Career News 24/7: The 10 Things In Advertising You Need To Know Today

December 15, 2014

Good morning. Kick off your week with the most important stories in advertising.

3. These are the most-loved and most-hated brands of the year. We asked social media management software company Sprinklr which brands improved their reputations on social media in 2014 and which companies made them worse.

4. Volvo is shifting its focus from glitzy auto shows to direct marketing, Bloomberg reports. From next year the carmaker will take part in just one motor show per region, but it will increase its marketing budget by spending more on e-commerce, dealerships and an annual brand event.

6. The English Premier League is to introduce regular Friday night matches on TV, The Guardian reports. The new broadcast plan will include more games than ever before and there has been speculation that technology companies such as Apple and Google could bid for digital rights.

7. Facebook has dumped Microsoft. The social network will no longer include search results from Bing on its site.

8. Dyson has returned to advertising on Gawker Media sites, after withdrawing its spend in November amid the "Gamergate" controversy, The Drum reports. Dyson had pulled its ads last month saying it would review its media partners for "relevance as well as appropriateness," but it has now reinstated its spend.

9. As if it needed any more PR-related woes to overcome: Uber has gotten itself caught up in the current Sydney hostage situation, The Financial Times reports. Uber's fares to escape the city on Monday had surged fourfold in the wake of the terror incident, which Uber immediately tried to justify by saying it would encourage more drivers to head downtown. An hour later, after reports of the fare hike were described as "vile" and "disgraceful" by Twitter users, Uber performed a u-turn and announced all rides out of Sydney's central business district would be free.