Marketing articles from October 1990

Marketing archives from October 1990

Sony Breaks Record with 9m Pounds Sterling Gamble
October 18, 1990... Sony breaks record with 9m pounds gamble Sony will launch the biggest advertising campaign ever seen in the consumer electronics industry next week with a 9m pounds push for the mass market. But one rival has already described the move as an "act...

Abbey Rips Away Its Sales Slide
October 18, 1990... ABBEY RIPS AWAY ITS SALES SIDE Abbey National is to appoint a new marketing director in a major shake-up of its entire sales and marketing operation. John Berry, previously southern field operations director, will take control of Abbey...

Apple's budget range to harvest mass sales. (Apple UK mass marketing campaign)
October 18, 1990... Apple's budget range to harvest mass sales The UK's fourth biggest selling computer company, Apple, is to drop its premium image and target the high-volume, low budget personal computer market. This week Apple launches a range at half the...

Alpen bids goodbye to Lenny. (Weetabix drops Lenny Henry from ads)
October 18, 1990... Alpen bids goodbye to Lenny Weetabix has dropped comedian Lenny Henry from ads for its brand-leading Alpen muesli in a surprise return to "core values". The new campaign, through ad agency D'Arcy Masius Benton and Bowles, attempts to...

No rate relief. (poll of British marketing personnel on economic conditions)
October 18, 1990... NO RATE RELIEF John Major's surprise cut in interest rates came just too late to lift the economic cloud of gloom hanging over marketers' heads. While a predictable 58% majority in this week's exclusive Forum poll say they now feel more...

DDB Finds Takers for Guaranteed Payment by Results System
October 18, 1990... DDB finds takers for guaranteed payment by results system Omnicom-owned DDB Needham Worldwide has signed up four clients to its controversial "payment-by-results" system launched in the US last May (Marketing, May 24). Its London agency BMP DDB...

Designs on Dog Food
October 18, 1990... DESIGNS ON DOG FOOD It's a dog's life for national newspaper owners, who barely get a look in on the media spends for premium petfood brands Pedigree Cesar (Mars) and Friskies Buffet (Nestle). Both are promoted by TV-based campaigns. But press...

Astra Enlists Radio Advertising Men to Battle BSB's Ad Blitz
October 18, 1990... Astra enlists radio advertising men to battle BSB's ad blitz Satellite operator Astra is to use thesalespeople of local radio advertising departments as footsoldiers against arch-rival BSB's 20m pounds ad blitz. Astra has sent packages of...

Channel 5 Remains a Mystery
October 18, 1990... Channel 5 remains a mystery There was once a Post Office ad which showed a dear old lady, with the caption: "Someone somewhere is waiting for a letter from you." As the week's good cause, this column draws your attention to two shadowy figures...

O&M Withdraws from BDMA Awards over Judging Style
October 18, 1990... O&M withdraws from BDMA awards over judging style The UK's second largest direct marketing agency, Ogilvy and Mather Direct (O&M), has pulled out of this year's British Direct Marketing Association (BDMA) awards--a fresh blow to the status...

Microcomputers. (European advertising spending statistics )
October 18, 1990... MICROCOMPUTERS Home and game computer makers such as Commodore and Atari feature prominently among the big spenders on pan-European PC ads. But thet is set to change as IBM and other business brands muscle in on the market. IBM is...

Swatch winds up for car making. (to produce line of cars in 1993)
October 18, 1990... Swatch winds up for car making An unlikely new contender is currently gearing up to drive off with the low-priced end of the US car market. Swatch, the makers of disposable $35(18 pounds) watches announced last week that it will produce a...

Charities' cache of TV advertising weapons keeps growing. (charity advertising in Great Britain)
October 18, 1990... Charities' cache of TV advertising weapons keeps growing This is the year that separates the dogooders from the brand pushers in charity ads. Since the IBA decided to allow TV fundraising early last year, the charities armoury has held a...

Sterling's Shotgun Wedding
October 18, 1990... Sterling's shotgun wedding The Government has finally wedded the pound to the exchange rate mechanism of the EMS. Despite her recent reservations over the desirability of such a match, Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher has bowed to domestic and...

Nielsen on carbonated drinks. (soft drink marketing statistics)
October 18, 1990... NIELSEN on carbonated drinks One of the most dynamic of the major grocery markets over the past few years has been carbonated drinks, now worth more than 1bn pound per annum. Helped by the high temperatures during the summer of 1989, sales...

Mintel on slimming food. (diet foods market survey)
October 18, 1990... MINTEL on slimming food Are people less willing to diet as we enter the 90s? According to Mintel's report on slimming foods published this month, the answer is yes. Many adults, especially women, are now thinking that thin is not necessarily...

Yershon on newspaper brand loyalty.
October 18, 1990... YERSHON on newspaper brand loyalty Like brand loyalty in many other product fields, newspaper loyalty increases markedly with age. While only 16% of 15 to 24-year-olds (according to TGI data) definitely agree with the statement "I would not...

THe Buzz Word Stops Here
October 18, 1990... The buzz word stops here Every time my telephone emits a furtive electronic burp, diodes release pinpoints of light requiring major effort to remember which buttons to press in which order. Sometimes I succeed. "Hi," sings a voice. "My name...

Bell's Exit Must Ring Changes
October 18, 1990... Bell's exit must ring changes Inside the gleaming white architecture of BSB's Marco Polo building, its chieftains are prone to reassure themselves with a children's fable. Sky may have a year's headstart, they say, it may have millions more...

Can Marketing Keep Glaxo in Pole Position?
October 18, 1990... Can marketing keep Glaxo in pole position? UK pharmaceuticals giant Glaxo has long been a City favourite, and when last June it reported pretax profits up 13% to a cool 1.14bn pounds its blue-chip reputation was confirmed. By the end of the...

Lenders Prepare for Mortgage Upturn
October 18, 1990... Lenders prepare for mortgage upturn Deutschmark-denominated mortgages may now be on the way for sophisticated borrowers, but for UK mortgage marketers, the most important news is that sterling mortgage rates are on their way down. But as the...

How Shelf Space Made Ecover
October 18, 1990... How shelf space made Ecover The Ecover story is most well known as that of being "right product at the right time". After all, in the space of two years it emerged from faddist obscurity to become a household name, with sales worth 9.5m pounds....

A Big Talking Point Arises
October 18, 1990... A BIG TALKING POINT ARISES Temporary cables still hang from ceilings i dimly lit, breeze block corridors. Everywhere there is the noise of sawing, hammering and `rilling. Enter without a hard hat and you'll be bawled out for breaking...

Islands of Promise
October 18, 1990... ISLANDS OF PROMISE While the Bahamas and Bermuda have much in common, they could not be more different. Both are members of the British Commonwealth, drive on the left, encourage the use of mopeds, and both islands are on the fringe of the...

Accentuate the Positive: Technology Has Had a Big Impact on Slide Production
October 18, 1990... ACCENTUATE THE POSITIVE Computers have turned the professional slide production market upside down since the mid-80s and the pace of change has hardly slackened. "There has been continual development of new equipment to produce ever more...

Hospitality Is a Dirty Word: What Can Be Done to Improve Corporate Hospitality's Tarnished Image?
October 18, 1990... HOSPITALITY IS A DIRTY WORD The corporate hospitality boom has burnt out. hospitality is fast becoming a byword for unfulfilled promises. Many operators admit to being 30%-35% down on last year, which probably means the true figure is 45%-50%....

Redundant and Not Returning
October 18, 1990... Redundant and not returning Marketers now account for a greate share of executive redudancies. Fewer are returning to the profession. These findings emerge from a survey of such cases by the consultancy Drake Beam Morin (DBM), which provides...

P&G Changes Its Nappies: Procter and Gamble Shook the World of Nappies with Its Link with Arch-Rival Swaddlers Togs Last Week
October 4, 1990... P&G changes its nappies Salesmen for Swaddlers Togs, the UK's second biggest selling nappy brand, have reason for feeling a little confused. Last week, when they were out on their normal calls, they were suddenly confronted by customers who...

Heinz Gives Eastern Promise
October 4, 1990... HEINZ GIVES EASTERN PROMISE Heinz is to team up with TV chef Ken Lo to launch its first range of frozen ready meals outside the Weight Watchers banner. The ten premium oriental products will appear in late October. The range is called "Ken Lo...

Green Hype?
October 4, 1990... GREEN HYPE? The Government's White Paper on Green has failed to impress senior marketers. Just one in seven see the White Paper as reflecting a radical change towards environmentally benign policies, but a half see it as hyping Green for...

Pearl Drops Mimics Silk Cut Ads to Create 'Loaves and Fishes' Job
October 4, 1990... Pearl Drops mimics Silk Cut ads to create `loaves and fishes' job Carter-Wallace, manufacturer of Pearl Drops Smokers' toothpolish is launching an ad campaign which rides on the back of Gallaher's Silk Cut cigarette advertising. The first ad -...

Tesco Hits TV Big Time
October 4, 1990... TESCO HITS TV BIG TIME Since January, Tesco has pumped 12m [pounds] into its bid to catch Sainsbury in the food retail stakes. However, it has taken the battle for shoppers' hearts and baskets to television; leaving Sainsbury to pile its spend...

BSB Creates Sales Force Army to Mount Xmas Challenge to Sky
October 4, 1990... BSB creates sales force army to mount Xmas challenge to Sky BSB is to unleash a door-to-door sales force of up to 3000 people in a bid to boost satellite dish sales in the crucial run-up to Christmas. The initiative is aimed at swamping out...

What's in a Brand Name
October 4, 1990... What's in a brand name Oscar Wilde defined a cynic as someone who knew the price of everything and the value of nothing. That definition also fits accountants, but only because they fix the price of everything. The question of whether the price...

Hotpoint Teams Up with Charity
October 4, 1990... Hotpoint teams up with charity The UK's leading white goods manufacturer, Hotpoint, has launched the sector's first joint promotion with a charity in a desperate attempt to breathe life into the market. For three months from October - usually...

Carlsberg Special banks on money-off. (sales promotion)
October 4, 1990... Carlsberg Special banks on money-off Carlsberg Special Brew is running its first on-pack money-back deal in an effort to beat off competition from arch rival Tennent's Super. Consumers who buy the product can send off one of a million...

New player in German soap powders market. (Benckiser launches mix-your-own laundry detergent)
October 4, 1990... New player in German soap powders market The German cleaning products company Benckiser is making its first move into the soap powders market with the German launch of a novel mix-your-own laundry detergent. Storch's launch pits...

Electronics. (consumer electronics advertising in Europe)
October 4, 1990... ELECTRONICS European consumer electronics companies, led by Philips, are outspending the Japanese on pan-European advertising. Europeans account for seven of the 15 biggest ad spends on European TV and press in the first half of 1990....

Smoking out the Success Stories of the Cigarette Commercial World
October 4, 1990... Smoking out the success stories of the cigarette commercial world If nothing else, eyes must be lighting up in the Gallaher marketing department at the results of this week's sector survey. In the ten months since we took our last look at...

Counting on a Short Recession
October 4, 1990... Counting on a short recession An economic recession in the UK is now essential. The excessive boom from 1986 to 1989 meant that a sharp slow-down in growth was required. The Gulf crisis intensifies that requirement to the status of an...

Germany leads with over 50%. (satellite television in Europe)
October 4, 1990... Germany leads with over 50% Commercial satellite television continues to grow across Europe and is now received in more than 20 million cable households in the 11 countries surveyed by Nielsen on behalf of PETAR, the Pan-European TV audience...

Independence marks change. (change in Britian's taxation rules for married women)
October 4, 1990... Independence marks change Women have increased their use of financial services dramatically in the past ten years. But it was only with the implementation of independent taxation in April that married women became financially independent....

TVRs and variations. (Independent Television audience measurement, Great Britain)
October 4, 1990... TVRs and variations The profile of the typical ITV audience varies substantially from area to area. The chart shows the all time average "ABC1 Conversion Factor" which is the average ABC1 adult TVR (across all spots) indexed on the all adult...

Making an Exhibition of Ads
October 4, 1990... Making an exhibition of ads Some months ago, a cadre of senior adfolk, inspired by the Moving Image and Design Museums, attempted to excite the adbiz with the idea of an Advertising Museum. I attended a fund-raising meeting, my desire for...

Industry Swings to Order
October 4, 1990... Industry swings to order The decade of deregulation is coming to an end. The free-for-all in finance and lending over the past ten years created dangerous economic instability. A free-market Government now tentatively recognises that something...

Haagen-Dazs Pushes Cold Front across the World
October 4, 1990... Haagen-Dazs pushes cold front across world When Ian Martin, Grand Metropolitan's chief executive for foods, was pondering the fruits of GrandMet's Pillsbury acquisition, he thought that Haagen-Dazs, the Rolls-Royce of US ice-creams, might be...

When British Is Best No Longer: No Brand Is an Island - except When It's British It Seems
October 4, 1990... When British is best no longer "A couple of Shredded Wheat followed by Marmite on toast was a good start to the day, and a cup of Kenco Coffee was just the job. It was probably a bit early to have knocked off a large Kit Kat by 11.00am, and...

Correspondent Caught in the Middle? Will John Bryant Aim Lower to Save His Sunday?
October 4, 1990... Correspondent: caught in the middle? Human nature being what it is, parents always think their babies are attractive. They may be bald, spotty, disproportioned, who cares? We luv'em. The cooing noises emanating from the Sunday Correspondent...

Metal Works: This Year's Metal Packaging Awards Have Combined Nostalgia with Growing Green Concerns
October 4, 1990... METAL WORKS It is back to the future for this year's Best in Metal Packaging Awards. Nostalgia for the early days of commemorative gift tins combines with the industry's pressing need to get to grips with contemporary fears about the future of...

The Measure of Success: Design Means So Many Things to So Many People That It Is Important to Assess the Benefits
October 4, 1990... THE MEASURE OF SUCCESS Effectiveness has graduated from advertising to design. Yet design effectiveness, in its infancy, is still a phenomenon. What is it? Where and how do you buy it? Next week's Design Effectiveness Awards, organised by the...

Voting with Their Feet: Interviewers Are Quitting Because of Low Pay - but Budgets Are under Pressure, Too
October 4, 1990... VOTING WITH THEIR FEET The market research industry is facing a crisis. It is losing its most precious resource: the field worker. These are the research industry's worker bees, without whom the hive doesn't function. Face-to-face interviewing...

Separating Sheep from the Goats
October 4, 1990... Separating sheep from the goats Other pastures are beginning to look less green. Advertising agency and marketing department staff appear less willing to move during the current economic downturn, according to some recruitment consultants...