Precision Marketing articles from April 2007

Precision Marketing archives from April 2007

Miliband in 'junk mail' U-turn.
April 6, 2007... Environment Minister David Miliband is showing signs of softening his militant anti 'junk mail' stance by signalling his approval of the continued self regulation of the direct mail industry. The industry has been trying to bring Miliband...

MUTV overhauls online strategy.
April 6, 2007... Manchester United Football Club's digital TV channel MUTV is overhauling its online strategy following the appointment of Mike Colling & Company (MC&C). MUTV has hired MC&C to handle its media account, in a move that will see the agency...

New Authority chairman to put consumers first.
April 6, 2007... The new chairman of the Direct Marketing Authority Matti Alderson is launching a Consumer Guide to inform the public about the DMA (UK)'s revamped Code of Practice, in a bid to make the industry's rules more accessible for consumers. ...

IN BRIEF: Commissioner reappointed.(Richard Thomas )(Brief article)
April 6, 2007... Information Commissioner Richard Thomas has been reappointed for a second term, which will last until his 60th birthday in 2009. Throughout his first term in office, Thomas has concentrated on raising the profile of data protection issues and...

IN BRIEF: TNT Post scoops BT contract.(Brief article)
April 6, 2007... TNT Post has been appointed by BT to deliver The Phone Book to 3.2 million homes across the UK as part of a three-year contract. The move follows TNT Post's #90m contract win in January to deliver BT's addressed mail. The new contract will see...

IN BRIEF: Claydon rebuffs Madden claims.(Richard Madden)(Jon Claydon)(Brief article)
April 6, 2007... Claydon Heeley co-founder Jon Claydon has rebuffed reports that former boss Richard Madden was ousted because he was "not up to the job", claiming the chief executive was being "characteristically self deprecating". Madden left after seven...

Reputation management is key to online search success.
April 6, 2007... Almost half of all consumers (42 per cent) are likely to abandon their online search for a particular brand if websites critical of the brand appear in the natural search listings, potentially undermining a brand's investment in direct...

Cancer Research in two-pronged attack.
April 6, 2007... Cancer Research UK is rolling out two direct mail campaigns in a bid to raise funds for breast cancer research. The campaigns, created by OgilvyOne, will target women aged over 35 and highlight the fact that over 100 women in the UK are...

BUPA DRTV push to focus on individuals.
April 6, 2007... BUPA is backing the launch of its new advertising campaign 'BUPA World' with a DRTV push that aims to show how it makes individuals feel better. The initiative, created by WWAV Rapp Collins Leeds, mirrors the creative theme of the new TV...

Pet charity reviews strategy in appeal for online donors.
April 6, 2007... The PDSA, a charity that provides support for people on low incomes who cannot afford vets' fees, is overhauling its fundraising strategy by aiming to reach donors online. The charity has appointed Watson Phillips Norman (WPN) to handle...

Integration drives email success.
April 6, 2007... Dynamic content and increased personalisation is vital for the continued growth of email marketing, according to the latest DMA (UK) National Email Benchmarking Survey. The latest survey reveals that the number of emails sent in quarter...

Waitrose unveils Easter push.
April 6, 2007... Waitrose is unveiling a direct mail campaign to drive customers into its branches in the run up to Easter. The campaign marks the first piece of direct mail created for Waitrose by Kitcatt Nohr Alexander Shaw since its appointment last...

IN BRIEF: HSBC diverts calls to India.(Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Ltd.)(Brief article)
April 6, 2007... HSBC is diverting calls from its less affluent customers to foreign call centres, while those who are more profitable are being dealt with in the UK. The bank has admitted to assessing calls from its 8.5 million customers and then transferring...

IN BRIEF: Creme Egg goes online for Easter.(Brief article)
April 6, 2007... Cadbury's Creme Egg brand is launching an online campaign in the run up to Easter. The campaign is part of its strategic shift towards digital marketing for the brand. The Easter drive, created by CMW Interactive, encourages consumers to...

IN BRIEF: Postcomm calls for VAT reform.(Brief article)
April 6, 2007... Postcomm is urging the EC to change its VAT framework so that all postal operators can pay a reduced uniformed VAT rate to make the market 'a level playing field' for all operators. The independent postal service regulator welcomed UK Mail's...

IN BRIEF: Zonal pricing policy under scrutiny.(Brief article)
April 6, 2007... Postal regulator Postcomm is launching a nine-month consultation which will decide the future of Royal Mail's zonal pricing policy for bulk mail customers. The regulator has written to customers and operators who will be affected by the...

IN BRIEF: Hiney set to join Carlson.(John Hiney appointed at Carlson Marketing Group)(Brief article)
April 6, 2007... Former joint managing director of Harrison Troughton Wunderman (HTW) John Hiney is set to take up the position of managing director at Carlson Marketing. Hiney and joint managing director of HTW Suzanne Partridge were made redundant in October...

IN BRIEF: Vodafone hires Lida.(Brief article)
April 6, 2007... Vodafone has appointed Lida to handle its consumer direct marketing account following a four-way pitch. The win follows a competitive pitch against Partners Andrews Aldridge, Tequila\London and an undisclosed agency. The mobile phone giant...

Lurpak campaign links brand to quality foods.
April 6, 2007... Lurpak butter is launching a #6m integrated campaign to reinforce its position as the natural choice to enhance good food. The drive, by Wieden & Kennedy, will start with a TV ad on terrestrial and satellite channels. Press ads will...

Childcare push to poorer families.
April 6, 2007... The Department for Education and Skills (DfES) is launching a campaign to change the attitudes of lower-income parents towards taking up formal childcare for their kids. The drive, created by CMW, includes press ads, direct mail,...

Are you tuned to the right channel?
April 6, 2007... A multi-media approach is now being accepted by our industry as a necessity, not an afterthought. Advertising doesn't work in isolation any more and is no longer always the lead discipline, as shown by Nike and Ikea not appointing traditional...

Industry chiefs call for 'spyware' law rethink.
April 6, 2007... Washington The US DMA has warned members of Congress about the need to effectively protect consumers from 'spyware' - software that collects consumer data without consent - while not stunting online growth. Lawmakers are hoping to...

TMW opens its doors to mainland Europe.
April 6, 2007... Paris Integrated agency Tullo Marshall Warren (TMW) is opening an office in Paris, which marks the agency's first physical presence in Europe. The new office comprises a ten strong team, headed up by European business director, Nikki...

India close to Do-Not-Call resolution.(Brief article)
April 6, 2007... New Delhi India's mobile customers are a step closer to the setting up of a Do-Not-Call registry to prevent them receiving unsolicited promotional calls. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has issued a notification making...

Why mobile text is getting sexier.
April 6, 2007... Around 70 per cent of Irish people aged 15 to 35 apparently couldn't cope without their mobile phone. Excuse the pun but that rings true. After all, 96 per cent of us have mobiles. Apparently, 10 per cent of people break up with a...

ANALYSIS: Carbon policies must be more than just hot air.
April 6, 2007... Pressure is growing from clients and the public for companies to reduce their carbon emissions. But paying lip service to green strategies merely to give a good impression is likely to backfire As the pressure mounts for companies to...

Are there really hidden dangers to data collection?
April 6, 2007... With 27 million store cards in operation, loyalty cards have long been vital to the direct marketing industry. But just how secure is store card data and to what use might it be put in the future? "We have supermarkets collecting data on...

Postal bust up proves to be curate's egg for brands.
April 6, 2007... As Royal Mail argues for a renegotiation of its 'loss-making' final mile charges, a VAT loophole offers hope for charities and banks keen to keep costs down Another week, another round of tit-for-tat fighting in the privatised postal...

Age is no barrier to virtual experimenters.(report of Experian Information Solutions Inc. on the usage of information technology by senior citizens in the United Kingdom)
April 6, 2007... As the ageing population grows, so does the number of 'virtual experimenters' - wealthy people aged over 55 who are embracing new technologies and the Internet as a way to buy goods and services It's a well known fact that we live in an...

OPINION: Forward thinkers go forth and co-create.(Column)
April 6, 2007... Is co-creation the future for today's enlightened brands? I think the jury is out on the topic, but most of the debate is revolving around the thought that brands are getting content on the cheap and are stealing intellectual property versus...

LETTER: Postcomm's ire is being aimed at wrong target.(Letter to the editor)
April 6, 2007... I can't help but feel that in its effort to target the proliferation of untargeted, irrelevant 'junk' mail (Is Royal Mail bleating or does it need new rules? PM March 9), Postcomm is instead shooting the messenger. While its intention to...

VIEWPOINT: Loyalty and the surveillance society.
April 6, 2007... Marketers are increasingly looking to biometrics as the solution to the problem of effective targeting. The positives are appealing but they are far outweighed by the very serious negatives Biometrics, the study of methods for uniquely...

LETTER: DMA has its say on Miliband.(Letter to the editor)
April 6, 2007... The myriad concerns surrounding David Miliband's reported 'war on junk mail' are shared by the DMA UK, and it's imperative that we hold a dialogue and forge a relationship with government on such issues. We have suggested to the Secretary of...

LETTER: The underlying costs of bad data.(Letter to the editor)
April 6, 2007... I agree with your special report (PM March 23) that poor data does not have to mean poor analytical outcomes. However, poor data creates an unnecessary hurdle for analysts. Too often analysts are hampered by missing or inaccurate data. How...

LEADER: Green-eyed monster bears its teeth.
April 6, 2007... "I don't think there are any clients that walk through our doors that aren't looking at green issues." This quote, from Archiblad Ingall Stretton managing partner Stuart Archibald, shows exactly why the agency community is rushing to sign...

PROFILE: Ring of confidence.
April 6, 2007... Matti Alderson Ten years heading the Advertising Standards Authority has been an excellent grounding for the new chief of the direct marketing industry's regulatory body Sara Kimberley When it comes to consumer complaints, one woman...

LEISURE: Novel approaches.
April 6, 2007... The collapse of the Net Book Agreement and the rise of the Internet have transformed the book market. Book clubs and publishers must take up the challenges and opportunities of cyberspace to compete To say that the world of publishing has...

ADDRESS MANAGEMENT: The word on the street.
April 6, 2007... While address management now means far more than just postal details, where the customer lives is still the most reliable way to keep track of them David Reed Do you manage customers or addresses? The question might seem redundant,...

SMS: Mechanism for change.
April 6, 2007... When is a response mechanism not a response mechanism? The answer, apparently, is when a text shortcode is used in programme sponsorship David Reed When it comes to using text shortcode numbers for response generation, agencies have...

LIST/INSERT FILE: Targeting the wealthy female.
April 6, 2007... Traditional Garden & Country Home has released its updated list of more than 270,000 names through Go Direct Marketing. The catalogue offers a variety of items for sale such as space saving storage, garden furniture and decorative features....

LIST/INSERT FILE: Update to the Brightminds list.(Brief article)
April 6, 2007... The Brightminds mail order database has been updated and is available for rent through Fig Tree DM. The company sells educational toys and software, learning games and now, a range of outdoor toys and games, promoting activity, learning and...

LIST/INSERT FILE: Extensive loan list unveiled.
April 6, 2007... The Loansome database comprises just under 1.2 million names and is available for rent through Media Response. The company offers loans to people in financial difficulties from those with debt and a high level of financial commitments, to those...

LIST/INSERT FILE: Accessing high spending golfers.
April 6, 2007... Golf TV has offered access to its database of more than 260,000 individuals through ListLab. The average sale value per order is #104. The names on this file have been sourced through their online shop and through DRTV. Approximately a fifth of...

LIST/INSERT FILE: Play Gym list up for grabs.
April 6, 2007... Crechendo is offering access to its database through Go Direct Marketing. Crechendo Play Gyms offers pre-school activity programmes covering four stages of development, organised in separate age group classes from babies through to four year...

MOVING PEOPLE: Two new recruits at Flourish.
April 6, 2007... Flourish, the Bristol based direct marketing agency, has added two new recruits to its account and digital departments. Jo Calder joins as account manager, and Rob Charlwood joins as junior interactive designer. Calder joins Flourish from...

MOVING PEOPLE: Green joins field marketing team.(Sophia Green appointed at Reach)(Brief article)
April 6, 2007... Reach, the integrated sales support services agency, has appointed Sophia Green as senior account manager in its field marketing division. Green has spent the last ten years working in field marketing. She joins Reach from Channel Advantage,...

MOVING PEOPLE: Digital appointments at Geronimo.(Fleur Hicks-Duarte and Martin Lee appointed at Geronimo Marketing and Communications)(Brief article)
April 6, 2007... Integrated marketing agency, Geronimo, has expanded its digital team by appointing Fleur Hicks-Duarte as senior digital manager and Martin Lee as senior interactive designer. Hicks-Duarte will oversee online projects and work on integrating...

MOVING PEOPLE: Identex hires Lawson and Holman.
April 6, 2007... Identex, the specialist CRM solutions provider, has recruited Deborah Lawson and David Holman as insight manager in CRM Analytics and account director in CRM, respectively. Lawson joins from Lloyds TSB and has previously worked at NatWest...

MOVING PEOPLE: New addition to drive growth at Arc.(Gregg Imlah appointed )(Brief article)
April 6, 2007... Arc, the marketing communications agency, has appointed Gregg Imlah as new business development director for its Edinburgh office. The appointment comes as Arc Edinburgh aims to capitalise on its recent growth in Scotland and expand further....

'Disaster' looms as QMP scheme folds.(Quality Standard for Mail Production)
April 20, 2007... Royal Mail has been accused of putting the future of the direct marketing industry in jeopardy following its "disastrous" decision to pull out of the independent mailing house accreditation scheme QMP. The move, which also affects client...

British Gas under fire over 'pitch from hell'.(Brief article)
April 20, 2007... British Gas has been criticised over its conduct during the pitch for its direct marketing account - scooped earlier this week by OgilvyOne (precisionmarketing.co.uk) - amid claims that it was the "pitch from hell". The review is...

Butlins hunts shop for direct business.(Butlins Skyline Ltd.)(Brief article)
April 20, 2007... Butlins is reviewing its direct marketing account, six months after appointing Fox Kalomaski as its sole agency. The UK's budget holiday-park operator appointed retail specialist agency Fox Kalomaski in October last year, following a...

IN BRIEF: Army drives recruits online.(Brief article)
April 20, 2007... The Army is launching a TV ad to direct potential recruits to a newly created interactive website. The campaign, created by Publicis and Publicis Dialog, looks at situations from an individual's perspective and demonstrates how they might...

IN BRIEF: Restructure at Millennium.(Brief article)
April 20, 2007... Millennium, the largest agency group in Yorkshire, is planning to list on the AIM stock market this year and is undergoing a major restructure in preparation, including a recent rebrand as Direct Marketing Group. Its plans involve the...

IN BRIEF: Cano Lopez to drive Ai growth.(Jon Cano Lopez appointed as data services leader )(Brief article)
April 20, 2007... Former Acxiom European data services leader Jon Cano Lopez has been appointed director of strategic development at Ai, a leading provider of bureau and data services. The new role has been created to assist Ai in building on its recent...

Consumer apathy to blame for 'TK Maxx-style hacking'.
April 20, 2007... Brand owners are being warned that they risk a TK Maxx-style hacking disaster, on the back of new research which shows that UK consumers are happy to put their financial information at risk if it means saving time online. TK Maxx...

NSPCC in first DRTV push with ChildLine.
April 20, 2007... The NSPCC is launching its first DRTV ad for ChildLine since the two charities merged last year. The 60-second ad, created by WWAV Rapp Collins London, will run on a range of terrestrial and non-terrestrial channels throughout April. ...

Yahoo! signs movie deal with Unilever.
April 20, 2007... Unilever has signed a marketing partnership with Yahoo! UK & Ireland as part of an integrated strategy to promote the company's body fragrance and anti-perspirant brand Impulse. The deal will see a select band of Yahoo users get free...

Friends of the Earth bids to put value on activist activity.
April 20, 2007... Friends of the Earth is overhauling its marketing strategy by embracing a new system to assess the value its activists bring to the organisation compared with cash donors. Until now, Friends of the Earth has found it challenging to...

Booktrust in child literacy push.
April 20, 2007... Booktrust, an independent charity dedicated to promoting the printed word, is aiming to improve child literacy by highlighting the importance of reading to children from an early age. An integrated campaign, created by Kitcatt Nohr...

IPoints opens up postal database.
April 20, 2007... The UK's largest online loyalty programme, iPoints, is offering its postal database of 800,000 registered members to brand owners, which it claims will provide key data for integrated marketing campaigns. Member data is collected through...

IN BRIEF: NHS career blitz woos teens.(Brief article)
April 20, 2007... The NHS is to overhaul its Careers website to target kids aged 14 to 19 to encourage them to get a job in the health service. The COI has appointed Craik Jones Watson Mitchell Voelkel, following a three-way pitch, to undertake an integrated...

IN BRIEF: Corner shops reward loyalty.(Brief article)
April 20, 2007... Local corner shops are fighting back against supermarket giants by launching a mobile phone-based loyalty scheme, which will promote offers from consumer giants including Nestle, Unilever and P&G. The "Shop Scan Save" system will be run by...

IN BRIEF: TNT Post links with Tribe.(Brief article)
April 20, 2007... TNT Post is embarking on a field marketing campaign in an attempt to win new customers in key regional areas. The postal operator has appointed Tribe to the task. The field marketing agency will be tasked with securing interest from local...

Yell sells partnerships to give access to data.
April 20, 2007... Yell.com, the UK's local search directory, is moving into affiliate partnerships, designed to provide partners with access to its database of more than 2 million UK businesses while driving more visitors to its website. Affiliate online...

Online and direct head Bellwether.
April 20, 2007... Online advertising continues to outpace all other media in the latest IPA Bellwether Report, while strongest growth in budget setting for the year ahead is currently for 'all other' marketing (including SMS and sponsorship) and direct...

IN BRIEF: Miliband plots major mailing blitz.(David Miliband )(Brief article)
April 20, 2007... Environment minister David Miliband is planning one of the UK's largest mailing campaigns - to promote the Government's policy on combating climate change - just days after seemingly back-tracking on his 'war on junk mail'. Households are to...

IN BRIEF: UNICEF push tackles spread of HIV.(Brief article)
April 20, 2007... UNICEF is launching a new campaign aimed at UK mothers to help prevent the spread of HIV from mothers to babies in developing countries. The 'Born Free from HIV' campaign, created by Aqueduct, is targeted at mums who have children under two...

IN BRIEF: UK drops out of spam 'hall of shame'.(Brief article)
April 20, 2007... UK action to combat spam has resulted in the country dropping out of the top ten 'hall of shame', according to a new report by security expert Sophos. The firm has created a list detailing the 12 nations that create and distribute the most...

St John Ambulance in appeal for first aiders.(Brief article)
April 20, 2007... St John Ambulance is to encourage people to learn first-aid through a campaign featuring rag dolls in dangerous situations, which asks, "Would you know what to do if this were a real child?" The initiative has been created by ethical...

Orange 'best integrated brand'.
April 20, 2007... Mobile phone giant Orange is the brand that is considered to make the best use of integrated communications techniques by marketers, according to a new study by Ipsos MORI. The research by specialist advertising division Ipsos ASI, found...

Turning green issues into an opportunity.
April 20, 2007... If any form of advertising is capable of being more environmentally efficient, it's direct marketing. But we are wasting this opportunity by hoping it will go away. It won't. Environmentalism is an opportunity if we embrace change, and a...

US DMA hits back on marketing to minors.
April 20, 2007... New York The US DMA has hit out at a ruling by the US District Court which prohibits email advertisements or links being sent to addresses on the Child Protection Registry for products or services that a minor would be legally prohibited...

Readers rewarded by The Washington Post.
April 20, 2007... Washington The Washington Post is launching a loyalty scheme allowing readers to earn points just by reading the newspaper. Off- and online readers of the newspaper can now join the programme, called PostPoints, which rewards them for...

Expansion in Brazil continues for Experian.
April 20, 2007... Brazil Experian has acquired Inform@marketing, one of Brazil's leading providers of direct marketing services. Inform@marketing was formed in 1995 to provide financial institutions with direct marketing services, including database...

Offshore strategy holds key to success.
April 20, 2007... According to Ventoro Consulting, 19 per cent of all companies have an offshore strategy. When it comes to the US's top 1,000 firms, the number of companies jumps to 95 per cent. Even a few Government departments are quietly outsourcing...

ANALYSIS: Home shopping giants take on niche little earners.
April 20, 2007... Far from sounding the death-knell of the big printed mail order catalogues, the Web is working in harmony with them as an ordering mechanism and the overall market is growing vigorously The doom-mongers have been predicting the death of...

UK contact centre industry still in rude health.(Industry overview)
April 20, 2007... Outsourcing overseas has not had the negative impact predicted on the domestic call centre industry. It is continuing to grow vigorously, with many brand owners now bringing their services back to the UK With the furore over outsourcing...

Brand owners 'don't understand their customers'.
April 20, 2007... New research reveals that traditional customer management techniques are proving inadequate as businesses struggle to keep pace with the shifting customer landscape Businesses are struggling to cope with traditional customer management...

CONSUMER INSIGHT: Trust moves closer to home as authority is shunned.
April 20, 2007... Public trust is moving away from monolithic authorities, such as the Government, and towards friends and family. The Internet is also encouraging people to establish their own networks of authority British consumers are being seen...

PROFILE: Steady hand on the tiller.(David Woodd)(Biography)
April 20, 2007... David Woodd With a wealth of experience under his belt, Otto UK's brand controller is in pole position to drive growth in the ever-changing home shopping fashion market Sara Kimberley It is probably fair to say only a catwalk model...

OPINION: Rationality is key to reach 'philistines'.(Column)
April 20, 2007... Could marketing be wiped out by its own version of a superbug? In medicine, there are fears that the antibiotic resistant bacteria MRSA could evolve into VRSA - a bug that resists all known treatments. MRSA has evolved due to the widespread...

LETTER: Even best creative is no use without quality data.(Letter to the editor)
April 20, 2007... Unlike the suggestion in your news analysis (PM March 23), Acxiom welcomes the move by many agencies to build data-led businesses as it expands opportunities for the data industry. Huw Davis rightly pointed out that the creative process is...

LETTER: Look before you leap into IPTV.(Letter to the editor)
April 20, 2007... More and more brand owners and media conglomerates are waking up to the power of Internet protocol TV (IPTV), but there are inherent dangers. IPTV offers unbeatable benefits over traditional TV delivery methods, such as measurability and...