James Swift

London

Managing Editor at MediaCat Magazine

Online editor at Contagious magazine.

Articles

Scaling skill adoption with AI and a human-centric approach

1 month ago | trainingjournal.com | James Swift

Leyton, like many businesses, prioritises client retention as a crucial driver of sustainable growth. Recognising that their consultants’ skills directly impacted client relationships and retention rates, Leyton’s talent development team sought innovative solutions to improve skill adoption and consistency across their workforce. The business challenge was to boost client retention.
The Avoidable Pitfalls to Black Business Ownership.

Jan 4, 2025 | thyblackman.com | James Swift

(ThyBlackMan.com) Black business ownership is a goal for many. Most fail in their attempts and might be better suited for teaching the pitfalls while those who succeed are held as examples. Their paths to success are often studied and shared as examples. Note, the business owners with the bigger wallets will share their secrets to success gradually in interviews while others might see their path to success as a means to more money. Which it is.
Gladiator II roadblock reached 300m

Dec 22, 2024 | mediacat.uk | James Swift

Beginning at 9pm (EST) on 18 November, a 60-second trailer for the movie starring Denzel Washington aired on more than 4,000 networks and platforms around the world, and according to the studio, reached over 300 million people. In the US, the trailer ran during NFL game coverage on ABC and CBS, and during The Voice on NBC. Paramount also bought takeovers on Google, Meta, TikTok and Snap, among other platforms, as well as airtime on cable channels and radio stations.
Revisiting EssenceMediacom’s 2024 media predictions

Dec 22, 2024 | mediacat.uk | James Swift

In January, executives and department heads at EssenceMediacom predicted eight things that would happen in the media industry in 2024. How did they do? In the spirit of accountability, the agency’s joint CSO, Richard Kirk, partner Andrew Monks, and its head of planning, James Parnum, spoke to MediaCat about what they got right and what they got wrong with their forecasts for 2024. BARB data reveals that hours spent with YouTube on TV grew 32% last year, while Netflix hours plateaued at +0.4%.
Reddit leapfrogs X in UK social media rankings

Dec 22, 2024 | mediacat.uk | James Swift

Reddit has become the fastest-growing large social media platform in the UK, overtaking X and reaching half of the country’s online adults. According to Ofcom’s Online Nation Report, Reddit reached 47% of the UK’s online adults (22.9 million) in May 2024, up from 33% (15.6 million) in May 2023. As a result of this increase, Reddit rose two positions in the rankings of large social media platforms, overtaking X and LinkedIn to become the fifth most popular service among UK adults.
Revisiting EssenceMediacom’s 2024 media predictions

Dec 17, 2024 | mediacatmagazine.co.uk | James Swift

In January, executives and department heads at EssenceMediacom predicted eight things that would happen in the media industry in 2024. How did they do? In the spirit of accountability, the agency’s joint CSO, Richard Kirk, partner Andrew Monks, and its head of planning, James Parnum, spoke to MediaCat about what they got right and what they got wrong with their forecasts for 2024. BARB data reveals that hours spent with YouTube on TV grew 32% last year, while Netflix hours plateaued at +0.4%.
Gladiator II roadblock reached 300m

Dec 9, 2024 | mediacatmagazine.co.uk | James Swift

Paramount Pictures claims that it organised the largest roadblock in media history to promote Gladiator II. Beginning at 9pm (EST) on 18 November, a 60-second trailer for the movie starring Denzel Washington aired on more than 4,000 networks and platforms around the world, and according to the studio, reached over 300 million people. In the US, the trailer ran during NFL game coverage on ABC and CBS, and during The Voice on NBC.
Low stakes and new intimacies: social media in 2025

Dec 5, 2024 | mediacatmagazine.co.uk | Nazli Selin Ozkan |James Swift |Aaron Goldman

We Are Social published its annual Think Forward report last month, predicting the trends that will shape social media and other online spaces in 2025. We asked Paul Greenwood, global head of research and insights at the agency, to give us the details. Social’s promise was connecting with friends and family and fostering community.
Reach is not enough: How channels combine to influence brand outcomes

Dec 2, 2024 | mediacatmagazine.co.uk | James Swift |Jean-Christophe Conti |Helen Miall

Three Oxford University professors have published a study that claims to have cracked the code of how complex combinations of media channels can influence the long-term effect of ad campaigns on consumer attitudes. Jason Bell, Felipe Thomaz and Andrew Stephen — all from Oxford’s Saïd Business School — analysed over 1,000 large brand campaigns from around the world to create a set of archetypes that describe different media allocation styles.
Reddit leapfrogs X to become UK adults' fifth favourite social media site

Nov 29, 2024 | mediacatmagazine.co.uk | James Swift |Alex Brownsell |Grace Gollasch |Christine Ochefu

Reddit has become the fastest-growing large social media platform in the UK, overtaking X and reaching half of the country’s online adults. According to Ofcom’s Online Nation Report, Reddit reached 47% of the UK’s online adults (22.9 million) in May 2024, up from 33% (15.6 million) in May 2023. As a result of this increase, Reddit rose two positions in the rankings of large social media platforms, overtaking X and LinkedIn to become the fifth most popular service among UK adults.