Precision Marketing articles from October 2005

Precision Marketing archives from October 2005

Telewest hands direct business account to LIDA.(TeleWest Communications PLC)(Brief Article)
October 7, 2005... Cable giant Telewest has appointed LIDA to handle its business to business (B2B) account, following its #10bn merger with rival NTL. LIDA won the final stage against Tullo Marshall Warren. Draft London had held the account for three years...

Brussels rethink to spark chaos for pan-European campaigns.
October 7, 2005... Marketers across Europe face the chaotic prospect of complying with the laws of all 25 countries within the recently enlarged EU, following a proposal by Brussels mandarins to bring in new regulations. Ministers are due to vote on whether...

#10M Capital One brief for WWAV.(WWAV Rapp Collins enters into a contract)(Brief Article)
October 7, 2005... Credit card firm Capital One has handed its estimated #10m direct marketing business to WWAV Rapp Collins London without a pitch, following a series of chemistry meetings with several agencies. WWAV Rapp Collins Digital has also been hired...

Thomas: Sign up for TPS to fight ID fraud.(Brief Article)
October 7, 2005... Information Commissioner Richard Thomas is risking the wrath of the direct marketing industry by urging students to sign up to the Telephone Preference Service (TPS) to safeguard their personal data. Thomas has issued ten top tips to...

Organ register boosts donor file by over 1m.(Brief Article)
October 7, 2005... More than 1 million new donors have signed up to the NHS Organ Donor Register in the past year - equivalent to over 2,700 people a day - after a major nationwide DRTV and press offensive. UK Transplant, which manages the database and...

Breast cancer group in 'wear it pink' appeal.(Breast Cancer Campaign )(Brief Article)
October 7, 2005... Breast Cancer Campaign is rolling out an online and direct mail initiative to raise #1.7m to research a cure for the disease, and raise awareness of its 'wear it pink' day on October 28. The campaign, devised inhouse, will target the...

Renault links with Auto Trader to build data.(joint campaign )(Brief Article)
October 7, 2005... Renault is set to boost its customer prospect database through a joint campaign with the UK's biggest used-car magazine, Auto Trader. The initiative, devised by Carat and AdLink, features a competition to win a Renault model up to the...

JJB Sports develops online shop.(e-commerce)(Brief Article)
October 7, 2005... Sports retailer JJB Sports is boosting its Web presence with the launch of its first online store, which will sell a range of sports equipment and clothing. Previously, the website www.jjbsports.co.uk only offered product and store...

COI signs exclusive deal for door-drops.(Central Office for Information consumer advertising)(Brief Article)
October 7, 2005... The Central Office for Information (COI) has chosen a single agency for the first time to handle the Government's #2m door-drop account, potentially handling campaigns to all 26 million households in the UK. The Leaflet Company has been...

Amnesty SMS drive to unveil 'Human Week'.(Amnesty International Short messaging service advertising campaign)(Brief Article)
October 7, 2005... Amnesty International UK is heralding the start of Protect The Human Week with a text campaign to boost its supporter base. During the week, which runs from October 16 to 22, consumers will be urged to text various keywords to a short...

Dogs Trust eyes funds lift with Xmas initiative.(charity for abandoned dogs)(Brief Article)
October 7, 2005... Dogs Trust, the UK's largest canine welfare charity, is planning a major Christmas appeal to highlight the plight of abandoned dogs. A mailing, created by London-based integrated agency 141, is being sent to 140,000 existing and lapsed...

Nissan puts lolly behind Pathfinder roll-out.(Pathfinder 4x4 marketing)(Brief Article)
October 7, 2005... Nissan is jump-starting an integrated campaign for the new Pathfinder 4x4 with a major direct marketing blitz to promote its all-terrain capabilities and offer a 48-hour test-drive. The campaign - 'Get a taste for adventure' - has been...

Holidaybreak pools data to bolster customer insight.
October 7, 2005... Travel operator Holidaybreak, whose brands include Eurocamp, Keycamp and Eurocamp Independent, is overhauling its marketing database to give direct marketers a group-wide single customer view. The company has briefed SmartFocus to...

Tussauds Group appoints Spinnaker to target kids.(Brief Article)
October 7, 2005... Entertainment giant The Tussauds Group is bolstering its direct strategy with the appointment of London agency Spinnaker, following a competitive pitch. The agency is to develop a national direct marketing programme for schools - targeting...

Honda Marine mailing to boost dealer business.(direct marketing )(Brief Article)
October 7, 2005... Honda Marine, the Japanese car giant's outboard engine division, aims to boost dealership business by urging boat owners to have their motors serviced before storing for the winter. A direct marketing campaign through WDMP is designed to...

Royal Mail clients eye new entrants.(market research on liberalization)(Brief Article)
October 7, 2005... Nearly three-quarters of Royal Mail's business customers claim they will defect to rival operators if offered just a 5 per cent postal discount, when the market opens fully to competition in January. The claim, highlighted in Postcomm's...

Debtbuster Loans in bid to bolster take-up.(Central Trust direct mail marketing through Union Direct)(Brief Article)
October 7, 2005... Central Trust is bolstering its debt consolidation brand Debtbuster Loans by launching a direct mail drive targeting customers in financial difficulty. The pack will be sent to 25,000 prospects a month, as part of an ongoing strategy....

Animal shelter boosts recruitment strategy.(Wood Green Animal Shelter marketing contract with Cascaid)(Brief Article)
October 7, 2005... Pet charity the Wood Green Animal Shelter is stepping up its direct marketing with the appointment of agency Cascaid. The agency, which is tasked with developing a long-term recruitment strategy for the charity, will kick off with data...

Virgin Holidays in radio offensive.(radio campaign)(Brief Article)
October 7, 2005... Virgin Holidays is launching a direct response radio campaign to promote its breaks in Cuba, Antigua and the Bahamas through Kitcatt Nohr Alexander Shaw. The drive is running until the end of this month, on national and regional radio stations....

Budget to enhance customer experience.(online insurance company and Tamar contract)(Brief Article)
October 7, 2005... Budget, the online insurance company, is ramping up its data acquisition and retention strategy by hiring media agency Tamar. It is tasked with improving conversion rates and customer experiences, and rebuilding the company's online presence....

T-Mobile extends Irish contract.(marketing contracts)(Brief Article)
October 7, 2005... T-Mobile has retained agency Irish to handle the retail and channel development element of its #15m promotional account, following a protracted review. The company met ten agencies between February and May this year, before shortlisting three,...

Industry making waves in house construction.(residential real estate marketing)(Brief Article)
October 7, 2005... UK house-building companies are using direct marketing tactics to boost sales of new homes, according to research by property website Smart NewHomes.com. It also claims that up to 30 per cent of house sales are initially generated through...

Wonderbra in debut online promotion.
October 7, 2005... Wonderbra is launching its first-ever online campaign to promote underwear to young women. The push, by Publicis, highlights the benefits of the products using fully-clothed women, avoiding the `Hello boys' image it previously used. The...

Firms wasting millions by not chasing leads.(advertising expenditures)(Brief Article)
October 7, 2005... More than half of UK companies are wasting millions of pounds on direct marketing by failing to respond to consumer enquiries quickly enough, according to a report which claims many firms are 'in denial'. The study, by Response Direct...

RAC revamps data strategy to deliver speedier service.(Brief Article)
October 7, 2005... Motoring specialist RAC is turning to direct marketing techniques to ramp up its service and enable breakdown teams to respond to customers more effectively and quickly. The company has signed up to Experian's National Business Database...

Kurt Geiger shifts online to lure 'well-heeled'.(marketing contract given to Design UK )(Brief Article)
October 7, 2005... Upmarket shoe design firm Kurt Geiger is aiming to stamp its authority on the online market by launching its first transactional website to turn shoe-lovers into budding Imelda Marcoses. Digital agency Design UK is behind a push that aims...

Children's Society mailing offensive exposes runaway kids crisis.(Brief Article)
October 7, 2005... The Children's Society is aiming to combat the UK's growing crisis of runaway kids by launching a direct mail campaign to raise awareness of the issue. The push, devised by EHS Brann Leeds, also aims to raise funds. A mailpack will be...

US direct spend exceeds $161bn to 10.3% of GDP.(gross domestic product increases with direct marketing expenses)(Brief Article)
October 7, 2005... New York: Direct marketing spend in the US is this year expected to top $161bn (#91.8bn), generating sales worth more than $1.85 trillion (#1.01 trillion), according to a study. Commissioned by the US DMA, the report, entitled US Direct...

Txt4 launches Australian office to penetrate Asia.(Brief Article)
October 7, 2005... Sydney: European mobile marketing specialist Txt4 is opening its first office in Australia, providing a launchpad into the Asian market. The move follows recent launches in France, Germany and Ireland. Txt4 technology creates an...

UPU boss urges service quality lift.(Edouard Dayan)(Universal Postal Union)(Brief Article)
October 7, 2005... Paris: The head of France's Universal Postal Union (UPU) has urged postal operators worldwide to concentrate on improving service quality to benefit from opportunities in areas such as direct marketing. In a speech during the opening of...

It's time to ditch that loyalty card.
October 7, 2005... Paris: The wallets of French consumers are bursting at the seams with the ever-increasing number of loyalty cards given to them by stores where they shop. Now almost all independents and chains want their own card - food stores, car...

PROFILE - AMANDA PHILLIPS: Phillips forges direct future.(Proximity London)
October 7, 2005... Chairman of the IPA's direct division Amanda Phillips is passionate about driving the industry forward. As she tells Jessica Phillips, the future is all about breaking free of old definitions and embracing fresh channels Armed with a...

NSPCC to back TV drive with multichannel push.(National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children)(Brief Article)
October 7, 2005... Child protection charity NSPCC has launched an integrated fundraising blitz to back its latest 'Talk til it stops' TV ad, as part of the longer-term 'Full stop' campaign. The push, devised by WWAV Rapp Collins London, comprises direct...

Midland Mainline kicks off rebrand.(Brief Article)
October 7, 2005... Midland Mainline is aiming to boost passenger numbers by launching a major direct mail, TV and online campaign. Integrated agency Poulters has devised the drive, which will target 400,000 households and 100,000 businesses in the Midland...

Birmingham Evening Mail revamp to lure readers.(Brief Article)
October 7, 2005... Newspaper publisher Trinity Mirror is transforming its flagship regional title, the Birmingham Evening Mail, to appeal to a wider audience, with an integrated push. WARL is behind the initiative, which sees the newspaper become simply the...

Digital demands multimedia tack.
October 7, 2005... There's no doubt that brand owners are doing the right thing in offering their customers more ways to buy their products and services - numerous studies show customers of multichannel companies spend up to 30 per cent more than those of...

CHRIS GORDON: We must act as disciples to lift industry's image.
October 7, 2005... Over a year ago, in the aftermath of the Brassed Off Britain saga, I wrote a Column which concluded: "We may never rid ourselves of the 'junk mail' tag, but we could try, at the very least, to make a better fist of creating a more accurate...

Letter: Email marketing coming of age despite spammers.(Letter to the Editor)
October 7, 2005... Your recent front-page story which revealed that email is 'more popular than direct mail' (PM September 16) heralds the medium's coming of age. Despite the ongoing nuisance of spam from illegal Florida pharmaceuticals peddlers, email...

Letter: Customer mags bolster charities.(Letter to the Editor)
October 7, 2005... I read with interest your News Analysis 'Can charity minnows bridge funding gap?' (PM September 22). I agree with Ruth Ruderham's assertion that, for marketing to work for smaller charities, communicating the impact of a donation back to the...

Cooperation between marketing and IT only sensible way forward.
October 7, 2005... COMMENT: TASH WHITMEY As data collection and management become increasingly technological, it's high time to bridge the gap between marketing and IT professionals Just when we were starting to accept that maybe, just maybe, data...

Letter: Direct mail far from finished.(Letter to the Editor)
October 7, 2005... Those of us who work primarily with direct mail rather than digital channels could be extremely daunted by the report on the findings of the CCB survey ('Are marketers getting consumers all wrong?', PM September 16). Is email really now the...

LEADER: Industry future in its own hands.(advertising agency ranking basis)
October 7, 2005... So the DMA (UK)'s agency ratecard has reared its ugly head once again. This time the trade body's Agencies Council - headed by BLAC creative director Chris Arnold - is seeking to update last year's findings to see how rates have changed....

Creative critique.
October 7, 2005... Malcolm Caldwell and Adam Haywood are joint creative directors of Hicklin Slade & Partners. This is the first time we've been asked to contribute to Creative Critique (thank you, the cheque's in the post). So we thought we'd review work...

SPECIAL REPORT - EMAIL MARKETING: A sure thing.
October 7, 2005... Despite the fact that online marketing spend is growing at a faster rate than any other media, budgets are a mere drop in the ocean. So why, asks David Reed, are companies not prepared to invest more money in what seems to be a popular way of...

SPECIAL REPORT - PERMISSION MARKETING: Cloning prospects.
October 7, 2005... As we head towards an increasingly permission-led marketing climate, gaining opt-ins has to take precedence over cold prospects. Could matching data against existing opt-ins yield likely candidates? asks Michele Witthaus Plentiful,...

Ski holiday customers revealed.(through Integral Marketing )(Brief Article)
October 7, 2005... Integral Marketing is revealing a list of names who have recently booked a skiing holiday. There are 63,000 records, which are available to holiday companies for promotions and services, and would be ideal for marketing ski products and...

Smartlists sells card database.(credit card balance transfers )(Brief Article)
October 7, 2005... A file of people who have made credit card balance transfers has been released through Jaywing's recently launched Smartlists. The list consists of over 300,000 names. Customers are mostly ABC1, 35- to 54-year-old men who have an annual...

TV Network file released.(database of mail order buyers )(Brief Article)
October 7, 2005... A database of over 200,000 mail order buyers has been released through Listlab. The customers have bought a variety of products from TV shopping channel TV Network, the fastest growing DRTV company in the UK. The file consists of...

Prime Health list on market.(reveals database through list broker Avongate)(Brief Article)
October 7, 2005... Vitamins and supplements catalogue Prime Health Direct is revealing a database of 100,000 names through list broker Avongate. Typical customers are aged over 50, with high disposable incomes. They are generally repeat purchasers. ...

Image Logo to unveil names.(through RSA Direct)(Brief Article)
October 7, 2005... Promotional merchandise maker Image Logo is putting its list of 39,352 buyers on the market through RSA Direct. Its customers typically buy products such as pens, mouse-mats and calculators to promote their companies. Their profile is...

Navigator appoints Reid business director.(Lorna Reid)(Brief Article)
October 7, 2005... Navigator Responsive Advertising has hired Lorna Reid as business development director. Her remit will include building Navigator's blue- chip client base in the UK and Northern Europe. She will work across the tourism, finance, branded goods...

Rhodes takes consultant role at 5one.(Adam Rhodes appointed as business strategy consultant.)(Brief Article)
October 7, 2005... Customer strategy specialist 5one has appointed Adam Rhodes business strategy consultant. Rhodes has spent the past ten years in sales and marketing, and as a management consultant at Procter & Gamble. Stephen Rose, chief executive of 5one,...

Southern and Angus join Partners Andrews Aldridge.(Louise Southern and Katherine Angus appointed as accounts managers)(Brief Article)
October 7, 2005... Partners Andrews Aldridge has employed two new account managers. Louise Southern joins from Draft London, and will become senior account manager, working on Wales Tourist Board and Vodafone accounts. Katherine Angus joins from EHS Brann as...

Nice work: Paul Miller.(job satisfaction survey )(Brief Article)
October 7, 2005... Nice work... is a monthly column dedicated to those people who are happy at work. Don't think it's possible? Read on Name: Paul Miller Company: Prolog Department: Contact centre division, Prolog Connect Job title: Contact...

Direct Line adds Passion to home products roster.(Brief Article)
October 14, 2005... Direct Line Insurance has added recently launched agency Passion to the direct marketing roster for its home products. Passion will handle door-drop and insert campaigns for the direct response account. Incumbent agencies such as Hall...

Omnicom pools Claydon Heeley agencies into Zulu supergroup.(Claydon Heeley Jones Mason, Agency Republic, Alcone and Code Ltd. to provide integrated services)(Brief Article)
October 14, 2005... Omnicom agencies Claydon Heeley Jones Mason, Agency Republic, Alcone and Code have joined forces to offer clients an integrated service, under the umbrella brand Zulu. The group will be headed by Agency Republic chief executive Martin...

ISBA cautions IPA over plan to halt shoddy pitch practice.
October 14, 2005... Client body the Incorporated Society of British Advertisers (ISBA) has backed IPA plans to name and shame members which are involved in shoddy pitch practices, although it has warned the agency group against being over-zealous. The...

Industry chiefs ignoring customer harassment.(customer irritation, direct marketing)(Brief Article)
October 14, 2005... Direct marketing bosses are burying their heads in the sand when it comes to customer harassment, according a panel of 10,000 consumers. The first of two surveys by the Customer Partnership, in association with financial services forum...

Handpicked Hotels mines customer data.(by giving advertising contract to Liquid Communications )(Brief Article)
October 14, 2005... Luxury country hotels group Handpicked Hotels is embarking on its first customer management programme, and has appointed Liquid Communications to handle it. Liquid will accumulate the details of the group's 9 million customers, for use...

Practical Action rolls out dual insert assault.(Brief Article)
October 14, 2005... Practical Action, the world development charity, is to test two new creative strategies as part of an insert campaign that aims to build a base of regular givers. The campaign, developed by London-based charity specialist Whitewater,...

Nivea targets Hollyoaks viewers.(Brief Article)
October 14, 2005... Beiersdorf UK is looking to create a customer database for its Nivea Visage Young brand through a partnership with Channel 4 teen soap Hollyoaks. The company has launched a campaign, produced by digital media specialist AdLink, centring...

Cancer Research to single out top givers.(by giving advertising contract to Kitcatt Nohr Alexander Shaw )(Brief Article)
October 14, 2005... Cancer Research UK has appointed integrated agency Kitcatt Nohr Alexander Shaw to create a loyalty marketing programme for its high- value donors. The agency has been briefed to help increase the charity's yield from its most valuable...

Ex-Vertis chief to lead Howitt expansion plan.(Richard Husband )(Brief Article)
October 14, 2005... Howitt, the Sutton-based marketing services company, has hired former Vertis boss Richard Husband as director. Husband, who has 15 years' experience in the print and marketing industries, will provide sales support and develop key...

Macmillan to target donors in emotive push.(Brief Article)
October 14, 2005... Macmillan Cancer Relief is launching an interactive email campaign to show supporters what it is like to be diagnosed with cancer. The hard-hitting 'Cancer journey' drive, devised by Squeeze Digital, takes recipients through different...

Ginger courts TV execs with Osbourne mailing.
October 14, 2005... Ginger Productions is to use direct marketing to sell itself to TV commission executives across the country. The company, originally set up by DJ and presenter Chris Evans, is basing the campaign around its new ITV2 series Adrenaline...

Muller builds 'community' to bolster Amore buyer insight.(Brief Article)
October 14, 2005... Muller is beefing up its strategy of developing community databases with an initiative for premium yogurt range Amore. The firm is to launch an integrated campaign, produced by Catalyst Marketing, which uses the strapline: 'Best kept secret...

WWAV Edinburgh lures Marketing Society boss.(Jane Ulke been appointed)(Brief Article)
October 14, 2005... WWAV Rapp Collins Edinburgh has appointed Jane Ulke managing director. She joins from the Marketing Society Scotland, where she was a director. Ulke will be required to develop the agency's digital, data and media capabilities - thereby...

Mike Larmer to plan Lloyds TSB insurance tack.(Brief Article)
October 14, 2005... Mike Larmer, ex-managing director of WWAV Rapp Collins, has been drafted in to help his former client Lloyds TSB on a consultancy basis. Larmer, who left WWAV three months ago, will help the high-street bank's general insurance division to...

Nine shops added in COI direct overhaul.(Central Office of Information, direct marketing agency roster)(Brief Article)
October 14, 2005... The Central Office of Information (COI) has added nine shops to its #36m direct marketing agency roster, as part of a six-month long review. Chemistry, EHS Brann, Harrison Troughton Wunderman, Iris, Meteorite, Personal, Red C,...

Direct mail spend 'losing out to online'.(Brief Article)
October 14, 2005... Direct mail budgets are being hardest hit by the rise of online spend, with overall ad expenditure expected to have risen by 2.3 per cent this year, 1 per cent under the rate of inflation. The findings, revealed in the Advertising...

Concern grows as EU delays services vote.(European Union)(Services Directive)(Brief Article)
October 14, 2005... Direct marketers planning pan-European campaigns face continuing uncertainty over future activity following an EU decision to postpone the vote on its new Services Directive. MEPs were due to vote early this month on whether to bring in the...

Nectar introduces online banking.(Brief Article)
October 14, 2005... Nectar scheme card members are now able to track their bills, payments and points by using online banking through OneVu. The card, backed by American Express, issues points to customers at participating retail outlets, including Sainsbury's,...

GE Consumer Finance UK seeks direct shop.(GE Consumer Finance UK )(Brief Article)
October 14, 2005... GE Consumer Finance UK is looking to appoint a direct marketing agency to help it develop a marketing strategy for its incursion into consumer banking next year. It is already using the AAR to seek a new advertising agency. GE Money will...

Moneyexpert.com ventures into offline activity.(Brief Article)
October 14, 2005... Financial comparison service Moneyexpert.com is to use offline advertising for the first time, as it launches a DRTV ad through NMC. It also plans to spend #2m over the next year on raising awareness of its brand. The company's future marketing...

Channel 4 launches viral ad competition.(Channel 4 Television Co.)
October 14, 2005... Channel 4's Ideas Factory, set up in 2002 to help aspiring creatives, is launching a competition to uncover the top viral ad campaign produced by a UK agency. The initiative, in conjunction with viral email library Bore Me, digital agency...

Correction: LIDA.(Correction Notice)
October 14, 2005... We would like to point out that LIDA won in the final stages of the Telewest B2B account against Harrison Troughton Wunderman, and not Tullo Marshall Warren, as reported in last week's PM. Copyright: Centaur Communications Ltd. and...

Jewish Care in remembrance appeal for aid.(Brief Article)
October 14, 2005... Jewish Care, the charity that supports vulnerable members of the Jewish community, is launching a fundraising drive in London and the South- east. A mailpack, created by integrated agency Kitcatt Nohr Alexander Shaw, includes a leaflet...

Birds Eye trawls for data on female SteamFresh buyers.(Brief Article)
October 14, 2005... Unilever is looking to build a database of predominantly female customers for its Birds Eye SteamFresh range of steamed food. The company will collect data through a redesigned website, developed by agency McCann Relationship Marketing...

Inmarsat pushes link with Volvo Ocean Race.(Brief Article)
October 14, 2005... Satellite communications company Inmarsat is launching a global initiative, designed to showcase its involvement in the Volvo Ocean Race 2005 to 2006. Throughout the eight months of the race, live action will be broadcast from cameras...

Horticultural group urges garden centres to promote vouchers.(Brief Article)
October 14, 2005... The Horticultural Trades Association (HTA) is planning a direct marketing push promoting its National Garden Gift Vouchers to garden centres in the run-up to Christmas. An 'autumnal' mailpack, created by Triangle, will be sent to around...

China ends seven-year ban on direct marketing.
October 14, 2005... Beijing: The Chinese authorities have finally lifted the ban on direct marketing, introduced in 1998, following concerns that the government was dragging its feet over decriminalisation. China originally made a commitment to permitting...

Marketers 'ignoring Do Not Call'.(Brief Article)
October 14, 2005... West Virginia: More than 50 million people who have signed up to the national Do Not Call register are still receiving unwanted telemarketing calls, according to a new study. The research, by Customer Care Alliance, claims that of the 100...

European B2B targeting details 'rapidly expiring'.
October 14, 2005... Brussels: Marketers attempting to target IT decision-makers in Belgium, Austria and Luxembourg are facing major problems, according to a new study that exposes soaring rates of job-hopping in these countries. The research shows that...

Aussie agencies keen exporters.
October 14, 2005... Sydney: I've recently spoken to a number of agencies in this region offering various outsourced services, such as creative, design, artwork and online production. Many of these agencies are based in low-cost locations - like Christchurch and...