Marketing Week
14 August 2008
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"The Hoff" launches into social networking
Tue, 19 Aug 2008
David Hasselhoff, the singer and former Baywatch actor, has started his own social-networking website - Hoffspace. The new website will replace his MySpace profile as his main channel of communications with fans.
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3 set to launch Facebook phone before Christmas
Wed, 20 Aug 2008
Mobile operator 3 is launching the first handset to have a Facebook button that will take users directly to the site. It will be part of an ultimate handset, which will be launched for Christmas
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Airport retail sales set for boost
Mon, 18 Aug 2008
Retail sales at airports will grow by 11% to $30m (16.1m) despite the slowing economy over this year, according to a report by Verdict Research. The surge will make it the fastest growing retail channel after the internet.
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Andrew Harrison: Music industry embraces spirit of co-operation
Wed, 20 Aug 2008
In the past month there have been three high-profile developments in the previously somewhat private and arcane world of music rights licensing. All have implications for media owners and platforms.
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Arla Foods appoints Life to handle dairy brands
Fri, 15 Aug 2008
Arla Foods has appointed Birmingham-based agency Life to handle through-the-line briefs for three of its dairy brands. It follows a four-way pitch for the Cravendale milk brand.
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Asda sees growth in luxury foods
Fri, 15 Aug 2008
Asda, the Wal-Mart-owned supermarket chain, is benefiting from affluent shoppers seeking cheaper food deals as the credit crunch continues to bite. The boost helped the chain grow its share of the grocery market by 0.2% to 16.9% over the 12 weeks to July 13 (TNS).
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BA reveals plans for business-only service
Tue, 19 Aug 2008
British Airways has announced plans for its business class-only service between London and New York, including allowing passengers to complete US customs checks in Ireland.
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BAA could be forced to sell airports
Wed, 20 Aug 2008
BAA may be forced to sell three of its seven airports over concerns about its "near monopoly". The Competition Commission has recommended that the airport operator sells two of its London airports and either Glasgow or Edinburgh.
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Bauer Media launches interactive mobile advertising tool
Thu, 14 Aug 2008
Bauer Media is launching an interactive advertising tool in partnership with technology company SnapNow. Kerrang! Magazine willbe the first magazine to use the SnapNow technology in an advert for Play.com later this week. The technology will allo...
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Bauers TV title takes top spot
Thu, 14 Aug 2008
TV Choice has retained the top spot as the most actively purchased magazine title but all titles in the top five saw numbers fall except recent newcomer Saga Magazine, as measured in today's ABC consumer magazine figures.
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Branson slams BA over ’monster monopoly’
Fri, 15 Aug 2008
Richard Branson, the founder of Virgin Atlantic, has accused British Airways of creating a "monster monopoly" through its alliance with American Airlines. The two airlines signed a deal yesterday (August 14).
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'Bush-whackers
Wed, 20 Aug 2008
Increasingly stringent laws to combat ambush marketing hit a whole new level last week when it emerged that the organisers of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa have proposed a new by-law that could result in prison sentences for offenders (MW.co.uk August 13).
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Carbon Trust hunts marketing head
Thu, 14 Aug 2008
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Change at top for Miller Brands
Tue, 19 Aug 2008
Miller Brands, a subsidiary of SABMiller, has promoted sales director Nick Miller to managing director. He will replace Gary Whitlie, who is leaving to join its Hungarian business, Dreher Breweries, in the same role.
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Chevrolet Volt to launch in UK as a Vauxhall
Mon, 18 Aug 2008
General Motors (GM) is planning to launch the Chevrolet Volt electric car in the UK under its Vauxhall marque. The US version of the plug-in vehicle is set to go into production in late 2010.
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Coke appoints former AT&T marketing chief
Mon, 18 Aug 2008
Coca-Cola has appointed former AT&T marketer Wendy Clark as senior vice president of integrated marketing communications and capabilities. She will take over the role on September 15.
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Consumer supergroup considers agency hire
Thu, 14 Aug 2008
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Craik Jones loses Gap integrated business
Thu, 14 Aug 2008
Craik Jones Watson Mitchell Voelkel has lost the integrated business for the American-based clothing retailer Gap to Kitcatt Nohr Alexander Shaw, without a pitch.
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Diageo autumn campaign promotes spirits as mixers
Fri, 15 Aug 2008
Diageo is rolling out an autumn campaign to drive spirit sales by highlighting how they can be used as mixers. It will focus on "autumn" drinks such as Pimm's with apple juice and Morgan's Spiced with cola.
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Down the tube
Fri, 15 Aug 2008
It was with some interest, and a little surprise, that I recently discovered total commercial broadcast television impacts had actually risen, and by a whole 6% too, in the first half of this year.
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Downturn may help marketers climb all the way to the top
Thu, 14 Aug 2008
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England football heroes take part in anti-knife crime viral
Wed, 20 Aug 2008
England football stars David Beckham, Rio Ferdinand and David James will star in a series viral ads as part of the Home Office’s ongoing campaign against knife crime. The ads will be seeded through social network site Bebo.
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Fallon wins Orange 10m Gold Spot cinema ad brief
Thu, 14 Aug 2008
Orange has moved its 10m Gold Spot cinema advertising account out of Mother to Fallon without a pitch. The move will strengthen Fallon's hold on the business and consolidate the brand's advertising into its "I Am" and "Together We Can Do More" strategy.
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Global Group poaches Miron to head radio
Tue, 19 Aug 2008
Global Group, the owner of GCap Media and the former Chrysalis radio stations, has appointed Stephen Miron as chief executive of radio. It is understood that Miron, currently managing director of the Mail on Sunday and Mail Online, will not join until next at the earliest.
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H&M sales beat the credit crunch
Fri, 15 Aug 2008
Hennes & Mauritz, the Swedish retailer, has reported a 15% sales uplift in July, despite the economic gloom. The budget fashion chain saw a 3% increase in turnover for the month.
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Heart 106.2 launches new ads starring agency staff
Wed, 20 Aug 2008
Heart 106.2, the Global Radio-owned London station, is launching a new campaign that starring people from the media industry. The new ads, which break during The X Factor on Saturday (August 23), have the strapline, “Give it some Heart”.
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Heineken appoints BBH to secret project after talks
Wed, 20 Aug 2008
Heineken has appointed Bartle Bogle Hegarty to a secret project, just weeks after it put incumbent agency Red Brick Road on alert by approaching rival agencies about its £40m global advertising brief.
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Heineken uses Bond girl for global campaign
Thu, 14 Aug 2008
Heineken is launching a global marketing campaign on the back of its tie-up with the new James Bond film Quantum of Solace. It will star new Bond girl Olga Kurylenko in her role as Camille in TV and print ads and print ads.
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Holding back the years
Thu, 14 Aug 2008
The sponsorship deal between Mattel-owned Barbie and two children's television channels on Cartoon Network is just one of the ways that the doll brand is facing the challenges of the modern toy market (MW last week). When the iconic doll reaches her 50th birthday next year, Mattel will ...
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Honda hybrid takes on Toyota
Thu, 14 Aug 2008
Honda is to launch a new hybrid model next year aimed at taking on Toyota's successful Prius. The company says it hopes that annual sales of the new vehicle will reach 200,000 globally.
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Hutton calls for more transparency from energy suppliers
Mon, 18 Aug 2008
Britain's energy suppliers need to be more transparent about why prices are rising and how they are making profit, according to John Hutton, Secretary of State for Department of Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform.
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IG Group seeks ad agency for global betting account
Thu, 14 Aug 2008
Spread betting and sports betting operators IG Group is hunting for an advertising agency to manage its financial brand, IG Index, globally. The move comes as the company nears the conclusion of a pitch for its £12m media planning and buying business, which began in May (MW.co.uk 27 May).
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Industry alliance will push healthy attitude to booze
Wed, 20 Aug 2008
The alcohol industry is in talks to form an alliance that aims to champion healthy attitudes to drinking. It comes as the industry prepares for a proposed Government assault that could force it to include health warnings on all drinks ads.
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Ladbrokes invades Liverpool with giant bingo balls
Wed, 20 Aug 2008
Ladbrokesbingo.com is launching a 3m TV campaign next month that aims to "celebrate" the nation's love of bingo. It will feature giant multi-coloured bingo balls rolling through the streets of Liverpool.
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Lara Croft gets 'biggest' TV ad push
Thu, 14 Aug 2008
Gaming company Eidos is planning its biggest ever TV ad campaign to support the latest Lara Croft title, Tomb Raider: Underworld, which will be released in November.
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Lastminute launches mobile dining service
Thu, 14 Aug 2008
Lastminute.com, the travel and leisure website, has launched a mobile restaurant booking service that will allow users to search and book venues on the go. Fonefood will be available in 12 countries, including the UK, from today (August 14).
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Lloyds TSB offers London 2012 Visa card
Thu, 14 Aug 2008
Lloyds TSB and Visa, worldwide Olympic partner, are launching a London 2012 branded Visa debit card. The limited edition card will be available until the end of September.
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London 2012 launches "celebration" video campaign
Tue, 19 Aug 2008
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LoveFilm to sponsor Heroes
Fri, 15 Aug 2008
LoveFilm, the online entertainment company, has signed a deal with the Sci Fi channel to sponsor the second series of hit US drama Heroes. It is the online rental service's first TV sponsorship. It will launch tonight (August 15) and will combine ten-second idents with five-second bumpers between each ad break.
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Lowe London resigns Stella account
Fri, 15 Aug 2008
Lowe London has resigned the 20m global advertising account for Stella Artois. It brings to an end a 27-year relationship and will see the business go up for review.
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M&C to develop multimedia campaign for Mail
Thu, 14 Aug 2008
M&C Saatchi is set to use its advertising heritage to develop Associated Newspaper's mid-market newspaper Daily Mail as a brand and build on its status as the daily must-read for mythical Middle England.
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Making a visible difference
Thu, 14 Aug 2008
The direct marketing industry must work harder than others to prove its green credentials because the waste it produces is very visible, unlike TV advertising's carbon footprint. By David Reed
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Marketers cast aside shadow of Saunders
Thu, 14 Aug 2008
Congratulations to Seamus McBride and Lance Batchelor on the all-too-rare accomplishment in marketing circles of making it to chief executive.
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Mattel takes NickToonsters ad breaks
Thu, 14 Aug 2008
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Maxim and FHM bear brunt of mens titles downturn
Thu, 14 Aug 2008
The men's lifestyle magazine sector has seen a series of significant drops in today's ABCs results. Bauer Media-owned FHM has reported a 10% drop year-on-year but Dennis Publishing-owned Maxim has lost more than half its circulation over the year.
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Motorola chief Patel exits
Fri, 15 Aug 2008
Motorola's European handset chief Vik Patel has left the company in the latest of a string of executive losses at the struggling mobile phone manufacturer. It is not clear if he has a job to go to.
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Nbc strikes olympic gold in us before opening ceremony
Thu, 14 Aug 2008
After paying $894m for US broadcast rights of the Olympics, NBC was forced to pay 'digital whack-a-mole' to get a healthy return.
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News International ups its brand insight investment
Thu, 14 Aug 2008
News International is significantly increasing its in-vestment in consumer and brand insight, as it continues to strengthen its marketing arm.
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Nokia and Lonely Planet offer travel guides
Tue, 19 Aug 2008
Nokia, the handset maker, has signed a deal with Lonely Planet to offer downloable city guides through its Nokia Maps software. The service, which includes over 100 destinations, will launch today (August 19).
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Npower to reclaim Energywatch brand
Wed, 20 Aug 2008
Npower is understood to be plotting to launch an initiative using the Energywatch name after the consumer group is disbanded on October 1.
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Omnicom to merge Craik Jones with Proximity
Wed, 20 Aug 2008
Craik Jones Watson Mitchell Voelkel is set to be merged with BBDO sister agency Proximity. The move will now call into question potential client conflicts between the Omnicom-owned agencies.
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Orange launches Blackberry Bold
Fri, 15 Aug 2008
Orange is launching the Blackberry Bold handset, billed as a major rival to the iPhone, this weekend. It will be available in stores and on Orange contracts from tomorrow (August 16).
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Peugeot Vans set to sponsor UEFA Cup matches on Five
Thu, 14 Aug 2008
Five has secured Peugeot Vans as the broadcast sponsor of the UEFA Cup after failing to sew up a sponsorship deal last year. Thesponsorship will extendthe broadcaster's relationship with the marque, with Peugeot already the long-running sponsor of Five's peak-time movies.
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Phelps to star in London Olympics handover celebrations
Mon, 18 Aug 2008
Olympic swimming star Michael Phelps will take a starring role in the London celebrations for the official handover of the Olympic Games. Phelps will be on stage during the Visa 2012 party in The Mall on Sunday (24 August).
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Poor branding could damage UK city tourism
Mon, 18 Aug 2008
UK cities could lose out on tourism to "new" European cities because they fail to brand themselves properly, according to a new tourism survey. It found that London has a strong brand and enough attractions to attract people but cities such as Liverpool and Glasgow are not fulfilling expectations.
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Public gets taste for cut price communication
Thu, 14 Aug 2008
British people are spending more time using communications services but paying less for them, according to industry regulator Ofcom. A new report has found that mobile phone use has doubled and laptop and PC use quadrupled over the past five years.
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Sainsbury's launches Meal Ticket card for students
Mon, 18 Aug 2008
Sainsbury's is targetting students with a new pre-paid voucher card that can be topped by parents and used to buy groceries and homewares. The Meal Ticket will be launched next month.
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Stelios takes easyJet to the High Court
Mon, 18 Aug 2008
EasyJet, the budget airline, is being taken to the High Court by founder Stelios Haji-Ioannou over the terms of its branding agreement. He is understood to be concerned that the airline is breaking a clause in its deal, which limits the amount of extra services it can offer.
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Stella promotes 'Le Courage'
Thu, 14 Aug 2008
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Sun strikes sponsorship deal with Sky's Soccer AM
Thu, 14 Aug 2008
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The Kwik Fit fitter returns
Mon, 18 Aug 2008
The Kwik Fit fitter is being revived after an eight-year absence in a new campaign that aims to show the automotive retailer does more than just fit tyres. The new ads break tonight (August 18).
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The lamp-post theory of pitch research
Thu, 14 Aug 2008
Halifax's reappointment of Delaney Lund Knox Warren to its 18m account last week raises once again the use of focus group research to decide advertising pitches.
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The worth of Woolies
Wed, 20 Aug 2008
Woolworths once again finds itself at a crossroads. Just as it was gearing up for the arrival of a new chief executive with plans to resurrect the brand, one of its former employees has stolen his thunder.
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Travelex promotes UK marketing director to global role
Fri, 15 Aug 2008
Travelex Global Business Payments has promoted Debbie Brown to global vice president of marketing. She was previously marketing director for its UK business.
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TUI cuts holiday capacity as earnings rise
Thu, 14 Aug 2008
TUI, the owner of the Thomson and First Choice holiday brands, is cutting its holiday capacity despite reporting an increase in turnover and earnings for the second quarter of the year.
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Unilever hands Krow place on Flora roster
Thu, 14 Aug 2008
Unilever has appointed Krow to its roster of agencies as communication and activation partner on margarine brand Flora.
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When there's a will and a way...
Thu, 14 Aug 2008
From complying with the BS8901 industry standard to offsetting carbon emissions or even setting up a wormery, there are many ways marketers can make live events sustainable. By Ian Whiteling
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Will Wired UK magazine be another flash in the pan?
Thu, 14 Aug 2008
Will it be a case of second time lucky when a UK version of technology lifestyle magazine Wired is launched at the beginning of next year?Its publisher, Condé Nast, is gearing up for its entrance into the market, and is already talking to advertising agencies about how they can best ...
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Womens magazines hit by circulation falls
Thu, 14 Aug 2008
Women's weeklies have had a tough six months reporting a 6% decline year-on-year in the Audit Bureau of Circulations figures to the end of June. There have been losses across the sector with Bauer Media-owned Heat reporting a 15.8% drop year-on-year and Reveal, owned by The National Magazine Company, plummeting by 20.2%.
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Woolies rejects Iceland bid approach
Mon, 18 Aug 2008
Beleagured retailer Woolworths has rejected a bid from Malcolm Walker, founder and chief executive of frozen food chain Iceland, because the offer "undervalued the retail assets and the potential profits of the business."
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Yell.com launches first TV work
Tue, 19 Aug 2008
Yell, the directory company, is launching its first TV advert for its online service, Yell.com. The campaign, which breaks tomorrow (August 20), aims to highlight the "breadth and depth" of the service.
