software.
Michael Daniel Brouwer, CEO of Reazon, locates the partnership in the increasing need for digitisation in the financial industry. He indicated that because of this need, working with Buckaroo was a “logical step”.
Since consumers are demanding simple, streamlined payment solutions, the two companies saw an opportunity to provide such a solution. Jeroen Jungerius, a business executive at Buckaroo spoke on this matter saying:
“With a payment link in the mail, payment will be a matter of a push of a button. The debtor does not have to take payment details. For example, paying an invoice is not only low-threshold, but there is also less chance of errors.”
Read more about Reazon in our Member Spotlight.


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Carsten Snejbjerg/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Anders Colding Friis, chief executive officer of Pandora AS, poses for a photograph in his office at the company’s headquarters in Copenhagen, Denmark, on Monday, July 9, 2018. Pandora designs, manufactures, markets, and distributes hand finished and modern jewelry made from primarily sterling silver, gold, and precious and semi-precious stones.
Danish jewelry maker Pandora‘s chief executive, Anders Colding Friis, is stepping down, the firm said on Thursday, just days after warning of lower sales and profit margins this year.
Shares in Pandora, known for its silver charm bracelets, have plunged by more than a fifth since the company lowered its sales and profit margin guidance for this year and announced plans to cut almost 400 jobs on Monday.
Pandora confirmed preliminary second-quarter sales of 4.8 billion crowns and an EBITDA margin of 31.1 percent released on Monday in connection with the profit warning.
Like-for-like sales growth in the second quarter was down 1 percent compared to a 5 percent decrease in the previous quarter.
The quarterly results were below its expectations partly due to a weak development in the charms category, it said in a statement.
It acknowledged that the strategy it launched in January, aimed at rectifying a lack of innovation and weak growth in key markets, was not progressing as fast as expected.
“We still believe in our strategy towards 2022, but we have realized that we have been too optimistic on the speed of the impact from new products,” said Friis, the outgoing chief executive.
Pandora said in January it would target an EBITDA margin of 35 percent in 2018-2022 and expects sales to increase by 7-10 percent per year in the period.
Late on Monday, it slashed its 2018 sales growth outlook to 4-7 percent, and its EBITDA margin outlook for the year to around 32 percent.


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December 11, 2017
NEXUS INVESTMENTS – The Florida Angel Nexus (NEXUS) supports a growing community of accredited investors, funds, trusts and family offices interested in the early-stage venture asset class and investing in businesses scaling quickly in Florida. In the past year, NEXUS members have invested $5.5 million, which compares favorably to the $11 million invested since 2013. NEXUS is looking for great companies that are raising capital, and investors interested in funding Florida companies. To learn more, visit www.floridaangelnexus.com.
2018 VENTURE CAPITAL CONFERENCE – The Florida Venture Forum and the Venture Education Foundation are calling for growth-stage companies to apply to present at the 2018 Florida Venture Capital Conference Jan. 30-31, 2018. The conference is one of the largest gatherings of venture capitalists and investors in the Southeast. It features panel discussions, speakers and presentations by some of Florida's fastest growing private companies. Presenting companies meeting designated criteria will also compete for the Accelerating Innovation (AI) Award offered by Space Florida. The AI Award offers a cash prize totaling $100,000 to eligible Florida companies and companies seeking to relocate or establish a presence in Florida. The final application deadline is Dec. 20. To learn more, visit http://www.flventure.org/.
READY TO EXPORT? LEARN FROM THE EXPERTS! – What do you do when you know that international sales can help your company grow, but aren’t sure which countries are ideal for your export strategy? Thanks to a new video series from the U.S. Commercial Service, you can take the first step in finding the right market. By learning from the experts through viewing short four-to-six- minute videos on each country, you’ll get an overview of top U.S. export markets and insight from in-country trade experts at U.S. embassies and consulates. From decades of experience, the U.S. Commercial Service has found that many new-to-exporting businesses consider Canada, Mexico, United Kingdom, Germany and Australia as potential markets. They are geographically closer to the U.S. or may offer more transparency and ease of doing business. After watching the videos, you can learn more from available Country Commercial Guides that provide economic overviews and insights into industry opportunities, selling techniques, trade financing and business travel. Choose a video to watch now by going to https://tinyurl.com/ycus59wj.
REPUBLIC PARKING ‘THANKS AGAIN’ PROGRAM AVAILABLE AT DAB – Republic Parking System and Thanks Again have joined forces to offer airport customers valuable rewards; the program includes Daytona Beach International Airport (DAB). You can earn frequent flyer miles whenever you park at a Republic Parking System airport. For information and to register, visit https://thanksagain.com.
2016 CONSUMER TECHNOLOGY AD SPENDING – According to data from Kantar Media and the Ad Age Datacenter, U.S. advertising spending in consumer technology products totaled $14.2 billion in 2016. At $5.4 billion, U.S. measured media ad spending was dominated by the wireless communications industry segment. The computers, printers, tablets and accessories segment came in second at $2.9 billion. Rounding out the top five were cable/satellite communications at $1.3 billion, gaming at $1 billion, and the home entertainment electronics segment at $638 billion in spending. Despite the comings and goings of consumer technology products, overall ad spending levels have remained relatively constant -- averaging $14.8 billion from 2012 to 2016. With a combined 2016 total of over $3.9 billion, the top three consumer tech advertisers were AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile U.S.
SIMPLIFYING SOCIAL MEDIA FOR SOLOPRENEURS – Social media might be the last thing on the minds of time-strapped solopreneurs or freelancers. But with a well-planned strategy, even the self-employed can make the most of these powerful and free marketing tools. On that topic, SCORE is offering a free webinar featuring Donna Amos, founder of the Solopreneur Solutions agency, who will share what she has learned while working with hundreds of clients. This one-hour webinar can help businesses of all sizes that need time-saving social media tips. Participants can expect to learn about social media platforms, how to get the most out of social media activities, and how to align social goals to business goals. To register, visit https://tinyurl.com/y9m72u2v.
DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES AND SUPPLY-CHAIN IMPROVEMENTS – Companies combining digital applications with operational changes can yield significant industry supply chain performance improvements. However, despite a great deal of effort, relatively few have unlocked the full potential of digital technologies. An industry research study by global management consulting firm McKinsey and Company has found that the average supply chain had only a 43 percent level of digitization. This was the lowest among the business areas reviewed, including areas such as products and services, marketing, and business processes. Only 2 percent of surveyed executives were focusing digital strategies on their supply chain. This same research notes the disparity that, on average, companies that aggressively digitize their supply chains can expect to boost annual growth of earnings before interest and taxes by 3.2 percent—the largest increase from digitizing any business area. For more details, go to https://tinyurl.com/yc6jbffp.
NEWS ITEMS WANTED! - Please send your business news items to Joanne Magley, Volusia County Information Director, at email@example.com. If you wish to be removed from this weekly broadcast, please let us know.


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Shelly Miller and Teighla Norris decided to pursue their dream of opening a hair salon when their dream location became available. 102 North Williamson is located right on Elon University’s campus and is currently on its way to becoming a boutique salon called 102 North. The building is currently being renovated, but they plan on opening in early April.
Miller and Norris emphasized that being on Elon’s campus was a large part of their inspiration. They believe the location has a target market.
“I love the idea of the rotating students and people coming in and out and the changing of clients, even over the four years that they’re here,” Miller said. They even waited for this specific location to become available before choosing to open their salon. “It’s a perfect clientele market right here.”
Miller and Norris have both worked at numerous salons in the past and specialize in color and stylized hair cuts. “We like natural lived-in color, really natural highlights,” Miller said. “We both really care a lot about the integrity of the hair and the health of the hair.” They also plan on using products that are healthy for hair and the environment.
To ensure a “boutique” feel, the salon will be kept at minimal capacity. Miller and Norris plan on creating an open space with a minimalist, modern aesthetic. “We want to create the highest quality that we can give on every service,” Miller said. “We both want to work in a very laid back environment and do what we love without the craziness of busy salons, which are great too.”
They both felt the renovation was necessary to open up the space and create the right environment for the new salon. The goal is that “every person has a feel of their space,” said Miller. “We pushed the walls back just to have a little privacy back here.”
Additionally, the pair plans on offering very specific services when they first open. They will not be offering men’s cuts. They will be sticking to their art that they have studied and enjoy most. “We finally found our true passion and kind of color,” Norris said. “[We’re] not working just to be working.”
Along with their passion, both have gained a lot of experience in their areas of expertise. “My mom was a hairstylist, so I grew up in a hair salon,” said Norris. The two also both attended school for hair and have over ten years in salon experience.
Opening a business is a brand new experience for Miller and Norris. They are both self-taught entrepreneurs, and they agreed that the best way to learn was through experience. “I don’t know how anybody would go straight to owning a salon or anything from school,” Miller said. “Being in a salon and seeing all the things for the behind the scenes on the business aspect, you understand it then.”
The two are looking forward to joining the downtown Elon community. Miller’s husband works at Elon, and both owners have lived in the area for a while. “We liked the idea in this little community because we both love it a lot,” Miller said.
Miller and Norris are mothers and met through their kids who attended school together. Both of them took time from their hair careers to be full-time moms. “I am just looking forward to getting back behind the chair,” Norris said. They both are looking forward to being “full-ish” time moms again.
Miller and Norris have Instagram pages showcasing their work as hairstylists. Because they have both worked in past salons, they are able to preview their work for new clients. 102 North will also be launching a website and social media pages in the coming weeks.


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With Trump’s America increasingly erratic towards its southern neighbour, is it time for Mexico to explore new alliances?
After the North America Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) between Canada, Mexico and the US went into effect in 1994, Mexico’s attention has been concentrated mainly on the US market. As a result, it has turned a blind eye to Latin America and the rest of the world.
According to the World Bank, 80% of Mexican exports go to the US market and 47% of its imports come from this same market.
There have always been concerns regarding Mexico’s heavy dependence on a single market since any economic recessions or market failures in the US economy – a clear example being the Great Recession of 2008 – have a negative impact on the Mexican economy.
But, until now, Mexico never had to worry about the US questioning the benefits of NAFTA since the US has been historically the most ardent supporter of free trade.
This, however, no longer seems to be the case since the US President Donald Trump criticised NAFTA as being “the worst trade deal” signed by the US and has begun the process of renegotiating the 23-year-old agreement.
The net consequence of this has resulted in the economic links that has united the three North American economies being questioned.
Mexico now has to worry about having its economy tied to a United States whose leader is unpredictable and who has questioned, at least in his discourse, one of the core principles of the current liberal world order which is economic integration through free trade.
With the future of NAFTA uncertain, Mexico will finally be forced to look towards Latin America for new economic opportunities. This shift presents its own challenges since Mexico’s foreign policy towards its southern neighbours has been ambitious but has lacked a clear strategy. As a result, Mexico’s status as a regional power has been eroded, as seen by its exclusion from the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) and by Brazil’s attempts of establishing South America as its own sphere of influence.
However, the Pacific Alliance (PA), an initiative that began to take shape in 2011, provides an opportunity for Mexico to diversify its trading partners and to regain its status as a regional power. The alliance is composed by Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru – all of which share a Latin American cultural identity, a democratic form of government, and a liberal economic model.
The PA aims to establish a deep form of integration that allows the free movement of goods, services, resources and people. It aims to serve as a launching pad for its members to insert themselves in the dynamic Asia-Pacific region.
As a bloc, the PA ranks as the world’s eighth largest economy, has a population of 225 million people, represents 39% of the region’s GDP, 50% of the region’s trade, and receives 44% of the region’s foreign direct investment.
This new regional integration initiative is a break from the past in that it is actually producing concrete results. Its major accomplishments include 92% of goods being able to be traded freely among its four members; integrating the four members’ stock exchanges to create the Latin American Integrated Market, which is now the largest stock exchange in Latin America; agreeing to establish a fund to be used for natural disasters; and establishing shared embassies in some countries.
The economic potential of the PA has not gone unnoticed since 52 countries are now observing members and negotiations to accept Australia, Canada, Singapore and New Zealand as associate members have begun.
Based on data from the World Bank, Mexico’s $1.046 trillion GDP makes up 59% of the PA’s total GDP, and Mexico’s population of 127 million people make up 56% of the bloc’s total population, which makes Mexico the uncontested giant. As the second largest economy in Latin America, Mexico has the economic resources and experience to be the leader that the alliance needs to continue the process of regional integration.
The PA is still in its early phase, so it will have to overcome major obstacles before it can achieve the deep form of integration that it seeks. According to the World Bank, trade flows between Mexico and Chile, Colombia, and Peru are insignificant since these three countries combined make up a mere 0.76% and 1.67% of Mexico’s total imports and exports respectively.
But since the economic composition of its members is diverse – Mexico exports manufactured goods while the other three’s exports are concentrated in raw materials and intermediate goods – there are opportunities of establishing high-value production chains that complement their respective economies in the near future.
Having the world’s largest economy as a neighbour and partner has made Mexico economically complacent. After NAFTA, the Mexican elite did not see the need to look elsewhere since what could be better than having open access to the vast US market?
With drastic changes occurring in the US economic policy, there is a need for Mexico to look beyond the north and to start looking south towards its neighbours in Latin America and east towards the fast-growing Asia-Pacific economies.
Mexico needs to capitalise on its shared interests with Chile, Colombia and Peru, and continue the process of regional integration through the AP as it provides a way for Mexico to diversify its trading partners and regain its status as a regional power in Latin America.
*This piece originally published on TRT World Opinion page.


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Sweet Street Popcorn owners John and Teresa Ash, of Eleanor, jumped at the opportunity to own a shop on Hurricane's Main Street. "Our hearts are with Hurricane no matter what, because we want to see downtown thrive," Teresa says.
Tina Maria McCallister, owner and cook for Hattie's Country Restaurant, stands outside the eatery near a photo display honoring her grandmother Hattie, for whom the restaurant is named.
Oodles, at 2825 Main St. in Hurricane, offers an array of gifts and home goods.
Hurricane Mayor Scott Edwards says three new businesses have opened on Main Street in the last three months, and another is set to open this week.
HURRICANE, W.Va. -- Teresa Ash and her husband, John, stand behind the counter of the shop at the corner of the 2700 block on Main Street in Hurricane as Teresa scoops a handful of brightly colored popcorn into a bag."We just created this flavor -- it's orange Dreamsicle," Teresa said. "It complements one of our cupcakes."Teresa and John have owned Sweet Street Popcorn for nearly two months. The shop is one of three new stores to open on Hurricane's downtown Main Street, and with a fourth set to open this week, Mayor Scott Edwards said he's optimistic about the business opportunities for Putnam County's largest city."It's about buying local items from local people," Edwards said. "It's a good exchange, and it encourages fellowship. You go into one of these shops, and you don't just buy one item and leave -- you talk and interact with people. It's different than going to a big box store or going to Amazon and having it delivered to your house."The past three or four months, I've been more excited about Main Street than ever because, suddenly, four new businesses are here," he said.Teresa, a former pharmacist, had been baking cakes as a hobby for 28 years when she decided it was time for a career change."I gave that up for this. I'd rather bake cupcakes," she said. "No one is unhappy about cupcakes; everyone is happy about cupcakes. In pharmacy, that isn't always the case."John, who wanted Teresa to have Sweet Street as a venue for her cupcakes, said he got wrapped up in the business after the couple decided to keep up its identity as a popcorn shop."Everyone who loved the popcorn before was very sad and disappointed to see it go. We got a lot of the popcorn regulars back, and they've seen how we've improved on it, so they're super excited about that," Teresa said. "Other people who never knew what the place was are coming in for the first time, and they're not only finding out what it is -- that we've got popcorn and cupcakes -- but that we've got this complete deli menu."Sweet Street serves everything from hot dogs to soups and sandwiches, as well as fresh and packaged popcorn and made-from-scratch cupcakes in flavors Teresa changes every day, sometimes more than once.
"I've sold at least 20 or 30 varieties of cupcake so far," she said. "You'll never see the same cupcakes displayed the same way twice."Teresa develops her own cupcake recipes; dark chocolate raspberry, caramel apple, tropical coconut and s'mores are a few of the flavors the shop has offered so far. The shop, at 2759 Main St., is open Tuesday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. and on Saturday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.The Ashes, who live in Eleanor, said they couldn't pass up the chance to own a business in downtown Hurricane."Certainly, our hearts are with Hurricane no matter what, because we want to see downtown thrive," Teresa said. "We're excited about all the new businesses that are around here."A block away, Lesa Bostic adjusts the fall display inside Oodles, a new boutique in a 200-year-old house that has an array of home décor, jewelry and gifts that Bostic believes fills a need in the Hurricane community.
"We've been so busy I can't even get my displays done," Bostic joked.
"I want Oodles to be a little bit of everything. It's primarily home and gifts, but we have oodles of ideas we want to share, and hopefully people will want to take those away with them," she said. "I think it fills a need in the community, because we don't have a retail location down here that sells gifts."Cooper, Bostic's tan poodle, greets customers at the door. Three large rooms on the main floor of the building offer a selection of Vera Bradley purses, bags and other merchandise, such as jewelry, tea sets and Halloween decorations.Name-brand baby clothing and supplies have been a big hit with her customers."The response has been overwhelming. Our doors closed at 6 p.m. [one recent evening], and I didn't leave until 9:30 because we still had people in here talking," she said. "It's more of a visit place than a retail establishment even."Bostic, a former home consultant through Southern Living magazine, said she hopes to open up the second floor of the house in the near future, and has plans to begin offering custom gift baskets for weddings, birthdays and other celebrations.
"We've really opened up to the forgotten market that is Putnam County," said Oodles employee Shawna Linville. "The county is growing so quickly, and there was nothing like this here. A husband can walk in here and find something his wife is going to love."People who say, 'Oh, there's that school surprise party I have to go to' or 'I forgot to get a teacher gift' -- this place has it."Hattie's, a country-style restaurant and rustic gift shop, has seen plenty of business of its own, according to owner and chef Tina Maria McCallister.The restaurant, named for McCallister's grandmother with a menu modeled after her home cooking, has used more than 700 pounds of potatoes since it opened its doors more than a month ago."Our Philly cheesesteak has become a huge seller, and so have our homemade french fries," she said. "We do daily specials too, and not small quantities. When you get a plate of food here, you get a plate of food."The restaurant, at 2739 Main St., was formerly Root Cellar Herbs & Ferguson Tea Room. McCallister said she was hesitant at first about converting the tea room into a full-fledged restaurant. Although the first few days were difficult, she feels confident about Hattie's."When I walked in the door, it was a tea room," she said. "I saw all the shelving and everything, and thought of all the things we could do with it. We went from dainty to very old-time country."Snow Biz, the fourth business to open on Main Street in the last three months, started selling snow cones in downtown Hurricane Friday.Brenda Campbell, development and tourism manager for the city, said she hopes the businesses on Main Street, both new and old, will be able to do well and help downtown Hurricane remain a must-visit for residents and visitors alike."Everything's just coming together," Campbell said. "I'm excited about all of the shops ... that are coming together here. It's going to allow the entire street to thrive."Reach Lydia Nuzum at firstname.lastname@example.org or 304-348-5189.


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5 Ways To Spot A Fake WatchSeptember 15, 2018
The Swiss watch industry is not in great shape. In March, as the biggest brands unveiled their shiny new timepieces in Baselworld’s equally shiny pavilions, its exports slumped 16 per cent compared to the same time the year before. But it’s not just contracting Asian economies and the rise of smartwatches eating into profits.
The fake watch market is estimated at around a $1bn a year – roughly a twentieth of the legitimate Swiss watch industry. According to some reports, as many as 30 per cent of watch searches are for replicas. Which means there’s a lot of fakes out there to snare the unwary. And spotting them is getting tougher. A couple of decades ago, you knew that ‘Bolex’ you bought in the airport probably definitely wasn’t legit. But Chinese gangs have honed their craft, employing expert watchmakers to craft timepieces near-indistinguishable from the real thing.
A few years ago, Swiss customs snared a Hublot Big Bang with a vanilla-scented strap – just like the original. Inside, even the movement passed muster; a perfectly assembled tourbillon, where you’d expect giveaway quartz. Only a nonreflective piece of crystal tipped off investigators. To make sure your heirloom doesn’t turn out to be a horological mistake, learn a lesson from some the UK’s leading pre-owned watch experts and learn to sort the Frédérique Constants from the Frankenwatches.
(Related: The watches you can pass down to your kids)
Location, Location, Location
If that Paul Newman Daytona is one of four laid out on a blanket, then odds are it’s not authentic. But just because a watch is behind glass, that doesn’t mean it’s the real deal. Unless your dealer is affiliated with the brand, you can’t guarantee what they promise is what you get.
Ask in store for what marque’s they’re licensed to sell and double-check on the watch brand’s official website.
Don’t Be Greedy
Watches make smart investment pieces because they hold their value. So be wary of sellers who don’t know what a Rolex is worth.
“If it’s too good to be true, then it generally is,” says Tim Pavy, product and sales manager at The Watch Gallery. “If you’re saving more than 25 per cent of the current market value of a similar model, it’s unlikely to be the genuine article.”
A picture tells a thousand words, and most of them are lies. “Lack of detail in the photograph can be an indicator the seller has something to hide,” says Pavy.
If the images are blurry, or they’ve not shot every angle, be wary. “A watch shown without the original box and papers can also sometimes indicate a lack of legitimacy.”
If you can’t buy in person, head to an approved online reseller like the The Watch Gallery, one of the few pre-owned web retailers authorised by the big luxury watch brands.
(Related: The beginner’s guide to buying a second-hand watch)
Weight It Out
Away from the near-legit superfakes, counterfeiters use cheap materials to save costs, so forgeries tend to feel lighter than the real deal. They’re rougher, too. “One of the hardest parts of making a genuine watch is the hand finishing, a process that cannot be replicated by machine,” says Watchfinder founder Lloyd Amsdon.
“A fake will often feel sharp on the edges, a sign it hasn’t been properly hand finished.”
Take a loupe to the dial and look for any mispositioned letters or missing details. Luxury watches are sold on perfection; if your Audemars Piguet’s logo is out of alignment, it’s a fake, not a mistake.
“Good dial printing is a very hard thing to achieve for the prices fake watches sell at, and the fonts are usually proprietary to the brand,” says Amsdon. “That means a fake will have inconsistencies.” Before spending, search for an image of a legit dial (again, the marque’s official website is a good place to start) and compare every detail.


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Bernie DiMeo knew it was time to make a move.
With more than three decades of experience in the marketing and public relations fields, the longtime Wilmette resident anticipated where the professions were headed. So he decided to utilize his extensive knowledge in a different manner.
DiMeo recently announced he is opening BD Marketing Consulting, a new marketing consulting firm led by him.
“Anticipating where the economy is today and where it is likely headed, I think a smart, experienced consultant will be far more valuable to a company than a million-dollar ad campaign,” DiMeo says in a press release announcing the firm. “And to a lot of companies, an agency will be a luxury they may not be able to afford.”
DiMeo’s goal as a consultant is to review a company’s current marketing strategies and make recommendations to help navigate these unprecedented times.
The new consulting business is the latest endeavor for DiMeo, who previously founded and operated DiMeo & Company from 1987 to 2010. He also currently still works for DiMeo Partners, a business he described as a “smaller version of Dimeo & Company,” that he started in 2011.
During his careers with the two companies, DiMeo has worked with several Chicago sports teams, well-known restaurants, municipalities, local businesses and more. Now he hopes to offer his expertise to help businesses looking for marketing and public relations assistance.
“The first thing I hope is that I can help someone who knows they need a little marketing help but is at a little loss as to where to turn and what to do,” he told The Record.
“The other thing that I believe in very much is that a fresh set of eyes from outside looking into what (a company) is doing is very, very important.”
DiMeo said that although he has experience working with companies in all areas, he’s carved out a niche in the restaurant industry. He is eager to offer his knowledge to restaurants looking for marketing solutions as they face the challenges presented by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
“I’ve always kind of gone by the idea that when times are really good, you should market; but when times are not good, you have to market,” he said. “There’s a difference. You have to be doing something, and I would tell that to every restaurant.”
DiMeo also believes that effective marketing is imperative to a business’ success right now.
“The important thing is that people who think they can’t market right now because of the economy, I think they should rethink that — you have to, if you’re in business, let people know that you are in business,” he said. “And it doesn’t need to be expensive.”
Those interested in DiMeo’s services can reach him at (312) 217-5658 or firstname.lastname@example.org. His new website can be found at bdmarketingconsulting.com.
Martin Carlino is a co-founder and the senior editor who assigns and edits The Record stories, while also bylining articles every week. Martin is an experienced and award-winning education reporter who was the editor of The Northbrook Tower.


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Drugi jezik na kojem je dostupan ovaj članak: Bosnian
After the success at the Golden Drum Festival, I&F McCann Grupa hosted the leading figures from McCann agencies operating in Europe and the US, reaffirming once again the leading position of McCann agencies of the South East Europe. The two-day meeting, held in Belgrade for the first time, leaders discussed the challenges that rapid technological advancement brings to the world of marketing, as well as the influence of local cultures on brand campaigns.
Srđan Šaper, founder of the I&F McCann Grupa and host of this conference, pointed out that this was an opportunity to share experiences and opinions about the future of marketing. “This meeting is important not only because it puts Belgrade on the map of the world marketing scene, but also helps the development of the creative industry in Serbia and the region. In Serbia, the creative industry already participates with 7% of GDP and employs tens of thousands of people. Digitalization has given the creative industry additional momentum and is important for the development of the entire region. When we talk about the future of marketing, it’s where the past is – in creativity. The better the ideas are, the more they stir emotions, the better the campaigns will be,” said Srđan Šaper.
Nannette Dufour, President, Global Clients and Business Leadership, McCann Worldgroup New York, said that it is a great advantage to be part of a global family of agencies such as McCann. “We are a global network, we are connected and we learn a lot from each other. Knowledge acquired at one place is passed on to all of our agencies. That is why we are also important for global brands, because they need our connectivity and knowledge from many different markets. Consumers want a local approach. If you understand the local culture and the role of the brand you work for, then you can create effective marketing campaigns that give results. You must have a local insight and global scale,” concluded Dufour.
Mark Lund, McCann Worldgroup UK CEO, points out that local approach and local knowledge are becoming increasingly important and that global brands are constantly thinking about how to make their message visible in local markets. “Much has changed. The number of channels and ways you can reach consumers has increased dramatically thanks to social networks and digitalisation. Everything is much faster and more complex than before. But ultimately, what hasn’t changed is the idea, and it will never change. You must have a good idea. A good idea remains the key to success,” Lund said.
“When it comes to the future of marketing,” Lund adds, “it’s clear that we are becoming more informed, because we live in the age of data, but we need the knowledge and strength to process this data. I think the data will strengthen rather than replace human empathy and creativity. Brands are important to us because they represent the set of values we want to share and make them part of our life. Good marketing is reflected through design, imagery and storytelling. These are essentially human skills. Creativity will still be in the center of what we are doing.”