Quick decision on BARB costs

Marketing Week

I have implicit trust in Paul McCann’s abilities to report faithfully the comments of those to whom he speaks. After all, in his article “When the BARB price isn’t right” (MW February 17), he accurately quotes from our conversation regarding the future measurements of specialist and/or minority cable channels. It is all the more odd, […]

ODDS ON FOR OMNICOM

Marketing Week

How do you turn defence into attack? Look no further than Omnicom. It is fast becoming the world’s largest marketing services group. Is this the result of a masterplan or merely naked opportunism combined with a superabundance of cash? By Jon

NBC hires Plata for strategic role

Marketing Week

NBC Super Channel has appointed former Burkitt Weinreich Bryant media director Rick Plata head of strategic planning, and has recruited seven additional staff to its in-house sales operation. The move comes at a time of increasing competition in the pan-European TV market, following the January launch of BBC World, the BBC’s advertising-supported 24-hour news service, […]

Customer care in the community

Marketing Week

Virginia Matthews’ jousting with the customer service industry (MW February 17) elicited a few sympathetic groans here at The Cade Partnership. As an agency with a good deal of experience helping clients handle customer complaints, we are only too familiar with the “how may I help you?” brigade. Telephone helplines provide a marvellous opportunity to […]

Unilever faces ú57m Power bill

Marketing Week

Soap-to-food giant Unilever revealed that the Power manganese “accelerator” crisis of the past year will cost the company ú57m worldwide to write off the original Power formulation and stocks of its ingredient. Unilever had spent ú200m developing the Power range. Unilever chairman Sir Michael Perry says: “The lessons of the Power fiasco have been learned […]

No Title

Marketing Week

Following the opening of the Dr Martens department store in London’s Covent Garden last November, the footwear brand has been extended, with the launch of an album of `indie’ music entitled Unlaced. The album features 20 tracks by major British and US artist including Suede, New Order, Pulp, Blur, Radiohead, James and The Levellers, and […]

P&G in fight for German haircare firm

Marketing Week

Procter & Gamble is understood to be among the firms vying for the German haircare company Schwarzkopf. P&G, along with Henkel and Japanese cosmetics firm Shiseido, is said to be in discussions with German chemical group Hoechst, owner of Schw

Abdicating all responsibility

Marketing Week

If you dress up in an inflatable rubber suit and engage in a pub fight, you may cause yourself harm. But, according to the increasingly sympathetic law, it is not your fault.

ú11m Mail brief put up for pitch

Marketing Week

The Royal Mail has put its ú11m account up for review – for the first time in eight years. The account is held by Bates Dorland and D’Arcy Masius Benton & Bowles, with the bulk of the spend going through the press, though the Royal Mail also u

Nestl plans food division restructure

Marketing Week

Nestl is to phase out the position of marketing director for its food division in a slimmer structure which will devolve power to three general managers. The company is restructuring its food business, abandoning canning and dropping many of its brands from the Crosse & Blackwell range, including tomato ketchup, salad cream, baked beans, pastas […]

ABC plans to speed up data delivery

Marketing Week

The Audit Bureau of Circulations wants all magazine and news-paper audits to be conducted by its staff from June 1996 to create a level playing field for all publishers and allow the quicker release of ABC data. At the moment private auditors conduct audits of newspaper and magazine sales figures, which are then released to […]

ASH fuming after Bill is voted down

Marketing Week

The anti-smoking lobby, Action on Smoking & Health (ASH) has vowed to continue its battle against the tobacco industry, despite the latest setback in its campaign to win greater health warnings on cigarette packets.