Marketing articles from January 2007

Marketing archives from January 2007

Budweiser prunes marketing department in rejig.(Anheuser-Busch Companies Inc.)(Brief article)
January 3, 2007... Anheuser-Busch has made cuts to the marketing department for its Budweiser brand following a major reshuffle. Oliver West, consumer marketing controller and second in command to UK marketing director Jim Gorczyca, is the most high-profile...

Lloyds TSB commits to pounds 80m London 2012 deal.(contracts)(Brief article)
January 3, 2007... Lloyds TSB is set to become the first brand to sign up as a top-tier sponsor of the London 2012 Olympic Games in a deal worth pounds 80m. Insiders say a deal is imminent, with the bank beating rivals HSBC, Bank of America and Citigroup,...

Martin George in Man United talks.(United Football Club)(appointment of Martin George)(Brief article)
January 3, 2007... Martin George, the former commercial director of BA who quit the airline following allegations of price-fixing, is in final negotiations to become commercial director of Manchester United Football Club. George resigned from BA in October,...

InjuryLawyers4U ad voted most irritating of 2006.(Brief article)
January 3, 2007... Given that the legal profession is regularly ranked among the least respected, it should come as no surprise that a TV ad for InjuryLawyers4U was voted the most irritating execution of 2006 in a poll of the British public. The ad for the...

Agencies urged to adapt to survive in digital age.(Brief article)
January 3, 2007... In a stark New Year's message, the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising (IPA) has claimed that agencies need to adapt and get to grips with emerging technology or face a 'shrinking business future'. The findings are part of a wake-up...

Sky digital media director departs.(resignation of James Baker )(Brief article)
January 3, 2007... BSkyB is reviewing the role of its Sky Networked Media division following the resignation of the unit's managing director, James Baker. Baker announced his intention to leave the satellite broadcaster at the end of last year, less than 12...

Over-50s insurer hunts pounds 4m shop.(Brief article)
January 3, 2007... Over-50s insurance specialist Rias is seeking an agency for its pounds 4m ad account as it implements a change in marketing strategy. The Fortis Group brand has traditionally focused on speedway sponsorship, but recently terminated its...

Diageo brands in ICC World Cup tie.(Brief article)
January 3, 2007... Johnnie Walker and Red Stripe are to be official sponsors of this year's ICC cricket World Cup in the West Indies, in Diageo's first multi-brand, multi-region sponsorship. Johnnie Walker will be the regional sponsor and official whisky for...

New campaign: Virgin Holidays.(Brief article)
January 3, 2007... Virgin Holidays is targeting families and couples considering long-haul holidays with a TV campaign that has been produced and directed by Aardman Animations. The pounds 2m 'Get more' drive, which breaks this week, is designed to promote...

P&G funds revamp of Asda babycare section.(contracts)(Procter and Gamble)(Brief article)
January 3, 2007... Procter & Gamble is funding a redesign of Asda's babycare areas and has hired in-store agency Saatchi & Saatchi X to handle the work. The revamp, which comprises store navigation and signage, will not carry any P&G branding. It is being...

Coke Zero poised for football-based drive.(Brief article)
January 3, 2007... Coca-Cola is to place football at the centre of its spring marketing activity for Coke Zero. Ads for the product, tagged 'bloke Coke' because of its male positioning, are to use the strapline 'Football without the downside'. The...

UPC Broadband in agency hunt.(Brief article)
January 3, 2007... Cable operator UPC Broadband is seeking an ad agency to handle its pan-European business. Liberty Global, UPC's parent company, is understood to have approached a number of agencies with a brief to create a European campaign. The...

Sainsbury's awards direct business to TMW.(appointment of Tullo Marshall Warren, and marketing strategies of J Sainsbury PLC)(Brief article)
January 3, 2007... Sainsbury's has hired Tullo Marshall Warren to handle its direct marketing. The agency was handed the business following a pitch against incumbent Proximity London, Archibald Ingall Stretton and Partners Andrews Aldridge. Proximity...

News brief: Lindt hands ad account to Lowe London.(Lindt und Sprungli Aktiengesellschaft Chocoladefabriken)(Brief article)
January 3, 2007... Lindt has handed its pounds 4m advertising account to Lowe London, following a review overseen by the Haystack Group. The chocolatier previously created its ads in-house.

News brief: AXA sets up group marketing dept in Paris.(Marc Raisieres and Olivier Mariee )(Brief article)
January 3, 2007... AXA has set up a group marketing department in Paris led by AXA Belgium's former head of marketing, Marc Raisieres. Last September, the insurance and wealth management firm drafted in Olivier Mariee, senior vice-president and head of customer...

News brief: Monster.co.uk runs ad campaign.(Brief article)
January 3, 2007... Monster.co.uk is running an ad campaign to encourage people to switch jobs in the new year. The work, created in the US, will air on Sundays and Mondays until the end of next month. It uses the strapline 'Monster works for me'.

News brief: Christian Aid hands account to Good Technology.(Brief article)
January 3, 2007... Christian Aid has handed its digital account to Good Technology ahead of an overhaul of its web strategy. The charity recently launched a campaign using the strapline 'You add, we multiply' to encourage people to donate everyday materials to...

News brief: ISP appoints chairman.(appointment of Clive Mishon)(Institute of Sales Promotion)(Brief article)
January 3, 2007... The Institute of Sales Promotion (ISP) has appointed Clive Mishon as its chairman. Mishon, who is the chairman of Mentor Marketing & Investment and Pulse, replaces Peter Kerr, chairman of MRM, who spent two years in the role.

News brief: EMI Records appoints Starcom to account.
January 3, 2007... EMI Records has appointed Starcom to its pounds 12m media planning and buying account. The business moves from Carat and Media Campaign Services.

News brief: General Motors hires Lowe London for ad account.(appointment of Lowe London )(Brief article)
January 3, 2007... General Motors has hired Lowe London to handle the pounds 5m ad account for its Chevrolet brand. The agency won the business following a pitch against Leo Burnett and Luton agency Butterfield Morris Bushell.

News brief: Kingsmill to sponsor LK Today.
January 3, 2007... Kingsmill is to sponsor GMTV's lifestyle programme, LK Today, this year. The bread brand replaces Unilever's Dove.

Digital news: Turner to offer mobile clips.(marketing strategies of Turner Broadcasting Europe)(Brief article)
January 3, 2007... Turner Broadcasting is kick-starting a mobile strategy that could allow its advertisers to sidestep Ofcom's ban on promoting food and drink high in fat, salt or sugar (HFSS) to children under the age of 16. The broadcaster plans to allow...

Digital news: Citroen supports C4 Picasso MPV.(Automobiles Citroen S.A.)(Brief article)
January 3, 2007... Citroen is planning its most ambitious interactive TV push to raise awareness of its latest C4 Picasso MPV ahead of its March launch. Picture Production Company will handle the activity after winning a head-to-head battle with Omnicom-owned...

Digital choice: www.pearlanddean.com.(Pearl and Dean Ltd.)(Brief article)
January 3, 2007... As a film enthusiast, I regularly visit the Pearl & Dean website, which reflects the brand's consumer appeal by resonating far beyond cinema advertising. The site is interactive, with weekly quizzes, polls and a forum for film lovers, as...

Digital news brief: Bebo and MySpace most searched-for terms.(Brief article)
January 3, 2007... Bebo and MySpace were the most searched-for terms on Google in 2006, according to the search engine's annual round-up. Seven of the top 10 terms related to user-generated content.

Digital news brief: SAS launches snowball-fight game.(SAS)(Brief article)
January 3, 2007... SAS, the Scandinavian airline, has launched a snowball-fight game to drive bookings for winter leisure breaks to Scandinavia. The game appears on a dedicated site, www.saswinterfun.com, and lets players challenge each other to battles.

Digital news brief: RSPCA rolls out digital drive.(Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty To Animals )(Brief article)
January 3, 2007... The RSPCA is rolling out a digital marketing drive to educate people about petcare. Consumers will be able to download a 'cyberpet', which will live on a microsite created by Lateral.

Digital news brief: Baileys runs first web-only ads.(advertising)(Brief article)
January 3, 2007... Baileys is running its first web-only ads to promote its cream liqueur. The ads will be posted on YouTube and a dedicated website. Agency Republic has created the ads and supporting website.

Digital news brief: Playtex relaunches UK website.(Brief article)
January 3, 2007... Playtex is relaunching its UK website as a lifestyle destination comprising content written by female journalists and celebrities. The site is being developed by digital creative agency Together.

Digital news brief: MSN ties with Experian.(Brief article)
January 3, 2007... MSN has tied up with Experian to use its AutoCheck online vehicle history-checking service on its MSN Cars channel. MSN claims the service will make it cheaper and easier to make sure a car has not been stolen or written off in an accident, or...

Digital news brief: Microsoft Digital launches global website.(Microsoft Digital Advertising Solutions )(Brief article)
January 3, 2007... Microsoft Digital Advertising Solutions has launched a global website to promote the advertising opportunities it offers, including information on MSN, Windows Live and Microsoft Office Online.

Andrew Walmsley on digital: Wisdom of the many will drive 2007.
January 3, 2007... You might not be person of the year', ran the line on the ad for the 2007 Chrysler Sebring on Time.com, before explaining that you nevertheless deserve one of its cars. How wrong it apparently was, as Time Magazine closed 2006 by revealing that...

News Analysis: Bingo faces core problem.
January 3, 2007... The game must widen its reach to offset an inevitable fall in players after the public smoking ban. Giving up smoking will no doubt top the New Year's resolution lists of more people than ever this January, thanks to the impending ban on...

Raymond Snoddy on media: This will be year of media equilibrium.
January 3, 2007... Predicting the future is a notoriously tricky business. Who would have forecast a year ago the rise of YouTube or that Rupert Murdoch would have sold his stake in DirecTV after striving for decades to get his hands on a US satellite...

Brand Health Check: Yahoo!
January 3, 2007... Lacking a cohesive vision, the portal and web services provider suffered a disastrous year in 2006, writes Gemma Charles. Yahoo!, the world's most-visited website, has just had a year it would rather forget. The firm issued a series of...

Mark Ritson on branding: Big shake-ups for big brands on cards.
January 3, 2007... The year ahead promises to be a fascinating one for brands. Here are my predictions for 2007 - some of them more obvious than others. Several big brands will get new owners. The number of private equity deals will decrease in 2007, but the...

Profile: Championing the light bite - Paul Reynish, European marketing director, Subway.
January 3, 2007... In the late-90s, 30-stone US student Jared Fogle lost more than half his body weight on a diet of Subway sandwiches coupled with light exercise, and in the process of becoming a celebrity, made the firm's US marketers' lives a lot easier. ...

News Analysis: Annoying but engaging.
January 3, 2007... The most irritating ads of 2006 have shown yet again that being irksome is no barrier to success, writes Bill Britt. Irritating advertising can be a bit like foul-tasting medicine; it may leave a bad taste in the mouth, but at least it has...

Adwatch: InjuryLawyers4U.
January 3, 2007... THE CASE AGAINST - DAVID GOLDING PLANNING DIRECTOR, RKCR/Y&A Poor daytime viewers; they're not ordinary people you know. They don't watch evening TV, so can't understand or decode charming, entertaining or rewarding advertising. They have...

Opinion: The Marketing Society Forum - Have smokers given up on giving up ahead of the July ban?
January 3, 2007... Are smokers in England resisting the New Year's messages encouraging them to quit the habit until the 1 July smoking ban forces their hand in public places? NICK MANNING, CHIEF EXECUTIVE, OMD UK I suspect this will be the year when the...

Editorial: Results don't shield a stinker.(irritating ads)
January 3, 2007... For many of the 16 years that Marketing has been publishing its annual 'Irritating ads' survey it has been a thinly veiled excuse to have a pop at Ferrero Rocher's latest work. And if the ambassador happened not to be in residence one year,...

Marketer's diary.(Calendar)
January 3, 2007... 7 January Launch of the Rolls-Royce Phantom convertible. 9 January Marks & Spencer announces third-quarter results and issues Christmas trading statement. 9 January England vs Australia Twenty20 one-day match, Cricket Ground, Sydney,...

Focus on ... Beatles stamps.
January 3, 2007... Royal Mail is issuing a set of stamps featuring images of several of The Beatles album covers, including Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, Abbey Road, Revolver and Let It Be. - The presentation pack contains six stamps and a miniature...

New Year's resolutions: What have you put at the top of your to-do list this year?
January 3, 2007... From making a big deal about low CO2 emissions to spending more on digital, here's what some of the industry's biggest players vow to do in the year ahead. ROISIN DONNELLY, MARKETING DIRECTOR, PROCTER & GAMBLE What will you do in 2007...

Helpline.(Column)
January 3, 2007... Jemima Bokaie takes the hassle out of finding the right product or service - you ask the question, she'll provide the answer. INFLATABLE IMPACT Q: We want a sampling booth that will capture people's attention. Who can create one for...

Careers: What's it really like inside - Vodafone.(Vodafone Group PLC)
January 3, 2007... You launched Vodafone Live Music last year as a series of secret gigs and an awards ceremony. What is the idea behind it? It is genuine live music celebrated by the fans themselves. Mobile has a relevant role to play in live music, from...

Careers: Salary snapshot - Annual pay rises.(Table)(Brief article)
January 3, 2007... SALARY INCREASES Rise Proportion awarded of marketers 6%+ 29% 5% 13% 4% 15% 3% 29% 2% 10% 1% 2% 0% 2% ...

Careers: Brand manager of the week - Peter Unsworth, LCD product manager, Sharp Electronics.(Interview)(Brief article)
January 3, 2007... Describe yourself in three words. Placid, honest, sarcastic. What would you be doing if you weren't a brand manager? Renting surfboards on Cottesloe Beach, Perth. How would you define marketing? Brainwashing. What advice would you...

Careers: Just the job - Greg Castle, Co-director, Pure California.(Brief article)
January 3, 2007... Greg Castle is not likely to be suffering from a hangover on New Year's Day. As co-director of health food and drink chain Pure California, his smoothie creations include Hangover-Over, Immune Tune and Brain Fuel. Castle spends a lot of...

Marketing Mix: We'll call you - Thomas Cook.
January 3, 2007... Mix wants to banish the January blues with a skiing trip. Can Thomas Cook provide a deal to get excited about? Thomas Cook Thomas Cook, how may I help? Mktg I want to go skiing at the beginning of March, but I am not sure where there...

Marketing Mix: Pen Portrait - Clare Hill, marketing director of Starz Home Entertainment.
January 3, 2007... Implementing positive change is at the forefront of this writer's mind. She is particular about preparation and pays close attention to detail, so blaggers had better beware. Surprisingly modest, she is project-minded and not afraid to...

Marketing Mix: Name that brand.
January 3, 2007... This brand launched in the UK in 1910 and was originally imported from Canada. In 1930 a specialist kitchen was set up in London, but during the Second World War, importing products became impossible and rationing made production in the UK...

Digital: Mosaic in e-commerce push.(Brief article)
January 10, 2007... Mosaic Group plans to launch e-commerce portals for its retail brands, including Coast, Karen Millen and Whistles, by the end of this year. The group intends to make the web a key sales channel for its eight women's fashion brands. ...

Digital: MoS plots digital download drive.(Ministry of Sound )(Brief article)
January 10, 2007... Ministry of Sound is to step up its digital activity this year with the launch of an interactive campaign to promote its new download store. The record company is seeking an agency to create a year-long digital drive to boost awareness of...

Digital choice: newclubworld.com.(Brief article)
January 10, 2007... British Airways' new Club World service aims to be the supreme example of an end-to-end flight experience, affording passengers all the pampering and freedom they might expect from a contemporary members' club. Agency.com has created a...

Digital: Channel 4 is making its podcast content available.(Brief article)
January 10, 2007... Channel 4 is making its podcast content available over a public Wi-Fi network for a two-month period. Users of compatible mobile devices will be able to download free 4Radio podcasts of shows including Celebrity Big Brother and SlashMusic.

Digital: 10 Downing Street interactive tour.
January 10, 2007... 10 Downing Street's website is allowing visitors to take an interactive tour of the house, including 360-degree views of the Cabinet Room and entrance hall.

Digital: ITV launches Play DJ.(computer programming)(Brief article)
January 10, 2007... ITV has launched Play DJ, a programming strand that allows viewers to take part in skill-based puzzle games. Top scorers will be invited to play live on air for the chance to win up to pounds 1000.

Digital: Sharp relaunches website.(Brief article)
January 10, 2007... Sharp has relaunched its website to improve accessibility to its products and advice. The site, developed by Graphico, includes a virtual shop assistant to answer consumer queries.

Digital: 3 teams up with mobile media firm Player X.(Brief article)
January 10, 2007... 3 has teamed up with mobile media firm Player X to launch geekTV, a made-for-mobile channel comprising entertainment programming including Miami Vice and American Dad. The channel is targeting 16- to 24-year-olds.

Digital: BT Broadband is now in 10m homes.
January 10, 2007... BT Broadband is now in 10m homes, far surpassing its original target of 5m high-speed internet connections by the end of 2006.

Digital: First brands to run commercials around mobile video clips.(Domino's Pizza, Nintendo and Lions Gate Films )(Brief article)
January 10, 2007... Domino's Pizza, Nintendo and Lions Gate Films are to become the first brands to run TV-style commercials around mobile video clips of Celebrity Big Brother. Each advertiser has created pre-roll commercials that will appear before exclusive...

Andrew Walmsley on digital: Wikis demand we shut up and listen.
January 10, 2007... Whenever I have wanted to find out more about a subject over the past three or four years, I've turned to Wikipedia, the internet encyclopedia. Together with Google, Streetmap and Squaremeal, it has become a part of my online survival kit. ...

News Analysis: Complaints are there to be heard.
January 10, 2007... Brands that ignore sites set up by consumers voicing gripes about them do so at their peril. Ryanair's attempts to close down a website run by a disgruntled customer provide a cautionary tale for marketers thinking of getting heavy-handed...

News Analysis: Why should we trust you?
January 10, 2007... Consumer cynicism means gaining trust is harder than ever. Melanie Godsell asks what it takes to win over the public. Only 57% of consumers are inclined to trust companies. As if this all-time low is not bad enough news, resistance to...

Raymond Snoddy on media: It's curtain up on Grade's magic show.
January 10, 2007... Now that Michael Grade has been executive chairman of ITV for more than 24 hours, it's time to look for evidence of a resurgence in the company's fortunes. If you think it unreasonable to expect firm evidence by today, Friday will do....

Media Analysis: Fear over, let the creativity begin.
January 10, 2007... PVRs haven't killed the 30-second ad, but brands will have to adapt to cut through on the platform. Sky's proclamation last week that it has now installed Sky+ boxes in more than 2m UK homes has put PVRs firmly back in the spotlight - but...

Brand Health Check: Post Office.
January 10, 2007... The network is fighting hard to remain relevant but faces a major series of closures from this summer. This year the Post Office network will initiate the fastest-ever programme of closures in its 370-year history. Under the plan,...

Mark Ritson on branding: Social inclusiveness is a fool's game.(Gap Inc.)
January 10, 2007... First comes the Christmas shopping. Then the January sales. And now we get excuses from all the brands that underperformed during this all-important festive period. Chief executives will blame anything from global warming to the price of...

Profile: Financial force for change - Justin Basini, Head of brand and marketing, Capital One Europe.
January 10, 2007... If you can market yourself, you can market anything might well be the mantra of Justin Basini, the man responsible for persuading debt-ridden consumers, currently recovering from a Christmas blitz on their finances, to take out a Capital One...

Adwatch: Iceland - 'Kerry Katona party sweets'.
January 10, 2007... One old advertising legend once said: 'People only remember a fantastic ad or a really shite ad. Everything else is just wallpaper.' The people behind the Iceland commercials clearly took heed. Sorry guys, no one likes to have their ad...

Adwatch: The weekly analysis of advertisement recall.(Survey)
January 10, 2007... Q: Which of the following TV commercials do you remember seeing recently? Last Brand Agency/TV buyer % week 1 (3=) PC World M&C Saatchi/Walker Media 70 2...

Opinion: The Marketing Society Forum - Do sales devalue brands?
January 10, 2007... Christmas and New Year sales have become an entrenched part of the festive season, but do they harm consumers' perceptions of brands? TERRY HUNT, CHAIRMAN, EHS BRANN To believe promotional sales are bad for brands is to believe that...

Editorial: Stifling the stairlift stigma.(Stannah stairlift)(Editorial)
January 10, 2007... What is so funny about a Stannah stairlift? There are two ways to answer that, either of which, were you stick to it unwaveringly, would leave you feeling somewhat disingenuous. For anyone who has seen Peter Kay's Phoenix Nights, the comedy...

Marketer's diary.(Diary entry)
January 10, 2007... 15 January - Golden Globe Awards, California, US. 15 January - Australian Open, Victoria, Australia. Grand Slam tennis tournament. 15 January - The TS Eliot Prize, UCL Bloomsbury Theatre, London. Award for the best poetry book of 2006....

Focus on: Australian Open.(Brief article)
January 10, 2007... The Australian Open, held in Melbourne Park, is the first of the year's Grand Slam tournaments. - Kia is the event's main sponsor; other official sponsors include Qantas, Garnier, Evian, Heineken and GE Money. - During last year's...

Alcohol: Drinks industry forced to go on the defensive.
January 10, 2007... Drinks companies must double efforts to prove advertising self-regulation is working to fend off mounting calls for stricter legislation. As the nation tries to shake off the remaining ill effects of a drink-fuelled Christmas and New Year,...

Sector Insight: Fruit juices and juice drinks - Striking back against carbonates.
January 10, 2007... Health-focused shoppers are fuelling growth of premium chilled pure juices and juice drinks. The Background: Two weeks into January and New Year's resolutions are being tested to the limit. If detoxing and healthier eating were on that...

B2B: Bolstering best practice.(direct marketing)
January 10, 2007... An industry initiative to help firms create better direct B2B communications is good news for marketers, writes Robert McLuhan. Business-to-business marketing has long lagged behind its consumer counterpart in promoting best practice, a...

Helpline.(business gifts)
January 10, 2007... Jemima Bokaie takes the hassle out of finding the right product or service - you ask the question, she'll provide the answer. ELECTRICAL INCENTIVES Q: We want to give our staff products such as iPods and TVs as incentives. Can you...

Careers: What's it really like inside - Royal Shakespeare Company.(Interview)
January 10, 2007... In the past 10 years, the RSC has given 19,000 performances, selling 11m tickets, and playing in 100 towns and cities in the UK and 50 worldwide. - Does the marketing team go with the company overseas? No - given the long lead times we...

Careers: Salary snapshot - Job satisfaction.(marketing executives)(Brief article)
January 10, 2007... Most marketers are satisfied in their jobs, with 61% rating it positively and only 12% negatively. In general, positive satisfaction increases as salary does. Only 5% of marketing directors, who earn an average of pounds 73,750, rate it...

Careers: Brand manager of the week - Fliss White, Brand marketing manager, Lovefilm.com.(interview)(Interview)(Brief article)
January 10, 2007... Describe yourself in three words. Sociable, fun, enthusiastic. What would you be if you weren't a brand manager? Probably something to do with the media; behind the camera, maybe. What advice would you give someone starting their...

Careers: Just the job - Marketing manager, The Sanctuary.(Emma Keyworth )(Brief article)
January 10, 2007... When Emma Keyworth feels in need of some pampering, she goes to work. As marketing manager of health spa The Sanctuary, her job includes testing all the brand's products and treatments. Keyworth manages both the spa and product sides...