Precision Marketing articles from February 2008

Precision Marketing archives from February 2008

Clients warned over MPS crisis.
February 8, 2008... The Mailing Preference Service could be "buggered" if client companies do not address a potential funding shortfall sparked by the privatisation of the postal market. The organisation which gathers the cash to fund self-regulatory...

Experts blast 'callous, stupid' Egg.
February 8, 2008... Internet bank Egg has been branded "callous" and "stupid" following its decision to ditch 161,000 credit card customers, who it claims are 'high risk'. Sean Larrangton-White, head of financial services forum Tank has blasted the strategy...

Aegis launches group insight and data wing.(Brief article)
February 8, 2008... Aegis Media is bolstering its insight, evaluation and data services with the launch of a 40-strong division, AEvolve, to work across its eight brands. The operation will be headed by Carat head of insight Mark Greenstreet and head of data...

IN BRIEF: HBOS boosts fraud protection.(Brief article)
February 8, 2008... Banking giant HBOS has signed a deal with SAS to boost fraud protection for the company's entire customer base. The finance group is implementing SAS Fraud Management software initially to protect the millions of active debit cards HBOS has...

IN BRIEF: Diageo hunts digital chief.(Brief article)
February 8, 2008... Drinks company Diageo is seeking a new global digital marketing manager to boost its digital offering and enhance to integrated marketing strategies. The digital marketing manager will be implementing innovative technology platforms to the...

IN BRIEF: Virgin Media builds team.(Virgin Media Group Ltd.)(Brief article)
February 8, 2008... Virgin Media is aiming to boost its customer insight team to step up its continuing battle against rival BSkyB. The new recruits will develop customer insight to support the company's continued expansion. The team is split across three areas,...

Brand owners 'still blind' to single customer view.
February 8, 2008... More than two-thirds of marketers use three separate databases a day to store and analyse marketing and campaign data, busting the myth that brand-owners have woken up to the need for a single customer view. The stark findings are...

CRUK shake-up in bid to raise extra #100m.
February 8, 2008... Cancer Research UK has restructured its fundraising and communications department as part of ambitious plans to increase its charitable in- come by over #100m by 2010. The cancer charity has realigned its communications, information,...

BUPA in DRTV drive to push cancer diagnosis.
February 8, 2008... Healthcare organisation BUPA is launching a DRTV blitz, developing its light-hearted 'shapes' campaign to tackle more serious subjects such as care for cancer diagnosis and treatment. The push has been devised by brand response agency The...

Debenhams exits Nectar in review of loyalty strategy.
February 8, 2008... Debenhams is pulling out of the Nectar loyalty programme, in a major U- turn which will see it focus on marketing directly to its storecard holders. Debenhams was one of the founding members of the Nectar scheme when it launched in 2002,...

Drive to promote the 'real Wales'.(VisitWales)(Brief article)
February 8, 2008... VisitWales is launching the next phase of its drive to promote the 'real Wales' with a major integrated campaign to get consumers to put the country on their holiday 'shopping lists'. The initiative, created by Partners Andrews Aldridge,...

OS makes first appointment.(Instore Field Marketing and Ordnance Survey Ireland in contract)(Brief article)
February 8, 2008... Ordnance Survey (OS), Great Britain's mapping agency has appointed Instore Field Marketing as part of its #7m marketing tender, designed to boost brand awareness. The mapmaker revealed plans to appoint a raft of agencies in October last...

IN BRIEF: Six Nations data capture drive.(Brief article)
February 8, 2008... Coca-Cola brand Powerade - the official sports drink of the Rugby Football Union - is launching a digital campaign to exploit its sponsorship of RBS Six Nations 2008 by capturing data on fitness fans. The initiative, which promotes Powerade's...

IN BRIEF: OFT raises scam awareness.(Office of Fair Trading )(Brief article)
February 8, 2008... The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has launched its 2008 Scams Awareness Month to raise awareness of mass marketed scams, which cost the public #3.5 billion a year. The campaign, which will run across the whole of February, aims to highlight...

IN BRIEF: Scots Govt seeks agencies.(Brief article)
February 8, 2008... The Scottish Government is seeking agencies to handle direct and digital marketing for the Scottish Parliament and all public sectors. A roster of agencies will be appointed to handle direct marketing, digital, public relations, design,...

Charities told 'ignore no cold calling zones'.
February 8, 2008... Charities are being urged to ignore all 'no cold calling zones' except those set up in response to rogue traders and distraction burglaries. This call is being made by the Public Fundraising Regulatory Association (PFRA) as a result of...

Ford sets sights on white van man.
February 8, 2008... Car manufacturer Ford is bolstering its attack on the 'white van man' market with a push to promote its wide range of Transit vehicles. A mailpack, created by Wunderman, will be sent to 30,000 existing and prospective small businesses...

IN BRIEF: Banks unite to hunt 'lost' accounts.(Brief article)
February 8, 2008... Three of the UK's biggest financial institutions have joined forces for an online initiative to help people search for lost accounts. National Savings & Investments, the British Bankers Association, and the Building Societies Association...

IN BRIEF: Richard Thomas calls for new law.(United Kingdom. Data Protection Act 1998)(Brief article)
February 8, 2008... The Information Commissioner Richard Thomas has called on the Government to create a new criminal offence that will financially punish those who recklessly or knowingly breach the Data Protection Act. In a paper to the Government, Thomas said:...

IN BRIEF: Lloyd takes the helm at infoUK.com.(Richard Lloyd appointed as general manager )(Brief article)
February 8, 2008... Former Experian boss Richard Lloyd has been appointed as general manager of US data business infoUSA's new subsidiary brand infoUK.com. In a newly created role, Lloyd will be responsible for the launch of infoUK.com's The Business Database and...

Jordans seeks insight with eCRM shake-up.(Brief article)
February 8, 2008... Jordans Cereals is overhauling its web strategy in a bid to identify its core customers and has appointed Juice to handle the online customer management account. The move comes in the same week as Jordans has appointed former Green &...

eCircle launches online car portal.
February 8, 2008... Digital marketing company eCircle has launched online car portal mytestdrive.co.uk, with the backing of car brands including Chrysler, Fiat, Mazda, Mercedes, Renault and Seat. The site is a tool for consumers interested in buying a new car...

Habits of effective online marketers.
February 8, 2008... Online marketing is a discipline in almost constant flux. In as little as two years' time we shall probably be in a very different place in terms of how the media mix is made up. And yet, how ever online marketing changes over time, there...

Help the Aged takes control of donor data.(Brief article)
February 8, 2008... Help the Aged is taking donor management in-house as part of plans to gain control and drive down costs of supporter recruitment and retention. The charity is to implement The Software Bureau's Cygnus technology, Cygnus ES, which...

Bounty offers finance service with Skipton.(Bounty club along with Skipton building society to offer financial services)(Brief article)
February 8, 2008... Parenting club Bounty is to launch a financial service in partnership with Skipton building society. The service will include a standalone website, bountymoney.com, which has been developed with the aim of making it easier for families...

SAS achieves 31st straight year of growth.
February 8, 2008... Increasing demand for analytics-based business solutions has sparked a 15 per cent increase in revenue for enterprise intelligence and analytical software provider SAS. In 2007, SAS achieved a record revenue of $2.15bn, marking its 31st...

Are benefits of data pools exaggerated?
February 8, 2008... For data hungry clients, eager to obtain fresh sources of leads, data pools have been offered up as the direct marketing sector's new saviour. Clients can now purchase lists from a variety of owners and produce profile models of their...

ANALYSIS: iTV rock 'n' roll revival faces Web TV new wave threat.
February 8, 2008... Interactive TV (iTV) was once seen as the great white hope for direct marketing. But, with crisis talks looming, it seems that it only has a small window of opportunity before Internet TV cleans up With broadcasters calling a summit to...

Egg: Out of the frying pan into the fire?
February 8, 2008... As recent activity by Egg threatens to send the already sensitive financial services sector into a frenzy, will other lenders be tempted to follow suit? Citibank's decision to ditch over 7 per cent of Egg's credit card customers that it...

Consumers stay loyal to loyalty cards.
February 8, 2008... For so long the great hope of the loyalty industry, storecards experienced a decline around the turn of the millennium. Latest research suggests that the good times are back At the turn of the millennium, the loyalty sector experienced a...

OPINION: Integration crucial to search success.(Brief article)
February 8, 2008... For the past few years, search has not only become an integral feature of any online session, but also an integral part of our daily lives; an essential tool that we'd be lost without. Need to find a cheap pizzeria? You search. Want to know...

LETTER: Quality not quantity will secure affiliate's future.(Letter to the editor)
February 8, 2008... You're absolutely spot on to say that affiliate marketing is the new 'must have' strategy (PM January 25). Affiliate marketing is now the most cost effective medium for driving customer acquisition, with UK brands spending an average of...

LETTER: Why it's good to talk online.(Letter to the editor)
February 8, 2008... Nick Earnshaw's comment about taking more advantage of opportunities to interact with customers online (PM January 25) struck a real chord with us in email marketing. In the meetings of IMRG's Usability Forum last year, I heard a...

LETTER: Protect assets or suffer long term.(Letter to the editor)
February 8, 2008... Annette Holmes is right to talk about audit trails (An appealing prospect', PM January 25) for data owners concerned about their revenue. There are many ways data owners can protect their assets. We have advocated for years that data...

LETTER: Now is not time to rest on laurels.(Letter to the editor)
February 8, 2008... It's encouraging to read on precisionmarketing.co.uk (January 29) that 75 per cent of marketers plan to increase experiential budgets in 2008. But reports suggest the marketing industry is not due to suffer decreasing budgets in 2008 anyway....

VIEWPOINT: Another one wades in to the trust debate.
February 8, 2008... All those involved in the world of online and search marketing are agreed that trust is crucial to the survival of the industry. How to achieve this, however, is another matter entirely The vital issue of trust continues to fuel debate in...

LEADER: Why interactive TV is 'pretty vacant'.
February 8, 2008... Remember the days when the music industry was so bereft of ideas that it's only answer to declining sales was to launch another rock 'n' roll revival? The epitome of this strategy was when Bill Haley & the Comets re-entered the UK charts in...

Why last Christmas retailers gave online a head start.
February 8, 2008... Sales figures for the 2007 Christmas period suggest that the way people shop is undergoing fundamental changes Looking back at the 2007 Christmas shopping period as a whole, it is evident that fundamental changes are taking place in the...

Creative Critique: 08.02.08.(briefs)(Brief article)
February 8, 2008... As agencies throughout the land are busy demonstrating to their clients they can 'do' online, let's take time out and look at that other inbox, the letterbox. A place where tactile brand and product experiences are delivered. Martin...

DATABASE MANAGEMENT: A happy medium.(Company overview)
February 8, 2008... Looking for a supplier to manage your database? How do you know whether to choose a bureau that is owned by an agency network or a smaller independent outfit? David Reed It is not hard to find a supplier to provide database...

TFM&A: A 'must visit' event.(Technology for Marketing & Advertising)
February 8, 2008... This year's TFM&A has moved to the larger venue of Earls Court 2, proof, if needed, that technology is the driving force behind most marketing activity. So what can visitors expect to find? Emily Cubitt Heard the one about the...

LIST/INSERT FILE: Bright Minds unveils database.
February 8, 2008... Mail order company Bright Minds has unveiled its database for rental through Fig Tree DM. The company sells a range of educational toys and software, learning games and outdoor toys via its catalogue and online store. This list...

LIST/INSERT FILE: 'Green' file comes up for grabs.(HLB UK Ltd.)(Brief article)
February 8, 2008... HLB is releasing The Green File for rental, which is made up of consumers with a genuine concern for the earth's fragile resources and committed to living a 'greener' way of life. These consumers' green interests range from buying...

LIST/INSERT FILE: Mobile phone database released.
February 8, 2008... Online firm City Communications has released its mobile phone database for the first time through Howse Jackson Marketing. City Communications is an online supplier of all major mobile phone brands. The list is suitable for any mobile...

LIST/INSERT FILE: BCA updates and revises database.
February 8, 2008... Mail order book club BCA has updated and revised its database of buyers for rental through Independent Direct Marketing. BCA is the UK's largest book club and operates separate clubs including The Arts Guild, Ancient and Medieval History,...

LIST/INSERT FILE: Automobile list released.
February 8, 2008... Breakeryard.com is releasing its new list to the market through UKLPS. The website is a one-stop solution for consumers shopping for car spares both new and used. It holds over 2 million parts within its computer warehouse making it...

MOVING PEOPLE: Dunnhumby boosts digital offering.(appointment of Rufus Evison )(Brief article)
February 8, 2008... Dunnhumby is strengthening its digital capability with the appointment of Rufus Evison as digital strategy director. Evison joins from Clickstream, where he was a founder and chief technology officer. While there he developed technologies...

MOVING PEOPLE: Harvest Digital appoints head of client development.
February 8, 2008... Online marketing agency Harvest Digital has appointed Julia Smith head of client development. In this new position, Smith will lead the client development team in identifying growth opportunities for new and existing clients across the whole...

MOVING PEOPLE: Joshua G2 poaches Nitro head of planning.(Joshua G2 Limited appoints Verra Budimlija )(Brief article)
February 8, 2008... Integrated agency Joshua G2 has poached Verra Budimlija from Nitro London. She joins the agency as its first cross agency head of planning, and will be responsible for building strategic planning across the agency and helping it better exploit...

MOVING PEOPLE: LinkDirect promotes Graham to general manager.(promotion of Mark Graham)(Brief article)
February 8, 2008... Door-drop marketing company LinkDirect has promoted Mark Graham to general manager. Graham steps up from his position as business development manager. His new role will see him assume greater responsibility for the day-to-day running of the...

Nice Work: Gary Childs.(EuroDirect)(Brief article)
February 8, 2008... Gary Childs Head of analysis EuroDirect Responsibilities: I manage the analysis and consultancy team at EuroDirect, whose main focus is the development and implementation of analytical strategies for clients across a wide variety of...

Charities blasted for '#11.5m waste'.
February 22, 2008... The charity sector is being accused of wasting #11.5m worth of marketing spend - and abusing the trust of its donors - by mailing millions of people who have either moved or died. The accusation comes in a study by The REaD Group into use...

Kitcatt Nohr picks up Britannia business.
February 22, 2008... Britannia Building Society has handed its direct marketing account to Kitcatt Nohr Alexander Shaw following a competitive pitch. The pitch was called in November of last year and has been handled by the AAR. It is understood that up to...

Two buyers square up for Chemistry battle.
February 22, 2008... Two buyers are understood to be fighting it out for the chance to buy Chemistry Communications. One of the suitors is believed to be a large marketing services network, while the other is thought to be independent. The winning bidder...

IN BRIEF: OFT warns teens in fake text blitz.(Office of Fair Trading)(Brief article)
February 22, 2008... The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) is sending out thousands of fake text messages to 18- to 24-year-old mobile phone users as part of a strategy to raising awareness about scams. The text message, sent out as part of Scams Awareness Month,...

IN BRIEF: Andrews quits Personal.(Jason Andrews)(Brief article)
February 22, 2008... Personal creative partner Jason Andrews has quit the agency following the merger with direct agency Partners Andrews Aldridge. His departure follows the acquisition of Partners Andrews Aldridge by Personal parent company The Engine Group....

IN BRIEF: EMDA shares #5m account.(Brief article)
February 22, 2008... East Midlands Development Agency (EMDA) has appointed five agencies to its #5m integrated account. Carlson Marketing, 23red, Pera International, Momenta and Greenlight Advertising and Communications have been appointed to the EMDA roster to...

Office heads retail email marketing 'roll of shame'.
February 22, 2008... Shoe chain Office tops the 'roll of shame' when it comes to sloppy email marketing practice, in a damning report which also exposes nearly half (46 per cent) of retailers fail to comply with the most basic legal requirements. The...

Orbis hands direct account to Flourish.
February 22, 2008... Orbis UK, the charity dedicated to preventing and treating blindness in developing countries, has handed its direct marketing account to Bristol-based agency Flourish. The charity's direct marketing has been handled by Direct Marketing...

British Gas promotes insurance aggregator.
February 22, 2008... British Gas Business is targeting small companies in a campaign to raise awareness of its new online insurance aggregator, insurance-for- business.co.uk. An integrated marketing campaign will be used to drive customers to the website....

Industry urges action on EU law as freelances 'face axe'.
February 22, 2008... Freelance staff, including agency creatives, field marketers and face- to-face charity workers, could soon be priced out of the market if the Government does not take action to prevent the EU Agency Workers Directive becoming UK law. This...

VisitScotland in direct rethink.
February 22, 2008... VisitScotland is overhauling its marketing strategy by creating highly personalised marketing communications - including tailored information and special offers - to convert occasional visitors into regular tourists. The Scottish Tourist...

Murphy takes top DLG role.(appointment of Michael Murphy)(Brief article)
February 22, 2008... Data giant DLG has appointed Friends Reunited chief executive Michael Murphy as non-executive chairman, following its recent refinancing through Kaupthing Capital Partners. As former chief operating officer at the Financial Times,...

IN BRIEF: Spectator boosts direct marketing.(Brief article)
February 22, 2008... The Spectator magazine is ramping up its direct marketing activity with the appointment of brand response agency Burn to handle its marketing account. The agency, which won the business following a three-way pitch, will develop a raft of...

IN BRIEF: Glue appointed to DCSF account.(Department for Children, Schools and Families)(Brief article)
February 22, 2008... The Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) has appointed Glue to handle its digital account on a project basis. The agency will be tasked with creating a campaign to support and increase the number of students over 16 years-old...

IN BRIEF: Asda pushes Internet Savings.(Brief article)
February 22, 2008... Asda Financial Services is launching a campaign to raise awareness of its Internet Savings account, in partnership with Bradford and Bingley. The drive, created by Ashley Bolser Agency (ABA) aims to promote the savings account in an...

WaterAid kicks off direct agency hunt.
February 22, 2008... International development charity WaterAid is seeking an agency to handle its direct marketing account. It is unclear if the charity's incumbent agency, Watson Phillips Norman, will be affected by the review. At the end of last year...

Honda pushes green credentials.(Honda Motor Europe Ltd. appoints Hicklin Slade and Partners)(Brief article)
February 22, 2008... Car brand Honda is launching a campaign to showcase the brand's environmentally friendly technology. The 'Problem Playground' campaign, which has been created by relationship marketing agency Hicklin Slade & Partners, will comprise...

IN BRIEF: Brands axed in Cello Group rebrand.(Brief article)
February 22, 2008... The Cello Group of agencies, which includes Navigator, CCHM:Ping, Talking Numbers and Target Direct, are being renamed to formalise their relationship under the banner of the 'Tangible Group', and create one of the UK's largest marketing...

IN BRIEF: Man U shakes up global data strategy.(Brief article)
February 22, 2008... Manchester United Football Club (MUFC) has appointed multi-channel marketing software company SmartFocus to manage its international data and achieve understanding of its global fanbase. The club will use SmartFocus' intelligent marketing...

IN BRIEF: Business Link NW to build roster.(Brief article)
February 22, 2008... Business Link Northwest, the government backed development company is seeking a roster of agencies to handle its #10m online, direct marketing and advertising accounts. The broad marketing brief will include the development of external...

Skoda goes online for estate model launch.
February 22, 2008... Skoda is ramping up its online activity to support the launch of the Fabia Estate model. The drive, created Archibald Ingall Stretton, will feature an expandable ad and MPU execution for the car's debut. The campaign carries the...

HarperCollins pushes Narnia tie-in.
February 22, 2008... Publisher HarperCollins is launching a global digital campaign to promote a tie-in publishing deal to the forthcoming film The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian. The publisher is launching a 'read it before you see it' campaign before...

Why are digital and media having a fight?
February 22, 2008... It's a popular myth that the inexorable rise of digital is pushing aside the more traditional techniques used by media planners and buyers. This misconception suggests that media and digital are two separate camps, both working towards...

Demographics 'will be irrelevant online'.(Gartner)(Brief article)
February 22, 2008... Traditional ways of selling to customers based on demographic information such as age and gender will become irrelevant in the online sector, according to information technology company Gartner. Companies will need new skills and techniques...

G2 Data Dynamics in consumer panel launch.
February 22, 2008... Customer strategy and data insight company G2 Data Dynamics is launching ViewPoint, a consumer research panel that will gauge public opinion on campaigns, marketing messages and products. The ViewPoint panel, which has been set up in...

Mortascreen bid to combat outsource scam.
February 22, 2008... Millennium, the company behind the Mortascreen deceased suppression file, has launched an accreditation logo for all direct bureau licence holders to display on their websites and promotional literature. The accreditation logo allows data...

As always, change brings opportunity.
February 22, 2008... The irony of today's brave new world of 24 hour news and messaging delivered wherever we are, through whichever communication channel we are tuned to, is that in spite of us having access to more information, we struggle to disseminate the...

ANALYSIS: Why are SMEs so reluctant to switch postal operator?
February 22, 2008... Competition is starting to have an impact in the postal services market, but small businesses are dragging their heels when it comes to seeking alternatives to Royal Mail. Are they missing out? Two years after the market for postal services...

ANALYSIS: Email marketers warned about high price of failure.
February 22, 2008... Email marketing may be on the rise but the latest research shows that many practitioners are failing to comply with best practice standards. This could have serious repercussions for the industry as a whole With nearly half - 46 per cent...

ANALYSIS: Can Web brands survive EU threat to gathering data?(European Union)
February 22, 2008... Tracking online behaviour is a key strategy for many Web brands, but the practice could become a thing of the past if the EU Parliament can prove that IP addresses should be classed as personal information Sitting in your office with the...

PROFILE: Shooting from the lip.
February 22, 2008... Charles Ping Never afraid to speak his mind, the former DMA (UK) chief ruffled a few feathers with his comments about the future of the MPS. Now Ai look set to benefit from his experience Charles Ping may have shocked a few with his...

OPINION: Only the brave will 'give planning a go'.(Brief article)
February 22, 2008... I recently overheard one of our 'suits' on the phone having to explain to a client why planning time had been included as part of the cost estimate for developing the work. They did an admirable job in justifying why a planner should be...

LETTER: Why it's not good to just talk online.(Letter to the editor)
February 22, 2008... Michael Weston's argument on the subject of email marketing and intelligent customer engagement really serves to highlight the growing negativity towards brands that hide behind digital channels of communication ('Why it's good to talk...