Good news if you’re looking to shop while you errr shop….

It transpires the big four supermarkets are now trialling Wi-Fi for customers in their stores with Asda, Morrisons, Tesco and Sainsbury’s all looking to roll Wi-Fi out beyond the trial stage within the next 12 months.

To date Tesco has led the way in terms of Wi-Fi adoption by rolling it out at all its Tesco Extra superstores, where Clubcards get unlimited access and can use their Clubcard numbers as a password on the Wi-Fi network. Those without a Clubcard can get 15 minutes free access every 24-hours.

Nice technique to gain even further customer knowledge on your shopping habits and driving people in store. Also pretty handy for price checking and playing the odd game when the queue’s particularly lengthy!

It may have escaped your notice that the summer of 2012 is going to be a summer of sport and celebration. Not only do we have the perennial crowd pullers of Wimbledon and Royal Ascot, but we also have the delights of the Euro 2012, and of course the Olympic and Paralympic Games in July and August. And there’s also the small matter of a Royal Diamond Jubilee for good measure. So you could be forgiven for thinking that certain employees, rather than rolling up their sleeves, might be contemplating a ‘sickie’ or two; or at least all wanting time off simultaneously.

So how can you cope with high demand for annual leave whilst giving everybody the chance of enjoying these events?

A good clear policy needs to be in place to determine the process for applying for annual leave and this process should be as fair as possible to avoid poor morale and disputes. Time off could be awarded on a first-come-first-served basis or based on length of service. Importantly, there should be a level playing field in terms of every employee knowing the process to be followed, but it is ultimately up to you whether to accept a request (or not).

By law, employers are under no obligation to accept a specific holiday request (though there is an entitlement to time off at some point). However, it could be beneficial to explore alternatives; allowing radio commentary or a TV in the office is one example. Flexi-working is a further option that may help to avoid increased levels of ‘sickness’ during important events and games. You could even make it a real team engagement opportunity, so be creative!

Some good prompting and planning now could save heartache and overload later – and watch out for that extra day for the Queen’s Jubilee. They’re moving the late May Bank Holiday to June 4th and adding the extra day after on June 5th to create a 4 day weekend. Who knows, the sun may even shine …

The recently published IPA census of member agencies for 2011, shows some reassuring trends in employment which forebode well for jobseekers in advertising, marketing and media agencies in 2012.

On average, an IPA agency now employs 77 people rather than 71. They employed 20% more entry-level workers in 2011, and flexible working is helping to bring more people into employment. And from our experience so far in 2012, we can only see these positive trends accelerating.

Less spectacular statistics are those which reflect that the average age of employees remains unchanged at 33 and the percentage of board room roles occupied by women is static at 22%. It might seem, that in IPA agencies at least, it’s still a ‘young man’s game’, but thankfully Ad Lib’s experience tells us that overall the balance its a somewhat fairer.

See more at http://www.ipa.co.uk/Content/IPA-publishes-2011-Agency-Census – though if you’re not an IPA member you’ll have to cough up if you want the full picture.

A man in California is being sued by his former employer having taken his Twitter account with him on leaving along with his 17,000 followers. That’s not many when measured against Stephen Fry’s nearly 4 million followers, but it seems it’s the principle that is irking the man’s employer, PhoneDog.com.

Noah Kravitz claims he was given permission to re-name his account and continue to use it, but the company claims otherwise and has valued the damage done on the basis that each follower is worth $2.50 a month. If you do the ‘math’ then that’s 17000 x $2.50 x 8 months (period for which he operated after leaving) = $340,000. The court’s decision will affect future outcomes in the US and possibly here. It seems clear that if an account is used purely for work purposes, then it will belong to the company. Where there is joint personal and work benefit/activity, it will be a very grey area.

The fact that an individual employee’s own profile might be enhanced in either situation, will have to be accepted by any employer in the way that such things happen (still) without the aid of social media.

Putting a price on a Twitter follower and determining who ‘owns’ them seems like a dilemma best left to the legal eagles both sides of the pond – but sorting that might cost even more than $340k in being sought by PhoneDog.com.

What’s your view? Have you moved your twitter account when you’ve moved jobs? Do your employees operate work-named Twitter accounts or personal ones?

The new media age 2012 Top 100 agency guide is now open for entries.

The annual guide, which will be published in May is an eagerly anticipated guide to who’s hot amongst the digital agency scene. Based on fee income from digital activity the guide has become renowned as a wealth of information of activity across marketing, design and build, technical and media agencies.

The Top 100 2010 saw SapientNitro top the table with fee income of £63.3m, followed by EMC Consulting (£58m) and LBi (£53.4m). TBG Digital (£15.4m) was the most efficient marketing agency in terms of income per digital employee. AKQA was voted the most respected agency by its peers, an honour it last saw in 2003.

You can find out more and make your entry at the NMA website – http://tinyurl.com/cd5gpwy

The first person in the country has brought forward a case for constructive dismissal after a dispute with bosses over his profile on the professional networking site LinkedIn.

The HR Exec had uploaded his CV and ticked the box indicating he was interested in ‘career opportunities’, which seems to have upset the management team at BG Group and called the act as an “inappropriate use of social media”.

The case raises broad issues for how employees use websites such as LinkedIn. According to a study of the service, around half its members indicate they are interested in career opportunities on their profile.

You can read the full story here – http://tinyurl.com/7muo4wy

As the first case to be raised in the UK the outcome could shake the way people utilise social sites to publicise themselves in an attempt to attract potential employers.

And there we have it, almost the end of another year, and as ever, what a year…

With the continued stories of tough times we’re not quite sure of what lies ahead but we’re a happy and positive crew. It’s been a busy and successful year, with objectives achieved (financial and personal, double whoop!) which we’re all proud of. In fact, it’s been our best year yet.

It’s clear the market has adjusted over the last couple of years. There’s an increasing clarity around business propositions, market challenges and how to respond to them. HR, Recruitment and Recruiting Managers are savvy, developing tight knit marketing and communications teams with a clear focus of delivery and accountability. This focus has created increased opportunities for specialists and employees who are seeking roles with responsibility and ownership. The right attitude, coupled with aptitude and ambition appears to go along way.

There’s been a significant increase in opportunities across all sectors. Digital unsurprisingly has remained strong agency and client side. Most noticeable though is an increased confidence borne out by increasing numbers of vacancies across integrated and media businesses.

And here at Ad Lib our continued investment across Social Channels has paid dividends. We strive to be at the heart of the marketing and communications sectors, not simply recruiters on the periphery. Social Media increasingly enables us to enhance our sector experience, strengthening active and passive relationships by sharing knowledge and experiences.  Check us out on LinkedIn, Twitter and beyond.

So here’s to another record breaking year in 2012. We’d like to thank everybody we work with, in whatever shape or form, and wish you a great Christmas and prosperous New Year. Let’s hope it’s an absolute belter.

Oooooh one last thing. Is anybody else out there experiencing a real shift in attitude to the Christmas break this year? It’s the 20th December and there’s no signs of a slowdown this end. We’re not complaining, liking it!

At least, that’s the belief of the Direct Marketing Association (DMA) West Council members. Yet many entrants in to the sector from west based Universities are heading towards London and the South East to find all important experience to set their careers on the right path. Understanding the full nature of this phenomenon, and how best to address it, is just one of the areas that the DMA is undertaking on its members behalf.

As part of a wider initiative in 2012 the DMA West ‘council’ is looking to embark on a research programme to better understand the employment market in general: including getting a real picture of salary differentials, the effect of qualifications on employability and how the sector can engage better with those considering a career in marketing.
Highly respected across the industry and beyond, the DMA provides a range of benefits to its members in marketing departments, agencies, data and print companies (research , best practice, legal support, networking and development  events) but it also lobbies and influences stakeholders at all levels to ensure the sector is treated fairly. They also manage the official Telephone and Mail preference services.

The West region is one of the most active due to the large number of companies involved in the industry and the high number of companies who benefit from direct and digital approaches currently. The DMA West council is acknowledged by the  Association as being its highest performing and most active region.  Well done guys. And with the excellent achievements of companies like Indicia beating off competition at DMA Awards to win the coveted Grand Prix – the first agency outside London to do so.

That DMA claim is sounding increasingly plausible.

Oh, and our very own Director, Frank Hutton is an adviser to the council leading in the areas of talent attraction and retention amongst other things.  Learn more on their fab new website: www.dma.org.uk

Pantone has revealed that Tangerine Tango, ‘a spirited reddish orange’ or simply ‘Pantone 17-1463’ is its 2012 colour of the year!

They go on to say that the colour ‘marries the vivaciousness and adrenaline rush of red with the friendliness and warmth of yellow, to form a high-visibility, magnetic hue that emanates heat and energy’ whist they expect ‘vibrant citrus colours to dominate in fashion, interiors and product design as we move into 2012’.

2011 colour of the year was ‘Honeysuckle’, or you may know it better as ‘18-2120’, renowned for its ‘verve and vigour’.

And whilst Ad Lib weren’t consulted by Pantone for their colour of choice for 2012 you’ll find that we do know how to spot a vibrant Orange and make good use of it, check it out – http://jobalerts.adlib-recruitment.co.uk/

Read the full story here…http://www.pantone.com/pages/pantone/category.aspx?ca=88

A report out from Zenith Optimedia declares that global display advertising is set to double from $21.8 billion in 2010 to $42.6 billion by 2014.

The webs share of total global advertising spend is expected to increase from close to 16% at present to 21.2% in 2014. The largest increase in revenue being driven through display advertising; with real time bidding and the growth of ad exchanges providing publishers the ability to target users on an individual basis and cut down on wastage. Good news for the news, media and publishing industries.

Overall, Zenith expects 2011 ad spend globally to tip the scales at $486 billion, a 4.7% increase on 2010. That’s going to be followed by year-on-year growth of 5.2% and 5.8% in 2013 and 2014.

Check out the full article at the following link, certainly makes interesting reading.

http://www.themediabriefing.com/article/2011-12-05/zenith-ad-spend-in-progress