These charts suggest NATO is unprepared for a militarised Russia

April 10, 2014

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Long-term cuts to spending have been exacerbated by the financial crisis. Defence spending, in real terms, has fallen 21.5 per cent in Italy, 9.1 per cent in the UK, 4.3 per cent in Germany and is flat for France since 2008, according to the International Institute for Strategic Studies. Over the same period, Russia’s military spending has risen 31.2 per cent.

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Google and Facebook are turning to content to boost ad profits

April 10, 2014

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Google and Facebook are expanding their small in house creative agencies (The Zoo and The Creative Shop, respectively)  and this chart explains why. They want to to capture some of the $400bn of global ad spending that currently goes towards traditional media such as television. Specifically they want to get into the biggest part of the global ad market: brand advertising, which is about increasing brand awareness and purchase intent, rather than getting an immediate response. The way to do that? Content.  A Google exec told the FT: “People don’t want to just sit back and watch an ad; they want something useful from a brand. It’s only just begun,” he says. “It’s like anything at Google; it’s been in beta.”

 

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This is how and where teenagers are spending their money right now

April 9, 2014

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Investment bank Piper Jaffray released its semi-annual report on teen spending on Tuesday.  Here’s the gist: For the first time in the survey’s history, teens are spending as much on food as they are on clothing. Starbucks remains the perennial favorite among all teens for food-and-drink spending, according to the survey. Here’s a breakdown of teen spending by category:

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Brands that are losing popularity among teens include Aeropostale, Abercrombie & Fitch, and Hollister. 

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US brands that are starting to get more popular among teen girls include Forever 21, American Eagle, and Lululemon.

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Activewear now comprises 28% of teens’ apparel purchases, up from 6% in 2008. Nike, Lululemon, Under Armour, and Adidas are the most popular brands for athletic apparel.

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“Athleisure” — casual athletic clothing that can be worn outside the gym — is now more popular than denim. In spring of 2014, 26% of women and 47% of men preferred to shop online over visiting stores. That’s up from 18% of women and 20% of men who preferred online shopping a year earlier. Instagram is the most important social network for teens, followed by Twitter and Facebook, respectively

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George W Bush’s recent portraits of world leaders could be based on Google images

April 9, 2014

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It seems that George W Bush’s recent portraits of world leaders may have been based on Google images.

The Guardian suggests the uncanny similarity between the portraits and photos on Google Images raises the possibility that an apron-wearing Bush did little more than trace the outlines of the venerable leaders’ visages before daubing them with paint. You decide.

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This brilliant new chart on social progress shows America is slipping behind other developed nations

April 9, 2014

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A new metric, the Social Progress Index (SPI)  tracks 132 countries across 54 indicators for social progress. Importantly, the indicators do not look at inputs (like spending on education) but only outputs (like literacy). They study social, health and environmental factors, not economic ones. But when compared with GDP per capita, like here, their findings are instructive, says The Economist. Countries situated above the curve do better in terms of social inclusiveness than their economic strength might dictate, while countries below the curve perform worse.  Americans, take note.

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Content marketing tip #1: keep it simple

April 8, 2014

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Sometimes I feel there are two types of people in the world: simplifiers and complicators.  Some of your co- workers  will love to make things as complex as can be and resist simplification at all costs.

For me, I am a simplifier.  I understand Blaize Pascal when he wrote: “I did not have time to write a short letter, so I wrote a long one instead.” What’s the difference between complicators and simplifiers? The complicator expresses himself, the simplifier communicates.

Example: in my wallet I have a business card  for a retail foresight consultancy I did some work for.  They wanted to describe the service they offered to clients on their business cards. This is what they come up with:

We provide the inspiration and insight that gives the world’s leading companies competitive advantage.

That’s complicator talk. This is what Furthr came up with:

What’s next for retail

So much of excellence is, of course, the art of elimination
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