Laura Ashley has been thrown into disarray this week with the unexpected departure of marketing director Karen Levi. The company is restructuring its marketing department following Levi’s announcement that she is leaving to start up her own marketing venture. She leaves at the end of December, but is working on freelance marketing projects, a spokesman […]
Lever Brothers is ditching the “New Generation” tag from its concentrated Persil product. The decision comes as rival Procter & Gamble is understood to be considering dropping the Future label attached to its Ariel equivalent. The name changes are a response to increasing consumer confusion and the proliferation of sub-brands in the past year, both […]
Independent watchdog the Food Commission is drawing up a hitlist of supermarket products containing “hidden” beef in an effort to widen the debate over BSE contamination. The campaign group is advising worried consumers to cut back on processed meat products such as sausages, grills, burgers, soups, stews, stock cubes, and gravy powders. It also plans […]
Esquire magazine has called for a truce in the covermounts war between men’s titles because they no longer make commercial sense. The National Magazine Company publication, which has mounted books or tapes on its covers for each of the past five issues, believes it can attract just as many one-off readers through striking covers and […]
Cordiant-owned KHBB is relaunching as K Advertising after internal talks about merging it with Saatchi & Saatchi were discontinued because of client conflicts. The agency will move into Cordiant-owned offices in London’s Whitfield Street and position itself as delivering greater “creative efficiency”. Ten per cent of the agency’s 70 staff will lose their jobs as […]
Europe’s largest computer manufacturer, Vobis, is launching a new year attack on UK computer retailers by opening its own chain of stores. The move, supported by television advertising next year, will mean the manufacturer and retailer will be in direct competition with Dixons – the electrical chain with which it had an exclusive sales agreement […]
Bass is launching a smooth version of Tennent’s lager, called Tennent’s SD, as part of its strategy of developing premium draught brands. Tennent’s SD has an alcoholic strength of five per cent and is served ice cold. Like Guinness stout, it has to be left to settle. The brand will mirror Carling Premier, a premium […]
Car rental company Thrifty is considering introducing a hole-in-the-wall hire scheme which can verify driving licences and dispense keys. The company, which is owned by Chrysler, has already installed the system in the US. The six-foot high unit is designed to fit in secure areas, such as hotel receptions or international airports. It is linked […]
Unilever to form international innovation groups for Birds Eye food division which will run marketing
Europe’s largest computer manufacturer, Vobis, is launching a new year attack on UK computer retailers by opening its own chain of stores. The move, supported by television advertising next year, will mean the manufacturer and retailer will be in direct competition with Dixons – the electrical chain with which it had an exclusive sales agreement […]
Car rental company Thrifty is considering introducing a hole-in-the-wall hire scheme which can verify driving licences and dispense keys. The company, which is owned by Chrysler, has already installed the system in the US. The six-foot high unit is designed to fit in secure areas, such as hotel receptions or international airports. It is linked […]
The Daily Express is accusing the Daily Mail of “underhand tricks” in the battle for sales, after the Mail sent a knocking letter to Express readers. The Mail sent a mailshot letter from chairman of Associated Newspapers Sir David English to Ex press readers, dated December 4. The letter talks about the Express cutting editorial […]
The Co-op is using eco-labels, promoted by the UK Eco-labelling Board, to differentiate its own-label products from brands that are refusing to participate in the EU eco-friendly labelling scheme. The Co-op’s recycled bathroom tissue and kitchen towels will be the first to carry eco-labels in stores from next spring. The UK Eco-labelling Board is stepping […]
The Independent is rationalising its promotions department and bringing in a new manager, following Amanda Platell’s promotion from marketing director to managing director in September. Phil Boden has been recruited from sponsorship consultancy Carnegie Robertson & Black as promotions manager, and will join the paper in the new year. He will report to Platell and […]
The Diary could swear it spotted the beleaguered hotelier, Rocco Forte, last Friday – just hours before Forte Plc published a document in defence of Granada’s hostile bid for the company. That defence has already cost the organisation tens of millions of pounds. But Sir Rocco was not emerging from one of his flagship hotels, […]