Month: June 2024

£45bn rail improvement plan puts climate change firmly in its sights

Stuart Mitchell

Network Rail has announced the start of its five-year, £45.4bn* rail improvement plan aimed at delivering a simpler, better, greener railway that provides the best level of train performance possible and that’s more geared-up than ever before to cope with the extremes of climate change. Andrew Haines, chief executive, said: “Delivering a better railway for passengers and freight users is at the heart of our new five-year investment plan. Tackling climate change, safely improving train performance, adapting and responding to changing commuter habits whilst managing an ageing infrastructure requires the…

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National Lottery Community Funding Supports Manchester Life Skills Cooking Project

Stuart Mitchell

Manchester faces challenges with food security, with a significant proportion of households struggling to put food on the table. Thanks to the National Lottery Community Fund, the Vegetarian Society Cookery School in Manchester will be delivering essential life skills cooking sessions to clients from two community organisations. This funding enables the Vegetarian Society Cookery School to deliver six sessions as part of the programme, for three groups over the next year. Each session, spanning two hours, will focus on teaching progressive cooking and preparation skills, meal planning, and budget control.…

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Social media scales new heights as the world’s largest channel by advertising investment, forecast to reach $247.3bn this year

Stuart Mitchell

Social platforms dominate the global media landscape, and wield huge influence over how brands reach their audiences. According to WARC Media’s latest forecasts, social media is now the largest channel worldwide by advertising investment, having overtaken paid search last year, and is forecast to total $247.3bn in 2024, up 14.3% year-on-year. Data from GWI shows that time spent with social platforms has increased by 50% since 2014, from an average daily consumption of 95 minutes to 152 minutes in 2024, and according to data.ai, worldwide user numbers across social platforms…

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Innovid Joins Ad Net Zero to Accelerate Climate & Sustainability Goals

Stuart Mitchell

Innovid, a leading software platform for the creation, delivery, measurement, and optimization of advertising across connected TV (CTV), linear TV, and digital, today announced it joined Ad Net Zero, a trade association focused exclusively on sustainability in the advertising industry. Innovid is committed to reducing its carbon footprint, prioritizing sustainability for all products and solutions, and working with others to help drive progress across advertising.  Over the next year, Innovid will put the Ad Net Zero 5-Point Action Plan into practice to manage, reduce, and eliminate emissions. Committed to measuring…

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Octopus Legacy’s Spring Free Will Campaign raised an estimated £6.9 million in pledge income for its charity partners.

Stuart Mitchell

Octopus Legacy, a company that helps people plan for death and find support after loss, hosts its own Charity Free Will Campaign (crossing over with Free Wills Month) in spring and autumn. In Feb-March 2024, Octopus Legacy worked with 65 charity partners, resulting in an estimated £6.9 million pledged to charities so far.  Octopus Legacy’s campaign provides charities with the tools needed to connect with untapped audiences. Charity partners are provided with a campaign concept, designed tailored assets and copy to be shared across their own channels to drive awareness.…

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