Marketing Week articles from July 2003

Marketing Week archives from July 2003

Can P&G put a topspin on Ariel? (This Week).(Tim Henman for Proctor & Gamble)
July 3, 2003... Few Tim Henman supporters will be rooting for him more vigorously this week than the normally sober, buttoned-down executives in Procter & Gamble's UK offices. For housewives' favourite Henman is also one of P&G's most valuable allies. As...

Orange boss forced to defend 'Learn' ads: Marketing chief Jeremy Dale to present two-hour testimony of campaign.(Brief Article)
July 3, 2003... Orange vice-president of marketing Jeremy Dale, is taking the unprecedented step of publicly defending the company's current high-profile Learn initiative following a barrage of criticism. At a two-hour briefing, set to rake place today...

Co-op picks brand chief to span group.(Terry Hudghton )(Brief Article)
July 3, 2003... The Co-operative Group has appointed a supremo to oversee branding across all its consumer facing businesses, including food retail, funerals, travel and pharmacy. Terry Hudghton has been promoted from his previous role as head of Co-op...

Williams signs Bud in [pounds sterling]50m F1 deal.(Budweiser sponsors Formula One team)(Brief Article)
July 3, 2003... Formula One team BMW Williams is to sign beer giant Budweiser as a sponsor in a five-and-a-half year deal worth about [pounds sterling]10m a year. The beer brand will be positioned prominently on the team's cars in time for the British...

Barclays blasts industry for 'pushing debt'.(director Frederic Nze's comments)(Brief Article)
July 3, 2003... Barclays Bank has broken rank to attack the financial services industry for irresponsible marketing and encouraging unsustainable debt levels. Barclays consumer finance director Frederic Nze says the industry has been guilty of pushing a...

Camelot appoints Orange marketer for good causes. (News).(Nicole Louis)(Brief Article)
July 3, 2003... Camelot has appointed ex-Orange marketing chief Nicole Louis to the newly created position of marketing controller. Louis will take responsibility for the good causes advertising campaign, created by WCRS, which is scheduled to run until...

Wm Grant to launch whisky 'for women'. (News).(William Grant & Sons)(Brief Article)
July 3, 2003... William Grant & Sons, the Scotch whisky company, is expected to launch a new product, aimed at women. The launch follows a research project that looks at how women want to be communicated to by advertisers. According to a William Grant &...

GSK launches Lucozade 'clear' extension. (News).(GlaxoSmithKline)(Brief Article)
July 3, 2003... GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) is to launch a new Lucozade variant -- Lucozade Citrus Clear -- this autumn, marking the core Lucozade Energy brand's first new variant for nearly eight years. Lucozade Citrus Clear is a Lucozade Energy variant,...

Former Sega marketer to join Activision. (News).(Alison Turner )(Brief Article)
July 3, 2003... Activision has hired Alison Turner as head of marketing for UK and Europe except France, Germany and the Nordic countries. She will report to UK general manager Roger Walkden. Turner was formerly UK marketing director at Sega Europe, where...

Air Miles incensed as lastminute.com pulls ad. (News).(Brief Article)
July 3, 2003... Air Miles has declared war on rival travel company lastminute.com after the latter pulled advertising booked by Air Miles to promote its new website. Air Miles booked an advertising campaign, created by TBWA/London, to break on the...

Benetton chooses Fiat man as marketing boss. (News).(Maximo Ibarra)(Brief Article)
July 3, 2003... Italian fashion retailer Benetton has appointed Maximo Ibarra as marketing director as part of a restructure of its senior management team. It follows the appointment of former head of Fiat Financial Services Silvano Cassano as chief executive...

Intelligent Finance picks marketing and products director. (News).(Brief Article)
July 3, 2003... Intelligent Finance has appointed Duncan Movassaghi to the newly created position of director of products and marketing. After the retirement of director of marketing Angela McIntosh in August 2002, the bank integrated sales and marketing....

Homebase appoints new project head. (News).(Clive Briscoe)(Brief Article)
July 3, 2003... GUS-owned Homebase has appointed Clive Briscoe -- the former marketing director of the holding company's home shopping business, which was recently sold to the Barclay brothers -- as marketing projects manager. Briscoe's arrival at the DIY...

Travelodge names sales and marketing director. (News).(Brief Article)
July 3, 2003... Former long-serving bmi marketer Simon Gregory has been appointed sales and marketing director for budget hotel brand Travelodge. Gregory left his position as marketing director at bmi at the end of February without a job to go to (M W...

British Gas appoints ex-Woolwich marketer. (News).(Brief Article)
July 3, 2003... British Gas has appointed former Woolwich marketer Sue Sjuve to the newly created position of head of customer retention, reporting directly to director of marketing and strategy Nick Smith. As top marketer at Barclays Bank-owned Woolwich,...

L'Oreal set to launch men's skincare line. (News).(Brief Article)
July 3, 2003... L'Oreal is to launch a male grooming range at the beginning of next year to challenge Nivea for Men. Known as Lancome Homme in France -- where it launched last week -- the range includes two cleansing products, two shaving products, two...

Survey reveals 'inadequate' state of internal marketing. (News).(Brief Article)
July 3, 2003... Many organisations are not in a position to deliver their brand experience because of insufficient internal marketing, according to a study commissioned by internal communications agency Intercommunic 8. The agency warns that failure to...

Iceland picks top online marketer. (News).(Brief Article)
July 3, 2003... Iceland has promoted marketing manager for home shopping Lee Pinnington to the top job at the online operation. As head of home shopping, Pinnington takes over responsibility for the division from managing director for home shopping Jon...

Kitchen Range Foods to launch burger tie-in. (News).(with Henry J Beans)(Brief Article)
July 3, 2003... Snack-food manufacturer Kitchen Range Foods has signed a deal with bar and grill brand Henry J Beans to launch a chilled burger-and-bun snack product. The product is expected to be launched this summer. The burger will be positioned as a...

Interbrew. (Digests).(Brief Article)
July 3, 2003... Interbrew's chief marketing officer Brent Willis is understood to have been promoted within the brewing company, according to industry sources.

Ofcom. (Digests).(Office of Communication aims)(Brief Article)
July 3, 2003... Ofcom chief executive Stephen Carter, speaking at the Incorporated Society of British Advertisers' lunch, has made it clear that the interests of advertisers will be taken on board by the new regulator.

London Electricity Group. (Digests).(Brief Article)
July 3, 2003... London Electricity Group, owned by French-utility giant EDF, has rebranded itself to EDF Energy, as revealed exclusively in Marketing Week (March 13). The group's London Electricity brand has been rebranded to London Energy; SWEB becomes SWEB...

Liberty. (Digests).(Brief Article)
July 3, 2003... Liberty, the department store, has appointed Deborah Fitzgerald as director of marketing and communications. She joins from London arts company The Hospital.

The Casino Operators' Association. (Digests).(Brief Article)
July 3, 2003... The Casino Operators' Association has attacked government plans to liberalise the UK's gambling laws. The body says that deregulation of the industry could lead to criminal activity and gambling addiction.

Stylo. (Digests).(Brief Article)
July 3, 2003... Stylo has appointed Judith Milling as managing director of its Shellys footwear chain. Milling joins from Ted Baker, where she was brand manager for footwear.

Powergen. (Digests).(Brief Article)
July 3, 2003... Powergen has scrapped TXU Energi's controversial late-payment tariff, which penalised customers paying their bills late with an extra charge, following the rebranding of TXU as Powergen. TXU was acquired by Powergen last October.

John David Group. (Digests).(Brief Article)
July 3, 2003... John David Group, the sportswear retailer, has appointed Steve White as marketing director for its fashion fascia businesses, including Athleisure Cobra, AV, Boxx and Open.

Smart. (Digests).(Smart ForFour hatchback)(Brief Article)
July 3, 2003... Smart is sponsoring Robbie Williams' European tour this summer, to promote its new Smart ForFour hatchback. The sponsorship will be accompanied by promotional activity in nightclubs and displays of the new car.

Coty. (Digests).(Brief Article)
July 3, 2003... Coty is to extend the Adidas brand with a deodorant, body spray, aftershave and shower gel fragrance called Urban Spice. TV ads, created by J Walter Thompson, breaks in September.

Paragon. (Digests).(Brief Article)
July 3, 2003... Paragon is to rebrand Britannic Money as The Mortgage Trust, following its purchase of Britannic this week for [pounds sterling]19m. The company is conducting an integration review of its marketing department.

Tate & Lyle. (Digests).(Brief Article)
July 3, 2003... Tate & Lyle plans a campaign, backed by chef Gary Rhodes, to raise interest in home baking and drive cane sugar sales.

Braun. (Digests).(Brief Article)
July 3, 2003... Braun is launching a premium razor with a foil that been designed with differently shaped holes facing in different directions to catch all the hairs on a man's face. The Activator, is launched this month.

Government draws up list for disability campaign. (Agencies).(Brief Article)
July 3, 2003... The Government is planning to launch a multi-million pound advertising campaign aimed at challenging disability discrimination. It is understood that the Department of Work and Pensions is already in talks with agencies about a pitch. The...

Aquados appoints Faulds for [pounds sterling]2m campaign. (Agencies).(Brief Article)
July 3, 2003... Scottish detergents manufacturer Aquados has appointed Faulds to work on its first advertising campaign. Faulds will be allocated a budget of about [pounds sterling]2m to work on the campaign, which is to coincide with a nationwide roll-out...

Cordiant to be delisted in move to stymie Active Value. (Agencies).(Brief Article)
July 3, 2003... Cordiant Communications is to delist on July 16. One of the side-effects of delisting is to crystallise the option to sell 25 per cent of Zenith Optimedia to Publicis Groupe at [pounds sterling]75m. The effect of the move is to restrict the...

O&M breaks 'promise' to ASH over ads. (Agencies).(Ogilvy & Mather)(Brief Article)
July 3, 2003... Anti-smoking group ASH has lambasted Ogilvy & Mather after the agency withdrew a "free advertising" promise to avoid an embarrassing conflict with one of its biggest clients, British American Tobacco (BAT). Ogilvy & Mather created a...

AMV wins Diageo 'drink safe' brief. (Agencies).(Abbott Mead Vickers/BBDO Ltd.)(Brief Article)
July 3, 2003... Diageo has appointed roster agency Abbott Mend Vickers. BBDO to handle its multi-million pound responsible drinking advertising account. The agency was appointed following a six-way pitch against other roster agencies J Walter Thompson, Battle...

Dig For Fire wins [pounds sterling]5m Blue Sky Holidays work. (Agencies).(Brief Article)
July 3, 2003... Blue Sky Holidays Direct, the company recently launched by Thomas Cook to sell holidays direct to consumers, has handed its [pounds sterling]5m marketing budget to recently formed agency Dig For Fire. Blue Sky was launched last August to...

St Luke. (Digests).(Brief Article)
July 3, 2003... St Luke's joint managing director Phil Teer has denied that he is leaving the agency, following industry speculation.

M&C Saatchi. (Digests).(Brief Article)
July 3, 2003... M&C Saatchi has created an advertising campaign for mobile phone retailer The Link. An evolution of its Powered by Knowledge campaign, the latest creative work, which breaks on July 4 on ITV and Channel 4, will carry the message 'we know how to...

VisitScotland. (Digests).(Brief Article)
July 3, 2003... VisitScotland is looking for advertising agencies to develop campaigns for the US and Europe, excluding the UK. The tourist body's UK incumbent is 1576.

Dunnhumby cinnamon. (Digests).(gets contract from Hyundai Car UK)(Brief Article)
July 3, 2003... Dunnhumby cinnamon has been appointed by Hyundai Car UK to handle the direct marketing account for the launch of its new Terracan 4x4 vehicle.

Soul. (Digests).(creates poster for Greath London Authority)(Brief Article)
July 3, 2003... Soul has created a poster campaign for the Greater London Authority educating car drivers about the dangers of exhaust emissions. The campaign, which breaks later this week, is being led by London Mayor Ken Livingstone in conjunction with the...

Grey Worldwide London. (Digests).(creates ad camapaign for Procter & Gamble)(Brief Article)
July 3, 2003... Grey Worldwide London has created a [pounds]300,000 print campaign to support the launch of Procter & Gamble's Lenor Easy Iron, breaking later this month.

RPM3. (Digests).(develops corporate identity for Airport Express)(Brief Article)
July 3, 2003... RPM3 has developed a corporate identity for Airport Express, the sales and marketing alliance for Garwick, Heathrow and Stansted Express. The identity is described as a 'swoosh' line representing the integration of the rail services with. air...

MagneticNorth. (Digests).(created TV advertisement cor Coca-Cola Enterprises)(Brief Article)
July 3, 2003... MagneticNorth has created the first television advertising for Coca-Cola Enterprises lunchbox juice drink Capri-Sun. The campaign is exclusive to Nickelodeon and invites children to design a creature to feature in a future phase of marketing...

BETC Euro RSCG. (Digests).(teams up with Universal Music for video clip)(Brief Article)
July 3, 2003... BETC Euro RSCG has teamed up with Universal Music to create a music video clip to accompany the release, of We Will Rock You remix 2003 as a single in August. The song was used earlier this year in Euro RSCG's Evian campaign.

Parker Baines. (Digests).(wins contract from Woolworths)(Brief Article)
July 3, 2003... Parker Baines, an independent creative agency, has won a contract to produce Woolworths Christmas 2003 catalogue.

Information Resources. (Digests).(to be acquired by Symphony Technology Group and Tennenbaum Capital Paratners)(Brief Article)
July 3, 2003... Information Resources, a provider of consumer information and insights to the packaged goods industry, has entered into an agreement to be acquired by a newly formed company jointly owned by Symphony Technology Group and Tennenbaum Capital...

Butlins. (Digests).(shortlisted Mustoes)(Brief Article)
July 3, 2003... Butlins has shortlisted Mustoes, CDP-Travissully, Barrett-Cernis, Feel, Barrington Johnson Lorains and incumbent Senior King for a television advertising campaign.

Rajar faces MacKenzie suit over electronic measurement decision. (Media).(Wireless Group's Kelvin MacKenzie considers suing radio listenership body)(Brief Article)
July 3, 2003... The Wireless Group chairman and chief executive Kelvin MacKenzie is threatening to sue radio listener-ship body Rajar over its decision not to adopt electronic meters for audience measurement after 15 months of research. The Wireless...

Plummeting sales force NatMags to axe title. (Media).(National Magazine Co. closed down Your Home publication)(Brief Article)
July 3, 2003... The National Magazine Company has pulled the plug on its home interests title Your Home, following a decline in advertising revenues and copy sales. Your Home's circulation dipped 24.5 per cent year on year and 19.7 per cent period on...

Lindemans to sponsor four ITV drama series. (Media).(Brief Article)
July 3, 2003... Lindemans, the Australian wine brand, has signed a multi-million pound deal through Carlton Media Sales to sponsor four new ITV1 drama series including Single, which stars Michelle Collins playing a mother thrown back into the dating game. ...

Sky Sports.(Elton John in promotion)(Brief Article)
July 3, 2003... Caption: Elton John is to star in a Sky Sports promotion for the forthcoming football season. Singing his new release, 'Are Your Ready?', Elton is shown in a studio surrounded by 150 football fans wearing a range of team colours with a large...

NTL picks central marketing boss.(promotes Peter Wilcock to managing director of operations)(Brief Article)
July 3, 2003... NTL has moved one of its regional managing directors into a central operational role that will include overseeing marketing. Peter Wilcock, an NTL veteran and managing director for the North-east business unit region, has been brought in to...

Aston Villa starts hunt for head of marketing.(Brief Article)
July 3, 2003... Aston Villa Football Club is looking for a head of marketing following the resignation of Kate Linnel. Linnel, who leaves the club in October, has decided to quit Aston Villa without a job to go to because of family commitments and a desire...

CBM Media. (Digests).(launches Freeview television channel)(Brief Article)
July 3, 2003... CBM Media is launching a television channel on Freeview, after winning the remaining channel on Crown Castle's platform. The channel will focus on British sport but will also broadcast finance, business news and movies.

CNN. (Digests).(claims to be top news provider in Europe)(Brief Article)
July 3, 2003... CNN claims that it is the leading television news provider in Europe, according to the latest European Media & Marketing Survey, published annually. It has recorded its highest monthly reach to date of 34.1 per cent...

CNBC Europe. (Digests).(information about audience)(Brief Article)
July 3, 2003... CNBC Europe claims that the same survey shows a higher proportion of its audience is made up of chief executives than any other channel.

The Wall Street Journal Europe. (Digests).(names Dominic Samuelson director )(Brief Article)
July 3, 2003... The Wall Street Journal Europe has appointed Dominic Samuelson to the newly created post of director of corporate development. His remit is to create and develop sponsored packages and branded events for the newspaper.

The Daily Telegraph. (Digests).(to promote Web Site)(Brief Article)
July 3, 2003... The Daily Telegraph will promote its online service telegraph.co.uk this month in its branding campaign on outdoor and throughout the London Underground. The campaign strapline will be altered to read: 'Our bestseller also comes in a hardback'....

Skips. (Digests).(sponsors amusement ride)(Brief Article)
July 3, 2003... Skips, the KP Snacks brand, is to sponsor a new spinning rollercoaster ride at Tussaud Group's Chessington World Of Adventures in a [pounds sterling]1m multi-year deal. The ride, which opens next year, will circle the theme park's Land of the...

Premier Rugby. (Digests).(names Jon Varney commercial director)(Brief Article)
July 3, 2003... Premier Rugby has appointed Jon Varney as commercial director. Varney was previously vice-president of commercial affairs at sports marketing agency Octagon.

MediaCom, ZenithOptimedia, OMD. (Digests).(short-listed to Electrolux account)(Brief Article)
July 3, 2003... MediaCom, ZenithOptimedia, OMD and another agency are short-listed for Electrolux's consolidated planning and buying business. The pitch will take place later this summer.

Jazz FM. (Digests).(names Michael Hold as a manager)(Brief Article)
July 3, 2003... Jazz FM, the Guardian Media Group-owned station, has appointed Michael Holt as sponsorship and promotions manager for the London station. He joins from production company UMTV.

John Brown Citrus Publishing. (Digests).(gets contract)(Brief Article)
July 3, 2003... John Brown Citrus Publishing has won the contract to produce a magazine for Selfridges, following a competitive pitch. Wink Media was the incumbent.

Time Magazine. (Digests).(sponsor festival)(Brief Article)
July 3, 2003... Time Magazine is to sponsor the 2003 Montreux Jazz Festival, which rakes place from July 4 to 19. This is the magazine's first sponsorship deal.

Real Radio. (Digests).(billboard camapign)(Brief Article)
July 3, 2003... Real Radio's Scottish breakfast team, Robin Galloway and Marie Clair McManus, will front a billboard campaign urging people to carry donor cards. Real Radio is the official sponsor of the campaign, which breaks on July 7.

Peugeot. (Digests).(to sponsor sporting event)(Brief Article)
July 3, 2003... Peugeot will sponsor the Rugby World Cup in Australia this year, providing 150 cars for use during the tournament.

Neutrality with an agency influence: despite the failure of JWT's attempt to buy 'media-neutral' planning agency Unity, before long all ad agencies will offer this service. (Media Analysis).(J Walter Thompson)
July 3, 2003... J Walter Thompson's (JWT) plans to buy specialist media agency Unity have collapsed (MW last week), but this is by no means the end of the story. Talks between JWT and Unity, the specialist in "media-neutral planning" whose clients include...

Hi-tech listening meters fail to deliver a panacea: Rajar's test results covering the much-hyped pager and watch audience measurement systems show they can't yet compete with the diary method. (Media Analysis).
July 3, 2003... Unfortunately research is an imprecise science so it cannot be relied on to tell the whole truth. At its best, research can guide users to the most likely truth. The art in designing the best research is to eliminate as many confounding factors...

Letters.(Letter to the Editor)
July 3, 2003... Own labels have home advantage In his article "Brand targeting rules were made to be broken" (MW June 12), Alan Mitchell quite rightly highlights the imaginative thinking that has helped to give retailers an advantage over many of the more...

Judges strike a modern note in music hearings: there was a time when judges didn't know their Beatles from their bugs, but last week two QCs showed that they're altogether hip these days. (Media).
July 3, 2003... Who are The Beatles? -- one of the more famous lines uttered by a High Court judge, delivered when the Fab Four were the most famous pop group in the world. It's of the same vintage as the quote by the judge in the "Lady Chattersley's Lover"...

The old dog tries another new trick.(MG Rover switches to price-led sales tactics; John Edwrads takes over duties of sales and marketing director)
July 3, 2003... Perennially ailing MG Rover has dropped brand-building in favour of price-led sales tactics. With a new, inexperienced marketing boss at the wheel, is this just another chapter in the car maker's long decline? The resignation of MG Rover...

Ad gender comes up on EU'S legal agenda: European Commissioner Anna Diamantopoulou's campaign to end sexism in advertising could have some serious side-effects. (News Analysis).
July 3, 2003... Last winter, trade and industry secretary Patricia Hewitt fuelled the age-old row over sexist advertising when she branded a poster for Birmingham's Motor Show as "pathetic". The ad depicted a young woman wearing a lacy bra and carried the...

A good clean fight.(Ariel and Persil fight it out)(Cover Story)
July 3, 2003... As Ariel prepares to launch an attempt to usurp Persil's status as the UK's best-selling washing detergent brand, Procter & Gamble's laundry range will have to overcome decades of Persil dominance as 'the housewives' favourite'. Is P&G on a...

This time e-companies are pushing the right buttons: The dot-coms deserve another chance now that real profits and a new 'consumer connections' market are providing actual grounds for optimism. (Business).(Industry Overview)
July 3, 2003... Whisper it who dares, but dot-corn businesses are booming again. Thankfully, the industry is making rather less fuss about its prosperity than it did last time around -- at the millennium -- and there are fewer dim vulture capitalists talking...

Now for the news at whenever: as news consumption changes, and more people use the internet and satellite TV, MORI research shows who wants what, and when they want it. (Factfile).
July 3, 2003... A great deal is known about media consumption: who reads and watches what, channels on the rise and fall, subjects of increasing and declining interest. But that does not offer an insight into what is going on beneath the surface, or the new...

The trump card? Electronic 'gift' cards have taken the US by storm, superseding the paper alternative. But will the UK be so keen to embrace this revolution? (Special Report: Promotions & Incentives).
July 3, 2003... According to the dictionary, vouchers are simply a substitute for money. Yet while money talks, if vouchers have any voice at all, it is probably one that sends its listeners to sleep. However, despite their unglamorous image, vouchers are...

Get the full story: directory enquiries is no longer a no-frills 'what name please?' service. Its evolution reflects changes across the sector. (Special Report: Directories).
July 3, 2003... You may have noticed the current onslaught of advertising that's all about numbers. From August 24, dialling 192 will no longer take you to the familiar BT directory enquiries (DQ) service, and a host of providers are vying to make their number...

Directory & Database Publishers Association Awards 2003. (Directories).(Brief Article)
July 3, 2003... The awards dinner and presentation, sponsored by Polestar and RR Donnelley, took place on June 26 at the Grand Hotel, Brighton. Now in their 11th year, the DPA Awards ate judged on standards of completeness, editorial content, aims, ease of...

Direct Marketing Buyers Guide.(Directory)
July 3, 2003... DIRECT MARKETING BUYERS GUIDE COMPANY SERVICES PROVIDED FIELD CONSUMER MARKETING LISTS ...

Spit, beer and racism. It's all an education in football: Did you know there is a National Football Museum? Well there is and it seeks to explain why the Beautiful Game is a way of life. Easy, says lain Murray: yob culture.
July 3, 2003... Pardon my ignorance, but I had no idea that England boasted a National Football Museum until I saw its advertisement for a development officer. Puzzlingly, the appointment, though described in the singular, is to be filled in the plural. ...

Two ways to play off the back foot. (The Week).(Kraft Foods International and Orange marketing)
July 10, 2003... This week: marketing on the defensive; or how Kraft, the food company, and Orange, the mobile telephone network, tried to make the best of a bad situation. There is no doubt Kraft has acted smartly in coming out with a public mea culpa on...