Marketing Week
29 January 2009
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200 Years after darwin, the nanny state is the origin of our devolution
Thu, 29 Jan 2009
Evidence of mankind's mental regression is everywhere: on TV, in advertising, in the press, in our political leaders; and the Brits are leading the way down
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Aegon to sponsor GB Davis Cup team
Wed, 4 Feb 2009
Aegon has been named team sponsor of Great Britains Davis and Fed Cup teams to add to the partnership the company already has with the Lawn Tennis Association.
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Amazon sees profits rise despite recession
Fri, 30 Jan 2009
E-tailer Amazon has revealed a 9% increase in profits for the final three months of last year. It says net profit totalled $225m (£157m) in the fourth quarter, up from $207m (£145m) a year ago. The company says it enjoyed a robust holiday shopping season and has not yet been hit ...
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ASA bans Hovis ad for misleading health claim
Thu, 29 Jan 2009
Premier Foods has been rapped over claims its relaunched Hovis bread is healthier than a bowl of cereal.
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Aviva sales up as rebrand approaches
Wed, 4 Feb 2009
Aviva reports full-year sales up across its product portfolio as it prepares to rebrand its UK operations from Norwich Union.
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Barbie maker reports 46% profit fall
Mon, 2 Feb 2009
Toy manufacturer Mattel has said fourth quarter profit slumped 46 per cent as cash-strapped consumers cut spending on Barbie dolls over Christmas.
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Benecol sponsors Classic FM Live in year-long partnership
Thu, 29 Jan 2009
Classic FM, the UK’s biggest commercial radio station, has signed Benecol, the cholesterol lowering brand, as the sponsor of Classic FM Live. It is part of a 12-month partnership between the two brands.
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Boots snaps up Dollond & Aitchison in merger deal
Thu, 29 Jan 2009
High street group Alliance Boots has merged its Boots Opticians business with competitor Dollond & Aitchison. The new business, which will trade as Boots Opticians, will create the second largest optical chain in the UK with 690 shops, including around 210 franchises.
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BSkyB retains Premier League rights
Wed, 4 Feb 2009
BSkyB has retained its share of live English Premier League rights for a further three years.
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Bulldog skincare teams with comedian for weekly e-show
Thu, 29 Jan 2009
Men's natural skincare brand Bulldog has signed a deal with comedian David Mitchell and online men's magazine Channel Flip to create a branded weekly online show.
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Capital FM retains London top breakfast spot
Thu, 29 Jan 2009
Londons 95.8 Capital FM breakfast duo Johnny Vaughan and Lisa Snowdon have retained the number one spot in the capital, according to the latest Rajar listening figures. The duo had 11,000 more listeners than Heart 106.2 FMs Jamie Theakston and Harriet Scott.
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Carter promises Broadband for all by 2012
Fri, 30 Jan 2009
The communications minister, Lord Carter, has pledged to deliver broadband to every home in the UK by 2012 in his Digital Britain report. Carter's report said the government is inviting the BBC to take a lead role to drive the universal takeup of broadband through "marketing, ...
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Charities chug through hard times
Wed, 4 Feb 2009
As the icy winds of recession blow into the UK, the charity sector is bracing itself for the storm ahead. As consumers’ disposable income drops away and stock-market-related investments lose money, the sector is facing a winter of discontent.
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Chivas Brothers appoints international marketer
Thu, 29 Jan 2009
Chivas Brothers has appointed Martell Mumm Perrier-Jouet marketing director Eric Benoist as its international marketing director. Both companies are subsidiaries of drinks company Pernod Ricard. Benoist replaces Martin Riley, who has been promote...
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Commercial radio listening falls
Thu, 29 Jan 2009
Commercial radio has seen its share of listening slip for the last quarter, according to the latest listening figures. Reported by Rajar this morning (January 29). The fall is a reverse on the gains made over the past year.
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Consumers won't pay any more to buy green products
Wed, 4 Feb 2009
The vast majority of consumers wont trade up for premium products boasting green credentials, according to a top Procter & Gamble executive.
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Creston on course as revenues rise
Tue, 3 Feb 2009
Creston, the marketing services group that owns Delaney Lund Knox Warren, has said it remains on course to meet trading expectations for the financial year after posting a 4% increase in revenues.
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EMI reports growth in digital revenues
Mon, 2 Feb 2009
EMI has reported its digital revenues grew to 102m in the six months to 30 September.
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Follow the rules in print
Thu, 29 Jan 2009
With budgets under pressure, marketers should get smart about the ways of printing, for there are considerable saving and quality improvements to be made for those in the know. By Daney Parker
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Gloom can help financial brands
Thu, 29 Jan 2009
Take opportunity to sort wheat from chaff
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Gloves off in Sky v Virgin battle
Wed, 4 Feb 2009
Its happy birthday to Sky. Pay TV is 20 years old today (Thursday), and the station is celebrating with last weeks announcement of a 31% rise in operating profits. When the channel first started broadcasting on February 5, 1989, few would have imagined the transformation awaiting home entertainment and sport over the coming decades.
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GM launches Vauxhall cashback deal
Wed, 4 Feb 2009
General Motors is aiming to boost customer interest in its Vauxhall cars with an interest-free cashback offer on its new car ranges, despite negative press coverage on its decision to raise prices.
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Government delays analogue radio switch-off
Fri, 30 Jan 2009
The government has today (Janauary 29) avoided confirming an analogue radio switch-off in its Digital Britain report. Communications minister, Lord Carter, says there is no reason why analogue and digital radio cannot not exist together.
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Government report backs C4-BBC tie-up
Fri, 30 Jan 2009
The government has given its backing to a Channel 4 tie-up with BBC Worldwide in its Digital Britain report. Commuications minister Lord Carter re-iterated the views expressed in Ofcom’s public service broadcasting review last week calling for Channel 4 to be at the heart of a "new entity".
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GSK unveils raft of oral care launches to beat back Colgate
Wed, 4 Feb 2009
GlaxoSmithKline is poised for a head-on battle with oral care market leader Colgate-Palmolive when it launches a raft of new products under its brands Aquafresh, Macleans and Sensodyne.
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H&M remains bullish despite slow December
Thu, 29 Jan 2009
High street fashion retailer Hennes & Moritz (H&M) has beaten expectations on its annual figures and says it will hire at last 6,000 people for its clothing shops in 2009, maintaining expansion plans after weak Christmas sales.
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Hair removal brands take on the recession with 'homedulgence'
Thu, 29 Jan 2009
The growing trend for consumers looking for cheaper ways to maintain the good life they have be-come accustomed to has led to a new term being coined - “homedulgence”.
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Honda to close UK plants for four months
Fri, 30 Jan 2009
Honda is closing its UK production plants from today. The move will affect just over 3,000 of the 4,000 employees, who will receive their full basic pay for the first two months, but around 60% thereafter. The shutdown is at its Swindon base and is considered to be one of the longest in Britain's ...
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Hyundai will find the road to UK's mobile market a rocky one
Thu, 29 Jan 2009
Hyundai's decision to break into the UK handset market comes as the global mobile phone market is predicted to shrink 9% this year. So a move into the market, particularly by a company best known for manufacturing cars, is considered at best "brave" by industry analysts.
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Irn-Bru agrees Rugby League sponsorships
Mon, 2 Feb 2009
Irn-Bru has is to be the official soft drink of the Rugby League until 2010.
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John Lewis rethinks store openings
Tue, 3 Feb 2009
John Lewis is scaling back store expansion plans as property developers delay or shelve regional shopping centre development projects.
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John Lydon ad boosts Dairy Crest sales
Tue, 3 Feb 2009
Country Life butter maker Dairy Crest says the John Lydon-starring Great British Butter campaign helped increase sales by 85 per cent.
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Kitcatt Nohr scoops Toyota DM business
Thu, 29 Jan 2009
Toyota GB has appointed Kitcatt Nohr to handle its direct marketing account. The agency will take on all customer acquisition and retention activity with a particular focus on cultivating new customers, with a unified team working across Toyota and sister marque Lexus, which it took on last summer.
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Long-term strategies key to future success
Thu, 29 Jan 2009
The consumers behaviour in a recession is markedly different from that in boom times, so marketers must change their behaviour as well. The importance of the data that you use to underpin every marketing communication you execute will grow significantly in 2009. History is taking on a new meaning. The question of whether we can still predict consumer behaviour, based on how those same consumers acted in the past has never been more relevant. Demographic indicators are shifting as fast ...
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Magic remains Londons top station
Thu, 29 Jan 2009
Magic 105.4 has retained its crown as the capital's number one station, according to the latest Rajar figures. The Bauer Media-owned station registered 1.99 million listeners in quarter four, up 5.9% per cent on the third quarter last year.
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Microsoft set to launch ad network
Thu, 29 Jan 2009
Microsoft Advertising is planning to take on Yahoo! and AOL with the launch of Microsoft Media Network in the UK. The new service will help advertisers create targeted campaigns across MSN.
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Mike Nutley: On social media networking
Wed, 4 Feb 2009
The beginning of this year has seen social media firmly back on the advertising agenda. Early last month the IPA produced a report looking at the importance of social media to advertising, and advertising agencies. Shortly afterwards the plans of two of the UK’s ...
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NetPlay TV recruits Nuts TV commercial director
Tue, 3 Feb 2009
Netplay TV, the interactive gaming company, has recruited former commercial director for Turner Media Innovations for Nuts TV Damon Letzer.
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New news or the same old same old?
Fri, 30 Jan 2009
Brands, like newspapers, have to keep on breaking news. And if there is no news, they need to go out and create some.
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News International moot editorial cuts
Fri, 30 Jan 2009
News International is mooting a series of editorial job cuts across its tabloid and broadsheet newspapers in the next two weeks. The newspaper publisher is also considering cutting the rates it pays some agencies for stories. It is thought production staff, mainly sub-editors, ...
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Onitsuka Tiger turns 60
Thu, 29 Jan 2009
Cult trainer brand Onitsuka Tiger is launching a global campaign to celebrate its 60th anniversary next month.
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Orange launches 7 million cinema campaign
Wed, 4 Feb 2009
Orange has unveiled a 7 million campaign to promote its Orange Wednesdays cinema ticket offer.
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P&G gets more from agencies by treating them as trusted advisers
Thu, 29 Jan 2009
Procter & Gamble’s decision to move the 135m Crest business out of Saatchi & Saatchi and into Publicis last week underlines its commitment to its Brand Agency Leader model.
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Paddy Power awards 1m ad account to Karmarama
Thu, 29 Jan 2009
Karmarama has won the 1m advertising account for bookmaker Paddy Power. The agency has been briefed to promote the brand around key sporting events in 2009.
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QPR draws up shortlist for season ticket brief
Thu, 29 Jan 2009
Queens Park Rangers Football Club has started a pitch for its season ticket campaign, which will also encompass broader brand positioning work. The club has shortlisted Newcastle-based Cravens, Dawson & Partners, B-street, and design agencies 'Cuda and Cre8.
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Raising circulation is the key to keeping Evening Standard afloat
Thu, 29 Jan 2009
Russian billionaire Alexander Lebedev's agreement to bail out the once-mighty Evening Standard is further indication of an industry in decline. An industry that is now forced to turn to unusual alliances and co-operation agreements in the face of competition from freesheets and ...
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Readers Digest appoints new publishing director with marketing background
Thu, 29 Jan 2009
Readers Digest UK has appointed a new publishing director. Katherine Rose, a former TK Maxx marketer. Rose will take the commercial helm at the publishers Music and Video division.
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Route to online engagement littered with many dead ends
Thu, 29 Jan 2009
Forget social networking sites, the best way advertisers can engage with their audience is via community-based advice sharing websites
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Ryanair reports loss
Mon, 2 Feb 2009
Ryanair has reported a "disappointing" net loss for the third quarter but expects to return to "substantial profitability" this year.
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Shop Direct revives Woolworths brand
Wed, 4 Feb 2009
The initial launch marketing of the re-emergent online store Woolworths.co.uk will be handled by the central marketing team of new owner Shop Direct. The team reports to marketing director Alison Broadhurst.
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Sportseen catches Windies tour deal
Tue, 3 Feb 2009
Sportseen, the perimeter advertising arm of sports marketing firm essentially, has been appointed by the West Indies Cricket Board to market and sell perimeter advertising for England's upcoming tour of the Caribbean. The tour starts this month and ...
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Teletext MD Matt Cheevers steps down
Tue, 3 Feb 2009
Teletext Holidays managing director Matt Cheevers has stepped down and has been replaced by sales and distribution director Victoria Sanders.
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The Competition Commission vetoes Project Kangaroo
Wed, 4 Feb 2009
The Competition Commission has blocked the proposed video on demand (VOD) venture Project Kangaroo. The joint venture between the BBC through BBC Worldwide, ITV and Channel Four has been blocked as the Commission concluded none of the remedies ...
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The halo effect
Thu, 29 Jan 2009
After the collapse of AIG, Man United is seeking a new sponsor. But its search is unlikely to be a struggle, as brands gain long-term kudos through association, says Mary-Louise Clews
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Thomas Cook picks former BT boss as brand director
Wed, 4 Feb 2009
Thomas Cooks marketing team is once more in upheaval with the appointment of former BT and Abbey executive Michael Johnson as brand director.
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UBC sells commercial division
Mon, 2 Feb 2009
UBC Media Group, which provides traffic and travel news to radio stations, has sold its commercial division to US company Global Traffic Network (GTN) for an initial £9m in cash.
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Value vs values in the 'third place'
Thu, 29 Jan 2009
In 2009 the great value people were used to in the boom time will change, as will ideas about privacy in an age of media saturation, says Marian Salzman
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Veronica Wadley leaves the Evening Standard
Mon, 2 Feb 2009
London Evening Standard editor Veronica Wadley has stepped down now the publication's new owner, Alexander Lebedev, has assumed the reins.
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Vodafone sees revenues rise 14%
Tue, 3 Feb 2009
Mobile phone operator Vodafone has reported a 14.3% increase in revenues for the fourth quarter of 2008, due to the weaker pound making overseas sales more valuable. The company reported revenue of £10.47bn for the last three months of 2008, up 14.3% on the same period last year.
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Walk in your customers' shoes
Thu, 29 Jan 2009
Brands can maintain, and even enhance, their reputation by taking steps to improve their customer experience and clearly demonstrating that they are in tune with the demands of their core market
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Woolworths brand bought by Telegraph owners
Mon, 2 Feb 2009
Woolworths is to be relaunched as an online brand after being bought by the owners of The Daily Telegraph.
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WPP acquires Red Dot Square Solutions
Wed, 4 Feb 2009
WPP Group, the second largest marketing services group, has acquired UK based retail customer behaviour research agency Red Dot Square Solutions.
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Yahoo ends Ads in RSS programme
Tue, 3 Feb 2009
Yahoo has closed its Ads in RSS programme, which allowed brands to serve contextual ads within RSS feeds, as the company continues to shut underperforming parts of its business.
