Marketing Week
20 April 2006

  • A multi-platform connection

    Thu, 20 Apr 2006

    More and more brands are running promotional campaigns across multiple media platforms. Mobile, online and interactive have all become channels that marketers can no longer afford to ignore, and advertisers are learning the benefits of using a

  • Agencies line up to promote city of Sibiu - named 2007's European Capital of Culture

    Thu, 20 Apr 2006

    Romanian city Sibiu is seeking an agency to create a £1m international advertising campaign before it takes over as the European Capital of Culture next year.

  • AIG banks on the red army for expansion in UK... and China?

    Thu, 20 Apr 2006

    When AIG (American International Group), probably the biggest global company most Brits have never heard about, was recently announced as the new sponsor of Manchester United, eyebrows were raised. This week Man Utd chief executive David Gill said, in justifying the choice: "This deal presents both of us with so many possibilities." ...

  • Amazon to sell food items

    Thu, 20 Apr 2006

    Amazon has started to sell food items, including Kellogg's Corn Flakes and Campbell's Soup, on its US website as it continues its strategy of being a one-stop online retailer.

  • B&B hires interim to fill top marketing role

    Thu, 20 Apr 2006

    Building society Bradford & Bingley (B&B) has drafted in former PruHealth marketing director Stephen Rowe to its top marketing role, following the sudden departure of Warren Langley.

  • BenQ-Siemens in hunt for ad agency

    Thu, 20 Apr 2006

    BenQ Mobile is understood to be in the early stages of a pitch for its multi-million BenQ-Siemens handset advertising business.

  • Biggest is not always the best

    Thu, 20 Apr 2006

    With the FIFA World Cup in Germany about to start, sports sponsorship is "front of mind" for many UK marketers - and for the vast majority of UK consumers, too.

  • Bosses keen to clean up harsh realities of office life...

    Thu, 20 Apr 2006

    The Diary has had its fair share of run-ins with authority down the years - but to this day the question "and what exactly IS wrong with sleeping under my desk?" has never been satisfactorily answered as far as the Diary is concerned.

  • Brand confusion forces Coke to relaunch 'Z' drinks as Zero range

    Thu, 20 Apr 2006

    Coca-Cola has been forced to rebrand its "Z" range of no-added sugar drinks as "Zero" just a year after it was launched in the UK market. It follows news that the soft drinks giant is planning to launch Coke Zero later this year.

  • Brand valuation - Plug into a higher voltage

    Thu, 20 Apr 2006

    Marketers could decide early which brand has the vital energy to climb all the way to the top. A potential for growing market share based on a brands ability to bond with customers, rather than mere market value, is the novel factor in the Top 100 UK BrandZ study. By Ian McCawley

  • Branson's flight of fancy

    Thu, 20 Apr 2006

    Virgin boss Sir Richard Branson is finding it hard to get people to take his latest venture seriously, according to the man given the job of marketing it. Trevor Beattie, a founder of advertising agency Beattie McGuinness Bungay, has said people think Virgin Galactic, which promises to run commercial flights to the ...

  • Changes at Experian

    Thu, 20 Apr 2006

    Experian, the global information services provider, has named Nick Frazer director of its B2B Marketing division. Previously, he was at Dataforce, D&B and Equifax.Ubisoft, the video games publisher, is bolstering its marketing team with marketing manager Dean Evans and marketing assistant Jane McGiffin. Evans arrives from Rockstar Games, while Griffin is already at the company.

  • Cinema campaign to target binge-drinkers

    Thu, 20 Apr 2006

    The Portman Group and the Drinkaware Trust are targeting men with a hard-hitting cinema campaign highlighting the dangers of binge drinking.

  • Clark McKay and Walpole North appointed by Burhouse

    Thu, 20 Apr 2006

    Clark McKay and Walpole North has been appointed by Burhouse, one of Europe's largest gemstone wholesalers, to carry out a rebranding assignment, and design and build the company's new e-commerce website.

  • Concern about Television Without Frontiers

    Thu, 20 Apr 2006

    ITV, Channel 4, Five, NTL and other media companies are jointly expressing concern about EU directive Television Without Frontiers, saying it could undermine current arrangements and deter market entrants. A review means regulations covering traditional broadcast media could be extended to new media services, such as mobile phones and Internet Protocol TV.

  • Dennis Publishing appoints commercial director for The Week to coincide with first TV and outdoor push

    Thu, 20 Apr 2006

    Dennis Publishing has appointed former EMAP commercial director Dan Reeves to the same role for its news-led magazine The Week. The appointment comes as the title unveils its first television and outdoor ad campaign.

  • E3 acquires London agency Butterfly Effect

    Thu, 20 Apr 2006

    E3, the full-service digital agency, has acquired London agency Butterfly Effect. Butterfly's eight-strong team will work at E3's new London studios under the E3 brand.

  • Emirates to become FIFA Partner in £112m tie-up

    Thu, 20 Apr 2006

    Emirates Airlines has signed a seven-year deal worth $195m (£112m) to become a FIFA Partner in the airline's largest ever sponsorship tie-up.

  • Few winners in newspaper ABCs

    Thu, 20 Apr 2006

    The decline in national newspaper sales accelerated in March, although there were some clear winners bucking the trend, according to the latest figures from the Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC).

  • Getting consumers in on the act is the best formula for success

    Thu, 20 Apr 2006

    The L in the formula, reproduced below, is the likelihood of purchasing a particular product, and it is derived from a number of variables, particularly R (the number of times the customer has purchased other products (j) from the company befo

  • GLA appoints Folk

    Thu, 20 Apr 2006

    The Greater London Authority has appointed creative agency Folk to develop a multi-media project to attract sponsors for the organisation's environmental initiatives.

  • Google changing its name to Gu Ge in China

    Thu, 20 Apr 2006

    Google is changing its name to Gu Ge in China as it attempts to build its presence in the fast-growing economy. The name is said to draw on Chinese rural traditions.

  • Google tops first UK Voltage brand growth rankings list

    Thu, 20 Apr 2006

    Google has emerged as the brand with the best growth potential in the UK, according to the first Voltage ranking from research giant Millward Brown.

  • GOSHCC in the hunt for marketing director

    Thu, 20 Apr 2006

    Great Ormond Street Hospital Children's Charity (GOSHCC) is seeking its first dedicated marketing director as part of a move to ramp up its marketing activities and fundraising initiatives.

  • GSK plans Aquafresh TV launch

    Thu, 20 Apr 2006

    GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) is gearing up for the multi-million pound European roll-out of a new premium product under its Aquafresh toothpaste brand.

  • Guide Dogs picks Panlogic for first online campaign

    Thu, 20 Apr 2006

    The Guide Dogs for the Blind Association has awarded the task for its first dedicated online campaign to digital agency Panlogic. The campaign is intended to raise awareness as well as funds and will combine direct mailings aimed at driving traffic to the Guide Dogs website with e-mailings and a specially created microsite.

  • IPA Survey Use of e-mail marketing

    Thu, 20 Apr 2006

    that have used e-mail marketing over the past six months did not intend to use it again in the coming six months. Meanwhile, 4% were unsure while 95% reported that they intended to continue use.

  • IPA targeting teachers

    Thu, 20 Apr 2006

    The IPA is targeting teachers in a campaign to raise the advertising industry's profile as a potential career for pupils. Created by Leo Burnett, the ad will run in the latest edition of teachers' publication Breaktime.

  • ITV Play to air a Friends Reunited show

    Thu, 20 Apr 2006

    ITV Play, the advertising-free quiz TV channel launching this week, will air a Friends Reunited show following ITV's acquisition of the website last year. Friends Reunited: The School Run joins quiz shows based on Coronation Street and This Morning on the schedule.

  • Knowing the fringe benefits

    Thu, 20 Apr 2006

    Matt Coles, a partner in Cardinal, HPI Research Group's specialist drinks unit, still winces as he recalls the focus group that scuppered his client's plans for a premium draught ale. The brand's ingredients were run-of-the-mill, but the PR te

  • Let customers decide on broadband offers

    Thu, 20 Apr 2006

    It was interesting to note the views of Stuart Smith on the recent Carphone Warehouse broadband offer (MW last week).

  • Lloyds TSB Insurance to sponsor Formula 3 motor racing

    Thu, 20 Apr 2006

    Lloyds TSB Insurance has signed up as the title sponsor of the 2006 British Formula 3 (F3) motor racing series, which starts later this month.

  • Mercedes plugs into mobile portal to raise model profiles

    Thu, 20 Apr 2006

    Mercedes-Benz is launching a mobile portal and individual WAP sites for all of its car models as part of an integrated campaign to support advertising and branding activity throughout 2006.

  • Mobiles are music to marketers' ears

    Thu, 20 Apr 2006

    Next month, mobile phone network 3 is to release the UK's first "mobile-only single" - Planet Funk's Stop Me - offering the network's 3.5 million customers the track exclusively. The move comes as Gnarls Barkley's single Crazy topped the UK si

  • Morrisons considering legal action

    Thu, 20 Apr 2006

    Morrisons is considering legal action following false claims on the internet that chairman Sir Ken Morrison assaulted a shopworker. The unfounded allegations were posted on a Web forum set up by disgruntled staff.

  • Moto on a new road

    Thu, 20 Apr 2006

    Catering giant Compass has completed the sale of its travel concessions business, in a deal that sees Australian bank Macquarie become the new owner of motorway service station brand Moto.

  • MTV launches online video-on-demand service

    Thu, 20 Apr 2006

    MTV launches an online video-on-demand service, MTV Overdrive, in the UK this week. The free-to-air service will generate income through advertising on the site and will offer news, music, film clips and MTV shows such as Pimp My Ride.

  • MTV takes brands into broadband after launch of Overdrive VOD service

    Thu, 20 Apr 2006

    MTV Networks is planning to extend the Nickelodeon and Paramount Comedy television brands into broadband channels following this week's launch of MTV Overdrive, the company's first free, online video-on-demand service. The service will go live on Sunday.

  • Nestlé to acquire Linda McCartney brand

    Thu, 20 Apr 2006

    Nestlé is understood to be about to acquire meat-free brand Linda McCartney, currently owned by US food company Heinz.

  • Neville Isdell faces shareholders

    Thu, 20 Apr 2006

    Coca-Cola chief executive Neville Isdell, who took the job two years ago telling investors it would take 24 months to get the company back on track following failed products and management turmoil, will face shareholders today (Wednesday) in his second annual meeting in charge. Coke shares have fallen by one-fifth since he took over.

  • New Campaign - Oasis

    Thu, 20 Apr 2006

    Coca-Cola is launching a major advertising push for its Oasis brand, encouraging consumers to "chug" the fruit drink this summer.

  • Newspapers need to adapt to digital age

    Thu, 20 Apr 2006

    I was interested to read your article on the digital future of national newspapers (MW March 30), and would agree that, with the digital age upon us, it is no longer enough of a pull for national papers to merely syndicate news on their websites.

  • Nortel Networks hires Lauren Flaherty

    Thu, 20 Apr 2006

    Nortel Networks, the communications equipment manufacturer, has hired former IBM worldwide marketing vice-president Lauren Flaherty as its chief marketing officer. Beginning on May 1, she will have overall responsibility for Nortel's global marketing strategy, brand development and advertising, as well as the company's internal and external communications.

  • Npower seeks creative digital agency

    Thu, 20 Apr 2006

    approach to online marketing.

  • Ofcom issues guidance on its role

    Thu, 20 Apr 2006

    Ofcom, the media regulator, has issued guidance on its role in investigating complaints about TV quiz channels, following an increase in the number received.

  • Opodo picks Black Sun to boost European performance

    Thu, 20 Apr 2006

    Black Sun, the strategic agency, has been appointed by online travel site Opodo to improve its customer relationship management performance across Europe.

  • Optimising the search mix

    Thu, 20 Apr 2006

    Marketers spent £1.4bn on online advertising in the UK in 2005, 7.8% of the total spent on advertising in this country. And £768.4m of that £1.4bn was spent on search marketing alone. That means that, as an advertising medium, search marketing

  • Or hide the true realities of the brand experience?

    Thu, 20 Apr 2006

    If things haven't been going too well on the job front recently, the Diary has the perfect explanation.

  • Otto UK appoints Neil Sansom

    Thu, 20 Apr 2006

    Otto UK, the online and mail-order fashion specialist, has appointed former Additions Direct brand director Neil Sansom to head its new trend-driven offering for 25- to 40-year-olds. Otto has also hired former Littlewoods Shop Direct staff Andy Roe as chief operating officer, Diane Fowler as Grattan brand director, Alex Hardy as brand director for Kaleidoscope and Tony Preedy as marketing services director.

  • Penguin takes a novel approach to sell peter's problem with pink

    Thu, 20 Apr 2006

    As any seasoned bibliophile will tell you with a sorrowful shake of his grizzled head, the publishing industry ain't what it used to be. Gone are the days when Graham Greene sat in the sub-editors' room in the old Times building, a fire blazin

  • Peroni Nastro Azzurro running first three-and-a-half minute TV campaign

    Thu, 20 Apr 2006

    Peroni Nastro Azzurro is running what it claims is the first three-and-a-half minute TV campaign. The international work, entitled Cinema Peroni, pays homage to classic movie La Dolce Vita, and has been created by The Bank. It will appear on More4 and be backed with cinema, outdoor and online executions, and podcasts.

  • Peugeot to close its UK plant

    Thu, 20 Apr 2006

    Peugeot is to close its UK plant near Coventry with the loss of 2,300 jobs after the company announced a drop in profits. It will cease production next year.

  • Pink ladies are pick of the crop in this year's London Marathon run

    Thu, 20 Apr 2006

    This weekend literally dozens of ad execs and senior marketers will experience the London Marathon: they will get out of bed early, their hearts a-flutter; with trembling fingers they will tie their shoes and don casual sports gear and then they will head out to Blackheath or somewhere else along the route and heroically cheer on those foolhardy souls who are actually running the race.

  • Planning is the best form of integration

    Thu, 20 Apr 2006

    Bruce Haines might well be correct in his view that Leo Burnett's decision to move its Arc creative department onto the same floor as its above-the-line creative department makes it: "different to every other agency in town" (MW April 6). Whether it makes it more integrated is another matter entirely.

  • Plug into a higher voltage

    Thu, 20 Apr 2006

    Marketers could decide early which brand has the vital energy to climb all the way to the top. A potential for growing market share based on a brand¹s ability to bond with customers, rather than mere market value, is the novel factor in the T

  • Programming and promotions undermine TV marketing drive

    Thu, 20 Apr 2006

    The appointment of a chief executive at Thinkbox is a vote of confidence in the future of TV ads, but one weekend's viewing shows the scale of the problem

  • Revlon appoints Starcom to handle 3m UK media account in pan-European review

    Thu, 20 Apr 2006

    Revlon is understood to have appointed Starcom to its 3m UK media planning and buying account, following a pitch against Vizeum. Incumbent PHD withdrew earlier in the pitch.

  • Sara Lee launch in £7m freshener blitz

    Thu, 20 Apr 2006

    The product, dubbed 3volution, will be positioned as a premium "plug-in" device and claims to deliver three different fragrances regulated by an electric timer.

  • Scottish Power draws up shortlist for £4m ad pitch

    Thu, 20 Apr 2006

    Scottish Power is conducting a review of its above-the-line advertising account, believed to be worth &£4m.

  • SeaFrance appoints DGM

    Thu, 20 Apr 2006

    SeaFrance, the ferry group, has appointed DGM, the affiliates marketing arm of Deal Group Media, to run its first affiliate marketing campaign in the UK.

  • Sheila's Wheels - first financial advertiser to use ITV's bumper service

    Thu, 20 Apr 2006

    Sheila's Wheels is to become the first financial advertiser to use ITV's mobile interactive bumper service as part of the Esure-owned insurer's sponsorship of daytime programme Loose Women. Sponsorship was negotiated by Carat.

  • Shopping figures down

    Thu, 20 Apr 2006

    The number of shoppers visiting UK high streets during the Easter period slipped by 7.5% compared with last year, according to Footfall. Sales fell by 9.3% on Easter Monday, while Easter Saturday figures were down 3.3% and Good Friday totals slid by 4.3%.

  • Sky TV plans free festival push to drive awareness

    Thu, 20 Apr 2006

    Sky TV is launching a free "entertainment festival" aimed at developing awareness of its channels and bringing them "to life". Sky claims that it is the first free public event of its kind.

  • Soft drinks indies fast flow to market

    Thu, 20 Apr 2006

    Independent soft drinks manufacturers have their bigger multinational rivals "on the run" in the burgeoning functional water category, according to industry sources.

  • Soft landing for business travellers

    Thu, 20 Apr 2006

    This week's "PR picture of the week" comes courtesy of airline Silverjet, which plans to offer low-cost business-class fares across the Atlantic, not to mention domestic helicopter services.

  • Sony to launch Walkman-branded portable DVD player

    Thu, 20 Apr 2006

    Sony is to launch a Walkman-branded portable DVD player, which will be rolled out later this year.

  • Sorrell: UK is "one of the weakest geographical markets at the moment"

    Thu, 20 Apr 2006

    Sir Martin Sorrell, chief executive of WPP Group, says the UK is "one of the weakest geographical markets at the moment", after the publication of the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising's (IPA) latest Bellwether Report.

  • Step nearer to brand valuation 'perfection'

    Thu, 20 Apr 2006

    It's tempting to view brand valuation methodologies in the same light as alchemy. There's certainly science in them, but also much which appears speculative and irritatingly esoteric to any but the cognoscenti. Yet, we are compelled to give th

  • Taking shop floor service online is not easy

    Thu, 20 Apr 2006

    The latest news from Dixons (MW last week) comes as little surprise to the industry - online is the direction the consumer electronics market is taking. However, for the Dixons brand to succeed online, it urgently needs to review its e-commerce infrastructure to give it the fuel it requires to take the online consumer electronics market ...

  • Tess Alps

    Thu, 20 Apr 2006

    Tess Alps, the recently appointed chairman of TV marketing body Thinkbox and outgoing chairman of PHD Group UK, has joined the UK board of trustees of creative industries' organisation Creative & Cultural Skills.

  • ThePool.com claims ad ban 'confuses' gambling issue

    Thu, 20 Apr 2006

    Controversial betting website ThePool.com has attacked the latest ruling from the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) over its recent ad campaign, claiming it will confuse consumers.

  • Times Online launches The Knowledge Mobile

    Thu, 20 Apr 2006

    Times Online has launched The Knowledge Mobile, a mobile phone-based version of its entertainment listings service providing daily updated information to users.

  • T-Mobile unveils a Robbie Williams branded handset

    Thu, 20 Apr 2006

    T-Mobile is launching a Robbie Williams branded mobile phone as part of its multi-million-pound sponsorship deal with the singer.

  • Travel firms spend just 10% on websites

    Thu, 20 Apr 2006

    Travel and leisure companies spend less than 10% of their annual marketing budget on their websites, despite the fact the internet has now replaced the brochure as the main source of information on destinations and availability.

  • Travellers to go further for less as part of AirMiles' rebranding

    Thu, 20 Apr 2006

    AirMiles is overhauling its branding and launching a new pricing structure which it says will enable customers to travel further for less.

  • Trinity Mirror tests 'real life' sector with Reality

    Thu, 20 Apr 2006

    Trinity Mirror is believed to be planning to launch a "real-life" magazine called Reality, as a rival to News Magazines' Love It!, the weekly magazine launched in February.

  • UK faces blackouts

    Thu, 20 Apr 2006

    MPs are warning that the UK faces blackouts if the "looming energy crisis" is not addressed. They say nuclear power reactors will take too long to build and investment in gas power stations is urgently required.

  • UnumProvident wins accreditation

    Thu, 20 Apr 2006

    UnumProvident, the insurance company which specialises in income protection products, has become the first UK company to qualify for a ground-breaking new accessibility accreditation scheme.

  • Willy Wonka range set for chop after poor sales

    Thu, 20 Apr 2006

    Nestlé Rowntree is understood to have axed its Willy Wonka range of chocolate bars and sweets after a collapse in sales.

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