Precision Marketing articles from December 2006

Precision Marketing archives from December 2006

Mail chiefs clash over green debate.(Royal Mail's Alex Bachelor , TNT Post's Nick Wells)
December 1, 2006... The UK's largest postal operators are at loggerheads over the environmental debate, with Royal Mail claiming the amount of direct marketing waste is "trivial", but TNT Post arguing that the industry is not doing enough. Speaking at DM...

Sky in agency talks to raise viewer retention.(British Sky Broadcasting Group PLC)(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... BSkyB is reviewing its direct marketing roster, as part of plans to boost its customer retention strategy. It is not known whether Finex and Partners Andrews Aldridge will be affected, although it is believed that the move has been...

Barclays kick-starts hunt for direct chief.(Barclays Bank Ltd.)(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... Barclays Bank is understood to be seeking a direct marketing chief to work with brand and UK banking marketing director Jim Hytner, to reflect the financial services giant's focus on direct activity. It is believed that a number of...

IN BRIEF: FT in hunt for direct agency.(Financial Times)(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... The Financial Times is understood to be seeking an agency to handle its direct account. In September, the paper appointed DDB Lond- on to its #5m advertising account after a three-way pitch against Miles Calcraft Briginshaw Duffy and United...

IN BRIEF: DMA blitz pushes youth awards.(Direct Marketing Association)(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... The DMA (UK) is launching a major push for the Young Direct Marketing Awards 2007, as part of a long-term strategy to get the discipline onto the national curriculum. Devised by agency Iris and Rapport, the new identity is designed to create...

IN BRIEF: Xmas mailings under fire.(public opinion on direct mail offers in United Kingdom)(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... Nearly three-quarters of consumers reckon half of the direct mail they receive during the run up to Christmas is 'totally irrelevant', according to a study by SPSS. Examples range from targeting students with 'festive' mortgage offers, to...

IN BRIEF: WWF fights for snow leopard.(World Wildlife Fund)(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... WWF-UK is launching a 75,000-strong mailing blitz in an attempt to save the Nepalese snow leopard from extinction. With numbers having dropped to around 300 in the Nepalese mountains, the charity will appeal to existing supp- orters for...

EMI Music UK selects Flytxt to revamp digital strategy.(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... EMI Music UK, the company behind Gorillaz, David Bowie, the Rolling Stones and KT Tunstall, is embarking on a major digital marketing overhaul, with the aim of building stronger links with music-lovers. The company has appointed Flytxt to...

Fiat mailpack targets Ducato at van fleets.(Fiat Auto UK Ltd.)(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... Fiat Auto UK is targeting 'white van man' to herald the launch of 'flagship' light commercial vehicle the Ducato. A direct mail campaign, created by Arc Worldwide, aims to make potential customers aware that the Ducato is an entirely new...

MoD reviews Navy recruitment account.(Ministry of Defence)(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... The Ministry of Defence is reviewing the Navy's #2m press advertising and direct mail account for its recruitment programme. The Directorate of Naval Recruiting is to invite five firms to pitch for a three-year contract, with the...

Lower frequency emailing generates greater response.(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... Customers are more responsive to companies which email them less frequently, according to the latest DMA (UK) National Email Benchmarking Survey. For the first time since the survey was launched, email service providers (ESPs) were asked...

Visit Wales in evaluation review.(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... Visit Wales, formerly the Wales Tourist Board, has briefed Partners Andrews Aldridge to develop a new approach to evaluate all of its UK marketing activity. As well as providing information and acting as a guide to the country, Visit...

Mailing boosts Boscastle fund.(National Trust Co.'s direct marketing campaign)(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... The National Trust has boosted its Boscastle flood disaster fund - to continue rebuilding following the disaster of 2004 - by almost #350,000, thanks to a direct marketing blitz. The campaign, produced by Watson Phillips Norman, comprises...

IN BRIEF: Brands in dock over 'underhand' Web tactics.(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... Kellogg's breakfast cereal Coco-Pops has been named one the UK's leading brands to use 'underhand' online marketing to promote unhealthy food to children. A report by Which? claims UK food manufacturers are increasingly using online...

IN BRIEF: 150,000 PCs being 'hijacked'.(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... One in 12 computers in the UK - some 150,000 home PCs - is feared to have been hijacked by organised crime gangs to spread their lucrative spam scams, offering sex, drugs, stocks and money-laundering schemes. Experts claim spam has increased...

IN BRIEF: GNER reviews online account.(Great North Eastern Railway)(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... Great North Eastern Railway is reviewing its online and customer management account. The business is to include all of the company's Web and email marketing, design and online strategy for future campaigns. It will include developing an...

IN BRIEF: Public slams PiP pricing.(pricing in proportion )(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... Eighty-seven per cent of the elderly, rural dwellers and those on low incomes believe they are paying more for their post following the introduction of pricing in proportion (PiP), according to a study. Postwatch reveals that, although...

Honda in major drive to push ATV servicing.(Honda Motor Europe Ltd.)(all terrain vehicles)(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... Honda is launching a direct mail drive for its all terrain vehicles (ATVs) to encourage customers to service them in the winter. The campaign will target owners such as farmers, foresters, equestrian enthusiasts and shooting groups. ...

Carphone Warehouse in mail blitz.(Carphone Warehouse Group PLC)(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... The Carphone Warehouse is promoting the launch of limited-edition Cath Kidston-branded mobile phones by ramping up its marketing activity with a direct mail campaign. The mailpack, created by WDMP, supports ad activity and is aimed at...

IN BRIEF: Government bid to slash car crime.(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... The Government is aiming to reduce car crime over the festive period by launching a drive targeting individuals at petrol pumps. The campaign, through the Central Office of Information, will run across 2,956 roadside and supermarket...

IN BRIEF: Woolworths revamps customer contact.(Woolworths Group PLC)(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... Woolworths aims to gain a deeper understanding of customers - and boost the number of consumer 'touchpoints' - by implementing a software suite, designed to unify e-commerce and call centre operations. The software, provided by Art...

IN BRIEF: Domino's shifts budget to direct mail.(Domino's Pizza Group Ltd.)(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... Domino's Pizza is planning to divert the marketing budget from its long- running sponsorship of TV series The Simpsons into direct marketing. The UK's largest home-delivery pizza chain has been forced to drop its nine-year sponsorship of the...

Virgin Trains in 'few more hours' mail blitz.(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... Virgin Trains is bolstering its assault on the business travel market with a #6m campaign targeting large corporations and travel agents. The drive, created by Craik Jones Watson Mitchell Voelkel, will include two mailpacks with the new...

NU pushes equity release online.(Norwich Union)(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... Norwich Union is switching online to push its equity release scheme, as part of a major campaign which recognises the over-50s are increasingly using the Internet. The drive, created by TDA, aims to promote NU as a supportive and fair...

Let viewers choose how to offer up data.(television marketing)
December 1, 2006... Historically, TV has been foreign soil for direct marketers. Broadcasters were unashamed mass-marketers. Consider Coronation Street: one product, available in a single half-hour slot, at a specific time. Twenty years ago, it attracted 18...

Canada to address privacy law failings.
December 1, 2006... Ottawa The Canadian government is set to review its privacy laws amid concerns that current legislation - established five years ago - is failing to protect both businesses and consumers. While the federal privacy commissioner has...

Carlson Marketing to open Vancouver office.(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... British Columbia Carlson Marketing is opening an office in Vancouver to strengthen its presence prior to the 2010 Winter Olympic Games, which are being held in the city. Pete Moore is to relocate from Carlson's global headquarters in...

Deal to bolster Russia contact centre market.(Avaya Inc. to work with Teleopti)(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... Moscow Russia is set to emerge as a major contender in the contact centre market following a partnership agreement between two leading global communications firms. Avaya, a provider of business systems, is joining forces with Teleopti,...

Irish industry doing well without trying.(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... In July 1996, I returned to Ireland brimming with the zeal of a Victorian missionary. After eight years working for some of Britain's best direct agencies, I was convinced that direct marketing was poised to become a potent force. So how...

ANALYSIS: Marketers 'failing to share insight with colleagues'.
December 1, 2006... Research carried out by Data Vantage Group shows more and more marketers are arming themselves with detailed customer information. The problems start when data practitioners want to get hold of it Are sales and marketing professionals doing...

ANALYSIS: Hamleys toys with strategy to build global presence.(Hamleys PLC)
December 1, 2006... The world's largest toy store is going all guns blazing to build a truly global presence. But can it first lure the thousands of UK shoppers who are still yet to visit the Regent Street outlet? Retail history is full of stores of...

ANALYSIS: Can firms shed outdated consumer straightjackets?
December 1, 2006... At the recent DM Live! show at Earls Court, professor Richard Scase said what many only dare to think: that the systems used to classify consumer groups are massively outdated When professor Richard Scase put the cat among the pigeons at DM...

CONSUMER INSIGHT: Luxury as much to do with emotions as possessions.
December 1, 2006... Huge growth in consumer spending power has set a trend whereby status is determined as much by experiences as possessions, with the poor adopting 'luxury' items and the rich heading downmarket Luxury is an elusive concept. Yet it is one...

OPINION: Predictive models no more than alchemy.(Brief article)(Column)
December 1, 2006... Ronnie Corbett recently said: "Comedy is a serious matter when you deal in it. You become like a lab technician, trying to get the alchemy ping- accurate. A total waste of time, of course. It's the most inexact of sciences." Ring any...

LETTER: Brands need to create a rich dialogue with client.(Letter to the editor)(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... I read with interest Mike Cavers' recent commentary on search engine marketing (Precision Marketing, November 3) and felt compelled to respond. Indeed, I agree wholeheartedly that brands need to create a meaningful and rich dialogue...

LETTER: 'Dataveillance' not the whole picture.(Letter to the editor)
December 1, 2006... Data privacy is in the spotlight once again. This time, the Government's Information Commission has accused marketers of 'dataveillance' - collecting credit card, loyalty card and mobile phone information to find out as much as possible about...

LETTER: Why will they not want to opt-out?(Letter to the editor)
December 1, 2006... So the opt-out bandwagon rolls on to a new territory, in its quest to liberate society from unsolicited communications. This flippant comment comes as two Internet behavioural targeting firms recently announced that they're to inform...

VIEWPOINT: Sing from the same hymn sheet or pray.
December 1, 2006... In a perpetually changing industry, all could benefit from adopting a fixed vocabulary, so that firms do not confuse each other, let alone their customers No industry in its right mind would set out to confuse its customers. Somehow,...

LEADER: Recycling no longer domain of 'loonies'.(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... So, according to Royal Mail's marketing boss, Alex Batchelor, the environment is not a major issue for direct marketing, as there are so many other industries which produce far more waste. Nice try, Alex, but it doesn't quite work like that....

PROFILE: Whitaker takes the fag out of data.(Jeremy Whitaker)
December 1, 2006... Jenny Hoffbrand The man spearheading DLG's drive to take on Acxiom and Experian and become the 'third force' in the data market has no doubt where he learned his management style Mention the names Greg and Lionel Thain to most people...

Creative Critique: 01.12.06.
December 1, 2006... Kids, who'd have 'em? Well, both of us actually. Five boys between us. And, as a parent, you're acutely aware of just how vulnerable, malleable and full of promise children are. For this reason, we've chosen work based around little 'uns....

BUSINESS-TO-BUSINESS: Touching subject.
December 1, 2006... While data-driven marketing can build an emotional connection with customers, B2B data decays far more quickly than consumer. Yet it is hard to replace the human touch Web 2.0 - the technological revolution which will allow everyone to...

CONTACT CENTRE: i-Contact.(telemarketing industry)
December 1, 2006... The growth of the TPS is forcing the entire telemarketing industry to embrace other channels, especially digital, meaning businesses in the sector are at least becoming true contact centres After the nadir of 2005 - a year that saw...

LIST DEVELOPMENTS: Who's being deduped?
December 1, 2006... While cynics may argue that it is in the interests of data owners to make money from duplicate records, the latest pre-merged datasets appear to contradict this David ReedMachismo does not feature much in direct marketing. It is hard to...

LIST/INSERT FILE: Bump to 3 puts file up for sale.(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... Bump to 3 has unveiled its list through Independent Direct Marketing. The company, established in September 2003, offers a range of practical and innovative products for mums-to-be and parents of young infants. Customers have been...

LIST/INSERT FILE: Paper reader list goes on market.(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... The Newspaper Responders' Database has been unveiled through Independent Direct Marketing. This list, new to the market, reveals national and local newspaper reading habits. The data was collected from responders to a telephone...

LIST/INSERT FILE: Morphy Richards unveils database.(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... Morphy Richards, the electrical goods manufacturer, has released its lifestyle database via Go Direct Marketing. Customers have been invited to answer a number of questions following the purchase of electrical items. All data is opted in,...

LIST/INSERT FILE: Motorists Club releases names.(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... The Motorists Club has launched a new list through Integral Marketing. The file consists of 120,000 0-12 month postal addresses and 205,000 email addresses. These individuals are members of a free online club and receive a regular email...

LIST/INSERT FILE: Grolier reveals mailing data.(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... Grolier has released a new opportunity from its mailing lists. The Grolier postal database has been available for many years, and been popular with firms looking to target households with young families. Consumers have been recruited...

MOVING PEOPLE: 121Media lures Drayton to UK chief executive.(united kingdom)(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... 121Media, the technology firm which specialises in contextual online advertising, has appointed Hugo Drayton UK chief executive. In addition to serving as European managing director for Advertising.com, Drayton was formerly managing director...

MOVING PEOPLE: Tradedoubler appoints head of campaigns.(Frank Mulhall recruited)(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... Tradedoubler, the European provider of online marketing and sales solutions, has recruited Frank Mulhall as head of campaigns. Mulhall previously worked at AOL as sales planning manager, and as a sales planner at Wanadoo/Freeserve (now Orange),...

MOVING PEOPLE: Loewy names Killingley head of digital.(Mark Killingley )(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... Integrated agency Loewy has appointed Mark Killingley as head of digital. Killingley will consolidate the consultancy's digital business across Web build, search marketing and online campaigns. He has seven years' experience across the...

MOVING PEOPLE: Hicklin Slade chooses senior digital planner.(Hicklin Slade and Partners)(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... Hicklin Slade & Partners, the relationship marketing agency, has recruited Gary Moore as senior digital planner, to strengthen its digital division - headed by director of digital Dan Thwaites. Moore was previously client services director at...

MOVING PEOPLE: Callcredit selects Page as sales chief.(Janine Page appointed)(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... Callcredit, the UK credit reference agency, has appointed Janine Page to the new position of head of sales, credit marketing. Page will be responsible for developing sales of information solutions for customer screening, profiling and...

Industry counters Archbishop attack.(Archbishop of Canterbury )
December 15, 2006... The industry has hit back at the Archbishop of Canterbury following his comments that children should be protected from the "worst excesses of direct marketing", with one agency boss claiming Dr Rowan Williams is "wasting his breath". ...

'Paid-for' email set to launch in the UK.(Goodmail)(Brief article)
December 15, 2006... The company behind AOL and Yahoo's anti-spam 'paid-for' email scheme is to launch the service in the UK next spring, in what is being claimed to be a major boon for email marketing. The Goodmail system, which has been running in the US...

Postal compensation system faces overhaul.(Brief article)
December 15, 2006... Postal regulator Postcomm is probing Royal Mail's compensation schemes for loss, damage and delay - including compensation to bulk mail customers - following criticism that they are difficult to understand. Royal Mail has four schemes for...

IN BRIEF: Search marketing to receive code.(Brief article)
December 15, 2006... The DMA (UK) is creating an industry group to establish new rules governing search marketing, following exponential growth in the sector. The trade body believes the key role which search marketing now has means clear guidelines are needed for...

IN BRIEF: Ultralase awards integrated brief.(Brief article)
December 15, 2006... Ultralase, provider of laser vision correction surgery and cosmetic treatments, has appointed DS-J to handle its integrated account. The agency has been tasked to build brand awareness and encourage consumers to use Ultralase's vision...

IN BRIEF: Sony pushes Xmas games.(Sony Computer Entertainment Europe creates iKyp )(Brief article)
December 15, 2006... Computer giant Sony Computer Entertainment UK has created an iKyp (information to keep in your pocket) to help inform shoppers about new games that are available on PlayStation2 this Christmas. The Playstation 2 iKyp, entitled 'The Lounge', was...

IN BRIEF: EU group seeks post break-up.(European Postal Users Group )(Brief article)
December 15, 2006... The European Postal Users Group (PUG) is calling on Ministers to back the opening of Europe's postal markets in 2009. The call comes hours ahead of the first formal discussion by Ministers of the Commission's recent proposal to lift the...

Industry pays tribute to ex-Royal Mail chief Novak.(Adam Novak)
December 15, 2006... The direct marketing industry has paid tribute to former Royal Mail Media Markets managing director Adam Novak, who died suddenly last week (precisionmarketing. co.uk). Novak, who left Royal Mail in 2002 after 12 years at the organisation,...

Spooner handed new job in CCHM:Ping rejig.(Jonathan Spooner)(Brief article)
December 15, 2006... CCHM:Ping is overhauling its creative department, handing chief Jonathan Spooner the new role of creative initiative director. The move is designed to free up Spooner from the administrative tasks associated with running the team, so that...

Lexus reveals second phase of LS 460 push.(Lexus GB Ltd.)(Brief article)
December 15, 2006... Luxury car marque Lexus is promoting the long-awaited LS 460 saloon, its revamped flagship model, with a major direct mail campaign. The push, in its second phase, will target prospects who expressed an interest in the car after the...

BSkyB hunts direct chief to exploit 8m customer base.(British Sky Broadcasting Group PLC)(Brief article)
December 15, 2006... Broadcasting giant BSkyB is seeking a direct marketing chief to spearhead a drive to increase revenue from its 8 million-strong customer base. The head of sales and direct marketing is to lead a team responsible for the up-, cross-selling...

TDA pack lures science teachers.(Training and Development Agency)(Brief article)
December 15, 2006... The Training & Development Agency (TDA) aims to lure more people into teaching physics and chemistry by bringing science to life. A campaign, created by DraftFCB London, is designed to demonstrate the dynamic and interactive nature of...

Millets unveils viral offensive.(viral marketing)(Brief article)
December 15, 2006... Blacks Group outdoor retailer Millets is aiming to boost brand awareness while building a detailed picture of customers with a viral email campaign in the run-up to Christmas. A game, created by DNX and called 'Santa's Yule lob', invites...

IN BRIEF: DoH promotes smoking ban.(Department of Health)(Brief article)
December 15, 2006... The Department of Health (DoH) is launching a direct marketing push, aimed at businesses and consumers, in support of the smoking ban to be introduced in England next summer. The DoH has appointed Partners Andrews Aldridge to handle the...

IN BRIEF: Ofcom extends silent calls probe.(Brief article)
December 15, 2006... Regulator Ofcom is to extend its monitoring and enforcement of silent calls for a further six months, to gather evidence of the use of automated calling systems (ACS). Once Ofcom has assessed the data supplied, it will take any enforcement...

IN BRIEF: VisitScotland hunts agency.(Brief article)
December 15, 2006... VisitScotland UK & Ireland is seeking an agency to handle its direct marketing account. The shop will be tasked with promoting Scotland to visitors and encouraging them to return to the area when they leave. It will be required to work with...

NSPCC to 'roadblock' Christmas Day ad slot.
December 15, 2006... Children's charity the NSPCC is to run a 90-second TV ad on Christmas day - taking over commercial stations in a broadcast 'roadblock' - to thank all of its supporters in 2006, in what is claimed a festive broadcast first. The content...

Mercedes in R-Class mailing blitz.(Mercedes-Benz's awareness campaign to promote its six-seater R-Class )(Brief article)
December 15, 2006... Mercedes-Benz is aiming to build awareness of its luxury six-seater R- Class, by encouraging 400,000 prospects to take a test-drive and request a brochure. A mailing campaign, created by Claydon Heeley, will also target drivers of...

IN BRIEF: RIAS reviews direct business.(Brief article)
December 15, 2006... RIAS, insurance provider for the over 50s, is conducting a review of its direct marketing account through the AAR. It is understood that incumbent agency EHS Brann has been knocked out at the evaluation stage. The review comes as the...

IN BRIEF: Orr leaves Acxiom without job.(Acxiom UK)(Dawn Orr )(Brief article)
December 15, 2006... Acxiom UK data group leader Dawn Orr has left the company without a job to go to, less than a month after the US data giant claimed she was off sick with stress. The fate of European data services leader Jon Cano Lopez, who was also claimed...

IN BRIEF: Douglass departs DraftFCB.(Dan Douglass)(Brief article)
December 15, 2006... Dan Douglass, former executive creative director at FCBi, is leaving the newly merged DraftFCB in a move which sees Arthur Parshotam take on the creative directorship. Douglass co-founded DP&A with David Poole in the early Nineties, and...

Charity Calm unveils hard-hitting assault.(Campaign Against Living Miserably)(Brief article)
December 15, 2006... The Campaign Against Living Miserably (Calm) is encouraging companies in the fashion, sports, music and mobile phone industries to support its cause by making a donation, with a hard-hitting integrated campaign. The push, designed by...

Portland site to lure adventurous.(Portland Holidays Direct )(Brief article)
December 15, 2006... Thomson's package holiday brand Portland Holidays Direct is launching an integrated campaign to build brand awareness. The drive, created by McCann Erickson Manchester, encourages people to visit microsite Portland Explore, which will go...

'Individualisation' far from easy to achieve.(direct marketing)
December 15, 2006... 'Individualisation' is seemingly a very simple word with a simple meaning, which, let's face it, many cannot misconstrue. Yet it is increasingly creeping into the vocabulary of marketers, though few seem to have grasped its meaning in a...

IPG reels as Wal-Mart scandal hits DraftFCB.(Brief article)
December 15, 2006... New York The US market is reeling from the fall-out of the Wal-Mart scandal, which has seen the company axe IPG-owned DraftFCB from its $570m (#290m) account after only a month. The move, which has resulted in the person who hired DraftFCB,...

Experian launches Mosaic in Romania.(Brief article)
December 15, 2006... Bucharest Experian has expanded its Mosaic geodemographic segmentation tool with the launch of a version for Romania. The scheme, which has been developed in conjunction with Geo Strategies, classifies Romania's 22 million inhabitants into...

World Trade Center mail keeps coming.(Brief article)
December 15, 2006... New York The World Trade Center is still being inundated with post, more than five years after the Twin Towers were destroyed. In a damning indictment of corporate data strategy, hundreds of telephone bills, insurance statements,...

End is nigh for middle sized database firms.
December 15, 2006... If you work for, or even run, a medium-sized database company in the UK, you better read the following prediction: by the end of 2009 you will no longer exist, unless you change your business model. I cannot see mid-sized companies in the...

ANALYSIS: Creatives pick this year's 'I wish I'd done that' work.(Direct Marketing Association's awards)
December 15, 2006... Last week's DMA (UK) Awards night proved a successful one for the likes of Craik Jones, Story and Kitcatt Nohr, which were all multiple gold winners. But which work has most impressed creatives? Now the dust has settled after the annual...

ANALYSIS: Email passes accreditation test as response soars.(Goodmail's certified email service)
December 15, 2006... Successful trials of a certified email service through Goodmail have seen deliverability rise, with the additional benefit of restoring trust in the medium When AOL and Yahoo launched trials of a certified email service in April, to...