Marketing Week articles from December 2004

Marketing Week archives from December 2004

An autumn end to ITV's long fall.
December 2, 2004... ITV's appointment of Clare Salmon as marketing director brings to a close the long and circuitous quest to replace Jim Hytner. It's an apt symbol, perhaps, of the commercial television company's wider frustrations in 2004 drawing to some...

Non-UK bookmakers face legal crackdown.(United Kingdom)
December 2, 2004... Customs & Excise moves to restrict offshore bookmakers' advertising as part of online regulation The Government is planning to clamp down on the advertising and marketing activities of all bookmakers based outside the UK as it attempts to...

Coke aborts 'mid-carb' UK launch.
December 2, 2004... Coca-Cola Great Britain has axed plans to launch its "mid-calorie/mid- carbohydrate" cola C2 in the UK. The decision to scrap the intended launch comes in the same year as the disastrous launch of its Dasani bottled water (MW March 4). ...

Peugeot UK chief handed corporate relations role.
December 2, 2004... Peugeot UK marketing director Jon Goodman has been given a new role, at PSA Peugeot Citroen's London office, to be responsible for corporate and external relations for the group. He will be replaced by director of dealer development Andy...

Cadbury ads 'are too dark'.
December 2, 2004... Cadbury Trebor Bassett is understood to have been forced to soften the advertising for Cadbury Dairy Milk after the humour in the first two ads was considered too dark. It is believed Cadbury is pleased with the underlying "happiness"...

Agencies and brands join forces to support Band Aid.
December 2, 2004... Automotives brand Mercedes, watch brand Seiko and Channel 4, ITV and MTV are donating Christmas advertising spots to support Band Aid 20. Other brands are being encouraged to follow suit by advertising agencies such as Abbott Mead...

Jacobs Bakery brands face axe in wake of United Biscuits review.
December 2, 2004... United Biscuits (UB) has started a review of the biscuit brands that it recently acquired from Jacobs Bakery with a view to scrapping competing and underperforming brands. It is understood that the review is due to be completed in...

Sainsbury's appoints Safeway development director.
December 2, 2004... Sainsbury's supermarket has appointed Safeway own-brand chief Judith Batchelar to head the team looking after its Sainsbury's-branded product range. As director of Sainsbury's brand, Batchelar will be specifically charged with...

AA announces marketing redundancies.
December 2, 2004... The AA is making 130 marketing and communications roles redundant following the ousting of AA financial services managing director Clare Salmon and marketing director Emma Kenny in October (MW October 7). Salmon has this week been appointed...

ITV appoints marketing director.
December 2, 2004... After searching high and low and one false start, ITV has finally settled on its new marketing director, Clare Salmon. It is thought that she was not the broadcaster's first choice. PepsiCo vice-president for marketing and franchise Tim...

Philadelphia Light launches 'healthy living' sandwiches.
December 2, 2004... Kraft Foods is launching a range of pre-packaged sandwiches using its Light Philadelphia brand. This marks the first time that Kraft has used Philadelphia as an ingredient in another product. The sandwiches, to be launched in January,...

Ad industry 'still ignores the disabled'.
December 2, 2004... Marketing directors and advertising agencies are still ignoring the disabled, according to speakers at a debate held by Scope. At the event held in London last week, Good - The Agency strategy director Max Burt asked how many brands were...

Findus UK axes diet brand as part of product review.
December 2, 2004... Findus UK, the frozen food brand, is planning to axe its diet brand Feeling Great! Lean Cuisine just over a year-and-half after it was reintroduced. It is part of an extensive review of the brand's product portfolio. The brand is...

William Hill appoints online chief.
December 2, 2004... Gambling giant William Hill has promoted group marketing director Peter Nolan to head its online and interactive business. He replaces Bill Haygarth, who has retired. The company is searching for an internal replacement for Nolan to lead...

ASA slams Newspaper Marketing Agency over 'stiletto' campaign.
December 2, 2004... The Newspaper Marketing Agency, the marketing body for the newspaper industry, has had its wrists slapped by the Advertising Standards Authority for the third time in just over two months. The ASA has upheld 81 complaints against its...

ASA investigating complaints against Vodafone.
December 2, 2004... The ASA is investigating complaints against a Vodafone poster advertisement featuring human kidneys. The ad uses the strapline: "Human kidney for sale. Available to the highest bidder... with 250 texts per month, you won't be so broke at the...

Swan Hellenic picks sales director to front ad team.
December 2, 2004... Premium cruise line Swan Hellenic has handed marketing duties to its sales director Andrew Magowan following the planned departure of marketing director Carolanne Dieleman. Marketing and brand delivery director Dieleman is leaving the...

Focus marketing director departs.
December 2, 2004... Focus marketing director Sue Gosling has suddenly left the DIY retailer after only eight months in the role. Her departure coincides with the news that holding company Focus Wickes is considering a possible trade sale to a rival. It...

RB to spend #6m on Finish 4-in-1 launch.
December 2, 2004... Reckitt Benckiser is preparing for the #6m launch of what it says is the biggest innovation in the dishwashing market in four years: Finish 4-in-1 dishwashing detergent. The range will join the company's Finish 3-in-1 brand as one of the...

Correction: MediaCom.(Correction Notice)
December 2, 2004... In our story 'MediaCom forced to bury Olympic support evidence' (MW November 18), we suggested that MediaCom decided not to publicise a sensitive piece of research on support for the 2012 Olympic bid because of pressure from the Central...

Burger King baguettes.
December 2, 2004... Burger King is launching a range of bake-and-serve fresh baguettes at the start of December. The range, which will be sold in four flavours, will be supported by a television, radio and press campaign, created by Delaney Lund Knox Warren....

EasyGroup to launch website.
December 2, 2004... EasyGroup is to launch easyJobs.com, a website that allows users to search for jobs or post their CVs free of charge, in partnership with online careers company Monster.com. Copyright: Centaur Communications Ltd. and licensors

easyMobile deal.
December 2, 2004... Stelios Haji-Ioannou's virtual mobile phone service, easyMobile, will launch next March after the entrepreneur signed a deal to use T- Mobile's network. Danish telecoms operator TDC will run the network and handle billing. Copyright:...

Club 18-30 refreshes brand.
December 2, 2004... Club 18-30 has refreshed its brand with a new logo designed by Fellowship Productions. New advertising is also expected in early 2005, from Saatchi & Saatchi. Copyright: Centaur Communications Ltd. and licensors

Christian Cull promoted.
December 2, 2004... Waitrose head of press and PR Christian Cull is being promoted to marketing director. He will take up his post in January, when Waitrose director of selling and marketing Mark Price becomes development director for the John Lewis Partnership,...

Volkswagen marketing strategy.
December 2, 2004... Volkswagen AG has denied suggestions that the main Volkswagen marketing strategy is to be changed and that its models will no longer be pitched at the premium end of each segment they are sold in. Copyright: Centaur Communications Ltd....

BT entertainment division.
December 2, 2004... BT has announced the creation of an entertainment division - the brainchild of Danon - to be led by head of BT Rich Media Andrew Burke. The new division will provide television and video services over broadband. Copyright: Centaur...

Pierre Danon to leave.
December 2, 2004... BT Retail chief executive Pierre Danon is to leave the company in the new year to become chief operating officer at IT services group Cap Gemini. His departure has sparked rumours of a radical restructure that could see BT Retail and BT Global...

Heinz in hunt agency for launch of low-carb range.(Brief Article)
December 2, 2004... Heinz is seeking an advertising agency to launch its first range of low- carbohydrate products, called Carb Check. It is not known if Heinz is talking to its roster agencies Leo Burnett or WCRS. It is understood that the company is in the...

Casio reviews G-Shock out of Doner.
December 2, 2004... Casio has parted company with advertising agency Doner Cardwell Hawkins, which handles the G-Shock watch brand, as it starts an advertising review for its consumer electronics and timepiece portfolio. It is understood the company is keen to...

Portman Group campaign.
December 2, 2004... The Portman Group launches a cinema advertising campaign across the UK today (Wednesday) to highlight the dangers of binge drinking among women. Created by London-based agency Iodine Media, the ad highlights the 'Jekyll and Hyde' effect of...

Toucan to rethink #3m ad business.
December 2, 2004... Telecoms company Toucan is reviewing its estimated #3m advertising account held by BMB. The review is being overseen by marketing manager Miles Barry and comes at a time when the race to lure customers away from BT is intensifying. The...

Leagas wins Euro Bacardi vodka task.
December 2, 2004... Bacardi-Martini has appointed Leagas Delaney to handle its multi- million pound pan-European account for vodka brand Eristoff. The non- roster agency won the business after a pitch against several undisclosed European agencies. The...

Golley Direct beats three to take Mitsubishi UK account.
December 2, 2004... Mitsubishi Motors UK has appointed Golley Direct to its multi-million pound direct marketing account after a four-way pitch against undisclosed agencies. The review, which started in August (MW August 5) was overseen by Mitsubishi...

Correction.
December 2, 2004... Greene King's press advertisement featuring the barrel of a gun was created by WFCA Integrated and not Miles Calcraft Briginshaw Duffy, as suggested in Marketing Week last week. Copyright: Centaur Communications Ltd. and licensors

cdp-travissully campaign.
December 2, 2004... cdp-travissully has created a press campaign for NEC to promote the mobile phone manufacturer's range of 3G handsets. The campaign breaks next week. Copyright: Centaur Communications Ltd. and licensors

Merle reappointed.
December 2, 2004... Merle, the Scottish agency, has been reappointed to handle the next stage of the Scottish Dairy Marketing Company's celebrity-led campaign that aims to persuade people to drink milk. Copyright: Centaur Communications Ltd. and licensors

Buena Vista account.
December 2, 2004... Buena Vista Home Entertainment is reviewing its trade marketing account held by Boy Meets Girl. The incumbent will work on advertising and promotional activity with trade partners. Copyright: Centaur Communications Ltd. and licensors

Closer campaign.
December 2, 2004... Closer, the experiential marketing agency, has created a campaign to support the launch of Peperami Firestick. It will include a sampling campaign at key sports events to target its key market of 18- to 30- year-old men. Copyright:...

1576 campaign.
December 2, 2004... 1576 has developed the new 'urban active' cinema and television advertising campaign for VisitScotland. The ads emphasise that short city breaks can also embrace the countryside, and has the strapline 'On a Scottish city break, it's easy to...

Agency Assessments International survey.
December 2, 2004... An Agency Assessments International survey shows that clients believe local agencies give an all-round better performance than their multinational counterparts. The survey questioned 21 prominent advertisers. Copyright: Centaur...

MSA outdoor campaign.
December 2, 2004... MSA has created an outdoor campaign to support Fujifilm's range of digital cameras over Christmas. It will use the strapline 'For Digital Cameras - Say Fuji'. Copyright: Centaur Communications Ltd. and licensors

Unilever shortlist.
December 2, 2004... Unilever Ice Cream & Frozen Food has shortlisted Craik Jones Watson Mitchell Voelkel, Joshua, EHS Brann and Tullo Marshall Warren to pitch for its direct marketing account. Copyright: Centaur Communications Ltd. and licensors

LG Electronics global advertising.
December 2, 2004... LG Electronics is understood to have shortlisted Euro RSCG London, Leo Burnett, Saatchi & Saatchi and Young & Rubicam for its global advertising business, which is worth over #80m (MW last week). Copyright: Centaur Communications Ltd. and...

Wanadoo account.
December 2, 2004... Wanadoo is understood to have appointed Dare to its #10m digital marketing account following a pitch against Agency Republic, Profero and TBWA/GGT. Incumbent iTraffic, now part of Agency.com, did not repitch. Copyright: Centaur...

Innocent Drinks advertising.
December 2, 2004... Innocent Drinks has confirmed HHCL/Red Cell will handle its next advertising project. Innocent has worked with Fallon since launch but describes the arrangement as an 'open marriage'. Copyright: Centaur Communications Ltd. and licensors

AA launches pitch for #33m media account.
December 2, 2004... The AA has put its #33.2m media planning and buying account out to pitch, after it decided to make a further 130 roles in marketing and communications redundant this week. The review is being overseen by AA road sales and marketing director...

British Gas to sponsor UKTV Xmas output.
December 2, 2004... British Gas has signed a multi-million pound blanket sponsorship deal covering Christmas programming on UKTV during December. The deal will see British Gas sponsor most of UKTV's Christmas schedule, including top-rated shows such as...

Boots ponders in-store TV roll-out.
December 2, 2004... Boots is considering rolling out an in-store television network in up to 300 stores. It is using Avanti to test a service in a handful of outlets, including one in the Meadowhall shopping centre, Sheffield. The retailer has yet to make...

London Heliport in #1m sponsorship hunt.
December 2, 2004... Weston Group, which owns and operates the London Heliport in Battersea, is offering a series of sponsorship packages, worth #1m in total. The group is seeking luxury goods and prestige car manufacturers to display their logos on the landing...

A1 Grand Prix UK race under threat.
December 2, 2004... Motor racing championship A1 Grand Prix could face a UK ban should the sport continue with plans to carry tobacco sponsorship on its racing cars. No tobacco sponsorship will be allowed in European countries, including the UK, following...

Disney plans rebrand for Fox Kids in the UK.
December 2, 2004... Disney-owned Fox Kids is to rebrand in the UK from January 1, 2005 as Jetix with what will be the channel's largest marketing campaign to date. The channel will use cinema advertising for the first time as the driving force behind the...

This Is Money website redesign.
December 2, 2004... Associated New Media's This Is Money website is undergoing its first redesign. New editorial sections, more advice and user-friendly navigation will be added, as well as larger and more creative ad formats. Copyright: Centaur...

Concert for the people of Darfur.
December 2, 2004... Jazz FM is teaming up with the United Nations refugee agency to stage a concert at London's Royal Albert Hall. The concert will raise money for the people of Darfur in Sudan, and will be presented by Jazz FM's Kevin Greening. Copyright:...

Research from NMA.
December 2, 2004... The Newspaper Marketing Agency has unveiled research which shows that including newspapers in a multimedia campaign can double brand commitment. Publishers that are members of the NMA are offering free advertising space worth #10m to companies...

First company to sign up.
December 2, 2004... EasyJet is the first company to sign up for Gatwick Airport's new media site, a welcome arch over the approach to the South terminal. EasyJet will advertise on the arch for 12 months in a deal worth #300,000. The deal was mediated by JC...

In talks with broadcasters.(Brief Article)
December 2, 2004... The Government is in talks with broadcasters to create television shows that will enable viewers to vote on who receives National Lottery funding. The next lottery licence will last for up to 15 years under the National Lottery Bill, published...

Monthly sales figures.
December 2, 2004... The National Magazine Company has announced that it is releasing monthly sales figures for the last three ABC figures - January to June 2004; July to December 2003 and January to June 2003, making it the first UK publisher to release monthly...

New division.
December 2, 2004... Boosey & Hawkes, the classical music publisher, has opened a new division aimed at encouraging advertising agencies to use more classical music. It follows the appointment of former Classic FM managing director Roger Lewis as deputy chairman....

Robert Ray appointed.
December 2, 2004... The Newspaper Society has appointed Robert Ray as marketing director. He is a former manager of Starcom Worldwide's Procter & Gamble global business unit and runs his own business consultancy. Copyright: Centaur Communications Ltd. and...

Sky Media and EMAP Advertising reach agreement.
December 2, 2004... Sky Media, the advertising sales house of BSkyB, and EMAP Advertising have reached an agreement to extend their advertising sales partnership to the end of 2009. Copyright: Centaur Communications Ltd. and licensors

Frontrunner to sponsor Chelsea shirt.
December 2, 2004... Siemens is a frontrunner to sponsor the Chelsea football shirt, as first revealed in Marketing Week (July 8). Siemens is already the club's telecoms partner. Copyright: Centaur Communications Ltd. and licensors

Stella in 'sell your soul' game mystery.
December 2, 2004... Stella Artois is behind a mysterious online game in which players are offered the chance to sell their souls to the devil. In the game, players follow clues posted on a variety of websites, in e-mails and in above-the-line ads to win a prize...

'Slow' sites at risk from boom in high-speed users, says Nielsen.
December 2, 2004... More than half of all internet users now access the Web using a high- speed connection - more than 128 kilobytes per second (kps) - allowing them to play the latest games and download videos and music much faster. And websites that cannot...

Two-thirds of UK companies fail to act on their Web data.
December 2, 2004... UK companies are wasting more than half of the data they collect through their websites and other online activities, according to research from predictive analytics company SPSS. And most of those that do use the data are analysing it in the...

Promoting safe e-commerce.(Brief Article)
December 2, 2004... Self-regulatory bodies from Europe, Asia and North America have formed an committee to establish a new body, the Global Trustmark Alliance (www.globaltrustmarkalliance.org), to promote safe e-commerce around the world. Copyright:...

John Hosie appointed.
December 2, 2004... Web Diversity, the search engine marketing company has appointed John Hosie as head of sales and marketing. Hosie was formerly business development director of Shopping.com. Copyright: Centaur Communications Ltd. and licensors

Sharon Lang leaving.
December 2, 2004... AOL UK vice-president of marketing Sharon Lang is leaving the company in the new year. It is understood that the marketing department is being restructured, and her position will be abolished. AOL spends an estimated #42m on advertising,...

Sponsorship to reveal its full brand potential.
December 2, 2004... ITV Sales' decision to switch its 'recall' sponsor measuring service for a qualitative data-based one reflects the industry's mood to make sponsorship a credible brand-building tool. By David Benady Slapping a brand name next to a...

Who cares who wins? A General Election is good news for media.
December 2, 2004... A May poll looks increasingly likely. While supply may be tight for advertisers, media owners will have more customers at higher rates. By Martin Greenbank Last week, The Sun reported that the General Election is to be held on May 5,...

Ofcom rules make waves in local community radio.
December 2, 2004... Last week bids closed for Ofcom's five-year community radio licences, but it would seem that it wasn't an entirely level playing field, says Torin Douglas This is a tale of three local radio stations - so local they could all be...

Rising star VOD poised to upstage the DVD.
December 2, 2004... Dixons may think it is keeping ahead by not selling VHS players, but film rental companies believe video on demand is the future, not DVD, leaving retailers out in the cold. Martin Croft reports The Seventies' hit single "Video Killed the...

When will 3G press all the right ad buttons?(Third-Generation)
December 2, 2004... Sending consumers video ads to their 3G phone is now possible, and with user numbers set to explode, there is much potential for advertisers. But will the public catch on? asks Robert Lester The advent of third-generation (3G) mobile...

Raising the stakes online.
December 2, 2004... As the developing online gaming industry heads towards a period of consolidation following deregulation, many companies are investing huge sums of money in marketing to see off the competition and build trust with gamblers. By Daniel Thomas ...

PROFILE - MARK PRICE: PRICE AND QUALITY.
December 2, 2004... Waitrose's marketing director, having introduced and nurtured the supermarket's distinctive positioning, is about to take on a key role in shaping the future of the John Lewis Partnership. Amanda Wilkinson finds an ambitious man driven by a...

Letter: Promoting promotions? Do research.(Letter to the Editor)
December 2, 2004... Robert Lester's article on sales promotion (MW November 18) raised a number of issues relating to poorly thought-out promotions and their questionable return on investment. For me, this simply highlights how vital it is that, if agencies...

Letter: You'll find SP alive and well.(Letter to the Editor)
December 2, 2004... I cannot let your recent article on sales promotion (MW November 18) go unchallenged. Sales promotion remains at the core of commercial communications: 97 per cent of all direct mail contains a promotional marketing element. Take a...

Letter: Slim pickings for London eateries.(Letter to the Editor)
December 2, 2004... By accusing the UK restaurant trade of being "lazy and greedy", George Pitcher (MW November 18) betrays a limited understanding of the business. London's dining scene is one of the most precarious and margin-constrained businesses around,...

Will Aldi be the saviour of our high street shops?
December 2, 2004... By announcing plans for aggressive expansion, a German discount retailer is challenging received market wisdom. George Pitcher gets out his crystal ball It's fun to develop a fantasy projection of the future of retail, starting from German...

A strong brand was Bush's ticket to the White House.(George W. Bush)
December 2, 2004... Billions of dollars, the Web and a '$400,000 media bomb' all had parts to play in the presidential race - but consistency was the clincher, says Polly Devaney As Manhattan commuters approached the George Washington Bridge on the morning...

FACTFILE: It still pays to go on the offensive.
December 2, 2004... Despite years of shock ads, such tactics still get through to consumers. Yet if they are to work well, it appears that they need to be serious in both tone and content Since the early Eighties, consumers have been exposed to a tidal wave...

SPECIAL REPORT - DESIGN: Daring to be different.
December 2, 2004... Every brand wants its product packaged in a powerful design that will stand the test of time. However, numerous obstacles, from sketchy briefs to over-reliance on customer research, mean that the end product is often a pale impression of what...

Toilet paper research is going through the motions.
December 2, 2004... It may be soft, strong and very, very long, but 'luxury' bathroom tissue is also blocking the UK's drains. Obviously marketers are to blame, says Iain Murray Clever people hold marketing to blame for many evils, notably inducing less...

The MP3 waiting in Santa's grotto.(Column)
December 9, 2004... To update the line from Dire Straits' Money for Nothing, I want my MP3. Retailers may generally bemoan the rotten Christmas they claim they're about to have, but there's no sign of Santa tightening his belt where technology and telecoms are...