Drive The News - 5 Sept

Because of platforms like TikTok there is more of a focus on authentic low fi video marketing content as apposed to more polished content. We are seeing a shift away from glossy instagram content with 'airbrush' filters or expensive glossy brand adverts and instead the low fi authentic content seems to be winning with audiences. The less glossy the more believable. This could become a really interesting trend in the future and how bigger brands adapt to this new style. Could we be seeing the end of glossy influencers and the start of championing knowledge rather than aesthetics?

The Clearing House Leeds administer all of the England, Wales & Scotland places for Trainee Clinical Psychologists. For many years this has opened on the 1st of September. Not this year though! With zero warning at all and with over 4000 people expecting to be able to start applying for a place from 1/9/22 - they did not open. The reason given was that a new website is coming. However, they have been pretty vague about when it is coming and when I enquired, I was told week commencing 5/9/2022 but likely the latter part of that week. Whilst this may seem like a small delay this adds further anxiety and stress to what is already a stressful and fiercely competitive process as fewer than 800 places are available each year. I'm a clinical psychologist and I am helping to upskill the next generation of mental health professionals within the U.K. I am currently in the process of finishing off my 2nd book for aspiring psychologists. I am also the host of The Aspiring Psychologist podcast which has had almost 15k downloads since it launched in December 2021. Giving aspiring psychologists access to advice and guidance from a compassionate qualified clinician is so important. Especially given the recent turmoil with the applications system.

I have just spent my Sunday morning writing a blog about BeReal and how there are elements of it that are just as unhealthy as all the mental health problems caused by highly curated social media that it says it aims to stamp out. All the stories about BeReal at the moment are about how it’s a wonderful new take on social, but I’m not so sure it's any better…

Grey Parrot is a new financial planning firm with a business model that intends to be disruptive within financial services. Our business model is based on three key elements: We believe that paying a percentage of your money to a financial adviser is unfair and causes conflicts of interest that may lead your adviser to put their own interests before yours. Instead, we charge our clients a fixed fee for our work based on complexity, not how much money they have. We believe that active management doesn't work, as index portfolio funds which track the market have proven to beat most active managers over the last decade at a far lower cost. We only recommend our clients use low-cost, evidence-based investments rather than risk the lottery of picking fund managers to beat the market. Finally, EY surveyed investors in 2021, and the top two things clients want to know from their wealth manager are, "am I going to be ok and have enough money in the future?" and "am I protected from risks?". From experience, it takes a lot of work to answer these questions, and many financial advisers don't do it. We ensure our clients the answers to these two questions as part of our advice process to ensure their financial well-being. Our model is already proving to have a positive impact on our clients. Last week we took on a new client looking for retirement advice. We reviewed their current financial position and found they were paying over 2.54% in advice and fund management fees. There was no financial plan, leaving the clients worried about having enough in retirement. We built a financial plan for the client with our low-cost charging structure that showed not only would the client be ok in retirement but would also save £7,000 a year in fees by moving to fixed advice costs and low-cost investment management (which had beaten the previous strategies performance by 48% to 22% over the previous five years). When the client is worried about inflation and how to save money, we can tell them, "you can turn your pension contributions down by £580 a month, and you will still have enough money to meet your retirement goals". That's where we are different - advisers charging a percentage of the amount invested are conflicted and would have given many reasons why clients should not reduce their pension contributions. The real reason would be that it affects the adviser's own remuneration. The FCA's new consumer duty is coming, and at the heart of it is evidence that the charges clients pay their advisers are proportionate to the value they add. We know from experience that a client with £1m invested paying 1% to their adviser is not getting 10x the value of a client with £100k. We believe our transparent, fixed fee charging structure for financial advice and planning will far exceed the requirements of the new consumer duty coming in July 2023

In the past week BiNis has set up a PreLoved clothes instagram site. Times are difficult for everyone and as a small business we need to do our bit, not only to survive but to give back! So people drop off their bags ( nearly new baby and kids clothes) to our store and in return they receive vouchers to spend in store or online at BiNibabies. This is becoming very popular, even the hight street brand H&M are doing it! We must stop this fast flow of a throw away culture, buy cheap throw it away. At BiNis everything is recycled, sustainably sourced or made from recycled materials. Some of our toys are recycled sugarcane! While some of these items cost a little more they have a viable re sell price. So it’s time to support us small Independants that offer more than a full bin!

We’ve seen an increased sign up for our Eco Made Easy subscription box in the last few weeks. The boxes contain and selection of products along with tips and tricks to make the most of them and an online membership with sustainable living ideas that often save money too. New subscribers have said they’re hoping that the monthly boxes will help them find multi purpose products products that reduce costs as well as being more eco friendly. I think that with the cost of living increases on everyone’s mind people are looking for ways to save money, reduce the amount they buy as well as live more sustainably. Hopefully this will help us reach a wider audience with our products and help keep a small business going during tough economic times.

REDEFINING CANCER DIAGNOSTICS 1 in 2 people will be diagnosed with cancer in their lifetime. This devastating disease does not discriminate and touches the lives of so many people. Early detection is crucial for treatment and prognosis, with studies showing that 4 in 10 cancer cases each year could be prevented. However, current methods of detection are often invasive, time-consuming and not always accurate. The HrC Test is a ground-breaking new early cancer detection test that offers hope to those affected by cancer. This test has the ability to detect cancer early, which could prove crucial in the fight against this disease. Local Doncaster businessman Steve Smith and his business partner Arvind Sharma and their business Accendo Supplies have been exclusively licensed by Tzar Labs to introduce The HrC Test to the UK. “We are absolutely delighted to be able to introduce this breakthrough technology to the UK. Our vision is to use this technology to stop needless deaths due to late diagnosis of cancer, and turn cancer into an early treatment disease. To be able to diagnose cancer at Stage 1 or before, when it is at its weakest, makes cancer infinitely more easier to deal with from a medical point of view and also from the patient’s point of view. Our challenge now is to get the NHS to adopt this test into their national cancer screening programme so that we can start saving lives”. - Steve Smith The HrC Test is a non-invasive blood test that has made it diagnostically possible to detect cancer early. This simple blood test is the first prognostic, non-invasive and safe test for cancer detection, and it can be taken as often as required. The HrC Test has the potential to save lives by making early detection possible. Assisting specialists to monitor the responsiveness of treatment, the confirmation of remission and eventually reduce the frequency of invasive and potentially harmful tests like Positron Emission Tomography (PET), Computerised Tomography (CT), etc... The main benefits The HrC Test offers are: ● the ability to accurately detect the absence, imminence, or presence of cancer ● offering patients receiving treatment a non-invasive test to monitor responsiveness to treatment ● a non-invasive test to continuously monitor cancer survivors Sadly, almost half of all cancer cases are diagnosed at later stages (3&4) and although screening programmes are now in place in the UK, these are often invasive and uncomfortable which results in a reduced uptake. The HrC Test will be able to provide not just early detection of cancer, but also provide those results quickly, all from a simple blood test.

A new era of luxury wellness travel: Adding to its collection of tailored wellness experiences, Health Travel announces private health screenings for its travellers. Health Travel has partnered with longevity company, PAAR London, to deliver home testing kits to wellness-seekers around the world. Assessments and consultations reveal deep insight into food intolerances, mineral and metal toxicity, vitamin levels, microbiome and genetics, as well as biological age. The comprehensive tests act as a supplement to Health Travel's ultra-luxe retreats. Michael Oszmann, co-founder of Health Travel commented: “Wellness screenings provide deeply valuable insight into the personal health and wellbeing needs of an individual. "We found we could maximise the impact of the wellness retreats when the insights are available in the planning stages of the trip. With the information, we collaborate with doctors and health experts at our partner wellness resorts to create highly personalised experiences with transformative results."

I bought a trailer load of kettles, can not wait for the savings to kick in!!