Month: August 1998

Hair-brained phone scheme

Marketing Week

The Diary finds the inane banter of most hairdressers more than a little irritating. But it seems that this tendency, like many others, sets it apart from the rest of the British population. New research carried out into the personnel files of customer service outsourcing company Ventura shows that hairdressers make some of the best […]

Safeway seals forecast deal with Met Office to boost stock control

Marketing Week

Safeway is investing 300,000 to receive more detailed weather forecasts from the Met Office, improving the supermarket’s ability to predict customer buying patterns. The deal means Safeway is now the Met Office’s biggest supermarket customer. The supermarket will receive ten-day forecasts every day, replacing a Monday to Friday service looking only five days ahead. The […]

Former APL chief lands BBC News marketing job

Marketing Week

BBC marketing supremo Sue Farr has appointed former Ammirati Puris Lintas managing partner Anna Gorman to the new post of head of marketing at BBC News. Gorman is the second senior advertising agency executive to be lured to the BBC by Farr as part of an increasing recognition of the role of marketing within the […]

Douwe Egberts awards 7m planning business to Zebra

Marketing Week

Douwe Egberts, the coffee brand owned by Sara Lee, has handed the planning account for its 7m media business to Zebra Media, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Zenith. The move follows talks with other media agencies including Frontline and BJK&E Media. Rocket, part of New PHD, was the incumbent. Equinox Communications, another subsidiary of Zenith, handles […]

Golden Wonder shake-up triggers senior departure

Marketing Week

Golden Wonder marketing manager for crisps David Smith has quit following a restructure which sees the promotion of his opposite number on snacks, Nigel Parrott, to marketing director for all brands. Parrott will take responsibility for snack and crisp brands such as Wotsits, Nik-Naks, Wheat Crun-chies and Golden Lights. He says: “We are looking for […]

Manufacturers missing a trick

Marketing Week

The other day in the shower, as I struggled to determine which bottle was shampoo, and which was conditioner, because my eyes were full of soap, I wondered how visually impaired people cope. I am sure that many fully sighted people are affected by this problem every day, but if you are visually impaired it […]

AOL hands 3m media work to BBJ

Marketing Week

BBJ Media Services has won the UK planning and buying account for Internet services provider America Online. The agency won the 3m account after pitching against four other agencies. Incumbent Mansfield Lang did not bid for the business. Belinda Rendle, senior marketing manager for AOL, says: “All of the presentations were of a high standard. […]

Lowe Direct scoops ONdigital task

Marketing Week

ONdigital, formerly known as British Digital Broadcasting, is understood to have appointed Lowe Direct to handle below-the-line work. The direct marketing business was previously held by Abbott Mead Vickers.BBDO subsidiary Clarke Hooper. The account was put up for review following an acrimonious split between ONdigital and former above-the-line agency AMV. ONdigital’s 40m above-the-line launch account […]

Cogent scoops 12m Fujitsu

Marketing Week

Fujitsu Computers has appointed Cogent to handle its 12m pan-European creative advertising account. The West Midlands agency teamed up with World Writers, a company that provides creative and account management resources for international work, to pitch against six agencies from the UK, Germany and France, including incumbent agency Cappuccino of Sweden. Fujitsu Computers, a wholly-owned […]

Apple forced to rethink iMac TV push as BACC rejects ad

Marketing Week

Apple Computer has failed to get clearance for a TV ad for its new iMac model from the Broadcast Advertising Clearance Centre. The ad, created by TBWA/Chiat Day in Los Angeles, was to be used in the largest advertising campaign conducted by Apple in the UK since the launch of the Macintosh. The company has […]

BT’s cloning sports celebs as managers

Marketing Week

A “lookeylikey” picture of BT’s head of UK markets division Afshin Mohebbi accompanied by an unsigned covering letter landed on the Diary’s desk this week. Mohebbi, according to the anonymous scribbler who has taken the picture from BT’s “The Manager” magazine – “not to be shown outside BT” (draw your own conclusions on where our […]

How Durex’s strength keeps entrants at bay

Marketing Week

The condom market is neither a very sexy nor safe place at the moment: Jiffi’s parent company has ceased distributing its condoms in Britain and is attempting to sell the Jiffi brand name (MW August 20). Meanwhile, London International Group’s Durex, which controls about 70 per cent of the UK market, is once more coming […]

Golden Wonder shake-up triggers senior departure

Marketing Week

Golden Wonder marketing manager for crisps David Smith has quit following a restructure which sees the promotion of his opposite number on snacks, Nigel Parrott, to marketing director for all brands. Parrott will take responsibility for snack and crisp brands such as Wotsits, Nik-Naks, Wheat Crun-chies and Golden Lights. He says: “We are looking for […]