Marketing articles from January 2008

Marketing archives from January 2008

Mercedes-Benz hands pounds 14m ad task to AMV BBDO.
January 9, 2008... Mercedes-Benz has appointed Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO to its pounds 14m ad account, ending its six-year relationship with AMV's sister Omnicom agency, Shop. Last year the car maker consolidated its advertising into the BBDO network to...

ITV prepares rebrand of Friends Reunited portal.(Brief article)
January 9, 2008... Friends Reunited, the social networking site owned by ITV, is set to undergo a name change as part of a strategic overhaul in response to growing pressure from rivals. ITV bought Friends Reunited, which was launched by husband and wife...

Early Easter egg debut draws fire.(Brief article)
January 9, 2008... A think-tank with close links to the government has attacked confectioners for rolling out their Easter egg ranges and associated marketing straight after Christmas. Retailers have stocked up on the eggs, and ad campaigns have already...

Injurylawyers4u retains 'most-irritating ad' title.(Brief article)
January 9, 2008... Despite a strong field of challengers, the public has voted a commercial for injurylawers4u as the UK's most irritating TV ad for the second year running. In the survey of 1000 adults, carried out exclusively for Marketing by TNS, 58% said...

McDonald's to draw up UK digital agency roster.(Brief article)
January 9, 2008... McDonald's is building its first UK digital agency roster as part of an overhaul of its marketing strategy for the coming year. The fast-food giant has issued an RFI to more than 12 UK agencies with digital strategy, website development and...

MSN Mobile signs first advertisers.(Brief article)
January 9, 2008... Nivea Visage and Yell.com Mobile will be among the first display advertisers to appear on Microsoft's MSN Mobile portal. MSN Mobile users in the UK will see banner and text ads on the portal from this week. The service is already available...

Obesity focus on ads is 'lessening'.(Brief article)
January 9, 2008... The focus of the government's battle against obesity is shifting away from marketers and toward parental responsibility and healthy lifestyles, according to the Advertising Association. Last week the government released an interim paper on...

Green agencies list set for debut.(Brief article)
January 9, 2008... The launch of an industry index to help advertisers find partners with suitable ethical credentials is set to put agencies' environmental behaviour under the spotlight. Marketing is joining forces with the Ethical Reputation Index (ERI) to...

New campaign: More Th>n.(More Th>n)(Brief article)
January 9, 2008... More Th>n has launched a TV advertising campaign, entitled 'More is... ', to communicate to viewers the ways in which it can do more for its customers. The commercial, created by Fallon in association with US animator PES, is the first in...

LG shifts mobile phones strategy.(LG Electronics Inc.)(Brief article)
January 9, 2008... LG Electronics is overhauling the promotional strategy for its mobile phones division ahead of a series of handset launches this year. The company is set to unveil four handsets next month to broaden its portfolio beyond its ultra-premium...

EU revises ruling on milk labelling.(European Union)(Brief article)
January 9, 2008... Dairy marketers are now able to market milk products containing 1% or 2% fat as milk, following the relaxation of rules governing descriptions of fat content in the drink. Under European regulations, milk could previously be defined only...

Beck's seeks shops for pan-European digital job.(Brief article)
January 9, 2008... InBev, the world's biggest brewer, is holding a pan-European digital pitch for its premium beer brand Beck's ahead of an increase in online adspend. The company, which is based in Belgium, has approached UK agencies with a full-service...

Diageo refines five-year innovation programme.(Brief article)
January 9, 2008... Diageo is to cut back on the number of products it launches, as part of its five-year innovation plan. Syl Saller, the drinks company's global director of brand innovation, revealed to Marketing that although Diageo remained 'highly...

Times in sports agency search.(Times Media)(Brief article)
January 9, 2008... Times Media, publishers of The Times and The Sunday Times newspapers as well as Times Online, is seeking a sports marketing agency. The media group has previously worked with Fast Track Communications, which is not thought to be repitching...

Carbon Trust to review pounds 12m advertising account.(Brief article)
January 9, 2008... The Carbon Trust, a government-funded body that advises businesses on carbon-emission reduction, is reviewing its pounds 12m ad account just nine months after holding a statutory review of its marketing agency roster. The Carbon Trust...

IPA backs ads in face of downturn.(Institute of Practitioners in Advertising)(Brief article)
January 9, 2008... Trade body lauds advertising's effect on the bottom line, urging chief executives to remain bold as recession looms. The Institute of Practitioners in Advertising (IPA) is kicking off 2008 with a pre-emptive strike against the threat of...

Cafedirect seeks marketing chief.(Brief article)
January 9, 2008... Fairtrade pioneer Cafedirect is on the hunt for a head of marketing following the departure of Sylvie Barr. Barr, the 2004 Marketing Society Marketer of the Year, left the company at the end of 2007 without a job to go to. During her...

Innocent shakes up strategy for 2008.(Innocent Drinks )(Brief article)
January 9, 2008... Innocent Drinks has outlined its marketing strategy for 2008 as it aims to maintain its market lead and differentiate itself from rivals. The brand will target specific groups of smoothie drinkers, such as consumers of its 'thickie' and...

Fairhills wine set for first ad push.(advertising)(Brief article)
January 9, 2008... Fairhills, the largest global Fairtrade wine producer, is planning its first above-the-line ad campaign as part of a strategy to raise its profile. The company has shortlisted three undisclosed London ad agencies with a view to making an...

O2 backs tariff with Facebook 'friends' tool.(Brief article)
January 9, 2008... O2 is launching a branded Facebook application that will allow users of the social networking site to rate their top 10 friends. Once downloaded, the tool enables users to automatically categorise their Facebook friends based on how often...

Butcher's takes on 3M marketer.(Butcher's Pet Care appoints Derek Evans )(Brief article)
January 9, 2008... Butcher's Pet Care has poached 3M marketer Derek Evans to be its sales and marketing director. Evans replaces Laurence Watkins, who left at the end of last year to set up a marketing consultancy. He joins Butcher's from the consumer and...

New West End plots pounds 34m five-year plan.(appointment of Richard Dickinson )(Brief article)
January 9, 2008... New West End Company, the retail management body representing London's West End, has drafted in Richard Dickinson to spearhead the implementation of a five-year business plan to promote the district ahead of the 2012 Olympic Games. ...

Cussons adds Code Computerlove to roster.(PZ Cussons PLC)(Brief article)
January 9, 2008... PZ Cussons has appointed Code Computerlove to its UK agency roster, with responsibility for its leading personal care brands Carex and Original Source. The agency won the business following a two-way pitch; it will handle digital strategy,...

News brief: AXA Sun Life Direct signs up Michael Parkinson.(Brief article)
January 9, 2008... AXA Sun Life Direct has signed up recently retired chat show host Sir Michael Parkinson as the face of its Guaranteed Over 50 Plan. An integrated campaign by Rhythm launches this month

News brief: Barclays promotes Fair & Square.
January 9, 2008... Barclays is promoting Fair & Square, its secured lending company, with a TV, press, direct and online campaign created by Bartle Bogle Hegarty

News brief: In Style joins forces with Sky Movies Drama.(IPC SouthBank Publishing Co.)(British Sky Broadcasting Group PLC. Sky Movies)(Brief article)
January 9, 2008... In Style, IPC Southbank's fashion and style title, has joined forces with Sky Movies Drama to produce The Fabulous Film Costume Season. Running until 13 January, it is being promoted in In Style and Sky Movies magazine

News brief: Royal Bank of Scotland and Natwest sign sponsorship deal.
January 9, 2008... The Royal Bank of Scotland and NatWest have signed up as sponsors of Channel 4's property programmes including Relocation, Relocation, Grand Designs and Property Ladder

News brief: Moneysupermarket.com launching TV ad campaign.
January 9, 2008... Moneysupermarket.com, the price comparison site, is launching a TV ad campaign, created by Doner Cardwell Hawkins, on terrestrial and satellite stations

News brief: GCap Media's share price surges.(Brief article)
January 9, 2008... GCap Media's share price surged after it emerged that the company had received a takeover bid from rival Global Radio. The bid, a 57% premium on Friday's share price, was rejected

News brief: AT&T Williams extends sponsorship deal.(Oris)(Brief article)
January 9, 2008... AT&T Williams, the Formula One team, has extended its sponsorship deal with Swiss watchmaker Oris until 2010. The brand has been associated with the team since 2003

News brief: British Airways unveils plans for offshoot premium airline.(Brief article)
January 9, 2008... British Airways is set to unveil plans for an offshoot premium airline offering flights between Continental Europe and the US. The airline, which has been incorporated under the name BA European, but is expected to trade under a different...

Media: VW in C4 documentary deal.(Volkswagen AG)(Brief article)
January 9, 2008... Volkswagen has signed up to sponsor documentary programming across Channel 4 in a 12-month deal. The tie-up is the first time C4 has allowed sponsorship of its documentary programmes. The package includes 50 hours of shows on C4 and 52...

Media: Discovery backs DMAX in ad push.(Brief article)
January 9, 2008... Discovery Networks UK is supporting the launch of its entertainment channel, DMAX, with a promotional campaign based, as the channel also is, on the concept of 'Everyday heroes'. The TV campaign, which began yesterday (Tuesday), is running...

Media choice: The Golden Compass.(Brief article)(Column)
January 9, 2008... Having watched the premiere's red-carpet celebrations from Match.com's office window in Leicester Square, I finally went to see The Golden Compass during the Christmas break. Sadly, its impressive winter snow scenes and spectacular...

Media brief: Haven Holidays signs up as sponsor of Primeval.(Brief article)
January 9, 2008... Haven Holidays has signed up to be the first sponsor of Primeval, ITV1's science fiction series. The deal, negotiated by BLM Media, marks the first time the holiday firm has invested in TV sponsorship

Media brief: GMG Radio awards account to MediaCom.(Mediacom Communications Corp.)(Brief article)
January 9, 2008... GMG Radio has awarded its media account to MediaCom after a four-way pitch against incumbent Brilliant, PHD and Mediaedge:cia. It will work across GMG's 13 stations for the two-year contract

Media brief: 25 Beautiful Kitchens is renamed.(Beautiful Kitchens)(Brief article)
January 9, 2008... 25 Beautiful Kitchens, the IPC Southbank magazine, has been renamed Beautiful Kitchens. From its February issue, the relaunched title will include more case studies and real-life stories

Media brief: Virgin Radio and The Sun to promote campaign.(Brief article)
January 9, 2008... Virgin Radio and The Sun are jointly promoting Coke Zero's 'Find the next Wayne Rooney' campaign. The deal, brokered by Vizeum, will run for two months on-air, online and in the newspaper

Media brief: BBC caps premium-rate phone-ins.
January 9, 2008... The BBC has capped premium-rate phone-ins at 15p, except those for programmes directly related to a charity appeal

Media brief: IPC Southbank sells Practical Parenting.
January 9, 2008... Practical Parenting magazine has been sold by IPC Southbank to Magicalia, which recently bought three parenting titles from Future

Media brief: Digital UK names new chief executive.(appointment of David Scott )(Brief article)
January 9, 2008... Digital UK, which is managing the analogue TV switch-off, has named David Scott as the successor to outgoing chief executive Ford Ennals Scott is a former deputy chief executive of Channel 4.

Media brief: Virgin Radio launches new division.
January 9, 2008... Virgin Radio has launched a Virgin Radio Audio Business division, to provide branded audio content to advertisers

Branding: Bushmills to roll out anniversary ad push.(Bushmills Irish Whiskey)(Brief article)
January 9, 2008... Bushmills, the Irish whiskey brand owned by Diageo, is marking its 400th anniversary with its first global ad campaign and the launch of a limited-edition variant. The work, created by Beattie McGuinness Bungay, uses the line 'Irish at its...

Branding: Bottled water in LazyTown tie-up.(Links B2B )(Brief article)
January 9, 2008... Links B2B has launched Go! Water, a bottled water brand aimed at children. The range, branded with characters licensed from hit TV series LazyTown, includes plain water and strawberry, apple, blackcurrant and orange flavour variants. ...

Branding: British Red Cross readies overhaul.(Bell Advertising Co.)(Brief article)
January 9, 2008... The British Red Cross has hired design agency Bell with a six-month brief to help the charity revamp all its marketing and communications. The organisation is seeking to position itself as modern, dynamic and responsive to appeal to a...

Branding: Design choice - Wattson.(Brief article)
January 9, 2008... Wattson is a device that shows you how much electricity your home is using at any moment. It is beautiful and 'green' - which in contemporary design is half the battle won. There are two types of eco design: products that actively reduce...

Branding brief: Unilever adds two variants to Comfort range.(Brief article)
January 9, 2008... Unilever is adding two variants to its Comfort fabric conditioner range this month. Coley Porter Bell has designed transparent packaging for the Tropical Burst and Tempting Burst products to maximise on-shelf impact

Branding brief: Baxters rolls out microwave-able soup.(Brief article)
January 9, 2008... Baxters is rolling out a microwave-able soup pot format. The pots have a heat-proof sleeve to enable consumers to pick them straight out of the microwave safely

Branding brief: Betty Crocker introduces Shake to Make Pancakes.(Brief article)
January 9, 2008... Betty Crocker, the home-baking brand, has introduced Shake to Make Pancakes. The product comes in a container that includes almost all the ingredients needed to make a pancake; the user needs only to add water and shake

Branding brief: Gieves & Hawkes gets fresh identity.(Brief article)
January 9, 2008... Gieves & Hawkes is promoting its refined image with a fresh identity and packaging designed by Small. The tailor's reworked logo, which appears on the packaging in gloss black on a dark navy blue background, will be used on shop fronts, labels,...

Branding brief: Boost Drinks prepares to enter energy-drinks market.(Brief article)
January 9, 2008... Boost Drinks is preparing to make a push on the energy-drinks market with a fresh look and new product. The firm has appointed Touchpoint to create a refreshed brand image, logo and packaging. It will also review the brand's 'Refresh Yourself'...

Branding brief: The University for Industry seeks agency.
January 9, 2008... The University for Industry, the body behind Learndirect, is seeking an agency to handle its branding and design marketing communications, including promotional materials

Branding brief: Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine introduces fresh identity.(Forepoint)(Stratia)(Brief article)
January 9, 2008... The Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine has introduced a fresh identity intended to strengthen its global reputation as a first-class teaching and research institute. The overhaul was handled by Forepoint and Stratia

Branding brief: Harvey Ingram appoints M Consulting.(Brief article)
January 9, 2008... Harvey Ingram, a Midlands law firm, has appointed M Consulting to provide creative, digital, marketing and brand support. The agency was appointed following a four-way pitch

Direct: Ancestry.co.uk plots recruitment activity.(Brief article)
January 9, 2008... Social history website Ancestry.co.uk is launching a direct response acquisition campaign to capitalise on the rising interest in genealogical searches, helped by the success of BBC programme Who do you think you are? The campaign, created...

Direct: Benson for Beds supports TV ads.(television advertising)(Brief article)
January 9, 2008... Benson for Beds is supporting its pounds 1.5m January sales TV campaign with a direct drive. The three-week activity, created by Wand Agency, spans national and regional press, as well as in-store and point-of-sale material across the...

Direct: Charles Tyrwhitt assigns CRM job.(Brief article)
January 9, 2008... Shirt maker Charles Tyrwhitt has hired more2 to develop its CRM and data strategy. The agency has been briefed to handle both acquisition and retention campaigns for the brand. More2 will be asked to provide insight into the behaviour of...

Direct choice: NSPCC.(National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children)(Brief article)
January 9, 2008... Of charity appeals, writer and critic John Berger once observed that before you can get the audience to say 'no, this shouldn't be happening', they have first got to admit 'yes, this is happening'. The NSPCC is masterful at forcing its...

Direct brief: Orange hires Positive Thinking.(Brief article)
January 9, 2008... Orange has hired Positive Thinking to develop a series of sales promotions. The agency has been tasked with pushing the brand's pay-as-you-go offering through online and offline work

Direct brief: RAC hires Kyp Systems for direct campaign.(Brief article)
January 9, 2008... The RAC has hired Kyp Systems to create its latest direct campaign The paper-based work contains information about the RAC's products and features actor and ex-footballer Vinnie Jones.

Direct brief: New Balance to support event.(Live & Breathe)(Brief article)
January 9, 2008... New Balance will be using a range of in-store material to support a Walk the Walk fundraising event, of which it is a sponsor. It has hired retail agency Live & Breathe to handle the work

Direct brief: NHS runs campaign to promote services.(National Health Service)(Brief article)
January 9, 2008... The NHS is running a campaign to promote services available to smokers wanting to quit. Developed by MCBD, the work ties in with the Department of Health's 'Ready, steady, quit' work and comprises leaflets and a website, as well as radio, press...

Direct brief: Noble Caledonia hires Killer Creative.
January 9, 2008... Noble Caledonia, the cruise ship specialist, has hired Killer Creative to produce its customer magazine, The Odyssey

Direct brief: Government departments launch awareness campaigns.(Brief article)
January 9, 2008... HM Revenue & Customs and the Department for Children, Schools and Families are launching campaigns to raise awareness of tax credits among Bangladeshi and Pakistani communities. Media Reach Advertising has been selected to create the work

Direct brief: Barracuda Group hires Cocktail Marketing.(Brief article)
January 9, 2008... The Barracuda Group has hired Cocktail Marketing to create loyalty drives for its three bar brands: Varsity, Barracuda and Smith & Jones The agency has been tasked with creating partnerships for each of the bars' respective loyalty cards.

Direct brief: asrecommended hires TV personality to front titles.(motor-racing expert Vicki Butler-Henderson)(Brief article)
January 9, 2008... asrecommended, the direct consumer guide, has hired TV personality and motor-racing expert Vicki Butler-Henderson to front this year's issues of its motoring and insurance titles. The Fifth Gear presenter will provide consumer advice and...

Digital: Kurt Geiger revamps ecommerce website.(Brief article)
January 9, 2008... Kurt Geiger, Europe's biggest luxury shoe retailer, is relaunching its website as an ecommerce portal offering access to its entire range of footwear. The company has appointed Pod1 to expand its existing online shop to incorporate its...

Digital: 3 to offer mobile internet top-ups.(3UK)(Brief article)
January 9, 2008... 3UK is offering its customers pay-as-you-go mobile broadband, allowing them to access the web without signing up to an annual contract. The mobile operator's UK customer base will be able to top up their accounts in increments of 1GB, 3GB...

Digital: Boxing Day rush for web retailers.(the day after christmas shooping)(Brief article)
January 9, 2008... Boxing Day was the busiest day of 2007 for online retailers, with visits to ecommerce sites up 1.3% on the previous year, according to Hitwise. The study shows that high-street retailers received more than twice as many UK web visits on 26...

Digital choice: Guinness 'Enigma' site.(Brief article)
January 9, 2008... With Guinness sales looking a little flat, Diageo has turned to designer Richard Seymour for a bit of a lift. The result is the roll-out of 'Enigma', a Guinness font (in the tap, rather than typographical sense) - a sleekly curved object that...

Digital brief: Sky introduces rich-media advertising format.
January 9, 2008... Sky has introduced a rich-media advertising format on Skysports.com as part of a strategy intended to increase online advertising inventory across its portfolio of websites

Digital brief: Gumtree to run banner ads on homepage.(Brief article)
January 9, 2008... Gumtree, the online classified listings service, is to start running banner ads on its homepage, as well as its Jobs, For Sale, Accommodation, Dating and Services channels for the first time

Digital brief: eMarketer report findings.(Brief article)
January 9, 2008... Brand-owners will spend pounds 156m advertising on social networks including Facebook, MySpace and Bebo in 2008, representing an increase of 95% on the previous year, according to a report from eMarketer

Digital brief: Yahoo! to extend Panama platform.(Brief article)
January 9, 2008... Yahoo! is to extend its Panama online advertising platform onto mobile in the first quarter of this year, allowing brands to run integrated web and wireless search marketing campaigns

Digital brief: Blinkx partnerse with Real Estate TV.(Brief article)
January 9, 2008... Blinkx, the video search engine, has partnered with Real Estate TV, a UK property channel, to give viewers access to a series of online real estate videos

Digital brief: The Drinkaware Trust launches website.(Brief article)
January 9, 2008... The Drinkaware Trust has launched a website for under-18s that features blogs and forums. The site has been set up in response to research that revealed teenagers want a say in campaigns about alcohol that are aimed at them

Digital brief: 280m SMS messages sent on New Year's Eve.
January 9, 2008... UK mobile phone users sent 280m SMS messages on New Year's Eve, equating to 4.6 texts per person, according to estimates from Airwide Solutions

Digital brief: Orange signs deal with Setanta.
January 9, 2008... Orange has signed a deal with Setanta to stream live coverage of Barclays Premier League football matches via its Orange World mobile portal

Digital brief: LA Fitness partners with Waterstones.com.(Brief article)
January 9, 2008... LA Fitness has partnered with Waterstones.com to promote its UK network of gyms to consumers via a series of homepage ads, a branded fitness zone and a 'deals' area offering an exclusive five-day pass for two

Andrew Walmsley on digital: Digital's growing pains set to ease.
January 9, 2008... The rise of Facebook, Google's acquisition of Doubleclick, the continued boom in both online advertising and ecommerce - the sheer pace of growth continued to keep us all on our toes over the past year. As January gets into full swing, it's a...

News Analysis: Boom or bust? 2008 under the spotlight.
January 9, 2008... Marketers across the industry's key sectors can look forward to what promises to be an interesting, if challenging, year. FOOD Food products that are deemed essential will be well placed to deal with an economic downturn, while more...

Raymond Snoddy on media: My money's on the freesheets.
January 9, 2008... It is easy to list the top media questions of the year. Will the new retro ITV schedule work? Can the BBC really maintain the quality of its all-important news output while getting rid of hundreds of journalists? Just as important, is the...

Media Analysis: Is C4's independent streak safe?(Channel 4 Television Co.)
January 9, 2008... The broadcaster's documentary sponsorship deal with VW has put its editorial stance under scrutiny. Channel 4's financial predicament is well-documented. So perhaps it should come as no surprise that the broadcaster has opened up its...

Brand Health Check: Grolsch.(Royal Grolsche N.V.)
January 9, 2008... The lager brand has suffered from lack of investment and stiff competition from other premium brands. SABMiller's pounds 583m acquisition of Royal Grolsch, which enters its final stages this month, will place the Dutch beer in the brewer's...