This is the week that was – Public bickering and mourning.

It was not just big news for the tech industry but consumers all over the world – this week sadly saw Steve Jobs passing away, leaving behind a great legacy. Although the iPhone 4s did not wow the crowds who had their fingers and toes crossed for the iPhone 5, the forward thinking technology delivered by the new leadership at Apple shows signs of good times ahead.

Here in the UK, while Liam Fox continued to bring his best mate along to every top secret meeting he could squeeze him into, we have been sifting through the top stories to share with our trusty following.

Public battle of the week:

One thing that keeps any PR team sweating is a public dispute between companies. In this sense Oracle’s chief executive Larry Elision is a tough old boss to have. This week a very open war of words flared up between Oracle and Autonomy – recently bought by HP – with Larry claiming that Autonomy was touted to Oracle first by its founder. This is certainly an issue Autonomy wants to keep its head down on, with HP’s shareholders still to officially pass the takeover. Could one of the biggest IT mergers be a risk? Watch this space

Mobile research of the week:

With smartphone sales increasing by 45% in 2011 and over 50% of the UK population accessing online material through their phones, the rapid rise of mobile technology is certainly not to be ignored by organisations globally. From ensuring brands stand out in a busy market, through to the effects of the consumerisation of IT on businesses and their workforce, forward thinking and planning is essential. A special report from The Economist this week delved deeper into the issue. Sprinkled with the odd infographic and ladened with heaps of useful research this is certainly not one to miss.

Social media wake up call of the week:

Our belief has and will always be that you don’t ‘do’ social media. The use of social networking channels in B2B marketing should be engrained and run through the veins of any good marketing plan or campaign strategy. Chris Koch argued a similar case this week – social media success actually has nothing to do with social media. The truth is that most C level executives are not into social, they are in into search. Essentially ‘social’ in its broadest sense needs a cultural shift in order to succeed. Mr Koch’s most important point, however, was that B2B organisations need to adopt ‘ideas marketing’ to really make some traction online – arguing that without offering valuable resources and insight your digital footprint is going nowhere. We couldn’t agree more.

Creative eye catcher of the week:

In marketing and advertising, creative trends come and go. Currently stop motion films seem to be the taster of the day, being shared both online and in the office. These animations, made from a series of still shots, are a great way to show information in a creative way. This week VW showed us how it was done in their latest TV ad campaign. Here are some other nice examples.

Tweak of the week:

The number of homage’s to Steve Jobs shared online this week was quite phenomenal. From infographics to  inspiring videos the tweetosphere was rife with digital well wishers. One of our favourites was this simple tweak to the Apple logo.

Campaign launch of the week:

After hours of rigorous planning, lashings of creative thinking and one too many late nights we were happy to announce the launch of a global campaign for Kaspersky and its Endpoint Security 8 product for businesses. Microsites, emails, webinars and much more made this a truly multi channel approach and one we are proud of.

Earnest’s bit on the side of the week:

We are always keen to promote using new technologies to share content. Our new Sports Marketing almanac shows off some of the great work we have done on our B2C side, along with some social media top tips. Take a look, and feel free to share away.

Great week for us, and we hope it was for you as well. Feel free to get in touch or drop by whenever you wish.