Teacups and teapots link handles and spouts in a show of affection –

London, 27^th June 2014. As London gears up for Gay Pride celebrations this weekend, strategic branding agency Coley Porter Bell will be celebrating with a cup of tea.

The agency has created a range of three teas that brings ‘two of the same together’ – in this case teacups and teapots that link handles and spouts in a show of closeness.  Following this theme all the teabags inside the tub are linked together with one tag.

The tea is affectionately named Gaiety.

Sarah Cameron, Head of Marketing at Coley Porter Bell, said: “We liked the idea of starting with the ‘everyday’. ‘We thought about how being gay in London in 2014 is less about rainbows and glitter (well, sometimes) and more about having a laugh with friends over a cup of tea.

“If London Pride’s mission is to make LGBT+ acceptable everywhere, every day, what could be more everyday than a cuppa?”

The designs also have some amusing back-of-pack copy.  As Sarah explains: “We know that around this time of year the gay community can often be stereotyped. ‘Why put people in a box?’ we thought.  That’s for teabags.”

The tea is not for retail.

Research : How insight engineers has helped UK and International clients with their business intelligence needs | TheMarketingblog

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We look back at interesting research of last year.

A  2013 study investigating how engaged Brits are with Wimbledon, and what brands they most associate with the tournament, found that 59% of men and 49% of women in the UK have been watching Wimbledon in some capacity. This equates to over 18 million men (18,290,000) and over 15 million women (15,778,000)*¹. In terms of age group, Wimbledon appeals to all generations almost equally with 52% of 16-24 years old, 55% of 25-39 year olds, 50% of 40-54 year olds and 56% of 55-75 year olds watching the tennis to some degree*².

The 2013 research was conducted by Northstar Research Partners,  Nichola Kent-Lemon working with worldwide clients such as eBay and Jaguar Land Rover.

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PROGRAMMATIC ACCOUNTS FOR 28% OF UK DISPLAY ADVERTISING

Almost three in every 10 pounds spent on online display ads in 2013 were bought through ‘programmatic’ technologies, according to the first ever study which quantifies how UK digital display advertising is traded.

Conducted by research and strategy consultancy MTM on behalf of the Internet Advertising Bureau UK (IAB), the “Internet Advertising Bureau UK Media Owner Sales Techniques” study shows that of the £1.86 billion¹ spent on display ads across the internet and mobile in 2013, 28% (about £500m million) was traded programmatically. ‘Programmatic’ refers to display ads that are bought and sold using automated systems and processes such as real-time bidding. 

Direct sales between publishers and agencies/advertisers accounted for half (51%) of UK digital display ad sales while just over a fifth (22%) were bought through ad networks.

“Prior to this new research there was no reliable way to evaluate how big a role programmatic plays in the display market so it was time to put a stake in the ground and give the industry accurate numbers,” says Tim Elkington, Director of Research & Strategy at the UK’s Internet Advertising Bureau. 

“It’s important the industry understands how the market is split as it enables all those involved  – media owners, advertisers and agencies – to take advantage of the exciting opportunities programmatic presents.”

Here is comment from Martin Kelly, CEO/Co-Founder of Infectious Media - a leading player in real-time advertising:

  "The growth of programmatic media trading in the UK is no surprise. The big story here is the underlying growth of display advertising. Programmatic has breathed new life into this previously exhausted channel. This turnaround of display is the surest sign that advertisers are waking up to the power that programmatic media buying gives them."

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