How big should poster contractors be allowed to grow? The agreement between the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising and the Incorporated Society of British Advertisers to an ownership limit of up to 25 per cent of the total outdoor market has encouraged the Office of Fair Trading to relax the rules. This should enable contractors […]
Omnicom agencies Abbott Mead Vickers.BBDO and BMP DDB Needham are understood to have completed a deal to merge their media departments. It is believed that AMV vice-chairman Ken New will become chief executive and BMP joint media director Derek Morris executive media director at the new operation. The media group chiefs and media managers for […]
The colossal rise in the cost of newsprint – over 50 per cent in the past six months – seems, at first sight, an unlikely premise for the decline of newspapers as we know them. The only certain consequence, so far, has been a ceasefire in the price war. News International evidently decided there’s no […]
Driveline Europe has launched Ferry Choices, its first ever ferry-related incentive product, in association with P&O European Ferries. The scheme offers consumers a range of benefits such as year-round discounts of up to 50 per cent on the price of ferry tickets and up to eight nights free accommodation at European hotels and chateaux. Bodum, […]
Sega stole out in the dead of night to put its own spin on Major’s leadership battle a week before the launch of its Sega Saturn playstation. This 150ft image of Major and Redwood in Sega combat gear was laser projected onto the House of Commons for a few seconds at about 3am on Monday […]
Iain Ferguson, chief executive of KLP, is blunt about the difficulties his company – and the whole sales promotion industry – faces in its search for trained personnel. “Over the past two years, we’ve seen too many unprepared people. Frankly, a trained Alsatian could do a better job than some of them,” he says. “The […]
Marvel Entertainment Group’s former vice president Europe is to become UK managing director of licensing specialist Leisure Concepts International and will handle the relaunch of the James Bond franchise in the UK. Clive Hill replaces Jackie Ferguson, who left the company last month. He set up his own consultancy last autumn to handle Bond in […]
PepsiCo has confirmed it is axing its poor-selling Diet 7-Up brand in the UK and launching its replacement 7-Up Light with a 5m marketing campaign (MW last week). Diet 7-Up accounts for about 25 per cent of the lemon and lime drink’s sales. The launch of 7-Up Light will coincide with a worldwide revamp of […]
Despite relentless competition from hi-tech alternatives, books, maps and guides are maintaining their traditionally important position in the incentives market. GQ’s UK sales rose by 11 per cent in August 1994, when a novel by Tony Hillerman was given away free with every issue. They increased by an estimated 30 to 31 per cent in […]
Virgin is to rename all 116 MGM cinemas under the Virgin banner following its acquisition of the cinema chain for 200m. The company is also considering creating a secondary brand name for smaller venues.Virgin will take over the running of MGM at the end of this month.Virgin spokesman Will Whitehorn says it will create a […]
Leading UK watch company Accurist is believed to have appointed Simons Palmer Denton Clemmow & Johnson to raise the profile the brand name. The agency saw off competition from Banks Hoggins O’Shea and incumbent Lansdown Conquest – which has handled the account for the past 14 years. The budget is expected to increase from 1m […]
Technology at the point-of-purchase is creating a stir among marketers. Interactive touch-screens and multimedia displays may sound impressive, but what do they mean to the consumer and, more importantly, the company footing the bill for the equipment? “The situation with touchscreen systems is that many companies are just putting their toe in the water.” says […]
Newspaper publishing is a business in decline. Price wars, diversification and an over-reliance on promotions and product innovation at a time of rising newsprint costs is testament to the fact. And as if we needed further proof: across the world, from the Electronic Telegraph to the San Jose Mercury News, newspapers are leaping into cyberspace. […]
If you’re going to carry a misprint on your front page, you might as well make it a prominent one. Saturday’s Independent didn’t misspell its splash headline, but it produced the next best thing – a “literal” (as such mistakes are known in the trade) in the top right hand corner of the front page, […]
Alan Sugar is setting up a new Amstrad division to sell DIY beauty appliances. Sugar, founder of Amstrad, chairman of Tottenham Hotspur FC and PC-to-phone entrepreneur, is understood to have invested millions of pounds in the new operation.