A team of business giants—Unilever, John Lewis and the UK’s largest mobile and Internet provider EE to name a few—have launched a competition that calls creative tech minds to submit their «Internet of Things» (IoT) ideas. The £1m Launchpad competition is launched in partnership with Tech City UK, the Technology Strategy Board (TSB) and Cambridge Wireless, and is open to early-stage UK startups.

John Lewis is celebrating its 150th anniversary with a massive effort that involves a release of products as part of new creative collaborations, bringing back the old and beloved visuals, and the rollout of promotional elements that mix nostalgic twists with tributes to the present. “For 150 years, you’ve never stood still. Neither have we,” reads the tagline.

The article is written by Greg Taylor, Director of Brand Provocation at Elmwood, London

It’s that time of year again here in the UK. Our TV screens are being hit with a blizzard of yuletide advertising. The retailers in particular vie for bragging rights as to who has the best ‘Christmas campaign’. This time around, Waitrose and John Lewis particularly struck me. For international readers, Waitrose is the chain of supermarkets of the John Lewis Partnership, which also has a chain of department stores called, you guessed it, ‘John Lewis’.