Precision Marketing articles from June 2008

Precision Marketing archives from June 2008

Director reads own obituary after death register blunder.(Brief article)
June 13, 2008... A company director who stumbled across his own obituary in an Oxford University alumni magazine has been assured he was the victim of a bureau data gaffe, outside the control of the company which runs The Bereavement Register (TBR). When...

HBOS hunts agency for Halifax.
June 13, 2008... Financial services giant HBOS is understood to be looking for a direct marketing agency to handle its Halifax account. The account is believed to be worth in excess of #10m. HBOS is the UK's largest mortgage and savings provider in the...

LA Fitness to review direct marketing brief.
June 13, 2008... Gym and leisure chain LA Fitness is on the hunt for a new agency to handle its direct marketing account. The company has already kicked off the pitch process, which is being handled by Creative Brief. In the past, LA Fitness has...

IN BRIEF: OFT warns of Derby scam.(Office of Fair Trading)(Brief article)
June 13, 2008... The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) is launching a direct mail campaign to warn horse racing pundits at the Derby Festival to avoid scam mailings that guarantee a #10,000 win. The OFT Scambusters and South East Trading Standards Scambusters Team...

IN BRIEF: Heinz seeks CRM agency.(Brief article)
June 13, 2008... Heinz is understood to be hunting for an agency to handle its customer relationship management strategy. It is understood that the packaged goods giant has approached a number of agencies about the brief. In the past, Heinz has used a...

IN BRIEF: Smith fills key role at Experian.(Brief article)
June 13, 2008... Experian is driving its integrated marketing division into its next phase of growth with the appointment of Chris Smith as sales and marketing director. Smith will lead the sales and marketing team as the company looks to expand into new...

Business decision-makers 'drowning in communication'.
June 13, 2008... Marketers have been warned not to spend all their advertising budgets on email marketing as business people are drowning in communication, according to a new report. Business bosses receive an average of 59 communications from companies...

Clubcard chief urges respect for agencies.
June 13, 2008... The head of direct marketing at Tesco Clubcard has urged client marketers to treat agencies as genuine business partners and not as a resource, citing the retail giant's relationship with EHS Brann as a perfect example. Copyright: Centaur...

United unveils online push for go ahead!
June 13, 2008... United Biscuits is launching an online campaign for its go ahead! biscuit brand in a bid to raise brand awareness. The drive, created by digital agency Inbox, will launch to coincide with go ahead!'s TV campaign. The first phase of the...

Egg holds agency talks in wake of Muir appointment.
June 13, 2008... Citibank brand Egg is understood to be talking to direct agencies following the recent appointment of new head of marketing Patrick Muir. The decision to review follows the departure of its head of marketing Alison Wright, who left the...

Christian Aid reaches out to youth.
June 13, 2008... Christian Aid is embarking on an experimental new youth initiative designed to engage the Facebook generation. The campaign, entitled Ctrl.Alt.Shift, will be rolled out across a variety of media platforms to encourage 18- to 25-year olds to...

Philips targets Father's Day.
June 13, 2008... Electronics giant Philips is exploiting Father's Day with a major direct mail campaign to promote its shaver range. The two-pronged campaign, created by WDMP, will initially target men, encouraging them to buy its arcitec shaver range for...

IN BRIEF: ICO draws up TUPE guidance.(Brief article)
June 13, 2008... The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) has published new guidance to help organisations comply with the Data Protection Act when providing information about their employees under TUPE. Transfer of Undertakings Protections of Employment...

IN BRIEF: FSA combats youth debt.(Brief article)
June 13, 2008... The Financial Services Authority (FSA) is aiming to tackle spiralling debt among young people with the launch of an online advice centre. A new website, part of the FSA's National Strategy for Financial Capability, has been created following...

IN BRIEF: Major rebrand for Skipton.(Brief article)
June 13, 2008... Skipton Information Group, the company behind Broadsystem, EuroDirect and Callcredit, is rebranding its business to Callcredit Information Group following its recent acquisitions. The move comes in a bid to closely align the businesses...

Bourne Leisure starts digital agency search.
June 13, 2008... Britain's leading holiday company Bourne Leisure is seeking an agency to handle the digital account for its Warner Leisure Hotels brand. The appointed agency will be tasked with handling the leisure company's website and online...

TNT unveils unique stamp service.
June 13, 2008... TNT Post is launching a service to help businesses grab the attention of their customers with a new product called YourStamp. The product, launching next week, allows businesses to customise their own postage stamp to tie in with the...

IN BRIEF: Direct loses ground to online.(Brief article)
June 13, 2008... The direct marketing industry saw a drop in year-on-year growth of 6.5 per cent while online marketing grew by almost 40 per cent in 2007, according to new figures from the Advertising Association. The Advertising Statistics Yearbook 2008...

IN BRIEF: Tesco Clubcard chief Mann exits.(Brief article)
June 13, 2008... Tesco Clubcard director Andrew Mann has been pushed sideways in a move that sees him put in charge of innovation. Although his new role has yet to be finalised, Mann has been replaced by Janet Smith, who has been working for the retail...

IN BRIEF: Wunderman protestors in the clear.(Brief article)
June 13, 2008... The three activists arrested following the invasion of Wunderman's offices have had all charges against them dropped. The environmentalists, from direct action group London Rising Tide, had been charged with "burglary of pens, paper and phone...

DIGITAL: Tesco Mobile links up with Affiliate Window.
June 13, 2008... Tesco Mobile is overhauling its digital strategy to drive online sales by ramping up its affiliate marketing activity in a new partnership with Affiliate Window. The deal will allow Affiliate Window's network of affiliate marketers to...

DIGITAL: Intellitracker focuses on eyes.(Intellitracker has made a new partnership deal with Realeyes )(Brief article)
June 13, 2008... Online analytics provider Intellitracker has struck a new partnership which will allow brand owners to assess the effectiveness of their digital communications by tracking which elements of the screen users' eyes are drawn to. ...

DIGITAL: To integrate or not to integrate?
June 13, 2008... The integration of marketing channels is a key theme within the industry, with research showing that 'online' tangibly affects 'offline'. It is, however, important to know where to draw the line, as integration isn't necessarily the answer to...

DATA: Casinos get tough in fight to stop ID fraud.
June 13, 2008... Three of the UK's biggest casino operators are implementing new identity verification systems in a bid to prevent ID fraud and underage gambling. In order to comply with the new gambling legislation, which lifted the requirement for...

DATA: NHS hires Jaywing to help slash costs.
June 13, 2008... NHS Supply Chain (NHSSC) has appointed data specialist Jaywing to improve its marketing communications as part of a wider strategy to slash NHS costs by #1bn over the next ten years. NHSSC aims to improve supply efficiency through better...

DATA: Information Arts database 'best in breed'.
June 13, 2008... Information Arts is launching a 'best of breed' database which will incorporate eight of the UK's top data suppliers. The B2B database, OMNI, will blend data from 4.2 million businesses and over 10 million individual decision makers. OMNI...

DATA: Time to give control back to marketers.
June 13, 2008... The question marketers need to ask themselves is whether a campaign is meeting corporate objectives. This question is not as easy to answer as you might think. Many campaigns have in the end cost the organisation as much as they have...

ANALYSIS: EHS Brann gets in shape for the next generation.
June 13, 2008... You could probably count on one hand the number of direct marketing agencies which are still around from 1986. EHS Brann has survived going bust and two tricky mergers. What is its formula for success? The direct marketing agency landscape...

THE FACTS: EHS BRANN.(Company overview)(Brief article)
June 13, 2008... All you ever wanted to know about EHS Brann 1986 - Evans Hunt Scott founded by Terry Hunt with David Evans and Ken Scott 1991 - After difficult trading in recession, Evans Hunt Scott is bought by Eurocom (later Havas) 1993 -...

ANALYSIS: How online retailers are beating the credit crunch.
June 13, 2008... While on the high street all the signs may be pointing to troubled times ahead, online retailing is still experiencing growth. How long can the industry continue to buck the trend? While the credit crunch is emptying high street stores...

ANALYSIS: When does 'hard-hitting' become a step too far?
June 13, 2008... With a huge variety of charities to choose from, it's more essential than ever that campaigns achieve stand out. But does this justify some of the shock tactics to elicit response? Most charity mailings are emotionally hard-hitting by...

CONSUMER INSIGHT: High spending urbanites invade the countryside.
June 13, 2008... A new affluent elite is smashing traditional concepts of rural consumers. The Greenbelt Guardians may drive big cars on far away shopping trips, but they are often very active in community-based projects Where once the countryside was the...

OPINION: Innovation crucial during tough times.(Column)
June 13, 2008... Some months ago in this august organ I went on record as being upbeat about business prospects in 2008, despite the doom and gloom. My point was that businesses devoted to understanding consumers are uniquely placed to help brands manage...

LETTER: Why pile it high, sell it cheap, just doesn't wash.(Letter to the editor)
June 13, 2008... Andrew Campbell's comment in Precision Marketing's special report on data quality (Time to get tough, PM May 30) that data owners and list managers do not bother to screen data against MPS and other suppression files because "it's a simple...

LETTER: Mr Bishop, you are not alone.(Letter to the editor)
June 13, 2008... My name is Ian and I'm a direct marketer. There we go, I've said it too, Hugh. Funny thing is, although I've never met you, I'm pretty sure we'd get along. Why? Because we have something in common; something I'm glad to say, I've also...

LETTER: Blame where blame is due.(Letter to the editor)
June 13, 2008... David Reed's point that the organisations most likely to do cold mailings without using MPS are also least likely to join a reputable trade body (Time to get tough, PM May 30) are heavily supported by MPS complaints statistics. MPS gets...

LETTER: Learning lessons of online retail.(Letter to the editor)
June 13, 2008... The UK high street has reached a tipping point, with retailers' core business strategy increasingly being driven by their online presence, rather than the physical stores. As more and more consumers turn their backs on the high street in...

VIEWPOINT: Why green is the new black for consumers.(Viewpoint essay)
June 13, 2008... With the green debate continuing to rage, brands and marketers are finding themselves increasingly under the media spotlight. How they react could be vital to their business Brand communications and initiatives extolling eco-friendly...

LEADER: Why clients love to be told to 'bogof'.(Brief article)
June 13, 2008... Ask a group of people what phrases they most associate with the sales promotion sector and inevitably you are likely to be greeted with such gems as 'shelf-wobblers', 'take-ones', 'gondola ends' and 'dump bins'. So, it should come as no...

DATABASE SOFTWARE: How unique is unique?
June 13, 2008... When planning a marketing campaign it is not always necessary to start with a blank canvas. Why should the rules be any different in the data world? David Reed Suppose you had a very heavy item you needed to move. Somebody...

CUSTOMER MANAGEMENT: Keeping the doctor away.
June 13, 2008... As we enter a time of increased economic uncertainty, customer retention is more vital than ever. Brands can look after customers in the best of times, but what about the worst? David Reed A good bedside manner is one of the most...

LIST/INSERT FILE: EDM unveils consumer list.
June 13, 2008... EDM Media has unveiled a new data rental source of BC1C2 commercially aware individuals aged 20 to 50, collected on a daily basis. The database, called Everyday Consumers, is made up of fresh, responsive data recruited via face-to-face...

LIST/INSERT FILE: Horizon releases borrowers file.
June 13, 2008... Unsecured loans broker Horizon Finance has announced the availability of its database which is being managed by Prospect Swetenhams. The list is new to market, and made up of over 127,137 people between the ages of 18 and 35. The list...

LIST/INSERT FILE: Affluent parents list from Letterbox.(Letter to the editor)
June 13, 2008... Upmarket children's mail order company Letterbox is releasing its updated list of over 440,000 names through Go Direct Marketing The database is ideal for those wanting to target the affluent parents of young children. Typical customers...

LIST/INSERT FILE: Mail order wine list up for grabs.
June 13, 2008... Pieroth Wines has updated its rental database of mail order wine buyers through McCarthy O'Connor. The file now contains 187,981 names, of which over 75 per cent are male. The majority of people on the list are over 45 and married, whose...

LIST/INSERT FILE: Cash prize draw reveals list.
June 13, 2008... A new list of 45,000 names called the Sweepstake File is now available for rental. Available through EDM Media, the list is made up of people who have entered charity instant cash prize draws inserted into various mailings. The...

MOVING PEOPLE: Wax bolsters team with key appointments.
June 13, 2008... Wax Communications has made a raft of new appointments in its creative and account management teams as it attempts to keep up with increased client demand. Anna O'Callaghan joins as art director from Chemistry Communications where she worked...

MOVING PEOPLE: James takes client services role at Lorien Unique.(Lorien Unique appoints Chris James as client services director)(Brief article)
June 13, 2008... Lorien Unique, the data driven marketing arm of Lorien Group, has hired Chris James as client services director. James joins from Reed Exhibitions where he has worked for the last six years, most recently as exhibition director for the...

MOVING PEOPLE: WDMP raids Draft FCB to boost creative team.
June 13, 2008... WDMP has poached a new creative team from Draft FCB to bolster its creative department. Copywriter Dean Turner and art director Jon Workman have left Draft FCB to join WDMP to work on brands including Carphone Warehouse, TUI, Norwich Union and...

MOVING PEOPLE: Blue Sheep appoints Sollis to senior data role.
June 13, 2008... B2B marketing services provider Blue Sheep has bolstered its senior team with the appointment of Neil Sollis as senior data consultant. Sollis joins from LBM where he was a key account data manager. Prior to that he worked at Information Arts...

Who's the boss?(Interview)(Brief article)
June 13, 2008... Employee: Abdullahi Noor, account executive, Carlson Marketing Boss: Annlouise Cawley, head of experiential marketing, Carlson Marketing What sets your current boss apart from others you've had? Annlouise is a friend, a colleague...

TNT deal rescues MPS cash shortfall.
June 27, 2008... TNT Post has eased the pressure on the funding shortfall faced by the Mailing Preference Service (MPS) by agreeing to support the organisation which funds the scheme. Nick Wells, chief executive of TNT Post, confirmed that the private...

Atkinson takes global role in EHS shake-up.(EHS Brann promotes Matt Atkinson to global chief executive )(Brief article)
June 27, 2008... EHS Brann London chief executive Matt Atkinson has been promoted to global chief executive of Euro RSCG 4D to develop international accounts within the network. The move coincides with the appointment of former Arc and Media Square boss...

Co-op to build roster for financial services.
June 27, 2008... Co-operative Financial Services (CFS) is understood to be seeking a roster of agencies to handle its direct marketing account, worth up to #15m. The business is currently handled by Sheffield-based agency Dig for Fire. It won the account...

IN BRIEF: HSBC to create call centre jobs.(Brief article)
June 27, 2008... HSBC will create 250 new jobs as it launches a call centre in Wales, as part of a #14m investment into the centre, amid fears of a global recession. The centre currently employs 200 staff administering HSBC's home and motor insurance...

IN BRIEF: COI draws up agency shortlist.(Children's Workforce Development Council )(Brief article)
June 27, 2008... The Children's Workforce Development Council (CWDC) has shortlisted DLKW, Publicis and Farm to handle its marketing account. The three-way pitch is being handled by the Central Office of Information (COI). The appointed agency will be tasked...

IN BRIEF: Duo fined for stealing data.(Brief article)
June 27, 2008... Two private detectives have became the last people to escape hefty fines, after being convicted of obtaining and selling personal data. Christopher Hackett, trading as Swift Investigations, and Darren Whalley of Managed Credit Services -...

Charities warned about the danger of 'one night stands'.
June 27, 2008... Charities must re-evaluate their treatment of donors if they want to form successful supporter relationships, and avoid the 'one night stand' ethos which is sweeping through society, according to new research. Charity specialist agency...

NSPCC targets donors with 'Hug' campaign.(National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children)(Brief article)
June 27, 2008... The NSPCC is launching a major DRTV campaign in a bid to attract regular donors. The ad, 'Hug', created by WWAV Rapp Collins London, will air from next month. It vividly portrays the contrast between children who are loved and cared...

Equity release push from Norwich Union.(Brief article)
June 27, 2008... Norwich Union is promoting the benefits of its equity release products with a new multimedia campaign. Customers over the age of 55 will be encouraged to make an appointment with a Norwich Union equity release advisor, as part of the...

Thomas Cook pools direct account and boosts digital.
June 27, 2008... Thomas Cook has consolidated its direct marketing account into Outside the Box, following a four-way pitch initiated by new group strategy director Angus Porter. The agency will be tasked with producing campaigns for the Direct Holidays...

Privilege pushes 'Posh Perks'.
June 27, 2008... Privilege Insurance is to promote its Price Promise and launch Posh Perks - a new no claims discount product - with a major direct mail campaign. The drive, created by Partners Andrews Aldridge, will target 30,000 prospect customers, who...

Chatline fined over racy texts.(Spread Media )(Brief article)
June 27, 2008... Sex chatline provider Spread Media has been fined #20,000 and received a six month ban on all premium rate services, for sending out unsolicited, reversed billed, saucy promotional SMS messages. PhonepayPlus, the premium rate phone service...

IN BRIEF: Carbon Trust hunts roster.(Brief article)
June 27, 2008... The Carbon Trust is hunting for a roster of agencies to handle its #1m marketing services account. The Carbon Trust Group is seeking three to six agencies to handle marketing services for its Public Affairs, Stakeholder Management and...

IN BRIEF: AffiliateFuture boosts team.(Brief article)
June 27, 2008... Affiliate marketing network AffiliateFuture is embarking on a period of aggressive growth on the back of four senior appointments. Tom Morgan has been hired to head up the new team as managing director. He joins from EDR where he spearheaded...

IN BRIEF: HBOS in DM shake-up.(database marketing strategy )(Brief article)
June 27, 2008... HBOS is overhauling its database marketing strategy in a bid to enhance targeting and slash waste. HBOS General Insurance is set to introduce new data technology which will allow it to create models for the entire UK renewals market, and...

Suppression rockets as credit crunch bites.(Brief article)
June 27, 2008... The credit crunch has fuelled a sharp rise in the use of deceased suppression files and deceased identity fraud screenings for direct mail activity, as brand owners bid to boost return on investment. Deceased suppression file Mortascreen...

Royal Mail pushes mail love affair.
June 27, 2008... Royal Mail is using a love affair break-up as a metaphor to highlight how effective direct mail is at building long-term relationships with customers. The two-pronged drive, created by Proximity London, carries the strapline 'Mail for...

IN BRIEF: Royal Mail compensation up to #4m.(Brief article)
June 27, 2008... Royal Mail has shelled out more than #4m in compensation in the first three months of the year, nearly double the amount for the previous quarter. The rise, which has been blamed on the postal dispute, includes #2.7m for lost mail - an...

IN BRIEF: Virgin Media admits data blunder.(Brief article)
June 27, 2008... Virgin Media has admitted to losing 3,000 customers' bank details that were burned to a CD and then lost. The quad-play giant is launching an internal inquiry into why sensitive data was transferred to the unencrypted CD, which also included...

IN BRIEF: CWU green light for more strikes.(Brief article)
June 27, 2008... The Communications Workers Union (CWU) has voted for another round of strikes at Royal Mail, dealing a blow to the direct marketing industry after last year's strikes cost the sector #8m. The decision comes despite the CWU's resolution after...

DIGITAL: UEFA under fire over Euro cybersquatters.
June 27, 2008... UEFA has been slammed for failing to protect the online reputation of the 2008 European Football Championship and allowing punters to be preyed on by cybersquatters. Legitimate bookmakers have also been blasted for neglecting to register...

DIGITAL: dotMailer to expand services.
June 27, 2008... Email marketing service provider dotMailer is repositioning in order to provide clients with a full service digital marketing offering. The move sees parent company Ellipsis Media change its name to dotMailer, to reflect the expanded...

DIGITAL: Farewell to mail order catalogues.
June 27, 2008... Last month, Bloomingdale's announced that it would close its postal mail order catalogue business. You heard right, the iconic New York retailer Bloomie's has called time on its postal catalogue operations and will shut it in early 2009. ...

DATA: Bmibaby to focus on single customer view.
June 27, 2008... Low-cost airline Bmibaby is overhauling its data marketing strategy to gain greater insight into how to communicate with its customer base and build a single customer view (SCV). The airline has tasked EHS Brann Discovery to gain a...

DATA: Experian eyes $12bn new software sector.
June 27, 2008... Brand-owners will be able to reduce the costs associated with incomplete and duplicate customer records with the help of a new piece of technology from Experian QAS. The Pro On Demand platform marks Experian QAS' entry into the "software...

DATA: Marketing Metrix unveils census tools.(Peripheral Data Indicators)(Brief article)
June 27, 2008... Data analysis consultancy Marketing Metrix has developed a raft of new tools designed to help replace out-of-date Census data. The Peripheral Data Indicators (PDIs) are claimed to be a new way of using area data. Current and realtime...

DATA: Why creatives need not fear the data.
June 27, 2008... Gloomy economic forecasts have thrown a renewed focus on the power of data across the entire direct marketing industry. As agencies invest more time, effort and money into insight, the 'boys from the backroom' are having a greater say in...

ANALYSIS: Does Cannes 'failure' expose UK creative malaise?(Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival)
June 27, 2008... The Cannes Lions Direct category was first introduced in 2002, yet UK agencies have never fared particularly well. This year was no exception - does this mean the Brits are losing their creative edge? So, another year, another...

ANALYSIS: Email marketing in the dock over security issues.
June 27, 2008... A new report alleges that there is still much work for email marketers to do to ensure that the data they rely on is safe and secure With data blunders now more common than a Big Brother bully, email marketing has emerged as one of the...

ANALYSIS: Digital marketing begins to deliver on old promises.
June 27, 2008... Digital marketing has long been hailed as the future of direct, effective targeting. Thanks to a number of new online techniques this belief may now be bearing fruit For decades direct marketers have been championing the benefits of 'right...

OPINION: Why guidelines are different from rules.(Viewpoint essay)(Brief article)
June 27, 2008... Brands are like people. They need to be nurtured, developed and allowed to grow. Under no circumstances should they be smothered with rigidity, naivety or excessive control. Too many times recently, brand guidelines have been used more like...

LETTER: Who pays when politics and direct marketing mix?(Letter to the editor)
June 27, 2008... I wonder if I am the only one who feels uneasy at the Walledge/Sugarman concerted effort to turf out a democratically elected MP. I hold no brief for Norman Baker but I imagine his views on direct mail waste are among the lesser concerns of...

LETTER: Turning data into accessible info.(Letter to the editor)
June 27, 2008... In the current economic climate, marketers need to think hard about how to talk to customers (Keeping the doctor away, PM June 13). The credit crunch is having an impact on both consumers' and businesses' pockets, so both need to think...