M&C Saatchi has appointed Lisa Thomas, currently deputy managing director at M&C’s direct marketing affiliate Craik Jones Watson Mitchell Voelkel, as chief executive for its new wholly-owned direct marketing agency. Thomas, who was due to take up the post of managing director at Craik Jones at the end of this year, will be charged with […]
Emirates Airline will be the live broadcast sponsor for BSkyB’s coverage of the Cricket World Cup hosted in England this summer. The deal is worth 1m over the course of the five-week tournament, which also includes HP Bulmer cider brand Scrumpy Jack’s sponsorship of the channel’s morning and evening highlights package. The Emirates, the Middle […]
The two most senior marketers at Marston Thompson & Evershed have retained their positions following a hostile takeover by fellow regional brewer Wolverhampton & Dudley (W&D).
Several years ago, in a previous incarnation, I presented a media proposal to a corporate advertiser that was pretty radical and left the creative director choking on his Perrier. An hour later, as I sat cosseted on a train home, the creative director was on the phone imploring my boss to sack me before I […]
Three top names from the world of online advertising have launched an independent media planning and buying agency for the Internet, called “i-level”. Charlie Dobres, the founder of Lowe Interactive, Andrew Walmsley, head of digital media at BBH, and Craig Wilkie, who founded the Guardian’s Media Lab, launched the agency this week. Dobres and Walmsley […]
Digital TV may have arrived but all I can get are linear telecast programmes – much of the same terrestrial fare – despite subscribing to SkyDigital’s 140-channel package. Having seen the presentation for the OpenTV interactive services (scheduled to launch in the spring but unlikely to be rolled out beyond selective testing before the autumn) […]
The ASA has upheld all our complaints about Nestlé’s anti-boycott ad and we see Mr Blackburn, Nestlé UK chief executive officer, using a new line: “Nestlé does its best to market infant formula ethically and responsibly” (MW February 11 and 15
An unusual brief, for Doomsday: the Ad, landed on agency desks recently. To promote the publication of his new book, Doomsday: The Survivor’s Guide, author David John Lee asked four agencies to put a positive spin on the end of the world. Ever eager to indulge, nay wallow, in black humour, adland produced some catchy […]
Virgin Group’s sale of its 50 per cent share in loss-making design consultancy Rodney Fitch & Co last week (MW April 15) is not the start of a long-awaited rationalisation of Virgin’s interests, according to the company. The move coincides with speculation this week that Virgin is to make its operations more transparent in preparation […]
A new guessing game was doing the rounds in adland last week, called “How much is Ogilvy & Mather paying Paul Simons?”, after the agency announced the veteran ad man is to become its new chairman and chief executive. The Diary has uncovered a vital clue to the value of the Simons’ package: his company […]
Over the years, Marketing Week has been a good source for current developments in sport sponsorship. As someone who teaches sports marketing at Loughborough University, I have collected numerous case examples from the magazine. Roger Baird’s recent articles (MW February 25 and March 25) about the cricket and athletics tie-up with CGU, plus Nic Gault’s […]
Regional newspapers are a significant force in the advertising world, representing the second largest ad medium in the UK, after television. But those who work in the regional and local press have long had to accept that big clients and agencies tend to regard them as country cousins – useful for the boring tactical work […]
UK investment consultant Nelson Money Managers has appointed an advertising agency for the first time, awarding DMB&B Financial its 2m account after a pitch against Camp Chipperfield Hill Murray. DMB&B sister agency MediaVest has been appointed to handle media for the campaign. It breaks in May and will use press, posters and radio. Nelson typically […]
SmithKline Beecham, the consumer healthcare company, is using computer games heroine Lara Croft to promote its Lucozade Energy soft drink, as part of a 25m advertising campaign. The gun-toting, curvaceous Croft has become a household name thanks to the popularity of the computer game series Tomb Raider, developed by entertainment software manufacturer Eidos Interactive. The […]
Regional newspapers are a significant force in the advertising world, representing the second largest ad medium in the UK, after television. But those who work in the regional and local press have long had to accept that big clients and agencies tend to regard them as country cousins – useful for the boring tactical work […]