Cadbury Schweppes is taking on Pepsi’s “alternative” soft drink Mountain Dew with the launch of a rival called Raging Hog. Like Mountain Dew, Raging Hog is a neon green colour. It is sold in luminous pink cans and is available in a range of fruit flavours, including lemon. The drink is being marketed by Coca-Cola […]
Superdrug is screening its first TV advertising as its battle with Boots hots up but, as Kay Atwal argues, it has its work cut out for it. Video diaries from satisfied shoppers are the latest weapon adopted by Superdrug in its effort to steal market share from its main high street rival Boots. The diaries […]
Scott Lynds, the sponsorship, media sales and production company, has relaunched as the Big Group, five months after losing managing partner Simon Lynds. The name change is designed to reposition the group as a total marketing communications company. After Lynds’ departure, the company suffered a succession of account losses on its media sales and sponsorship […]
Economies of scale and distribution, certainly; Bass getting back on top, probably; marketing – negligible by comparison. Such is the conventional view of the forces driving Bass’ takeover of Carlsberg-Tetley. Like all saloon-bar wisdom, it misses the less obvious. The short- and medium-term cost savings in such a deal are undeniable but, in the longer […]
A Budweiser advertising campaign for the UK has been axed after creating uproar in the US, where it was accused of racism after depicting American Indians as drunks. The ad, sanctioned by brewer Anheuser-Busch, shows an American Indian truck driver in search of a beer. London agency BMP DDB’s creation ran on TV and in […]
Loyalty schemes could be a giant evolutionary step forward for marketing, altering pricing strategies, allowing new opportunities for data generating, and changing the present model of branding from being production driven to consumer driven.
Marketing Week boosted circulation from 37,210 to 38,778, according to Audit Bureau of Circulations figures comparing the period July 1, 1995 to June 30, 1996 with the previous year. Underlying the latest average net circulation figure is a ten per cent surge in the number of subscribers – up from 6,801 to a record 7,507. […]
The world’s biggest bank, Citibank, has drafted in a new UK marketing director from food giant Kraft Foods following an internal promotion. Peter Wilkes, Kraft marketing director for the Middle East and Africa, replaces Mike Dennehy, who is taking on a new international role at Citibank. Wilkes’ remit will be to extend the bank’s retail […]
Radio group GWR is likely to create its own national sales operation, in the wake of its 71m acquisition of Classic FM. Sources close to GWR believe that once its existing contracts with radio sales house MS&M run their course, the station will amalgamate national sales with Classic FM. GWR would make savings by reducing […]
Midland Bank’s telephone banking operation, First Direct, is understood to be close to signing a deal with BT to launch a branded mobile phone handset for its customers. The deal between First Direct and BT Mobile will be the first for a UK bank. Sources say that the new handset will launch at the start […]
BSkyB’s former marketing director Philip Ley has abandoned plans to set up his own advertising agency. The satellite channel, which is dropping its No Turning Back slogan, has now appointed The Design Clinic. The company says the agency, which Ley hired on an ad hoc basis last year, has been retained full-time because of its […]
I was surprised to note in Fresh Fields (MW August 16) that we, as the country’s leading field marketing and sampling company, were not invited to put forward our views. Added to this, imagine my surprise when reading the article I saw a picture of one of our roadshows! And with no credit. The picture […]
Finance schemes credited with reviving the retail car market have been slammed as misleading by leading industry figures. Personal Contract Purchase (PCP) plans were introduced four years ago to support flagging retail sales during the recession. An estimated 100,000 cars were purchased using the plans last month. Manufacturers have spent multi-million pound marketing budgets on […]
The Gaming Board has been asked to launch a formal inquiry into the activities of the NHS Loto and its operator, Pascal & Company. The proposed investigation would cover all aspects of the NHS Loto’s financial activities, including its backers and how prize money and charitable donations are distributed. The Gaming Board has three main […]
EMAP Elan has poached Victoria Scott, ad sales director of Gruner & Jahr, to be its commercial director. The role, which is a new one, gives Scott a brief to look at all aspects of the company’s advertising sales.