Troubled NTL has terminated its shirt sponsorship deal with Newcastle United Football Club a season early, leaving the Premier League club looking for a sponsor. The deal, which is in its third year, was due to run until the end of next season. NTL has decided to exercise an option in the contract and terminate […]
Soho Drinks has been forced to pull its premium packaged spirit Crack Ice after a string of complaints suggesting that the name and packaging associate the product with crack cocaine. Soho Drinks has halted production and is seeking advice from the Portman Group, the alcohol industry funded lobby organisation, on how packaging can be amended […]
Fast food chicken chain KFC is reviewing its £14m advertising account held by Ogilvy & Mather (O&M), ending months of speculation about the business.
Paul Birkett, Barclays marketing integration director and former group head of marketing at the Woolwich, is leaving at the end of October without a job to go to. Both Barclays and Birkett claim that his departure has been planned for some time. Birkett says: “The project I was working on has reached a natural conclusion, […]
McCain is launching a microwaveable toastie, backed by a multi-million pound marketing push. The McCain Micro Toasties product, with a cheese and ham filling, is believed to be the first UK launch of a microwaveable toasted sandwich. The launch is in response to customer perceptions that making the snack from scratch is too much bother. […]
Having worked in the call centre industry for many years, I have seen how technology has enabled centres to grow and offer greater efficiency. However, there is a limit to how far technology will go. It seems ridiculous that a call centre would invest 90 per cent of its budget in technology, with only ten […]
Some 50 per cent of women think that there are no gentlemen anymore, but this is because men are too scared of offending emancipated females, says Iain Murray
BT Retail’s consumer division has appointed Fergus Crockett as marketing director. He replaces Tim Evans who has moved to head the small to medium enterprises (SME) business (MW August 22). Formerly director of marketing operations and sales, Crockett was in charge of delivering campaigns, managing channel partners and direct marketing. Now his role has been […]
The brand may be a ‘maiden’ or an ‘enchantress’, but if the product and marketing aren’t up to scratch, a smiling brand icon won’t solve anything, says Sean Brierley
Snack food brand Ginsters, best known for its Cornish pasties, is to sponsor 12 trains run by operating company Wessex, in a three-year deal. The livery has yet to be finalised, as any design has to undergo a series of safety checks, but the branded trains are expected to come into service before the end […]
The Scottish Executive has appointed roster agency Barkers to handle its £1m anti-racism campaign. This is the first time that a campaign to tackle the issue of racism has been launched in Scotland.
Wouldn’t it be nice to be rich – having enough money to hire a butler to take care of all those tiresome household chores? Especially the ironing. Just imagine what you could achieve if you were freed from the endless drudgery of flattening your clothes every week. Unfortunately for most of us, that isn’t going […]
HBOS has named Ray Macfarlane as its new head of group community relations, in charge of the banking group’s UK-wide sponsorship and charitable programmes. Macfarlane will also be in charge of government relations. HBOS spends about £4m a year on sponsorship, and is committed to giving away £20m over the next five years to local […]
Does Nectar deserve the sour grapes it has received in the media? I don’t believe it does: to convince major retailers to join forces in this programme represents in itself a breakthrough for loyalty and relationship management. It is far too early to judge Nectar. I would say the measure of its success will be […]
The collapse in business travel, thanks to terrorism and economic slowdown, has hit car rental companies hard. There is hope, however – leisure travellers want cars, and soon city-dwellers may be renting too.