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What happens when Ronaldo removes two Coca-Cola bottles during a Euro 2020 press conference and then holds up a bottle of water, appearing to encourage people to drink that instead?
Well, a lot of furore followed by reports that $4 billion was immediately wiped off Coca-Cola’s market value.
This move demonstrates the power of celebrity endorsement and clever advertising.
Advertising: At What Cost?
In serendipitous timing, a new report At what cost?, explores the impacts of advertising and consumerism on our well-being. It asks:
“What happens when advertisers install a billboard poster idolising a skinny waist and perfect skin in order to sell clothes made in sweatshops for poverty wages?”
We all know the answer to that one, too. We’re living it right now.
I appreciate the art of good marketing. You have to hand it to Coca-Cola, who manage to associate their nutritionally deficient drink with some of the greatest athletes in the world.
In a similar vein, how can you not give a nod of appreciation to the guy (Edward Bernays) who, once upon a time, sold cigarettes to women by calling them “Torches of Freedom”? It’s brilliant.
But, just imagine what could be achieved if we used these powers for good rather than to sell… cancer?
For ethical reasons, at Live Frankly we’re ad-free*.
According to the report, this means we are missing out on earning a slice of the staggering $557.3 billion that was spent, globally, on advertising in 2020.
To put this into context, the UN reports that global demand for humanitarian assistance was $40 billion last year. Theoretically, if every brand cut their spend by an average of just 7 per cent, their money could have footed the bill. And they would have got free PR for doing so, so that’s surely a win-win.**
The truth about advertising: the problem with ads
Targeted online advertising – you know, those ads that pop up that seem to sell exactly what you’ve been thinking about purchasing for a while – is perhaps the most controversial ad issue of our time. It’s linked to the rise in fake news, fuelling surveillance capitalism (the commodity for sale is personal data), and normalising privacy breaches through pervasive tracking and data-mining.
But, advertising doesn’t stop when you stop scrolling on Insta, or go to the toilet during a TV ad-break. As the Ronaldo story shows, it’s part of the programming. Heineken logos, among others, are behind him as he holds up his water bottle and declares “Agua!” in Portuguese.
The report highlights that ads are not only on billboards and in shop windows. There are concerns about corporations using schools to increase their share of a profitable market by sending free menstruation health samples to schools, along with lesson plans, to market to a captive audience.
Yes, advertising is overtly in your newspaper in the form of ads. But, it’s also covertly in your news feed, as the report explains:
“The dependency of print and audiovisual media on advertising revenue can result in wide self-censorship of journalists and media owners, having a significant impact on editorial content and cultural programming.”
“Misleading advertising violates our right to freedom of information and expression; subconscious manipulation by adverts denies our right to freedom of thought…”At what cost?
Advertising and violation of human rights
There is a significant negative relationship between a country’s advertising spend and its citizens’ happiness, according to the report. When advertisers pour money into a country, we also see lower well-being for the people living there.
“Commercial messaging has the potential to deeply influence the philosophical beliefs of people and their aspirations, as well as cultural values and practices, from food consumption models to burial rituals, including tastes and beauty canons.”
“Global advertising campaigns promoting one single advertising message for all countries have a detrimental impact on cultural diversity.”
“You forced your civilisation upon us and now look where we are: global pandemic, climate crisis, species extinction and, driving it all, widespread spiritual poverty.”Nemonte Nenquimo, cofounder of the
Indigenous-led non-profit organisation Ceibo Alliance, Ecuador
This is not only irresponsible, it violates the UN’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights, as enshrined by law.
Misleading advertising violates our right to freedom of information and expression; subconscious manipulation by adverts denies our right to freedom of thought; advertising by fast fashion brands disregards our right to freedom from slavery; and promoting excessive consumption, which worsens climate change and pollution infringes our right to a sustainable environment.
Adverts tear us down by appealing to our insecurities and our need for approval, security and social status. Advertisers have also clocked on to our desire to be “good”. Now they’re selling us the products, such as (supposedly) sustainable fashion, to build us back up, too.
The truth about advertising in the UK
So, what does advertising look like here in the UK?
Well, last year the UK’s total advertising spend fell by £3.6 billion to around £21.5 billion, due to COVID-19.
The report states that these “stark” UK figures prompted the Advertising Association to call for a tax incentive scheme for advertising and marketing services with the aim of selling more shit (we paraphrase) and stimulating the wider economy.
Crucially, this misses looking at the wider picture, as we’ve summarised above and 109 pages of the report demonstrate.
So, we all know what happens when advertisers install a billboard poster idolising a skinny waist and perfect skin in order to sell clothes made in sweatshops for poverty wages.
The question is what happens if we uninstall those billboards or use them to promote more meaningful ideas?
The other question is, what if more celebrities refused to endorse brands they didn’t believe in for money? Or if Ronaldo asked his major sponsors, Nike, to double-check the issues of modern slavery in their supply chain?
I’d love to find out. Wouldn’t you?
*We’re not totally ad-free because we do promote brands that we love. We maintain, these brands are good for people and planet. But, any advertiser worth their salt would say the same thing about the crap they peddle. So, judge for yourself.
**This isn’t quite true. We also need to work to change the systems that lead to the need for humanitarian aid in the first place, including exploitation of people and the planet. i.e. we also need these brands to stop being so destructive in their practices. But, we won’t split hairs about every point we make.
Report and citations: Elizabeth Harrop, At What Cost? The impacts of advertising and consumerism on human, community and planetary well-being. How to use international law to challenge human rights violations and climate impacts, caused by excessive consumption and advertising. Adfree Cities. Bristol, UK. 2021.
Main image: prensencianoticias.com
Article updated: Friday 18 June 2021


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Publisher cancels ‘American Dirt’ author’s Palm Beach appearance
Flatiron Books, the publisher of the novel “American Dirt,” has canceled the rest of author Jeanine Cummins’ book tour, including a stop in Palm Beach, citing safety concerns in the wake of a growing controversy over the book.
The author was scheduled to appear on Feb. 16 at the Palm Beach Book Store on Royal Poinciana Way, for a book-signing and Q&A.
Cummins’ novel about a Mexican mother who is forced to make a desperate trek across the border to the United States with her son, has been widely criticized on social media, with many accusing Cummins of cultural appropriation and stereotyping Mexican immigrants. The author has a Puerto Rican and Irish background.
A press release by Flatiron President and Publisher Bob Miller said “Cummins spent five years of her life writing this book with the intent to shine a spotlight on tragedies facing immigrants. We are saddened that a work of fiction that was well-intentioned, has led to such vitriolic rancor. Unfortunately, our concerns about safety have led us to the difficult decision to cancel the book tour.”
Palm Beach Bookstore owner Candice Cohen said she disappointed that the book tour had been canceled.
“I was sent an advance copy and was hooked,” Cohen said. “I’m sad about the decision to cancel the book tour, but I understand the concerns for her safety.”
The controversy over “American Dirt” has played out steadily on social media since the novel’s release date on Jan. 21, with many Latino book critics and essay writers slamming the novel. Conversely, some Latino authors such as Sandra Cisneros, have continued to support “American Dirt“ and Cummins throughout the backlash.
Oprah Winfrey chose the novel as her January book club selection, saying in a video that from the moment she read the first page, she was “shook up.”
"It woke me up, and I feel that everybody who reads this book is actually going to be immersed in the experience of what it means to be a migrant on the run for freedom,“ she said.
Following the criticism, and with many of her fans questioning her choice, Winfrey said that her book selection had “struck and emotional cord, and created a need for a deeper more substantial discussion.”

domain: news


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If you love playing the lottery, you may have heard about the online lottery. You can purchase tickets for the most popular jackpots on the internet. But what are the benefits of online lottery games? It is similar to playing traditional lottery games, only that you play online. All you need is internet access to play online. As long as you have a decent WiFi connection, you can login to your account at any time. But what is the best way to play the lottery?
Illinois is first state to offer online lottery sales
In a move that will make games of chance more accessible, Illinois is now the first state to sell tickets online. Lottery officials say online sales will help the state’s budget problems by increasing revenues, but critics worry about underage gambling and the potential for addiction. With a lot of questions on the way, the state should be cautious about implementing this new service. In the meantime, you can find out how this will affect you by reading on to learn more about how the Illinois Online Lottery plans to proceed.
With Illinois’ online lottery sales, residents will be able to play two of the country’s most popular lotteries from the comfort of their own homes. Powerball and Mega Millions draw games, played by millions across the nation, are available online. The Powerball game has the largest jackpot, with more than $1.56 billion in payouts. Since Illinois joined the Powerball lottery in 1992, it has grown from being a niche game to a nationwide lottery game.
Powerball and Mega Millions are only available to subscription holders with the Illinois Lottery
In order to purchase a lottery ticket, players must be 18 years old, a resident of Illinois, physically located in the state, and have an account with the Illinois Lottery. After registering an account, players can add funds to their subscription using a credit card or debit card. A minimum deposit of $10 is required per transaction. Once they have added funds to their account, they can choose which game to play and click “How to Play”. Note that some banks do not allow players to make lottery purchases with their credit or debit card.
In addition to playing the Powerball and Mega Millions games, players can also purchase tickets up to 25 days ahead of a drawing date. Tickets for the Pick 3 and Pick 4 games can be purchased up to seven days in advance. For more information, check out the Illinois Lottery website. For information on winning a lotto game, click the top left menu icon, and click “Unclaimed Instant Ticket Prizes.” Illinois Lottery supports capital projects, public education, and special causes. The lottery has generated $20 billion in revenue for the state of Illinois since its inception. Each draw game has its own How to Play section, which is very useful for both new and experienced players.
Michigan Lottery’s online lottery sales program is a success
The Michigan Lottery’s online lottery sales platform has been a success. In January 2016, it began offering lottery tickets online to players who live in Michigan. Players from across the country were able to purchase tickets for their favorite draw games through the online lottery platform. The lottery’s online lottery sales program, according to lottery consultants, generated more than $8 million in sales per week in March.
The online lottery sales program has been a big success for the Michigan Lottery, as it has increased its reach and increased revenue to a record high. The Michigan Lottery has an extensive network of retail locations across the state, which are now selling lottery products. In its first eight years of operation, the iLottery program is projected to generate $480 million in incremental sales, with an additional $120 million generated in supplemental sales in fiscal year 2021. During this time, retailers are expected to play an even greater role in driving sales online, since they are now in a new market.
Michigan Lottery offers deposit match bonuses on legal online gambling sites
When it comes to legal online gambling, Michigan is no exception. Michigan law allows residents to play online casino games and horse race wagers. Online gambling is regulated by the Michigan Gaming Control Board, a five-member panel appointed by the governor with the consent of the Senate. In addition to overseeing the state lottery, the board also checks the compliance of tribes with state-tribal compacts.
Offshore casinos and sportsbooks have significant advantages over their Michigan-licensed counterparts. In addition to allowing residents to place bets and collect winnings, these sites offer better bonuses than Michigan-licensed sites. Deposit match bonuses can help players build a larger bankroll and make more frequent wagers. The best Michigan gambling sites also have promotions, such as reload bonuses and other perks.


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Business rates bill to soar by £1bn in latest blow for Britain's hard hit High Street shops
Business rates are set to rise by close to £1billion next year – sparking demands for the hike to be cancelled until the system is reformed.
The jump in the tax on commercial property is based on inflation data for September – which yesterday came in at 3.1 per cent.
This would add £900million to the business rates bill. Property experts called for the uplift to be scrapped, saying businesses recovering from rolling lockdowns should not be subjected to a 'massive tax raid'.
Rates hike: Property experts called for the planned business rates hike to be scrapped, saying businesses recovering from rolling lockdowns should not be subjected to a 'massive tax raid'
The High Street is also struggling with labour shortages and supply issues, which threaten to push prices up and leave empty shelves at Christmas.
Jerry Schurder, of Gerald Eve, a property advisory firm, said: 'British business is being battered by crisis after crisis.
'The last thing it needs now is a massive tax raid. Business rates are already the highest tax of their type in the world and urgently need root-and-branch reform.
'An increase will force more businesses to the wall.'
Robert Hayton, of Altus Group, the country's largest ratings advisory, said: 'The Chancellor must use the Budget to end the ridiculous policy of increasing the tax rates by inflation. It's at an unsustainable level.'
Rishi Sunak is said to be considering an online sales tax to level the playing field between tech giants and bricks and mortar retailers.
The policy has the support of big names such as Tesco, but other retailers believe levying a new tax will simply shift the tax burden from one part of their business to another.
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By Teppei Kasai
(Reuters) - Rakuten Inc, Japan's largest e-commerce company, has been actively considering launching a service like website Airbnb that would provide a hub to rent apartments and homes in Japan to short-term guests, two people with knowledge of the developing plans told Reuters.
Rakuten has commissioned a detailed study in Japan of whether it could launch a short-term rental service that would be easier to use than existing services, like Airbnb, according to the people, who asked not to be identified. As part of that project, Rakuten representatives have discussed the possibility of launching such a service in early 2015, they said.
Rakuten had no immediate comment.
Launching an online home rental marketplace would represent a bet by Rakuten's billionaire founder and Chief Executive Hiroshi Mikitani, 49, that related regulations on the verge of being eased under Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
It would also take Rakuten into a fast-growing market that has made San Francisco-based Airbnb into a start-up valued at over $10 billion, over 60 percent of the market capitalization of Rakuten.
(Reporting By Teppei Kasai, editing by Kevin Krolicki)


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Despite disappointment with the rate of Bluetooth deployment, the wireless connectivity technology now appears to be moving into a period of accelerated growth, and Silicon Wave Inc. is throwing a batch of third-generation silicon into the market.
Bluetooth for the past five years has been touted as the answer for short-range wireless connections, but it wasn't until last year that chip shipments began to meet expectations, said Jarvis Tou, vice president and product manager at Silicon Wave, San Diego.
"Bluetooth was probably overhyped," Tou noted. "But if you compare it against any other connectivity or wireless standard, including USB, PCI, InfiniBand, 1394, or even Wi-Fi, Bluetooth is among those growing the fastest."
Although Wi-Fi, or 802.11a/b/g-compliant wireless LAN, received the bulk of corporate and media attention last year, Bluetooth chips outshipped Wi-Fi chips, Tou said. Analysts have placed Wi-Fi shipments at around 20 million in 2002, while Bluetooth shipments exceeded 28 million.
According to analysts at both In-Stat/MDR and the Institute for Supply Management, Bluetooth chip shipments could reach 100 million this year and grow to 500 million or more by 2005.
These figures are tied to the belief that Bluetooth will become the wireless connection of choice for cellular handsets in the next couple of years, Tou explained.
Silicon Wave's third generation of Bluetooth devices are designed to address applications in which a full baseband solution is needed, or for a stand-alone Bluetooth radio to be integrated into cellular handsets in which the Bluetooth baseband functions are handled by the handset baseband processor.
The company's single-chip, CMOS-based SiW3000 integrates a direct-conversion radio modem with an ARM7 processor, Bluetooth baseband logic, and protocol software with ROM.
The SiW3000 is sampling, with volume production scheduled for the end of the second quarter. The price is less than $4 in quantities of a million, the company said.
The SiW1712 is for cellular handsets using CDMA-compatible chipsets with an integrated Bluetooth baseband. The SiW1711 is a general-purpose radio modem for use with a variety of Bluetooth baseband ICs, and the SiW1713 implements the Nokia RF-BB interface.
The SiW1711, SiW1712, and SiW1713 are all sampling, with production slated for the end of the second quarter, according to the company.
Tou said Silicon Wave in 2002 sold "hundreds of thousands to millions" of Bluetooth chips, but declined to provide specific shipment information.
"Market share is not really relevant in emerging markets," he said. "The Bluetooth market is still too dynamic and positions shift rapidly. What's important is that the market itself is huge, and will continue to grow."


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After backlash from military community, auction of servicemembers' unclaimed possessions postponed
PORTSMOUTH, Va. — A misunderstanding about an auction of servicemembers’ unclaimed possessions struck a nerve in the military community this week.
After the outcry, Gene Daniels Auctions of Chesapeake, Va., on Thursday postponed the sale, which was planned for Saturday.
The tumult began when photos of crates in possession of Bay Area Movers Inc. were posted on an auction website. One of the photos – shared on social media among military-spouse Facebook groups – showed a crate with markings that said it was supposed to leave Virginia in April and arrive in Germany by June. It caused some to believe that Saturday’s auction included items that were still owned by servicemembers.
“People were just kind of freaking out,” said Amanda Rimmer of Norfolk, whose husband is in the Navy. She saw the reaction from fellow spouses on private Navy-spouse Facebook groups.
Auctioneer Gene Daniels, however, said the crate in the screenshot was not being auctioned. He said he went to the storage unit in Portsmouth about three weeks ago to take pictures of crates so potential buyers would know how large the crates were. He said he took photos of any boxes because “all the boxes look alike.”
“When I took the pictures, I must’ve taken one that wasn’t in the auction,” Daniels said, adding that the box in the screenshot has already been delivered to its owner. “That was my fault.”
Jean McRae, owner of Bay Area Movers in Portsmouth, said about 105 wooden crates were to be auctioned off because warehouses start to get full, especially heading into the summer. McRae said the crates were those that either came from or had been scheduled to go overseas. Some of the crates have been in the 40,000-square-foot warehouse since the 1990s and early 2000s, she said.
When it comes to unclaimed items, McRae said, the government notifies owners via letter that their storage item wasn’t being paid for by the government any longer.
“After that the owners are responsible for the payments,” she said.
When the moving company decided to auction these items, McRae said, they were required to send three certified letters to the last known address of the owner. Most of the owners of the crates to be auctioned had left the military, she said.
“They’re difficult to find. We even found an obituary for one,” she said.
Rimmer said the reason the auction – and screenshot – hit a sore spot is because of the theft, damage or loss of possessions that sometimes occurs during moves.
“There’s some things you can’t get back in life,” she said. “It’s not your physical health or your life, but there’s things that are irreplaceable.”
Rimmer said Thursday that the response to the auction was “a little bit rough. … The hatred was a little bit out of control, quite frankly.”
Daniels and McRae, who have each been in business since the 1980s, were inundated with complaints. Daniels said he got 1,200 to 1,500 emails. McRae said she mainly got phone calls.
McDaniels said he and Bay Area Movers did everything legally.
“I would never take military goods and sell them. I have military people in my family,” McRae said, adding it was her company’s first time participating in an auction.
Postponing the auction, Daniels said, cost his business about $1,400 in advertising and the potential income from the auction.
McRae said the auction will happen at a later date. The crates will sit right there” at the Portsmouth warehouse until then.
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Tu 8.2.22 Small Business Insult to Injury / What Won’t Taxpayers Fund? / Tech Tuesday Taxes
45% of small restaurants can't afford their rent? Similar to retails and salons. After being brutalized by gov't restrictions during Covid, now inflation is hitting Main Street Hard.
Dems WILL raise taxes on the middle class with current spending bills. But, while conservatives grumble, why do they keep funding these schemes?
And Tech Tuesday. Israel's new push towards a cashless society for Israel. But our Senate gives us a generous GIFT!
It is Free


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The 2018 Maruti Ertiga, known internally by its codename Maruti YHA, is due next year. According to Autocar India, it will be launched in August 2018. The next-gen Maruti Ertiga will be based on an all-new platform and will be bigger than the current generation model.
As evident from the spy shots that have emerged so far, the 2018 Maruti Ertiga has a longer rear overhang and a larger rear quarter glass. This could lead to an increase in the second-row and third-row space along with an increase in cargo space.
Suzuki's HEARTECT platform that underpins the Dzire, Baleno, Ignis, and the upcoming Swift will also underpin the new Maruti Ertiga. According to Autocar' report, the MPV will continue with the 1.4 L K14B petrol and 1.3 L DDiS200 diesel engines. Suzuki's 1.5 L diesel, currently in its final stages of development, will be introduced later.
Also See - New Maruti Ertiga spied
The first and current generation Ertiga was launch 0n April 12, 2012, in India followed by its Indonesian launch a few days later. In early September, a report emerged suggesting that the next generation Ertiga will be launched in Indonesia in the first half of 2018.
[source - Autocar India]


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Happy Thanksgiving, get ready to shop local over the weekend by consulting the holiday issue of Shore; downtown parties galore in Crown Point, Valparaiso, New Buffalo, Buchanan and South Haven and don't forget the MSI festival of trees.
Shop Local This Weekend: Shore and Times Media's Lisa Daugherty launched the media campaign, “It Pays to Buy Local,” she did not expect that it would be easy working with 17 chambers of commerce drawing from a myriad group of businesses, but “when you say that $68 out of every $100 spent at a local business stays in the community,”that's a pretty powerful message to consumers and residents. (By comparison, $43 out of $100 spent at a national chain stays local.) When consumers go to national online retailers though, nothing stays in the community. In the latest issue of Shore you'll find dozens of local businesses in Northwest Indiana and southwestern Michigan with fabulous gift ideas from Fair Oaks Farm cheese (with a free shipping coupon) --- Fair Oaks aged cheddar is the best I've ever had --- to the detailed patterns and textures of the perfectly designed living space accoutrements at Bayberry Cottage in South Haven. And along the shore in between, novel gifts like a weekend facelift, inspirational wood furniture, a symphony season, the cutest reindeer ever at Sawyer Garden Center, a coupon for the Copper Butterfly in Crown Point, one-of-a-kind gifts at Harbortown Interiors in St. Joe, Blink Gallery in Michigan City and a Grand Party at Customs Imports in New Buffalo set for Saturday, December 1st.
Another Shop Local Promotion 'White Saturday' in Buchanan, Michigan: While Fernwood is closed on Thanksgiving, the garden reopens on Friday, November 23, with a new exhibit of botanical illustrations by Ann Tompkins on Friday, with a reception that evening from 5:30 to 7:30 pm.
And Fernwood Gardens urges you to stop by and them at SL Consignment Gallery on Front Street in Buchanan during the celebration on Saturday, November 24. Fernwood will be on hand to offer fresh made holiday wreaths and arrangements and refreshments by Chef Tim Carrigan.
On the Valparaiso and Chicago Front: Rick Soria and Scott Fech are hosting their annual fundraiser for Michiana Humane Society at their home tomorrow evening. Everyone needs to look sharp Shore photographer will be there. If you are planning to go to Museum of Science and Industry Festival of Trees on Saturday morning, I will be there with my grandson for the first time in a long time. Also, looking forward to seeing the train, which I just realized was overhauled 10 years ago, yikes! And the train now has an airplane---compliments of Boeing of course --- that flies from Chicago to Seattle. Clearly I have some catching up to do.


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SCIENCE IN THE NEWS DAILY
Manufacturing Woes Haunt High-Tech Battery Maker
from Nature News
A leading manufacturer of high-performance lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles is struggling to make ends meet. Last week, A123 Systems of Waltham, Massachusetts, announced net losses of US$125 million in the first quarter of the year. Its woes are symptomatic of larger problems facing the battery industry.
"The market for electric vehicles hasn't ramped up as quickly as projected," says Yet-Ming Chiang, a materials scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, who co-founded the company in 2001.
The market's sluggishness is in large part because the batteries are still very expensive. Chiang would not disclose the price of A123's batteries, but he says that the industry average is US$500-650 per kilowatt-hour of energy stored. The Nissan LEAF electric car uses a 24-kilowatt-hour battery pack, which would cost $12,000 on the low end--about one-third of the car's selling price, and a lot for consumers to swallow.
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80% millennials watch a show through online promo
April 29, 2015
Eighty per cent of Millennials are likely to watch a TV show if they have watched a promo shared with them online.
That’s according to new research from video ad tech company Unruly, which found that 80 per cent of digital natives will tune into a show if someone in their social network had shared a trailer, a clip or an original promo for that show. This is compared to 66 per cent of average TV viewers.
However, the report also found that Millennials are 10 per cent less likely to share TV promo content than the average TV viewer, suggesting that TV marketers are failing to create content that resonates with Millennials. Further, US Millennials spend less time watching TV than any other demographic according to Nielsen showing that networks are struggling to connect with a Millennial audience.
Scott Button, Unruly CEO, said: “TV marketers are missing out on a huge opportunity to grow their audiences. We may be in a Golden Age of television content, but the way TV networks are currently promoting their shows to new viewers is missing the mark on digital and social media. Audience fragmentation, ad avoidance and social discovery are all powerful forces for disruption and we’re seeing a big increase in the number of TV networks reaching out to us to help them solve the strategic challenges that digital transformation poses to their business models and their bottom line.”
Other findings from the report, which analysed 14,221 TV promos, including show clips (standalone scenes from an episode that has already been aired), original promos (newly filmed original content) and trailers (a compilation of teaser clips, usually with voiceover and additional editing) from the Big 5 networks in the US include:
● Rate of TV promo sharing more closely correlates to Nielsen Ratings than number of promo views: The more shares a TV network generates for its promos, the more likely that will translate into ratings. The front runner, NBC, generated 39 per cent share of shares and a 33 per cent of overall Nielsen ratings;
● NBC is winning on social reach and engagement: NBC is leading the way on social video, with 48 per cent share of online promo views and 39 per cent of promo shares. ABC follows in both categories with 27 per cent of promo views and 34 per cent of promo shares;
● Millennials are 39 per cent more likely to watch online video content on their smartphones than the average TV viewer and 14 per cent more likely to watch TV on their laptops, while less than half (42 per cent) still watch online video in the living room through connected TVs;
● Original promos are most viral type of TV promo for US audiences: While low-cost TV clips are the most prevalent form of TV promotional content and represent the majority of TV content launched online, original promos are actually the most shareable form of promotional content, with an average share rate of 3.9 per cent, compared to the average 2.1 per cent of branded content;
● TV Networks are missing out on brand recall: All of the promos tested in the Unruly TV Promo and Millennial study – for the top rated network shows – fell well below the US market norm for brand recall from online videos (at only 75 per cent).
Button added: “We’re seeing a promo paradox – TV networks are known for telling great stories in their programming, but they’re not creating engaging promos to support this great content. Millennials are highly peer-influenced, with 80 per cent citing that they’d check out a show after receiving a shared online TV promo. Yet the promos aren’t strong enough for Millennials to want to share.
“Even worse, TV promos aren’t creating a memorable experience with viewers. Of the videos we tested in our study, show recall fell well below the US market norm for brand recall in traditional ads, making it difficult for even a motivated Millennial to remember which show they wanted to see. TV marketers need to start making promos that resonate with Millennials and more heavily call out their shows if they want to change viewer habits and drive new viewers to tune-in.
“But it’s not just about having strong content, that’s only half the battle. You have to get your content seen quickly. With nearly half of a total video’s shares occurring in the first three days after launch, marketers have a very short window within which to drive TV tune-in. As marketers prepare for the 2015 Digital Newfronts, these principles can be applied to create engaging promos to drive traffic to both short form and long form content.”
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Social Network Moves Up
A new study released by Nielsen has shown that Social Networking has overtaken email as the most popular internet activity. As popular social networks like Facebook and MySpace have features built to stay in communication with friends and connections many people are utilizing those communication mediums to “email” or “chat” or “post” with one another.
Nielsen reports that “member communities” exceeds email participation 67% to 65%. This is in conjunction with the fact that social networking and blogging is growing twice as fast as other drivers of users such as email, search and portals. Two-thirds of internet users visited a social networking site in 2008. Social media sites such as Facebook and MySpace account for nearly 10% of all internet time. Facebook continues to lead the way by accounting for 30% of all internet users in the largest global markets.
Social Network Users getting Older
Also it is common knowledge in the online marketing world that social media reach has long grown beyond the younger demographic. As social networks become more popular and mainstream the audience has become broader and older.
Facebook originally started as a college only social network, but now boasts the greatest membership growth rate from 35-49 year olds at 24 million new members from Dec 2007 to Dec 2008. Facebook also is adding twice as many 50-64 year olds at 13.6 million than those under 18. Their current base is one-thirds 35-49 years of age and one-quarter over 50 years old. The way social networks are used is being continually defined by the changing demographics.
Facebook and Linkedin Leading the Growth
Social networks Facebook and Linkedin (the most popular professional network) has accounted for the largest growth rate this past year. Facebook showed 168% change in active reach with a global audience of 108.3 million. Linkedin also showed tremendous growth with a 137% change in global audience growth. MySpace saw a -3% decline.


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April 1, 2003 |
The Birla Institute of Management Technology (BIMTECH), New Delhi, is all set to launch a postgraduate diploma course in retailing and merchandising management in July. The one-year course, with a batch size of 60 students, shall focus primarily on retailing, merchandising and franchising functions, and shall cover topics like customer relationship management, sales promotion management, supply chain management, distribution and logistics management, consumer behaviour, inventory management, market research, business communication and direct marketing.
May 4, 2005 |
NEW DELHI: CyberMedia Research tied up with arm of Stanford Research Institute (SRI) to develop and license a psychography method that is used in market research and helps understand consumer behaviour based on psychological factors. SRI Consulting Business Intelligence and CyberMedia will develop VALS model - a marketing and consulting tool. "Basic tenet of VALS is people express personalities through behaviour and the system identifies current and future opportunities by segmenting consumer marketplace," said P Gupta of CyberMedia.
December 27, 2009
Twenty20, or T20 , now the rage in the cricketing world, started as a gimmick in 2003 to get county spectators back to English stadiums. It was Stuart Robertson and John Carr who were tasked by the England and Wales Cricket Board to revive a sport which was losing eyeballs rapidly. The two, after market research, realized that a 50-over game was too long to hold interest any longer and came up with Twenty20, an abbreviated 20-over version of the gentleman's game. Robertson and Carr were successful in getting the crowds back and this stop-gap solution quickly caught the fancy of the cricketing world.
November 20, 2011 |
LUCKNOW: She may have dressed up as Bollywood's heartthrob Kareena Kapoor, but first year management student of IIM-Lucknow, Dimple Bhatia's heart and mind were set only on getting to know the kind of computers you preferred. Participating for the first time in Index 2011-- the annual market research fair of IIM-Lucknow -- Bhatia said, "The practical knowledge gained here is helping me correlate what I have learnt in class. " The two-day fair began at the Colvin Taluqdar College grounds on Sunday.
October 11, 2008 |
AHMEDABAD: Its play time again at Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIM-A). After all its that time of the year when students get busy playing hosts and organising games for visitors - at the oldest festival IIM-A hosts. Students of IIM-A are to roll out Insight 2008, a one-day annual market research event being conducted by the institute since the last 22 years. The new aspect this year is the case study competition launched with Starcom MediaVest Group. The competition is open to students of business and management studies.
June 12, 2012 |
LONDON: Tablets are one of the most rapidly adopted technologies in history,' a new research has found. According to a new research conducted by market research firm comScore in the United States has revealed that one in four smartphone owners used a tablet between February and April this year, an increase of 14 percent over last year. "Once consumers get their hands on their first tablet, they are using them for any number of media habits," The Telegraph quoted Mark Donovan , Senior Vice President of Mobile at market research firm comScore, as saying.
October 26, 2012 |
MANIPAL: Management students of TA Pai Management Institute (Tapmi) will get hands-on experience on marketing. They will market products of a dozen companies at shopping malls in Mangalore, Manipal and in villages of Kundapur taluk in Udupi as part of BrandScan, a four-day market research fair. The event will kick start here on Friday.Tapmi has been organizing the event for the past 20 years. Specialty of this edition of BrandScan is students will visit rural areas to conduct research on consumer behaviour of villagers.Tapmi branding and promotions director Chowdari Prasad said the companies will give their products with different marketing objectives.
July 28, 2011 |
MUMBAI: While rankings and appraisals may not be new to the corporate sector, they are rarely, if ever, applied to politicians. In a possible first for Maharashtra, Praja, a voluntary organization working for good governance, has ranked Mumbai's MLAs according to performance. The rankings were done using market research tools. Praja has obtained information on the kinds of questions that legislators ask during assembly sessions. The information, which includes both quality and quantity of questions asked, along with other data such as a clean criminal record, attendance during assembly sessions and allocation of funds, has contributed to an MLA's overall ranking.
May 10, 2011 |
Has India's best-known filmmaker Mani Ratnam put his ambitious project Ponniyin Selvan, which was to be made in Tamil and Telugu, on the backburner? It certainly looks so, as TOI understands that the director's production house has informed the actors and technicians concerned that their dates will no longer be required for the proposed film and has also asked them to return the advance paid to them. When asked about the recent developments, a source close to Mani Ratnam said, "Mani sir never officially announced that he was going to make Ponniyin Selvan and so, there is no need for any official statement to be issued now. The entire hype around the project was a creation of the media.
January 6, 2013 |
LUDHIANA: To get a first-hand experience of entrepreneurship, fifth trimester MBA students of a local B school on Friday undertook the task of managing/running street stalls at Ghumar Mandi and district courts. Assistant Professor Harleen Mahajan said, "The trimester-long activity at the B school is taking it's final shape. The students have worked on different projects relating to retail, CSR and finance with some reputed companies of Ludhiana. For the semifinal task, the students were told to manage street stalls in various parts of the city like Ghumar Mandi area outside Baba Papa showroom, opposite Mai Nand Kaur Gurdwara and the district court complex canteen.


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We know an all-new entry in the Battlefield series is coming in 2018, but, so far, EA is keeping details about the game tightly under wraps. Late last year, a report from Eurogamer posited that EA and DICE would be following up the successful Battlefield I with a World War II game, but news has been scarce since then.
Well, this isn't an official confirmation by any means, but a new source is now backing up the previous World War II reports. According to VentureBeat, the next entry in EA’s series will be called Battlefield V and will indeed be heading back to WWII. VentureBeat provided this leaked development screenshot as proof.
Per VentureBeat, the new game was originally going to be titled Battlefield 2, but, at some point, the decision was made to go with the somewhat-confusing Battlefield V title (this will actually be the 11th DICE-developed Battlefield game). Battlefield V will reportedly be an entirely original game, not a remake of previous WWII-set Battlefield titles, and will be officially announced soon.
Word is, EA and DICE decided to return to historical settings several years ago, but decided not to fire their big WWII bullet right away. Instead, they opted to test the waters with a World War I game. Of course, Battlefield 1 ended up being a big success, surpassing 25 million players as of last December and launching EA back into competition with Activision and Call of Duty.
At this point, it seems like the next Battlefield being set during World War II is all but a lock, so are you excited to see the series once again tackle the Big One? Or does the move feel a little “me too” after the success of Call of Duty: WWII? What kind of setting would you rather see Battlefield tackle?
The next Battlefield will launch on PC, Xbox One, and PS4 in late 2018.


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Single-Use Plastic Report Estimates Scale of EU Consumption
Seas at Risk, an umbrella organisation of European environmental NGOs which promotes marine protection, has published a report on the scale of single-use plastic consumption in Europe created with assistance from Eunomia.
The report, entitled Single-use Plastics and the Marine Environment, represents the first attempt to create a picture of single-use plastic consumption in Europe based on consumption estimates for key items of plastic pollution. The report makes a number of estimates, indicating for example that the annual consumption of beverage bottles across the 28 European Member States is likely to be around 46 billion.
By using market data from around Europe, Eunomia extrapolated up to Europe-wide consumption figures for some of the worst offenders in terms of marine plastics, namely: plastic bottles, coffee cups and lids, drinking straws, takeaway packaging and cigarette butts. Individual consumption estimates were also made for the North East Atlantic, Black Sea, Mediterranean and Baltic regional sea areas. In addition to making first estimates for consumption, the report also presents case studies of successful litter prevention initiatives and makes recommendations for how legislation can drive reductions in plastic consumption and so reduce marine plastic pollution.
Senior Consultant and report author Chiarina Darrah said:
“This is the first study of its kind and although it offers estimate figures – there’s no doubt the scale of plastic consumption is huge, and there are tried and tested policy measures available that if implemented would have instant results. I have no doubt Seas at Risk will use this research to engage and inspire stakeholders to take action.”
The reduction measures recommended include introducing reduction targets for a range of single-use plastic items – similar to those already in place for plastic bags – greater producer responsibility to cover both litter prevention and clean up, measures to mandate reusables at public events, and that data on the quantities of single-use plastic items on the market be made available in order to better enable reduction efforts.
Eunomia was commissioned to support Seas at Risk in its efforts in petitioning European legislators to introduce ambitious policies that would help protect the marine environment. As the report notes, if Europe was to drastically reduce its consumption of single-use plastic items – which are the most likely to be littered – then it would effectively eliminate a major source of marine pollution in all of its seas.
Emma Priestland, Marine Litter Policy Officer at Seas at Risk said: “
‘Too often marine litter measures are focused on clean up or awareness raising, but when we look at what is found on beaches, a significant proportion is single use plastic items. It makes sense that reducing the prevalence of things like straws, bottles, coffee cups and cigarette butts will benefit our seas. Now we have a better idea of the consumption of these items that are used across Europe, we can advocate for legislation to tackle them.
“The background study will be very useful to SAR and our membership to inform our work for years to come. The investigation has highlighted a number of policies that should be prioritising reducing single use plastic items but are not, for example in EU green public procurement policy or Extended Producer Responsibility Schemes as they currently stand.”


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In an update by Rockstar
the team acknowledges that the PC launch of Red Dead Redemption II
has not been without issue. It specifically cites combinations of NVIDIA
graphics cards, drivers, and CPU combinations as the reason behind the performance issues - with the most common being some very noticeable stuttering.
In fact, Rockstar weirdly looks to be putting the blame on NVIDIA in this update. And its own launcher.
"We are aware that a small number of Red Dead Redemption 2 PC players are still experiencing some ongoing problems with the game stuttering. We believe this is due to unforeseen issues related to specific combinations of Nvidia graphics drivers, Nvidia GPU cards and certain CPUs," it reads.
"We will be rolling out an update to the game today which will address the stuttering issue alongside a host of other fixes. However, we are still currently working together with Nvidia to completely resolve the stuttering issue in a future update, and it may take us up to a few days to properly test everything and ensure the next update completely solves the problem."
Good news is that by the time the game comes out on Steam these issues will mostly be ironed out. But, there will be a nice little bonus for Red Dead Online players in the form of a Prieto Poncho, provisions, and ammo for PC players.


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Is Google Losing Its Sway In The 'Search' Market?
Google saw its share on the US Internet search market is reducing slip to its lowest ever mark since 2009, while Yahoo notched its highest share in five years, according to an independent analytics firm StatCounter.
According to the research firm, in December, Google handled 75.2 percent of US online search referrals, down from 79.3 percent a year earlier. That score is its lowest since 2008, when started tracking the data.
Google nevertheless remains the US leader in the search market by a wide margin, ahead of Microsoft’s Bing at 12.5 percent and Yahoo at 10.4 percent. All other search engines combined to take 1.9 percent.
It’s been a big gain for Yahoo since 2009 which only had 7.4 percent of the search market a year before. In fact it demonstrates further that CEO Marissa Mayer has remained devoted to the search market, which Google had always dominated.
StatCounter said that Yahoo’s resurgence coincides with the beginning of its partnership with Mozilla, which made Yahoo the default service for online searches done through its Firefox web browser in the US from December. Firefox, which is open-source and free, is reportedly the third most used Web browser in the world, behind Google’s Chrome and Microsoft’s Internet Explorer.
Experts believe Yahoo had been has been starved for fresh income due to declines in the prices of online display ads. But rise in search share have translated into revenue growth for the company as it now brings in more money from search than from banner ads.
Yahoo’s gain is good new for Microsoft, too. The two companies are part of a search alliance, and Yahoo is actually using Bing’s technology to power its search efforts. While some believe whether Google CEO Larry Page will lose his sleep over this dip, there is hardly anything to panic. As Forbes reacted to the news, “Sorry, but not only is Google’s CEO and cofounder unlikely to have nightmares over this, he won’t lose any sleep at all. That’s because the decline is–in short–small, mostly temporary, and largely meaningless in terms of how much advertisers will spend on Google’s incredibly lucrative search ads.”
Google remains the undisputed leader in ‘search’ controlling three fourth of the search market, although growth has slowed. It has been able to maintain its overall growth by expanding into other businesses, such as media with Google Play, the research shows.
- Travel, E-Com, Utility Lead To India's Digital Commerce Boom: Study
- IT Veteran Shyam Ramamurthy Joins Goals101 As Chief Product Officer
- 6 Key Trends For Artificial Intelligence Powering The Investment Sector
- How Fanfare Personalizes Shopping Experience Via Blockchain
- How IoT Is Disrupting The Logistics Sector
- Home Automation Is The Next Big Thing, And Here Already!
- There's Potential To Unlock USD 50-Bn in India's Online Commerce
- Can Google Make A Successful Comeback In China?
- Zoho Announces New Launch, Updates And Data Centers In India
- Digital Firms In India Can Achieve USD 39 Bn Exports By 2022: Study


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Target Says PIN Numbers Taken But Data Secure
Target is trying to reassure some customers about their personal information – in the wake of the theft of credit and debit card numbers from its stores.
FOX News Radio’s Dave Anthony reports:
“We remain confident your debit card PIN numbers are safe and secure”… That in a statement from Target Friday saying through additional forensics work the retailer can confirm when shoppers entered PIN numbers while paying with debit cards that info was encrypted and remained encrypted even when it was swiped during a massive theft operation in Target stores from Thanksgiving weekend through mid-December. So Target says without the PIN numbers those thieves did not get the key to unlock debit card accounts. Info was stolen from up to 40 million credit and debit cards. Target is facing numerous class action lawsuits.
Dave Anthony, FOX News Radio.


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Jul 21, 2018 at 12:22
FinTech Canada Media Kit
Event: FinTech Canada
Date: August 16th, 2018
Location: MaRS Discovery District – Auditorium, 101 College St, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Jul 20, 2018 at 11:41
Results of Blockchain Conference Georgia 2018
On June 20, for the first time, Tbilisi hosted Blockchain & Bitcoin Conference Georgia organized by Smile-Expo, an international conference dedicated to blockchain, cryptocurrencies and ICO. It brought together entrepreneurs, blockchain developers, investors, lawyers, bankers and public officers. The main issue covered during the event is the prospects of mining and blockchain in the digital economy of Georgia.


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Expanding your e-commerce business presents a vital opportunity to turn a U.S. business into an international operation. E-commerce growth in the U.S. has shattered all expectations, and the European Union (EU) has experienced similar exponential growth.
Approximately 74% of EU internet users shopped online in 2021, demonstrating the massive demand for e-commerce within the European market. However, shipping from the U.S. means long wait times, and modern consumers are unwilling to wait. Fortunately, setting up an e-commerce warehouse in the EU is an opportunity to grow and fuel your global e-commerce operations.
If you want to learn more about Logistics Operations efficiency, read the full article here.


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The global market revenue for drones, or unmanned aerial vehicles (uavs), is expected to reach $6 billion by the end of 2017 and top $112 billion by 2020, research firm gartner predicted the. Global and chinese agriculture drones industry, 2018 market research report is a market research report available at us $3000 for a single user pdf license from rnr market research reports library. Commercial drone market competitive intelligence, 2018—drone-in-a-box companies the future commercial drone ecosystem will be driven by autonomous drones that launch and recover from stand-alone and networked base stations, but only the best products will survive in an increasingly crowded market. Drones: a rising market sean peasgood, wwwsophiccapitalcom september 8, 2015- 2 five reasons to read this report 1 the aerial drone market could cumulatively be worth $91 billion over the next decade. Military drone market size in 2016 exceeded usd 5 billion with a fleet size of over 13 thousand units and is anticipated to grow at around 12% cagr to 2024 when military drone for payload of over 150kg is estimated to grow at a cagr of over 11% modernization initiatives taken by the armed forces across the globe and advancements in the technology are driving the industry growth.
Boston, sept 24, 2018 /prnewswire/ -- the new report from idtechex research, drones 2018-2038: components, technologies, roadmaps, market forecasts, provides a comprehensive analysis of the drone. This market research study analyzes the commercial drones market on a global level, and provides estimates in terms of revenue (usd million) from 2017 to 2025 wherein 2016 has been taken as the base year for the study. [171 pages report] uav drones market research report categorizes global market by type (fixed wing, vtol, stuas, male, hale), payload (up to 150 and 600 kg),.
Get latest market research reports on aerial drones industry analysis and market report on aerial drones is a syndicated market report, published as global aerial drones market research report 2018. Commercial drone market size was estimated to be usd 552 million in 2014 and is expected to grow at a cagr of 169% over the forecast period scientific research. Some of the prominent trends that the market is witnessing include growing demand from emerging countries, increasing investments in research & development activities, and recent technological.
The latest market report on military drones published by credence research, inc is projected to reach us$ xx at a cagr of xx% over the forecast period from 2018 to 2026. The global anti-drone market is forecast to grow at a 2018-2023 cagr of 372% 2019 is expected to see significant growth in the counter-drone market. Skylogic research, llc, the leading research and advisory services firm for the commercial drone industry and owner of drone analyst®, just announced the launch of its third annual drone market. The global consumer drone market size is expected to reach usd 419 billion by 2024, according to a new report by grand view research, inc the substantial growth prospects of the market can be attributed to surging eminence of drone flying as hobby initiatives such as uav photography and racing. According to the market research analysts global drones market will significantly grow during the given forecast period top down and bottom up approaches have been used to estimate the size of the uav drones market.
The report covers global passenger drones market growth analysis, market competition, market future outlook, market trends. Benefits from the multi rotor drones such as flexibility in operation, low cost of ownership and low maintenance cost, and high precision in action are also driving the growth in the market. Drones are on track to be 'huge' a new goldman sachs analysis sees a cumulative $100 billion total addressable market over the next five years alone india's rnr market research just. This research study focuses on 18 companies competing to develop ai-enabled drone solutions for a multitude of commercial drones market.
Our curated list of the top drone companies to watch in 2018 home parrot makes some of the best drones on the market drone analyst is a research, content. Agricultural drones market report 2023 focuses on the major types and applications for the key players agricultural drones market research report also provides analysis of the market share, segmentation, revenue forecasts and geographic regions of the market the agricultural drones market research report is a professional. One of the most common strategies adopted by players in the consumer drones market is research and development, which is directed towards improving the existing products and developing new drones with better functionalities.
Crystalmarketreports crystal market reports is a distributor of market research spanning 160 industries our extensive database consists of over 200,000 quality publications sourced from 400 plus publishers, this puts our research specialists in the unique position of been able to offer truly unbiased advice on what research provides the most valuable insights. Drones market market research report - forecast to 2028 regional analysis north america is the largest market for drones, with the us military being one of the major customers the use of drones. Some of the prominent trends that the market is witnessing include growing demand from emerging countries, increasing investments in research & development activities, and recent technological advancements in unmanned aerial vehicle drones.
The report altogether examines the most significant subtle elements of the global smart commercial drones market with the assistance of a top to bottom and expert examination depicted in an exact. Based on the agricultural drones industrial chain, this report mainly elaborate the definition, types, applications and major players of agricultural drones market in details deep analysis about market status (2012-2017), enterprise competition pattern, advantages and disadvantages of enterprise. The report, offers 'agricultural robots and drones 2018-2038: technologies, markets, players', develops a detailed roadmap of how robotic technology will enter into different aspects of.


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Reserve Bank Of India has announced that people need not panic because there are rumours that 10 rupee coins are demonetized. The RBI has announced that it has made no announcement regarding this.
After the demonetization of the currencies, there was a heavy cash crunch, When people where exchanging Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes people accepted 10 rupee coins since there was shortage in new Rs 2000 and Rs 500 notes. Those who had got this 10 rupee coins and the people who had already has possession of these coins were gripped in fear because there was rumours that these coins would be demonetized.
RBI said in a statement: It has been reported that some less-informed or uninformed persons who suspect the genuineness of such coins are creating doubts in the minds of ordinary people including traders, shopkeepers, etc, impeding the circulation of these coins in certain pockets of the country causing avoidable confusion. The Reserve Bank has advised members of the public not to give credence to such ill-informed notions and ignore them and continue to accept these coins as legal tender in all their transactions without any hesitation,


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Tesla cuts prices for Model S and Model X in U.S. in bid to boost sales
Tesla Inc. cut the prices of its Model S and Model X vehicles in the U.S. late Sunday, in a bid to boost sales in the final month of the first quarter.
According to Tesla’s website, prices for the Model S sedan were cut by $5,000, with the basic version now costing $89,990, down from $94,990 previously, and the high-performance Plaid version starting at $109,990, down from $114,990. Prices for the Model X SUV were slashed by $10,000, with the basic version now costing $99,990, down from $109,990, and the Plaid version at $109,990, down from $119,990.
In January, Tesla, cut prices on its Model 3 and Model Y vehicles. While that raised some concerns on Wall Street of sagging demand and lower margins, Piper Sandler analysts said the move could succeed in boosting sales and increasing its market share.
Last week, Tesla held its annual investor day and executives said the electric-vehicle maker was determined to cut manufacturing costs and prices for consumers. “The desire for people to own a Tesla is extremely high. The limiting factor is their ability to pay for a Tesla,” Chief Executive Elon Musk said, according to a FactSet transcript.
have surged 60% year to date, but are still down about 30% over the past 12 months, compared to the S&P 500’s
5% gain in 2023 and 6.5% decline over the past year.
For more updates check below links and stay updated with News AKMI.
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This year, a lot of things sucked. But a lot of things were also unexpectedly good! Let’s celebrate those latter things with a big list.
As we do every year at Kotaku, it’s time to take a look back on the highs and lows of the last 12 months. (See: the biggest surprises of 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016.) We’ll post the biggest disappointments of 2017 later this week.
For now, it’s time for happiness! Unexpected joy! Lots of Nintendo stuff! With input from the rest of Kotaku’s staff, here are the best video game surprises of 2017.
The Nintendo Switch has the best console launch year... ever?
The more we learned about the Nintendo Switch, the more we got our hopes up. Of course, Nintendo is expert at dashing raised hopes, so most of us struggled mightily to keep those hopes in check. When it was announced, the gimmick of a portable home console sounded good but there could still have been some hidden catch or downside. When it came out, the Switch seemed like a good console in general, but no one was sure if there’d be enough games. And then, somewhere around the release of Mario + Rabbids in August, it became clear: The Nintendo Switch in the midst of the best console launch year ever. From Zelda and Splatoon to Mario, Golf Story, Steamworld Dig 2 and Doom, there are already too many terrific games on the system to keep up with. The Switch’s first year went better than almost anyone dared hope. May its 2018 be just as strong.
Playerunknown’s Battlegrounds popularizes a new shooter genre.
One hundred players start. The last one (or the last team) standing wins. Many people probably remember Playerunknown’s Battlegrounds as the new early access game with the terrible name that was consistently at or near the top of the Steam charts in March. Terrible name or no, PUBG went on to conquer the world of PC gaming in 2017 with a simple premise and good-enough execution to become a beloved game and a streaming sensation. It seems likely that other games (like Fortnite Battle Royale) will cut into PUBG’s audience significantly, and one may ultimately overthrow it. PUBG will still be remembered as the game that brought Battle Royale gaming to the mainstream.
Mario + Rabbids = Excellent.
When cover art from Ubisoft’s Mario + Rabbids crossover leaked in May, the response was nearly unanimous: this is going to suck so bad. Then Ubisoft showed the game at their E3 press conference, and… wait, what? It’s an XCOM-like turn-based tactics game? It actually looks kind of silly and maybe even… fun? Nintendo legend Shigeru Miyamoto came out on stage to show off the game. The guy heading development cried during the press conference. Online sentiment began to soften. And then the game itself turned out to be pretty great, a smartly streamlined take on the XCOM formula with an emphasis on mobility and a few distinct, character-specific abilities. It wasn’t all that surprising that a Ubisoft studio could crank out a well-made tactics game, but it was surprising that Ubisoft’s Minions-esque Rabbids would wind up mixing so well with Mario, Peach, and Luigi.
Nintendo announces not one but two new Metroid games.
“Oh yeah,” we joked, “I’m totally sure Nintendo will announce Metroid Prime 4 at E3 this year.” We make those sorts of jokes to inure ourselves to the constant disappointment of wanting a thing to happen, then watching it not happen. Yet… there’s always reason for hope, isn’t there? Nintendo was on a roll with the Switch, and seemed to be consciously targeting the sorts of hardcore Nintendo fans they arguably left behind with the Wii and the Wii U. Maybe, just maybe, a new Metroid Prime really could be in the works? Turns out, it was. Not only that, but Nintendo buried a second, more immediately exciting announcement in their subsequent livestream: Metroid: Samus Returns, a 3DS remake of Metroid II: Return of Samus, would be out in just a few months.
Japanese games give the PS4's 2017 a phenomenal start.
There was a point right around March where the PS4 was just on fire. In just a couple of months it’d gotten a few big exclusives, including the beautiful-if-niche Gravity Rush 2 and the fantastic open-worlder Horizon Zero Dawn. But it was the Japanese games that put it over the top, and more pressingly, over Microsoft’s competing Xbox One. Nier: Automata, Yakuza 0, Persona 5, and Nioh all hit the PS4 at about the same time, a collection of wildly different games that had something for just about anyone. It was, and remains, a very good time to own a PlayStation 4.
No Man’s Sky gets good.
There was always a good game hiding in No Man’s Sky, but you used to have to work to find it. After several major free updates, Hello Games has made it a lot easier to love their big, weird galactic exploration game. There’s so much more to do and so many more reasons to do it that the No Man’s Sky of 2017 feels almost like a different game. If you bought it back when it came out, try starting a new game and see what happens. As nifty as Hello Games’ updates have been, the No Man’s Sky community deserves just as much credit for keeping the game alive and interesting, creating and rebuilding a galactic hub and, most recently, working out how to wage a massive war in a game with no built-in PvP combat.
Bloodborne players are still finding new secrets.
Bloodborne is a game built on mysteries, literally—the city of Yarnham is built on a bunch of catacombs that players in a group called the Tomb Prospectors are still exploring, looking for rare monsters that few have ever seen. In November, they found an elusive Flaming Undead Giant, a beast no one had seen before, in one of the game’s Chalice Dungeons. What other secrets might Bloodborne be hiding?
20 years later, Nintendo releases Star Fox 2.
Along with a bunch of Switch and 3DS games, Nintendo released a new Super Nintendo game in 2017. Two decades after it was cancelled, Star Fox 2 finally came out as a bundle-in with the SNES Classic. It’s a weird game, and while it might not be enough to pull you away from the rest of the classic games Nintendo included on their retro console, it’s certainly a time capsule that’s worth opening at least once.
Despite its lengthy development, Nioh turns out fantastic.
It may have seemed like Team Ninja’s “samurai Bloodborne” action game Nioh dropped with little fanfare, but it was actually a loooong time coming. Originally announced in the mid-2000s, it apparently went through several substantial overhauls until Team Ninja took over development in 2010. Most games to go through such a process are released in sorry shape, if they’re released at all. Nioh is the welcome exception, a deep, finely tuned, extremely satisfying action game that stands toe-to-toe with the best in the “Soulsborne” subgenre.
Resident Evil 7 shows the RE formula works in first-person.
When Capcom first revealed Resident Evil 7, there was some question as to whether this new game, with its first-person perspective and focus on a modern found footage horror aesthetic, would be “Resident Evil” enough. Turns out that yep, it is indeed possible to inject new ideas into the Resident Evil formula without losing the series’s identity. The first few hours are nearly unrecognizable, as your terrified protagonist creeps his way through a decrepit southern mansion overflowing with horrors. Then the game gradually settles down and you begin the Resident Evil-y work of upgrading your gear, uncovering secrets, and finding animal keys to unlock corresponding animal doors. Other venerated game series could take a few lessons from RE7 for how to shake up their own formulas.
Half-Life “Epistle 3” offers a strange sort of closure.
At this point, Half-Life 3 is a tired punchline. Ditto Half-Life 2 Episode 3. We know that neither one is ever coming out, or at the very least, whatever version of them may have been in development over the last 10 years just ain’t gonna happen. So it was a bittersweet surprise when ex-Valve developer Marc Laidlaw, one of the chief writers of the Half-Life series, published a blog post titled “Epistle 3.” It told a lightly disguised, gender-swapped story of Gordon Freeman and Alyx Vance’s trip to the frozen north in the wake of the shattering cliffhanger the concluded Episode 2. It wasn’t Episode 3, but it offered unexpected closure and even inspired a bunch of indie game developers to come up with their own rough versions of what the game might have looked like.
A single glitch changes Wind Waker speedrunning forever.
In the world of speedrunning, a single discovery can reverberate through the entire scene and change everything. That was the case with the “Barrier Skip” in Wind Waker, which two players cracked in 2016 but was only successfully replicated this year. Once the trick went wide, it fundamentally changed the way Wind Waker speedruns will work going forward. These are the sorts of unusual maneuvers that keep a game exciting 15 years after it first came out.
Beyond Good & Evil 2 finally returns to the public eye.
Ubisoft’s Beyond Good & Evil 2 has been a specter at each of the publisher’s major press conferences since the first teaser in 2008. Every now and then director Michel Ancel would say that he was still working on the game, but with no additional information or specifics. This year at Ubisoft’s E3 press conference, they brought an exciting CGI trailer, along with a working version of the game. Sure, it was a very rough build. And sure, the CGI trailer was just that—it wasn’t gameplay. But we know a heck of a lot more about Beyond Good & Evil 2 now than we did at the start of the year, and it seems much more likely that one day we’ll actually get to play it.
Sonic Mania celebrates everything fans love about Sonic.
Sonic fans have a lot to be grumpy about. There just haven’t been that may good Sonic games, and the series has struggled to find an identity in the landscape of modern gaming. Along comes Sonic Mania, a remixing/remastering of side-scrolling Sonic greatness that often feels like a devious ROM hack, reimagining aspects of the classic Sonic games to make its own twisting, turning levels. 2017’s other big Sonic game was much less of a success, but by going back to the series’s roots, Sonic Mania soared.
Doki Doki Literature Club is not what it appears to be.
The anime visual novel Doki Doki Literature Club is a wolfish tale dressed up in the sheep’s clothing of cheery moe anime and schoolgirls next door. You probably still haven’t played this, so I’ll refrain from saying more. Just know that the surprise here isn’t simply that the game is good.
Capcom announces Mega Man 11.
Right up there with Metroid Prime is Mega Man, whose fans had already been burned by the disappointing Mighty No. 9 just last year. Here comes Capcom to announce an all-new Mega Man complete with in-game footage and a late 2018 release date. It’ll be the first Mega Man in eight years, and while it looks a little plastic-y in screenshots, it looks pretty great in action.
A guy in a mullet wig takes over Twitch.
2017 was a weird year for Twitch and YouTube in general, and no one man embodies that weirdness quite as well as Guy “Dr. Disrespect” Beahm. The former Sledgehammer Games community manager decided to don a mullet wig, some aviator glasses, and a fake-rude persona to begin streaming games as Dr. Disrespect. He went on to become one of the most talked-about PUBG players, earning himself a suspension for in-game hijinks yet also being overcome with emotions as he considered the admiration of his fans. Shortly after winning the “Trending Gamer” award at The Game Awards in December, he announced that he had been unfaithful to his wife and was stepping back from streaming to focus on his family. A fittingly controversial end of the year for a character who seemed designed to court controversy.
Fortnite actually comes out, catches on.
First revealed in 2011 at Spike’s Video Game Awards ceremony, Epic Games’ Fortnite has been on the cusp of release for so long that many of us thought it’d never happen. It finally hit early access earlier this year, and didn’t make much of an impact, at least not at first. Its profile significantly increased when Epic released a free-to-play Battle Royale mode that followed the template established by Playerunknown’s Battlegrounds, albeit with some notable changes. By the end of the year, it’s become one of the most streamed games on Twitch, gotten some new modes and other tweaks, and is attracting new players each day.
The Switch has a lovely hidden tribute to Satoru Iwata.
At first, it wasn’t clear why hackers had been able to find a hidden version of NES Golf on the Nintendo Switch. After a bit more sleuthing, it turned out that the software was locked to a certain date and a certain Joy-Con motion, one that matched up with the famous gesture the beloved former Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata used to make during each of the Nintendo Direct videos he hosted. Iwata died of cancer on July 11, 2015. The Golf game hidden on the Switch appeared to be programmed to unlock on a July 11. Nintendo has remained cagy about the tribute, but a number of people have reported (sometimes with video) that the game does indeed work on the Switch. As our own Brian Ashcraft observed, Golf on the Switch could be coded to allow Iwata’s spirit to watch over the console and guide it to success. If that’s the case, he’s doing a marvelous job.
And that’s it for the biggest, best surprises of the year. Share your own favorite surprises in the comments and we’ll be back later in the week with the worst, most crushing disappointments.


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Staff at the Halifax store of the Jessops chain are anxiously waiting for news on their futures.
Three people are employed at the Corn Market shop and yesterday it was still unknown if it will survive.
Jessops went into administration late Wednesday putting 2,000 jobs nationally at risk.
It operates nearly 200 stores and is a specialist camera retailer.
Administrator Rob Hunt, of PwC is holding discussions with stakeholders to see if the business could be saved and hoped trading would continue.
“But, that is critically dependent on these ongoing discussions,” he said.
“However, in the current economic climate, it is inevitable there will be store closures.”
Jessops has suffered from online competition and the boom in camera phones which has hit demand for digital cameras.


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ClubRooms, The Office Group’s network of drop-in workspaces, claims mobile working is becoming increasingly popular.
The way we are working is changing and The Office Group said it has noticed it’s not only start-ups and freelancers using mobile working spaces, but also larger companies allowing their staff more free reign over when and where they work.
ClubRooms’ spaces are claimed to provide a better working alternative to coffee shops and hotel lobbies, evolving the hot-desk into a design-led space to drop in and work. The facility attracts a broad range of users, from mobile workers at large organisations to freelancers, start-ups and small business owners, The Office Group said.
Although mobile working has long been a trend among start-ups and freelancers there is evidence to suggest larger enterprises are also steering away from traditional office structure, said The Office Group.
A range of companies have started to introduce remote working, but through the use of coffee shops and working from home; however these methods are not necessarily the most efficient in terms of productivity, it said.
Talent consultancy, The Chemistry Group, has researched the future of working and people’s behaviours in the work place. Gareth Jones, head of fresh, said the way large companies are working has changed in the last five years and has noticed more trust between directors and staff.
Jones said: “It is encouraging to see that finally, after years of talking about it, some companies are taking the initiative and seriously looking into flexible working practices. The technology to support flexible working has been in place for a long time but organisations attitudes have taken longer to come up to date.
“With large global organisations like Unilever introducing their agile working initiative, which encourages and supports (with technology and equipment) every employee to explore working from home and mobile working, the message is finally getting through – that with a few exceptions, location is not the key factor; output is.”
Ben Munn, joint global head of workplace strategies for CBRE, which has 1,500 staff within the UK, said: “Individuals and enterprises are seeking new, flexible, and innovative ways of finding, funding, and using workspaces that improve their performance. We see a desire to move away from the relative inflexibility and cost intensive nature of traditional office space, and a need to have more appropriate work settings than those at home or in coffee shops.”
Stewart Whiting, ClubRooms director, said: “The limitations of working from coffee shops and repeated journeys between meetings and the office have become part of every day work for London’s mobile workers. We’ve set up ClubRooms as an alternative proper working environment for people when they’re away from the office. The way we work is continuing to change and we’re seeing an increasing number of mobile and independent workers coming to us. We see these workers as an important, growing part of the workforce and want to support them with spaces and services that have been designed around the ways that they work. There are genuine cost and time savings for many companies to make here too along with the potential to reduce the impact of mobile workers on London’s transport infrastructure and the environment.”


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Tokyo's Magic Kingdom Outshines Its Role Model
By JAMES STERNGOLD,
Published: March 7, 1994
URAYASU, Japan— The air was bone chilling, but the admiring throngs hardly noticed one afternoon as a blue-eyed Snow White smiled engagingly and the Seven Dwarfs performed their antics, singing the tune every child raised on Disney fare knows: "Hi-ho! Hi-ho! Shinpai nai utai tsuzukeyo!"
If home is where the cash registers ring loudest, it would be hard to imagine Mickey Mouse and his friends ensconced more comfortably anyplace other than this bustling plot of landfill on the shores of Tokyo Bay, at Tokyo Disneyland.
With 16 million visitors last year, each spending on average about $85, the park, less than 10 miles from downtown Tokyo, has surpassed the original Magic Kingdoms in the United States in attendance.
Indeed, the way the Dwarfs' song has been translated into Japanese is apt -- "Don't worry about a thing, let's continue singing!"
What a contrast with the financial train wreck outside Paris known as Euro Disneyland, where the only thing park officials are singing these days is the blues.
Euro Disneyland, which opened in the spring of 1992 with soaring expectations, reported a $905 million loss for the fiscal year that ended on Sept. 30, and it lost $94 million more in the three months after that. Its parent, the Walt Disney Company in California, took a $350 million charge last year as a result.
Back in Japan, a market that Disney entered a decade ago with misgivings, it is a different story entirely.
The Oriental Land Company, the owner of Tokyo Disneyland, enjoyed a pretax profit of $202 million in the fiscal year that ended last March 31. And that was in the middle of the worst recession here since the end of World War II. Translating American Icons
A look at these two overseas parks offers some harsh lessons in the vexing uncertainty of translating American icons into other cultures, and in how important timing can be for such overseas moves. As much as it has been overshadowed by the European disaster, and as different as Japan is from the West, the 11-year-old Tokyo theme park is an enormous success. Increasingly, it is drawing affluent young people from all over Asia.
No, Cinderella does not wear a kimono here, and Winnie the Pooh has not forsaken his beloved honey for sushi. In fact, except for some subtle but telling changes, Tokyo Disneyland is a near replica of the American original.
Almost all the signs are in English, with occasional lines of Japanese and, now that other Asians are coming here, Chinese. The white-and-red Japanese flag is never flown, but various versions of the Stars and Stripes flutter from atop reproductions of American-style buildings.
It is so sanitized and precise in its depiction of an unthreatening, fantasy America that, in an odd sort of way, the park has become totally Japanese. And that, of course, is just the way the Japanese want it. Indeed, the park is reminiscent of the traditional Japanese garden, which reproduces a tightly confined version of nature that is supposed to be more satisfying and perfect than the real thing. Enjoying the 'Japanese Dream'
When Japanese come to Tokyo Disneyland, said Masako Notoji, a professor at Tokyo University who has written extensively on the peculiar hold Tokyo Disneyland exercises over people here, "they are enjoying not the American Dream, but their own Japanese Dream."
Some here even suggest that the managers of this park pull off the Disney ideal better than their American mentors.
"This might be the most perfect Disneyland in the world," Sanshiro Kobayashi, a spokesman for the theme park, said. "Because of the Japanese character, our park is probably a little cleaner."
If this contrast between the fortunes of the European and Japanese theme parks seems confusing, you have plenty of company. The Walt Disney Company studied the Japanese and European sites extensively, and yet it still failed to anticipate the enthusiasm here and the difficulties in France. That has cost it dearly.
"I used to say that cultures have no boundaries," said Noboru Kamisawa, executive vice president of Oriental Land. "But look at Euro Disneyland. Now I think that there may be cases where Disney is not accepted so readily." A Hard Sell at First
In fact, things began here on a shaky note. When Oriental Land first brought the idea of building a Magic Kingdom in Japan to Disney executives two decades ago, it was a hard sell, according to Mr. Kamisawa.
At that time, Oriental Land was a struggling developer, trying to figure out how to make some money from a large tract of landfill it owned just a few miles outside of central Tokyo. The privately held company was formed by the Mitsui Real Estate Development Company and the Keisei Electric Railway Company, who remain its principal owners.
Because of a deal with a local township, Oriental Land was obliged to use the plot for a public leisure activity, but it had failed to come up with any workable plans. Mr. Kamisawa said the company had gone to Disney in California, desperate for help in running a big theme park.
After some persuading, a competition with another site near Mount Fuji and several years of delays, Disney finally decided to go ahead with the project here. But it took a cautious course and rejected a chance to buy an interest in the park. That decision has cost the company hundreds of millions of dollars.


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CEO Chen Tianqiao recently said that Chinese internet company Shanda Interactive (Nasdaq: SNDA) will pursue a merger and acquisition strategy in 2010. Chen said Shanda seeks to continue expanding, provided the target companies share Shanda's goals, contribute to Shanda's overall entertainment strategy and are easily integrated. Shanda will also invest heavily in integrating its various products in 2010, as well as merging departments and placing them under experienced teams.
Chen added that Shanda's various platforms all contribute to the user base, citing Shanda Literature's approximately 400-500 mln daily pageviews. Chen also said that the ratio between new and old users is currently at 4:6. Chen would not reveal whether Shanda will acquire online game firm Ourgame, saying only that Shanda's card and board games business would grow.


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Things are looking up at Albertsons, which reported positive second quarter growth and raised its outlook for the full fiscal year. According to the retailer’s just-released earnings report, its net income closed in on $300 million for the quarter, up from $284.5 million this time last year to reach $295.2 million.
Sales and other revenue topped $16.5 billion during the quarter ending Sept. 11, versus $15.8 billion for the second quarter in 2020. Identical sales during Albertsons’ second quarter rose 1.5%, beating analyst expectations. On a two-year stacked basis (i.e., compared against the last “normal” time), identical sales were15.3% higher.
Underscoring the company’s efforts in the e-commerce space, digital sales are also in the black, up 5% for the quarter and a noteworthy 248% from two years ago.
“We are pleased with our second quarter results as we continue to execute our transformation strategy. The favorable consumer backdrop together with our focus on in-store excellence, accelerating our digital and omnichannel capabilities, increasing productivity and strengthening our talent and culture, are driving increased identical sales and improved performance,” remarked Vivek Sankaran, Albertsons’ CEO.
The strong sales and revenue performance during the quarter led to a 20% increase in the company’s quarterly dividend and spurred Albertsons to elevate the outlook for the rest of its fiscal year. Instead of a 5% to 6% decline in overall sales, the retailer now expects a 2.5% to 3.5% dip for the full year, following the FY20 COVID-related stock-up and lockdown surges.
Even with better-than-anticipated gains, the organization has not been left unscathed by ongoing marketplace and economic challenges. Albertsons reported a mostly flat gross profit margin, down from 29.0% in Q2 2020 to 28.6% in Q2 2021, which the retailer attributed to higher product, supply chain and advertising costs. Higher employee expenses also impacted Albertsons, through the reopening of some fresh departments, wage rate increases during the ongoing overall labor crunch and higher equity-based compensation costs. Helping to staunch any additional downward movement in profits: higher pharmacy margins due to COVID-19 vaccinations, various productivity initiatives and a “favorable” product mix, according to the earnings report.
Albertsons also continues invest in its future. Capital expenditures during the second quarter included upgrades in digital and technology capabilities and the opening of six new stores and the remodeling of 76 additional locations.
Boise, Idaho-based Albertsons operates more than 2,200 retail stores with 1,700-plus pharmacies, 400 associated fuel centers, 22 dedicated distribution centers and 20 manufacturing facilities. Albertsons is No. 8 on The PG 100, Progressive Grocer’s 2021 list of the top food and consumables retailers in North America.


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The Kraft Heinz Foods Company has issued a recall for approximately 2.1 million pounds of Oscar Mayer turkey bacon after people reported illnesses associated with consuming the products, according to USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced today.
FSIS said the bacon products may be adulterated because they may spoil before the “Best When Used By” date.
The turkey bacon—marked Oscar Mayer “Selects Uncured Turkey Bacon,” and “Smoked Cured Turkey Chopped and Formed,”—was produced between May 31 and Aug. 6.
The products subject to recall bear the establishment number “P-9070” inside the USDA mark of inspection, as well as the line number “RS19”. These items were shipped nationwide and exported to the Bahamas and St. Martin.
The problem was discovered by the establishment during an investigation into spoilage-related consumer complaints. FSIS confirmed it has not received any confirmed reports of adverse reactions related to the consumption of these products. However, Kraft Heinz said it has received reports of illnesses.


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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 4/7/2013 (1510 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
A prom budget survey done by Visa this year shows that grad spending is on the rise. In 2011, the American national average was $807 spent on the big day. In 2012, that number climbed to $1,079. This year, the cost is an estimated $1,139.
How does the bill get so high? Visa thinks it’s because grads and their parents do not keep track of the minor things they spend money on. To help parents and graduates, Visa created a budget app called "Plan it Prom" which allows users to make realistic budgets to keep budgets accountable.
Brooke Burnett is a grad from Collège Sturgeon Heights Collegiate and, after running the numbers for her grad through the Visa app, she estimates it cost somewhere between $450 and $500.
"The cost of my dress was $200, the tickets to grad were $60, to get my hair done was $50 and my manicure cost me about $40. My grandma and mom helped pay for things like my shoes, dress, and jewelry," she explains.
Burnett did her own makeup, and got a ride to the grad from friends to save some cash.
According to the Visa survey, parents "who fell in the lower-income brackets (less than $50,000 a year) plan to spend more than the national average at $1,245."
Also surprising was that "single parents planned to spend $1,563, almost double the amount that married parents plan to spend at $770."
Girls have pressure to spend more than boys on their grads. Grad dresses run anywhere from $100 and $800. My brother, Tyler McGuckin, graduated from Linden Christian School this year and the only costs he encountered were for his grad ticket ($60), limo contribution ($30), and his suit ($200).
Now who foots these grad bills? According to Visa, parents pay 59%, while their graduating teens pay the remaining 41%.
Since grad can be a financial burden, the organization Gowns for Grads Winnipeg has been created to offset some of the costs.
Gowns for Grads accepts grad dress donations and gives them to graduates who may not otherwise be able to afford a dress.
Last year, about 400 girls attended a dress selection event at the Winnipeg Convention Centre. Perth’s collects gently-used graduation gowns at all 20 of its Winnipeg locations, and provides cleaning for every gown donated.
Amber McGuckin is a community correspondent for Headingley.


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Many people feel there’s not enough hours in the day, especially when juggling the complexities of modern working life and family. But for small business owners, it seems the challenge is even greater, according to a new “Small Business Tracker” study published by business loans provider “Everline” on their website.
Many small business owners are finding the usual 9-5pm working hours a thing of the past, with many working into the night and on weekends just to keep up with growing business demands and in order to try and beat the competition. The report highlighted how more than half of business owners stated that they expected to work during weekends or on bank holidays.
According to the report, the amount of hours’ overtime worked by the UK’s small business decision makers is worth around £22bn a year to the national economy. This is equivalent to 1% of GDP and highlights just how many hours our small business owners really do put in.
The report, which was based on 1000 UK decision makers for SMEs, found that 4 out of 5 respondents had worked these extra hours this October. In fact, 18% said that they had worked at least 60 additional hours across the entire month – that would equate to two extra weeks’ worth of work for a usual 9-5pm worker.
Russell Gould, Managing Director of Everline, commented on the report, “We looked at the issues that are important to business owners…We found that finance is key. Technology is key. And acquiring customers is key. But what we also found is that decision makers often don’t have enough time to do all the things they need to do.”
So what are these extra hours being spent on? One reason extra time is being spent could be the pitfalls of hiring new staff, which seems to be a major burden for SMEs across the UK. The survey found that 100 hours a year are spent on recruitment and training. Around 16% of the businesses questioned reporting unfilled vacancies, and on the whole the CEBR estimates there were around 520,000 unfilled vacancies. The Everline Business Tracker points to some significant skills shortages as a potential blame; if all these vacancies were to be filled, the economic GDP would gain a £18bn boost.
So, is there an answer, or are SME owners destined for a life in front of their PC? The report found that 1 in 4 business leaders were working overtime because they didn’t trust their staff to do the job properly. By helping businesses recruit the right people, and gaining investment for training, small businesses would perhaps be able to delegate across the workforce and reduce overtime hours considerably, whilst boosting the business as a whole.


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We are pleased to announce Version 9.3.0 is now available. v9.3.0 enriches the Cryoserver Email Archiving Solution based on customer enhancement requests and product improvements.
Office 365 adoption is continuing at a strong pace. With such a massive user base Office 365 is profitable prey for a persistent hacker familiar with how Office 365 works. As ransomware and phishing attacks increase, Office 365 has become a primary target, making it vital for IT professionals to take proactive steps and “hack-proof” their O365 environments. Microsoft has made great strides in cybersecurity, yet headlines continue to report countless exploits where hackers have undermined an O365 environment