The Diary seems to have acquired a stream of admirers over the past year, having been inundated with Valentine cards. PR company Bite Communications went straight for the jugular. Its card showed the corporate “Bite” logo planted on someone’s neck – the message inside reading “lovebite”, of course. Even celebrities got in on the act, […]
Right up to the wire, the Government was rejecting the idea of free mailshots for all London mayoral candidates, but it is pumping £4m into advertising to combat voter apathy. Can an ad campaign draw voters and is it speaking to them in a lang
Government ministers have signalled that they will allow free mailshots in the London mayoral elections, following a heavy defeat in the House of Lords on Tuesday night. Candidates in General, European, Scottish, Welsh, Northern Ireland and European Elections are allowed one free mailshot, although they have to pay for the literature enclosed in it. Labour […]
Thomson Travel Group is launching a swathe of separately branded Internet supermarkets selling its own and competitors’ holidays direct to different niches of the market. The first supermarket is called First Resort and launches on March 21. This will target the mass market with a range of holidays as well as related products such as […]
Consumer goods giant Unilever is to increase marketing spend by £1bn and slash 1,200 of its brands in a radical attempt to almost triple sales growth by 2004. Niall FitzGerald, chairman of the Persil to PG Tips group, says resources will be thrown behind 400 leading brands, such as Calvin Klein, Dove and Magnum ice […]
Levi Strauss has appointed Northern European marketing manager Kenny Wilson to the newly-created role of pan-European marketing chief. His hiring as field marketing director for Europe creates a layer of seniority in the marketing structure. The job involves bringing European marketing, product and retail innovation to local markets as quickly as possible and assessing customer […]
Liam Kane, managing director and second-in-command at the New Millennium Experience Company (NMEC), is to step down in April – one month after his contract ends. His departure completes the exit of the three top directors who helped launch the attraction. Last week, operations director Ken Robinson resigned (MW last week) following the sacking of […]
First Telecom, the discount phone and Internet telecoms company, has appointed a new UK marketing chief and is seeking advertising agencies for a number of projects. Amanda Doran has been appointed as UK marketing manager – the most senior marketing job in the UK. She reports to managing director Ray Sangster. Doran joins from telecoms […]
Have you ever felt like strangling your boss? Michael Jackson, group chairman of the Jackson Consultancy Group, has two things in common with his celebrity namesake: bizarre behaviour and natty black outfits. He runs a two-day induction course so new employees can, er, get to grips with the job. The course centres on “how to […]
Branded educational materials are now the norm, but is weak legislation leaving children vulnerable to blatant commercialism?
Congratulations to Tom Bawden, who covered the arrival of Bob Head from Egg to head Internet bank Smile (“Co-op’s Smile lures Egg Head”, MW last week), and the sub-editor who worked on the piece. Smile I did, with egg puns aplenty. This must be modern journalism, though. Cracking treatment of the story, shame about the […]
Cereal giant strikes deal with Aldi in Germany to supply own-label products for the first time
Carat’s £25m Nissan loss reflects tough times for media independents in their deadly struggle with creative agencies and dependants.
Associated Newspapers, owner of the Daily Mail, The Mail On Sunday and Evening Standard, has taken a 20 per cent stake in a company offering off-the-shelf e-commerce Websites. Called Shopcreator, after its main product, the North Yorkshire-based start-up is creating a stir by offering its service for mass-market rather than premium fees. The client pays […]
The National Foster Care Association (NFCA) is understood to have hired St Luke’s to create a &£2m advertising campaign to attract foster carers. BMP DDB also pitched for the campaign, which will commence in June and run for six to nine months. St Luke’s will work with the Department of Health (DoH), the NFCA and […]