Ford has settled a dispute over the Focus brand name in Germany with publisher Burda-Verlag out of court. Ford filed a case in the German courts to clarify ownership of the Focus name, which is already used by Burda’s German current affairs magazine Focus. Burda claimed the name of the new car – which is […]
It seems only a few months ago that we finally hauled ourselves out of the gloomy vale of the last recession and into the sunlit uplands of economic prosperity. Yet here we are once again contemplating the abyss. Or are we? The facts simply stated are that the economy has enjoyed five years of vigorous […]
Former Sony UK managing director David Pearson has joined sports and clothing group Pentland as managing director for international brands. The company, whose brands include Speedo, Ellesse and Kickers, confirmed Pearson’s appointment but refused to give details of his new role. Pentland is trying to build a stronger global presence focused on sports, leisure and […]
Selfridges has appointed a separate head of marketing for its new Manchester store, which opens on September 10. Dominic Wilkinson joins Selfridges on August 17 from Barclays Bank where he is a senior campaign executive. Wilkinson will report to Selfridges marketing director Nick Cross and Selfridges Manchester managing director Kathy McGowan. Cross says: “We will […]
Cinema broke through the one per cent UK display ad spend barrier in the past month, following commercial radio as the “nearly medium come good”. This current success has been a long time coming – 100 years to be precise, but the lessons that we’ve learned along the way mean that this will be the […]
Unilever has dropped Ogilvy & Mather from its international laundry detergent roster and will split the agency’s accounts, worth an estimated 15m, between J Walter Thompson and Ammirati Puris Lintas.
Some 200 years ago, the philosopher Jeremy Bentham composed a blueprint of the ideal prison, subsequently used by Foucault in 1977 to describe the workplace of the future: “Each individual is securely confined to a cell from which he is seen from the front by a supervisor; but the side walls prevent him from coming […]
It speaks volumes about the mindset of the modern marketer that when you say the phrase “one-to-one marketing”. It’s invariably assumed that the first “one” it refers to is the marketer and the second “one” is the consumer. It’s taken for granted, in other words, that the marketer is the active one doing the marketing […]
Airtours, the UK’s second largest holiday company, is understood to have awarded its 9m advertising account to Lowe Howard-Spink. The agency fought off competition from Rainey Kelly Campbell Roalfe, EURO RSCG Wnek Gosper, and the company’s Manchester incumbent, Advertising Principles. Airtours’ marketing department, led by senior advertising manager Matthew Forster, will travel to London today […]
Warner Lambert is tipped to launch its children’s painkiller Calpol in individual doses – a move allowing the product to be sold in supermarkets and petrol forecourts. The small dose for the children’s liquid analgesic means it qualifies for a GSL (general sales list) licence. At the moment the product is only available in 70ml […]
A scheme to encourage inner city cycling, involving free access to hundreds of electronically-tagged bikes, is about to be introduced to the UK. Outdoor contractor the More Group is to offer local authorities the chance to install a network of vandal-proof cycles, which will be left around the town in locked groups, or “docking stations”. […]
The writing is on the wall for many Japanese agencies. So says an article in July’s Nikkei BP, Japan’s leading business magazine: “Japanese advertising agencies now stand at the crossroads, either they must attempt to survive under the umbrella of a giant foreign-owned company or hasten to restructure themselves.” This downgrading of the entire industry […]
Journalists need to be entertained – at least that’s what most PR companies seem to believe. This philosophy was evident at the latest Levi’s ad campaign launch. Mysterious invitations were sent out with no party address. Black, chauffeur-driven Mercedes were to whisk the hacks to the secret site. The Diary arrived at an under- ground […]
Warnings of impending economic doom have reached fever pitch, and it appears that the UK economy is heading for, at best, a sharp turndown in growth and, at worst, a recession. If interest rates stay the same, there is a 50/50 chance of recession. If they go up, it looks likely. But if they come […]
Corporate branding is entering a new era. Changes in what organisations need mean the “logo boys” no longer have the ammunition to deliver. Companies are facing a new set of issues, ranging from corporate brand accountability and brand flexibility to the importance of the internal brand and corporate brand ethics. We’ve all read that consumers […]