Look inside for ways to quell these rebellions

10 May 2012 | By Ruth Mortimer

‘There’s a new set of protesters and this time it isn’t a bunch of guys living in tents… these critics are corporate shareholders’

Brands are people too – so says Facebook

8 March 2012 | By Mark Ritson

‘Is Facebook giving away its own brand during its IPO?’

Why bonus culture is bad for RBS brand

9 February 2012 | By Mark Ritson

‘Paying out bonuses goes against RBS’ brand values’

Creative recycling reduces cost of innovation

26 January 2012 | By MaryLou Costa

Marketers have the opportunity to make significant cost savings by using their brand’s global resources to support local projects, according to research by the CIM seen by Marketing Week.

Celebrate the success of internal marketing

10 November 2011 | By Ruth Mortimer

Keith Moor, director of brand and communications at Santander, spends a whopping 40% of his time on internal marketing. At Marketing ...

BP escapes impact on brand reputation

10 November 2011 | By Mark Ritson

Just over a year ago I wrote a column that predicted the imminent demise of the BP brand. I pointed out that when a brand is positioned around associations like ’green’ and ’integrity’ and then commits the worst oil spill in modern times as a result of negligence and systemic mismanagement, the game is up.

There is wealth out there - brands just need to understand those who hold it

Wed, 2 Nov 2011 | By MaryLou Costa

While most people’s finances are being squeezed, there are still those who have cash to splash. But knowing where they are, how they think and how to reach them is another story.

Time for DM to be creative

Mon, 17 Oct 2011 | By Russell Parsons

Direct marketing has had a good week. Evidence suggests marketers are shifting larger chunks of their budget to direct channels. Now that more eyes are on DM the pressure is on to make sure that it is not seen as a temporary go to when a cheap option is needed but a creative, as well as good value, alternative.

Let’s make sure marketing is seen as an investment and not a cost

Thu, 13 Oct 2011 | By Russell Parsons

There is reason to be cheerful in the latest Bellwether report, which assesses the mood of senior marketers each quarter, but also cause for concern. Marketers should not be blind to the immediaterisks presented by the teetering UK economy, or completely shackled by them.

Referral fee ban benefits car insurance customers

Tue, 13 Sep 2011 | By Michael Barnett

The government is set to ban lawyers from buying data on drivers involved in accidents, a practice that has been blamed for rocketing car insurance premiums. That ban could not come soon enough.

LinkedIn still needs to add value to prove its worth

Fri, 5 Aug 2011 | By Lara O'Reilly

Wall Street had one small reason to raise a smile this morning amid the worldwide stock market crash: LinkedIn, the first major social networking site to go public, posted an unexpected profit in its first financial results.

Call centres should play a key role in the marketing mix

Mon, 11 Jul 2011 | By Russell Parsons

Santander’s decision to bring their call centres back to the UK is aimed at improving its own poor customer service record but it is also an indication of a renewed focus by brands on an often over looked direct marketing channel - contact centres.

Consumers want the choice to buy single newspaper articles online

Fri, 24 Jun 2011 | By Lou Cooper

It was announced this week that News International is to introduce PayPal’s fast checkout system, a move that speculation suggests could bring the introduction of micro-payments for online content from UK titles a step closer.

Stick to running your supermarkets Tesco

23 June 2011 | By Mark Ritson

Twenty-one years ago your humble marketing columnist was a not so humble marketing student. Back then I was in love withcomplexity. The more difficult the marketing theory, the more important and useful I felt it had to be to marketing practice.

Financial services brands are dealing with a complex customer

Tue, 21 Jun 2011 | By Branwell Johnson

Facebook’s fortunes depend on data

Mon, 13 Jun 2011 | By Michael Barnett

Data will be the key to Facebook’s financial future, especially in light of its expected stock market flotation. Perhaps that was never in doubt, but research released in the past week has underlined it emphatically.

Marketing Academy unveils second year of future leaders

Tue, 10 May 2011 | By Branwell Johnson

Potential marketing leaders of tomorrow have been selected for the second year of The Marketing Hall of Legends’ (MHL) intensive coaching and mentoring scheme, The Marketing Academy.

Transactional mail must keep an eye on customer sentiment

Mon, 28 Feb 2011 | By Branwell Johnson

If you keep an eye on the financial pages it's hard not to notice how both the banks and the utilities companies seem to be posting big profits while customers are being squeezed with rising charges.