Amazon is launching a musical pop-up to mark the release of Military Wives on 6th March, a film that follows a group of women who form a choir.

Delivered by Tribe, the pop-up will feature a real military choir who will perform throughout the day, with the opportunity for those attending to sing along.

There will also be a soundproof booth where visitors can sing along to Cyndi Lauper’s Time after Time, as featured in the movie, and have a photo taken in the booth, of which they will receive a printout and digital version.

Guests will also be asked to write down what they are thankful for and stick their notes to the walls of the booth to create a growing installation.

To keep up with the theme of the film, cups of tea will be handed out along with information on how to join the local military choir and become a supporter of the Military Wives Choir charity.

The activation appeared this week in Manchester Piccadilly and Birmingham New Street station, and will next appear in London Waterloo station on 22nd February.

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Amazon has launched a campaign in partnership with global publisher PinkNews to boost inclusion in schools by celebrating the importance of teaching LGBT+ diversity through literacy.

The campaign launches today with the roll out of Amazon’s LGBT+ Reading Roadshow, the UK’s first ever UK-wide LGBT+ reading programme.

Designed for secondary schools, the roadshow combines inclusivity workshops with the provision of free books and PinkNews merchandise for schools around the UK.

This element of the programme is fronted by the campaigner and musician Will Young and is presented in association with the LGBT+ educational charity, Just Like Us.

It comes during new legal battles concerning the right to inclusive education and the teaching of LGBT+ equality which led to demonstrations outside a Birmingham primary school. Anti LGBT+ protesters have since been banned by a court injunction from protesting outside the school.

The LGBT+ Reading Roadshow will visit secondary schools neighbouring Amazon’s UK sites around the country, using story-telling, advice and mentoring together with guest speakers and readings from inspirational books about the importance of acceptance.

Participating schools will receive a free Book Box for their libraries containing a selection of books about the importance of LGBT+ inclusion and the experiences of LGBT+ people.

Each box will include PinkNews branded and designed pin badges, part of a new merchandise range that PinkNews is launching on Snapchat and other ecommerce channels later this month.

The campaign was inspired by a new survey commissioned through YouGov which reveals that more than half (58 per cent) of teachers welcome more support from businesses like Amazon and PinkNews in promoting LGBT+ diversity and inclusion in schools to help students build important life and career skills.

Activity culminates with Amazon’s headline sponsorship of the 2019 Pink News Awards which take place this October.

Simon Johnson, UK country manager for Books, Amazon, and executive sponsor of Glamazon, the Amazon LGBT+ employee affinity group, said: “Diversity and inclusion can make everybody stronger – benefiting communities, schools and across society as a whole. So by meeting positive role models, running workshops which tackle the causes of bullying and opening young minds to literature that challenges stereotypes, we hope the LGBT+ Reading Roadshow, run in partnership with Pink News, has a positive impact on students and builds on the existing work of schools. Amazon’s brand and values will be present via our touring Treasure Truck, branded collateral, “Glamazon” employees as role models, all supported by PinkNews content. Activity culminates with our sponsorship of this year’s Pink News Awards, and the campaign complements Amazon Music’s continued role as official music partner for Pride in London this summer.”

Benjamin Cohen, CEO of PinkNews, said:“It’s encouraging to see Amazon go above and beyond in its commitment to diversity and inclusion – not just representing those within the LGBT+ community, but right across society. Taking that positive message directly into schools is a force for good.”

PinkNews has been unveiling nominations for the 2019 Awards during a series of parliamentary receptions in Edinburgh, Belfast, Cardiff and London throughout June and July.

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Amazon, Enterprise Nation, Direct Line for Business and Square are partnering to open 10 Clicks and Mortar pop-up shops in cities across the UK, with the first shop opened at St Mary’s Gate in central Manchester, yesterday. This will be followed by the opening of Clicks and Mortar pop-up shops in Wales, Scotland, the Midlands, Yorkshire and across the South East.

The Clicks and Mortar pop-up shops will provide customers the opportunity to discover and buy directly from over 100 small businesses – everything from home ware and health and beauty products to food and drink and electronics. The up-and-coming brands have all built successful online businesses and now want to explore physical retail for the first time.

Emma Jones MBE, Founder of Enterprise Nation, said: “UK shoppers like to shop both online and in high street stores, and our intention is to help small businesses succeed by combining the best elements of online and high street retail,” , which supports over 90,000 of Britain’s small businesses. “This new concept will provide small businesses with the space, technology and support to experience physical retail for the first time, while enabling customers to discover new brands on their local high streets.

Doug Gurr, UK Country Manager at Amazon, said: “Small businesses are one of our most important customer groups, and we’re thrilled to work with Enterprise Nation to design a comprehensive package to help entrepreneurs across the UK grow their businesses, both in-store and online. From giving up-and-coming online, British brands have the chance to experience physical retail, to funding the training of full-time apprenticeships and helping to increase SME exports. Amazon is committed to supporting the growth of small businesses – helping them boost the economy and create jobs across the UK.”

Amazon Apprenticeships
Amazon announced a new £1m Apprenticeship Fund to help small or medium-sized business (SME) selling on Amazon upskill their workforce through their own dedicated apprentices. The new investment will help create over 150 digital marketing, business administration and customer service practitioner apprentices who will work full time for SMEs selling on Amazon, to help boost their productivity, sales and exports in the digital age. Amazon will also provide specialist training on how to build a successful e-commerce business, how participating SMEs can market and advertise their products to customers and how to sell their products to a global customer base. The fund is exclusively open to any brand-owning SME registered in England that currently sells on Amazon and has a turnover of less than £1 million.

Amazon Academies
Yesterday also saw the launch of the 2019 Amazon Academy programme – a series of free events across the UK to provide hands-on, practical training to help small businesses succeed in the digital economy, in particular by growing their export sales. The first event in 2019 is taking place at Amazon’s fulfilment centre in Manchester, and will include training sessions from Amazon teams along with independent business, marketing and intellectual property experts.

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A five-floor immersive experience and exhibition disguised as a Soho bookshop is set to open in London, inspired by the much anticipated new Amazon Original series Good Omens, premiering on Prime Video on 31^st May.

Taking over a Victorian town house in the heart of Soho, the event will immerse fans in the weird and wonderful world of Good Omens. Adapted from the fan favourite 1990 novel by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett, the six-part series is an hilarious story of the world hurtling towards the apocalypse, with only the unlikely duo of an angel (Michael Sheen) and a demon (David Tennant) to stop it.

Quick witted fans of the book may recognise the bookshop ‘A.Z. Fell and Co.’ when it appears in Greek Street in Soho, with the show’s 1934 Bentley Derby Coupe parked outside. Modelled on the character Aziraphale’s (Sheen) run down bookshop hideout, the unassuming facade might well be overlooked by those not in the know. However on entry it will quickly become clear that this is no ordinary bookshop.

Fans will be given the chance to explore immersive set replicas, take on an escape room challenge starting in a recreation of hell, explore a rich array of props and costumes from the show and discover original artwork and on-set drawings from acclaimed portrait artist Lorna May Wadsworth.

The exhibition and experience will be open to the public at 19 Greek Street on Saturday 1^st and Sunday 2^nd of June, coinciding with all episodes becoming available to stream on Amazon Prime Video on Friday 31^st May.

The full experience is free of charge, and entry to the exhibition elements will be through walk-ins. The Escape Room experience, which lasts approx 30mins, will be ticketed through EventBrite. With tickets limited and the imminent apocalypse, well, inevitable, fans are encouraged to book their places before the apocalypse inconveniently brings about the end of the world.

Tickets  are available here: https://az-fell-and-co-bookshop666.eventbrite.com

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smp, the London-headquartered commerce marketing agency, has announced two new specialist appointments to its Amazon team, to support the agency’s ongoing international growth. Bella Bui has been appointed Media Buyer, with Febby Mpundu appointed Content Specialist.

Following a series of new business successes in the tech sector, the new appointments will bolster smp’s dedicated Amazon team established earlier in the year.

Headed up by smp’s Head of Planning, Chris Cooper, the Amazon team, which also includes dedicated Amazon account managers and data analysts, will continue to support clients’ growing Amazon demands. Its focus is on using Amazon Advertising tools to reach and influence shoppers at every stage of the purchase journey, from discovery and search through to purchase.

As a result of this growth, the agency today moves from its Charlotte Street offices, which have been the agency’s home for over a decade, to Aviation House in Holborn. The move allows smp to accommodate the expanding team and focus on growing its eCommerce offering and Amazon expertise, still within touching distance of some of the best shopping streets in the world.

Managing Director, Chris Carter added: “It’s a very exciting time for smp, thanks to new business wins and the growth of the Amazon side of our business. We needed to boost our specialist team to meet demand and are very happy to welcome Bella and Febbi on board. We’re looking forward to continued growth and further strengthening our offering in delivering solutions for an ever-evolving shopper journey.”

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Doritos in the US has linked up with the new Marvel Studios‘ film, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, in a promotion which sees packs of the tortilla chip snack turned into music players that play the complete film soundtrack.

The custom Doritos bags feature a retro cassette tape deck-inspired player built into the packaging which plays the full soundtrack. Consumers were offered the chance to buy the custom bags starting from the end of April at Amazon.com/Doritos while stocks last, while Doritos was also involved with the launch of the soundtrack at special events in New York and Los Angeles.

Separately, Doritos has been running a prize promotion, Choose Your Guardian, offering US consumers the chance to win a range of prizes including tickets to the film, signed movie memorabilia, headphones, mobile and laptop cases, GoPro cameras, tablets, games consoles and, at the top end, holidays, exclusive experiences and tickets to the premiere of the film.

Ryan Matiyow, Senior Director of Marketing, Frito Lay North America, says: “The soundtrack to the first Guardians of the Galaxy film was a hit and became immensely popular with music fans, so we wanted to create a unique way for fans to experience the second installment,” said “This collaboration across entertainment and music will give fans a new and different way to experience both the soundtrack and Doritos snacks.”

Released in July 2014, the first film’s soundtrack garnered unparalleled success: it reached No. 1 on the US Billboard 200 chart, becoming the first soundtrack album in history consisting of entirely previously released songs to top the chart; it topped the Billboard Top Soundtrack chart for 11 consecutive weeks and 16 weeks in total; and it has sold more than 1 million copies in the U.S. and has been certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America.

“Marvel and Doritos have had such a good relationship through the years,” said Mindy Hamilton, SVP of Global Partnerships at Marvel Entertainment. “We have a very similar set of core fans, so we wanted to maximize availability of this soundtrack by making it as accessible in a unique way that only Doritos and Marvel could do. What’s cooler than buying a bag of Doritos with the soundtrack built in?”

Doritos backed up the music player promotion by offering fans the chance to “Rock Out Loud” by performing one of the soundtrack’s songs at pop-up recording booths in New York and Los Angeles on May 5, the day of the movie premiere. Fans could win various prizes, including the custom cassette player replica Doritos bags, concert and other event tickets, and free bags of Doritos.

Doritos is one of many brands owned by Frito-Lay North America, the $14 billion convenient foods business unit of PepsiCo. PepsiCo generated more than $63 billion in net revenue in 2015, driven by a complementary food and beverage portfolio that includes Frito-Lay, Gatorade, Pepsi-Cola, Quaker and Tropicana. PepsiCo’s product portfolio includes a wide range of foods and beverages, including 22 brands that generate more than $1 billion each in estimated annual retail sales.

Marvel Studios’ “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2” sees the Guardians trying to unravel the mystery of Peter Quill’s true parentage. Marvel Studios is part of Marvel Entertainment, which is owned by The Walt Disney Company, one of the world’s most prominent character-based entertainment companies.

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