Sunday Times & Halifax tie-up features in rival newsbrands
Halifax’s sponsorship of The Sunday Times “Best Places to Live” guide has seen a rare occurrence in media as the ads feature in rival newsbrands. The campaign features dynamic DOOH ads in 14 of the 70 locations on the guide’s list along with press titles. The media strategy ultimately led to a negotiation in which the Metro and The Daily Mail ran ads for a Sunday Times' product within their own supplements.
Why is this important?
This campaign is a great cross-collaboration between creative and media. The unique strategy geo-targets the UK’s best places to live with tailored content which has led to the campaign being highly targeted and localized.
Google Ads custom columns get major upgrades
Custom columns, which were launched back in 2014, is a nifty feature within Google Ads that allows advertisers to display non-standard data directly within the web interface. They are now becoming even more powerful with new features including spreadsheet functions, the ability to calculate and compare across date ranges and many more. These additions are a massive win and bring more critical, customizable data to a location where you can directly edit campaigns.
Why is this important?
This is a monumental gift to Google Ads advertisers everywhere. In a time where it feels like ad platforms are getting simpler, this upgrade bucks the trend. For advertisers that have become accustomed to a back and forth between reports and editors, they may see notable time savings with carefully curated columns.
Instagram adds fundraising tool to Reels
Instagram has added various fundraising methods for users on their platform, with their latest addition being the option to set up a fundraiser through Reels. Users will now have the option to create a fundraiser via Instagram Reels, adding a ‘Donate’ button to the bottom of their clip which will remain active for 30 days from creation. The feature offers a selection of over 1.5 million non-profits to choose from and all money raised goes directly to the organization.
Why is this important?
Reels are currently a major focus for Instagram, with short-form video being consistently on the rise. Instagram may also be hopeful that promoting fundraising on the app will in turn encourage and normalise the transfer of funds in-app. The amount of visibility and raised awareness that can come from promotion via reels, Instagram themselves are not taking a cut, this is an addition that will have plenty of benefits for the many good causes being promoted.
Campaign of the Week: LinkedIn turns young ex-offenders into fashion designers
LinkedIn has partnered with social enterprise Inside Out to help create a clothing line by young ex-offenders as part of a rehabilitation project. The project brought together recent prison leavers aged between 18 and 27 years and gave them training and mentoring after they struggled to find employment following their release. The training provided will help the young ex-offenders build skills and find long-term employment with the wider ambition of creating a more inclusive workforce for everyone.
Thirteen pieces can be found in the unique clothing collection including branded hoodies, hats, T-shirts, face masks and bags. The garments are available at a pop-up store called Blank Canvas from 19-28 April.
