Month: July 1997

Thomson starts refunds scheme

Marketing Week

Thomson Holidays is offering to fly home and refund holidaymakers if they consider that their resort does not live up to the brochure’s description. The deal is offered under the Thomson Money Back Guarantee if the problem cannot be resolved with their holiday rep. The guarantee is launching this week. The initiative will be backed […]

Canadian Airlines lines up agencies for 2m account

Marketing Week

Canadian Airlines is drawing up a shortlist of agencies for an estimated 2m UK account, held for the past two years by Griffin Bacal. It is understood that the airline is close to finalising a shortlist. Marketing communications manager Jenny Ruler says: “We are talking to other agencies,” but declines to say which ones. It […]

WCRS director tipped for Rapier

Marketing Week

WCRS client services director Simon Toaldo is strongly tipped to join Rapier Stead & Bowden as a senior director. Rapier has a below-the-line heritage, but has been actively recruiting since it picked up the 45m above-the-line consumer launch campaign for Cable & Wireless Communications earlier this month. Toaldo, who was on holiday as Marketing Week […]

United Distillers backs pub football interactive game

Marketing Week

United Distillers is backing a new interactive five-a-side football pub game due to launch this autumn. But the launch has had to be scaled down because other sponsors have failed to emerge. The company’s Bell’s brand will back the computer-based game, which allows players to play the game on a pub’s large screen. The technology […]

More ‘penalties’ are not finalised

Marketing Week

I would like to make the following points regarding your recent news story “More Group abandons poster penalty plans” (MW July 17): 1) We have not abandoned plans to change our terms and conditions of trading. We have merely deferred the decision to allow for consultation with the relevant interest groups. 2) Far from being […]

IPC group chief Davidson quits

Marketing Week

Nigel Davidson, the group managing director of magazine publisher IPC’s Weeklies and Southbank divisions, has resigned after 30 years at the company. He has decided, after seven years on the IPC board, to take time out from the publishing industry. But he will continue as managing director of the Weeklies group for another year, says […]

FA picks Ian Wright for corporate ads

Marketing Week

The Football Association is launch ing its first corporate advertising campaign in its 134-year history, featuring football bad-boy Ian Wright. The FA will use the controversial Arsenal and England striker in a run of four press ads over the next six months, created by McCann-Erickson. The association wants to raise its profile, especially against the […]

Smith leaves Demon Internet after top-level strategy row

Marketing Week

Samantha Smith, marketing director of Demon Internet, has left following clashes over her marketing strategy with the company’s senior management. Her departure, after only seven months, has thrown the company’s multimillion pound marketing plans into doubt. Smith appointed BMP DDB’s new media division, BMP InterAction, in March to handle a heavyweight marketing account, worth an […]

Body Shop marketing chief quits

Marketing Week

The Body Shop’s head of marketing Sandra Pickering has quit after 18 months following the downgrading of her role in a company restructure. The shake-up positions the head of marketing under new head of communications Marina Galanti, who joined the Body Shop from Benetton in April. Pickering has overseen the new structure, which will integrate […]

ECONOMY CLASS

Marketing Week

British Airways is considering launching a low-cost airline to stem the rise of budget operators. But with staff already up in arms over new pay and conditions, can it slash its costs enough to compete?

UK Plus redesigns to improve access times

Marketing Week

UK Plus, the Web directory service owned by Associated Newspapers, has stripped down its graphic content as part of a revamp aimed at improving access time for users. The site redesign also features improved search functions for users trying to pinpoint harder-to-find content on the Web. Paul Zwillenberg, managing director of Associated Electronic Publishing, says […]

World’s top sports retailer plans to launch superstore chain in UK

Marketing Week

The Sports Authority, the world’s largest sports retailer, is planning to set up a chain of superstores in the UK. Sports Authority chief executive Jack Smith refuses to comment on any specific details about UK stores, but he confirms that the company is looking at the market. The 174-store US company is planning to open […]

Millennium pitch provokes storm

Marketing Week

Advertising agencies are notorious whingers. When they lose an account the client made the wrong decision; when an account is resigned it is because the client does not understand the ‘creative proposition’ and when a pitch is mismanaged there are often tears. We hear such stories most weeks, and with almost equal regularity dismiss them. […]

Edinburgh agency 1576 nets Sky task

Marketing Week

Edinburgh agency 1576 has picked up the 500,000 advertising business for Sky Scottish, without a pitch. The brief is to reposition Sky Scottish into a football channel with an hour-long strand of football coverage and reportage nightly. It currently features contemporary Scottish programming, although it is broadcast throughout the UK. 1576 managing partner Mark Gorman […]