Marketing articles from January 2005

Marketing archives from January 2005

Top TV marketers line up for full-strength BBC role.(Brief Article)
January 5, 2005... The role of marketing director at the BBC, previously held by Channel 4 chief executive Andy Duncan, will not be downsized, despite a 25% cut in the marketing budget announced last year. The BBC is understood to be considering a shortlist...

Nokia hunts network for pounds 100m handset activity.(Brief Article)
January 5, 2005... Nokia is planning its biggest ever global ad drive to revitalise its faltering brand, and is holding talks with global agency networks about a pounds 100m campaign. The company has announced internally that it plans to launch a range of...

Desmond ploughs pounds 10m into shopping magazine.(Brief Article)
January 5, 2005... Richard Desmond is investing up to pounds 10m in women's magazine Happy, which launches in April. The title will feature shopping content linked to the Express Shopping TV Channel. The pounds 10m budget for the magazine, which was...

Green body leads pounds 5m climate ads.(Brief Article)
January 5, 2005... The government is investing pounds 5m in a multimedia campaign to tackle the climate change crisis. The impact of climate change on the UK - such as the devastating floods in Cornwall last year - is expected to be a key campaign issue at...

Lloyds TSB raises spend for 'customer first' work.(Brief Article)
January 5, 2005... Lloyds TSB is to increase its marketing spend by almost a third this year to pounds 25m as it rolls out a customer-focused advertising strategy intended to establish it as a personal, modern bank. The first activity will air on 7 January...

Abbey to merge marketing roles.(Brief Article)
January 5, 2005... Banco Santander, the new owner of Abbey, has signalled its intent to downgrade the role of marketing in the business following the news that customer director Angus Porter is to leave the bank. His role will be absorbed into the new sales...

New campaign: Persil.(Brief Article)
January 5, 2005... Persil's 'Dirt is good' campaign featuring young children spattered with paint is extending onto TV. The 30-second ad, a continuation of last year's poster campaign, will break this month. It depicts a group of children absorbed in painting -...

Kia gives away cars in Mirror tie.
January 5, 2005... Kia Motors is linking with the Mirror Group in its biggest promotion to date, giving away a car every day in January. The pounds 1m giveaway, running across Mirror Group's national titles - the Daily Mirror, Sunday Mirror, Daily Record, The...

Bratz adds 'Brit punk' doll range.(Vivid Imaginations)(Brief Article)
January 5, 2005... Bestselling doll brand Bratz is to launch its biggest toy range to date. Vivid Imaginations, the brand's UK licensee, will roll out the Pretty 'N' Punk line in toy shops nationwide this month. The British-themed boy and girl dolls will...

Haven puts pounds 7m into 'family' ads.(Haven Holidays )(Brief Article)
January 5, 2005... Haven Holidays is preparing a pounds 7m campaign to promote itself as a destination where extended families can gather. The Bourne Leisure-owned holiday park brand hopes that encouraging families to meet at its 35 locations will expand its...

Thomas Cook in low-price pledge.(Brief Article)
January 5, 2005... Thomas Cook is putting lowprice guarantees at the heart of its new-year advertising, with a promise to match or beat any holiday deal on the high street. The travel agent claims its Price Watch initiative, which will see it monitor rivals'...

Dove extends 'Real women' work to sponsorship.(Brief Article)
January 5, 2005... Dove is returning to TV sponsorship with a pounds 1m tie-up with LK Today, Lorraine Kelly's daily morning TV show on GMTV. The beauty brand, whose last terrestrial TV sponsorship was in 2000, will replace Typhoo tea, which has backed the...

Hyundai in pounds 10m 'quality' drive to shed budget tag.(Brief Article)
January 5, 2005... Hyundai is attempting to leave behind its reputation as a budget car brand with a pounds 10m promotional drive highlighting the quality of its vehicles. Marketing director Jim Campbell said the company was often 'overlooked' by car buyers,...

Jack Link's plans pounds 1m debut in UK.(marketing)(Brief Article)
January 5, 2005... Jack Link's, the bestselling US meat snack brand, is planning a pounds 1m UK launch to take on market leader Peperami. The company is seeking to capitalise on UK interest in low-carb diets and has hired integrated marketing agency Church to...

Atkins firm hires Fenix ahead of range expansion.(Atkins Nutritionals)(Brief Article)
January 5, 2005... Atkins Nutritionals, the US company that pioneered low-carb diets, has selected Fenix as its first UK advertising agency, as it prepares to roll out a range of products. Atkins currently sells a range of snack bars, including the Advantage...

Media News: Vauxhall in FHM tie to support VXR launch.(Brief Article)
January 5, 2005... Vauxhall is linking with lads' mag FHM in a seven-figure exclusive deal to promote the launch of its VXR performance range of cars. The deal, which accounts for much of Vauxhall's consumer marketing launch budget for the VXR, is the first...

Media News: Nissan sponsors Scrapheap show.(Brief Article)
January 5, 2005... Nissan Commercial Vehicles is paying pounds 1.1m for a 12-month sponsorship of Channel 4 spin-off show Scrapheap Challenge: The Scrappy Races. The Nissan Navara is also renewing its sponsorship of Scrapheap Challenge when it returns for an...

Media News: ITV issues spoof paper with Metro.(Brief Article)
January 5, 2005... ITV is promoting Dead Man Weds, a comedy series starring comedian Johnny Vegas as a local newspaper editor, by giving spoof newspaper The Fogburrow Advertiser and News away with copies of daily freesheet Metro. The six-part series, which...

Media News: Media choice - Standard Lite.(Brief Article)
January 5, 2005... The launch of the free Evening Standard variant Standard Lite raises more questions than it provides answers. First, is it too good? There is a fair amount to consume; certainly a lot for a brief lunch hour, especially when so many of the...

Media News: Emap backs February issue of Top Sante.(Brief Article)
January 5, 2005... Emap is backing the February issue of Top Sante, traditionally the biggest seller of the year, with pounds 250,000 of television, radio and news trade promotional activity. The title relaunched last spring and achieved a 22.5% sales rise in the...

Media News: Daily Telegraph to run sponsored travel supplements.(Brief Article)
January 5, 2005... The Daily Telegraph is to run a series of five sponsored travel supplements in deals worth a total of pounds 500,000 with Cathay Pacific, Page & Moy, Schroders, South Africa Tourism and the Portugal Tourist Office in combination with Azores...

Media News: IPC redesigns boating titles.(Brief Article)
January 5, 2005... IPC has redesigned boating titles Yachting Monthly and Motor Boat & Yachting for their February issues. The overhaul, coinciding with the London Boat Show, includes additional sections in the magazines.

Media News: Madasafish promotes broadband service.(Brief Article)
January 5, 2005... Madasafish, the ISP, is promoting its recently launched broadband service with a TV campaign featuring comic actor Harry Enfield. In the ads, Enfield's 'self-righteous brother' character admonishes historical figures including Captain Cook and...

Media News: Vodafone Live! buys mobile phone rights.(Brief Article)
January 5, 2005... Vodafone Live! has bought the exclusive mobile phone rights to Celador International's Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? game.

Media News: ITV joins forces with Video Networks.(Brief Article)
January 5, 2005... ITV is joining forces with Video Networks to pilot an on-demand local news and information channel on the HomeChoice television platform. The service will provide local news, weather, concert and movie coverage as well as a searchable TV...

Media News: The OFT gives green light to proposed merger.(Brief Article)
January 5, 2005... The Office of Fair Trading has given the green light to the proposed merger of GWR and Capital Radio. Capital has agreed to sell its Century 106 station in Nottingham, where there was an overlap with GWR.

Media News: Puzzler Media agrees deal.(Brief Article)
January 5, 2005... Puzzler Media has agreed a deal to supply interactive games to BSkyB's Sky Active channel.

Branding news: Piat D'Or to offer dinner party kits.(Brief Article)
January 5, 2005... Piat D'Or has signed up celebrity chef James Martin to front the launch of a branded dinner party kit. The kit contains recipes for a three-course menu for each season, created exclusively for the wine brand by Martin, and designed to be...

Branding news: Skinny Cow set to extend range.(Brief Article)
January 5, 2005... Skinny Cow, the low-fat frozen dessert range, is to expand with the introduction of half-litre tubs and cones. The tubs will be positioned as luxury desserts and will come in three variants: Completely Mintal, which includes...

Branding news: Slimfast fights back with low-carb debut.(Brief Article)
January 5, 2005... Unilever's troubled Slimfast brand will seek to reverse a fall in sales with its first foray into low-carb food, backed by a pounds 2.2m promotional spend. The Low Cal Low Carb range, which will include shakes, soups and cereal bars, is...

Branding news: Design choice - Old Pulteney.(Brief Article)
January 5, 2005... Before I start, I ought to confess that I am a whisky enthusiast who is especially keen on classic single malts such as Old Pulteney. So when I saw the brand's updated bottle at a recent whisky exhibition in Glasgow, it immediately caught my...

Branding news brief: Masterfoods relaunches Celebrations brand.(Brief Article)
January 5, 2005... Masterfoods is relaunching its Celebrations brand with updated packaging. The carton, created by branding agency PI Global, features an asymmetric design and plastic cap, designed to encourage sharing.

Branding news brief: Trevor Sorbie hires Jones Knowles Ritchie.(Brief Article)
January 5, 2005... Trevor Sorbie, the haircare firm, has hired Jones Knowles Ritchie to review the pack designs of its eight-year-old product range, following a pitch against undisclosed agencies. A revamped line will be launched in the autumn.

Branding news brief: Trigon Snacks hires Paver Downes.(Brief Article)
January 5, 2005... Trigon Snacks has hired Liverpool marketing agency Paver Downes to rebrand its Big D peanuts. Design agency Ergo will continue to work on the snack company's Planters peanut brand.

Branding news brief: Merging institutes create IoP - The Packing Society.(Institute of Packaging )(Brief Article)
January 5, 2005... The Institute of Packaging is to merge with the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining to create an organisation called IoP - The Packaging Society.

Branding news brief: Cadbury to introduce range.(Brief Article)
January 5, 2005... Cadbury is to introduce a range of marshmallows and biscuits under its Cadbury Highlights hot chocolate brand. It will be sold in all major retailers except Sainsbury's. The products are being developed under Cadbury's partnership with Burton's...

Branding news brief: Firefly Tonics introduces Self Defence.(Brief Article)
January 5, 2005... Firefly Tonics, the health drinks company, is introducing a variant called Self Defence. The orange and black pepper flavour is made with echinacea, thyme, elderberry and acerola, and claims to boost the immune system.

Branding news brief: Barclays hires speech specialist Fluency.(Brief Article)
January 5, 2005... Barclays has hired speech specialist Fluency to develop an electronic voice that will appeal to customers using its telephone banking system. The agency's first project is for Barclays' Woolwich brand, which plans to introduce a realistic voice...

Branding news brief: Pinnacle Insurance rebrands as Cardif Pinnacle.(Brief Article)
January 5, 2005... Pinnacle Insurance is rebranding as Cardif Pinnacle to align itself with parent company Cardif/BNP Paribas, the French banking group with operations in 85 countries.

Direct news: Honda takes 'Power of dreams' into mail.(Brief Article)
January 5, 2005... Honda is to extend its critically acclaimed 'Power of dreams' ad campaign into direct mail for the first time to explain the brand's history to customers. The Japanese car manufacturer has briefed its direct marketing agency Hicklin Slade...

Direct news: TNT debuts staff loyalty initiative.(Brief Article)
January 5, 2005... TNT is planning a major internal loyalty drive for its 500-strong sales force and has handed integrated agency Zest a brief to develop a global incentive scheme. The mail delivery company, which has recently merged its international and...

Direct news: Firms set record for festive mail.(Brief Article)
January 5, 2005... A record 223m Christmas cards were sent by businesses this year, suggesting that firms are increasingly trying to tap into the seasonal feelgood factor. An extra 6.5m cards were posted in 2004 - a year-on-year increase of 3%, according to...

Direct news: Direct choice - Audi.(Brief Article)
January 5, 2005... It is a tough act to follow the many memorable car marketing initiatives that have been introduced this year. However, Audi, renowned as one of the UK's most innovative car brands, has not disappointed. When I received a sleek,...

Direct news brief: Bacardi-Martini reviews its direct agency roster.(Brief Article)
January 5, 2005... Bacardi-Martini is reviewing its direct agency roster. UK commercial director Maurice Doyle said the review takes place annually across several of its drinks brands.

Direct news brief: Hamley's searches for direct agency.(Brief Article)
January 5, 2005... Hamley's, the toy retailer, is searching for a direct agency to help it target consumers more effectively. The retailer is expected to make a decision early in the new year.

Direct news brief: GlaxoSmithKline promotes launch of toothpaste.(White 'n' Shine toothpaste)
January 5, 2005... GlaxoSmithKline is promoting the launch of its Macleans White 'n' Shine toothpaste with two 20-second interactive ads to be shown in UK hairdressers. The ads, created by interactive screen media company I-vu and ad agency Ogilvy & Mather, offer...

Direct news brief: Vehicle Remarketing Solutions initiates campaign.(Brief Article)
January 5, 2005... Vehicle Remarketing Solutions, which sells used cars on behalf of car manufacturers and large company fleets, has initiated a direct campaign targeting existing and potential customers, created by integrated agency Brahm.

Direct news brief: Seasons Holidays appoints LinkDirect.(Brief Article)
January 5, 2005... Seasons Holidays, the direct holiday specialist, has appointed door-drop firm LinkDirect to run a direct response campaign targeting couples in their 40s and 50s. Prospective customers will receive branded playing cards.

Direct news brief: Credit agreements entirely online.(Brief Article)
January 5, 2005... Consumers can now complete credit agreements entirely online. In the past, a hard copy of the agreement had to be signed and sent to the lender. However, lenders will still have to mail debtors when charges for missed payments are imposed or...

Direct news brief: BCW Group hires EuroDirect.(Brief Article)
January 5, 2005... BCW Group, the credit management company, has hired data specialist EuroDirect to develop a debt-recovery model enabling it to tailor campaigns by debtor type.

Direct news brief: Online adspend in Europe will double.(Brief Article)
January 5, 2005... Online adspend in Europe will double to 4.7bn euros by 2009, according to JupiterResearch. This year 2.1bn euros (pounds 1.47bn) was spent on online advertising, compared with 1.6bn euros in 2003. Spend is expected to increase by 29% in the...

Retail news: Sainsbury's At fills top role.(appointment )
January 5, 2005... Sainsbury's has appointed the first marketing chief for its Sainsbury's At convenience division, as it prepares to boost its neighbourhood presence amid intense competition from rivals. Richard Lancaster, trading director for the 115-store...

Retail news: Retail choice - Waterstone's, Kensington High Street.(Brief Article)
January 5, 2005... By the sounds of the pounds 518m that was estimated to be spent on Christmas Eve alone, it seems not many of us got in much early planning. Bucking the trend, I braved Kensington High Street, West London, in early December and was pleasantly...

Retail news: Recycling project targets retailers.(waste and resources action programme)(Brief Article)
January 5, 2005... The Waste & Resources Action Programme (WRAP) is encouraging supermarkets to promote front-of-store recycling with customer incentives such as loyalty card points and vouchers. The project, which is being supported with pounds 1.2m of...

Retail news brief: DFS features Katie Melua song in latest TV campaign.(Brief Article)
January 5, 2005... DFS is featuring the Katie Melua song The Closest Thing to Crazy in its latest TV campaign, as it bolsters its efforts to appeal to a younger, more fashion-conscious female market. The ad uses the strapline 'Are we crazy? No, we're DFS'.

Retail news brief: Selfridges chooses Las Vegas theme.(Brief Article)
January 5, 2005... Selfridges has chosen a Las Vegas theme to replace its summer 'Brasil 40deg ' campaign. 'Vegas Supernova' will run in-store from April, celebrating 100 years of the US city.

Retail news brief: Levi's plans ambitious expansion strategy.(Brief Article)
January 5, 2005... Levi's is planning an ambitious expansion strategy that will see its retail presence grow from 21 outlets in the UK to more than 80. It unveiled an overhauled store format in December, featuring 'macho' men's changing rooms and a 'boudoir'...

Retail news brief: Tesco overtakes Asda as cheapest supermarket.(Brief Article)
January 5, 2005... Tesco has overtaken Asda as the cheapest supermarket, according to a survey conducted by The Grocer. Its pounds 167.84 basket of goods undercut Asda's by 0.4%.

Retail news brief: Forrester reports rise of online shoppers.(Brief Article)
January 5, 2005... Forrester, the technology research specialist, has reported that 60m Europeans shopped online in 2004, a rise of 50% on 2003. The UK and Germany accounted for two-thirds of the market.

Retail news brief: Lovefilm.com signs deal with BCA.(Book Club Associates)(Brief Article)
January 5, 2005... Lovefilm.com, the online DVD rental company, has signed a three-year deal with BCA (Book Club Associates) to provide a co-branded service to its 1.5m UK members. Lovefilm already has deals with WH Smith, Sainsbury's, Woolworths and MVC.

Retail news brief: GlynWebb relaunches its website.(Brief Article)
January 5, 2005... GlynWebb, the independent DIY retailer, has relaunched its website to reflect its new red and yellow corporate identity. The company plans further online developments, including the introduction of competitions and DIY tips.

Helen Dickenson on retail - Hold on tight - it's going to be a bumpy year.
January 5, 2005... It is always difficult to step into another's shoes, but I hope I will be able to provide the same level of insight and thought-provoking comment that Amanda Aldridge has brought you over the past eight months. Just to make my first column...

News Analysis: New year, new challenges.
January 5, 2005... ISBA director-general Malcolm Earnshaw speaks to Marketing about the issues facing the industry in 2005. One of the key purposes of the Incorporated Society of British Advertisers (ISBA) is to defend its members' rights to advertise...

Raymond Snoddy on media: Freeview has the chance to make 2005 its own.
January 5, 2005... This time last year there was at least the theoretical possibility that someone would make a dazzling swoop for ITV on the morning of 29 December, when Ofcom took on its new powers. The new regulator was so mindful about what might happen...

Brand Health Check: Allders.
January 5, 2005... The retailer is facing the prospect of its second owner in two years as its turnaround strategy has failed to lure consumers. What must it do to revive its fortunes, asks Alexandra Jardine. As shoppers rifle through last season's stock on...

Mark Ritson on branding: Keep a watch out for the return of reputation.
January 5, 2005... What does the wonderful world of branding hold for us in 2005? By now it is clear that the biggest branding question of the year to come is not whether Philip Green will get his hands on Marks & Spencer, but whether even a retailer as gifted as...

Brand Builders: Kick.(Bar Kick)
January 5, 2005... Continental-style table football with a touch of retro charm are the cornerstone of this bar chain. Bar Kick is full of the sort of furniture typically found at a car boot sale or in your gran's kitchen. The chipped tables with their...

Profile: World peace - Susan Harmsworth, Founder and chief executive, ESPA International.
January 5, 2005... Even though she owns hundreds of spas across the world, Susan Harmsworth's Christmas was anything but relaxing. The ESPA chief executive's extended family ran amok in her Guildford, Surrey, home over the festive period, and now she is off to...

Adwatch: Irritating ads - The nation's most hated ads from 2004.
January 5, 2005... Q: Which of the following TV commercials irritated you the most? BRAND AGENCY % 1 First Alternative In-house 46 2 Mint ...

Editorial: Manifesto could knock industry into shape.(Editorial)
January 5, 2005... Traditionally, Marketing's first issue of the new year offers the opportunity to have a look at what the coming 12 months have in store for our industry. It is a common theme among these pages: what the surge in consumer up-take of digital TV,...

Opinion: Marketer's diary.(Calendar)
January 5, 2005... 5 January - Start of school spring term. 6 January - Start of Celebrity Big Brother 3. 6 January - Whitbread announces its Book Awards winners for the Novel, First Novel, Biography, Poetry and Children's book. The five successful...

Opinion: Focus on - Celebrity Big Brother 3.(Brief Article)
January 5, 2005... Davina McCall returns to front the third annual lock-in of stars trying to secure lucrative advertising contracts. - This year's Celebrity Big Brother offers (if tabloid rumours are proved correct) the enticing combination of David Icke,...

Digital TV: Tomorrow's TV world.(personalised video recorders)
January 5, 2005... With consumers switching to digital platforms, can the traditional model of TV advertising be sustained? Andy Fry investigates. Five years ago the world's biggest media companies believed they were on the brink of a digital revolution....

Helpline: Binding promise.
January 5, 2005... Samuel Solley takes the hassle out of finding the right product or service - you ask the question, he'll provide the answer. Q: Can you suggest a source of quality branded binders? A: Either Classic Folios (0870 744 4784) or Imgen (020...

Careers: What's it really like inside - Emap Active.
January 5, 2005... Can you describe the typical Emap Active marketer? Not really. We have a mixed team, from graduates to working mums, varying in age from early 20s to about 40 years old. There are more women than men, but only just. What is the...

Careers: Salary snapshot - Promotion prospects.(Brief Article)
January 5, 2005... Nearly a third of marketers (30%) start 2005 with no realistic hopes of promotion. Marketing directors are the least optimistic, with 38% saying they have no promotion prospects. Most marketers believe they have 'some' promotion prospects...

Careers: Brand manager of the week - Mike Thompson, Sponsorship manager, Powergen.(Interview)
January 5, 2005... Why did you get into marketing? I realised it offered more scope for variety and creativity than other office jobs. What would be your dream job? Teaching people to ski. You are on a desert island with one person from the...

Careers: Just the job - Marketing manager, Madame Tussauds.(Brief Article)
January 5, 2005... Tussauds' marketing department caused uproar in 2002 by opting not to make a model of then opposition leader Iain Duncan Smith. It was all part of a ploy - along with a squeezable Brad Pitt bum and a raunchy model of Kylie - to shed the...

Marketing mix: We'll call you - Holland & Barrett.
January 5, 2005... We drank too much at the Christmas party - and don't feel too well. We called Holland & Barrett for a quick pep talk H&B: Hello, can I help you? Mktg: Is that the customer helpline? H&B: Yes, customer services. Mktg: I've been...

Marketing mix: Pen Portrait - Keith Moor is head of innovation and customer management at Abbey.
January 5, 2005... Everything superfluous and superficial in this writing has been removed. This, plus the fact that despite its small size the writing is actually legible, bodes well for the combined intelligence and communication skills of this writer. He...

Marketing mix: Name that brand.
January 5, 2005... This brand originated in the 20s and was distributed by housewives selling door to door. Its most famous strapline is 'Kills all known germs', created by the company's chief research chemist in the 70s. In the 50s, the brand ran a campaign...

Climate change ads shelved after Asian tsunami.(Brief Article)
January 12, 2005... The immediate future of the government's pounds 4m TV campaign aimed at cutting carbon emissions by UK businesses is in doubt after ads featuring graphic images of the effects of flooding were axed, following the Asian tsunami tragedy. The...

McDonald's to pull out of UK primary schools.(Brief Article)
January 12, 2005... McDonald's is to curtail its presence in UK primary schools as part of a radical overhaul of its national education programme. Under the three-year strategy, which comes into force this year, it will provide curriculum support and material...

CIM diplomas in standards 'first'.(Chartered Institute of Marketing)(Brief Article)
January 12, 2005... Further to a report on The Chartered Institute of Marketing's (CIM) qualifications (Marketing, 22 December), we would like to clarify the following points. The CIM awards its marketing qualifications through its Royal Charter. All those...