Marketing Week
Stuart Smith Editorial
Consultant Editor
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How much abuse can a brand put up with?
Online
The case of Gerald Ratner should serve as a reminder to every owner, president or CEO intent on hurling abuse at their brand
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Why the future of Google is a question of leadership
Wed, 26 Jan 2011
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Stuart Smith on Gary Digby and ITV
20 January 2011
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Is Unilever’s sustainability drive a hostage to fortune?
9th December 2010
Unilever chief executive Paul Polman stands to reap rich rewards if his strategy based on sustainability pays off, but the risks are high.
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Stuart Smith on festive TV campaigns
Thu, 18 Nov 2010
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Stuart Smith on ITV and CRR
11 November 2010
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Is Kraft killing the goose that lays the golden eggs?
Mon, 8 Nov 2010
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Crunch time for business sponsorship of the arts
30 September 2010
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Why winning at Cannes means so much to WPP
2 September 2010
If a Cannes award is the best measure of an agency’s creative prowess, then success next year is the only option open to WPP.
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Big Society
Wed, 11 Aug 2010
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Little cheer for drinks industry in Lansley’s public health scheme
Thu, 22 Jul 2010
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Who'll be in hot seat when retail musical chairs comes to an end?
17 June 2010
Leadership in the retail sector is not about the cult of individuals, it’s about the right strategy and executing it meticulously
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Stuart Smith on the BBC and video on demand
27 May 2010
If, like me, you are wondering why the Office of Fair Trading has given Project Canvas a clean bill of health after coming down so hard on Project Kangaroo, delving into the ruling may clear up the confusion.
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BP's brand plunges from Deepwater to Ground Zero
Wed, 12 May 2010
I’m beginning to feel sorry for Andrew Gowers. Having had an exemplary career at the Financial Times, he had the misfortune to become its editor.
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Stuart Smith on Coke's irreverence
22 April 2010
Unabashed by a reprimand from the Advertising Standards Authority last autumn, Coca-Cola’s Glaceau Vitamin Water is again courting controversy, this time with an on-pack promotion encouraging employees to take a “sickie”.
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Stuart Smith on Digital Britain
15 April 2010
As predicted last year, the Digital Economy Bill - despite swaggering assurances to the contrary from culture secretary Ben Bradshaw - has proved a wash-out, with most of the contentious and significant proposals being axed after grubby horse-trading with the Opposition.
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Fans have gone ape over Nestlé's Facebook profile
01 April 2010
Multinational brands that try to harness the power of social media run the very grave risk of getting their fingers burned
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Polman reshuffles Unilever's cabinet
25 March 2010
High-profile exits often follow the arrival of an outsider at the top - and Unilever is proving no exception to the trend
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A turning of the tide for commercial broadcasters
11 March 2010
Significant policy shifts at the BBC, Google and ITV suggest that change is in the air for television broadcasters in the UK.
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Stuart Smith on Unilever's CMO
11 March 2010
Congratulations to Keith Weed, who has just been appointed Simon Clift’s successor as global CMO at Unilever.
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Stuart Smith on Toyota's ad dilemma
04 March 2010
Sack him, or back him? That’s the dilemma facing Toyota chief Akio Toyoda as he mulls the advice from his agency chief, Bob Seelert - chairman of Saatchi & Saatchi Worldwide.
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Cameron unsheathes the sword of damocles
25 February 2010
David Cameron’s crusade against the sexualisation of children has little to do with solid policy, but it will have marketers falling into line
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Toyota's crash leaves hyundai in driving seat
18 February 2010
Hyundai is perched on the crest of a great opportunity but the car giant should remember the bigger they are, the harder they fall
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Stuart Smith on Kraft and Cadbury
11 February 2010
I’m reliably informed that former Cadbury European chief Tamara Minick-Scokalo is to become Kraft’s head of European confectionery.
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O2 brand is in the right place to extend reach beyond telecoms
04 February 2010
Losing its crown as the UK’s number one mobile provider should not cause a brand in such good shape as O2 undue concern
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Stuart Smith on John Terry
04 February 2010
Among the many footballing clichés pithily describing the dilemma of putative England captain John Terry my favourite is “own goal”.
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And now for a word on our political leaders
Wed, 27 Jan 2010
The Party Political Broadcast season is about to get under way, but given its inability to sway public votes, should we forego the masquerade?
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Stuart Smith: Why Kraft is a corporate identity crisis in the making...
Tue, 19 Jan 2010
Now that Kraft has acquired the highly-prized Cadbury brands -and turned itself into the world’s largest confectioner ahead of Mars/Wrigley - will it actually know what to do with them?
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Media specialists being held hostage by commodity cycle
21 January 2010
The understandable aim of cutting costs is not just having an adverse effect on media agencies, but on clients themselves
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Why product placement won't be damaging anyone's health
14 January 2010
The current grey market for PP may be not be ideal but it beats the minefield of the overtly commercial system Ofcom must negotiate
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Balance of power in global car industry moves east
07 January 2010
With the US toppled from its position as the world’s leading car manufacturer, how well will the Chinese wear their new crown?
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Stuart Smith on online video
07 January 2010
I was intrigued to read (in the Financial Times) that Simon Fuller, founder of 19 Entertainment, intends to pilot his new show not on television but on the internet.
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Stuart Smith on newspaper injunctions
17 December 2009
I am not often in agreement with Paul Dacre, editor in chief of Associated Newspapers, but last month I let bygones be bygones when he castigated Mr Justice Eady for his “arrogant and amoral” judgements that were imposing a privacy law on British newspapers.
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Stuart Smith on Ofcom's double standards
10 December 2009
If I were Jeremy Darroch, chief executive of BSkyB, I would be incandescent at Ofcom giving BT a sympathetic hearing over its proposal to cane consumers with extra broadband charges so it can replenish its pension fund.
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Why sponsors take the rough with the smooth
10 December 2009
Celebrities can get away with adultery, drug abuse, and worse because if they maintain public support brands will still back them
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Some cheer for advertisers in the healthy food debate
03 December 2009
Having entered into an informal coalition with government, advertisers have seen off the threat of more curbs - for now
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Stuart Smith on hair and the ASA
03 December 2009
It must be national bad hair week and I hadn’t noticed. Nothing else would explain the sudden profusion of hair-related controversies in the media.
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Where's the real power? Google versus Murdoch
19 November 2009
The obvious answer might be Murdoch, but beyond the hippy exterior of Google is a giant ‘organiser’ that holds sway across the globe
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Will lower levels of obesity reduce appetite for change?
12 November 2009
Perceived progress in the battle against childhood obesity is a greater threat to Change4Life than next year’s General Election
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Stuart Smith on the Maclaren recall
12 November 2009
Maclaren, the British baby pushchair brand, has just landed itself in the biggest crisis of its 44-year history after mishandling a recall of its products.
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Marketers will shape new face of high street banking
05 November 2009
The arrival of significant new entrants to the UK retail banking market will serve up a bean feast for the marketing community
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Branson tosses fat into the fire as ofcom moves to curb bskyb
28 October 2009
Only Ofcom has the power to dilute Sky’s dominance of the pay-TV market, but Sir Richard Branson will benefit hugely from it
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Risk taker responsible for reshaping the COI
21 October 2009
Mark Lund, chief executive of the COI, might only have been in his role for just over three months, but he is already planning a three-step programme to change how the governmental department in charge of communications operates.
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Pepsi shows how brand 'advocates' lack sparkle
21 October 2009
One danger of marketing in the digital age is that the tail of the brand will end up wagging the dog - as Pepsi discovered to its cost
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Mobile phone operators respond to the fear factor
08 October 2009
Vodafone’s new cuddly image is in stark contrast to the serious thinking behind it – to seize a strategic advantage in the war of convergence
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Scientifically unproven to boost your health
17 September 2009
An FSA campaign warning of high salt levels in cereal is just a prelude to a wider European attack on the claims of ‘probiotic’ foods
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Kraft’s Cadbury bid leaves Nestlé at the crossroads
10 September 2009
Nestlé’s resolute silence over consolidation in the confectionery sector may spell the end to its quest for world domination
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Commonwealth Games team starts dash for cash
27 August 2009
Heritage and branding may hinder Team Englad’s quest for sponsorship, but a ‘golden age’ of sport should see it win through.
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Why brands continue to surf the recession
13 August 2009
Own-brands may be de rigueur right now, but they will never get talked about in the White House…
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In search of the X factor
06 August 2009
What does Carla Calamity have in common with the Oxo Family? I’ll come to that in a minute, via Unilever.
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Apple’s un-PC habits defy our expectations
30 July 2009
With netbooks luring users away from more expensive computers, Apple must pull off another marketing coup to reinvent itself
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BBC funding on shaky ground
23 July 2009
The BBC’s success is the cause of the smash and grab on its funding. And there will be only one winner - the politicians
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Blame it on Big Food
09 July 2009
The scientific rationale for obesity in Western society has a crucial flaw - it credits humans with equal intelligence to a pet cat.
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Kotler provides seat belts for the bumpy ride ahead
02 July 2009
According to marketing guru Philip Kotler, long periods of prosperity are a thing of the past. Turbulent times are the new order
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It's brand apocalypse now for general motors
11 June 2009
GM’s decimation, brought about by a cocktail of weak captaincy, dud marketing and a deep recession, won’t be the only one we witness
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Chief executives lead climate change in csr
4 June 2009
Business leaders are at the forefront of an emerging CSR movement that is encouraging society to lead a more sustainable lifestyle
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Judge tests jury's appeal in court of public opinion
28 May 2009
A man at the heart of the British establishment wants to reform parliament. But it is not just public opinion that blocks Sir Paul’s path
