Google is poised to overtake arch-rival Apple as the world’s most popular app platform in the coming months thanks to a surge in downloads which saw it edge to within a whisker of the iPhone giant.

The leapfrogging promises to be an important moment in a tussle for supremacy between the two tech giants and reflects the growing dominance of Samsung and the Android platform within the smartphone market.

To date Apple has seen 850,000 apps downloaded a total of 50bn times for iPhone, iPod touch and iPad with Google reporting a comparable figure of 48bn downloads.

However Google’s rate of increase is significantly higher, with 2.5bn downloads per month versus 2bn for Apple – a difference which could see Google overtake within four months.

Nevertheless Apple’s system remains a more lucrative source of revenue for developers with Google’s Play store accounting for just 27 per cent of sector revenues.

Car insurance provider Aviva has mounted a new advertising campaign to promote its new Aviva Drive app, which calculates how much someone should pay based on how well they drive.

Designed to save safer drivers money on their insurance the app is available on iPhone and Android and uses the phone’s inbuilt GPS to measure driving based on accelerating, braking and cornering over 200 miles. Drivers will then be given a score ranging between 0-10 (with 10 being the safest) and calculate a personal premium based on their skills.

To promote the app Aviva has worked with AMV BBDO to create an ad campaign starring brand ambassador Paul Whitehouse. The new spot sees Whitehouse reveal another new character ‘Rodney’, a Hell’s Angel style biker who turns out to be a very safer driver.

The 30” spot opens with a leather and tattooed Rodney standing next to a motorbike before getting into his car and being revealed as a very careful driver. The ad finishes with Rodney waving his wife off - the rightful owner of the motorbike – before uttering “wouldn’t get me on one of those things”.

The ad aims to highlight how Aviva’s premiums are not based on the standard insurance parameters of post code, age, occupation.

A supporting 20” execution will run alongside the 30” ad from the start of June.

Churchill Insurance has been announced as the sponsor of Animal Heroes, a three-part ITV show set to launch on 4 June.

The integrated package includes broadcast and online and was negotiated by ITV Commercial and MediaCom Beyond Advertising on behalf of Churchill Insurance.

Ryan Gardiner, sponsorship sales manager at ITV, said: “We are delighted to welcome Churchill to ITV in their first sponsorship with the network. Animal Heroes is a great brand fit for Churchill, and we look forward to activating the partnership both on and off air.”

The sponsorship idents, showing Churchill and a dog trainer put dogs through their paces on a dog assault and agility course, have been created and produced by ITN Productions in collaboration with WCRS.

Amanda Walker, marketing director at Churchill, said: “The idents really create a sense of how hard the dogs in the show have to work, and is perfectly matched to the creative content. There is a subtle humour which shines through and which we hope the viewing audience will enjoy watching.”

Could you survive with nothing more than a giant life ring, a tuxedo and a plane ticket atop a glacier in rural Alaska?

This is the question Heineken is asking as part of its latest initiative, ‘Dropped’, part of the beer brand's ongoing Legends campaign which began in December 2010.

“[…]we want to go further than inspiring men to be resourceful and open to the world. We are giving a few of them the opportunity to go beyond the borders of their comfort zone,” said Sandrine Huijgen, global communications director at Heineken.

“‘Dropped’ is a social experiment that will challenge the participant to display their true character and if they do, have a legendary travel experience.”

The first experiment of the campaign saw Rikar Gil from Barcelona literally dropped into a remote Alaskan location with nothing but the most basic of supplies and directions to an airport hundreds of miles away.

His experience is being filmed for Voyage TVC, with episodes from the first Dropped adventure going onto Heineken’s dedicated YouTube channel, where viewers can also check the process of the “explorer”.

An infograph of Gil’s journey shows he met three bears, missed wearing t-shirts the most, and had his tongue stuck on ice 22 times.

Over the next month, three further episodes will see people dropped in locations across four continents.

Mindshare UK has today announced the appointment of Jed Hallam as its head of social strategy.

Hallam, who joins from the role of social director at VCCP Partnership, has authored The Social Media Manifesto and co-authored The Social Media MBA.

At Mindshare, he will work in collaboration with the strategy and planning teams to ensure social is integrated throughout.

He said: “I'm excited to be joining such a talented team at Mindshare, and working with some incredibly forward thinking clients. I believe that the agency is in the perfect position to demonstrate the role that social technology can play in driving our clients businesses into the future.”

Hallam will report into chief strategy officer Matt Andrews, who said: “We are looking forward to Jed arriving at Mindshare, he’s a great talent and will be instrumental in ensuring we continue to deliver progressive media strategies for our clients.”

Bauer Media has joined forces with British Gas to help promote swimming initiative – Swim Britain.

Running from Monday 3 June until Sunday 13 October, Swim Britain follows research from Bauer Media’s listener panel which showed swimming to be the dominant sport among its listeners. The multi-platform activity includes promotional activity across selected Bauer Media Place Portfolio stations including Magic 105.4, Key 103, Metro Radio and Hallam FM and includes on-air trails and online videos.

In September Magic breakfast show’s ‘Team Foxy’ and ‘Team Verity’ along with In:Demand’s Alex James will compete in the 100m Swim Britain event. The activity will also introduce British Gas ambassadors, including international medal winner Mark Foster, who will offer hints, tip and information about swimming.

Those who register online for the Swim Britain event will have the chance to train with the British Gas ambassadors as well as the team from their respective station; entrants will also be entered into a draw to win various swimming-themed holidays. During the event trails and live reads will feature in air alongside a showdown video with ‘Team Foxy’ and ‘Team Verity’. Daily on-air competitions will also incorporate content from the event.

Morag Taylor, brand experience manager, British Gas, said the aim of the initiative is to “improve the nation’s fitness by inspiring half a million people to swim more regularly by 2015,” and Bauer Media’s creative commercial director, Steve Taylor, furthered that the campaign “plays to the strengths of the Bauer Media Place Portfolio integrating our presenters into the fabric of the activity…be creating engaging content not just on-air but also through videos running on our websites and social media.”

Sam Knight, sponsorship executive at Carat, who was involved with the deal, added: “It’s great to see this level of presenter and station endorsement across Bauer’s Place Portfolio. We hope Foxy and co will inspire and encourage listeners to get involved in Swim Britain this summer.”

London City Airport (LCY) has launched a new advertising campaign on the back of a brand review which has seen new strapline, ‘Get Closer’, incorporated into the LCY logo.

Explaining its meaning, Bryn Owen, marketing director at LCY said: “Get closer means different things to different people. Some passengers want to get closer to their meeting in central London; some want to arrive at the airport closer to their flight departure time; and others want to be closer to home when they return from a trip.”

The new advertising campaign has been launched across print and online media in the UK and mainland Europe, emphasising the new proposition.

The brand refresh has also seen an injection of colour into the logo, with royal blue chosen to reflect the airport’s professional and business class standard.

The new identity will be phased in over the coming months across online, traditional media, marketing collateral, signage, airport equipment and staff uniforms.

The Public Relations Consultants Association (PRCA) has commented on the Sunday Times expose that saw three Lords offered work by undercover journalists posing as lobbyists.

The Drum reported this morning that lobbyists are now facing calls to embrace a new regime of registration by deputy prime minister Nick Clegg after a host of peers were snared by Panorama and the Sunday Times attempting to sell access to parliament and debating time to fake businesses.

However, Francis Ingham, PRCA director general, said: “This is still not a lobbying scandal - it is a purely political scandal. Just with the apparent revelations about Patrick Mercer on Friday, there wasn’t a lobbyist in sight in The Sunday Times expose of the three Lords.

“It is important to note that a number of our lobbying agency members alerted us to the fact that they were contacted by the fictitious South Korean solar power firm at the time that the sting was taking place, but significantly they declined to work with the firm. Once again, it appears that the only people to be drawn into this scandal are politicians - not lobbyists.”

He continued: “If the government has now finally decided to introduce a statutory register of lobbyists, it must not be a smokescreen to cover the improper behaviour of politicians. What we really need to see are politicians who do not bend and break their own rules. In particular, we need to see a tightening of the rules that apply to the setting up of APPGs and how they operate.”

Meanwhile, Emily Wallace, PRCA Public Affairs Group chairman, added: “If the government is serious about delivering greater transparency, then it needs to make sure that any bill to introduce a statutory register of lobbyists covers more than those currently covered by the existing voluntary registers.

“It is a completely wasted opportunity to increase transparency if a statutory register of lobbyists only covers primarily those who are already transparent, and not all professional lobbyists.”

Samsung Electronics has today announced that it is to be the sole sponsor of the Royal Rowing Regatta.

The Regatta is taking place next weekend to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Queen’s Coronation.

John Kim, deputy managing director for Samsung Electronics UK & Ireland, commented: “Samsung is proud to be working with the Royal Rowing Regatta, the sponsorship is the perfect marriage of sporting prowess and technological achievement.”

Guests will be able to see Samsung equipment such as the Samsung F8000 Smart TV and the HT-F9750W Home Cinema System, as well as the latest range of digital appliances from Samsung, including the refrigeration, cooking, laundry and vacuum cleaner ranges in its on-site showroom.

This is utterly lovely. After receiving a phone call, our hero shuffles out of his house and takes advantage of every technological advance provided by Visa to equip himself for a very important errand. The years literally fall away as he makes his way through his gorgeous Mediterranean village.

Agency: Saatchi & Saatchi
Production Co: Partizan
Director: Traktor

Over half (57 per cent) of smartphone owners have bought products using their handset with almost all (93 per cent) of smartphone owners accessing the internet via their phones, according to research from Savvy Marketing.

The survey of 1,000 household shopping decision makers looked at how the UK’s shoppers are now interacting with their phones and revealed that shoppers can be found browsing at any place or any time, not just when they’re in stores of logged in at their computers.

According to the survey Waitrose shoppers were the most likely to own a smartphone (75 per cent) followed by Tesco, ASDA and Sainsbury’s shoppers with 68, 68 and 69 per cent respectively. Smartphone ownership for Morrisons and the Co-op shoppers stood at 64 per cent,.

Despite the portable nature of handsets 85 per cent of respondents did the majority of their browsing at home, with 60 per cent claiming they had accessed the internet via their handset while watching TV. Outside the home shoppers were most likely to be online while commuting (51 per cent), at bars/pubs (45 per cent) and at work (42 per cent). A further 36 per cent went online while they were out shopping.

“The proliferation of smartphones now means that shoppers are constantly connected and can literally be inspired to buy a product at any time or any place. This is a trend we call ubiquitous shopping…With shoppers now able to buy products from their favourite retailers at pretty much at any time, traditional advertising should no longer only be about building awareness and love of brands, it should be actively encouraging a purchase,” commented Alastair Lockhart, head of insight at Savvy Marketing.

Smartphone users were also revealed to use their phone to plan shopping trips with 45 per cent looking up product information, 34 per cent checking store locations, and 33 per cent checking prices. A quarter of those taking part also said they used their handsets to seek out discount vouchers.

eBay and Amazon were found to be shoppers most popular destinations (48 per cent), followed by Tesco or its Clubcard mobile app with 23 per cent, and Sainsbury’s or its Nectar app taking third place with 20 per cent.

Lockhart added: “Increasingly the path to purchase is not about a linear shopping experience that involves someone walking around a supermarket, the path to purchase is simply the way that people live their lives – inspiration can hit at any time and they should be able to buy at any time.”

Nikon Europe has revealed its new redesigned website which aims to deliver user-friendly product navigation and visuals for consumers to better understand the Nikon brand.

According to interactive marketing manager at Nikon Europe Danielle Walsh, the redesign was implemented to “redevelop the site to appeal to the broadest possible audience”.

Designed by Amsterdam and Stockholm-based Perfect Fools, visitors to the new site should now experience a more consistent brand presence which reflects Nikon’s ‘I AM Nikon’ campaign aesthetic and design sensibilities. Product information should be more easily accessible through intuitive navigation with simple tools to compare and select products. ‘Filter’ and ‘sort’ functionality have been employed with sample images and product highlight videos to give visitors a clear view of what the selected camera is capable of.

Dedicated sections for service and support for members of the press and professional photographers remain on the site.

Walsh added: “At Nikon, we’re focused on photography, photographs, the moving image and the visual arts – so now our official internet presence reflects this with an engaging website. We expect people that visit our new site will want to spend a lot more time discovering our world than before.”

The new website is also fully integrated with Nikon’s social media channels including Facebook and the Nikon Blog.

What’s the thinking behind BIMA D-Day?

The event is about raising awareness of the digital industry among young people. Our research shows that very little is known in schools about the variety of careers digital offers. Yet on the flip side we are an industry struggling to recruit and face many issues that a talent gap creates.

So D-Day is a fun but tangible way that agencies can help bridge this gap and encourage more people into the sector by considering university courses or apprenticeships.

What does the day involve?

BIMA will provide lots of resources and four digital challenges for the students to undertake on the day.

For those who did it last year, we intend to keep the digital design and mobile challenges in a similar format. They were very popular and the entries last year were superb. You can find them here.

The social media challenge was probably the most eye opening to how good our youngsters were in an area that, I guess, is never taught at school. This year we will retain it, but why draw a Facebook page when you can actually build one for real?

The coding challenge will be altered to allow it to be undertaken on software the school already uses (Scratch, Greenfoot, Flash, JavaScript, C#, Python etc.). All we will do is set the brief. For example: create something to teach younger children their times tables.

Many agencies are a bit wary of the coding challenge. However this is digital so it’s equally about good design, UI and UX. Just scripting isn’t enough. We don’t expect agencies to teach coding as the pupils have this ability already. We need you to get them thinking about problem solving, team working and making a killer app or game.

What does the agency need to do?

Principally it is to add that industry experience and insight. We would also ask you to speak about your agency, the roles and the work you do. Last year we were amazed at the talent of the students so you won’t need to teach! Just steer them in the right direction and help nurture those ideas and ambitions.

What are the numbers looking like for this year?

Good. We have over 100 agencies signed up which is already an increase on last year. However although good, we really need more agencies to help us and make this a truly momentous event.

So if you’re an agency, client team or anyone professionally practising digital please sign up. We really need support across the Midlands, Manchester, South West, Scotland and Wales.

In respect of schools we have currently over 60 signed up. BIMA are ramping up promotion with a 5,000 mail shot this week to increase that number. It was always our intention to get the agencies first so we can hopefully link schools as they apply. We are targeting 250 which should see around 8,000 students taking part.

This year BIMA D-Day is linking with the Dadi Awards. Can you tell us more about that?

Yes, very excited about this. We are running some ‘instant’ competitions to allow us to get entries and marking done that evening. For example we want members of each D-Day team to film and edit the day and publish it alongside all the other schools to create a giant video diary of the day.

We can then show these at the Dadi Awards and recognise the winners on the night. We’re also judging schools for the best social media and tweets for the day!

I'm an agency interested in taking part. What should I do?

Simply put 10/10/13 in your diary and register via The Drum’s microsite.

We'll then say hello via email and hopefully link you to a local school ASAP. Once contacts are exchanged we ask you to contact the teacher via email to break the ice. Then on the day just enjoy.

Mr B & Friends has today announced that Peter Gandolfi is joining the agency in the non-executive role of chairman.

Gandolfi, who worked at Nationwide Building Society for ten years in the roles of head of brand strategy and sports marketing, now runs his own consultancy alongside a number of other business ventures.

Gandolfi said: “I’m thrilled to have been asked to join such an innovative and successful agency. They’ve achieved excellent results to date with an impressive portfolio of clients. I’m particularly looking forward to helping them grow both strategically and commercially - penetrating new markets and winning new clients.”

Barbat, agency MD, added: “We’ve invested heavily in our infrastructure, resources and capabilities over the past two years, and now have further organic growth in our sights. We have attracted a wide range of exciting clients recently and our ambition is to build our reputation as experts in certain vertical sectors. With Peter’s guidance, we’re confident we can achieve our objectives.”

Gandolfi’s work at Mr B & Friends will focus on business growth strategy.

Ex-Channel 4 racing presenter John McCririck has launched a £3m age discrimination claim against his former employers after he was ditched in favour of Clare Balding last year.

The wild haired 73 year-old was dropped, allegedlyfor being too old, prompting McCririck to mount his legal challenge to prevent others from being pensioned off.

Speaking to reporters outside a tribunal hearing McCririck said: “There are people in their 40s, 50s, and 60s who dread that a younger person will come in and take them out of a job; they are in fear of it.

“That is why I am claiming £3 million in total, so that no one will ever be sacked because they are trying to get a younger person. On merit and ability, fine, but not because they are younger.”

In response to the action Channel 4 claims that it never formally employed the presenter, who was recruited on a freelance basis, and denies that age was a factor in his dismissal.

In a separate allegation McCririck asserted that Channel 4 had accused him of ‘blackmail’ by stating that a £20,000 lump sum payment given to the star was done so on a bid to prevent him from speaking to the press about his treatment.

Channel 4 insists that the money was recompense for a reduction in the number of days he was required to work from 82 to 55.

McCririck was a staple fixture on Channel 4’s racing schedules for nearly 30 years before parting company last October.

Trinity Mirror has announced its latest restructure having appointed former Sunday Express editor Sue Douglas as publishing director and ITV’s former managing director of brand and commercial, Rupert Howell as chairman of its Sunday Brands.

The pair will take on responsibility for the publisher’s Sunday newspaper titles The Sunday People, The Sunday Mail, Wales on Sunday, The Sunday Sun and The Sunday Mercury.

Howell will also take on the role of group transformation director, and will report to CEO Simon Fox in order to lead the company’s strategic transformation plans, an announcement revealed.

Douglas said: "I've spent the last two years pursuing a dream to revitalise this part of the media market, so I'm thrilled to get the opportunity to lead the re-vamp of the Sunday People under James Scott's editorship, as well as develop the other Sunday titles. This is a chance to put energy, fun and great journalism into what will become a seven-day digital, one-day print operation."

Rupert Howell said: "I'm delighted to have this opportunity to continue working with Sue, and to work with Simon and Mark Hollinshead (COO) to drive Trinity Mirror forward. The Group faces a number of challenges in common with the rest of the sector, but is blessed with a fantastic stable of titles across the UK and the determination to pursue its clear strategy to transform its fortunes and build a dynamic and growing media business."

Douglas had previously led a failed bid to buy The Sunday People earlier this year.

On-going fallout from the lobbying scandal which broke over parliament at the weekend has seen the speaker of the House of Commons threaten to revoke 80 parliamentary passes.

The prized passes grant the holder privileged access to the seat of government and have been made available for money by a number of sitting MPs – raising both ethical and security concerns for the government.

This underbelly of parliamentary life was exposed last week when The Telegraph filmed Patrick Mercer MP stating his readiness to arrange passes for undercover journalists.

Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg has said that the government will push forward new legislation to curb the influence of lobbyists through creation of a statutory register for those paid to lobby as ‘third parties’.

Meanwhile one legal expert, James Carlton of Fox Williams LLP, has warned that Mercer’s actions could put him in breach of the Bribery Act. He told the Telegraph: “The indications are that Patrick Mercer and others will now face a police investigation into both bribery and misconduct in public office."

The Speaker is expected to make a statement on the brewing scandal later today.

A group of female Israeli soldiers have been disciplined by commanders after a series of raunchy photographs of themselves posing in their underwear and military helmets began circulating on Facebook.

The revealing insight into army life went down well initially, garnering multiple ‘likes’ from members of the social network but the Israeli Defence Force itself took a dimmer view.

In a statement the IDF said: “The picture in question represents behaviour unbecoming IDF soldiers. The commanding officers disciplined the soldiers as they saw fitting.”

Commanding officers have said that the women involved have each been on the receiving end of an ‘educational lecture’ and pointed out that they had yet to join their units when the images were taken.

None of those involved will be expelled from the Army.

Online department store Very.co.uk has teamed with Maverick Television and beauty expert Tanya Burr, fashion blogger Zoella makeup artists Pixiwoo in order to boost its YouTube presence.

The collective will work together to create a 12-week series of summer style videos, with styling in videos to be conducted by Disney Channel ‘Get the Look’ presenter Electra Formosa.

Jon Owen, retail director at Very.co.uk, said: “Social media is a huge driver of engagement and awareness for Very.co.uk. Social video content in particular offers viewers the ability to interact with our collections and products at a time and place to suit them and in a way that they can share and discuss with their friends.

“This campaign is unique for us in that it also combines ‘shop the video’ functionality. This will enable us to open up the Very.co.uk shopping experience to a whole new audience in a brand new arena, yet in a way that’s completely true to our brand.”

The first video in the campaign went live on Friday, discussing the summer style of Vanessa Hudgens, and has so far seen subscribers to Very.co.uk’s YouTube page increase by 850 per cent.

One video will be put online each week, with viewers to be able to click through directly to the Very.co.uk site to shop all of the featured fashion, accessories and beauty products.

Heinz FIVE Beanz has unveiled a Facebook competition with We Are Social, giving fans the chance to design and win their very own ‘Beanie’ look-a-like.

The campaign sees consumers like the page and complete a personality test to determine the type of ‘bean’ they are to be entered into the draw.

One winner will be announced every day for a three week period

Katie Bleach, marketing controller, said: “Judging from last year’s campaign, we know activity featuring personalised items can really help bring a campaign to life and create buzz among fans.

“By taking this year’s campaign to the next level, we’re confident that offering a ‘money can’t buy’ prize will be just as popular with our loyal ‘Beanies’ and get them even more excited. It’s the ultimate way to reward our followers and convey the creative personality of the Heinz FIVE Beanz brand.”

The app is part of a £500,000 campaign to support the Heinz FIVE Beanz brand, which launched last year. It will include print and digital advertising as well as in-store activity.