mCordis’ Paul Berney: contextual relevance is the USP of mobile

Customers are willing to share data in return for some value exchange, but permission must be built into the heart of campaigns, explains the co-founder

Mad men, meet the algorithm: the art and science of modern marketing

Ad technology is helping advertisers increase their return on investments, but human skills are still essential to implement and optimise these campaigns

Data should not be used as a drunk uses a lamppost

It’s easy for big data to lead businesses and governments astray if used to justify or defend bad decisions, rather than make better ones

Does big data really matter for agencies?

Large datasets can help with long-term brand building, but the media industry needs to adapt to capitalise on this new source of insight

The battle between great ads and content? It’s a phoney war at best

As the history of advertising reveals, strong ads and content have coexisted without much conflict for years. But there is a new threat to agencies on the horizon, writes Mark Boyd

The Dress: are social memes and shock tactics the future of charity marketing?

After the media storm generated by #ThatDress, Kirsty Marrins takes a look at how some charities reacted to it, and asks if it’s part of a wider trend

The Dress meme adapted for #StopAbuseAgainstWomen ad

Salvation Army South Africa launches hard-hitting viral campaign inspired by ‘What colour is the dress?’

Mad Men at work: showcase machines are off the wall

Nicola Davis: An ad agency and an industrial designer have created a novel display for winning entries in the Art Directors’ Club annual awards

Milking it: Transformers 4 wins prize for movie with most product placement

Michael Bay blockbuster missed out on hoped-for Oscar nominations but did top list of movies pushing consumer products, featuring plugs for 55 brands including Budweiser, Armani and Yili milk

Mobile game Crossy Road has made $10m in three months since launch

Developer Hipster Whale’s co-founder tells GDC conference that he’s ‘happily surprised’ at return from 50m downloads of freemium game

How we made MailMen for Royal Mail

The campaign relaunches mail as an advertising medium and has been endorsed by luminaries from media, digital and marketing

Miss Sweden quits as face of Kazam, saying it ‘went too far’ with banned ad

Camilla Hansson says she will not renew her contract after the UK advertising watchdog ruled that the mobile phone maker’s campaign objectified women

House of Cards: how Netflix’s $100m gamble made them internet video kings

With original series now launching every fortnight, Netflix’s business model is truly pioneering. Where next for the company?

Google restructures European operations amid growing pressure

Search giant consolidates its European businesses to deal with increasing political ill-will, regulatory scrutiny and competition from rivals

TV ad for ‘world’s slimmest phone’ banned for objectifying women

Watchdog rules that Kazam advert featuring ‘sexually suggestive’ scenes was likely to cause serious offence to some viewers