Esprit Sponsorship was this week appointed sponsorship agent for London Underground (LU). “We’re looking at anything from name association to full sponsorship of the entire LU system,” says Esprit account director Marcus Wight. However, care will need to be taken to avoid unnecessary duplication with the activities of LTA Advertising, which handles advertising sales for […]
May I counter a number of unwarranted jibes in Tom O’Sullivan’s otherwise scrupulously fair portrait of the Consumers’ Association (“Shopper’s friend counters enemies”, MW February 10). John Murphy of Interbrand must choose a new set of adjectives if he is to criticise us more effectively. Self-appointed? The Consumers’ Association? We have more than 800,000 members. […]
Asking newspapers to give details of bulk deals is one thing – trying to calculate the number of broadsheet sections unread by the punters is another.
Newspapers have been in the business of making the news this year. So it was little surprise last week that The Daily Telegraph overshadowed its financial results with news that proprietor Conrad Black intends to buy back the 42 per cent of the company that trades on the London stock market. Some old City bores […]
A cross-country skier may have survived with the aid of a Mars bar, but the firm will need something more to prosper – modern marketing strategies and better product development, for a start. By Marketing Week reporters
Swatch is boosting its advertising spend by 50 per cent to ú3m to support the launch of a range of new products including the world’s first wristwatch pager, Swatch the Beep.
WH Smith has confirmed it has reappointed Bartle Bogle Hegarty, as predicted in Marketing Week (February 10). However, in a bizarre twist, the retail chain has also appointed former Woolworths marketing director Don Sloan head of brand marketing, two weeks after his secret agency won London radio station Viva! 963 AM’s creative account (MW February […]
Bates Worldwide is finalising plans for redundancies and beginning a new-business assault in an effort to deal with the loss of more than $300m (£200m) of Mars business. Mars shifted $350m of confectionery and petfood accounts out of Saatchi & Saatchi last week following a review triggered by the ousting of Maurice Saatchi. Bates is […]
Cadbury is embarking on its biggest ever chocolate bar promotion, and using racing star Nigel Mansell for the push. Race the Ace, a £2m go-karting promotion, is being handled by sales promotion agency Osprey CSP, which won the business after a competitive pitch. The promotion will include a £500,000 TV campaign. Cadbury is offering a […]
Clark & Taylor has pulled out of the pitch for the ú2m Future Zone account after the computer games retailer warned of spiralling losses and called for a ú4m rescue package.
Arsenal footballer Ian Wright is demanding damages from Harari Page and Harvey Nichols for an ad featuring his naked body. The March edition of Esquire magazine carries a one-off ad showing pictures of Wright and supermodel Naomi Campbell. It consists of two three-page spreads of the two lying in identical poses. The catchline, which is […]
The Government’s cross-media ownership review should be completed soon, National Heritage Secretary Stephen Dorrell told MPs this week. `It is important to bring the process to a close because there are important issues to do with the structure of the market which need to be resolved,’ says Dorrell. The revised European Broadcasting Directive due to […]
SmithKline Beecham has signed a deal with US diagnostics manufacturer Epitope to market HIV test kit Orasure worldwide. The deal, first revealed in Marketing Week (January 27), is SB’s first joint venture with an outside diagnostics pharmaceutical company and it signals the company’s intention to enter the home-test kit market. The product involves the testing […]
Zenith Media will not lose the Mars media buying business, despite Saatchi & Saatchi’s loss of the global and media strategy business, Mars confirmed this week. According to John Murray, staff officer (franchise) at Mars in the US: “There is no media buying review underway and we are not making any special evaluation of media […]
Abbey National is preparing to launch a ú15m TV campaign shot in the Virgin Isles as an upbeat replacement for the bank’s grumpy Victor Meldrew character.