Marketing Week
10 February 2005

Allders axes 130 staff

Thu, 10 Feb 2005

Allders Department Stores, the furniture store now in administration, has laid off 130 staff, including marketing head Adrian Teague and several of his team, as predicted in Marketing Week (January 27).

ASA upholds barclays complaint

Thu, 10 Feb 2005

The Advertising Standards Authority has upheld a complaint against the Barclays Bank television and poster campaign that uses the tagline 'Barclays has more specialists in more industries than any other bank'. Royal Bank of Scotland complained about the ads.

ASH doubts observation of tobacco ad rules

Thu, 10 Feb 2005

ASH, the anti-smoking group, is concerned that new point-of-purchase tobacco ad guidelines are not being observed after a breach was spotted at a WH Smith store. Only one A5 tobacco ad is now allowed at point of purchase, but retailers and cigarette companies say they are abiding by the rules.

Barclays marketing role axed

Thu, 10 Feb 2005

Barclays has axed Paul Morrish's role as marketing and commercial director for personal customers as part of marketing chief Jim Hytner's operational review. Bruce Kelsall, marketing director for business banking, will oversee the post while the role is redefined.

BLM bolsters Thomas Cook business with Club 18-30 win

Thu, 10 Feb 2005

BLM Media has secured its hold on the £5.7m Thomas Cook media planning and buying account with the addition of the Club 18-30 business. The business has been moved from Zenith Optimedia to BLM without a pitch.

BLM bolsters Thomas Cook business with Club 18-30 win

Thu, 10 Feb 2005

BLM Media has secured its hold on the £5.7m Thomas Cook media planning and buying account with the addition of the Club 18-30 business. The business has been moved from Zenith Optimedia to BLM without a pitch.

Boots hands Spirit brief to launch maternity clothing

Thu, 10 Feb 2005

Spirit Advertising has picked up the ad account for Boots' new maternity wear range.

Boots to sell allergen-free food range

Thu, 10 Feb 2005

Britvic set to launch new J2O flavour

Thu, 10 Feb 2005

Call this a sound for sore throats

Thu, 10 Feb 2005

Canderel launches low-calorie sugar blend

Tue, 15 Feb 2005

Citigate lands £1.5m Invesco Perpetual job

Tue, 15 Feb 2005

Investment management company Invesco Perpetual has appointed Citigate Albert Frank, the specialist financial advertising and communications agency owned by the Incepta Group, to handle its &£1.5m advertising business.

Clear Marketing retains £3m GMG regional radio account

Thu, 10 Feb 2005

COI communications shortlists four agencies

Thu, 10 Feb 2005

COI Communications has shortlisted four agencies to handle its £69m television media planning and buying business. The shortlisted agencies are Carat, incumbent Starcom MediaVest, Zenith Optimedia, and MediaCom, which holds the COI's press planning and buying account.

Coors sells Fine Light in chill-sensing cans

Tue, 15 Feb 2005

Coors Brewers is planning to step up its assault on the "healthy" beer market with the launch of its Coors Fine Light beer in cans that change colour when they reach their optimum serving temperature.

Correction

Thu, 10 Feb 2005

Owing to incorrect information supplied, the new Pepsi Max TV campaign was credited to Abbott Mead Vickers.BDDO last week. The correct agency is CLM/BDDO of France.

DDB Canada rolls out Canadian Tourism Commission ads

Thu, 10 Feb 2005

DDB Canada has created a TV campaign for the Canadian Tourism Commission, to run for three weeks in the UK. The ad is designed to increase awareness of the country as a long-haul destination and uses the strapline 'Maybe you need a trip to Canada'.

EMAP launches Grazia

Thu, 10 Feb 2005

EMAP is launching its weekly fashion magazine Grazia with a cover price of just £1.50, undercutting monthly titles in the sector. A preview edition of the magazine, with a print run of 17 million, was distributed through supermarkets and WH Smith yesterday (Tuesday).

Express face-lift for Belgium's poor reputation

Thu, 10 Feb 2005

The Diary has discovered a new spin on the "name ten famous Belgians" puzzle. Now, thanks to American Express, anyone can become famous in Belgium for ten seconds, which is almost the same thing.

Farm Communications appointed to handle Duke of Edinburgh Award

Thu, 10 Feb 2005

Farm Communications has been appointed to handle the advertising for the 50th anniversary of the Duke of Edinburgh Award on a free of charge basis. The two-year project is being overseen by David Newman, director of marketing management at Co-operative Financial Services, and former Masterfoods UK marketing director Rebecca Rees.

Gmail tipped for consumer launch

Thu, 10 Feb 2005

Gmail, Google's free Web-based mail service, could be set for a consumer launch. Gmail has been available only to people who are invited to join by an existing member since the launch of a test version in April 2004. However, it is understood that the number of invites members can issue has been upped from four to 50, which industry experts believe could mean that Google is gearing up for an official launch.

Hotpoint plans premium range of appliances

Thu, 10 Feb 2005

Industry scorns OFT drinks ruling

Thu, 10 Feb 2005

ITV's overdue threesome pays immediate dividends

Thu, 10 Feb 2005

The launch of a third channel has strengthened ITV's satellite profile

J&J picks marketing chief for £100m adult products

Thu, 10 Feb 2005

Johnson & Johnson (J&J), the health and personal care giant, has moved Gabrielle Kilpatrick from its Australian operation to head marketing for the £100m European adult products business.

Kawasaki in European ad agency review

Thu, 10 Feb 2005

Motorcycle manufacturer Kawasaki is reviewing its European advertising account, which is handled by Publicis.

Kitcatt Nohr Alexander Shaw backs Teachers TV in with new campaign

Thu, 10 Feb 2005

Kitcatt Nohr Alexander Shaw has created a campaign to engage the nation's teachers with the Government-backed Teachers TV. The aim of the campaign is to persuade teachers to register on the channel's website.

Making hogwash of political campaigns

Thu, 10 Feb 2005

Will new financial restrictions on election marketing lead the parties to cut creative corners and opt for dirty tactics?

Maxim poised to overtake Loaded

Thu, 10 Feb 2005

Men fight back as battle of the sexes hits adland

Thu, 10 Feb 2005

Tired of being portrayed as incompetent idiots in ads, men have launched a campaign against this sexual stereotyping.

Morgan Stanley tipped to hire Tequila/London

Thu, 10 Feb 2005

Morgan Stanley is understood to have appointed Tequila/London to handle its £20m credit card direct marketing account. Morgan Stanley has previously worked with Tullo Marshall Warren.

MSN appoints head of agency sales

Thu, 10 Feb 2005

MSN UK has appointed Cheryl Ingram as head of agency sales in charge of relationships with media and online agencies. Ingram has been at MSN for four years as an advertising sales manager.

Müller plans own-label fightback

Wed, 16 Feb 2005

Müller Dairies UK is making determined attempts to take on private-label rivals as it struggles to stem declining market share.

New owner rebrands UGC as Cineworld

Thu, 10 Feb 2005

O2 ad campaign to target backpackers

Thu, 10 Feb 2005

Ofcom: 'BBC governors should go'

Thu, 10 Feb 2005

Ofcom has said that its sees some value in scrapping the BBC governors and taking over commercial regulation of the corporation - a move that would be welcomed by many media owners and some advertisers.

PETA calls for a boycott of Iams

Thu, 10 Feb 2005

'Portfolio career' revolution will never reach the masses

Thu, 10 Feb 2005

The only change to most people's working habits is that they will toil further into old age, thanks to the shambolic pensions industry.

Publishers schedule a listings bloodbath

Thu, 10 Feb 2005

In spite of the widespread availability of free listings, 5 million people still buy TV magazines each week.

Regulator to probe Lottery brand health

Wed, 16 Feb 2005

National Lottery Commission takes in-depth look at brand ahead of licence renewal tender

Sainsbury's promises must mean business

Thu, 10 Feb 2005

Justin King's plans to turn around Sainsbury's fortunes make all the right noises, but when it comes to catching market-leader Tesco, is it a case of too little, too late? By Amanda Wilkinson

Shipley introduces second Chidren's Food Bill

Thu, 10 Feb 2005

Debra Shipley, Labour MP for Stourbridge, has introduced the Children's Food Bill for the second time. It is hoped that the principles of the bill will be adopted by the Commons Health Select Committee when it reports on the Public Health White Paper.

Telegraph Group journalists threaten strike action

Thu, 10 Feb 2005

Telegraph Group journalists are threatening strike action after the company announced planned job cuts of up to 90 editorial staff. The redundancies are part of cuts that will help pay for a &£150m investment in printing presses.

Time for a team talk

Thu, 10 Feb 2005

Companies wanting to enthuse and imbue their staff with the brand values often turn to formal events. Ian Whiteling looks at how to benefit from an internal conference

Unilever marketers lose practical roles

Wed, 16 Feb 2005

Unilever is expected to strip profit responsibilities from its most senior marketers, Simon Clift and Anthonie Stal, in a wide-ranging shake-up of the organisation as part of its "simplification" strategy.

United Business Media buys The Publican

Thu, 10 Feb 2005

United Business Media has bought The Publican and associated titles from Quantum Business Media for £21m. The media titles are expected to be sold separately.

Vizeum appoints wroldwide head of marketing

Thu, 10 Feb 2005

Vizeum has appointed Mark Robinson as worldwide head of marketing.

Vodafone goes on the defensive

Thu, 10 Feb 2005

Vodafone is being forced to launch a £2m advertising campaign to dispel what it calls the "myths" about the level of service it offers its customers, after its own research showed a perception of "poor" service levels within the UK.

We are slowly changing the way money talks

Thu, 10 Feb 2005

Alicia Clegg's piece on financial services communications (MW January 20) doesn't cut to the chase. Financial services marketing is not an island. The basic disciplines of marketing in financial services are the same as in any other industry: start where the consumer is, and communicate the benefits of the product or service. "Focusing advertising on the emotional goods" or "communicating in a more engaging way" aren't new ideas, they're some of the foundations of marketing regardless ...

Weight Watchers reviews ad account

Thu, 10 Feb 2005

Weight Watchers is reviewing its advertising account, following the resignation of Frog.

Wieden & kennedy wins Pizza Hut account

Thu, 10 Feb 2005

Wieden & Kennedy has won the £8m Pizza Hut advertising account after a four-way pitch against WCRS, Clemmow Hornby Inge and Bartle Bogle Hegarty.

WTB in media planning and buying agency hunt

Thu, 10 Feb 2005

Wales Tourist Board is looking for a media planning and buying agency to work on a &£650,000 campaign that focuses on activity tourism in the country. Starcom Motive remains lead media agency and can pitch for the project.

You won't get far in neutral

Thu, 10 Feb 2005

Chris Lovell makes a nice try at reviving the media neutral theme (MW January 27), but surely it is time this particular business pitch was put to rest.