Barclays Bank is being tipped to review its creative account following the appointment of The Media Centre to handle its 18m media buying and planning account. Barclays and the incumbent agency J Walter Thompson have denied the speculation, but sources close to the bank say the relationship is frayed and Barclays has held informal talks […]
Killing off a successful advertising campaign is a risky business. But you can’t keep a good idea down and many companies are tempted to resurrect the original concept, giving it an up-to-date feel.
Two years ago, Saatchi & Saatchi put together a hypothetical ad for the Commission for Racial Equality, the gist of which was, “according to advertisers, black people don’t eat, sleep, drink, shave, read, drive or do anything at all”.
Boots’ decision to buy out WH Smith and take control of Do It All does not augur well for DIY. As top players, like Homebase and B&Q, struggle to hold profits, significant market growth in the future looks unlikely.
The Whitbread Beer Company has assigned roster agency Lowe Howard-Spink to launch the new brand Boston Beer from Samuel Adams. It is understood the agency won the 3m account without a pitch as Whitbread usually assigns new brands to one of its roster agencies, which include Bartle Bogle Hegarty. The introduction of the beer into […]
Languishing at number ten in the market,
Eurostar will split the TV screen during the whole of a commercial break, in the first campaign of its kind linking other advertisers in a joint promotion. The move is the first instance of Eurostar tying up with other brands, an initiative promised after its takeover by London & Continental Railways earlier this year. The […]
Until recently, most economists were firm believers in the theory of diminishing returns. But the evidence coming from everyday business is that companies should instead be looking towards increasing their returns in order to defeat their comp
New Solutions recently built up a cluster analysis for one client, mail order film processing company Nashua, which owns the Truprint and York brands. Strong competition from new mini-labs was forcing Nashua to adopt aggressive price discounting, not a viable long-term strategic option. New Solutions carried out a detailed breakdown of the film processing market, […]
The Whitbread Beer Company has assigned roster agency Lowe Howard-Spink to launch the new brand Boston Beer from Samuel Adams. It is understood the agency won the 3m account without a pitch as Whitbread usually assigns new brands to one of its roster agencies, which include Bartle Bogle Hegarty. The introduction of the beer into […]
Gillette’s head of marketing for Northern Europe, Martin Williams, is leaving the company to join the priesthood. Williams will leave the post he has held for two years at the end of July. His job is likely to be filled internally. He was responsible for marketing all the company’s products in the UK, Scandinavia, Holland […]
American Express is close to signing a deal with NatWest Bank to launch its first co-branded charge card in the UK. The company card will be aimed initially at corporate customers, but is likely to be made available for personal use at some point. At the same time, Amex is launching a global advertising campaign […]
Marketing Week has discovered what appears to be the most expensive, and probably most profitable, consumer branded product in the world. According to a Liverpool pharmacist, a prescription drug derived from vitamin D – found naturally in kippers and eggs – is probably the most world’s most expensive product. The drug, called alfacalcidol, is produced […]
The head of marketing for Phileas Fogg is leaving KP-owned Derwent Valley Foods as the business hunts for an advertising agency. Sarah Burt, group brand manager, has been appointed new product development (npd) manager for sister company KP Snacks. Her departure comes as Derwent seeks an agency for its 2m account, after Bartle Bogle Hegarty […]
Airtours, Britain’s second biggest holiday company, has appointed Leeds-based Advertising Principles to handle its 7m brief (MW June 7). The account was previously handled by Sass Panayi in Manchester. The move to Advertising Principles brings the agency’s billings to over 40m, it claims, making it the largest independent agency outside London. Among the agencies which […]