“The festive season is all about generosity and giving, and weve now made it easier than ever to give the gift of Greggs, so there really is no excuse for a disappointing secret Santa present this year,” said Hannah Squirrell, customer director at Greggs. “Were excited to be the first company to use bot technology for gifting in the UK and we hope our customers get into the spirit of the bot, even after the Christmas period.”

The gifting bot integrates into Greggs existing ePOS infrastructure, enabling redemption at any of Greggs 1,800+ locations in the UK via scanning the users smartphone. The team behind the campaign are also planning to continue to evolve the product, enabling integration with third party payment platforms like Apple Pay and Android Pay.

The bot was developed in collaboration with chatbot specialists Autosermo, and Fetch, which operates as part of the Dentsu Aegis Network, has run media activation, planning and buying through its sister agency, Carat Manchester.

“We spotted an opportunity to go beyond the traditional gift cards and allow consumers to engage in random acts of kindness over the Christmas period,” said James Lodge, director of mobile at Fetch Manchester. “Were hugely excited to be working with Greggs and Carat on the Gifting Boy and to be leading the way in innovation. With the proliferation of messenger apps and over 50 per cent of users opening their messenger app at least once a day, it was a no brainer to build the Greggs Gifting Boy in a place of high engagement to drive scale and virality.”

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According to an internal note from Mats Granryd, director general of the GSMA, that was sent to all staff, both executives “have decided to leave the GSMA and Ive agreed they can do with immediate effect”. It is not clear why either decided to leave the organisation at such short notice, or if the departures are connected.

The note also outlined a temporary reporting structure for staff to follow while replacements are found, and Granryd called on staff to pull together in the lead-up to next years MWC event in Barcelona, typically the GSMAs biggest show of the year.

“As we approach Barcelona, it is important we maintain focus, despite changes in management and reporting lines,” wrote Granryd. “I know I can count on you all to deliver.”

OHara joined the GSMA in 2008 and has been a key figure in the organisations growth during his time with the group. Over the past decade, the MWC event in Barcelona has doubled in size to more than 100,000 attendees, and the group has also launched annual events in Shanghai and San Francisco. OHara oversaw the conference programmes, Mobile World Live TV service, Innovation City exhibition and all event branding, marketing and communications for the events. Caballo is also a veteran of the GSMA, having been with the organisation since 2006. His departure comes just a week after a GSMA conference in Buenos Aires, part of its Mobile 360 series.

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“Through our policies and partnerships, AppNexus is leading the charge to give advertisers increased transparency in the global marketplace,” said Ryan Christensen, senior vice president of product for AppNexus owners Xandr. “We want our buyers to know that when you transact on AppNexus supply, you have visibility into your working media dollars. AppNexus takes pride in being on the forefront of critical initiatives that instil trust in the supply chain and bring maximum visibility and benefit to our clients.”

The announcement builds on progress AppNexus has been making since Q4 of 2017, when the firm began approaching direct publisher clients with agreements to offer transparency of their technology fees to buyers. The agreements, which now represent 82 per cent of transactions on direct sellers in the US and 58 per cent of transactions on direct sellers globally, give AppNExus permission to make seller technology fees on each impression available confidentially to buyers transacting with the AppNexus SSP.

“End-to-end free transparency is now table stakes for an IPG exchange partnership as we head into 2019,” said Vincent Paolozzi, executive vice president of innovation at Magna. “Optimising this intelligence allows Magna to curate a market advantage by maximising client working media. Were thrilled that AppNexus is championing this initiative, and we take great confidence in partnering with the AppNexus SSP knowing we have access to such a high degree of transparent inventory.”

Buyers can currently view seller technology fees on the AppNexus platform through third-party reporting, using transparency partners like Lucidity, AD/FIN and Amino Payments. In addition to these partnerships, AppNexus is piloting a proprietary fee transparency report to give marketers and agencies insight into seller technology fees across the AppNexus SPP.

“AppNexus is committed to helping buyers and sellers transact optimally in our premium, global marketplace, so they can be confident theyre getting the most out of their spend,” said Nigel Gilbert, chief market strategist for EMEA at AppNexus. “Were proud of the milestones weve reached for technology fee transparency at scale, and excited to continue our efforts to supprt buyers and sellers across our international markets.”

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The restructuring, which will cost the firm £300m over the next three years to carry out, will see WPP close 80 offices globally and combine operations of a further 100 in slower markets. The company currently boasts more than 3,000 offices in 112 countries, with 400 ad businesses operating under its umbrella. The job losses represent around 2.6 per cent of the group’s current workforce of 134,000, and with plans announced to refocus on its roots, the firm also plans to hire 1,000 creative staff, reducing net job losses to around 2,500.

“What we hear from clients is very consistent: they want our creativity, and they want us to help them transform their business in a world reshaped by technology. This is at the heart of what we do,” said Mark Read, chief executive of WPP. “We are fundamentally repositioning WPP as a creative transformation company with a simpler offer that allows us to meet the present and future needs of clients. This more contemporary proposition has already helped us to win new business, including Volkswagen’s creative account in North America.

“The restructuring of our business will enable increased investment in creativity, technology and talent, enhancing our capabilities in the categories with the greatest potential for future growth. As well as improving our offer and creating opportunities for clients, this investment will drive sustainable, profitable growth for our shareholders. We describe our approach as ‘radical evolution’: radical because we are taking decisive action and implementing major change; evolution because we will achieve this while respecting the things that make WPP the great company it is today.”

According to WPP, the changes will ultimately save the group £275m a year by the end of 2021, half of which will be reinvested in the business. In reaction to the news and an upgrade to the company’s full-year sales guidance, WPP’s share price rose more than six per cent, although some city analysts reportedly remain sceptical. In October, WPP lost around 20 per cent of its market value after missing its forecast of third-quarter sales and downgrading its full-year guidance.

At the end of November, WPP announced that one of its largest and oldest agencies, J. Walter Thompson (JWT) was merging with digital specialists Wunderman in an effort to simplify its business. Read had previously said that the group had become “unwieldy with too much duplication”, while clients had reportedly criticised WPP as becoming difficult to do business with due to the sheer scale of the firm.

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The digital Walmart store offers Japanese shoppers access to a wide variety of US branded products, including clothing, outdoor goods and toys. The store will initially offer around 1,200 products from a diverse range of brands, with orders fulfilled in the US and air freighted directly to Japanese customers. Walmart has plans to continue expanding the product range as the store develops, with its Japanese subsidiary Seiyu GK providing local customer support.

“We are very excited to be working with Walmart to bring a diverse product lineup of American brands at affordable prices to Rakuten Ichiba users in Japan,” said Shunsuke Yazawa, executive officer and vice president of the marketplace business at Rakuten. “Through the opening of the Walmart Rakuten Ichiba Store, we hope to make Rakuten Ichiba an even more attractive destination for online shoppers in Japan.”

The digital store is part of a strategic alliance between Walmart and Rakuten that was announced at the start of the year. The two companies are hoping to leverage their unique strengths and assets to expand consumer reach and enhance the way customers are served in both Japan and the US. In October, Rakuten and Seiyu jointly opened the Rakuten Seiyu Netsuper, an online grocery delivery service, and in August, Walmart eBooks by Rakuten Kobo was introduced, giving Walmart customers in the US access to a catalogue of more than 6m eBooks and audiobooks.

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The case, brought by Qualcomm, is part of a larger patent dispute between the two firms which consists of dozens of lawsuits filed around the world. While Apple has claimed that the decision will not impact sales, with all of its phone models remaining available in mainland China, the ruling creates significant uncertainty over the company’s business in one of its biggest markets.

The preliminary order, which came from the Fuzhou Intermediate People’s Court in China, found that Apple violated two Qualcomm software patents related to resizing photographs and managing applications on a touchscreen. The decision impacts the iPhone 6S through to the iPhone X, but only models sold with older versions of Apple’s iOS operating system.

“Apple continues to benefit from our intellectual property while refusing to compensate us,” said Don Rosenberg, executive vice president and general counsel of Qualcomm, in a statement on the decision. “These Court orders a further confirmation of the strength of Qualcomm’s vast patent portfolio.”

In response, Apple issued a statement saying “Qualcomm’s effort to ban our products is another desperate move by a company whose illegal practices are under investigation by regulators around the world. All iPhone models remain available for our customers in China. Qualcomm is asserting three patents they had never raised before, including one which has already been invalidated. We will pursue all our legal options through the courts.”

As a result of the ruling, Qualcomm shares rose three per cent on Monday, while Apple opened more than two per cent down, before closing up 0.7 per cent. Citi has lowered its Apple price target to $200 (£159) a share from $240, saying in a note to investors that while it does not expect China to ban or impose additional tariffs on Apple, “should this occur, apple has material exposure to China”.

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The news comes after Google had already announced plans to shut down Google+ back in October, when a flaw impacting 500,000 users was exposed. The social network, which had never made a wide impact, was initially set to shut down in August 2019.

“With the discovery of this new bug, we have decided to expedite the shutdown of all Google+ APIs; this will occur within the next 90 days,” said David Thacker, head of product management for G Suite at Google. “In addition, we have also decided to accelerate the sun-setting of consumer Google+ from August 2019 to April 2019. While we recognise there are implications for developers, we want to ensure the protection of our users.”

The flaw was discovered by Google staff during routine testing, and had only been present in the system since November, after Google had already made the decision to close down the platform. There is no evidence that the flaw had been exploited by bad actors, but it does beg the question how such a massive flaw could be introduced to a system that had already been investigated for a data breach.

The timing of the breach is poor for Google CEO Sundar Pichai, who is due to appear in front of a Congressional committee in Washington DC this week. The hearing is primarily to discuss the possibility of political bias across Googles products, but questioning will likely stray into other areas, including Google+.

The firm was criticised back in October for failing to disclose the initial data leak on the platform, which was discovered in March 2018. Internal memos suggested that the public was not informed because Google and parent firm Alphabet were worried about additional regulatory oversight.

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“Our survey is incredibly good news for brands that take the personal data privacy and security of their customers seriously,” said Jim Kaskade, CEO of Janrain. “Despite high-profile missteps and outright failures in the way brands have approached data privacy and security, consumers are very open to a consent-driven relationship with brands, which will go a long way toward solidifying trust for stronger, longer-term relationships.”

The survey of 1,000 UK consumers found that big internet companies like Google and Facebook are among the least trusted businesses, with more traditional brands like pharmaceutical firms and travel companies trusted more, despite recent stories like the cyberattack on British Airways that affected 380,000 customers.

Only 18 per cent of consumers noted that they would be likely to walk away from a business that required them to provide highly personal data like an email or phone number, while financial data and account passwords understandably ranked highest among the data points that consumers feel the need to protect. In contrast, only 25 per cent of consumers said they felt the need to keep their personal viewing habits private.

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While a price for the deal hasn’t been official announced, India’s Economic Times has reported that the deal was worth between $30m-$40m (£23.9m-£31.9m), and comes after several other potential buyers looked into acquiring the firm, including smartphone maker Xiaomi. Google has confirmed the deal has taken place, but has declined to provide a price or further details.

Where Is My Train is one of a number of train-tracking apps available in India, with rivals like iXigo and RailYatri having received backing from a number of venture capital firms. The app benefits from working offline or in areas with poor connectivity, and supports eight different languages. It is the sole app currently operated by Sigmoid Labs, which was founded by four former TiVo executives in 2013.

“We created the Where Is My Train app with the mission to use technology to improve the lives of millions of Indian train travellers,” said the team at Sigmoid Labs in a statement on the acquisition. “Over time, we’ve improved the app to make it even more convenient and useful, and we’re thrilled with the response that we’ve gotten from users. The confidence that our users have placed in us is what makes us so excited to think even bigger. We can think of no better place to help us achieve our mission, and we’re excited to join Google to help bring technology and information into more people’s hands.”

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Speaking in an interview with Reuters, Vestager, the European Competition Commissioner, signalled that both Google and Amazon will continue to be monitored extremely closer for the rest of her time in the role, which expires late next year.

So far, under Vestagers watch, Google has been fined a total of €6.8bn (£6.15bn) for breaching EU rules, while a number of other tech giants have been investigated to ensure that they are not unfairly dominating the market to the detriment of customer choice and value.

Complaints against Apple Pay have focused on the fact that the NFC chip embedded in iPhone models means that Apple Pay is automatically selected when a user pays for goods and services with the device. The Competition Authority in Vestagers native Denmark is still investigating the issue, which was brought to its attention by the Danish Consumer Council.

“When we were looking at it…(at) first glance, we couldnt see Apple being dominant,” said Vestager. “That doesnt exclude in the future that we will have a second look. But when we looked some time ago, we didnt find…the necessary (evidence) to start a case. Obviously if we have official complaints, we would take that seriously because the entire payment market is a very important market.”

Vestager is also currently reviewing Amazon for using merchants data illegaly, enabling it to create brand products that are similar to other retailers. According to Vestager, she and her team have been inundated with data, which they are currently combing through to build a potential case.

“Now we have received not piles, but mountains of data and for us it is a priority to go through that, both from Amazon themselves but also coming in from some of the businesses that they actually host,” said Vestager. “For us, of course it is important to get the starting point right because, if we open a case, in order to be able to proceed with some speed, well then of course we need to get some of the basics right and we are in the process of doing that.”

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