Author: Tom Platt

If there’s one thing that’s clear from the rise of the ‘digital age’, it’s that social media has become an enormous force in the marketing world (though you probably already knew that!). There is more pressure than ever on brands to find the next best thing to catch the eye – social media being key in this regard. So with this in mind, how can companies be sure they’re making the most of their communications strategy?

Had you been wandering around Gatwick Airport’s North Terminal last month, chances are you would have spotted something unusual going on near the Virgin Atlantic check-in desks. No, not Richard Branson taking selfies with napping employees again, but a gallery of over 200 postcards curated by Tom Jackson, creator of the popular Twitter account “Postcard from the Past”. Displayed from May 30^th to June 23^rd, the collection stretched back more than 70 years, providing entertaining snippets from people’s trips to far-flung locations (the standout excerpt being: “I don’t know whether we are at war or not, but suppose it can wait until we return to find out”).

Author: Shireen Shurmer

Nothing gives me a happier buzz of anticipation than the arrival of a wedding invitation. Chosen well, the style gives me a tantalising glimpse into what the day itself will be like, reflecting the personality of the happy couple and the mood they’re trying to create for the event.

Author: Steph Hails

Walk into any supermarket and you’ll notice an abundance of fruit and veg on offer, most of it loose and presented just as nature intended. Concerningly though, there has been an influx of needless plastic packaging used to ‘protect’ and display fruit and vegetables on supermarket shelves.

Author: Shireen Shurmer

The print and packaging geek in me loves a wander around a foreign supermarket, taking in the different packaging, branding and POS materials.

Author: Imogen Woods

According to The Guardian, about 43% of 18-24 year olds are expected to vote in this year’s general election, with an expected turnout of 75% of over 65s. So why aren’t the younger generation more likely to vote? The general consensus amongst young people is that they aren’t voting either because they “can’t be bothered” or simply they don’t know the facts to make an informed voting decision.

Author: Steph Hails

With huge disruption to flights at Heathrow and Gatwick during the recent British Airways computer outage, many passengers found themselves sleeping on the floor of the airport, unsure what was happening or when their flights would leave. With the terminals in chaos and thousands of passengers completely stranded, a storm was brewing over on social media, with everyone asking the same thing: what was going on?

Author: Tom Platt

This year’s FESPA exhibition was every bit as grand and colourful as the print industry has come to expect from the world’s foremost international wide format event. And while there were plenty of innovations and new technologies on display, arguably digital textiles stole the show.

Author: Michael Grass

Whether it is cars, phones or factories, every industry seems to be wising up and getting ‘smart’ these days. And as Interpack 2017 is currently showing us, packaging is following suit.

Author: Michael Grass

Fewer hot topics have been bandied about trade shows more than ‘Industry 4.0’. And yet, despite the term being used to announce the arrival of a new industrial revolution, not many industry bods are familiar with its meaning, or more importantly, what it means for their business.

Author: Tom Platt

From being made redundant due to the squeeze of trade media, or deciding to take on the freelance world for greater flexibility or even to explore new avenues, today’s trade journalist must make sure they always have the security of being a key writer in their relevant field.

Author: Daniel Porter

Here are a few numbers – some of which may surprise you:

14 million – the approximate number of unique daily visitors to The Daily Mail’s website mailonline.com (source), the UK’s most visited newspaper website.

1.5 million – the approximate daily circulation of the print edition of The Daily Mail (source).

2 – the average number of minutes a visitor to mailonline.com spends on the website. Not two minutes per article, two minutes per visit – and this number is far higher than that of any of its competitors. The average across UK national newspaper websites is just 30 seconds.

43 – the number of minutes the average reader of the Daily Mail print newspaper spends perusing the paper (the average across all national papers is 40 minutes).