Marketing Week
11 October 2007

  • £800m flood defence strategy under fire

    Thu, 11 Oct 2007

    Roger Ramsden, RBS Insurance managing director of household insurance, has hit out at "disappointing" measures on flood defence unveiled in this week's pre-Budget report.

  • A charter for copycats?

    Wed, 17 Oct 2007

    A controversial ruling by the appeal court over the design of rival Procter & Gamble (P&G) and Reckitt Benckiser (RB) air fresheners has been labelled a charter for copycats and could lead to a raft of imitation designs and products.

  • Age before beauty

    Thu, 11 Oct 2007

    A shortage or field staff is pushing up wages and providing opportunities for experienced over-35s, but agencies that favour older workers need to be wary of discrimination laws, writes Steve Hemsley

  • Apples and pears

    Thu, 11 Oct 2007

    The success of Magners has shown that cider can be trendy. Now its main rival,Bulmers, is staging a fightback but will its old-fashioned image be a hindrance? asks Mattew Gorman

  • BA promotes its City credentials

    Wed, 17 Oct 2007

    British Airways (BA) is launching an ad campaign to promote its services from London City airport and remind flyers it operates from there as well as major hub Heathrow.

  • Barnardos Heroin Baby ads chief to stand down

    Wed, 17 Oct 2007

    Barnardos high-profile marketing and communications director Andrew Nebel is stepping down after more than a decade at the childrens charity. Nebel, responsible for some of the most memorable ads for the organisation, including the Heroin Baby campaign in 2002, will leave in spring 2009.

  • Barr targets Red Bull with new energy drink

    Thu, 11 Oct 2007

    Barr Soft Drinks, the maker of Irn-Bru, is bringing US energy drink Rockstar to the UK later this year. It is understood that Barr hopes the drink will steal share from market leader Red Bull.

  • Bray Leino wins 5m rum account

    Thu, 11 Oct 2007

    Bray Leino has won the 5m integrated account for the West Indies Rum and Spirits Producers' Association (WIRSPA) across the UK, Spain and Italy.

  • Burberry revenue jumps 25%

    Tue, 16 Oct 2007

    Burberry says "compelling" advertising and marketing campaigns have spurred the luxury fashion retailer to a 25% increase in global retail revenue in the six months to September 30.

  • Byrne back in saddle as Racing Post changes ownership

    Thu, 11 Oct 2007

    The new owners of the Racing Post (RP) have a number of tricky hurdles to negotiate after buying the horse-racing title from Trinity Mirror for £170m last week. FL Partners must reverse the RP's declining circulation, find ways to compete with a burgeoning online gambling sector and see ...

  • Call to extend social energy tariffs

    Fri, 12 Oct 2007

    Mark Lazarowicz MP, chair of All Party Parliamentary Group on debt and personal finance, has called on the Government to do more to make affordable energy available to low income households.

  • Capital Punishment For Agency Entrepreneurs

    Fri, 12 Oct 2007

    An unexploded tax bombshell is ticking in adland. Set to detonate on April 6, 2008, it has sent agency entrepreneurs running for cover.

  • Carlsberg and Heineken announce interest in S&N

    Wed, 17 Oct 2007

    Carlsberg and Heineken have announced that they have joined forces to make a multi-billion pound offer for UK brewer Scottish & Newcastle, which owns brands including, Newcastle Brown Ale and Kronenbourg.

  • CEO Chuck Brymer launches rebranding of DDB Worldwide

    Thu, 11 Oct 2007

    Omnicom-owned DDB Worldwide is relaunching itself as the "most influential communications company in the world", under its chief executive Chuck Brymer.

  • CHI snatches 6m 888.com account

    Thu, 11 Oct 2007

    Online gambling company 888.com has picked CHI & Partners to launch a branding campaign, thought to be worth up to 6m.

  • CHI takes over Times Media account from RKCR/Y&R

    Tue, 16 Oct 2007

    RKCR/Y&R has been axed from Times Media's 15m advertising account following the arrival of Katie Vanneck as sales and marketing director. She has handed the business to CHI & Partners without a pitch.

  • Climate Group separates green substance from spin

    Mon, 15 Oct 2007

    The Climate Group has unveiled the UK’s first Climate Brand Index, which it hopes will act as a benchmark of consumer perceptions of how brands are performing on climate change.

  • Coke to launch ready-to-drink coffee in a joint venture

    Mon, 15 Oct 2007

    Coca-Cola has signed a global joint venture with Italian espresso coffee maker Illycaffe in a bid to up its presence in the read-to-drink (RTD) coffee market.

  • Conservatives appoint Euro RSCG London

    Thu, 11 Oct 2007

    Euro RSCG London has won the Conservative Party’s advertising account after a competitive pitch. It is not clear which other agencies were involved.

  • Co-op spends 200m on rebranding stores

    Mon, 15 Oct 2007

    The Co-operative Group is spending 200m next year on rebranding 1,500 of its stores as part of the biggest modernisation programme in the groups history. By December 2008 more than half its 4,500 portfolio of food stores, pharmacies, funeral, travel, bank branches and own-branded products will be rebranded and repackaged under the unified The Co-operative brand.

  • Cracking the colour code

    Thu, 11 Oct 2007

    Research shows that each colour and combinations of colours evoke particular emotional responses in people - valuable information for marketers when devising the design of packaging and logos

  • Daily Star Sunday bucks newspaper circulation trend

    Fri, 12 Oct 2007

    Northern & Shell's Daily Star Sunday recorded an impressive 20.9% year-on-year circulation increase in an otherwise generally bleak September for Sunday newspapers.

  • Delta Two deal signals change of direction for Sainsbury's

    Thu, 11 Oct 2007

    The wait could finally be over for Sainsbury's if the supermarket group's board recommends accepting a £10.6bn takeover offer by Qatari investment group Delta Two. The deal is expected to get the green light this week - if agreement can be reached with the group's pension fund trustees.

  • Diageo and Tesco in drinks initiative

    Thu, 11 Oct 2007

    Drinks giant Diageo and Tesco are targeting shoppers with a responsible drinking message, in what is understood to be the first such initiative between a supermarket and a drinks producer.

  • Diageo in roster talks over below-the-line shake-up

    Thu, 11 Oct 2007

    Diageo is in talks with agencies over its below-the-line roster. It is thought that the brief has a strong sponsorship element.

  • Does i-Level have its eye on the cash or its future interests?

    Thu, 11 Oct 2007

    Shareholders in i-Level, the UK's largest independent online media agency, are cashing in their chips. Co-founder Charlie Dobres, who took a backseat as non-executive director of the business earlier this year, pocketed £4.6m when he sold a ...

  • Essentially Group merges agencies

    Thu, 11 Oct 2007

    The Essentially Group is merging and relaunching its agencies as a new business that claims to be one of the top five sports marketing agencies in the UK.

  • Evening Standard posts circulation rise

    Fri, 12 Oct 2007

    The Evening Standard enjoyed an impressive September, registering a month-on-month circulation increase and its first year-on-year circulation rise since July 2005, according to the latest Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABCs) figures.

  • Ex-head marketer returns to Coors as UK chief exec

    Thu, 11 Oct 2007

    Coors Brewers, the UK brewing arm of Molson Coors, has brought back former marketing chief Mark Hunter as its new chief executive. He replaces Peter Swinburn, who has been appointed chief executive of the US business.

  • Ex-Red Bull boss Drnec vows to alter PC market

    Thu, 11 Oct 2007

    Harry Drnec, the former managing director of Red Bull, has been appointed marketing director of a new computer company that claims it will transform how people use their PCs.

  • FA strengthens Saatchi ties

    Fri, 12 Oct 2007

    The FA has appointed M&C Saatchi to handle all marketing. M&C Saatchi Sports & Entertainment will focus on regional events, various competitions, youth and women's football, grassroots activity as well as The FA's campaigns Englandfans and Football for All.

  • Fashion brands fight the temptations of mass affluence

    Thu, 11 Oct 2007

    Christian Dior chief executive Sidney Toledano famously said two years ago that when he heard the company had sold more than 300 T-shirts in one day, he decided enough was enough. Since then Toledano has made it his mission to recapture the exclusivity he felt had been lost as a result of sacrificing ...

  • Fast fashion to blaze trail in retail sector

    Fri, 12 Oct 2007

    The clothing market will outperform all other retail sectors despite facing tough trading conditions, according to research company Mintel. It forecasts that the sector will grow by 18.4% to £34.7bn over the next five years.

  • Ford raids Toyota/Lexus for marketing vice-president

    Fri, 12 Oct 2007

    Ford has poached former Toyota chief Jim Farley as vice-president of marketing and communications. He will report to president and chief executive officer Allan Mulally.

  • Free flights mark Flybe card launch

    Thu, 11 Oct 2007

    Flybe is launching a credit card in a bid to boost revenues and attract new passengers. The Spend and Fly Mastercard will be launched next January and will offer users a free return flight with their first purchase.

  • Getting ready for Christmas

    Thu, 11 Oct 2007

    Despite consumers tightening the purse strings, Christmas will carry on as usual, but retailers will have to work harder for their money, says Richard Hyman

  • Glenn's sea-change will be rough going

    Thu, 11 Oct 2007

    You can't, as the saying goes, make an omelette without breaking eggs. Engineering radical change is a ruthless business, implying uncomfortable discontinuity, bruised egos and egg on the face if you get it wrong.

  • Google acts against copyright breaches

    Tue, 16 Oct 2007

    Google, the online behemoth, has unveiled anticipated technology that aims to prevent illegal use of copyrighted material on its YouTube video-sharing site. The move is in reaction to a $1bn (£500m) lawsuit filed by media companies.

  • Government seeks agency list for anti-obesity drive

    Wed, 17 Oct 2007

    The Government is seeking agencies to pitch for its estimated 7m anti-obesity campaign. It will be the latest stage of an initiative steered by health secretary Alan Johnson which will push the obesity issue to the top of the national health agenda.

  • Halloween and Poltergeist spearhead HMV DVD push

    Tue, 16 Oct 2007

    HMV rolls out its biggest Halloween DVD promotion this week as part of a celebration of Hollywood's biggest horror and sci-fi movies and marking the 25th anniversaries of genre classics Poltergeist and Halloween.

  • HarperCollins launches literary answer to MySpace

    Thu, 11 Oct 2007

    Publisher HarperCollins is launching a community site in an effort to mirror the success the music industry has enjoyed by talent-spotting unsigned acts on sites such as MySpace.

  • Heart FM parts company with CHI

    Mon, 15 Oct 2007

    Heart FM is parting company with CHI & Partners after three years. The station's new owner Global Radio is looking for an advertising agency for Heart, LBC and Galaxy as part of a restructure that will also include the appointment of a new marketing chief for the group before the end of the year.

  • High Court grants Reckitt right to sell Air Wick Odour Stop air freshener

    Thu, 11 Oct 2007

    Reckitt Benckiser has won a High Court ruling in a lengthy dispute with Procter & Gamble over claims that the design of Reckitt's Air Wick Odour Stop is an exact copy of P&G's Febreze air spray. Lord Justice Jacob has ruled that there is sufficient difference in detail between the two products ...

  • Honda crunches the gears

    Wed, 17 Oct 2007

    Honda is at a crossroads, having lost its UK general manager of cars Ewan Ramsay after less than two years in the role (MW last week). His departure is the latest in a series of high-profile senior management changes at the Japanese car marque, which until recently was seen as the ...

  • Hoover brand chief goes to Electrolux

    Thu, 11 Oct 2007

    Swedish consumer electronics giant Electrolux has appointed senior Hoover Candy marketer Steve Holton to the new role of product and brand director.

  • Humiliation and occasional injury are part and parcel of publicity quest

    Thu, 11 Oct 2007

    Is a lord mayor, a tomato costume and a leapfrog attempt an accident waiting to happen? No, it's a media-driven mishap that really did occur

  • IPC denies plans to publish Soaplife magazine every week

    Thu, 11 Oct 2007

    IPC Media's decision to publish Soaplife magazine two weeks in a row has created confusion over the fortnightly title's frequency.

  • ITV admits treating advertisers as adversaries

    Mon, 15 Oct 2007

    ITV executive chairman Michael Grade has admitted the broadcaster has been guilty of treating advertisers as "adversaries" as it heads into the 2008 television trading season.

  • ITV hands £20m role to BBH

    Thu, 11 Oct 2007

    ITV has appointed Bartle Bogle Hegarty to handle its £20m advertising business after a three-way pitch against DDB London and Mother.

  • Magazines to publish first monthly ABCs

    Mon, 15 Oct 2007

    Magazine publishers will release monthly breakdowns of their circulation figures for the first time next year. The change follows an agreement between the Periodical Publishers Association (PPA) and Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC) today.

  • Mediaedge:cia creates global sponsorship division

    Thu, 11 Oct 2007

    Mediaedge:cia is restructuring its global sponsorship businesses in a bid to capitalise on the growth in the market. It is merging its sport, entertainment and cause marketing businesses to create MEC Access, which aims to be a "one-stop shop" for clients.

  • Meteorite to handle Argos digital push at Christmas

    Thu, 11 Oct 2007

    Meteorite has been appointed to Argos's roster to handle a major digital push for the retailer in the run-up to Christmas. It follows a competitive pitch against a number of undisclosed agencies.

  • Morrisons hunts for branding head to extend repositioning

    Thu, 11 Oct 2007

    Morrisons is seeking a senior marketer to join the company as head of branding. The new role has been created to ensure the rebrand of the retailer is extended across all areas of its business.

  • New branding: Zavvi adopts independent image

    Thu, 11 Oct 2007

    Zavvi, the music retailer formed after the sale of Virgin Megastores last month, has unveiled its image and logo. It has been created by consultancy Caulder Moore.

  • New campaign: Coke promises added goodness

    Thu, 11 Oct 2007

    Coca-Cola is supporting the launch of its new Diet Coke Plus range with a campaign that promises consumers "added goodness".

  • New York launches first global campaign

    Fri, 12 Oct 2007

    New York City & Company, the tourism body, has launched its first global campaign to promote the city as an international tourism destination and to increase its visitor numbers to 50 million by 2015.

  • NRS publishes more detailed reading habits data

    Thu, 11 Oct 2007

    The National Readership Survey (NRS) is releasing data about the amount of time people spend reading newspapers and magazines for the first time. The research will be available in the next two weeks.

  • Opie takes on marketing director duties at Five

    Tue, 16 Oct 2007

    Five is not replacing marketing director Jane Scott, who resigned earlier this month. The broadcaster is splitting her role, handing the bulk of Scott's duties to managing director of content Lisa Opie (pictured).

  • Poke drives WWF’s climate change campaign

    Mon, 15 Oct 2007

    WWF has appointed Poke to promote its Climate Change Bill campaign. The bill aims to cut the UK's carbon emissions but the conservation organisation is lobbying the Government to include emissions from international aviation and shipping.

  • Posterscope embarks on self-promotion campaign

    Thu, 11 Oct 2007

    Posterscope is launching a campaign to promote the benefits of outdoor advertising, following in the footsteps of CBS Outdoor which ran a similar campaign last year.

  • Red Bull faces challenger in Carlsbergs Battery Energy

    Wed, 17 Oct 2007

    Carlsberg is plotting a major UK launch of its Battery Energy Drink with the intention of taking advantage of the fast-growing energy drinks sector and wresting market share from Red Bull.

  • Royal Mail reviews advertising and direct marketing accounts

    Mon, 15 Oct 2007

    Royal Mail has called a statutory review of its £40m advertising and direct marketing accounts. Incumbent agencies Abbott Mead Vickers.BBDO and Proximity will repitch for the business.

  • Ruth Mortimer: Dont be taken in by business gurus

    Wed, 17 Oct 2007

    It is a truth universally acknowledged that good girls love bad boys. But dodgy relationships aren’t confined to your teenage years. Even in later life we sometimes fall for the smooth talk and forget to engage our bullshit detector. And not only in our personal lives: it also happens in our business ...

  • Ryanair accuses rivals of price fixing

    Fri, 12 Oct 2007

    Ryanair has lodged a complaint with the European Competition Commission accusing rival airlines Deutsche Lufthansa, Swiss, KLM and Air France of price fixing.

  • Steak Media appoints marketing director

    Mon, 15 Oct 2007

    Steak Media, the search and digital marketing agency, has appointed Peter Suchet as marketing director. Suchet takes the role after less than a year at i-level as marketing chief.

  • Sub.tv launches university sports web channel

    Mon, 15 Oct 2007

    Sub.tv has bought online social network Univillage and is launching a sports channel aimed at students aged between 16 and 24. The web channel will allow sports teams to upload and broadcast video footage across 700 screens at 95 universities across the UK.

  • Subaru UK to hand top job in marketing to Fossey

    Thu, 11 Oct 2007

    Subaru (UK) is tipped to promote John Fossey to its top marketing role following the departure of Jon Nealon, who left the company last week.

  • Tesco measures carbon footprint of own products

    Thu, 11 Oct 2007

    Tesco and the Carbon Trust have launched an initiative to measure the carbon footprint of 30 of the supermarket giant's own-branded products as part of a project to assess and develop a carbon labelling standard.

  • Tesco: Where the Spice Girls get their best clothes

    Fri, 12 Oct 2007

    Tesco is understood to be signing the Spice Girls to front its multi-million pound Christmas campaign. Filming for the ads has already begun.

  • The Child Bereavement Trust rebrands as the Child Bereavement Charity

    Mon, 15 Oct 2007

    The Child Bereavement Trust has changed its name to Child Bereavement Charity (CBC) to better reflect its status in a brand overhaul engineered by Bartle Bogle Hegarty (BBH). The step aims to curb confusion about its position as a charity rather than a trust with the means to fund itself financially.

  • Tiger Woods in Gatorade brand tie-up

    Wed, 17 Oct 2007

    US soft drinks giant PepsiCo is launching a new variant of its sports performance drink Gatorade in a tie-up with golf champion Tiger Woods, that will see the launch of Gatorade Tiger. Terms of the deal have not been disclosed but it is believed Woods has signed a five-year deal worth up to $100m ...

  • Toyota unveils Xbox Live game to promote the Yaris

    Thu, 11 Oct 2007

    Toyota is creating a game for the Microsoft Xbox that will be available to download free from the console's Live service. The game will promote Toyota's Yaris model and is the first created by an advertiser to be distributed over Xbox Live.

  • Trinity Mirror rings changes at Midlands titles

    Tue, 16 Oct 2007

    Trinity Mirror has announced a raft of senior management changes to its Midlands titles following its failure to sell-off the division.

  • UK ad spend set to dip

    Mon, 15 Oct 2007

    Growth in UK advertising spend looks "likely" to have peaked following a period of record growth, according to the Institution of Practitioners in Advertising (IPA) in its third quarter 2007 Bellwether Report.

  • Universal McCann to join MCCA

    Tue, 16 Oct 2007

    Universal McCann has been invited to join agency industry trade body the Marketing Communications Consultants Association (MCCA). It marks the first time a media planning and buying agency has been selected for membership.

  • VCCP set to win 10m binge brief

    Wed, 17 Oct 2007

    The Home Office is poised to appoint Vallance Carruthers Coleman Priest (VCCP) to its £10m binge drinking brief. 

  • W&K Amsterdam's O'Kennedy exits agency

    Wed, 17 Oct 2007

    Wieden & Kennedy Amsterdam managing director Tim O'Kennedy is leaving without another job to go to after two years in the role. O'Kennedy is leaving for "personal reasons" and his departure date has yet to be announced.

  • Warner Music appoints marketing director

    Thu, 11 Oct 2007

    Warner Music UK has appoin-ted former Mercury Records managing director Greg Castell as marketing director for its Warner Bros Records division. He replaces Matt Thomas, who has left the company.

  • Watchdog raps TV ad for trivialising debt

    Thu, 11 Oct 2007

    A television ad that makes light of borrowing large amounts of money has been rapped by advertising regulator the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA).

  • WH Smith profits jump 29%

    Fri, 12 Oct 2007

    High street stationery retailer WH Smith has reported a 29% rise in profits despite declining sales and is set to hand chief executive Kate Swann a bumper bonus of more than £3m as part of an incentive scheme.

  • William Hill appoints EGS to take a fresh look at its media strategy

    Thu, 11 Oct 2007

    William Hill has added planning communications agency Edwards Groom Saunders (EGS) to its roster. The agency has a brief to devise a new strategy for 2008.

  • Yahoo! profits dip despite revenue hike

    Wed, 17 Oct 2007

    Yahoo! has reported a slight fall in third-quarter profits despite a 12% rise in revenues to $1.8bn (£886m) from $1.6bn for the same period last year and the “100-day” reorganisation instigated by chief executive Jerry Yang on his return to ...

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