News

£6 million funding boost to drive cancer diagnostic efficiency

Medical imaging software company Mirada Medical has received a £6 million investment from private equity firm Apposite Capital.

Apposite has invested alongside Mirada’s founding investor, AlbionVC, and other private investors.

The investment will support Mirada’s development of artificial intelligence (AI) based software for increasing the speed and accuracy of cancer treatment planning applications, while delivering a more personalised level of care to patients.

Mirada’s state of the art software algorithms and imaging applications help clinicians to simplify technically complex image processing tasks, thus helping them use medical images more effectively and improve cancer care.

Hugh Bettesworth, Mirada’s CEO, says: “The use of AI in healthcare is growing quickly. We are excited to be able to accelerate our development of AI-based cancer treatment planning. Apposite’s focus on healthcare and their solid pedigree in the Radiation Therapy sector provides Mirada with invaluable resource over and above the significant financial investment they have made. Mirada’s products will make a transformative impact on the day-to-day provision of cancer care, through the deployment of advanced AI-powered technology.”

Sam Gray, Partner, Apposite Capital who is also joining the board of Mirada, said “Apposite are delighted to back the team at Mirada. Not only does Mirada have a long track record of success in medical imaging software with a global installed base of 2,000 hospitals and partnerships with the leading global medical equipment companies, but on the back of world leading science and technology it continues to develop and commercialise its own cutting-edge new products. The recently approved AI-based auto-contouring product is a great example and fulfils a real clinical imperative as clinicians globally strive to deliver ever more precise radiotherapy."

Revolut Bank to no longer "Get sh*t done"

Revolut has ditched its divisive “Get sh*t done” catchphrase after a torrid stretch of media coverage for the fast-growing fintech company.

The challenger bank said the motto would be phased out as part of a review following a spate of fierce criticism in the press in recent weeks involving senior management’s approach to compliance and concerns over a cut-throat corporate culture.

A spokesperson for the company said the motto “captured the way Revolut was founded” and how the start-up “empowers teams to take responsibility and work hard to deliver the best financial services experience for consumers anywhere in the world”.

Although the wording still appears on the company’s website, where job applicants are told Revolut’s culture is “about getting sh*t done and owning what you do”, the spokesperson confirmed it would be removed from external messaging.

The move comes after a difficult period in the press for Revolut. A recent article in Wired highlighted cases of job candidates being asked to recruit users as part of the interview process in Spain, a practice Revolut’s head office claimed to have stopped as soon as the company became aware of it.

The business is in the process of hiring a defamation lawyer, a head of PR for Europe and a PR manager dedicated to financial crime. According to its website the person will be tasked with securing “keynote speaking positions at financial crime and anti-money laundering conferences”.

Last week, Revolut appointed MHP Communications, which is specialised in crisis PR management.

The shelving of the slogan is part of a broader adjustment for Revolut, which is valued at $1.7bn and backed by some of the world’s premiere venture capital funds, including Index Ventures and Ribbit Capital.

“Our team has rapidly expanded to include nearly 1,000 colleagues and we invest heavily in our culture and staff, creating new training, feedback and growth opportunities that reinforces our position as a top-three tech company to work for, according to LinkedIn. Our staff turnover rate stands at just 3%,” the spokesperson said.

“But we don’t pretend to be perfect. We accept some of the issues raised and have made changes on the back of them, including addressing our recruitment process. The culture we have here needs to evolve and change as we grow, and it is something we actively work on every day.”

Lush eschews social for greater customer contact

Cosmetics retailer Lush is cutting down its social media presence in a bid to encourage one-to-one contact with its customers.

The soap specialist has revealed its plan to “switch up social”, saying from next week it will interact with punters over live chat on or its website, or by email or phone.

“Increasingly, social media is making it harder and harder for us to talk to each other directly,” the firm wrote in a tweet.

“We are tired of fighting with algorithms, and we do not want to pay to appear in your newsfeed.”

Lush said the move will “cut out the middleman” and will mean its interaction with customers does not all happen in one place.

The decision also marks Lush’s renewed focus on influencer marketing as a means of promoting its brand online.

“You’ll start to see the rise of Lush personalities online,” a Lush spokesperson said. “This isn’t a replacement for the brand channels but an opportunity for our customers to connect one-on-one with people within Lush based on the various categories.”

The firm said it will be closing down six of its branded channels across Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

The decision was met with protest by some Twitter users, who questioned the wisdom of shutting down popular social media profiles. But others suggested the firm might be a “trendsetter”.

Deliveroo does it again with exclusive Samhaji NPD

To celebrate National Samosa Week Deliveroo has been secretly working with Rola Wala for months to perfect the ultimate savoury hybrid dish: The Samhaji.

Available exclusively for delivery on Deliveroo from this week, the Samajhi is a modern-day mash-up of a classic that has remained unchanged since the 14th century.

The Samhaji, is a delicate blend between a samosa and an onion bhaji that was put into development after data revealed the samosa and onion bhaji occupied the top two positions on the UK’s most loved appetisers.

UK’s Top 10 most ordered appetisers:

Samosa

Onion Bahji

Garlic Bread

Spring Rolls

Calamari

Chicken Wings

Bruschetta

Aranchini Balls

Nachos

Chicken Satay

The triangle-shaped treat originated from the Middle East and has evolved into the snack we all know today.This collaboration will bring the dish up to date with this fusion made with Indian ingredients and spices such as, crispy onions, chilli, turmeric, and lamb all parcelled in a classic samosa pastry. Rola Wala will be producing a vegan version, using their famous Red Dal – a spice-fuelled favourite loaded with lentils, beetroot, and a secret seven spice masala.

Brits have long embraced Indian cuisine, in fact there has been a recent surge of Indian restaurants on Deliveroo with cities such as Manchester, Bristol and Birmingham having the most orders from Indian restaurants.

It’s not the first time Brits have adapted an Indian favourite; the Balti was famously invented in 1960’s Birmingham and the Tikka Masala is believed to have Glaswegian origins.

The dish will be available for £1 with any meal during National Samosa Week via Rola Wala exclusively on Deliveroo before the recipe will be shared on the Deliveroo blog making it completely “open-sauce”.

The updated, unique Samhaji adaption is trademarked exclusively for Deliveroo customers and is adapted for everyone to enjoy. The samahji will be available exclusively from London restaurant Rola Wala on Deliveroo for one week only.

Mark Wright, Co-Founder of Rola Wala, said: “Two classic Indian street foods smashed together – the end result is a samosa that’s delicious and light, and the spicing just right! We’re teaming it up with our Bombay Chutney dip with every meal sold on Delivery this week.”

Joe Groves, Head of Consumers Comms at Deliveroo, said: “The appetisers are arguably the best part of an Indian takeaway and very clearly a firm favourite for our customers across the UK. So, what better than an infusion of Britain’s two favourite Indian appetisers”.

AMAWaterways pledges closer trade ties with new hire

AmaWaterways has appointed Sarah Thomson its new UK marketing manager, as the company pledges even closer ties with the trade.

Thomson joins the line from Virgin Atlantic where she was CRM campaign executive and B2B/trade marketing executive.

Before her move to Virgin, she worked at McLaren as part of its digital marketing and ecommerce team.

Thomson will report to sales, marketing and digital director Jamie Loizou and will be responsible for growing brand and product awareness among travel agents.

“We are delighted to have Sarah join the team and have no doubt she will be a great asset,” said Loizou.

“With her expertise, we can offer even more support to our partners through cooperative marketing and help ensure AmaWaterways is front of mind through innovative brand marketing across a variety of channels.

“Her appointment comes during an exciting year, with three new ships set to launch this summer, including AmaMagna.”

ASOS suffering from tech and ecommerce snags

Online fashion retailer Asos has seen its profits plunge, after a difficult year caused by heavy discounting and website traffic issues.

Asos' pre-tax profits fell 87% to £4m for the six months to 28 February against the same period in 2018.

The firm said it had managed to stabilise sales, which rose 14% to £1.3bn for the period.

Asos said marketing changes meant a fall in visits to its websites and a drop in its search engine rankings.

Chief executive Nick Beighton said that Asos had identified a number of things it "can do better", and that heavy investment in its platforms gave the retailer "increased confidence" that its performance would improve in the second half of the year.

He added that the global fashion industry was growing and now worth more than £220bn.

"We now have the tech platform, the infrastructure, a constant conversation with our growing customer base who love our own great product and the constantly evolving edit of brands we present to them," said Mr Beighton.

Asos said its financial guidance for the year remained the same.

In December, Asos warned on profits, saying that cutting prices to match rivals had not led to a significant increase in sales. Asos shares fell by almost 40%.

In early April, Asos announced that it was changing its returns policy.

The time allowed for returns of unwanted items has been lengthened from 28 days to 45 days.

However, the retailer warned customers that if it suspected that individuals were actually wearing goods and then returning them, or ordering and returning "loads", it might deactivate the account.

A popular rising trend has seen customers post pictures on social media of themselves in new outfits.

Certain users do not like being seen in the same outfit twice, making it tempting to use an outfit once and return it.

Asos said that initiatives designed to improve its business had hit profits, from decisions on short-term pricing and inventory, to new marketing strategies.

To stay competitive, the retailer launched 200 localised microsites - smaller sites which perform alongside its main website.

It also made changes to the way customers navigate around its main website, particularly in how new products were displayed.

These changes had an impact on its search engine rankings, which affected the number of people being directed to the main website.

Asos said that the changes resulted in a slowdown in the growth of younger customers, but UK sales rose 16% due to orders from existing customers.

Although US sales growth was below expectations, the retailer said that demand far exceeded its expectations in February, once its new warehouse in Atlanta went online.

Sales rose by 80% in the first three days after the warehouse went into operation, to the extent that Asos did not have enough staff to cope with demand, and there was a delay in sending out packages to customers.

Caffè Nero kicks off Easter Egg hunt at the V&A

Caffè Nero has teamed up with the Victoria and Albert (V&A) Museum to launch its second consecutive Alice in Wonderland-themed Easter Egg Hunt via its Yoyo-powered app.

Until 21 April, customers who purchase coffee through the Caffè Nero app will have the chance to tap or shake their phone to find one of six prize-giving eggs. Prizes include free coffee for a month for 14 winners, 1000s of bonus Caffè Nero loyalty stamps, and free vouchers for a variety of Caffè Nero products.

Each of the eggs has been created in collaboration with the V&A, inspired by an Alice in Wonderland illustration by C.F.A Voysey.

Last year’s campaign saw more than 300,000 Easter eggs open by customers, while over 100,000 new users downloaded the app, according to Caffè Nero and Yoyo.

Caffè Nero launched its payment and loyalty app back in April 2017 – at which point the company’s head of marketing, Marcus Denison-Smith, spoke to us about the thinking behind the app and using it to build better relationships with customers.

Furniture retail giant focuses on its CRM offering

The owner of Bensons for Beds and Harveys Furniture – Steinhoff Retail, has appointed UX agency Upland to help improve its CRM offering.

Upland’s Rant & Rave software will give insights into how customers feel about their experience in real-time, and facilitate seamless feedback capture across multiple touchpoints of the customer journey for two of the retail group’s biggest brands.

The move is the next step in Steinhoff’s mission to put the customer first in everything that it does.

Steinhoff has always strived to make improvements based on customer feedback through various survey programmes, but by implementing Rant & Rave, feedback can now be captured and processed more quickly than ever before. These insights can be accessed almost instantaneously from the cloud-based dashboard, enabling Steinhoff to take action to improve the customer experience in the moment and beyond through evidence-based change.

In the short-term, Steinhoff aims to identify the key drivers of customer dissatisfaction in real-time and rapidly resolve them, while the longer-term goal will be to undertake more in-depth analysis of insight trends over time, with a goal of improving the total customer experience and building stronger customer engagement than ever before.

Rav Billing, Head of Insight & CRM at Steinhoff said: “The team at Upland Rant & Rave have a real customer focused mentality and for us, that was the most important part of selecting a new Voice of the Customer partner. We wanted a supplier that cares about the customer experience just as much as we do. This, coupled with the effective sentiment analysis capabilities and easy to use dashboard, made Upland Rant & Rave the ideal partner for us.

“We have run customer satisfaction programmes for the last few years and have always strived to make improvements according to what our customers have to say, but by enabling customer feedback to be shared across all levels of the business, the Rant & Rave platform gives us the ability to be more agile in identifying trends to provide clear evidence to support the validity of any strategic business change.”

Base jumping whisky drinker ad deemed “irresponsible”

An advert featuring a man leaping off a cliff has been banned for promoting "risky behaviour".

The Macallan ad, which was broadcast on various platforms, showed the man falling towards the ground before sprouting wings and flying away.

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) ruled that the advert was irresponsible.

It said the opening scene could be seen as "reminiscent of the extreme sport of base jumping".

The Macallan's owner Edrington had argued that its first global advertising campaign was a "fantastical story" which did not link alcohol with "bravery, daring or toughness".

The regulator said it received six complaints after the advert was broadcast on TV, video on demand and Instagram in December.

It noted that the opening scene in all versions of the ad featured a man running and jumping off a cliff.

The ASA said: "We noted that at that point in the ads, there was no suggestion that the male character had any super-human attributes or powers, or that he was part of a mythical world".

It also noted that the character was seen clenching his fists as he peered over the edge of the cliff, giving "the impression that he was nervous about jumping and was building up the courage to do so".

The regulator continued: "In that context, we considered that the act of jumping off the cliff was very dangerous, potentially fatal, and consisted of extreme risk-taking behaviour.

"That impression was compounded by the text 'Would you risk falling for the chance to fly?'"

The ASA said that while it acknowledged that some elements of the ad were fantastical, it considered that its central message was "one of promoting risky or daring behaviour to reap possible rewards".

It added: "Although the character was not seen consuming alcohol at any point, we considered the ads made a clear association between an alcoholic product and potentially very dangerous, daring behaviour and concluded that they were irresponsible."

Reacting to the ruling, a spokesperson for The Macallan said the company had co-operated fully with the ASA in response to "a small number of complaints about our brand's global awareness campaign".

He said: "In light of the ASA ruling, we have acted to address their concerns and removed the campaign film from relevant channels accessible by the UK audience.

"As phase one of the campaign is now complete, we will take onboard the ruling as we plan for next phase of the campaign.

"The overall theme of the global campaign is about bold decision-making and targeting a new generation of luxury consumers.

"This will continue to be the focus of the global campaign, though we will of course take on board the ASA's comments in relation to the film elements in the UK market as we develop the campaign in the future."

Fitbit launches Versa Lite with workout event today

To celebrate the launch of the new Fitbit Versa Lite smartwatch, Fitbit is turning up the colour at an exclusive, one-day-only event at Protein Studios, Shoreditch today (Thursday 11th April).

With four x 15 minute power workout sessions led by our expert PTs, London Fitness Guy and Paleta CalmQuality, who ensure there is something for everyone.

Every session is held in their unique Colour Works studio, flooded with colour for a truly immersive sensory experience.

There will be different colour themed areas that individuals can get involved in such as the Scarlet HIIT-zone, Lilac Yoga Cocoon, Bright White and Marina Blue.

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