It's going to be a big year

Welcome to the first edition of Smoke Signals - a regular shot of news and trends in the media and marketing landscape from the team at Smoking Gun.

We will be sharing some of the most interesting, useful or quirky stories, features, reports and resources to help you keep up-to-date with the dynamic, ever-changing marketing and media landscape.

Our team of B2C, B2B, social media and influencer specialists has vast experience in PR, marketing, digital media and journalism and will make sure you have the latest developments at your fingertips.

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Cultural trends for 2025's TV viewing

First up we have this intriguing report from ITV Media on the Cultural Codes of the Nation and how this affects their TV viewing.

Using data from ITV surveys the authors have constructed a list of cultural attitudes which cross demographic boundaries and show how they are represented in the viewership of TV programmes.

One example is Righting Wrongs with surveys showing that people are unhappy with government and big business and hoping for societal change.

This was represented by viewing figures for Mr Bates vs the Post Office and the Covid drama Breathtaking.

ITV Cultural Trends

Rethinking norms

On a similar theme, global consumer predictions specialists Foresight Factory have produced their preview of 2025 under the title The Era of Initiative.

Their conclusion, based on a huge global survey, is that consumers will be escaping the algorithm.

One of their key insights is that brands should prioritise mindful, slower approaches to engagement with your brand, products and services. Deliver personalised customer journeys that prioritise exploration and consideration and ensure you create time and space for customers to raise questions and seek advice.

Download the Foresight Factory report

Does data deficiency damage deals?

A fascinating discussion in the industry title PRmoment (including some insight from Smoking Gun's Strategy Director Hayley Peters and friend of Smoking Gun Steph Bridgeman ) about measurement and data in public relations.

There is a range of different views in the piece from various experts but one thread throughout the article is that the idea that PR is data-deficient is a cliché but there is a germ of truth in there.

There is also an argument that clients - particularly big businesses - need to be better at providing data to PR agencies and have more understanding that some of the power of PR lies in sentiment rather than numbers.

See the article here

Under the influence

Influencer prospecting platform Influencity - Influencer Marketing Platform has produced a handy e-book on the current state of the sector.

Key takeaways are that the influencer marketing industry is evolving, with brands moving toward fewer, more targeted collaborations that emphasise quality over quantity.

Trends include AI-driven personalisation, TikTok's continued dominance and a shift toward micro-influencers who typically achieve higher engagement rates.

Cross-channel strategies, refined affiliate marketing, and employee-generated content are also gaining importance as consumers increasingly demand authentic, relatable content.

Download the e-book here

Reach over-reaching?

Mixed news in the UK media sector with The Sun's owner News Group forced to apologise for using illegally obtained data for stories about Prince Harry and others. They will not have enjoyed that but at least the settlement payout (and the huge legal fees) may mean an end to this story.

Meanwhile Reach PLC has celebrated beating financial targets which is great news - unless you are one of the 700 journalists that they have made redundant to achieve this.

They have also, bizarrely, branched out into online retailing with a website called Yimbly.

See the Press Gazette story here

On the gravy train

Just to be a little self congratulatory - Smoking Gun's work with BWH Hotels GB (Best Western) to share their Year of the Free Breakfast offer caught the public imagination with our survey showing that 11 per cent of Brits pour gravy on their Full English Breakfast.

Described as deviants and wrong-uns on the Daily Star front page, the story was picked up by The Sun, Daily Mail, GMB, This Morning, LADbible Group a host of regional titles and may even be featuring on Have I Got News For You.

Also thanks to the team on BBC Radio Sheffield who described the story as fabulous PR for Best Western.

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