Marketing Week
11 May 2006

  • A chance for all good men in pants to pant for charity

    Thu, 11 May 2006

    If you go down to Canary Wharf or the City, you're sure of a big surprise⦠or you will be next Tuesday (May 16). Apparently, it's Men in Pants Day, featuring sponsored walks around London's business district in aid of male cancer charity Orchid.

  • A sector in search of the next ice breaker

    Thu, 11 May 2006

    Whatever has happened to new product development in the alcoholic drinks industry? These days, the acme of invention at Heineken seems to be the "Paco" project, a designer aluminium bottle designed to make the consumption of its beer more appe

  • ABF appoints direct roster across all brands

    Thu, 11 May 2006

    Associated British Foods (ABF) has appointed its first roster of below-the-line agencies to handle projects across its brands portfolio.

  • All bets are on hedges

    Thu, 11 May 2006

    The media sector's April performance demonstrated the industry's diversity yet again. Ostensibly, it was a dull month, with fully listed media shares falling 0.6% on average and AIM-listed media stocks rising 0.2%. Yet, underlying this seeming

  • Bacardi-Martini picks UK head for global role

    Thu, 11 May 2006

    Bacardi-Martini has promoted Adam Hillyer to the new position of global marketing services director for Bacardi Global Brands.

  • Barbara Cassani teams up with Fiona Price

    Thu, 11 May 2006

    Barbara Cassani, Go airline founder and former London Olympic bid chief, has teamed up with financial adviser Fiona Price to launch Horse & Country TV, a niche channel that will be broadcast on Sky.

  • Birds Eye 'colourants added' salmon ads spark ASA probe

    Thu, 11 May 2006

    The storm of protest over Birds Eye's latest advertising campaign for its salmon products - in which it refers to farmed salmon having colourants added to their feed - has taken a new turn, with the Advertising Standards Authority stepping in to investigate.

  • Broadband blitz forces Homechoice into U-turn

    Thu, 11 May 2006

    Homechoice, the broadband television provider, has been forced to curtail its marketing activity after larger rivals swamped the market with marketing activity following rival Carphone Warehouse's decision to offer free broadband.

  • BSkyB signs deal to allow pubs to receive Setanta's live Premiership coverage

    Thu, 11 May 2006

    BSkyB has signed a deal to allow pubs to receive Setanta's live Premiership television coverage as part of a Sky subscription package, after the Irish broadcaster won two Premiership rights packages last week. Residential customers have to subscribe to both services to watch all matches.

  • BT scraps 'more power' strapline

    Thu, 11 May 2006

    BT has axed its "More power to you" strapline after two years and replaced it with "Bringing it all together".

  • Budget growth hiccup hits traditional media

    Thu, 11 May 2006

    Advertisers and agencies are bemoaning a peculiar period in the industry's economy. Clients are cutting budgets, traditional media are stymied and the burgeoning digital market is distorting the picture.

  • Camelot puts £350 spend limit on e-gambling

    Thu, 11 May 2006

    Camelot has clamped down on players who gamble excessively on National Lottery instant win games by imposing a &£350 limit on their weekly spend.

  • Cameron slams an 'ultra local' BBC

    Thu, 11 May 2006

    Opposition leader David Cameron has stepped in to the furore surrounding the BBC's plans to expand into "ultra local" television and media services funded by the licence fee.

  • Carat wins £160m Adidas/Reebok account

    Thu, 11 May 2006

    Carat has won the £160m global consolidated Adidas/Reebok media planning and buying account following a head-on pitch with OMD.

  • Carlsberg to resurrect Elephant premium lager after seven years

    Thu, 11 May 2006

    Carlsberg UK is relaunching premium lager Carlsberg Elephant in the UK, after the brand disappeared from shelves in 1999.

  • Centaur Holdings changes name

    Thu, 11 May 2006

    Centaur Holdings, the publicly listed owner of Marketing Week, is changing its name to Centaur Media and updating its logo. Centaur Publishing took the Holdings name when it launched on AIM in March 2004. It later moved to the main market.

  • Chrysalis chief hits out at radio licence fee 'abuse'

    Thu, 11 May 2006

    Chrysalis Group chairman Chris Wright has hit out at BBC director-general Mark Thompson, saying that his claim that that BBC Radio is "exogenous" to commercial is nonsense.

  • Classic FM signs sponsorship and content deal with UBS

    Thu, 11 May 2006

    Classic FM has signed a sponsorship and content deal with global financial services brand, UBS. It will include a Sunday evening series.

  • Claydon Heeley Jones Mason DM campaign for Mercedes

    Thu, 11 May 2006

    Claydon Heeley Jones Mason has created a direct marketing campaign for Mercedes to recategorise the marque's cars,which now fall into one of three ranges: activity, executive and sport.

  • Competition steps up in search marketing world

    Thu, 11 May 2006

    Competition has stepped up in the search marketing world, with Yahoo and MSN both unveiling new initiatives in the past week. Yahoo is to launch a simpler system for advertisers wanting to run search marketing campaigns on its network, while MSN will start testing its rival AdCenter offering in the UK next month.

  • Cost of using a mobile abroad to plummet

    Thu, 11 May 2006

    The cost of using a mobile phone abroad is set to plummet after Vodafone and T-Mobile cut their rates. The European Union says it will still seek to outlaw roaming charges.

  • Debenhams in talks with below-the-line agencies

    Thu, 11 May 2006

    Debenhams, the department store chain, is in talks with below-the-line agencies ahead of a consolidation of its direct marketing arrangements. The retailer, which is returning to the London Stock Exchange, currently works with a number of agencies on a project basis.

  • Designer brands no longer have the luxury of ignoring the Web

    Thu, 11 May 2006

    Following hot on the heels of Alfred Dunhill's announcement that it is reviewing its digital marketing and hiring a new ecommerce manager (MW last week), Jimmy Choo is expected to start selling shoes online in the coming weeks. It is a sign that luxury brands are finally taking the internet seriously as a marketing and ...

  • Diesel aims to boost online spend around user content

    Thu, 11 May 2006

    Diesel, the fashion brand best known for its jeans, is to shift its online marketing towards user-generated content, with a variety of new initiatives over the coming months and an increase in online spend.

  • Engineering a recovery

    Thu, 11 May 2006

    Mercedes-Benz would have returned to profit in the first quarter of this year had it not been trying to fix its small car business Smart. The iconic but troubled spin-off marque, which has consistently been in the red since its launch in 1998,

  • Enterprise IG wins Ernst & Young branding

    Thu, 11 May 2006

    Enterprise IG, the WPP Group brand identity shop headed by former JWT London chief executive Simon Bolton, has been appointed to handle the global branding strategy for Ernst & Young, the world's third largest accounting company.

  • Extreme Sports owner plans student prepaid debit card

    Thu, 11 May 2006

    The Extreme Group, parent company of the Extreme Sports Channel, is to launch a prepaid debit card aimed at students and extreme sports enthusiasts.

  • Farmers launch 'food shortage' campaign

    Thu, 11 May 2006

    A group of British farmers has taken the unprecedented step of launching an advertising campaign about food shortages in the UK to raise awareness of problems in the dairy industry.

  • First for Agency Republic

    Thu, 11 May 2006

    April's winner for the IAB's Creative Showcase, sponsored by MSN, is Agency Republic's From A-to-S campaign for Mercedes-Benz. 

  • First Radio Sales awarded national sales contract for new Cornwall station

    Thu, 11 May 2006

    First Radio Sales has been awarded the national sales contract for a new Cornwall station, Atlantic FM, owned by a consortium of investors including Tindle Radio and Camel Media. It will launch on July 6.

  • First UK interactive reality series

    Thu, 11 May 2006

    O2, Universal Music and Endemol have teamed up to create the first UK interactive reality series made exclusively for mobile phones. 'Get Close To...' is a daily show starring and filmed by pop group Sugababes.

  • Flying into turbulence

    Thu, 11 May 2006

    EasyJet is arguably the name most synonymous with low-cost airlines, but while three years ago there were just seven low-cost carriers battling it out for market share in the short-haul European travel sector, now there are more than 60.

  • Green is the way to go for marketers

    Thu, 11 May 2006

    No matter how you might choose to explain the bumper crop of Conservative councillors in last week's local elections, there is one thing that cannot be denied: David Cameron's environmental epiphany (Lexus-based faux pas aside) won him conside

  • Grocers fail to deliver online

    Thu, 11 May 2006

    As the Office of Fair Trading confirms it is to refer the UK's £125bn grocery sector to the Competition Commission, we take a look at grocery shopping online - an area that is dominated by Tesco, the UK's biggest supermarket.

  • Heinz hires P&G chief as UK and Ireland president

    Thu, 11 May 2006

    Heinz has appointed David Woodward, sales director at Procter & Gamble, as the president of Heinz UK and Ireland.

  • HMV Group announces drop in like-for-like sales

    Thu, 11 May 2006

    HMV Group has announced a drop in like-for-like sales - ignoring new store openings - of 11.4% in the UK and Ireland for the 16 weeks to April 29. Sales at Waterstone's were down 5.6%.

  • InBev UK appoints Devin Kelly

    Thu, 11 May 2006

    InBev UK has appointed Devin Kelly, the global brand director for Stella Artois and Brahma, as marketing director, as revealed in Marketing Week earlier this year (March 23).

  • Interpublic and Garry Lace close to final settlement

    Thu, 11 May 2006

    Interpublic Group (IPG) is understood to be close to making a decision on the future of Lowe London chief executive Garry Lace nearly a month after the original decision was due.

  • Jerry Judge to join Cunning

    Thu, 11 May 2006

    Lowe Worldwide former chief executive Jerry Judge is joining experiential marketing agency Cunning, as exclusively predicted by Marketing Week last week. Judge becomes non-executive chairman and will help Cunning build an international operation.

  • John Smith's 'landlord' ad to be aimed at over-50s

    Thu, 11 May 2006

    Scottish & Newcastle beer brand John Smith's is targeting the over-50s in its latest television advertising, which reinforces its No Nonsense positioning.

  • Kingsmill acts to raise its game

    Thu, 11 May 2006

    Kingsmill, the Allied Bakeries-owned bread brand, is attempting to leave behind 18 months of confusion and falling market share with a television sponsorship deal that breaks next week on GMTV.

  • Leo Burnett names Mark Tutssel as chief creative officer

    Thu, 11 May 2006

    Leo Burnett has named Mark Tutssel as the network's chief creative officer.

  • Leo Burnett picks up DfES brief

    Thu, 11 May 2006

    Leo Burnett has been appointed by the Department for Education and Skills to create a campaign to redress the perception that state schools in London underperform.

  • Leo Burnett's Innovations division appointed by Lebara Mobile

    Thu, 11 May 2006

    Leo Burnett's Innovations division has been appointed to handle a brand-repositioning project for Lebara Mobile. The telecoms company began talking to agencies last year (MW October 6).

  • Lloyds TSB axes Rankin in wider marketing cull

    Thu, 11 May 2006

    Lloyds TSB has axed the role of current accounts director Gordon Rankin as part of a cull of its senior management and marketing functions.

  • Majestic Wine set to review £3m direct marketing

    Thu, 11 May 2006

    Majestic Wine Warehouses, the wine and spirits retailer, is understood to be reviewing its &£3m direct marketing business.

  • Mark Dixon leaves The Sportsman

    Thu, 11 May 2006

    The Sportsman marketing director Mark Dixon is leaving the newspaper only two months after its launch. Dixon, whose responsibilities will be covered by head of communications Ed Pownall, is setting up a Yorkshire-based sports marketing agency.

  • MTV Networks

    Thu, 11 May 2006

    MTV Networks has asked us to point out that viewers will not be able to fast-forward through ads on its broadband MTV Overdrive service (MW April 20).

  • New campaign - Magners Irish Cider

    Thu, 11 May 2006

    Media Planning Group has claimed a media first with a 96 sheet poster ad for Magners Irish Cider which showers passers-by with real apple blossom every 15 minutes between 7am and 7pm.

  • New campaign - Zanussi

    Thu, 11 May 2006

    Zanussi-Electrolux is reviving its iconic “Appliance of Science” strapline as part of a major press campaign to support Zanussi’s new kitchen appliance ranges.

  • New chief to review ebookers marketing

    Thu, 11 May 2006

    Ebookers, the online and high street travel agent, is reviewing its marketing strategy under newly appointed managing director Ciaran Lally.

  • Nothing left in the bottle?

    Thu, 11 May 2006

    The launch of Bacardi Breezer in the mid-1990s created a new breed of drinkers - much younger consumers who preferred easy-to-drink, sugary alcohol. More than just creating a new ready-to-drink (RTD) market and spawning an array of alcopops, i

  • Odeon Cinemas unveils new website

    Thu, 11 May 2006

    Odeon Cinemas has unveiled a new website, with digital agency Design UK responsible for the redevelopment, following a competitive pitch. The revamped site has been designed to make it simpler for users to book cinema tickets.

  • OFT refers grocery sector to Competition Commission

    Thu, 11 May 2006

    The Office of Fair Trading has referred the grocery sector to the Competition Commission following a consultation period that garnered 1,200 responses. Sir Terry Leahy, chief executive of the UK's leading retailer Tesco, says: "This gives us the opportunity to address some of the myths surrounding our industry."

  • On track to deliver, says Capital Radio chieffigment of imagination

    Thu, 11 May 2006

    Sadly, I have not seen the research on subliminal advertising carried out by the world renowned Nijmegan University, which Iain Murray described last week. But let us hope it is more authentic than the original research

  • Orange to axe up to 2,000 jobs

    Thu, 11 May 2006

    Orange is to axe up to 2,000 jobs across the UK in a bid to slash costs by 15% following its takeover of fellow France Telecom-owned brand Wanadoo.

  • Pop eyes the bigger picture

    Thu, 11 May 2006

    Two-thirds of purchasing decisions are made once a shopper is inside a store, it's said, so the material that the consumer sees in the retail environment is critical. Despite this, point-of-purchase (PoP) is still seriously undervalued by many

  • Powergen to roll out targeted online campaign

    Thu, 11 May 2006

    Powergen is to roll out a targeted online campaign later this month promoting its Cap the Cost product, which allows consumers to fix prices until 2010. The ads will run on sites such as Handbag.com, with content tailored to site users.

  • Primula to sponsor UK entrant to Eurovision

    Thu, 11 May 2006

    Primula Cheese is sponsoring the UK's Eurovision Song Contest entrant, Daz Sampson. The deal is part of the cheese spread brand's "Proud to be Cheesy" campaign.

  • Prudential shortlist confirmed

    Thu, 11 May 2006

    Prudential has confirmed the shortlist for its £20m consolidated UK group media planning and buying business.

  • Raise a glass and your intellect, but lower your brain cell levels

    Thu, 11 May 2006

    Though most pubs boast their share of a female clientele who drink pints, belch, and wipe their mouths with the back of their hand, beer drinking, at least in the minds of the brewers, remains a male pastime. And by male they mean men who, wha

  • Red Brick hopes to win match point at Queen's in backhand serve for 'wife-beater' trophy

    Thu, 11 May 2006

    Industry folk receiving invitations to the semi-final day of this year's Stella Artois tennis tournament could be forgiven for feeling a little confused.

  • Richard Campbell to leave Loyalty Management UK

    Thu, 11 May 2006

    Loyalty Management UK marketing director Richard Campbell, who oversees marketing for the Nectar scheme, is leaving next month after five years without a job to go to. He will be replaced by customer marketing director John Sheekey.

  • Saga awards Tamar search engine role

    Thu, 11 May 2006

    Saga has appointed digital agency Tamar to run its search optimisation campaign.

  • Sainsbury's gets two wrong in World Cup figures line-up

    Thu, 11 May 2006

    Sainsbury's is unveiling England football star figurines as part of its official sponsorship of the World Cup team, but the range features two players who have not been picked by coach Sven-Goran Eriksson.

  • Serial lunch-cancellers must

    Thu, 11 May 2006

    Serial lunch-cancellers must be punished.

  • Smart head loses job as marque integrates

    Thu, 11 May 2006

    Smart UK managing director Jeremy Simpson has seen his role axed as part of the integration of the marque into Mercedes Car Group.

  • Some brand new story lines

    Thu, 11 May 2006

    The days of customer magazines being called the "ugly sister"â when placed next to their glossy consumer counterparts are long over. Having shed its image of "brochure producer", contract publishing is seen to deliver editorial value in exchan

  • Souk handed online task for Thorntons

    Thu, 11 May 2006

    Thorntons has appointed Souk to handle the £3m integrated account for its direct sales business.

  • South Bank Centre hunts agency for 2m awareness drive

    Thu, 11 May 2006

    The South Bank Centre, the London arts hub that includes the Royal Festival Hall, Hayward Gallery and Queen Elizabeth Hall, is seeking agencies to handle its media buying and assist with creative work.

  • St Luke's tipped to pick up £6m Sky Bet business

    Thu, 11 May 2006

    St Luke's is poised to win the estimated £6m creative business for BSkyB's betting arm Sky Bet following a competitive pitch.

  • Steve Redgrave backs Juice Doctor rehydration product

    Thu, 11 May 2006

    A soft drink which claims to improve water, vitamin and mineral uptake and battle dehydration is being backed by Olympic gold medallist Sir Steve Redgrave.

  • Stevie Spring appointed non-executive chairman of Admedia

    Thu, 11 May 2006

    Stevie Spring, Clear Channel Outdoor former chief executive, has been appointed non-executive chairman of Admedia, the outdoor advertising operator. Spring will work with joint chief executives Philip Vecht and Jonathan Naggar on potential acquisitions and expansion strategies.

  • Stuart Taylor tipped to take over McCall Guardian role

    Thu, 11 May 2006

    The Guardian Media Group (GMG) is appointing headhunters to help replace Carolyn McCall as chief executive of Guardian Newspapers despite commercial director Stuart Taylor being tipped as the favourite.

  • Swap data discounting for greater tactical use

    Thu, 11 May 2006

    It was with mixed feelings that I read Alan Mitchell's piece "Getting consumers in on the act is the best formula for success" (MW April 20). Surely we've been here before?

  • TalkSport will use the World Cup to woo advertisers

    Thu, 11 May 2006

    TalkSport, the UTV Radio-owned national commercial station, is seeking advertisers to take part in a World Cup-style draw, which will see some clients receive up to 23 days of free on-air advertising.

  • This grocer didnt go to grammar school

    Thu, 11 May 2006

    As if Tesco didn't have enough trouble heading off a backlash against its market dominance, the supermarket retailer has now irked the Plain English Campaign, those guardians of crystal-clear usage of the national tongue.

  • TK Maxx hires Golley Slater

    Thu, 11 May 2006

    TK Maxx, the high-street discount retailer, has hired Golley Slater to work alongside its in-house advertising team on a direct marketing and customer relationship management brief. The agency pitched against Claydon Heeley Jones Mason and DSJ for the business.

  • Toyota gears up for a top-level European management reshuffle

    Thu, 11 May 2006

    Toyota GB's long-serving managing director Graham Smith, one of the men credited with the marque's unprecedented sales growth over the past decade, is thought to be considering a new role with Toyota Europe.

  • Tropicana chief takes over as head of Pepsi marketing

    Thu, 11 May 2006

    Pepsi-Cola UK has appointed Tropicana marketer Bruno Gruwez as its marketing director to replace Caroline Diamond, who announced in March she was leaving to spend more time with her family (MW March 16).

  • Ubiquitous demand masks the differences

    Thu, 11 May 2006

    The concept of the global village was heralded almost 50 years ago, and yet it is arguably the mobile revolution that has demonstrated the ubiquity of worldwide consumer choice. As each new market opens up, consumers are demanding the most tec

  • Unilever triggers Birds Eye pan-European ad review

    Thu, 11 May 2006

    Unilever is understood to be reviewing its multimillion pound European advertising business for its Birds Eye brand with a view to consolidating the account into one agency. It uses McCann-Erickson, Lowe, Ogilvy & Mather and JWT.

  • Unilever will feel off colour if Sunsilk gamble fails

    Thu, 11 May 2006

    Unilever is aiming to repeat its success in turning Dove into a global power brand by adding gloss to its Sunsilk haircare range. The food and consumer goods giant - currently facing pressure from investors to be broken up following poor results - has announced a major packaging relaunch for the brand (MW last week) and new ...

  • Virgin Mobile seeks public talent for ad campaign

    Thu, 11 May 2006

    Virgin Mobile is offering a member of the public the chance to follow in the footsteps of Kate Moss and Missy Elliot by appearing in its next advertising campaign.

  • Waitrose to unveiling new executions of "Who are they?" strategy

    Thu, 11 May 2006

    Waitrose is unveiling two new executions of its "Who are they?

  • Waterstone's appoints Code

    Thu, 11 May 2006

    Waterstone's has appointed Code as its first digital agency, following the bookseller's decision to end its relationship with Amazon and set up its own ecommerce operations. Manchester-based Code will develop the new online service and an online marketing strategy. The company was invited to pitch for the business after its recent appointment by Waterstone's sister company HMV.

  • Without some steel, ASA can't regulate

    Thu, 11 May 2006

    You featured recently two contrasting views on the ASA (MW April 27). Firstly, in an Analysis you reported that the ASA felt that a 16% rise in complaints was testimony to "an effective one-stop shop regulator", while a story on page 3 had the headline "ASA fails to take any action against four most criticised ads".

  • World Cup-linked ads are 'turn-off'

    Thu, 11 May 2006

    Advertising campaigns and brand sponsorship surrounding next month's FIFA World Cup competition are failing to deliver the desired results and UK consumers are already displaying signs of fatigue with football-related marketing.

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