Marketing articles from October 1991

Marketing archives from October 1991

Selling Satellite TV
October 31, 1991... BSkB poached franchise loser TV-am's top salesman this week for a post already predicted to be the biggest job in TV sales this decade. Tony Vickers' appointment as BSkyB's group sales and marketing director has taken the whole television...

Free Rein on Format for Second National Station
October 31, 1991... The Radio Authority has declared an open field for applications for the UK's second independent national radio station. Chairman Lord Delfont told a press conference on Tuesday that any format--talk or music--will be accepted as long as it...

Heinz heads for Russian market. (H.J. Heinz Co.)
October 31, 1991... Heinz will sign a contract with the Russian government within weeks which will signal its first step behind the crumbling Iron Curtain. Heinz describes an imminent factory construction deal to manufacture babyfood as its "first really...

Qualcast Marketing Head Drops Slanging Strategy
October 31, 1991... Qualcast this week enlisted a new marketing director to fight the mower wars against old enemy Flymo--and he instantly pledged that their "time-wasting slanging matches" will be a thing of the past. Stephen Roberts, former sales and marketing...

Heat Is on ASA to Back TV Ban on Unilever Spread
October 31, 1991... The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) is expected to come under intense pressure this week to follow TV's lead and ban ads for Unilever's new spread I Can't Believe It's Not Butter. Yellow fats subsidiary Van den Berghs has been forced to...

Homepride's Fred rises to the occasion as Publis takes the reins.
October 31, 1991... Dalgety is to attempt to resuscitate its stale Homepride brand spokesman Fred the Flourgrader with the appointment of a new ad agency this week. The original character of Fred was created in 1965 by Geers Gross as a spokesman for...

Pepe's Chart Show Deal Heralds ITVA Bonanza
October 31, 1991... Jeans firm Pepe is making its first move into broadcast sponsorship with a 500,000 pounds network deal for music video TV series the Chart Show. The move is part of Pepe's "music fuscion series" of marketing initiatives, launched in August,...

Wembley Switches to Apple and Scores a Winning Goal
October 31, 1991... When Geoff Hurst scored the winning goal against Germany in the 1966 World Cup at Wembley three could hardly have been a dry eye in the land. As the victorious England team received the coveted trophy from the Queen before an ecstatic Wembley...

Industry Takes 'Smoking Kills' Label to High Court
October 31, 1991... Tobacco manufacturers are to challenge the UK Government's controversial new "Smoking Kills" label in the High Court next week. Companies led by Gallaher and Rothmans have begun High Court proceedings for judicial review of the ruling -- due...

Trying Too Hard to Sell the Game
October 31, 1991... The rugby union World Cup, which reaches its climax on Saturday, has been one of the more significant marketing events of this sporting year. One reason for this concerns the marketing of the game of rugby itself. The World Cup tournament...

Boost for Ads as BARB Switches on to Video Data
October 31, 1991... Arnold Schwarzenegger's Kindergarten Cop will be the first video film monitored by the BARB -- the people who provide data on TV programmes -- when it is released this week. If the pilot survey proves successful video distributors could soon...

Apple Puts BP into the World Picture
October 31, 1991... Today, BP is one of the world's largest companies and as it has grown and spread throughout the world, photographers have always been on hand to provide a visible record of its achievements. Seventy years of photos, however, take up a lot of...

Maker Bids for Jazz FM after Leaving Classic
October 31, 1991... David Maker has made a counterbid for Jazz FM a week after radio entrepreneur Terry Bate announced a surprise offer for the troubled London station. The move follows the sudden departure last week of Maker and business associate David Astor...

DTP Maps out a Successful Route for Design
October 31, 1991... Graphic designer Adam Nice knows more than most about underground art. And although his own output is of a professionally high quality, he readily accepts that a lot of it is going down the tubes. This is exactly how it should be. As...

Moving Ads into the Fast Lane
October 31, 1991... Bernard Shaw once lived on the west side of London's Fitzroy Square in a house later occupied by Virginia Woolf. Today, across the small green from the Shaw House you find the offices of McBain Noel-Johnson, founded in 1972 and now a wholly...

Not Calling on Much Needed Expertise
October 31, 1991... The Government claims to believe in the virtues of capitalism -- one of which is making intelligent commercial decisions and not throwing money around like a drunken sailor. They could certainly have been a great idea more intelligent about the...

Eurocrats stonewalling forces formation of lobby. (Federation of European Direct Marketers)
October 31, 1991... The European direct marketing community hopes to penetrate the wall of silence surrounding the European Commission's draft directive on data protection with the formation of its most heavyweight lobbying group to date. The Federation of...

Lightening Up the Load for the Laptop User
October 31, 1991... Apple made its reputation by producing computers which are easy to use, and which conceal their power behind a friendly face. But today's computer users are no longer satisfied with big power and ease of use -- they want portability too. ...

P&G Wary of Persil's Liquid Asset
October 31, 1991... The clothes detergent market has come far since 1909 when Lever Brothers first grated soap bars and packaged the result under its trusty Persil brand. No consumer market is now more aggressively fought over: and the battle is pushing new...

Brewing Up a Qualified Success
October 31, 1991... The inception of Carlsberg-Tetley is a back-scratching marriage of convenience that looks, on paper, to have been made in heaven. Manna from heaven, in fact, for Carlsberg, which had been tipped to leap into bed with Guinness or Scottish and...

Corporate Ads and the Media
October 31, 1991... Poets have waxed lyrical about the birds singing to welcome the dawn. Naturalists, more prosaically, say that the purpose of the dawn chorus is to alert friends and enemies to the fact that the bird has survived the long night, is still in...

A Firm Grip on the Future
October 31, 1991... This year, Apple has delivered the two things it needed most urgently -- cheaper Macintoshes, and an upgraded operating system to counter the threat of Microsoft Windows 3.0. And more developments are in sight, some of which build on the...

In Pursuit of the Perfect Mix
October 31, 1991... Advertise or promote? Or more specifically, how to divide the marketing budget between the two, is a question that taxes many a marketing manager--particularly in the cut-throat world of fast-moving consumer goods (fmcg). It's not...

Kellogg: A Cereal Killing?
October 31, 1991... "What brings you to Battle Creek?" asks the cab driver. "Kellogg?" he continues, without expecting a reply. And he launches into his Kellogg stories -- everybody in this small Michigan town seems to have his or her own. His son works at the...

Putting PR to the Test
October 31, 1991... When Peter Chappelow moved from Grattan to Country Holidays, the UK's biggest cottage rental agency, as group marketing director in January, the travel industry was sinking in the Gulf. "The first two months of the year were fairly...

Apple Solutions to Marketing Problems
October 31, 1991... Audiences Marketing Departments within large accounts with specific focus on: A Brand, Product and Department Managers B. Marketing Communications Professionals C Market Research, Analysis and Planning Professionals D How the...

Beer Giants Merge
October 24, 1991... Allied-Lyons and Carlsberg sent shockwaves through the beer industry this week with a joint brewing, marketing, distribution and wholesaling tie-up. It will catapult Allied close to gaining Courage's crown as the number two UK brewer and will...

TSB marketing head cuts back below-the-line spend. (Trustee Savings Bank, Mike Sommers)
October 24, 1991... The Trustee Savings Bank (TSB) is to trim its product range and divert spend above-the-line in "a new look" at strategy imposed by recently-appointed marketing and premises director Mike Sommers. The rethink casts doubt on the future of...

Dodo future for Girobank after society takeover. (Girobank PLC, Alliance and Leicester Building Society)
October 24, 1991... Girobank, one of UK banking's biggest brands, faces extinction after a decision this week to merge it with parent building society the Alliance & Leicester. The personal banking operation currently under the Girobank name will be...

Daihatsu account goes to Banks Partnership. (Daihatsu Motor Company Ltd.)
October 24, 1991... Daihatsu appointed a new ad agency this week and set out on the long road to achieving "consistency" in its marketing message. The Banks Partnership picked up the 2m pound-plus account after a seven-week pitch against five other...

Hitachi Relaunches Dealer Club
October 24, 1991... Hitachi launches a concerted drive into the independent retail sector next month in a bid to end dependence on recession-hit high street chains like Currys and Dixons. It aims to attract independents by relaunching Ambassador, its...

Boost for Beef as Industry Wins Advertising Battle
October 24, 1991... The meat industry will launch a fresh attempt to boost beef sales on November 4 as it celebrates victory over the vegetarian lobby in a bitter row over ad claims. A full year and a half after the Mad Cow scare collapsed meat sales by a third...

Viewing Japan in a New Light
October 24, 1991... Misunderstanding has always characterised relations between Japan and the West. Edith Cresson's outburst that the Japanese are "yellow dwarves who sit up at night thinking of ways to screw us" identified Japan as the common economic enemy. Yet...

Battery Ad War Warms Up
October 24, 1991... "Ad agencies hate us because our brief is all mandatories." So said battery giant Duracell's marketing director Gary Ferguson last year. He was explaining why a 15-year-old advertising idea could still manage to make the top ten in the 1990...

Sales Houses Pick over Franchisees' Winnings
October 24, 1991... A flurry of activity hit TV sales houses this week as they scrambled to win business from both new and existing franchise holders. Both Meridian in the South and South-east and Westcountry Television in the South-west are expected to go with...

Laugh or Cry but Lose Anyway
October 24, 1991... The Iron Lady is "heartbroken". Winners are "jubilant", losers are angry (and threatening law suits) and lots of people are to lose their jobs. So what? The temptation is to see this as a typical media storm in a tea cup. But it isn't. It...

Advertisers' Franchise Boomerang
October 24, 1991... We have all heard enough about the iniquities of the procedure by which the Channel 3 licencees were chosen. That is now history. What matters now is how the winning contractors will adapt themselves to the new world after 1992, and this...

Will the Price Wars Ever End?
October 24, 1991... Mary was tempted but knew she shouldn't be. Her heart thumped, her pulse quickened, she turned on her heels and made her way back to the store which was screaming "20% off everything!" and set about looking for a cut-piece present. Such...

A Destiny beyond HP's Sauces
October 24, 1991... "Look at his eyes," I'd been warned, by an unimpressed and well-placed source. "When he smiles, they're just cold." Henri Giscard D'Estaing, dashing 34-year-old ski-ing son of former French president Valery, is--like his father--the sort who...

Packaging a Punch
October 24, 1991... There are cynics who say that the biggest innovation needed in UK packaging design is for clients to reach for their cheque books and start commissioning again. A harsh judgement, but it is a fact that design has suffered more than mosst...

'Gagging' Bid Unsuccessful
October 17, 1991... |Gagging' bid unsuccessful Parties fight tooth and nail as watershed database hearing looms PBA Marketing, the company being sued by business information giant Dun & Bradstreet for alleged breach of copyright, has not succeeded in a...

The Body and Face Place faces closure.
October 17, 1991... The Body and Face Place faces closure Natural beauty products chain The Body and Face Place stares extinction in the face this week after thwarted attempts by its owners to find a buyer. Parent Alan Paul, the UK's only publicly quoted...

Alfa Romeo Loses Brand Control to Parent Fiat
October 17, 1991... Alfa Romeo loses brand control to parent Fiat The troubled UK division of Italian car maker Alfa Romeo lost direct control over its brand this week as it emerged that owner Fiat will not fill its vacant managing director and marketing director...

BA denies US merger. (British Airways; link up with Northwest Airlines)
October 17, 1991... BA denies US merger British Airways refuses to be drawn this week on mounting speculation that it plans to link up with Northwest Airlines, America's fourth biggest, to form one global brand. The deal, part of BA's defensive "Mission...

Nestle eats Rowntree.
October 17, 1991... Nestle eats Rowntree Nestle this week moved to fully incorporate subsidiary Rowntree into its UK operations -- and left a question mark hanging over the future of Rowntree's York-based marketing department. A new single company, Nestle...

Ecover delays TV ads. (television advertising campaign)
October 17, 1991... Ecover delays TV ads Ecover has delayed the launch of its first ever TV ad campaign, after a rumoured clash with the watchdog Independent Television Association (ITVA). An ITVA spokesman claims that he is "not aware that there were any...

Ever Ready moves to topple Duracell. (Eveready Battery Co., Duracell Inc.)
October 17, 1991... Ever Ready moves to topple Duracell Ever Ready is rolling out a 7.7m [pounds] marketing onslaught to try and snatch back leadership in the 330m [pounds] battery market lost to arch rival Duracell last year. Ever Ready is spending 4m...

Ads to Boost National Power's Low Awareness
October 17, 1991... Ads to boost National Power's low awareness Electricity producer National Power is launching a massive advertising drive this week to raise its profile as a private company. The move marks the first advertising by either National Power or its...

Argos below-the-line mid-market store launch. (Argos Distributors Ltd.)
October 17, 1991... Argos below-the line mid-market store launch Catalogue showroom retailer Argos has appointed advertising and promotions agency Tim Arnold & Associates (TA&A) to spearhead its launch into one of the most depressed sectors of UK retailing. ...

Amstrad's Hong Kong Link Heralds Second Crack at Hi-Fi Market
October 17, 1991... Amstrad's Hong Kong link heralds second crack at hi-fi market Amstrad is to re-enter the 700m [pounds] UK audio market after pulling out with burnt fingers two years ago. A joint venture sealed this week with the Hong Kong electronics company...

Peugeot 106's Laura Ashley mail drive.
October 17, 1991... Peugeot 106's Laura Ashley mail drive Peugeot launches its new 106 this week -- with a pitch for a Laura Ashley customer profile. The French carmaker, reeling from the lacklustre performance of its upmarket 605 model since its launch...

'Seriously Nutty' Mr Tom's TV break. (peanut crunch bar's television advertising campaign)
October 17, 1991... |Seriously Nutty' Mr Tom's TV break The "Seriously Nutty" peanut crunch bar Mr Tom is to get its first major national UK television ad campaign -- with the stated aim of propelling the German brand to become the UK's fastest-selling sugar...

The Going Gets Tougher
October 17, 1991... AGENCIES IN THE RECESSION The heady days of agency profitability are long gone as Touche Ross reveals The going gets tougher Ad agencies have limped into the 90s lumbered with excessive borrowings, increased costs and declining...

Telegraph takes on WCRS for ads. (Daily Telegraph's advertising campaign)
October 17, 1991... NEWSPAPERS Telegraph takes on WCRS for ads The Daily Telegraph is pledging a "very evident and very aggressive" ad campaign for next year following the appointment of WCRS as its new agency. The paper has run no themed...

Pizzaland promo targets Pizza Hut's 28% slice. (contract with HH&S, former Pizza Hut's sales promotion consultancy)
October 17, 1991... RESTAURANTS Pizzaland promo targets Pizza Hut's 28% slice Ailing pizza restaurant chain Pizzaland has taken on a sales promotion consultancy which only months ago ended its contract with arch-rival Pizza Hut. The move is bound to...

Alliances Force Technology's Pace
October 17, 1991... TECHNOLOGY Another corporate link-up between diverse companies shows a new era for co-operative marketing is gathering momentum Alliances force technology's pace Last week it was Apple and IBM, this week it's Hewlett Packard, 3M, Polaroid...

On the Quest for Higher Quality
October 17, 1991... On the quest for higher quality Going for quality isn't just about putting a product on a premium platform and inflating the price. Karen Hoggan talks to companies reforming themselves from the inside out so they can deliver total quality every...

BMW - Cruising through the Recessionary Storm
October 17, 1991... BMW -- cruising through the recessionary storm Call it luck or shrewd long-term planning, but whatever the reason, BMW is riding the recession. The timely relaunch of its 3-series range earlier this year, has helped. But there is more to it than...

Bridging the Yawning Gap
October 17, 1991... BRIDGING THE YAWNING GAP The chance for a snooze, a vital exchange of information, or just plain disappointing? Ken Gofton finds out what delegates really think of the company conference One could get arrested -- or assaulted--for accosting...

Making an Exhibition for Yourself
October 17, 1991... MAKING AN EXHIBITION FOR YOURSELF Despite 160m [pounds] spent on 22,000 private UK shows last year many large centres are still slow to recognise this segment of the promotional market. Shows could move from hotels to the likes of Olympia, writes...

All Play and No Work
October 17, 1991... ALL PLAY AND NO WORK. . . Hospitality guests are all too used to spectator sports. Now companies are instilling team spirit by activity events, writes Sue Bryant Although spectator sports still dominate the corporate hospitality scene, a marked...

Consumers Leave Tories Guessing
October 10, 1991... Consumers leave Tories guessing Stores are in a marketing quandry as sales figures fluctuate Hard hit fashion retailers have been thrown into turmoil this week - by news of booming sales. High street outlets of store giant Sears have been...

Mars plunders France for key European post. (Mars Inc. names Paul Delaoutre as European marketing director)
October 10, 1991... Mars plunders France for key European post Global confectionery giant Mars has transferred a mystery French marketer to the key post of European marketing director this week. Paul Delaoutre, based at Mars' Paris office, will be...

St Ivel still plagued by management upheaval. (Jim Bradford replaces Stephen Connors as marketing director of St. Ivel Ltd.)
October 10, 1991... St Ivel still plagued by management upheaval The UK's biggest dairy brand St Ivel has picked a new chilled products marketing director after months of management turmoil at the Unigate subsidiary. Jim Bradford, marketing controller of...

McDonald's puts pizza plans on hold. (McDonald's Corp.)
October 10, 1991... McDonald's puts pizza plans on hold McDonald's has put the block on a move into pizza and opted to develop a range of more ambitious food items as part of a coherent evening menu instead. Pizza continues to be tested in about 500 of the...

Apple loses a core man. (Apple Computer UK Ltd.; John Leftwich, marketing director)
October 10, 1991... Apple loses a core man Apple UK has lost its sales director -- with no end in sight this week to its five-month hunt for a new marketing director. Nick Hutton, appointed sales director in April, leaves at the end of next month to return...

Keyline postpones launch date. (Keyline Shopping Ltd. delays launch of home shopping service)
October 10, 1991... Keyline postpones launch date Keyline Shopping, the supposedly mould-breaking home shopping, banking and information service, has again postponed its launch -- a year after its first launch deadline. After at least two previous...

Surprise move by Maxwell as the European goes North American. (Robert Maxwell to launch a North American edition of the European)
October 10, 1991... Surprise move by Maxwell as the European goes North American Robert Maxwell makes a surprise move to launch a North American edition of the European this Friday. It will be printed and distributed in the US. The paper currently sells...

Campbell's cooks up soup push on the box. (Campbell's Inc.'s television advertising campaign)
October 10, 1991... Campbell's cooks up soup push on the box US multinational Campbell's first TV advertising campaign for soup in a decade breaks this week. The 2m [pounds] drive through Saatchi & Saatchi emphasises the versatility of condensed soups as a...

Anxious Vauxhall Aloof over Further Price Wars
October 10, 1991... Vauxhall slams |dangerous' Ford as the motor trade pleads poverty in its generic ads Anxious Vauxhall aloof over further price wars General Motors subsidiary Vauxhall says it will not be dragged into another price war with arch-rival...

Eurocom RSCG Merger Spurs Client Fallout Fears
October 10, 1991... French deals leave four medium agencies in the UK. Can they all survive intact? Eurocom RSCG merger spurs client fallout fears The merger of French advertising agency groups Eurocom and RSCG will give the new network access to the some of...

Radio tipped to become UK's third largest media. (radio advertising)
October 10, 1991... Radio tipped to become UK's third largest media Radio will leapfrog posters and become the UK's third biggest ad medium by 1994, claim buyers of the country's first detailed breakdown of radio audience figures. For the first time the...

Toshiba Switches Budget with Holiday Promotion
October 10, 1991... Toshiba switches budget with holiday promotion Toshiba's controversial decision to switch its consumer products budget below-the-line in the key pre-Christmas selling period will result in a 1m [pounds] promotion with the depressed travel trade...

Apple: Losing Innocence to IBM's Bite?
October 10, 1991... Apple: losing innocence to IBM's bite? Will Apple lose its reputation for innovatory independence as it enters the mainstream forged by IBM, asks Mat Toor Eight years ago Apple signed up film director Ridley Scott to produce a commercial that for...

Travel's Double Agent
October 10, 1991... Travel's double agent High-flier John Boyle has set up Direct Holidays - a tour operator which cuts out travel agents. At best, he could change the way people buy holidays, at worst, he could crash. Clare Sambrook assesses his chances You don't...

NPD's Shaky Return
October 10, 1991... NPD's shaky return Innovation is rapidly becoming a key to survival. But creating the right environment for new product development is not easy, says Alan Mitchell Bewailing the state of research and development performance has become one of...

Marriages of Some Convenience
October 10, 1991... MARRIAGES OF SOME CONVENIENCE The joint promotion seems an ideal solution for recession-bound budgets. But are brands in danger of being "mortgaged for the future"? Cathy Bond reports When Coca-Cola led its army of soft drinks brands into a joint...

The Penpushers
October 10, 1991... THE PENPUSHERS Despite a plethora of innovative business gifts, companies are still sticking to old favourites -- pens, diaries, and calendars. In other words, they are refusing to take any risks, writes Brian Oliver What might Father Christmas...

Ageism Loosens Its Grip
October 10, 1991... Ageism loosens its grip The marketing profession's obsession with age is easing -- a little. A growing number of employers are looking for experience as well as energy. They are looking for skilled marketers with a breadth of knowledge who can...

Crest's Business Forte
October 3, 1991... Crest's business Forte The relaunch of Crest as the |definitive business hotel' may be a UK first. But its image could drive the tired executive away, says Clare Sambrook Forte Hotels is relaunching its Crest Hotel brand next week as "the...

Dunhill prepares for new drive into Europe. (Alfred Dunhill of London Inc.)(The Week) (Brief Article)
October 3, 1991... Dunhill prepares for new drive into Europe Luxury goods firm Alfred Dunhill is looking for a top marketer to spearhead a new push for share in the European luxury goods arena. Its current European director Aubrey Styles retires in 18...

'Embarrassed' Ford Cuts Prices across Its Range
October 3, 1991... |Embarrassed' Ford cuts prices across its range UK car market leader Ford has confirmed plans to slash between 500 [pounds] and 700 [pounds] off all its cars. The move, exclusively revealed in Marketing (September 26), sees Ford abandon its...

Classic may still pounce on Jazz FM. (Classic FM plans to acquire London radio station)(The Week) (Brief Article)
October 3, 1991... Classic may still pounce on Jazz FM The future of troubled London station Jazz FM hung in the balance this week as the deadline for takeover by Classic FM was extended "indefinitely". The news came just hours after Classic FM secured the...

Phonepoint bites the dust as BT blames adverse market conditions. (Phonepoint Ltd.'s operations suspended by consortium led by British Telecommunications PLC)(The Week) (Brief Article)
October 3, 1991... Phonepoint bites the dust as BT blames adverse market conditions Phonepoint, the BT-led consortium which pioneered telepoint mobile phone services in the UK, has been suspended. BT blames "adverse market conditions" for its withdrawal...