Marketing Week articles from March 2005

Marketing Week archives from March 2005

Sudan 1 won't be easily swept away.
March 3, 2005... There is something ineffably smug (though sadly by no means unique) about Marks & Spencer's reaction to the Sudan 1 carcinogenic dye scare. After withdrawing 16 affected products from its shelves, it trumpeted its achievement with the words:...

McDonald's chews over scare apology.(Brief Article)
March 3, 2005... McDonald's agonises over whether to apologise to customers about Sudan 1 contamination McDonald's is considering issuing an apology to its customers over the Sudan 1 food scare after discovering that it has been selling products...

Cahoot marketing chief quits as Abbey cuts team.(Deborah Cutler resigned)(Brief Article)
March 3, 2005... Cahoot marketing supremo Deborah Cutler is leaving the business in June as parent Abbey starts to restructure the online bank. The departure of the marketing director coincides with 13 redundancies at the bank, as Abbey prepares to reduce...

Stelios spells out strategy for easyMobile's success.(Stelios Haji-Ioannou )(Brief Article)
March 3, 2005... EasyGroup entrepreneur Stelios Haji-Ioannou has vowed, in an exclusive interview with Marketing Week, to shake up the mobile phone industry with his new venture easyMobile. EasyGroup, which this year celebrates its tenth anniversary, has...

Ailing Nestle Double Cream in new revamp.(Brief Article)
March 3, 2005... The future of chocolate bar Nestle Double Cream is looking increasingly uncertain after it emerged that Nestle Rowntree is revamping the product for the second time in just two-and-a-half years. It is also planning to scrap the Double Berry...

ISBA keynote speaker warns of waning consumer trust.(Incorporated Society of British Advertisers )(Brief Article)
March 3, 2005... The advertising industry will hear that consumer trust in advertising is on the wane, at next week's Incorporated Society of British Advertisers (ISBA) annual conference in London. World Federation of Advertisers managing director Stephan...

Barr adds 'blue' Tizer to soft drinks range.(Brief Article)
March 3, 2005... Barr Soft Drinks is to continue its revitalisation of the Tizer brand, with the addition of Tizer Blue in April. The drink is expected to have a berry taste and lines up alongside three flavours introduced last April - Tizer Green, Orange...

First Group bans naked ads from its Bradford bus fleet.(Atkinson's Kitchens)(Brief Article)
March 3, 2005... A Yorkshire-based kitchen company has been forced to pull an advertising campaign featuring workers in a state of undress, after a bus company refused to run the ads for fear of upsetting the local Muslim population. The posters, created...

S&N ups UK marketing spend by 10%.(Scottish Courage)(Brief Article)
March 3, 2005... Scottish Courage is to boost the marketing and advertising spend on its brand portfolio by ten per cent this year. The bulk of that spend will go on its flagship brand Foster's, which will see its budget increase from #35m to #40m. John...

Man who painted Pepsi blue joins BBC.(Tim Davie)
March 3, 2005... The man responsible for turning Pepsi blue in the UK has been put in charge of BBC's marketing. But Tim Davie, vice-president of marketing and franchise for PepsiCo Europe joins the public broadcaster at a crucial time. The organisation...

Amnesty plans Marathon boost for campaign work.
March 3, 2005... Human rights charity Amnesty International UK is to fuse campaigning and fundraising at this year's London Marathon, as part of its new marketing strategy. This year, runners supporting the charity will not only collect money for...

McClelland's set to appoint chief marketer.(cheese )(Brief Article)
March 3, 2005... McClelland's, the 154-year-old Scottish cheesemaker recently bought by French dairy company Lactalis, is on the verge of appointing a marketing director. Lactalis appointed Andrew Smith as managing director of Glasgow-based AM...

Dixons hands Irish boss marketing director post.(Brief Article)
March 3, 2005... Dixons has appointed a new marketing director, Bryan Magrath, to give impetus to the troubled electrical retailer. Magrath replaces John Mewett, who has been put in charge of commercial operations at Dixons Group's Italian electrical...

ASA probes Jamie's Dinners outdoor ads.(Brief Article)
March 3, 2005... Poster ads for Channel 4 television series Jamie's School Dinners are under investigation by the advertising watchdog, following complaints from women and the gay community. The complainants say that two aspects of the campaign - a pair...

McVitie's censured.(Brief Article)
March 3, 2005... United Biscuits-owned McVitie's has been censured by the ASA for misleadingly implying that its Go Ahead! cereal bars and cakes are healthy snacks. A press ad for the snack range, which focused on the fat content alone, showed a slim woman...

Misleading leaflet.(Brief Article)
March 3, 2005... The ASA has upheld complaints against Penta UK, over a leaflet that misleadingly implies that the company's bottled water product has health benefits over and above those of other brands. The ad claims: "Penta is ultra-purified, restructured...

Marketing head for Chupa Chups joint venture.(Brief Article)
March 3, 2005... Chupa Chups marketing director Mark Stangroom has been made chief marketer at the lollipop-maker's new UK joint venture with Fruitella- owned Perfetti van Melle. The deal was announced last month. Stangroom, who has been with the lollipop...

Baby Organix switches to plastic packs.(Brief Article)
March 3, 2005... Organic baby food manufacturer Baby Organix is planning to repackage its full range of savoury and sweet jarred products in plastic pots. The decision comes just over a year after baby food in jars was at the centre of a food scare. In...

IF splits role of senior marketer.(Intelligent Finance )(Brief Article)
March 3, 2005... Intelligent Finance (IF) has split the role of director of product and marketing, previously held by Duncan Movassaghi, effectively doing away with the job of marketing director entirely. Halifax head of brand and retail marketing Chris...

UCAS relaunches student loyalty card with 15 brands.(Universities and Colleges Admissions Service)(Brief Article)
March 3, 2005... Fifteen leading brands, including HSBC and Orange, have signed up to take part in the second loyalty card initiative from the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS). UCAS is the organisation that processes applications for...

ASA upholds complaint.(Brief Article)
March 3, 2005... The ASA has upheld a complaint against a TV ad for online gaming site Pokerstars.net, for promoting gambling for money. The ad featured players who mentioned how much they had won, including one called Chris Moneymaker. The ASA noted his name...

Complaints about Soil Association.(Brief Article)
March 3, 2005... The Advertising Standards Authority has partly upheld complaints about a Soil Association leaflet that claimed that organic farming is kinder to animals than industrial farming techniques. Copyright: Centaur Communications Ltd. and...

White Stuff Milk Moustache campaign.(Brief Article)
March 3, 2005... Mr Bean, played by Rowan Atkinson, and Celebrity Big Brother contestant Kenzie are the latest celebrities to sign up to the White Stuff Milk Moustache campaign. The campaign is a joint initiative between the Scottish Dairy Industry and the...

Bookmakers facing legal action.(football players)(Brief Article)
March 3, 2005... Bookmakers facing legal action from Real Madrid over the use of images of the club's players on their websites say they are mystified by the claims. Companies named, including Ladbrokes, William Hill and Sportingbet, say they source all...

Quality standard mark.(English Beef and Lamb Executive)(Brief Article)
March 3, 2005... The English Beef and Lamb Executive has created a quality standard mark to reassure consumers of the quality of English meat. The scheme will be supported by a #4.5m marketing campaign developed by Leo Burnett, with media by OMD, and will...

Innocent Drinks advertising.(Brief Article)
March 3, 2005... Innocent Drinks has developed its first television advertising, for a campaign that breaks this week. The ads, created in house, feature the strapline 'Innocent Drinks. Loads of Fruit'. Copyright: Centaur Communications Ltd. and licensors...

Coca-Cola rebranding.(Brief Article)
March 3, 2005... Coca-Cola is to rebrand its Dr Pepper, Lilt, Sprite and Fanta diet and light variants in April under the umbrella name Z, standing for Zero, as predicted in Marketing Week (September 30, 2004). Copyright: Centaur Communications Ltd. and...

Toucan launch mobile phone venture.(Brief Article)
March 3, 2005... Toucan is to launch a mobile phone venture in addition to its fixed- line service. T-Mobile, which already has similar deals with Virgin Mobile and easyMobile, will provide the network. Copyright: Centaur Communications Ltd. and licensors

Skoda advertising campaign.(Automobile industry)(Brief Article)
March 3, 2005... Skoda is to launch an #11m advertising campaign targeting younger drivers. The campaign will replace the five-year-old strategy that focused on the company as a manufacturer of quality cars. Copyright: Centaur Communications Ltd. and...

Allied Domecq appointment.(Peter Littlewood)(Brief Article)
March 3, 2005... Allied Domecq has appointed Peter Littlewood to the board-level position of chief commercial officer, with responsibility for global marketing. He joins from the position of senior vice-president of corporate marketing at Mars USA and is a...

COI Communications calls #160m creative ad review.(Brief Article)
March 3, 2005... COI Communications is to start its #157.6m creative advertising review next week, just nine weeks before Tony Blair is expected to call the General Election. The first creative review of the 28 roster agencies by chief executive Alan...

HOW to secure brief for 192.com relaunch.(online information services)(Brief Article)
March 3, 2005... Directory service 192.com is set to appoint HOW to handle its #1m advertising account as it prepares for a relaunch. The relaunch is an attempt to lure users from its rivals, which include Yell.com, as well as directory enquiries services...

The Hartford picks Citigate Albert Frank for UK launch.(Brief Article)
March 3, 2005... The Hartford Financial Services Group, one of the largest investment and insurance companies in the US, has appointed Citigate Albert Frank (CAF) to handle the UK launch of its brand. The Hartford Europe managing director of marketing...

Yell campaign.(publishing )(Brief Article)
March 3, 2005... Yell is launching an advertising campaign starring actor James Nesbitt - the first to feature the full range of the company's products. The campaign, which breaks this week, will promote Yellow Pages, Yell.com and 118 247 using the strapline...

SAS airline to start ad review.(SAS Scandinavia Airlines)(Brief Article)
March 3, 2005... SAS Scandinavia Airlines is reviewing both its UK advertising and media planning and buying business. The airline is hoping this year's bicentennial celebrations for the birth of fairy-tale writer Hans Christian Anderson will attract...

Capcom appoints Isobel for European advertising task.(Brief Article)
March 3, 2005... Global video games developer and publisher Capcom has appointed Isobel as its pan-European agency to handle the multi-million pound advertising for the launch of its PlayStation2 and Xbox games. One of Isobel's first tasks will be the...

Campaign for Hula Hoops.(Biscuits marketing)(Brief Article)
March 3, 2005... Publicis has created a #4m TV campaign for United Biscuit-owned crisp brand Hula Hoops. The campaign, which breaks on March 7, will have the strapline 'Hula Hoops. In a Hole World of their Own'. Copyright: Centaur Communications Ltd. and...

Agency.com and WWAV Rapp Collins appointed.(Advertising)(Brief Article)
March 3, 2005... Ladbrokes has appointed Agency.com and WWAV Rapp Collins to handle its digital customer-relationship marketing activities. The agencies won the contract after a seven-way pitch and will work together to provide a full-service CRM solution in...

COI marketing strategy roster.(Brief Article)
March 3, 2005... COI Communications has set up a marketing strategy agency roster consisting of 84 agencies to replace the existing branding roster. The new roster will incorporate brand strategy, internal communications and consumer insight. Copyright:...

Counter terrorism campaign.(police services)(Brief Article)
March 3, 2005... Miles Calcraft Briginshaw Duffy has created a counter terrorism campaign for the Metropolitan Police Service in partnership with British Transport Police, City of London Police and Transport for London. It aims to encourage people to report...

Jordans Cereals ad.(Vallance Coleman Carruthers Priest)(Advertising)(Brief Article)
March 3, 2005... Vallance Coleman Carruthers Priest has created its first television work for Jordans Cereals. The ad, which breaks on March 7, will continue the Back to Nature theme introduced in the press and poster campaign last autumn. Copyright:...

Lida appointed by BMW.(Car Marketing)(Brief Article)
March 3, 2005... Lida, the below-the-line agency, has been appointed by BMW-owned Mini to handle its direct marketing account following a three-month review. Incumbent EHS Brann withdrew from the pitch earlier this year. Copyright: Centaur Communications...

Campaign for Pot Noodle.(food marketing)(Brief Article)
March 3, 2005... HHCL/Red Cell will go ahead with a new brand campaign for Pot Noodle on March 7, despite the Unilever-owned brand having to withdraw some flavours following the Sudan 1 food dye scare. The new strapline is thought to be 'Have you got Pot...

DDB win advertising business.(advertising agencies)(Brief Article)
March 3, 2005... DDB London has won the #19m advertising business for Capital One after a three-way pitch against Abbott Mead Vickers.BBDO and incumbent McCann- Erickson. Copyright: Centaur Communications Ltd. and licensors

PHD beats MindShare to #50m AA media business.(marketing contracts)(Brief Article)
March 3, 2005... The AA has appointed PHD to handle its #50m media planning and buying account. PHD pitched against MindShare in a winner-takes-all contest after incumbent Manning Gottlieb OMD declined to repitch. The agency will handle media duties...

MacKenzie reignites row with Rajar.(Brief Article)
March 3, 2005... Kelvin MacKenzie, the chairman and chief executive of The Wireless Group, has demanded that Rajar admit that the diary system it used to measure radio audiences under estimates listeners to his national commercial speech station, TalkSport. ...

Paddy Power to sponsor 2005 Irish Open poker tournament.(information technology)(Brief Article)
March 3, 2005... Irish bookmaker Paddy Power is to sponsor the Poker Irish Open 2005. The sponsorship deal comes on the back of a 58 per cent rise in profits announced last week. The company has declined to comment on how much the deal is worth. Industry...

Trainer brand plans 'manga' comic promo.(Marketing)(Brief Article)
March 3, 2005... Premium Japanese trainer shoe brand Onitsuka Tiger, owned by Asics, is to be promoted across Europe with a giveaway comic. The 16-page comic, called The Sole Saver, is in the style of Japanese Manga comics. It has been created by...

Sugar plans drive against bullying.(Brief Article)
March 3, 2005... Sugar, the monthly magazine for teenagers, has briefed four advertising agencies to develop a press campaign for its anti-bullying and domestic violence campaign, Stand Up Speak Out. The campaign is part of a scheme run by the Children...

Clear Marketing nets Jazz FM job ahead of London revamp.(Brief Article)
March 3, 2005... Guardian Media Group Radio (GMG) has moved the advertising business for its flagship station Jazz FM out of KitCatt Nohr Shaw and into Manchester-based agency Clear Marketing. It follows the group's decision to relaunch the London station as...

Select to be renamed.(Brief Article)
March 3, 2005... Trinity Mirror's Midlands lifestyle magazine Select is to be renamed SelectLiving for its April edition to bring it in line with Birmingham sister mag CityLiving. Copyright: Centaur Communications Ltd. and licensors

VisitScotland overhauls portfolio.(Brief Article)
March 3, 2005... VisitScotland has overhauled its portfolio of publications and other marketing opportunities to present tourism businesses with seamless ad packages across the regions. Copyright: Centaur Communications Ltd. and licensors

Pearson profits.(Brief Article)
March 3, 2005... Pearson, the publishing and education company, has reported a six per cent fall in pre-tax profits to #386m. Its Penguin division suffered distribution problems but the Financial Times narrowed its losses to #9m and is predicted to break...

Overture to be rebranded.(Brief Article)
March 3, 2005... Overture, the search engine bought by Yahoo! in July 2003, is to be rebranded Yahoo! Search Marketing Solutions. The name will first appear in the US in the second quarter of 2005, with a roll-out to the rest of the world to follow. ...

Promoting online poker tournament.(ParadisePoker.com)(Brief Article)
March 3, 2005... ParadisePoker.com, recently acquired by internet bookmaker Sportingbet, has invested $600,000 (#312,550) promoting this week's Paradise Masters online poker tournament. There is a guaranteed prize pool of $1.5m (#781,343) and the final ten...

Livingetc teams up with Momo.
March 3, 2005... Livingetc, IPC's monthly interiors magazine, has teamed up with Momo, the London members club, to create a chill-out CD that will be given away free with the April edition of the magazine. Copyright: Centaur Communications Ltd. and...

Orlov leaves Express Newspapers.(Brief Article)
March 3, 2005... Express Newspapers ad director for its planned free London newspaper Mike Orlov has left the company. The publisher is awaiting an OFT decision on newspaper distribution and the London Underground. Copyright: Centaur Communications Ltd....

Take5 launch.(Northern and Shell)(Brief Article)
March 3, 2005... Northern & Shell's new television listings magazine Take5 launched yesterday (Tuesday) priced 40p. The magazine is a spin-off from a Daily Star Sunday supplement. Copyright: Centaur Communications Ltd. and licensors

Virgin Radio sign deal with Sydus.(Brief Article)
March 3, 2005... Virgin Radio has signed a deal with mobile technology company Sydus that will allow people to access virgin Radio and its sister stations via third-generation mobile phones. Copyright: Centaur Communications Ltd. and licensors

TalkSport signs up Gillette.(Wireless Group)(Brief Article)
March 3, 2005... TalkSport, Wireless Group's speech station, has signed Gillette as sponsor of its weekend football show, Final Whistle. The deal will run until the end of the season. Copyright: Centaur Communications Ltd. and licensors

Full House magazine.(Hubert Burda Media)(Brief Article)
March 3, 2005... Hubert Burda Media, the German publisher, hopes to break into the UK magazine market next month with the launch of weekly celebrity gossip and real-life story magazine, Full House. The magazine will be headed by former H Bauer managing...

Audience size doesn't count says report.(Brief Article)
March 3, 2005... Companies using search marketing need to look beyond the size of a search engine's audience when choosing where to spend their budget for buying keywords, the latest research says. According to online research specialist...

Tamar wins Direct Line task.(Brief Article)
March 3, 2005... Direct Line has appointed interactive media agency Tamar to handle natural search optimisation for its website, www.directline.com. Tamar's role is to ensure that Direct Line's motor, home, travel and pet insurance offerings appear high in...

P&G in Yahoo! tie-up to promote grocery sector.(Procter & Gamble Co.)(Yahoo! UK and Ireland)(Brief Article)
March 3, 2005... Procter & Gamble (P&G) has teamed up with Yahoo! UK & Ireland to create a special microsite guide to UK supermarket shopping on the Net. The microsite - The ABC of Online Shopping - was developed for the packaged goods giant by Joshua...

Odeon/lastminute set up entertainment site.(www.stopslouching.com)(Brief Article)
March 3, 2005... Odeon, the UK's largest cinema chain, and lastminute.com have launched the microsite www.stopslouching.com, which offers information about film releases and show times, plus special restaurant deals, theatre offers and other entertainment...

EIAA predictions.(European Interactive Advertising Association)(Brief Article)
March 3, 2005... The EIAA (the European Interactive Advertising Association) predicts that the amount spent on online advertising will treble in the next four years, to seven per cent of total ad spend. The EIAA says if trends continue, online could account...

ValueClick to rebrand UK media business.(Brief Article)
March 3, 2005... ValueClick is the latest digital marketing company to rebrand its UK media business. ValueClick Media will now be known as vcmedia, to differentiate the media sales operation from the parent company. At the same time, Vanessa Kent is being...

Will an open magazine market be a fairer one?
March 3, 2005... The OFT's plans to abolish monopolies that exist in magazine distribution and open the market to competition have divided the industry over who stands to benefit. Sonoo Singh reports Doomsayers forecast that dozens of smaller circulation...

Creatives left standing as media agencies lead the new revolution.
March 3, 2005... Media agencies have reacted to the challenges posed by the digital revolution with more efficiency than their creative counterparts, says Laurence Green Whisper it quietly, but there's less talk of media neutrality these days. Perhaps the...

When does interaction turn into interference?
March 3, 2005... From politics to Pop Idol, we are increasingly encouraged to give our views on public affairs. But, says Torin Douglas, feedback must not lead to hijack After a slow start, it seems that interactivity is becoming a way of life. Millions...

No resting easy in the Stelios empire.(Stelios Haji-Ioannou)(EasyMobile)
March 3, 2005... As easyGroup prepares to celebrate ten years of 'easy', founder Stelios talks to Marketing Week about his next project, easyMobile, and how it stands to change the mobile market. By Robert Lester EasyGroup celebrates the tenth...

McVitie's regroups to stop sales crumbling.
March 3, 2005... UB is planning an offensive to revive the McVitie's brand and boost its Go Ahead! range, but market developments such as low-fat options suggest it will need to do much more. By Caroline Parry "You have to go a long way to find a better...

Who can we trust now?
March 3, 2005... The discovery of cancer-causing dye Sudan 1 in nearly 500 products sold in the UK is just the latest in a long line of scares with which consumers have had to contend. How the affected brands will fare in the wake of this scandal remains to be...

A SCARE TOO FAR?
March 3, 2005... Coffee can cause cancer and increases miscarriage risks; Scottish salmon might kill you; the Atkins Diet is potentially deadly; prawns could be fatal; beef, chicken and cheese have given rise to concerns; and the egg industry faced bankruptcy...

Cashing in on the business that poverty can generate.
March 3, 2005... As pop stars and politicians unite to tackle world poverty, sales of fair-trade goods soar. So there's big money to be made in penury, says George Pitcher The current Make Poverty History campaign, to which the British Government has...

Letter: It's time the law got involved in mailing data.(Letter to the Editor)
March 3, 2005... I was appalled to hear that a mother recently received a mailing intended to encourage her dead son to drive safely. The cruel irony was that her son had died in a car crash, a critical point missed by the campaign purely due to the use of an...

Letter: DM became permission based.(Letter to the Editor)
March 3, 2005... I was very surprised that using preference or permission data was not mentioned in David Benady's direct marketing feature as the way forward for the industry to improve its currently poor consumer perception. Using preference (opt-in)...

Letter: Murray sails close to the wind again.(Letter to the Editor)
March 3, 2005... If there is one thing that sums up all that is wrong with journalists today it is the kind of lazy article penned by Mr Murray (MW February 17). I'm assuming he was just filling space because his deadline loomed and all he had handy to...

Letter: Lottery watchdog will only monitor.(Letter to the Editor)
March 3, 2005... I'm sure it was not only ourselves but research companies who read with interest the recent claim that the National Lottery Commission is instigating "a series of confidential research projects" into public perceptions of Camelot and the...

ONLINE: Time to get touchy-feely in the digital revolution.
March 3, 2005... Digitalisation is changing the rules of engagement, yet too many companies fail to hold our hands as we try to embrace the technology. By Robert Dwek If you are like me, you will already have transferred your entire music collection to a...

Gawd bless the internet.
March 3, 2005... Just after Ellen MacArthur's record-breaking trimaran docked back in Blighty, the following letter was sent to the boat's high-profile sponsor, B&Q: "Dear Sir, My congratulations to you on getting a yacht to leave the UK on 28th...

The immeasurable damage of our measuring systems.
March 3, 2005... Companies have become obsessed with measures, believing them to be the most rational form of evaluation. The reality suggests otherwise, warns Alan Mitchell It's a truth universally recognised that what gets measured gets managed. But...

FACTFILE: Talking 'bout the third generation.(Cellular telephone services)
March 3, 2005... The UK embraced mobile telephony and rapidly evolved into 'generation text', but encouraging us to take up 3G with the same enthusiasm could prove a harder task S MS text messaging was launched in 1992 in the UK, but it was not until...

SPECIAL REPORT - RETAIL DESIGN: Grounded in the middle.
March 3, 2005... Once something to aspire to, being part of retail's 'middle market' is now a tag to avoid. However, the right image and design can help to guard against this happening. By Richenda Wilson Being "in the middle" used to imply that you had...