Marketing Week articles from April 2009

Marketing Week archives from April 2009

King of Shaves reveals its first national ad campaign.
April 2, 2009... Challenger brand's outdoor activity spearheads #5m investment aimed at achieving #75m of sales King of Shaves is to launch its first national advertising campaign as it looks to make its Azor brand the best selling handle razor in the UK...

Asda agrees exclusive deal to stock mobility products.(Brief article)
April 2, 2009... Asda customers will be able to pick up foldable walking sticks and collapsible wheelchairs as part of their weekly grocery shop from next month. The supermarket is becoming the first national mainstream retailer to sell urine bottles and...

Futurebrand loses place on COI's #5m agency list.(Central Office of Information)(Brief article)
April 2, 2009... Central Office of Information has dropped Futurebrand, Dragon and Brandsmiths after a review of its #5m marketing, brand and strategy roster. Interbrand, RKCR/Y&R and Dave are among the new agencies added to the list of 54 approved to...

VisitEngland names first chief executive.(James Berresford)(Brief article)
April 2, 2009... VisitEngland, the new tourism body for England, has appointed its first chief executive, James Berresford, ahead of the launch of its first advertising campaign. Berresford is currently director of tourism at the Northwest Development...

New campaign: Dr Pepper 'worst' tagline returns.(Brief article)
April 2, 2009... Mother has devised the first new Dr Pepper television campaign to appear since 2003 under the brand's familiar "What's the worst that could happen?" banner. The ad is set in an American college and shows a student visiting the school...

ASA bans VW Golf fight ad till after 9pm watershed.
April 2, 2009... The Advertising Standards Authority has placed a 9pm restriction on a "shocking" television campaign for Volkswagen's Golf range after receiving 1,066 complaints, the fifth-highest number ever. The watchdog says the Matrix-style ad, which...

Mastercard lunches with Eden Project for first CSR campaign.
April 2, 2009... Mastercard announced earlier this week that it would run its first corporate social responsibility-themed Priceless ad campaign in the UK. The ads form part of a partnership between the credit card company and The Eden Project organisation...

Employment lawyer joins IPA's in-house advisory team.(Institute of Practitioners in Advertising)(Brief article)
April 2, 2009... The Institute of Practitioners in Advertising (IPA) has appointed Douglas Styles as its new full-time employment lawyer. He will advise all IPA member agencies on aspects of employment law and regulation, which can be relied on under the...

Thomas Cook hands HMDG foreign exchange project.(Thomas Cook Group Ltd.)(Hurrell Moseley Dawson Grimmer)(Brief article)
April 2, 2009... Thomas Cook has handed Hurrell Moseley Dawson Grimmer (HMDG) an advertising project to work on its foreign exchange offering. It is believed that HMDG was handed the brief after a pitch against other agencies. Thomas Cook's lead agency in...

St Luke's creates G20 summit viral.(St. Luke's Advertising)(Brief article)
April 2, 2009... St Luke's has created a viral online game for Fairtrade brand Divine Chocolate to tap into the interest generated by the G20 summit. The summit in London, which begins on Thursday (April 2), is helping place the spotlight on global trade,...

Ogilvy agencies take brand activation route.(Marketing and 141 Worldwide merged to create a new "brand activation" agency called Dialogue141)(Brief article)
April 2, 2009... Ogilvy-owned branding agencies Dialogue Marketing and 141 Worldwide have merged to create a new "brand activation" agency called Dialogue141. The new agency is led by former 141 Worldwide managing partner Neil Hamann, who takes the role of...

Maltesers brings the 'Daily Giggle' to Heart networks.(Brief article)
April 2, 2009... Global Radio's Heart Network has signed a sponsorship deal with confectionery brand Maltesers. The six-figure four-week campaign will broadcast on 12 stations including the flagship London station and some of the recently launched Heart...

Status Quo seeks sponsor for 40th anniversary tour with Getmemedia.(Brief article)
April 2, 2009... Rock band Status Quo is looking for a sponsor for its forthcoming 40th anniversary tour. The band is exploring a number of potential sponsorship opportunities including naming rights, branding, sampling and licensing opportunities for...

Freeview launches ads ahead of switchover.(Brief article)
April 2, 2009... Freeview is launching a marketing campaign focusing on converting customers to its services as part of the digital switchover. The campaign is part of a push to attract customers still confused over their digital options. The ads will bear...

Nick Jr signs deal with Gulliver's theme parks.(Nickelodeon UK signed deal for theme parks advertising)(Brief article)
April 2, 2009... Nick Jr, part of kids TV network Nickelodeon UK, has signed a one-year promotional deal with Gulliver's theme parks to feature its children's characters Dora the Explorer and Diego. Nick Jr, owned by Viacom, will be running activity in...

Trinity Comms loses founding partner Nunn.(Trinity Communications partner Phil Nunn resigns)(Brief article)
April 2, 2009... Media planning specialist Trinity Communications has parted company with one of its founding partners, Phil Nunn. Trinity was established by former Manning Gottlieb OMD directors Phil Nunn and Amy Lennox, and former Optimedia chief Simon...

Analysis: Digital media on curriculum will open marketing's potential.
April 2, 2009... Government proposals last week suggesting that children should learn how to use the social networking website Twitter, as well as blogs, webcams and podcasts, may appear to be a radical education overhaul but it may also offer an opportunity...

Lloyds TSB and HBOS start review of media accounts.(Brief article)
April 2, 2009... Lloyds Banking Group has started a review of the media planning and buying accounts for the Lloyds TSB and HBOS brands held by ZenithOptimedia and Vizeum respectively. Lloyds TSB Group has a media spend of about #41m and HBOS #43m. The...

The importance of partnerships in Lord Carter's Digital Britain.
April 2, 2009... Just two years ago, media relationships were largely based on competition, but in the current climate broadcasters are increasingly pulling together Gone are the days when battlelines were clearly drawn between new and old media - or...

LETTER: Why social media is an outfit for cutting-edge.(Letter to the editor)
April 2, 2009... I think Andrew Harrison's view of social media as an advertising medium (MW last week) starts from a basic misunderstanding of how people are acting in this space. He is correct in asserting that social networking does not fit into the model...

LETTER: Retailers are boosting use of the #1 price tag.(Letter to the editor)
April 2, 2009... Last week's Trends Insight (MW last week) provided some interesting thoughts on people's purchasing motives and decision-making criteria when in-store. However, some of our recent price and promotional analysis suggests that supermarkets have...

LETTER: Hotel groups forced to drop complacency.(Letter to the editor)
April 2, 2009... I'm responding to your article "When the big go boutique" (MW March 19). The current market conditions have been a wake-up call for some hotels. Until now some large hotel groups have been riding on the wave of consumerism and relying on...

VIEWPOINT: Marketing spend is part of the solution.(Viewpoint essay)
April 2, 2009... Now is not the time for marketers to lose their confidence. If a marketing director is certain that his or her new campaign is going to improve the top line by communicating their brand's message to the target audience within the allocated...

Drinks industry brews up project 10 to combat binge drinking epidemic.
April 2, 2009... An industry initiative to tackle anti-social drinking is being hailed as the Change4Life equivalent for drinks. But that isn't necessarily a good thing The drinks industry is part of the soft underbelly of dysfunction, inviting a good...

CUT AD SPEND: Don't lock away the marketing budget.
April 2, 2009... The customer isn't always right - especially not when it comes to marketing. Louise Jack investigates a worrying trend moving from the US to the UK, where brands are coming under public fire for 'squandering' cash on marketing activities ...

CUT AD SPEND: Marketing outcry: eye on the US.(Citigroup Inc.)(New York Mets)(Brief article)
April 2, 2009... Consumer fury over Citigroup's high profile marketing Bailed-out bank Citigroup's $400m (#273m) 20-year deal for the naming rights to base- ball team New York Mets' new stadium has been attacked by consumers as a prime example of...

DIGITAL SWITCHOVER: Battle for digital dominance.
April 2, 2009... The analogue TV signal in the UK begins being switched off next week, making the medium purely digital. But with several different players already fighting it out to become the top digital service provider, the switchover will see the...

DIGITAL SWITCHOVER: VIEWPOINT.(DTV Services Ltd.)(Viewpoint essay)
April 2, 2009... Rob Farmer, Freeview marketing communications director Freeview is now in two-thirds of UK homes. It is the primary viewing source for 9.7 million homes and on 15.9 million secondary sets. As the switchover progresses, marketing will...

DIGITAL SWITCHOVER: What's the difference.
April 2, 2009... Switchover schemes explained Freeview * One-off payment for the digital box or digital TV; no monthly subscription. * Access to more than 40 free digital TV channels, 20 free digital radio stations and interactive services through...

COSTA COFFEE: Costa aims to stir up debate.
April 2, 2009... The cappuccino specialist is using bold ads to promote the quality of its product range in a bid to explode the myth that all coffee is the same, while also taking a swipe at its rivals. By Jo Roberts Costa coffee is fighting its corner...

CONSUMER CONFIDENCE: Positive thinking makes a return.
April 2, 2009... The panic that gripped the nation when signs of recession appeared last summer is being replaced by a more optimistic mood among consumers - and marketers would be wise to take advantage The nation is split over the recession. The country...

MARKET RESEARCH: It's all in the mind.
April 2, 2009... Every brand's dream of being able to get inside the minds of consumers has moved a step closer with the development of neuromarketing techniques. Matthew Valentine looks beneath the skin Marketers have always wanted to be able to read the...

MARKET RESEARCH: CASE STUDY - PEPSI CHALLENGE.
April 2, 2009... The Pepsi Challenge blind taste test aimed to demonstrate that while more people bought Coca-Cola, it was the Pepsi taste they preferred when blindfolded. But Martin Lindstrom's book Buy-ology suggests the results may have been...

MARKET RESEARCH: And now... the science bit.
April 2, 2009... * fMRI scanning Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging uses scanners about the size of a car to measure blood flow and blood oxygenation in the brain, as this denotes brain activity. The process is non-invasive but it does require those...

Beware smiling Spanish taxi drivers: they're only after your cash.(travel industry)(Viewpoint essay)
April 2, 2009... Brits only ever went to Spain for cheap sun, sand and booze, so a false grin is unlikely to make us return to the increasingly expensive Costas Let us this week extend a sympathetic hand to the Spaniards, a noble race whose misfortune is...

Critics pan 'unreasonable' DoH report on soft drinks.(Brief article)
April 9, 2009... Government steps 'over the line' in urging marketers to spend more on low-calorie beverages Critics have labelled a government report urging soft drinks companies to increase marketing spend on low sugar drinks, as "unreasonable". ...

VisitBritain launches Euro Britain for Less campaign.(Brief article)
April 9, 2009... UK tourism board VisitBritain is this week rolling out the European phase of its Britain for Less campaign. The campaign is part of a major #6.5m global push to market Britain as an affordable destination. The strapline "See More for...

Cricket star Flintoff signs up as Sure ambassador.(cricketer Andrew Flintoff endorses Unilever )(Brief article)
April 9, 2009... Unilever's deodorant brand, Sure Men Sport, has signed up England cricketer, Andrew "Freddie" Flintoff, to be the brand's ambassador. Flintoff, who played a prominent role in the winning England team for the 2005 Ashes Series, will front...

Ethical ads boost Co-op's reputation.(Co-operative Group Ltd)(Brief article)
April 9, 2009... Perception of the Co-operative Group's brands appear to have benefitted from February's #10m ethical banking campaign. The "General" impression of the brand, as measured by YouGov's BrandIndex has steadily risen since the February 16...

New campaign: Minxybingo launches first TV ad.(Gala Coral is launches its first TV campaign )(Brief article)
April 9, 2009... Gala Coral is launching its first TV campaign for online bingo brand Minxybingo.com The ad comes as the gambling giant looks to raise awareness of its female-focused offering. Aimed at women aged 25 to 34 years old, Minxybingo.com sits...

Mastercard commits to Champions League deal.
April 9, 2009... Mastercard Worldwide has reaffirmed its commitment to sports sponsorship by extending its agreement with UEFA as official partner of the Champions League. The three-year deal will run until the end of the 2011-12 season and will see...

Coca-Cola confirms #30m stake in Innocent.
April 9, 2009... Coca-Cola confirmed this week it has a minority stake worth #30m in Innocent Drinks. The financial injection will form part of the smoothie company's move to expand across Europe. The confirmation follows weeks of speculation that the...

Experian promotes Turner to head interactive division.(Peter Turner )(Brief article)
April 9, 2009... Credit report company Experian has promoted former Tiscali and Freeserve marketer Peter Turner to managing director of its interactive division for UK and Ireland. He replaces Jim Hodgkins, who steps up to become managing director of...

Sainsbury's 'renaming' of Pollack as 'Colin' divides branding experts.(Brief article)
April 9, 2009... Sainsbury's may claim to have "renamed" the fish Pollack to "Colin" but legally it's not allowed to. Though the new packaging for the fish is not illegal - because it mentions that it is, in fact, Pollack inside - some of the claims the...

ASA bans POM Wonderful 'Cheat Death' ad.(Advertising Standards Authority)(Brief article)
April 9, 2009... A poster campaign for juice brand POM Wonderful has been banned by the Advertising Standards Authority for exaggerating the health benefits of the pomegranate juice brand. The advertisement showed a bottle of the product with a severed...

Missing People in national campaign.(Brief article)
April 9, 2009... Missing People, the charity organisation, is launching a national advertising campaign to help 12 families find their loved ones in 12 days. The outdoor campaign has been created by Intelligent Media on a pro bono basis. The ads will...

McCann Erickson handles relaunch of Haliborange.(McCann Erickson Manchester contracts with Haliborange)(Brief article)
April 9, 2009... McCann Erickson Manchester has been appointed to handle the relaunch of the Seven Seas children's vitamin brand Haliborange. Seven Seas has devised a new creative platform under the banner "Let them shine" and will introduce a new...

New campaign: Dog charity changes direction.(Dogs Trust)(Brief article)
April 9, 2009... Dogs Trust, the UK's largest dog welfare charity, is launching a new membership scheme as part of a change in strategy to attract more funding. The scheme will be promoted through a campaign created by Mather Communications. Launching...

Agencies gear up for organ donation pitch.(NHS Blood and Transplant)(Brief article)
April 9, 2009... NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) is planning a major multimedia campaign to promote awareness of organ donation in the UK. The Central Office of Information (COI) has invited a number of ad, media and PR agencies to pitch for the work,...

Bauer appoints Gort as Big City marketing head.(Bauer Media)(Catherine Gort)(Brief article)
April 9, 2009... Bauer Media has appointed Catherine Gort to the newly created role of head of marketing and communications for its Big City nationwide radio station network. Gort will have responsibility for developing an integrated marketing and...

Daily Mirror to promote basketball in run-up to London 2012 Olympics.(Brief article)
April 9, 2009... The Daily Mirror has signed a sponsorship deal to be the media partner of British Basketball as the sport's governing body looks to build basketball's media exposure in the run-up to the London 2012 Olympics. The two-year deal will...

Welcome to Yorkshire sponsors Heartbeat.(Welcome to Yorkshire contracts ITV)(Brief article)
April 9, 2009... Yorkshire tourism board Welcome to Yorkshire is to run a nine week sponsorship of ITV's long-running series Heartbeat. Set in Sixties' Yorkshire, Heartbeat has been running since 1992, sitting within the broadcaster's top five performing...

Shell joins Multimap to run online campaign.(Brief article)
April 9, 2009... Multimap, the Microsoft-owned online mapping service, has signed a partnership with Shell UK to run a nine-month online marketing campaign. The deal will include an integrated sponsorship position on the website's route planner, banners on...

Netplay TV signs Virgin Challenge Jackpot deal.(Virgin Media Television contracts with Netplay TV)(Brief article)
April 9, 2009... Virgin Media Television has agreed a deal with interactive gaming company Netplay TV to run the broadcaster's Challenge Jackpot brand. The agreement, which also includes the option for Virgin Media TV to acquire a 9.9% stake in Netplay...

Superdrug to distribute own title at rail stations.(Brief article)
April 9, 2009... Superdrug's women's customer title Dare is to relaunch as a handbag- size magazine this month and will be distributed outside major London Tube and rail stations. The bi-monthly publication which goes out across the high street chain's...

MPs warn that commercial activity risks 'jeopardising' BBC reputation.
April 9, 2009... The BBC must rein in its commercial operations or risk BBC Worldwide "jeopardising" the corporation's reputation, according to MPs. The Commons Culture, Media and Sport Committee has criticised controversial deals such as the #118m...

'No surprise' over axing of Maxim in print.(Dennis Publishing)(Brief article)
April 9, 2009... Dennis Publishing's decision to axe the print version of lads' monthly Maxim has been met with little surprise by rivals and buyers. A spokesperson for IPC, which publishes lads' weekly Nuts and monthly Loaded, says: "In the current...

Why communities will shape a new caring and sharing era.
April 9, 2009... Lily Allen's age of consumerism is dead! Welcome to a new era of premodernism where we will all strive to live within our means It is clear the unfolding economic crisis has undermined far more than our trust in financial institutions....

Entertainment can add value to sport.
April 9, 2009... Major sporting events must up their game Fifty quid doesn't go far these days in the worlds of sport and entertainment. It is, if you're lucky, a ticket to a top-flight gig or maybe a seat at a high-profile sporting fixture. But the...

LETTER: Motor Show axe opens window of opportunity.(Letter to the editor)
April 9, 2009... The cancellation of the British Motor Show next year will affect many of our car manufacturer clients, but it could free up budget for manufacturers to use on experiential, regional events that will enable manufacturers to communicate more...

LETTER: True virals do not need help from other media.(Letter to the editor)
April 9, 2009... The popularity, ease, speed and creative scope of viral communication makes it a tactic not to be overlooked in today's networked society (Is a viral campaign the best conversation opener a marketer has? (MW March 26). In the true...

LETTER: Understand dynamics of purchase decisions.(Letter to the editor)
April 9, 2009... Alan Mitchell is right to point out that the same marketing stimulus doesn't have the same level of effectiveness on all shoppers (MW March 26). The findings he quotes from the Bell Corsten and Knox research echo the findings from...

LETTER: Power of social mediaposes risk of misuse.(Letter to the editor)
April 9, 2009... With regard to media reports that Facebook users have been urged to track down a rapist, the trouble with using social networking sites to track down criminals is that you are potentially putting other innocent people at risk of being wrongly...

LETTER: Give communications the personal touch.(Letter to the editor)
April 9, 2009... Reading the article on maintaining customer loyalty (MW March 19), I was intrigued to see no mention of the importance of personalising marketing communications when targeting customers. What's the point in spending money on CRM solutions if...

LETTER: Consumers do not use decision tree model.(Letter to the editor)
April 9, 2009... There's a great deal of misunderstanding about the level of decision- making in-store (MW March 26) and arbitrary "statistics" bearing no relation to the complex realities of shopper behaviour are often parroted. But even more misguided is the...

LETTER: 97% of visitors leave sites empty-handed.(Letter to the editor)
April 9, 2009... Aimlessly pumping funds into online customer acquisition is no longer a prudent strategy for business growth (MW March 19) Almost every avenue has now been exhausted. As the cost of pay-per- click has risen ever higher, other vehicles such...

LETTER: Why social media is an outfit for cutting-edge.(Letter to the editor)
April 9, 2009... The letter Why social media is an outfit for cutting-edge (MW last week) was written by Molly Flatt, WOM Evangelist for global word-of- mouth agency 1000heads, of 8 Smarts Place, Holborn, London WC2B 5LW, not as stated. Copyright: Centaur...

LEADER: Innocent's Coke deal is far from a sell-out.
April 9, 2009... We all knew what to expect. We knew what the headlines would be when Innocent drinks sold a stake of its business to Coca-Cola. Monday's confirmation of a deal we all knew was coming (and which some of us don't think has yet run its full...

Why aren't agencies queuing up to win the greatest pitch on earth?
April 9, 2009... With the London 2012 Olympics account up for tender, all but a handful of agencies are showing great reluctance to bid for the business We've reached the second leg of the programme - the pitch for the big one, through to 2012 - and the...

ETHICAL COMPANIES: When the good influence the great.
April 9, 2009... Forget selling out your principles for the big bucks. The biggest trend in business is small companies 'selling in' their values and ethical philosophies to their larger corporate parents, finds Jo Roberts You often hear the tale of the...

ETHICAL COMPANIES: Case Study - Marketing Strategy.(Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream )(Brief article)
April 9, 2009... Large business: Unilever Small business: Ben & Jerry's The area of effect: Marketing strategy Ben & Jerry's has gone beyond serving scoops of fun-flavoured ice cream. It has changed the strategy of one of the world's largest...

ETHICAL COMPANIES: Case Study - Business strategy.(Burt's Bees Inc.)(Brief article)
April 9, 2009... Large business: Clorox Small business: Burt's Bees The area of effect: Business strategy On the face of it, the acquisition of upmarket personal care brand Burt's Bees by a company that sells cleaning products might appear...

ETHICAL COMPANIES: Case Study - Fairtrade accreditation.(Brief article)
April 9, 2009... Large business: Cadbury Small business: Green & Black's The area of effect: Fairtrade accreditation It was a welcome surprise when Cadbury announced its intentions to go Fairtrade on its main Dairy Milk product by the end of this...

3: Upwardly mobile.
April 9, 2009... Challenger mobile brand 3 is confident its focus on pay-as-you-go handsets and social networking, coupled with online advertising, will lay the foundations for future growth, says Joe Fernandez As the newest of the mobile networks in the...

ONLINE FASHION: Stuck in the middle ground.
April 9, 2009... Online sales have been the one success story for high street retailers in the past 12 months, but brands at both the highest and lowest ends of the market have so far failed to join the party The upward rise in ecommerce sales has been...

So you think your business is customer-centric? think again.(Viewpoint essay)(Brief article)
April 9, 2009... There are conflicting opinions as to what being customer-centric really means - and growing doubts as to whether such strategies even work Amazon. Apple. Nordstrom. How many organisations can you think of that deserve the label...

MOTIVATIONS & INCENTIVES: Retail offers focus on value.(buy one, get one free promotion)
April 9, 2009... As retailers expand their range of sales promotions to increasingly value-conscious consumers, Matthew Valentine learns the reliance on buy one, get one free offers may be coming to an end The ubiquitous buy one, get one free (BOGOF)...

EasyJet's 'customer experience champion' is the height of hot air.
April 9, 2009... What on earth is a 'Customer Experience Champion'? One thing is certain, it's a perfect example of the annoying trend of meaningless marketspeak A puzzled Leonard Glynn of Bristol writes to a national newspaper: "I have just received an...

Wal-Mart takes crown from Coke in top 500 global brands.(Wal-Mart Stores Inc.)(Brief article)
April 16, 2009... US retailer and owner of Asda is hailed as a 'consumer champion', helping recession-hit consumers US Asda parent Wal-Mart has knocked Coca-Cola from the top spot in the global brand league table compiled by Brand Finance. The soft...

ASA refers Lynx Bullet ads after complaints of sexism.(Advertising Standards Authority)(Brief article)
April 16, 2009... The Advertising Standards Authority has referred a campaign for Unilever's male body spray brand Lynx Bullet to the ASA Council after receiving a flurry of complaints that the advertisements are sexist and degrading to women. The...

Highland Spring plots to topple Evian as UK's No.1.(Brief article)
April 16, 2009... Highland Spring is rolling out an aggressive strategy to steal the top spot as the UK's biggest selling bottled water brand from Evian within the next two years, as it readies the launch of a new brand campaign next month. Currently,...

Consumers' regard for Innocent crashes.
April 16, 2009... Consumer perception of the Innocent Drinks brand has been hit by Coca- Cola's #30m investment, according to YouGov's BrandIndex "Buzz" rating. The smoothie maker's Buzz, a measure of whether people have heard positive or negative...

New campaign: McArthurGlen unveils TV push.(Brief article)
April 16, 2009... Designer shopping outlet chain McArthurGlen is launching an integrated campaign with a regional television ad created by Clear Marketing Communications. The 20-second ad launches this week and focuses on the brand's core proposition of...

AirMiles to offer loyalty scheme services.
April 16, 2009... AirMiles is launching a specialist division called The Mileage Company to offer management services for existing or new loyalty schemes. The Mileage Company will be a wholly owned subsidiary of British Airways and will run AirMiles and...