OOH Story of the Week
Outdoor media owner Ocean Outdoor has won planning permission to cover Marble Arch in a purpose built sleeve. Advertising revenue from the out-of-home display will go to conservation charity English Heritage to help pay for repairs to the landmark. Ocean said the sleeve will be ‘sympathetically designed’ in keeping with the architecture of the 19th century structure and have space for 10 advertising spots. The inventory will be offered to advertisers on a solus basis, meaning only one brand will place their campaign on the arch cover at any one time. The aim is for the conservation work to be completed in Autumn 2024, when the banner will be removed.
TV Story of the Week
Sky is once again offering brands the chance to win up to £1m-worth of airtime for a sustainability-focused ad campaign. Brands, media and creative agencies are invited to bid for a total of £2m airtime from the Sky Zero Footprint Fund, which first ran the contest in 2021. 15 entries will be chosen to pitch live to a panel of judges in August. The panel will choose one brand for the £1m prize and four other brands will receive one of the £250,000 prizes. Ads qualifying for the airtime prizes will be made under guidance from the Advertising Association’s AdGreen Standards.
VOD Story of the Week
Advertisers on Channel 4’s streaming service are taking part in an experiment to see whether fewer ads in less-cluttered ad breaks deliver more effective campaigns. Around 30 advertisers will take part in the 12-week trial that could lead to changes in the number of ads Channel 4 runs during breaks, as well as the introduction of new, interactive formats. It follows a similar experiment carried out by NBCUniversal’s streaming service Peacock.
Publisher Story of the Week
Gal-Dem, an online magazine brand staffed by and telling the stories of women and non-binary people of colour, is closing down after eight years, citing financial difficulties. The website, which has culture, music and politics sections, told readers on Friday afternoon that ‘continuing to operate as a business is unfortunately no longer feasible’. Gal-Dem was founded in 2015 by Liv Little she said at the time her goal continued to be to share stories from ‘voices which are so often left out of the mainstream’ and that ‘our dreams are big and beautiful and our potential to shape dialogue and debate is unprecedented.’
