Marketing articles from November 2007

Marketing archives from November 2007

Coke Zero to drop 'bloke coke' advertising theme.
November 7, 2007... Coca-Cola is rethinking its strategy for Coca-Cola Zero 16 months after its launch, shifting the focus from its target audience of young men to the product's benefits. A global TV campaign, created by Wieden + Kennedy Amsterdam, will...

London 2012 and Diageo line up sponsorship deal.(Brief article)
November 7, 2007... Diageo is in talks to secure a deal to become a tier-one domestic partner for the London 2012 Olympic Games. It is understood that the drinks firm, which owns Smirnoff, Guinness and Captain Morgan, has already entered into discussions with...

Monster Energy plots war with Coke's Relentless.(Brief article)
November 7, 2007... Monster Energy, the multimillion-pound US energy drink, is being launched in the UK by former Red Bull UK brand director Guy Carling. The brand is aiming to take on Coca-Cola's Relentless, which is sold in a similar 500ml can and is aimed...

Marketing quiz foxes marketers.(Brief article)
November 7, 2007... Eighty per cent of marketers do not know the price of a loaf of bread. The same percentage is unable to identify the average UK household income. In a survey for The Marketing Society ahead of its annual conference, more than 1000...

Scottish Widows parts company with Partners.(Scottish Widow's Fund and Life Assurance Society)(Brief article)
November 7, 2007... Scottish Widows is no longer working with its lead strategic direct marketing agency Partners Andrews Aldridge. The agency was appointed to the Scottish Widows roster in June 2006 to handle its customer acquisition and retention business....

Lycra appoints Fallon London.(Brief article)
November 7, 2007... Lycra has hired Fallon London to create its global advertising strategy for next year. The agency has created a strategic positioning to replace the stretch fibre brand's long-running 'Has it' campaign. The strategy is expected to be...

TK Maxx unveils festive TV ads.(TJX Companies Inc. TK Maxx)(Brief article)
November 7, 2007... TK Maxx is launching a Christmas campaign that is intended to promote the retailer as the ultimate festive gift destination. The campaign, which will continue the 'Big labels, small prices' brand proposition, will feature a TV ad in which...

Oxfam launches Unwrapped drive.(Brief article)
November 7, 2007... Oxfam has lined up a raft of celebrities to push its alternative gift service, Oxfam Unwrapped, by spoofing charity appeal ads. The TV campaign, which breaks today, features Dame Helen Mirren, Will Young, Helena Bonham-Carter and Rob...

New campaign: Barbie Girls.(Brief article)
November 7, 2007... Mattel has signed the Big Brother twin contestants Samantha and Amanda Marchant to front its Barbie Girls MP3 player Christmas TV campaign, which is being supported by an advertising spend in excess of pounds 1m. The ad, which breaks on 7...

Morrisons signs Lulu for yuletide.(Brief article)
November 7, 2007... Morrisons has signed up 60s pop star Lulu as the face of its Christmas ad campaign. 'Lulu's Christmas feast' depicts the famous singer pushing a Morrisons trolley through a snow-covered town in search of food. The ad also features...

Wickes drafts in Ryvita marketer.(Rob Murray appointed as marketing director)(Brief article)
November 7, 2007... Wickes, the DIY retailer, has appointed top Ryvita marketer Rob Murray as its marketing director. Murray previously held marketing positions at Nestle, Johnson & Johnson and the Signet Group, where he headed the H Samuel marketing...

Lloyds TSB to push London 2012 status next year.(Brief article)
November 7, 2007... Lloyds TSB is planning to promote its status as official banking and retail partner of the London 2012 Olympics from next year. The bank has limited its association with the Games so far to the use of the official London 2012 logo in...

Comparethemarket job goes to ZenithOptimedia.(Brief article)
November 7, 2007... Price comparison website comparethemarket.com has appointed ZenithOptimedia to handle its media planning and buying ahead of a major increase in adspend. Mark Vile, marketing director at the website, said the brand planned to spend up to...

Virgin Media pulls ads attacking rival Sky service.(Virgin Media Group Ltd.)(Brief article)
November 7, 2007... Virgin Media is abandoning the tit-for-tat marketing strategy that has seen it invest more than pounds 32m in a bitter public battle with BSkyB. The company is ditching ads attacking the rival pay-TV, fixed-line telecoms and high-speed...

Mura exits turkey brand Matthews.(Bernard Matthews PLC)(Bart Dalla Mura)(Brief article)
November 7, 2007... Bart Dalla Mura, the chief executive of Bernard Matthews, has quit, as revealed by Marketing on brandrepublic.com/marketing. Dalla Mura, who joined in July last year, had become the public face of the turkey producer after founder Matthews'...

Domino's sales given ad boost.(Domino's Pizza Inc.)(Brief article)
November 7, 2007... Domino's has credited two of its marketing campaigns with helping to boost sales to pounds 70.7m for the third quarter of the year. The pizza delivery chain said like-for-like sales were up by 14.2% after what it described as a 'back to...

Honda Racing to add green work.(Honda Racing F1)(Brief article)
November 7, 2007... Honda Racing F1 is set to expand its Earth Car scheme by investing in a series of environmental projects during the 2008 Formula One World Championship. Honda launched the Earth Car project, under which its racing cars carry an image of...

ITV revamps red-button service to lure big brands.(Brief article)
November 7, 2007... ITV is relaunching its interactive TV (iTV) service to make it more attractive to big-brand advertisers and sponsors. The broadcaster has revamped the red-button platform to provide viewers with an interactive menu that is simpler to...

Thomas Cook to review expanded Euro ad work.(Brief article)
November 7, 2007... Thomas Cook is in talks with agencies with a view to holding a pitch for its European advertising account. The business will include brands acquired by the company as a result of its merger with MyTravel in June. Simon Carter, who was...

Wrap highlights food wastage.(Waste & Resources Action Programme )(Brief article)
November 7, 2007... Consumers face yet more calls to curb their wastage, this time in relation to the amount of food that they throw away. A campaign by the government-backed Waste & Resources Action Programme (Wrap) highlights the fact that, in effect, the...

HSBC to sponsor Lions' 2009 tour to South Africa.(Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Ltd.)(British & Irish Lions rugby team )(Brief article)
November 7, 2007... HSBC is poised to become the official sponsor of the British & Irish Lions rugby team for its 2009 tour to world champions South Africa. The international banking corporation is expected to announce at the end of the month that it has...

Diageo set for responsible-drinking activity.(Diageo Great Britain Ltd.)(Brief article)
November 7, 2007... Diageo GB is ploughing pounds 3m into a responsible-drinking campaign that it intends to establish as a brand in its own right. The activity, called 'The choice is yours', launches this week across TV, print and outdoor. Created by Abbott...

E.ON plots FA cup green initiative.(E.ON AG)(Brief article)
November 7, 2007... E.ON is using its sponsorship of the FA Cup to promote its green credentials by asking football fans to make pledges to adopt more environmentally friendly behaviour in their daily lives. Speaking at the 2007 FT Sport Industry Summit in...

Waitrose puts pounds 26m account out to pitch.(Brief article)
November 7, 2007... Waitrose is reviewing its pounds 26m ad business, currently held by MCBD. The review comes six months after a rejig of the retailer's senior management, including the departure of marketing director Christian Cull to BSkyB and the...

GM tasks Lowe with pan-European ad work.
November 7, 2007... General Motors has briefed Lowe to develop a pan-European ad strategy for its Vauxhall Zafira and Meriva models after awarding the agency the account across the region. Lowe already handles the account in the UK and developed the...

News brief: Promotion at Norwich Union.(John Kitson)(Brief article)
November 7, 2007... Norwich Union has promoted intermediary marketing director John Kitson to replace sales and marketing director Shaun Meadows, who has been named chief executive of Aviva Singapore. Kitson will be responsible for distribution channels, as well...

News brief: Rugby Football Union announces record revenues.(Financial report)(Brief article)
November 7, 2007... Rugby Football Union has announced record revenues on the back of England's success in the recent World Cup. Merchandising sales matched those achieved in the wake of the team's 2003 win, contributing to annual revenues of pounds 103.7m, up 25%...

News brief: J&B to roll out global revamp next year.(Brief article)
November 7, 2007... J&B, the Diageo-owned whisky brand, is rolling out a pounds 5m global revamp next year intended to appeal to party-goers. The bottle has been redesigned for a more masculine feel with a black, gold and white label

News brief: Appointment at InterContinental Hotels Group.
November 7, 2007... InterContinental Hotels Group has named Karin Nielsen vice-president of brand development and delivery in an overhaul of its EMEA marketing department

News brief: Setanta Sports News to begin broadcasting on 29 November.
November 7, 2007... Setanta Sports News will begin broadcasting on 29 November. The 24-hour channel will be available on Virgin Media platform and via satellite

News brief: Freesat hires Will Abbott.
November 7, 2007... Freesat has hired Will Abbott as its brand marketing and communications director. He joins from Complan Foods, where he was UK commercial director

News brief: The Sun to give away DVD.(Brief article)
November 7, 2007... The Sun is giving away a DVD of Santa Claus the Movie in its Saturday edition on 10 November. It is the first time since 2005 that the paper has given away a DVD in all copies

News brief: First Choice teams up with Parador.
November 7, 2007... First Choice has teamed up with overseas estate agent Parador Properties to offer holidaymakers the chance to buy a home abroad

Media: Coca-Cola appoints Vizeum.(Coca-Cola Great Britain)(Brief article)
November 7, 2007... Coca-Cola GB has consolidated its pounds 40m media planning and buying accounts into Vizeum. The agency, which previously handled the brand's media planning business, won the reconfigured account after a four-way pitch against incumbent...

Media: ITV moots show brand managers.(Brief article)
November 7, 2007... ITV is planning to increase the value of key shows with the appointment of programme brand managers. Speaking at the Promax 07/Beyond Conference last week, Dawn Airey, ITV's managing director of global content, said the marketing of...

Media choice: Fox Business Network.(Fox News Network L.L.C. Fox Business Network)(Brief article)
November 7, 2007... Fox Business Network (FBN) has launched in the US with the express aim of bringing accessible business news to those who have something better to do with their lives than pore over growth forecasts and stock prices. When the website...

Media brief: Nickelodeon launches ambient ad campaign.(Brief article)
November 7, 2007... Nickelodeon has launched an ambient ad campaign across a network of 'sensitive floors' in four shopping centres. The floors project a video that responds to the movement of people on the projection area. The campaign was created by Universal...

Media brief: Virgin Media signs deal with Teletext.(Virgin Media Group Ltd.)(Brief article)
November 7, 2007... Virgin Media has signed a deal with Teletext to promote Virgin1 and other Virgin Media products on Teletext Extra. It will run banner advertising on the service, which will be available to 5m Freeview viewers by the end of the year

Media brief: Woolworths supports DVD release.(Woolworths Group PLC)(Brief article)(Video recording review)
November 7, 2007... Woolworths is supporting the DVD release of Paramount's Shrek the Third in a supplement of its 'Big Red Book' catalogue. Produced by CodeLondon, it will be available in-store

Media brief: Savills revamps customer magazine.(Brief article)
November 7, 2007... Savills, the international property services group, has revamped its customer magazine. Produced by MediaClash Customer Publishing, 85,000 copies are being distributed via 140 Savills offices and mailed to customers in 79 countries

Media brief: National Pharmacy Association to sponsor GMTV.(Brief article)
November 7, 2007... National Pharmacy Association is to sponsor GMTV during next week's 'Ask About Medicines Week'. As part of the campaign, created by BLM Clilverd, GMTV will broadcast eight short features

Media brief: Recovery Network launches online.(Brief article)
November 7, 2007... Recovery Network, a TV channel aimed at people affected by drug addiction, is launching online this week ahead of a broadcast launch next year. It was founded by a recovering cocaine addict, Dan Butcher

Media brief: Bestway unveils customer title.
November 7, 2007... Bestway, the cash and carry group, has unveiled customer magazine Essentially Catering. The title will be distributed in-store and mailed to customers

Branding: Seeds of Change diversifies.(Brief article)
November 7, 2007... Seeds of Change, the Mars-owned organic food brand, is branching out into confectionery with the launch of a range of chocolate bars. The range features four variants: Milk Chocolate with Apricot and Cashew; 70% Cocoa Intense Dark...

Branding: Fabulous Bakin' Boys adds range.(Brief article)
November 7, 2007... The Fabulous Bakin' Boys has added eight products that are free from artificial additives to its range. The Naturally Fabulous line includes brownies, bakes, yoghurt-topped flapjacks and biscotti, all of which are individually wrapped. Its...

Branding: Design choice - Sebastian Wrong's Font Clock.(Personal account)(Brief article)
November 7, 2007... It must be hard for people outside the creative industry to understand the passion that fonts can arouse among designers. Some I know become apoplectic when confronted by font crime - using Comic Sans on a car number plate, for example....

Branding brief: NatWest signs deal with EMI.(National Westminster Bank PLC)(EMI Films Ltd.)(Brief article)
November 7, 2007... NatWest has signed a deal with EMI to use album covers from artists including Supergrass and Lily Allen on chip and PIN cards for teenagers Holders of a NatWest Adapt account can customise their cards online.

Branding brief: Richmond International adopts fresh identity.(Brief article)
November 7, 2007... Richmond International, the luxury hotels company, has adopted a fresh brand identity, created by Curious. The branding is being used across its stationery, website and all customer touchpoints

Branding brief: S4C briefs Bait for rebrand.(Brief article)
November 7, 2007... S4C, the Welsh broadcaster, has briefed Bait to rebrand its Planed Plant and Planed Plant Bach children's services. The idents feature a family of characters that can be used on a range of media

Branding brief: Eat Natural launches fruit and nut bar.
November 7, 2007... Eat Natural, the snack bar brand, has launched a fruit and nut bar with pears, hazelnuts, ginger and Spanish blossom honey in Tesco stores nationwide

Branding brief: Leahy Brand Design creates identity for pollution charity.
November 7, 2007... Environmental Protection UK, the pollution charity, has relaunched with a brand identity created by Leahy Brand Design. It was previously known as NSCA

Branding brief: Greencore Sandwiches relaunches Sutherland food range.
November 7, 2007... Greencore Sandwiches has relaunched its Sutherland food range under the Sutherland Deli brand. The packaging has been designed by Parker Williams

Branding brief: Country Life expands brand.
November 7, 2007... Country Life is expanding its brand to include a brandy butter Truly British Brandy Butter will carry the Red Tractor mark.

Branding brief: Green & Black's teams up with Burton's Foods.(Brief article)
November 7, 2007... Green & Black's has teamed up with Burton's Foods to make another assault on the biscuits market. The range will include cereal bars, flapjacks and a seasonal shortbread selection

Direct: Monarch in rethink of pounds 5m ad business.
November 7, 2007... Monarch Airlines is planning to consolidate its pounds 5m UK marketing account into a single direct agency as it bids to bridge the gap with market leaders Ryanair and easyJet. The budget airline currently spends the bulk of its budget on...

Direct: VW aims Jetta work at golfers.(Volkswagen AG)(Brief article)
November 7, 2007... Volkswagen is promoting its Jetta compact saloon through a direct campaign. The activity, created by Proximity London, focuses on the Jetta's boot space, which Volkswagen claims is the ideal size for golfers' needs. A mail pack offers...

Direct: Refuge prepares Christmas push.(Brief article)
November 7, 2007... Refuge, the anti-domestic violence charity, has hired Clark McKay and Walpole (CMW) to handle its fundraising campaign in the run-up to Christmas. The agency, which was hired to the account without a pitch, will create on- and offline...

Direct choice: Waitrose 'Best of British'.(Brief article)
November 7, 2007... Waitrose's mailer for its autumn 'Best of British' campaign is certainly eye-opening, with a strong seasonal focus. It comprises an intriguing A2-size paper insert designed to look like a table cloth when folded out, with an alluring...

Direct brief: Friends of the Earth launches DRTV spot.(Brief article)
November 7, 2007... Friends of the Earth has launched a DRTV spot created by Watson Phillips Norman to run on satellite channels. The ad, which features a voiceover by TV presenter Griff Rhys Jones, offers viewers a guide on how to 'save cash and the planet'

Direct brief: RSPCA rolls out press campaign.(Brief article)
November 7, 2007... The RSPCA is rolling out a press campaign targeting 25- to 45-year-old women. The ads ask readers to tell the RSPCA which animal welfare issues are important to them via a questionnaire, delivered to consumers who request it

Direct brief: James Villas hires Crayon.
November 7, 2007... James Villas has hired Crayon to promote its 2008 holidays. The agency has been tasked with creating a range of direct marketing material

Direct brief: Sainsbury's appoints Live & Breathe.
November 7, 2007... Sainsbury's has appointed retail marketing agency Live & Breathe to create point-of-sale material to promote next year's Sport Relief, from 14-16 March

Direct brief: Scotch Malt Whisky Society starts recruitment drive.(Brief article)
November 7, 2007... The Scotch Malt Whisky Society is embarking on a membership recruitment drive that promotes the group as 'the most famously anonymous whisky society'. The campaign, developed by Story, will include the delivery of 27,500 mailings to whisky...

Direct brief: Southeastern targets students with campaign.(Southeastern Adhesive Co.)(Brief article)
November 7, 2007... Southeastern, the train operator, is launching a customer acquisition campaign targeting students. One mailout in the campaign, created by Communique 360, shows a chalk outline of an animal on the road with the strapline 'Save money: eat...

Direct brief: Kimberly-Clark runs on-pack promotion.(Brief article)
November 7, 2007... Kimberly-Clark is running an on-pack promotion across toilet-paper brands Kleenex Ultra Soft and Andrex Quilts. Codes inside the promotional packs can be entered online for the chance to win weekend breaks

Direct brief: Sport-e.com launches campaign aimed at men.(Brief article)
November 7, 2007... Sport-e.com, Littlewoods Shop Direct's online sports brand, is launching a campaign aimed at men in the run-up to Christmas. Created by Clark McKay and Walpole, the push will begin with an email campaign

Digital: Baileys to back web portal prize initiative.(Brief article)
November 7, 2007... Diageo is launching a pounds 1.5m digital ad and email drive to promote its Baileys liqueur in key European territories. The campaign, through Agency Republic, ties in with the 'Baileys Million Moments of Pleasure' initiative. The activity...

Digital: Amoy plots web and Tube work.(Brief article)
November 7, 2007... Heinz is launching an online and digital outdoor campaign to drive sales of its revamped range of Amoy stir-fry sauces. The company has commissioned Play to develop a series of rich-media ads to run on high-traffic websites and digital...

Digital: Purves & Purves rolls out viral ad.
November 7, 2007... Purves & Purves is running a viral campaign to promote its recently launched online shopping portal. The retailer briefed Bio to develop an interactive game giving consumers the chance to earn a discount of up to 25% off its range of...

Digital choice: Standard.co.uk.(Brief article)
November 7, 2007... One of the biggest changes to the communications landscape in recent years has been media owners' shift away from a single-channel focus toward a multichannel approach to keep up with consumers who are embracing digital channels. In...

Digital brief: Google's UK ad revenues exceed those of ITV1.(Brief article)
November 7, 2007... Google's UK ad revenues have exceeded those of ITV1, according to The Times. Between July and September the search giant's UK ad revenues reached pounds 327m, compared with ITV1's pounds 317m

Digital brief: MSN launches MSN Green.
November 7, 2007... MSN has launched MSN Green in response to the growing demand for environmental news and information. The internet company has developed the channel in partnership with MSNBC, Hearst Magazines and Conservation International

Digital brief: Ask.com partners with PriceRunner.(IAC Search & Media)(Brief article)
November 7, 2007... Ask.com, the search engine, has partnered with PriceRunner to launch a UK shopping portal next month that will provide consumers with access to products across 200 categories

Digital brief: MySpace embarks on most significant revamp.
November 7, 2007... MySpace is embarking on its most significant revamp since its launch in 2003, as the social networking site attempts to counteract the rapid growth of rival Facebook

Digital brief: EMI launches price-drop campaign.(Brief article)
November 7, 2007... EMI has launched a price-drop campaign to promote the download release of Cliff Richard's latest album, Love. The album will cost between pounds 3.99 and pounds 7.99, depending on how many people preorder it at lovecliffrichard.com

Digital brief: Virgin Atlantic launches branded microsite.(Virgin Atlantic Airways Ltd.)(Brief article)
November 7, 2007... Virgin Atlantic has launched a branded microsite allowing visitors to experience its new check-in facilities at Heathrow Terminal 3 Internet users can choose from a number of virtual tours and clips demonstrating the facilities.

Digital brief: 3 launches Skype-enabled mobile handset.(Brief article)
November 7, 2007... 3 has launched a Skype-enabled mobile handset that allows customers to make free calls to other Skype users around the world. The service is accessed via a Skype-branded button

Digital brief: Tealeaf and Harris Interactive carry out study.(TeaLeaf Technology)(Brief article)
November 7, 2007... Nearly 90% of consumers experience problems when trying to purchase products via the web, according to research carried out by Tealeaf and Harris Interactive. The study found that 37% of internet users abandoned their online transaction after...

Andrew Walmsley on digital: World Internet Day was worth missing.
November 7, 2007... Like me, you probably missed World Internet Day last week. As celebrations went, it was a pretty low-key affair, unnoticed by the majority of the world who, one might suspect, were too busy using the internet to join in with the revelry....

News Analysis: Scant value in BOGOFs.(buy one, get one free)
November 7, 2007... Multibuy promotions are unsustainable for brands and retailers alike, so why keep running them, asks Jane Simms. It has not been a great fortnight for TV advertising. The news that Google's revenues are likely to outstrip those of ITV1 next...

News Analysis: Budget cuts will hamper Olympics.
November 7, 2007... VisitBritain will not be able to undertake any advertising in the run-up to London 2012. Jemima Bokaie reports. Last month, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) announced it was cutting VisitBritain's funding by 18% over the...

Raymond Snoddy on media: Tortoise in clover as hare enters orbit.(Virgin Atlantic Airways Ltd.)(Column)
November 7, 2007... Sir Richard Branson is about to offer marketing opportunities that are literally out of this world. At a company party last week, the Virgin people were prancing around in, if not their space suits, then fetching space dungarees. Brands...

Media Analysis: Battle for broadband.
November 7, 2007... Media firms have joined established suppliers in the fight for a piece of the triple-play market, writes Gareth Jones. Convergence has become the boardroom buzzword, with media owners racing to roll out triple-play services spanning pay-TV,...

Brand Health Check: Green issues.
November 7, 2007... Consumers are inconsistent in their approach to eco-friendly living and growing cynical of brands' claims. You cannot read or watch the news without being bombarded by headlines about climate change. From the carbon emissions generated by...