Launching today, the ‘Schuh Sneaker Hunt’ will challenge consumers across London, Manchester, Birmingham, Liverpool and Glasgow to explore their real-world surroundings on an interactive map to seek out a hidden ‘Schuh box’ which can only be discovered within the game.

Using smartphone technology, the box can be opened virtually to reveal a range of prizes, including a £1000 schuh voucher.

Developed in partnership with PHD Media Manchester and Verizon Medias RYOT Studio, the campaign focuses on engaging with Gen Z audiences and families with young children to encourage them to get outside. 

Footwear enthusiasts will be able to play the game online or via a QR code visible in store or featured on digital OOH sites across the UK.

The campaign will run from 6-20 September across social, OOH and video display activity within Reddit and Twitch. 

“We are thrilled to be launching the Schuh Sneaker Hunt to reward our community in a fun and inclusive way. PHD Manchester worked closely with us to create an innovative experience, allowing everyone the chance to take part, explore their city and local stores and hopefully be rewarded with a prize in doing so” Chief Marketing Officer for Schuh, Alice Cleary. 

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The launch will see the first two 15-20 minute films released in September via Starcom and Channel 4’s websites and promoted via their social channels. 

Each session will explore a different story, highlighting the journeys of individuals who occupy marginalised identities under the protected characteristics outlined within The Equality Act.

The following characteristics are covered by existing equality legislation such as age, disability, gender reassignment, race, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation, marriage, and civil partnership, and pregnancy and maternity.

“Creating space for unheard voices and helping to normalise taboo subjects by making them more visible, both on and off-screen, is at the heart of Channel 4’s public service remit. We’re really proud of this collaboration with Starcom which provides an important platform and safe space for people to share their stories and inspire positive change in our industry” said Chief Revenue Officer at Channel 4, Verica Djurdjevic. 

The post Starcom and Channel 4 launch Brave Stories appeared first on Mobile Marketing Magazine.

Sublime delivers creative and effective tailor-made programmatic advertising solutions to premium brands and publishers worldwide.

By integrating Sublime’s unobtrusive advertising capabilities into Azerion’s technology stack, Azerion will further improve the user experience and advertising performance of the platform simultaneously.

As part of the Azerion ecosystem, this acquisition will also bolster the company’s programmatic and monetisation offering across Europe. 

“With the acquisition of Sublime, we further strengthen our digital advertising platform. Since their launch in 2012, their impactful, user-friendly and scalable formats have changed the digital advertising industry. Sublime’s DNA aligns perfectly with Azerion’s multicultural values and European approach. Therefore, we expect Sublime to add immediate value to our platform and help execute premium creative content on behalf of the brands we work with across Europe” said Chief Revenue Officer at Azerion, Sebastiaan Moesman. 

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Aviva and Darwin have announced a milestone in their five-year strategic partnership with the registration of a passenger shuttle for use in autonomous vehicle trials, with the support of the O2 network.

Today, the shuttle was introduced outside St Helen’s, Aviva’s head office in the City of London. The shuttle did not operate at the event, but members of the public had the opportunity to see the vehicle.

The shuttle, created by Navya, will be used to demonstrate the potential of self-driving cars and gather information about their operation. Aviva will use data from these trials to evolve its current motor insurance products, enabling it to provide comprehensive cover for autonomous vehicles and associated technologies as they begin to operate on UK roads

Darwin began conducting activities involving self-driving technology about two years ago, with the support of the UK Space Agency and the European Space Agency.

“It’s exciting to bring this autonomous vehicle to our London headquarters so that people can witness the future of mobility in the making. There is no better place to unveil the vehicle than at Aviva with its long heritage in motor insurance, dating back to the very earliest vehicles” said Chief Operating Officer at Aviva, Nick Amin. “This is a great example of Aviva serving as an enabler – in this case, for important advancements in mobility, by providing insurance for the shuttle to be used on the UK’s roads. The data from this trial will help Aviva to better understand the future of mobility and shape our motor insurance policies for the vehicles of the future. I can’t think of a better demonstration of our core purpose, ‘with you today for a better tomorrow’.”

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Five years ago, augmented reality (AR) looked like it was set to conquer the world, with AR specialists like Blippar and Zappar rolling out brand campaigns across multiple sectors. Then, from a brand perspective, things seemed to cool off somewhat, but the past 18 months have seen unprecedented growth in AR. With the COVID-19 pandemic causing a shift in how we shop, socialise, seek medical care and travel, the need for augmented reality solutions accelerated.

According to Tech Jury, the current value of the AR market stands at $3.5bn (£2.55bn). This is estimated to rise to $18bn by 2023.
As it’s much easier to augment reality than it is to create a virtual one, this in-between technology has powerful potential in everyday life.

What is augmented reality?
Augmented reality (AR) is an enhanced version of the real physical world that is achieved through the use of digital visual elements. Through our smartphone screens, we can see the real-life environment in front of us – for example, our bedroom floor, chest of drawers and pile of dirty laundry – with a digital augmentation laid over it. Our favourite popstar may be performing in real-time on our bedroom carpet or a pterodactyl may swoop down onto our laundry pile.

You may have inadvertently been using AR for years, experimenting with a pair of bunny ears on your Instagram selfie or adding a large pair of sunglasses on the Snapchat Lens to hide a hangover.

Meanwhile, the use of AR is exploding in the world around is, with brands and industries using it to completely revolutionise how they operate.

AR commerce
Augmented reality represents an opportunity to enrich and completely transform the shopping experience. By unlocking a new dimension, brands and retailers can bring their products to life in consumers own homes, in-store, or just about anywhere. By viewing a product in real life at accurate size and scale, the journey to purchase is not only speeded up but is significantly more fun.

AR ‘Try Before You Buy’ experiences are used by everyday brands such as IKEA as well as luxury brands like Louis Vuitton and Gucci.

David Ripert is CEO and Co-founder of Poplar Studio, an AR and 3D creative platform that helps brands create virtual experiences across all channels.

He explains: “With ‘try-before-you-buy’ most retailers will look at conversion to sales. We see metrics that are anywhere between 90 per cent and 200 per cent extra conversion when people ‘try-on’ using AR, such as glasses or placing furniture in their home. One cool thing is that there’s less returns, which are very costly for retailers. You can imagine that there have been many instances where a customer has ordered something like a washing machine from John Lewis and it hasn’t fitted through the front door. By using AR you can try it in real size, customise it, and you know if it’s going to fit in your home.”

Camera IQ helps brands create and publish AR experiences at scale to Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat. This includes virtual try-on experiences for big-name beauty brands, such as MAC.

“Now, more than ever, there’s been an acceleration for brands to understand that they need digital experiences. It’s not enough to just visualise the product, it’s about bringing the product experience to life” says Sonia Tsao, Co-Founder and COO at Camera IQ. “From a marketer’s point of view, what other medium allows you to insert an awareness play and the opportunity to convert on the spot? It’s a very exciting time for AR.”

Last month, Camera IQ launched its Virtual Try-On Composer – a no-code design platform for AR advertising.

“At the core, there’s a couple of value props. Certainly the ‘create once, publish everywhere’ is core to the platform and will continue to drive our roadmap” says Tsao. “However, one of the biggest challenges in this space is that every one of these platforms has its own tech stack, meaning their own proprietary 3D AR studio environments that are very specialised and require technical skill. So, what Camera IQ has done is create a user interface in a creative platform that looks and functions more like an Adobe product. It’s really easy to use for any individual. Anyone from a marketer to a 2D motion graphics designer can use our workflow to create a world of compelling AR experiences and publish them across platforms.”

While currently focussed on brands, Tsao imagines a future where Camera IQ could be put in the hands of content creators and consumers, helping develop the ‘creator economy’.

She explains: “We’re now starting to work with traditional make-up artists who are creating AR looks for award season. For us, brands should absolutely be looking at AR creators and looking to tap them. Camera IQ would love to be the platform that empowers that relationship in many ways. Our dream is to democratise AR by putting our tool in front of as many businesses and individuals as possible.”

AR events
It was not only the retail sector that experienced an AR transformation during the pandemic. With consumers locked down at home, live events companies had to think outside of the box and take advantage of new revenue streams to facilitate fan engagement without the necessity of traditional live touring.

Singer Liam Payne delivered a ground-breaking AR performance at the EE BAFTAs via The Round app, thrilling fans as he was projected into their living rooms. The digital performance was powered using EE’s 5G technology, something that The Round app Founders Pip Brignall and Thomas Winsor described as “really exciting” in the potential it has for reducing latency and increasing bandwidth, allowing for meaningful interactions between performers and audiences at home.

Fans being unable to travel also meant that the sporting world turned to AR to connect audiences with big events.

NTT was tasked with creating the world’s largest connected stadium – a ‘digital twin’ of the Tour de France. Millions of data points were collected and brought to life through stunning, insightful visualisations and digital experiences for fans, no matter where they were in the world.

“Today, organisations across the board want to provide deeper, richer experiences for both customers and employees. We therefore don’t imagine that the use of AR and digital enhancements to engage global fans will be going away any time soon” explains Tim Wade, Vice President, Advanced Technology Group, Sport at NTT.

“We are continually developing and discovering new ways of visualising data, which allow events to deliver data-driven insights and predictions to fans across any device. It’s through hosting connected fan experiences and digital platforms that event organisers are able to engage multiple audiences in multiple ways. Even as fans return to events, these apps will continue to share real-time data, information, insight and exclusive apps and content, meaning fans can turn to AR technology to enhance their experience while watching live sport – rather than using it exclusively at home.”

Social media
The Snapchat Lens is one of the main platforms for companies looking to launch an AR brand campaign. Snapchat currently has over 200,000 Lens Creators around the world, who have made nearly 2m Lenses. These have been viewed by Snapchatters more than 2 trillion times. The platform’s recent AR brand campaigns include one for Samsung Electronics UK, where users could try on the Samsung Galaxy Watch 3 and Ben & Jerry’s ‘Cookie Dough Peace Pop’, where Snapchat users were invited to scan the packaging to open up an AR lens transporting them to a summer festival experience.

Around 170m Snapchatters use the platform’s Scan functionality every month, as Toccara Baker, Product Marketing at Snapchat, explains:

“AR has evolved to have more utilitarian use cases that really help with a couple of things. The first is providing and giving information. So, through our scan capabilities, someone can scan a plant, or a math problem and it’s solved for them. Another is really engaging with products in a fun way. What we saw last year was a meeting point of everyone being at home and unable to go into stores and the strong use cases for AR to allow for things such as try-on or exploring a product. AR really helps from an advertising perspective to bring a product experience to our community. We’ve also seen AR technology evolving so that these experiences are more real. We had great campaigns with Gucci and Dior, two of our initial advertisers to use this technology, allowing the capability to try on new shoes, see what they look like on your foot, and then to be able to actually purchase that item directly from the camera.”

Baker continues: “We are all about allowing our community to engage with the camera how theyd like. They can go through a carousel of different Lenses, which includes the shopping formats, and really new and exciting Lenses, like the Lens that turns your face into an anime character. The ones that make you look older, or even the ones where you turn into a hot dog are still really engaging. It’s all about providing that choice, and then allowing our community to explore.

“We’re also exploring ways you can use AR with friends and a larger community. Earlier this year we announced a partnership with Lego, which has the capability for our community to build Lego together. Another thing we have built this year is our organic offerings for advertisers, which we call our public profiles for business. This is essentially a profile that advertisers have on our platform that allows them to do a couple of things. One, it expands the life of their AR creative – we saw that a lot of advertisers were investing in AR but there was no place for these AR experiences to live so that the community could return back to them. This allows advertisers to expand that life. At the same time, we have a lot we are doing from a commerce perspective on profiles. Currently, we offer a store on the profile, with AR shopping and lenses. We’re very focussed on deepening that commerce experience for advertisers and for the community with the profile at the core of it. We’re really excited about the future of that and how it ties into AR for us.”

Education
Augmented reality also has the potential to breathe new life into education, offering extraordinary and interactive learning opportunities both in and out of the classroom.

UNIT9 is an innovation production studio that has taken on mammoth AR projects, including ‘The Met Unframed’ where famous artworks came alive and JFK ‘Moonshot’, which involved creating a fully synchronised AR recreation of Apollo 11.

It’s Clients Partnerships Manager, Adam Mingay, explains how AR has the ability to transform education entirely for a younger generation.

“Augmenting the past into someones current space at the touch of a button is incredibly evocative,” says Mingay. “JFK Moonshot is the perfect example of taking a huge moment in recent human history, the moon landing – something that would normally be taught in a more traditional and arguably less scintillating way – and contextualising it with augmented reality to heighten not only awareness but also the sense of actually being there. Bringing these moments to life using technology, whether at a museum, in a classroom or in the user’s front room, will only increase the likelihood of genuine excitement around a subject, versus minimal engagement when simply reading from a textbook. AR is cool, and adding a layer of educational content doesn’t dampen that fact.”

UNIT9 also recently created an AR ‘Discover Dubai Creek Harbour’ experience, spanning over 300 buildings in 11 different districts. While travel restrictions remain for so many, AR could very well be the future for not only education but property development.

“Traditional methods of showcasing new properties using scale models or 3D renders just aren’t as immersive as AR-led activations, and they’re starting to look outdated” says Mingay. “This AR revolution isn’t just limited to interactive models. Creative minds within property development are quickly finding out that this digital innovation isn’t simply a gimmick, but something which allows people to gain a truer insight into what they’re buying. From AR floorplans captured using light-detecting LIDAR sensors and published online, to augmented portals that allow users to step into their new apartments from the other side of the world, there’s scope to totally change the way in which people buy and sell property in the years to come.”

Keep it simple
Poplar Studio’s Ripert has advice for marketers looking to incorporate AR experiences into their campaigns.

“The user journey should be as simple as possible. Sometimes clients want to do something quite complex with augmented reality. However, it’s often the simplest ones that get shared the most and work the best,” he says. “You have to think about which the right platform is to upload your AR experience on. You can also promote through media now – so on Snapchat and TikTok you can buy ads to promote that AR effect. Web AR is another format that is really taking off as it doesn’t depend on someone downloading a dedicated application. So that’s anything that’s visible directly on Chrome or Safari on mobile browsers. You can promote Web AR anywhere you want because the AR experience will live on a URL. That’s why we use QR codes if it’s printed on paper – you can scan that QR code and it will take you directly to the AR experience.”

Ripert warns of the complex and technical limitations of AR, stressing that 2D products such as videos and photos will need to be transformed into 3D models that can be used and deployed for eCommerce.

“Let’s say you want to place a virtual character in your AR environment, for example a piece of furniture. A brand may have 3D models already, but if they don’t then they will have to be created,” says Ripert. “Oftentimes a brand may have developed a piece of IP for video or another type of campaign and that file will be very heavy. With mobile you want the experience to be seamless for the user, which means making the file size as low as possible. For Snapchat and Instagram the file size is now eight megabytes – it used to be just four megabytes. It’s important to remember that people are still on 3G and 4G or they’re using WIFI on holiday that may cut out a bit. When 5G is in all the big cities it will be a real gamechanger for AR, but for now we still have to make sure that the experiences are optimised for users.”

The future of AR
The future is bright for AR. Apple is rumoured to have a secret team of hundreds of employees working on virtual and augmented reality projects. This includes a hotly anticipated mixedreality headset and glasses. According to Mac Rumors, the headset is said to feature two high-resolution 8K displays and eye-detecting cameras that will let users “read small type” and “see other people standing in front and behind of virtual objects”.

This year, Microsoft also won a tender to supply the American Army with 120K HoloLens-based gadgets. The headsets will be worth close to $22bn (source: The Verge).

As UNIT9’s Mingay summarises “AR isn’t just here to stay, it’s here to take over. According to a recent Neilsen survey, over half of us want to use more AR and VR in our daily lives – and as we continue our inevitable progress towards the Metaverse, it certainly looks like this will be the case very soon. AR will become not just a tool to engage with fashion, music, education or property, but an integral part of everyday routine. As natural as scrolling through Instagram or checking emails.”

The post Augmented Reality 101 appeared first on Mobile Marketing Magazine.

The Age Appropriate Design Code (AKA the Childrens Code) was written into law by data protection watchdog, ICO. It mandates websites and apps must take the “best interests” of their child users into account, or face fines of up to 4 per cent of annual global turnover.

The code applies to connected toys and games but also online retail and for-profit online services such as social media and video sharing platforms which have a strong pull for under-18s.

Among the code’s stipulations are that a level of “high privacy” should be applied to settings by default if the user is (or is suspected to be) a child.

The code also prohibits the use of “nudge” techniques aimed at encouraging children to give up more of their privacy than they would otherwise choose to, calls on companies to minimise the data they collect about children, and requires them to offer children privacy options that default to the maximum security.

“Overall, the age-appropriate design code being enforced from today is welcome news – any steps taken by social platforms to protect younger users is always a positive thing,” said Chief of Strategy at Emplifi, Yuval Ben-Itzhak. “However, the recently suggested method, where kids are expected to type-in their birthdate to be restricted from content, is fragile. Without a reliable and advanced validation process, such as ID scanning or facial analysis technology, the data collection can be easily manipulated and the overall purpose will be missed. While well-intentioned platform vendors may claim to serve content per the typed-in age and feel they are doing right, under 18s are inherently digital-savvy, and it won’t take much for them to bypass this rule by setting their desired age to access the content they like.

“Certainly, the user verification process is not an easy one to get right. While content moderation is challenging, it is still something algorithms and humans should label and filter while letting users select the type of content they are interested in. For global online platforms, it’s important to recognise the complexity of this challenge. For example, culture and religion will undoubtedly need to be considered when assessing content.”

The Age Appropriate Design Code comes into effect on Thursday. 

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The smart speaker technology invites listeners of Bauer Media stations such as Magic Radio and News UK stations such as Virgin Radio to send money instantly and securely through speech, reducing barriers and encouraging more people to donate.

The campaign follows recent research from Bauer which found that during the pandemic, 59 per cent of audiences listened to more radio on their smart speakers than before, with 61 per cent of them stating that they would continue this increased smart speaker listening now after restrictions have lifted. 

Furthermore, a study from Savanta found that the not-for-profit sector is more likely than the private sector to have been negatively impacted by the pandemic – with greater proportions of charities reporting adverse impacts such as a decline in income and decreased donations.

Listeners of the ads will be instructed to respond to the creative, prompting Alexa to begin the donation process and ask the audience how much they want to give. Once the listener has confirmed their amount, the donation will automatically be processed, with money being taken out directly through their Amazon Pay account.

In addition to making audience’s lives easier, the connected nature of the devices enables the direct effect of ad spend on user engagement to be measured, providing invaluable information for the charities too.

“We’re delighted to be partnering with Say It Now to connect these incredible charities with targeted audiences across iconic Bauer and News UK brands. We believe this campaign will not only encourage new audience behaviours but also change the way brands work with voice activated technology via smart speakers going forward. It combines the opportunity around more consumers listening to radio digitally via smart speakers, Say It Now’s innovative tech, and our scaled reach together. We hope this campaign will increase donations and make a difference to those in need using the very best in digital innovation” said Product Strategy Lead at Octave Audio, Anna-Lena Mikoteit.

The campaign will last three months, with each charity’s creative airing for one month. Ads with Macmillan creative begins today.

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The Wella Company appoints three executive leaders 
Global leader in the beauty industry, The Wella Company has appointed three diverse C-suite executives to its Leadership Team.

Virginie Costa joins as Global Chief Financial Officer, bringing more than 25 years of financial management experience and a proven track record of developing winning teams. Most recently, Costa served as CFO of GODIVA where she was instrumental in helping transform the company, including expansion at retail and across eCommerce. She is a member of the Board of Directors for Advantage Solutions, a global communications, and media company, where she chairs the Audit Committee.

Gretchen Koback Pursel joins Wella Company as Global Chief People Officer. Pursel has extensive experience running human resources for large global public companies. Most recently she held the position of CHRO at Tiffany & Co. where she led the people agenda during the company’s transformation over her two-decade tenure.

Hugh Dineen joins Wella Company in the newly created role of President of Global Brands and Global Chief Marketing Officer. Dineen joins from MetLife where he built a breakthrough marketing engine that successfully leveraged digital to significantly accelerate business growth as their CMO. Prior, he helped turn around Avon’s significant beauty business including the skincare, haircare, color cosmetics, and fragrance portfolios.

Turner joins LinkedIn 
LinkedIn has announced the appointment of Mimi Turner as Head of EMEAL for the B2B Institute.

Turner was previously Director of Strategy, Messaging and Research for the Liberal Democrats, and before that held various senior marketing roles positioning businesses like LADbible, talkSPORT and the Health Lottery for significant expansion.

“In the last decade I have become more than a bit obsessed with the puzzle of marketing effectiveness. Like many marketers, I have used the paradigm-shifting ideas of Ehrenberg-Bass, Binet & Field, Rory Sutherland, Iain McGilchrist, Mark Ritson and others to deliver practical results. And at the Liberal Democrats, our work with Juergen Maier CBE on the contribution made to our social, economic, and political matrix by small and medium-sized businesses, really opened my eyes to the impact of systemic growth. Putting that together within an amazing team and company is simply a dream job. I am IN!” said Turner. 

Havas Media Group recruits Kell 
Havas Media Group, the media division of the global marketing and communications group Havas has announced the appointment of Laura Kell to the newly created role of Chief Data and Product Officer.

A 16-year veteran of Omnicom Media Group in the UK and EMEA, Kell joins from OMD EMEA, where she was most recently Group Marketing Intelligence Partner. Over the last seven years, she has built and led the agency’s Marketing Intelligence team, while playing a key role in developing Omnicom Media Group’s data and analytics offering, network tools and solutions. She has worked with clients in all key sectors, designing new analytical approaches to planning.

In her new role, Kell will oversee Havas Media Group’s data and product offering, unifying its engineering, analytics, technology and data strategy capabilities in order to help make a meaningful difference to brands.

“The passion, energy and ambition at Havas Media Group is infectious at the moment, which is why I’m so proud and excited to be joining. It’s clear that the media group has invested in the right areas to deliver meaningful outcomes for brands, while the Village model delivers against the promise for integrated services which is essential to unlock the true potential of data, tech and analytics” said Kell. “I’m really looking forward to working with the team to create solutions that have a significant positive impact on our clients’ business growth.”

Ankrah to lead Merkle’s UK Technology Consulting Practice
Technology-enabled, data-driven customer experience management (CXM) company, Merkle has appointed Andy Ankrah to head of technology consulting, leading a new dedicated UK practice that aims to drive business value through technology investment and optimisation for clients.

Previously senior director of solutions, Merkle EMEA, Ankrah founded a similarly successful Customer Experience Optimisation (CXO) practice in the UK, which led global deployment of new technology for clients such as Stanley Black & Decker and Volkswagen Group.

Wavemaker recruits Saunders 
Media agency network, Wavemaker has appointed Oli Saunders to the role of Global Head of Addressability and DCO.

As part of Wavemaker’s Consulting Hub and based in London, Saunders will be tasked with ensuring the ongoing and continual growth of addressable content opportunities across the agency and for clients, building out the agency’s capabilities in market and globally, and embedding addressable content opportunities into the planning process.

Saunders joins Wavemaker after acting as a strategic advisor to the GroupM Addressable Content Unit, prior to which he was Chief Product Officer at Omnicom’s programmatic creative specialist shop Adylic. He is also the COO and co-founder of the award-winning lifestyle blog platform FitnessOnToast.com.

M&C Saatchi appoints Head of Planning 
Creative company, M&C Saatchi has further bolstered its customer capability with the appointment of Rich Edwards as Head of Planning for its O2 business.

Prior to a short break from agency life, Edwards was most recently Executive Strategy Director at creative agency Iris, where he built and ran the integrated strategy team in London, and led the development of the agency’s approach to customer and brand experience. As part of the role, he oversaw customer, loyalty, digital and innovation strategy for KFC, and also led planning for clients including Formula E, Suzuki and Haven Holidays.

Edwards previously spent nearly eight-and-a-half years at M&C Saatchi Group customer agency LIDA, which merged with M&C Saatchi in January 2020, holding various account handling and planning roles between 2004 and 2012. He was part of the LIDA pitch team which originally won the O2 business.

Ramirez joins IAS team 
Digital media quality company, Integral Ad Science (IAS) has announced the hire of a new SVP of Technical Customer Operations, Jose Ramirez.

Ramirez joins IAS with more than 15 years of experience in technical and client service roles at some of the world’s largest technology companies. Most recently, he was the Head of Account Strategy at Verizon Media where he led the native and programmatic advertising client services organisation in North America.

Prior to that, Ramirez was the Senior Director, Programmatic Services at Yahoo where he built the company’s expansive demand-side platform (DSP) optimisation strategy services team in North America, expanded its team across key markets including Latin America, and established its customer support resources in India.

Vamp announces CEO 
Influencer and content platform Vamp has announced the appointment of Gabriele Famous as CEO.

Previously Chief Marketing Officer at Trustpilot, Famous brings extensive experience leading and scaling global technology organisations including Salesforce and Zendesk to her new role.

“Vamp has an incredible track record across Australia, Asia, the Middle East and Europe, in delivering beautifully effective content for leading global brands. The platform puts the power of social communication at a brand’s fingertips and allows them to harness it in a fast, efficient and scalable way. Its intuitive nature will allow Vamp to grow, enabling more marketers, of all abilities and budgets, to run influencer campaigns” said Famous. 

Gardner joins Croud 
Digital marketing agency, Croud has announced the appointment of Dean Gardner as global chief operating officer, a new role for the business, as it looks to build on its impressive growth, particularly in the US market, and further drive its new global M&A strategy.

Gardner has spent the last 13 years working within Omnicom Media Group across both US and UK markets, where he was integral in building and leading the digital performance, operations and transformation teams, with a focus on data and technology. He held senior roles at Resolution Media, Accuen and most recently at OMD USA, where he was Business Transformation Officer.

Journey Further announces Chief Strategy Officer 
Performance marketing agency, Journey Further has appointed James Addlestone as its new Chief Strategy Officer.

Addlestone will join the executive team and lead strategy for the Leeds, London and Manchester agency, working closely with CEO, Robin Skidmore, and Managing Director, Matt Kwiecinski, to deliver on the business’s global growth plans.

Addlestone began his career in strategy consulting and data science at Deloitte, before moving to a number of agency groups including Interpublic and Omnicom. He departs his role as Head of Decision Science at RAPP to join Journey Further.

LoopMe expands team 
Outcomes-based advertising platform has appointed Rob Cukierman as GM of Measurement and Product Partnerships to further drive its measurement and data business.

Cukierman brings with him a deep expertise in business strategy from his executive positions at Nielsen, IAC, and multinational video hosting service, Vevo. Most recently, he was SVP Strategy & Measurement at video advertising company, ZEFR.

Evawin moves to Code Computerlove 
Digital product studio, Code Computerlove has appointed Jamie Evawin as Head of Experimentation as popularity for experiment-led product innovation continues to soar.

Evawin, who worked at Code for four years before moving to musicMagpie 18 months ago, returns to the Manchester-based digital studio to advance Code’s culture of experimentation and drive growth of the agency’s performance function.

As Head of Experimentation he will embed more experimentation tools and practices into its cross-discipline product teams, as well as expand Code’s range of services that sit under performance and user experience, including CRO, analytics and user testing. Evawin will also work closely with the wider Mediacom North Group and the recently launched Google Practice, delivering best practices across experimentation and optimisation.

Adverty makes two new hires 
In-game platform for advertiser, Adverty has established local presence in Istanbul, with two new hires.

Erdem Can Tüzün joins Adverty as Director of Programmatic Sales and will grow and maintain programmatic partners, both direct SSPs, such as PubMatic, InMobi and Azerion, and indirect opportunities via DSPs such as The Trade Desk, Amazon and Media Math. He was previously at AdColony for three years – most recently as Team Lead of Programmatic, having rapidly risen through the ranks at the mobile video advertising company.

Ça?la Mordeniz is appointed as Director of Publisher Growth and will focus on growing Adverty’s catalogue of game developers in the region. She brings considerable experience in the mobile gaming industry, having worked at AdColony as well as gaming company BoomBit, where she was Publishing Manager, locating high quality Turkish mobile game developers and studios.

Admix recruits Berman 
In-Play advertising platform, Admix has announces the appointment of senior advertising industry leader Marty Berman as VP of Sales for North America and LATAM.

Berman joins Admix with over two decades of media and advertising industry experience, having held senior leadership roles at global organizations such as InMobi, Integrate Marketing, NBC Internet, Triad and Monster, with key accounts including American Family Insurance, United Airlines, GMC and Progressive Insurance.

W?odarczyk joins RTB House 
Online advertising solutions company RTB House has announced that Lukasz W?odarczyk been appointed to the newly created position of VP of Programmatic Ecosystem Growth & Innovation.

In his new role, W?odarczyk will be responsible for projects and activities related to the companys development of the programmatic ecosystem in the Open Internet, along with strengthening RTB Houses leading position in shaping the digital landscape following the replacement of cookies by other mechanisms.

W?odarczyk held the position of Director of Global Inventory Partnerships at RTB House and has played a key role in leading the business partnerships with inventory suppliers and the companys cookieless education.

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The 12-month project, in partnership with the NHS and funded by Kidney Research UK foundation, is exploring the development of a unique VR application that simulates a dialysis machine, its associated equipment, and the complete process, in a virtual patient.

This will allow families to undertake training at their own pace in their home, and experience what dialysis may entail. 

VR can provide feedback such as warning flashing lights, alarms, or via vibration.

The application is intended to complement existing training, aiming to reduce the duration of inpatient education delivery and the frequency of outpatient educational visits. It can also simulate potential adverse scenarios to specifically prepare and train users for complications that may occur during the dialysis process, but may not be routinely encountered during real-life training.

“Dialysis is the process by which a patient is kept alive when their kidneys stop functioning. The duration of such therapy can be years for some patients as they wait for a suitable transplant. For younger patients and their families, this is an extremely stressful time as they usually have very limited exposure to dialysis as a process, or to dialysis-experienced peers. This makes informed decision-making difficult and provokes anxieties in families about the choice of a dialysis method, and how they may cope with home-based therapies,” said Professor Vassilis Charissis, who is leading the project at GCU.

“For patients facing renal replacement, this system could provide a fully interactive and immersive manual, guiding them through their options for treatment, supporting informed consent, training them through the early stages of the procedure if they opt to receive treatment at home, as well as acting as a reminder during the process and when troubleshooting of dialysis equipment is required.”

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