River Sounds recaps how Coronavirus (Covid-19) shaped the future of podcasting in 2020
2020 was a year that will be discussed for decades to come. And in the world of podcasting, this will be no exception. In June 2005, Apple introduced podcasts onto iTunes, with some 3,000 programmes available at launch. Fast-forward to February 2020, and that number had grown to 900,000 active podcasts. The big news, however, […]
FOUR RIVER SUPERSTARS SHORLISTED AT THE BSME AWARDS 2020
The content marketing agency has received four nominations for the prestigious 2020 BSME Awards, celebrating the very best talent within the publishing industry. Editorial director Ellie Hughes, who has been nominated for Editor of the Year, in the Branded Content category for curating stand-out content for Holland & Barrett’s Healthy magazine. Co-op Food Editor Nicky Rampley-Clarke, who’s […]
Once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to own photographs of iconic music artists for charity
Over 100 iconic prints of world renowned music artists taken by globally celebrated photographers including Rankin, Tony McGee and Jill Furmanovsky are going on sale today. Available for £95 each, the sale represents a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to own a piece of music history, with many of the prints usually unavailable to buy. 100% of proceeds […]
A spring in it’s step! The River Group wins Vitality
Following a highly competitive pitch, The River Group has been appointed by innovative health and life insurance and investment business Vitality to take a new approach to content, further supporting stakeholders with member engagement and driving awareness of their campaigns across a number of audiences. The River Group’s remit focuses on creating a wide range […]
Does the UK need another PR agency?
Concepting Maven Communications….. The UK PR and communications agency landscape is crowded and growing. The PRCA Census in 2018 had the landscape at £13.8 billion, up from £12.9 billion in 2016. An impressive 7% growth. Employing 86,000 staff across thousands of businesses at the time of writing – large, small & one-person consultancies – is […]
7 in 10 people struggle to limit the time they spend on their smartphones
Proof that smartphones are so addictive that even the healthiest and most mindful among us struggle to control our screen time, comes from a new survey by Healthy magazine. In a recent survey of Heathy readers, over 75% said they are preoccupied with their phone. 73% struggle to limit the amount of time they spend […]
If the EU Elections had been run on Twitter, what would have happened?
We used social listening tools to find out how much support each of the major UK political parties were getting on the day of the EU elections. Social networks, like Twitter, have revolutionised the way content marketers, like us, communicate with audiences.. Around 326 million people use Twitter every month, making it one of the […]
Podcast trends – 5 exciting ways podcasts are evolving
We’re halfway through 2019 and it has already been a huge year for podcasting. Spotify acquired podcast networks Gimlet and Anchor for €300 million. Acast has launched its new product Acast Access, a paywalled content distribution platform, and with the number of celebrities with successful podcasts growing – including Chris Ramsey, Katie Piper and Peter […]
The River Group nominated for three PPA Awards
The River Group’s wealth of talent has once again been recognised at an industry level. The content marketing agency has received three nominations for The PPA Awards 2019, which celebrates the very best talent within the publishing industry. Hot on the heels of her Branded Content Editor Award at the BSME’s in November 2018, Editorial […]
River Predicts: This is what tourism will look like in 25 years
Immersive experiences, smart tourism and ‘Fair BNB’ – Alex Marks gives his thoughts on what the tourism industry will look like in a quarter of a century. Everyone loves holidays, with sun, sea and sangria. Most of us take them for granted. Tourism is perhaps one of the world’s biggest industries, and yet as we […]
River Group CEO appointed to global media board
River Group CEO Nicola Murphy has been appointed a Global Board Member of the network for global media – FIPP. She will now join the other FIPP board members in a bid to help shape the future of the media. Nicola says she is excited to join such an ‘illustrious’ group of fellow media elites […]
River predicts: What will utilities look like in 2044?
Becoming a ‘utility’ must be what every service provider both aspires to and dreads in equal measure. From being a highly valued resource that delights the customer, you become something that ‘just happens’, so your value drops. This isn’t an article about the future of fuel – if it were, we’d have to choose from […]
How River CEO built a marketing agency with an 80% female workforce
This is how Nicki Murphy, River CEO, bucked the industry trend to build an agency with a female workforce at its core. It was 1994, the Chinese Year of the Dog, the year Kurt Cobain died, The Lion King and Forrest Gump were released in cinemas, and John Major was Prime Minister. But it was […]
Photography trends: The future of photography and why you’ll soon be wearing your camera
What are the photography trends of the future? Alex Marks sees these five camera products, techniques and concepts developing. ‘A picture is worth a thousand words’, they say, which was probably marketing gold to camera manufacturers in the 19th century. And despite initial underwhelming results, they eventually managed to convince us that viewing blurry images […]
2019’s most exciting fragrance trends predicted by The Perfume Shop Editor
From Ariana Grande to Calvin Klein – Editor for The Perfume Shop, Lauren Carbran, reveals the three big fragrance trends that you’ll see (and smell) from the biggest brands and designers this spring. Female empowerment Unisex scents have been trending in the fragrance world for a few years, but now it’s all about girl power. […]
Food trends: What your dining-out experience will look like in 25 years
Alex Marks explains how changing restaurant and food trends will dramatically impact the way you dine out – and sooner than you think. Humankind has been paying for meals outside the home since the time of the ancient Greeks, but it was the French who gave us the word ‘restaurant’ sometime in the early 16th […]
Fish Content Agency launches
The River Group are excited to announce the launch of Fish Content Agency this week, a new company dedicated solely to membership organisations. Fish Content will be based in Peterborough and welcomes Mike Barnes as the new Managing Director. Mike has extensive experience in membership, having worked as a Marketing and Business Development Director for […]
The River Group Strengthens Senior Team with Three Prominent Female Hires!
The River Group is delighted to announce the appointment of three women to the company’s senior leadership team. This news comes alongside the announcement that River’s gender pay gap is an incredible -2% (mean hourly rate), demonstrating the organisation’s commitment to empowering women in the workplace. River CEO Nicki Murphy states “as River continues to […]
High Street Closures and Brand Deaths – Retail in 2018
Spring is traditionally a time of hope and renewal. As Tolstoy put it, ‘Spring is the time of plans and projects.’ (Can’t believe you quoted Tolstoy, Ed.) Yet somehow this spring 2018 doesn’t feel quite so positive. Some put the blame at the door of Brexit, the chaos in the White House and that Bowie […]
Crack a smile, it’s International Day of Happiness
Here are some cheery stats for International Day of Happiness to put a smile on your face. Ye olde emojis The world’s oldest known smiley-like image recorded in a document was found in a financial record archived in Trenčín, Slovakia. It was drawn in 1635. Ján Ladislaides drew the emoji next to his signature, which […]
Hasta la vista, baby – Robots are shut down after inventing their own language
Facebook recently shut down an experiment after artificial intelligence robots started a conversation in their own language.
River at General Assembly Tech Talks: Sex & Dating
It’s no secret that technology has changed the way people meet, fall in love and interact, and after hearing from leaders in the sex and dating space about an ever-changing industry, and exciting things to come, we’re sharing our top five insights into the business of tech and sex.
An emoji is worth 1,000 words: the rise of emoji searching
No longer do consumers have to be faced with the tedious and time-consuming task of typing words into the search bar to find a website. A single emoji is all that’s needed.
Food and Drink Trends 2017-2018 – Analysis and Predictions So Far…
Every year, the gastronomic forecasters at The Food People release their annual list of food and beverage trend predictions.
Opportunities & Threats: Customer Publishing
In a recent article for InPublishing, the CEO of The River Group, Nicola Murphy, looks at how customer publishing has changed since her previous article for the website in 1997. Reporting on recent developments in technology and how digital has created new opportunities for publishers.
What is a chatbot?
It might be a term you’ve heard being passed around the internet recently, but in the simplest form…
Opportunities & Threats: Customer Publishing
We are all publishers now with the onslaught of social media channels taking over our lives. And therein lies the rub for customer publishing and the brands we craft content for: how to get eyeball time with consumers who have literally hundreds of content engagement opportunities thrust at them every day.
High Street Blues
It seems we are starting to get bored with consistency and convenience. The notion that we can buy fresh meat, DVDs and a pair of socks from the same shop – even if it does sound ridiculous written down – appears to be wearing thin. Back in the day, our parents would have had to visit separate shops to get those items, including a shop housing a time machine, because DVDs hadn’t yet been invented!
25 ways the web has changed content marketing
Content marketing has been revolutionised by the world wide web, which is 25 years old. Read our 25 ways the web has changed content marketing.
The customer publishing industry in 2023
2023 will see that change with branded content leading marketing strategy and properly putting consumers at the heart of marketing communications.
An app I like
Played in Britain reverses theatre’s technical laggard stereotype to adapt theatre anthology for the tablet age, digitally curating from the Victoria & Albert (V&A) Museum’s rich audio-visual Theatre & Performance Collection.