This month has been really interesting with some tangible advances in the use of mobile proximity technologies. I used Apple Pay for the first time, tapping a contactless payment terminal to pay for a coffee with my iPhone, using my American Express card. I can now also use my iPhone to tap in and out of the London underground. Then, Google quietly provided long awaited information about its response to Apple’s iBeacon, in the form of Eddystone.

The DailyDOOH Media Summit is taking place tomorrow and promises to promote, stimulate, foster and actively encourage change. The past year has already seen great strides within the Out of Home (OOH) landscape with the rise of digital and location based advertising taking centre stage.

We’ve become a nation of addicts…when it comes to mobile devices that is. 85% of people who say that mobile devices are a central part of everyday life. Smartphones have therefore become a portal of opportunity for brands and retailers to connect, engage and convert consumer activity into sales.

A lot of the time, discussing technology can feel a little like you’re floating above the surface of the planet, talking about things that aren’t rooted in the real world. With cloud-based computing, abstract algorithms and billion dollar deals, it’s easy to forget the day-to-day impact that new technologies can have on how we live, even when we’re carrying a smartphone everywhere and using it several times a day.

Mobile World Congress is the biggest European show of the year in our fast-evolving industry, and we’re looking forward to seeing first-hand all the innovative new products and ideas that are set to be unveiled. 

We all know the drill with trade shows. Travel to an aircraft hangar of a venue; work your way through the crowds to get a decent cup of coffee; cut through the noise to try and have a productive conversation only to realise that you’ve forgotten your business cards. So with TFMA 2015 looming, you might be wondering whether you can face battling the District Line out to Olympia for yet another trade show.

Visitors to Norwich will be well aware of our beautiful countryside, historic city, cultural heritage, and of course Delia. But as a pioneer of digital technology and innovative start-ups Norwich has - to date - been eclipsed by other regional clusters, particularly London's Tech City.

Mary Portas’ crusade to highlight the collapse of the high street has, in its wake, stimulated a sense of community spirit to re-vitalise the way our high streets deliver convenient and needs-based retailing.

Mobile has become the holy grail of marketing, but like many things that create such a buzz, it’s a classic case of nobody really knows how to do it, everyone thinks everyone else is doing it, so retailers and brands quickly build it into their business strategy.