Precision Marketing articles from March 2007

Precision Marketing archives from March 2007

Royal Mail wins compensation appeal.
March 9, 2007... Jenny Hoffbrand Royal Mail has won its appeal against the High Court judgment which ruled it was in breach of its own compensation scheme by withholding a chunk of the #40m it owed to disgruntled mailers. Judges ruled that Royal Mail...

Mirror seeks agency to handle direct brief.(Daily Mirror)(Brief article)
March 9, 2007... Sara Kimberley The Daily Mirror is lining up a number of agencies to pitch for its direct marketing account. The Trinity Mirror-owned newspaper relaunched its website last month to boost sales results following a slump in circulation...

Euro global chief Davis to set up consultancy.
March 9, 2007... Sara Kimberley Huw Davis, global director of Data and Discovery for Euro RSCG 4D, has left the agency to launch an independent data and analytical consultancy called The Huw Davis Partnership, backed by Kitcatt Nohr Alexander Shaw. ...

IN BRIEF: Data regulator warning to ECB.(England and Wales Cricket Board)(Brief article)
March 9, 2007... The England & Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has been issued a final warning by the Information Commissioner's Office for misusing its access to routine criminal clearance applications. The ECB was caught trying to canvas support for its year-old...

IN BRIEF: Spam levels hit record high.(Brief article)
March 9, 2007... Spam email hit a new record during February when, according to security firm SoftScan, 90.3 per cent of emails were identified as junk. The beginning of the year saw sudden dips in the volume of spam levels. The highest levels were seen at...

IN BRIEF: British Legion under fire.(Brief article)
March 9, 2007... The Royal British Legion has been slammed by a number of its members for handing on their details to companies who cold call them. The Legion has connections with companies that sell products such as funeral plans and breakdown cover, and...

Mobile phones 'replacing mail' in charity fundraising.
March 9, 2007... Charities across Europe are turning from traditional direct mail to mobile marketing in order to raise funds, as the media is quickly becoming the 'key new media acquisition tool' for many developing fundraising markets around the world,...

Thomas Cook plans fresh digital strategy.
March 9, 2007... Cruise Thomas Cook, the specialist cruise arm of holiday operator Thomas Cook, is aiming to drive online booking with a new digital strategy designed to increase sales to new consumer groups. The company has handed the brief to Harvest...

Harris quits Lida to seek 'new challenge'.
March 9, 2007... Lida creative partner and co-founder David Harris has quit the agency after seven and half years to "seek a fresh entrepreneurial challenge". Harris is to leave at the end of the week. In an email leaked to Precision Marketing, he says:...

Land Rover goes for pulling power with 2007 Defender.(Land Rover U.K. Ltd. launches marketing campaign for its Defender model)(Brief article)
March 9, 2007... Land Rover is aiming to promote the 'pulling power' of its 2007 Defender model, to reinforce its status as "the best working 4x4 that money can buy". A campaign, created by Craik Jones Watson Mitchell Voelkel, includes a direct mail...

Gamers push Cheltenham week.
March 9, 2007... The gaming industry is planning a major burst of activity to promote this year's Cheltenham Festival, with both Coral Betting and TV channel Racing UK launching campaigns centred on the four-day steeplechase and hurdle event. Coral is...

ATOC retains Craik Jones.
March 9, 2007... The Association of Train Operating Companies (ATOC) has retained Craik Jones Watson Mitchell Voelkel as its direct marketing agency for railcards, following a review. The company saw two other agencies, Harrison Troughton Wunderman and...

IN BRIEF: Woolies unveils digital catalogue.(Woolworths Group PLC ties up with Marketing Innovation Group to introduce the new service)(Brief article)
March 9, 2007... Woolworths is aiming to capitalise on the recent success of its online service and the Big Red Book to launch an interactive digital version of the catalogue. The company has appointed Marketing Innovation Group (MIG) to the brief, which...

IN BRIEF: Joshua chief to land EMEA role.(G2 Advertising promotes Peter Thompson to CEO for its operations in Europe, Middle East and Africa)(Brief article)
March 9, 2007... Joshua G2's UK chief executive Peter Thompson has been promoted to chief executive for G2 in Europe, Middle East & Africa (EMEA). He will report to Joe Celia, G2 Worldwide's chairman and chief executive. Managing director Nick Spindler will...

IN BRIEF: Agencies urged to switch post.(Brief article)
March 9, 2007... Independent postal broking agency Post-Switch is urging direct marketing agencies to switch to other postal services to avoid further price hikes. On April 2, Royal Mail will raise first class postage by 2p and second class by 1p and its...

Radio Times opts for humour to boost sales.(Brief article)
March 9, 2007... Radio Times is aiming to boost its readership by launching a direct mail campaign that hopes to entice consumers through a humorous strategy. The drive, created by DS-J, centres on four cardboard pop-out coasters. The line between them...

PPA slams zonal pricing scheme.
March 9, 2007... Magazine publishers have condemned Royal Mail's zonal pricing plans, as "benefiting no one but Royal Mail and being hugely damaging to the magazine industry". The proposals would send London prices surging by 2.5 per cent on top of...

IN BRIEF: Barclaycard shifts to India.(Brief article)
March 9, 2007... Barclaycard is ignoring the consumer backlash against Indian call centres by shifting its Manchester operations to Asia, with the loss of 630 UK jobs. The credit card provider had originally planned to move its business to new premises in...

IN BRIEF: Lloyds TSB joins exodus.(Lloyds TSB Group PLC)(Brief article)
March 9, 2007... Lloyds TSB has joined the exodus from India, sparked by the likes of Powergen, Esure and Norwich Union, and is returning its contact centre operations to the UK following a backlash from customers. The Lloyds TSB Group union claims more than...

IN BRIEF: Littlewoods plots gaming blitz.(Brief article)
March 9, 2007... Littlewoods Gaming is embarking on a digital marketing blitz following a 300/1 return on investment from its previous integrated marketing campaign. The online gaming brand, which features pools, casino, poker and bingo, has hired email...

WWF 'mailing in a pen' hits business chiefs.
March 9, 2007... Conservation organisation WWF International is aiming to encourage business leaders to enlist its help in tackling climate change by emphasising that green issues pose a serious threat to profitability, as well as the environment. The...

NU narrows pay-as-you-go targets.
March 9, 2007... Norwich Union is targeting two distinct new audiences with the latest campaign for its innovative Pay As You Drive car insurance product. Housewives and commuters will be the target of the new integrated campaign, as the company believes...

Proof of the power of the personal touch.
March 9, 2007... Today's media environment provides a plethora of ways to reach target audiences. Given this fragmentation of media and rising consumer control of their media consumption, integrating a campaign across different media has become the most...

DMA balks as postal prices rise by 40%.
March 9, 2007... US The US DMA has slammed the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) over plans to increase postage costs for some direct mailers by as much as 40 per cent. DMA members are urged to lobby the governors of the US Postal Service (USPS) to...

InBev draws up digital strategy to push Leffe.
March 9, 2007... Amsterdam InBev is launching an online strategy for its beer brand Leffe, one of Belgium's oldest abbey beers, to target key markets in France, Belgium, the Netherlands and the UK. Euro RSCG 4D Amsterdam has been appointed its lead agency....

New Zealand brings in law to eradicate spam.
March 9, 2007... The New Zealand Government has passed an anti-spam bill to stem the tide of emails clogging up the country's inboxes. The Unsolicited Electronic Messages Act 2007 aims to prevent the country becoming a haven for spammers by prohibiting...

Why marketers have to go out on the pull.(marketing communication strategies)
March 9, 2007... It almost goes without saying that the Western world is very much a consumer-driven society, yet are there limits to how much we can consume? Research has shown that in fact, six out of ten Europeans claim they have all the material possessions...

ANALYSIS: 'Clunky' iTV fails to stir excitement in the living room.
March 9, 2007... It has been five long years since the first predictions that red button technology would revolutionise consumers' lives. With use falling, where did it all go wrong for interactive TV? Remember when media pundits were promising you would...

The Facts: All you wanted to know about iTV but were too afraid to ask.(Survey)(Brief article)
March 9, 2007... * Almost a quarter of 4,203 adults surveyed use iTV services [Ipsos MORI Tech Tracker, June 2006]. Some 47 per cent of digital viewers pressed red mainly for news, weather and sport information (Ipsos MORI Media digital audience tracker, April...

ANALYSIS: Why the passage to India is no longer so attractive.(financial services outsourcing business in India)
March 9, 2007... Financial services brands are leading the exodus out of Indian contact centres - despite Barclaycard bucking the trend - so what does the future hold for offshoring? These are nervous times for anyone running a contact centre overseas....

ANALYSIS: Is Royal Mail 'bleating' or does it need new rules?
March 9, 2007... Adam Crozier's recent demands that Royal Mail needs to be unshackled have irked regulator Postcomm. But direct marketers are offering their support Daily Mail sub-editors must have been rubbing their hands with glee at the prospect of...

CONSUMER INSIGHT: Child-raising Challenge unearths vulnerable parents.
March 9, 2007... New research has identified a small but significant section of the UK population, badged 'Child-raising Challenge', characterised by single parents struggling with debt repayments Much has been written about mounting levels of consumer...

PROFILE: Wells plays the numbers game.
March 9, 2007... Barrie Wells: He set up a direct insurance company in Singapore and is now chief executive of Premierline Direct. His aim now is to make #50m on premiums by 2008 Jenny Hoffbrand Hailed a mathematical prodigy in his early teens,...

OPINION: Putting green issues front of the queue.(direct marketing and environmental issues)(Brief article)(Column)
March 9, 2007... This magazine has been filled with plenty of 'green' comment of late and for good reason. Environmental issues have become a key topic for the Government, consumers and businesses alike. In the wake of the Stern Report late last year, we...

LETTER: When easing suffering outweighs convenience.(Letter to the editor)
March 9, 2007... David Miliband's call for an opt-in system for direct mail certainly hit a nerve. Some of those shouting loudest are, not surprisingly, practitioners in the charity sector. If charities can't find new donors, an important source of...

LETTER: Why direct mail isn't quite so evil.(Letter to the editor)
March 9, 2007... I have just read the Leader comment (Is there still life in this status quo? PM February 23) and the news story in which charities send up a collective howl at David Miliband's suggestion to enforce direct mail opt in (Charities blast...

LETTER: Setting a costly record straight.(Letter to the editor)
March 9, 2007... One significant point was overlooked in your recent charity feature (Thanks for the giving, PM February 23) which highlighted WWAV's Christmas TV ad for the NSPCC. While acknowledging that many pundits praised the initiative, I note that...

Is 'relevancy' just another lazy term?(the importance of effective marketing communication)(Viewpoint essay)
March 9, 2007... It's all well and good practitioners banging on about how marketing communications should be targeted and relevant, but how do brand-owners define relevancy? It's interesting in marketing how some words get bandied about but are not...

OPINION: The long, long road to iTV revolution.(Column)
March 9, 2007... "Interactive TV (iTV) is to many direct marketers today what the Internet was ten years ago: insanely complicated, over-hyped and barricaded behind the twin ramparts of technical jargon and consumer apathy. Talking to people about iTV is...

Creative Critique.
March 9, 2007... Four lovely little runners for you this week. Ideas as new. All from careful owners VW Touran A chance to 'test-drive' the Touran with the roll of a dice. Along the way, we learn how it caters for all sorts of family fun, so by the...

BUSINESS TO BUSINESS: Taking care of business.
March 9, 2007... B2B marketing is often seen as the poor relation to B2C. But, with a smaller target audience and tighter budgets, the sector can be far more challenging As anyone who saw a pantomime over the festive period will tell you, it's a tough...

LIST DEVELOPMENTS: Question of trust.
March 9, 2007... Can the direct marketing industry win back the consumer trust it seems to have lost recently? The key may lie in making it a better deal for consumers David Reed Who do you trust more - Tesco or the Government? In making the case...

PAPER & ENVELOPES: Getting the full package.
March 9, 2007... The launch of PiP was designed to simplify the pricing structure for sending mail. But has it encouraged marketers to take advantage of potential savings? Michele Witthaus The introduction of Pricing in Proportion (PiP) last summer...

LIST/INSERT FILE: Fundraising file put on the market.
March 9, 2007... The National Fundraising File has been unveiled for rental through EDM Media. The file is composed of highly responsive individuals profiled from charity donors who have given to more than one charity. All have completed a detailed...

LIST/INSERT FILE: Student data file now up for grabs.(new online database service to be introduced by Jaywing)
March 9, 2007... The campus text file has been unveiled for rental through Jaywing. Students across the UK make up this list through opt-ins on registration forms. Registrations for the StudentAlertService have been achieved through an online network of...

LIST/INSERT FILE: Insert opportunity targeting affluent.
March 9, 2007... BrightMinds is offering an insert opportunity in its catalogue mailings via Figtree DM. From April to July there will be space for 30,000 inserts a month and this will increase to 100,000 per month from August to November. The company's mail...

LIST/INSERT FILE: Loot offers list and insert plan.(Loot.com offers insert opprotunities through TRG Strata)(Brief article)
March 9, 2007... Loot, the paid-for classified advertising paper, is offering its list and insert opportunities through TRG Strata. The publication is available principally via newsagents and supermarkets in and around London, Manchester, Liverpool, Bradford...

LIST/INSERT FILE: Property show reveals database.
March 9, 2007... A Place in the Sun magazine is offering its database for rental through Dennis Publishing. The publication takes its inspiration from the overseas TV property show and the overseas property exhibition 'A Place in the Sun Live', which is held...

MOVING PEOPLE: Dunnhumby appoints new security head.(Andrew Hamilton)(Brief article)
March 9, 2007... Dunnhumby, the international marketing consultancy, has appointed Andrew Hamilton as group head of information security. Hamilton will be responsible for the development and management of a co-ordinated global information security programme...

MOVING PEOPLE: Liquid lands four new team members.(Natalie Dunning, Eldon JAmes, Michael England and Sara-Jane Blackie will take up the new responsibilities)(Brief article)
March 9, 2007... Liquid Communications has appointed four new team members. Natalie Dunning joins as senior account manager from Rapier, where she gained experience across brands including smart, Mercedes-Benz Vans and Telewest. In her new role, Dunning will...

MOVING PEOPLE: BCL sets up entertainment unit.(Billington Cartmell appoints Denzil Thomas as its development manager for its new music and entertainment unit)(Brief article)
March 9, 2007... Billington Cartmell (BCL), the independent marketing communications agency, has appointed Denzil Thomas as business development manager to establish a specialist music and entertainment unit which will work across the whole BCL group. Thomas,...

MOVING PEOPLE: Partners Andrews Aldridge recruits Modha.
March 9, 2007... Partners Andrews Aldridge, the direct marketing agency, has recruited Sameer Modha as a planner. Modha joins the agency from JWT, where he worked as a planning director. After graduating, Modha joined WPP on their Marketing Fellowship,...

MOVING PEOPLE: Marketing Store promotes Bonney.(Marketing Store Worldwide promotes Lisa Bonney to head the client services division)(Brief article)
March 9, 2007... Following a string of new wins, The Marketing Store has promoted Lisa Bonney to head of client services. Bonney has worked across a wide range of disciplines and has over ten years experience on the McDonald's account in the UK and Europe. She...

Miliband snubs opt-in summit.
March 23, 2007... Environment Minister David Miliband has been accused of snubbing industry efforts to debate direct mail opt in, after he claimed he was too busy to attend a summit at any time in the next two months. The planned meeting was organised by...

Client customer data 'shambles'.
March 23, 2007... Up to 40 per cent of customer records on leading companies' marketing databases are unusable, according to a study by direct marketing client forum Tank and Transactis. The findings of the Data Quality Benchmark study are likely to send...

Otto plots new range to target 'busy women'.
March 23, 2007... Catalogue giant Otto is launching a catalogue and online womenswear home shopping service called Montage, targeting busy women wanting to make time for fashion. The home shopping company, which owns Freemans and Grattan catalogue brands,...

IN BRIEF: Gala signs up to Nectar scheme.(Gala Bingo)(Brief article)
March 23, 2007... Gala Bingo has joined forces with Nectar in a new partnership that will enable its members to earn Nectar points every time they visit one of its outlets. The partnership will launch on the back of a marketing campaign to encourage...

IN BRIEF: Boots targets big spenders.(Brief article)
March 23, 2007... Boots is rewarding its top spending Advantage card customers through a direct mail campaign encouraging them to remain big spenders. The drive, created by Craik Jones Watson Mitchell, includes two variants of the mailpacks - blue envelopes...

IN BRIEF: TM examines customer base.(mobile marketing by Trinity Mirror Newspapers )(Brief article)
March 23, 2007... Trinity Mirror is aiming to build a deeper understanding of its customers - across the group's 500 brands - by drilling down into data gathered through mobile marketing. The UK's largest newspaper publisher has appointed mobile marketing firm...

Campaign backs countdown to smoking ban in England.
March 23, 2007... March 23 marks the start of the 100-day countdown to a smoke-free England, with the Department of Health (DoH) launching a four-phase integrated campaign to all businesses in England to ensure they comply with the new legislation, which comes...

Online meeting giant builds Euro invasion.
March 23, 2007... Online meeting and training services provider WebEx is bolstering its lead generation strategy to build business in Europe to match its operation in the US, where Web meetings are much more established. It has appointed DNX to handle its...

Spong to head direct marketing for AAR.
March 23, 2007... AAR has appointed Royal Mail media consultant Tony Spong as head of direct, promotional and integrated marketing. He succeeds Julie Constable, who quit last month to join rival Agency Insight. Spong will join AAR at the end of May. He...

MPs reveal fears over 'meek' replacement for Postwatch.
March 23, 2007... MPs have backed direct marketing industry concerns over the Government's proposal to merge Postwatch and Energywatch into the National Consumer Council, claiming that the new group could be a "mouse too meek" to challenge the Government. ...

Suzuki bike targets Euro cities.(Suzuki Motor Corp.)(Brief article)
March 23, 2007... Suzuki is going head to head with BMW and Ducati with a pan-European integrated campaign to promote the launch of its flagship B-King motorcycle. The drive will launch across four cities - London, Berlin, Rome and Paris - and will include...

Virgin Mobile in agency search.
March 23, 2007... Virgin Mobile is seeking a direct agency to handle its customer management programme to reduce churn among its four million-strong customer base. The move comes as the mobile firm reveals plans to expand its high street presence with an...

IN BRIEF: Spam victim starts service.(Brief article)
March 23, 2007... An Edinburgh man who won #750 in damages after he received a single spam email is launching a service to help consumers take legal action. Web consultant Gordon Dick's website, with the motto "Make the Spammers Pay!", advises people on how to...

IN BRIEF: Closer embarks on online blitz.(launch of closerdiets.com website)(Brief article)
March 23, 2007... Women's celebrity weekly Closer is launching its first online drive for dieting with website closerdiets.com, as part of parent company Emap's push to promote its titles online. Emap has appointed digital agency TBG London to handle the...

IN BRIEF: Moran succeeds Harris at Lida.(Shaun Moran succeeds David Harris)(Brief article)
March 23, 2007... Partners Andrews Aldridge creative director Shaun Moran has resigned from the agency to take up David Harris' position as creative partner at M&C Saatchi-owned Lida. The move follows Harris' departure last week after seven-and-a-half years...

John Lewis direct arm takes on Camelot man.
March 23, 2007... Greenbee, the direct services arm of the John Lewis Partnership, has appointed Camelot marketer Rick Jones as head of marketing. Jones will lead Greenbee's marketing and brand development strategy and introduce a multi-channel approach to...

Rapp Collins beefs up global data.(Thomas Funk appointed at Rapp Collins Worldwide Inc.)(Brief article)
March 23, 2007... Direct marketing network Rapp Collins has strengthened its global data and analytics division with the appointment of Thomas Funk as chief executive of data solutions. The move comes as Rob Macdermott, chief executive of Identex, reveals...

IN BRIEF: Royal Mail reveals direct mail dip.(Brief article)
March 23, 2007... Royal Mail has released figures which show that direct mail volumes and expenditure are falling. Volumes for 2006 were down to 5.03 billion items - a 2.1 per cent drop on last year's figures. Total expenditure dropped from #2.37bn in 2005 to...

IN BRIEF: Coupe to step down at Experian.(Brief article)
March 23, 2007... Experian boss David Coupe is to step down from his role as managing director of the data giant's International Marketing Services business after nearly 25 years with company. Coupe, who will not leave for another 12 months, is to hand over...

IN BRIEF: Radisson group offers 'green' points.(Brief article)
March 23, 2007... The Rezidor Hotel Group is to give customers the opportunity to assuage their guilt over the effect their stay is having on the environment by allowing loyalty club members to divert their points to fund energy- efficient projects around the...

Lucozade goes viral to get its edge back.
March 23, 2007... GlaxoSmithKline-owned brand Lucozade is embracing viral digital marketing for the first time as part of a major integrated campaign for its Energy drink, designed to build a detailed picture of customers. Lucozade will focus its campaign...

Celebs head up brain tumour push.
March 23, 2007... English international rugby player Jonny Wilkinson and comedian Dawn French are going head to head to raise awareness for the UK's leading brain cancer charity, Samantha Dickson Brain Tumour Trust (SDBTT). A campaign to mark the...

The power to cut through the clutter.(methods of effective target marketing )
March 23, 2007... Experiential marketing has been a stellar performer in the communications industry in recent years, coming second only to online marketing. It's easy to see why - a cluttered and saturated marketing landscape and the declining effectiveness of...

Battle for direct mail future rages in the US.
March 23, 2007... Washington Recent proposals in the States to limit direct mail are meeting stiff opposition from the US DMA, the National Association of Letter Carriers and a number of businesses. Lawmakers have introduced bills in ten states that would...

Finance acquisitions fuel mailshot growth.(Brief article)
March 23, 2007... Chicago Acquisition direct mail has increased dramatically in the financial sector since 2005, according to a recent report. The study, by Mintel Comperemedia, reveals there has been an increase in direct mail, email marketing and press ad...

Inter Milan to reward fiercely loyal fan base.(Brief article)
March 23, 2007... Italy Inter Milan has launched a new loyalty programme to reward its thousands of fans. The cardless loyalty programme, developed by Reward UK, allows football fans to register their payment card details with the club to automatically...

Timely reminder of power of creativity.
March 23, 2007... People, religions and cultures can all place a wide array of meanings and significance on numbers. I am not sure what numerologists or the superstitious make of the number 24, but for our industry it is hopefully most significant as the...

ANALYSIS: Royal Mail accentuates positive as mail volumes dip.
March 23, 2007... As new figures show direct mail volumes to have fallen in the past year, Royal Mail has chosen to accentuate the positive, pointing to growth in key areas including building societies and charities Despite figures released this week showing...

ANALYSIS: Does anyone know how you get through to women?
March 23, 2007... Direct mail, radio and press ads are welcomed by women in their 30s. Meanwhile the Internet is a popular tool for researching purchases such as cars, but email advertising is seen as a huge turn-off Women in their 30s prefer direct mail...

CONSUMER INSIGHT: Why many consumers believe choice is a chore.
March 23, 2007... Choice is not always a good thing if the consumer feels overwhelmed by it. Younger consumers may welcome abundant options, but for older, less cosmopolitan people, too much choice is annoying Consumer choice has vastly increased in the...

PROFILE: Publish and be grand.
March 23, 2007... Julia Hutchison She may have fallen into customer publishing by accident but the APA's chief operating officer has fallen on her feet in the second fastest growing medium after the Internet Sara Kimberley To some purists, customer...