Well, Are You Still Here?

After 2001’s slide into slough, many analysts hoped – even predicted – conditions would be improving by the end of 2002. Some chance. Marketing Week reporters round up a year of redundancies and restructuring

This year has seen some of the most high-profile figures in the marketing and advertising industries left in the lurch without jobs. It has also been a year in which many companies have kept their powder dry and taken few risks and those that have have come under intense scrutiny.

Some large organisations, such as ITV Digital, failed to see out the year at all and others, such as NTL, underwent restructuring. It has also been a year in which small ad agencies such as Delaney Lund Knox Warren and start-ups such as Vallance Carruthers Coleman Priest (VCCP) have made the industry their own.

An unpredictable year has thrown up contradictions and shocks as well as massive job cuts, budget cuts and complete reversals in strategy. To most in marketing, the Christmas toast will be “Roll on 2003”.

JANUARY

Beleaguered NTL begins a massive restructure, resulting in the axing of the central marketing team with more than 40 job losses, including group marketing director Mike Hounsell. Later in the year, managing director Stephen Carter also leaves.

The new BARB panel provokes an outcry from media buyers and clients when it initially publishes TV viewing figures that differ significantly from the previous year’s.

US brewer Adolph Coors becomes the second-biggest player in the UK beer market with the £1.2bn acquisition of the Carling business, formerly part of Bass Brewers.

A restructure at Lloyds TSB leads to the resignation of Ford Ennals and the promotion of Jayne Almond as director of group marketing and UK retail banking. Later, in December, Almond announces she is leaving and former Mars marketer Helen Stevenson is being brought in to replace her.

In a surprise move, newly formed VCCP snatches the £45m European launch task for O2 – the rebranded BT Cellnet – from Abbott Mead Vickers.BBDO.

Ford of Britain moves sales director Paul Thomas to the position of managing director. He replaces the retiring Ian McAllister.

Partners BDDH snatches the £40m CitroëUK advertising account from sister agency Euro RSCG Wnek Gosper.

FEBRUARY

British Airways marketing and communications director Martin George is handed commercial development responsibilities as the airline reviews its operations.

Bulmers begins a troubled year by developing two new products called Storm and Bambao. They are later abandoned when the company closes down its new product development process. Bulmers chief executive Mike Hughes and finance director Alan Flockhart resign in September after the discovery of a £3.8m hole in the cider company’s accounts. Hughes’ replacement – Miles Templeman, former managing director of the Whitbread Beer Company – is announced in December.

Levonelle comes under attack from the Church of England and anti-abortion groups when it becomes the first emergency contraceptive pill to be advertised in the UK.

The BBC strikes the biggest deal in outdoor advertising history, pledging £10m of its £20m media budget to a set of permanent poster sites.

One 2 One marketing director Tim Yates leaves the company. In August, he resurfaces as interim marketing director of Vodafone Ireland.

MARCH

Vauxhall announces it is seeking another agency to work alongside its incumbent Lowe. Delaney Lund Knox Warren gets a brief in June. By the end of November, it has snatched the majority of the car company’s £56m advertising business from Lowe .

Campbell Grocery Products marketing director Andrew Slamin is promoted to European category director for sauces and food flavourings, only to quit in October following a restructure. UK managing director and former marketing director Alison Levett later leaves the company, which hires Clairol marketer Tim Perman as marketing director in August.

Daewoo UK announces a review of its £6m advertising account, held by DFGW – a month before the Korean car company is bought by General Motors. DFGW is then reinstated and given a wider, European brief.

The Sun’s marketing manager, Roland Agambar, quits to become group marketing director at Express Newspapers. He oversees the launch of the Daily Star Sunday in September.

Microsoft launches its Xbox games console in the UK, but industry figures estimate that only 500,000 are sold by the end of the year.

APRIL

Camelot renames the main National Lottery draw Lotto, and Billy Connolly becomes the front-man for Lotto advertising. Sales continue to drift.

Coca-Cola announces the launch of its first Diet Coke variant, Diet Coke with Lemon. Hot on its heels, Britvic Soft Drinks announces the launch of Pepsi Twist.

The plug is finally pulled on ITV Digital, the venture having clocked up huge losses for owners Carlton Communications and Granada. The move follows the failure of attempts to renegotiate a three-year, £315m deal with the Football League for the rights to broadcast Nationwide League games on ITV Sport.

EMAP launches celebrity-led magazine Sneak, targeting teenagers. The launch is backed by a campaign through Mother.

Viacom Outdoor’s ambitious project to launch cross-track projection on the London Underground goes belly up after one of the companies involved, DHJ, goes into administration.

BT Cellnet and One 2 One rebrand their operations as O2 and T-Mobile respectively.

MAY

Guardian Media Group makes a £41m bid to take full control of Jazz FM. It achieves its aim in June, after upping the bid to £44.5m.

Vodafone appoints J Walter Thompson as its global advertising agency. A month later it poaches Amazon head of worldwide marketing Lance Batchelor to head its UK marketing operation.

Low-cost airline easyJet plans to drop the Go brand, following its acquisition of the rival no frills carrier. Go sales and marketing director David Magliano gets the top marketing post at easyJet.

Masterfoods vice-president for European petcare marketing Ann Francke leaves the Mars-owned company without a job to go to. She is replaced by Geoff Star, a Mars executive from the Far East, in September.

Tetley marketing director Nigel Holland is promoted to commercial director only to face flak when the company’s link-up with the British Heart Foundation comes under fire from the Advertising Standards Authority and the Independent Television Commission.

The Government’s long-awaited draft Communications Bill is published, paving the way for a deregulated UK media industry and opening the door for US media companies to – possibly – buy up a raft of radio companies, Channel 5 and even a single ITV.

The Department of Transport is the first Government department to break away from COI Communications, which traditionally handles advertising for the departments. It appoints a roster of six agencies to work on its £20m business.

The AA relaunches its advertising under the strapline: “Just Ask”, in an effort to be perceived as a multi-product company. The campaign is created by M&C Saatchi.

Former Rover and BMW marketing chief Martin Runnacles is appointed as global marketing director of Ford-owned Jaguar.

JUNE

After months of speculation, COI Communications chief executive Carol Fisher steps down. Former Saatchi & Saatchi worldwide chairman Alan Bishop later lands the job.

Burger King moves its £11m ad account out of Lowe and into Delaney Lund Knox Warren. It later appoints former Marks & Spencer marketer Anna Joseph to replace marketing director Philip Almond, who returns to Diageo.

Ryanair sales and marketing director Tim Jeans joins MyTravel’s low-cost airline venture, MyTravelLite, as managing director. MyTravel runs into much-publicised difficulties later in the year and axes key executives, including head of global development Richard Carrick.

JULY

Marks & Spencer group marketing director Alan McWalter, the man responsible for the store’s controversial TV advertising “naked woman” campaign, steps down following a restructure.

Boots chief marketer Zoë Morgan is among a number of departures from the retailer, which spends the year simplifying its management structure and making tough decisions about its future business. In December, Boots announces it is looking for a successor for chief executive Steve Russell.

Virgin Energy, a subsidiary brand of London Electricity (LE) Group, is forced to suspend marketing in some areas of London following complaints over mis-selling. Two months later, LE Group buys electricity company Seeboard. This leads to the departure of LE Group retail managing director Jon Kinsey. Marketing director Gary Tubb is also given his marching orders and later joins furniture retailer Courts as sales and marketing director.

Former ITV Digital marketer Jeremy Dale is appointed as UK brand marketing director for Orange. Lowe resigns Orange’s £41m advertising account and is replaced by Mother, the agency which used to handle ITV Digital. Orange announces that it is to cut its UK marketing team by 37.

AUGUST

The Telegraph Group and Mirror Group Newspapers abandon plans to create joint ad sales house Apollo.

Barclays promotes Barclaycard marketing director Paul Parmenter to chief operating officer for group marketing. He leaves less than three months later to take charge of sales and marketing at Powergen.

Pepsi ends its nine-year sponsorship of commercial radio’s Network Chart Show.

Channel 5 is rebranded Five and given a new on-air look.

SEPTEMBER

McDonald’s appoints adman Larry Light to the newly created position of global chief marketing officer.

KFC launches a review of its £18m UK advertising account, held by Ogilvy & Mather. In November, Bartle Bogle Hegarty wins out.

Chrysalis Group acquires London News Radio for £23.5m from a consortium of ITV, Reuters, Daily Mail & General Trust and GWR.

Abbey National announces plans to cut its retail marketing team by a third.

Diageo GB launches Smirnoff Black Ice as it tries to attract male drinkers to the premium packaged spirits sector.

OCTOBER

Football Association chief executive Adam Crozier quits, after a power struggle with Premier League chiefs. He is later linked with the Royal Mail chief executive’s role.

US-owned utility brand TXU Energi axes head of retail business Roger Partington following a restructure. A couple of weeks later, the company is sold off to Eon-owned Powergen.

Hugh Burkitt, chairman of Burkitt DDB, leaves the agency world to become an independent consultant after a career spanning 30 years.

After months of denial, Publicis Groupe chairman and chief executive Maurice Levy finally axes troubled network D’Arcy. The demise of the 96-year old agency is triggered by a series of client losses, including the departure of Mars.

Grey Worldwide shocks the ad industry by poaching TBWA/London chief executive Garry Lace to head its UK agency.

Under new chief executive Mark Thompson, Channel 4 announces a restructure, cuts and a spate of redundancies, including director of strategy and marketing David Brook.

Troubled retailer Iceland poaches Nick Canning, marketing director of The Sun and the News of the World, triggering speculation that its £14m advertising account – held by HHCL & Partners – will be reviewed.

The BBC/Crown Castle digital terrestrial TV platform Freeview launches as the BBC pushes digital TV with its largest advertising spend to date.

Carlton Communications and Granada announce plans to form a single ITV company, raising concerns among advertisers about a unified ITV sales house and triggering speculation that other TV sales operations – at Channel 4, Five and BSkyB – will enter merger talks if the deal gets the green light from the competition authorities.

NOVEMBER

A row breaks out between Tesco and Sainsbury’s over which chain has the larger loyalty scheme, based on the number of active users.

Cadbury Trebor Bassett gears up for a move into the UK gum market with the launch of Trebor 24-7, a mint and gum range.

DECEMBER

Royal Mail’s restructuring reaches a head. Corporate development director Paul Rich is appointed as deputy managing director and marketing director, while business and consumer markets managing director Gillian Wilmot leaves the company. Mail Media Markets managing director Adam Novak is made wholesale director and general manager.

IPC Media chief executive Sly Bailey is poached by Trinity Mirror. She will become the newspaper group’s chief executive in February, in place of Philip Graf.

Arcadia marketing director Steve Sharp leaves following a restructure by Philip Green, who bought Arcadia earlier in the year. Retail entrepreneurs Tom Hunter and Terry Green make moves for House of Fraser and Allders respectively, following in the footsteps of the reclusive Barclay brothers – who bought Littlewoods earlier in the year.