Precision Marketing articles from May 2007

Precision Marketing archives from May 2007

IPA urges united front for Govt talks.
May 4, 2007... The Institute of Practitioners in Advertising (IPA) is to consult its members on whether to reapply for corporate membership of the DMA (UK), as part of its strategy to present a united front over the Government's so-called 'war on junk...

Michaels lands top prize at PM Awards.
May 4, 2007... COI director of direct and relationship marketing Marc Michaels has scooped the Client Marketer of the Year award at the 2007 Precision Marketing Response Awards, in association with International Direct Marketing Fair. Michaels, who...

Douglass poised to take Meteorite post.(Dan Douglass appointed as creative director)(Brief article)
May 4, 2007... Dan Douglass, former executive creative director and chief executive of FCBi London and FCBi Europe, is poised to join Meteorite as creative director. Douglass is set to take over from Ed Pritchard, who left Meteorite earlier this year....

IN BRIEF: Royal Mail picks digital roster.(Brief article)
May 4, 2007... Royal Mail has appointed five agencies to its roster to handle its #28m digital account. The postal giant has hired Tullo Marshall Warrren, Proximity London, Zulu Network, Reading Room and Cheetahmail to handle its interactive services. The...

IN BRIEF: Pimm's to exploit 'hot' summer.(Diageo PLC)(Brief article)
May 4, 2007... Diageo is aiming to exploit long-range weather forecasts of a hot summer by launching a campaign to push sales of its Pimm's brand, in the run-up to summer. The campaign will run from May until the end of August and will include TV, press and...

IN BRIEF: ICO prosecutes over data 'blag'.(Information Commissioner's Office)(Infofind)(Brief article)
May 4, 2007... A private investigation firm, Infofind, has been successfully prosecuted by the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) after illegally 'blagging' the personal details of over 250 individuals from the Department for Work & Pensions (DWP). The...

Brand owners 'missing out on ROI by going with Google'.
May 4, 2007... Marketers could be missing out on valuable return on investment (ROI) from pay per click marketing by opting to use Google instead of other search engines, according to a new study. The UK Search Survey Report 2007, devised digital agency...

Mercedes aims push at 'car connoisseurs'.
May 4, 2007... Mercedes-Benz is promoting its top end new model the CL-Class to 'car connoisseurs' with an upmarket direct mail campaign. The initiative, created by Claydon Heeley, will be mailed in a leather envelope, embossed with the tagline 'The new...

M&S goes the 'extra mile' in new campaign.
May 4, 2007... M&S Money is launching a DRTV campaign, starring supermodel Jodie Kidd, to promote its car insurance range. The campaign, created by Rainey Kelly Campbell Roalfe Y&R, aims to convince potential customers that M&S Money goes the 'extra...

Friends Reunited opens up email database to brands.
May 4, 2007... Social networking site Friends Reunited is giving brand owners the chance to target its membership, by opening up its 3.2 million strong email database for the first time. The site that has 18 million registered members set up to reunite...

Virgin keeps up pressure on BSkyB.
May 4, 2007... Sara KimberleyVirgin Media is launching a major direct marketing blitz to bolster its assault on BSkyB by promoting its 'three for #30' deal to home movers. The move follows a major escalation of the public row between the two after the...

VisitScotland in strategy review.
May 4, 2007... VisitScotland is overhauling its direct marketing strategy to implement a new approach to its business. The tourist board has appointed Scottish agency The Union to handle its direct marketing account for a three-year contractual period....

IN BRIEF: Lords probe data privacy concerns.(Brief article)
May 4, 2007... The House of Lords Constitution Committee has launched an inquiry to examine the influence that government surveillance and data collection have on the privacy of UK citizens. The inquiry is set against a backdrop of increased CCTV, the...

IN BRIEF: Sony joins forces with Royal Mail.(Brief article)
May 4, 2007... Local corner shops are fighting back against supermarket giants by launching a mobile phone-based loyalty scheme, which will promote offers from consumer giants including Nestle, Unilever and P&G. The system will be run by PayPoint, which has...

IN BRIEF: FSA warns cold callers.(Financial Services Authority)(selling general insurance over telephone)(Brief article)
May 4, 2007... The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has warned firms that they must improve their standards of cold calling when selling general insurance over the telephone. The FSA has issued the warning to ensure that customers are being treated...

Newmarket aims to woo new race-goers.(Newmarket Racecourses )(Brief article)
May 4, 2007... Newmarket Racecourses is launching a campaign to promote the Stan James Guineas Festival. The campaign has been produced by integrated agency Truth. The creative centres around high-impact photography of race horses. The horses are...

Betfair push to bring in the punters.(Brief article)
May 4, 2007... The world's largest betting exchange, Betfair, is aiming to educate novice punters about how to get started with betting, following its rebrand last month. The company has developed a strategy for all new registrants to educate them on...

IN BRIEF: Labour Party picks Experian.(Brief article)
May 4, 2007... The Labour Party has appointed Experian to build and manage a voter contact database to manage its direct marketing to UK residents. Experian Integrated Marketing will provide the party with access to a state-of-the-art campaign management...

IN BRIEF: Help the Aged launches intune.(Brief article)
May 4, 2007... Help the Aged is launching a new financial services brand, intune, created to offer tailored financial services products to customers aged over 50. The service will offer services mainly for home, car and travel insurance, but unlike other...

IN BRIEF: Barclays faces privacy probe.(Brief article)
May 4, 2007... Barclays Bank is to be investigated by the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) following the recent BBC Whistleblower programme, which exposed alleged breaches of customer privacy. The ICO has launched an investigation after the...

Movie-themed push to launch Discovery 3.
May 4, 2007... Land Rover is gearing up to launch a movie-themed campaign to promote its latest Discovery 3. The drive, created by Craik Jones Watson Mitchell Voelkel, will target 80,000 prospects and existing Discovery owners. The agency has created...

Brit stars front Silverstone push.(FIA World Rally Championship (Automobile race))(Brief article)
May 4, 2007... FIA Formula 1 World Championship is aiming to boost tickets sales for the British Grand Prix at Silverstone with an integrated campaign, dubbed 'Back the Brits'. The push, devised by London agency Fingal, consists of national press ads,...

The rewards of loyalty to the customer.
May 4, 2007... Loyalty is high on the list of marketers' must-haves, possessing the power to transform a business's success. As such, loyalty schemes can play a vital role in customer retention and acquisition. Hamleys, the iconic British toy shop, is...

Australia set to lift telemarketing ban.
May 4, 2007... Melbourne The Australian Communications & Media Authority (ACMA) is considering a proposal to lift a ban on telemarketers from ringing consumers on Sundays and public holidays. ACMA is considering the move after a request from...

Segmentation tool opens Italian market.(Addressvitt)(EuroDirect )(Brief article)
May 4, 2007... Italy EuroDirect has teamed up with Addressvitt, the Milan-based direct marketing specialists, to create a consumer segmentation tool for the Italian market. The new classification system, under the Cameo brand, combines Addressvitt's...

ID task force formed as public concern grows.(identity)(Brief article)
May 4, 2007... Washington A US task force created to combat identity theft has released a strategic plan, which includes toughening criminal laws, improving data retention practices and establishing more effective educational campaigns for individuals and...

Indian market wakes up to the digital age.
May 4, 2007... Direct marketing in India has been around for over 20 years. While some aspects of the industry have never progressed, others have leapt to the next level. For instance, internationally, mail order catalogues were the mainstay of the...

ANALYSIS: Why are clients still running pitches 'from hell'?(BG PLC)
May 4, 2007... British Gas' recent pitch has drawn the ire of many observers, but what does it say about the attitude of all involved in the pitch process? British Gas may be feeling the wrath of regulator Energywatch following revelations that...

'Confident Consumers' look to good times ahead.
May 4, 2007... Couples in their 30s and 40s who delayed marriage and starting a family to focus on their careers are establishing a key demographic that marketers should not ignore Research has identified a small segment of young, thriving families,...

PROFILE: Finger on the digital pulse.(Digital UK's)(digital TV switchover )
May 4, 2007... Jenny Hoffbrand Jane Ostler: The task of ensuring that every UK household is ready for digital TV switchover by 2012 has fallen to a marketer who believes in keeping interested parties in the loop Most marketers like a challenge, but...

OPINION: Even marketers can get hugs at parties.(Brief article)
May 4, 2007... Marketers have never been accorded hero status in the world of public health. Not that we exactly get hugged at parties anyway, but in hospitals and local authorities we're the devil incarnate. I went to a public health authority meeting...

LETTER: Customers will be lost by failure to embrace online.(Letter to the editor)
May 4, 2007... As online marketing breaks the 10 per cent market share barrier, why are packaged goods companies still failing to come to the party? New figures from the IAB Online Adspend study, conducted in partnership with PriceWaterhouseCoopers, reveal...

LETTER: Positive outlook for contact centres.(Letter to the editor)
May 4, 2007... Your recent news analysis on the state of the UK contact centre industry made interesting reading (UK contact centre industry still in rude health, 20 April). Contacbabel's recent report paints a positive picture for the future of the UK...

VIEWPOINT: Substance should be key to awards success.
May 4, 2007... Amanda Phillips Chief executive Proximity London As the awards season gets under way, it's worth remembering that data, analysis and insight lie at the heart of all successful creative campaigns The countdown to the industry's annual...

LEADER: A pitch battle that refuses to die down.
May 4, 2007... There are few issues which raise the hackles of those working in direct marketing more than the pitch process - from tales of phantom accounts to shortlists as long as your arm. You'd be hard-pressed to find anyone who's happy with the...

RETAIL: Shopfitters of the world unite.
May 4, 2007... Far from killing off high street sales, digital downloads are forcing retailers to rethink store formats, while fuelling a resurgence of specialist outlets When even the UK's biggest retailer cannot make money from CD sales, you know...

Creative Critique.
May 4, 2007... The thing about having really good insight and a good creative idea to match is that they give you confidence. Confidence to concentrate on crafting your work to perfection. And confidence to say your message once and say it well. 1. The...

DOOR-TO-DOOR: Is your bin ladened?(mailing)
May 4, 2007... As public awareness of door-to-door mailing grows, so does the risk that consumers will become hostile to it. The industry must take steps to prevent familiarity turning to contempt David Reed How many takeaway leaflets have you got on...

LIST/INSERT FILE: Outdoor clothing retailer unveils list.
May 4, 2007... Field and Trek, the retailer of outdoor clothing and equipment, has unveiled its database of 115,000 consumer email addresses through Tri- Direct Sales. The company offers a range of all types of kit and garments to maximise enjoyment of the...

LIST/INSERT FILE: Toffs opens up file for rental.
May 4, 2007... Toffs, the retailer of football memorabilia, has unveiled its database for rental through Go Direct Marketing. Team memorabilia on offer ranges from Manchester United to Meadowbank Thistle, and Brazil to Bulgaria. Typical customers are males...

LIST/INSERT FILE: Book club giant offers database.
May 4, 2007... BCA, the mail order book club which operates a multitude of separate book clubs including, Ancient & Medieval History, The Arts Guild and Fantasy & Science Fiction is offering its list of consumer details for sale through Independent Direct...

LIST/INSERT FILE: Insert programme becomes available.(Adams Childrenswear Ltd.)(Brief article)
May 4, 2007... Adams Children's Wear has made its third party insert programme available through Howse Jackson Marketing. The company mails a minimum of 100,000 statements per month to its cardholders and will accept one third party insert within each...

LIST/INSERT FILE: Targeting the White Van Man.(CONDUIT)(Brief article)
May 4, 2007... Conduit, the providers of data and associated services, has updated its White Van Man database. This database comprises more than 250,000 modelled prospect records, on sole traders, small office/home office businesses and SMEs who have a...

MOVING PEOPLE: Holden joins the Liquid Communications team.
May 4, 2007... Liquid Communications has recruited Gerri Holden as a senior account manager. Holden will initially work across the agency's Veuve Clicquot and Sure for Women accounts. Holden is an experienced account handler who has worked across a range...

MOVING PEOPLE: Craik Jones expands digital arm.(Helen Wallace and Sophie Rhys Evans appointed )(Brief article)
May 4, 2007... Craik Jones has increased its digital staff, with the appointments of DraftFCB's Helen Wallace as digital creative head and Sophie Rhys Evans, from Modem Media/Digitas, as head of digital project management. Wallace is an art director with...

MOVING PEOPLE: Williams takes key role at Communique 360.
May 4, 2007... Communique 360, the integrated marketing specialist has appointed Simon Williams as account director to work on its Association of Train Operating Companies (ATOC) account. As part of his remit, Williams will also work closely with the nine...

Nice Work: Martin Bryden.
May 4, 2007... Martin Bryden Business development manager iPoints Responsibilities I manage a portfolio of clients and I am responsible for helping them to target their direct marketing in the most effective and accurate ways. I'm also responsible...

ICO under fire over email enforcement.
May 18, 2007... The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) has come under fire from a leading law firm for failing to enforce email laws and simply focusing on cold calling complaints instead. A lawyer at law firm Osborne Clarke says email laws have...

Guy Bradbury set to leave RMG Connect.
May 18, 2007... RMG Connect executive creative director Guy Bradbury is set to leave the outfit as part of an agency reshuffle under new chief executive Tim Hipperson. Bradbury joined the agency over two years ago. Previously, he was the integrated...

Palmer unveils word of mouth agency Wildfire.
May 18, 2007... Former Joshua creative and planning director Ivan Palmer is teaming up with handbag.com founder Dominic Riley and Macon Consulting founder Brian Birkhead to launch word of mouth agency Wildfire. The agency, which it claims is the first of...

IN BRIEF: Glastonbury fans' data disclosed.(Brief article)
May 18, 2007... Millions of fans who registered their details online for Glastonbury tickets have received unsolicited emails after their personal information was "carelessly disclosed". Fans who missed out were sent an email by See Tickets, who operated...

IN BRIEF: ISPs hit by spam gangs.(Brief article)
May 18, 2007... Gangs sending unsolicited mail are targeting high profile UK Internet service providers (ISPs) including TalkTalk, Orange, Pipex and PlusNet. The ISPs all feature in the top ten most spammed list drawn up by ClearMyMail, a provider of...

IN BRIEF: thelondonpaper embraces SMS.(Brief article)
May 18, 2007... News International's freesheet thelondonpaper is set to launch its first mobile marketing drive. The new service, managed by mobile marketing solutions provider Sponge, will provide greater reader interactivity. Readers of the newspaper will...

Medecins sans Frontieres hands direct account to Whitewater.
May 18, 2007... Medical relief charity Medecins sans Frontieres has handed its direct marketing account to charity specialist Whitewater following a competitive pitch. The agency will be tasked with producing the creative executions for an ambitious...

Honda drives sales of its new 'hot hatch'.
May 18, 2007... Honda is embarking on a campaign to drive sales of its new 'hot hatch', the Honda Civic Type R. The push, created by Hicklin Slade & Partners, will focus on the concept of Hondamentalism - a combination of passion for racing and the...

Lloyds TSB push uses art student's creative.
May 18, 2007... Lloyds TSB is rolling out a campaign to promote its commercial finance offering using artwork by an art student from the University of West England. Zara Picken won a competition to have her artwork featured in a campaign for Lloyds TSB....

NSPCC uses social networking in the fight against child abuse.
May 18, 2007... Children's charity the NSPCC is launching a new initiative using online social networking sites to target young people. The 'Don't Hide It' campaign, created by Saatchi & Saatchi, will encourage young people to speak out against child...

Teacher's appeals to masculinity.
May 18, 2007... Sara Kimberley Whisky brand Teacher's is embarking on its biggest campaign for seven years in an attempt to reposition itself as the most accessible of the big blended brands. An integrated campaign, created by Publicis Dialog...

WWAV Rapp Collins leads pack.(WWAV Rapp Collins)(Survey)(Brief article)
May 18, 2007... WWAV Rapp Collins has secured the top spot in this year's Precision Marketing Agency Reputations Survey. Craik Jones Watson Mitchell Voelkel comes in at number two, while Harrison Troughton Wunderman takes third for the second year in a...

IN BRIEF: Littlewoods pays out for blunder.(Littlewoods Shop Direct )(Brief article)
May 18, 2007... Littlewoods Shop Direct has agreed to an out-of-court settlement with a Manchester man after he was inundated with misdirected telemarketing calls. Dave King received the payout in an out-of-court settlement from Everyday Financial...

IN BRIEF: New Travelodge rewards scheme.(Brief article)
May 18, 2007... Travelodge is joining forces with Virgin Experience Days, English Heritage and Jongleurs comedy clubs to launch a Rewards website, as part of its first major customer management programme in the UK. The site aims to provide special offers and...

IN BRIEF: Marshall exits Publicis Dialog.(Brief article)
May 18, 2007... Simon Marshall, chief executive of Publicis Dialog, is understood to have left the agency with immediate effect. Marshall was promoted from managing director to chief executive in October 2005, as part of a management rejig designed to...

Brooks quits Zulu to launch digital agency.
May 18, 2007... Martin Brooks, chief executive of Omnicom's digital and direct group The Zulu Network, is leaving to start up his own digital agency. As former chief executive of Agency Republic, Brooks was responsible for bringing Claydon Heeley, Agency...

ipoints unveils 'Double Dipper' offer.
May 18, 2007... Online reward scheme ipoints.co.uk is launching a major promotion to bolster its ongoing customer management activity. The promotion, entitled 'ipoints Double Dipper', will award ipoints to members when they carry out activities such as...

NEWS IN BRIEF: Standard Life in data blunder.(Brief article)
May 18, 2007... Insurance company Standard Life has warned hundreds of its customers that they are at risk of identity fraud after it released their personal information by mistake. The blunder occurred after the investments division of the firm sent out the...

NEWS IN BRIEF: Consumers blast overseas centres.(Brief article)
May 18, 2007... Only 42 per cent of UK consumers are content with call centres being located abroad, according to a new survey. The survey, carried out by consumer insight specialists The Listening Company, reveals that nearly a third of the people...

NEWS IN BRIEF: Coca-Cola joins forces with iTunes.(Brief article)
May 18, 2007... Coca-Cola has teamed up with iTunes to launch a pan-European integrated campaign to give away free songs through on pack promotions on over 2 billion Coca-Cola drinks. The drive will span 17 countries and will run until the end of August. On...

SAS drive promotes Scandinavian summer.
May 18, 2007... Scandinavia Airlines (SAS) is targeting holidaymakers in a bid to encourage them to choose Scandinavia as a holiday destination this summer. The integrated campaign, created by Liquid Communications, includes emails, direct mail and press...

Which? rolls out integrated initiative.
May 18, 2007... The UK's consumer rights charity Which? is aiming to position itself as a leading independent consumer advisor on buying the best products, through a major initiative. The drive, created by Mike Colling & Company (MC&C) and Watson...

Why it's vital to treat customers fairly.
May 18, 2007... Perhaps more than any other, the financial sector has an obligation to use direct mail in a responsible way. Because of the nature of financial products and services, in many cases certain information is necessitated in marketing...

High demand crashes Do Not Call list in Aus.(Brief article)
May 18, 2007... Sydney More than 500,000 people have signed up for the Australian national Do Not Call Register in the first week - despite the system crashing within hours of launch due to over-demand. Communications minister Helen Coonan had expected up...

Canadians poised for direct marketing hike.
May 18, 2007... Ontario Direct marketing and online advertising budgets in Canada are expected to rise sharply in the next 12 months, following their fourth consecutive year of growth. A further 7.5 per cent increase in direct marketing budgets is...

Nigerian scam mimicks 'Three Kings' gold plot.(Brief article)
May 18, 2007... Abuja Nigerian scammers have been mimicking the plot of George Clooney film Three Kings in a spam email that attempts to convince recipients they could land a share of millions of pounds. In the email, an American soldier based in Iraq...

Mathematics - the only global language.
May 18, 2007... After my recent experience establishing a Singapore office to house my team of statisticians and programmers, I have come to a firm conclusion that mathematics is the world's only common language. Although it actually took only four days...

ANALYSIS: Searching beyond Google could boost your ROI.
May 18, 2007... Marketers who simply rely on Google when implementing a search marketing campaign are missing a trick as a new survey shows that MSN and Yahoo! rank higher for ROI There is no doubt that despite efforts from rival search engines to...

CONSUMER INSIGHT: Fifty-somethings enjoy longer and happier retirement.
May 18, 2007... With the average pensioner now enjoying 18 and a half years of post- retirement life, the 'fifty-something' sector has seen dramatic changes over the last 50 years A recent report by the Future Foundation has revealed that the lives of...

OPINION: A unique space for direct marketers.(Column)
May 18, 2007... Although many of us may not have the time or the inclination to spend an evening with Battle Stations or FIFA 07, such titles are not only at the cutting-edge of gaming but also advertising, offering marketers a compelling route to highly...

LETTER: Pitching crisis is not just an issue for the creatives.(Letter to the editor)
May 18, 2007... As the heat behind the debate over pitching politics (brought so nicely to a head by the seemingly shambolic approach adopted by British Gas) continues, I feel a resonance with the arguments, despite my not sitting in the creative department....

LETTER: Good, bad and ugly pitches.(Letter to the editor)
May 18, 2007... So, some of the losing agencies on the British Gas pitch thought that it wasn't terribly well run (PM April 20). I have no idea if it was or wasn't, and I have no intention of fuelling that particular debate. That said, many of us...

LETTER: D2D strikes back.(Letter to the editor)
May 18, 2007... It isn't often I find something in Precision Marketing offensive but the May 4 issue achieves it twice. The front page advertises the Special Report with the words: 'Will consumers ever accept door to door?' You must be aware of the extensive...

VIEWPOINT: When digital and direct work in sweet harmony.
May 18, 2007... If agencies hope to survive - and prosper - in today's changing media landscape, they have to be willing and able to fully embrace change The ability of agencies to evolve to the changing media landscape is fundamental to their long term...

LEADER: Putting agencies under the microscope.
May 18, 2007... There's nothing quite like league tables to raise the hackles of every agency chief executive in the land, unless of course they come out near the top in which case the findings take pride of place in every new business pitch for the...

Creative Critique.(Jumeirah Carlton Towers)(Meteorite)
May 18, 2007... Guy Bradbury You know how it is. You wait ages for a 3-dimensional pack and then several arrive at once... 1. First up is this wonderfully crafted piece for the NSPCC. It deals with the difficult subject of child abuse delicately by...

HOME SHOPPING: Taking the long view.
May 18, 2007... Infomercials may be a big hit in the US but the medium which holds great possibilities for marketers is struggling for acceptance this side of the Atlantic Talk to marketers in the United States about infomercials and they will wax...