ITV to bid for Friends Reunited
Marketing WeekITV is rumoured to be about to bid between £100m and £170m for Friends Reunited, the website that helps people contact old friends they have lost touch with.
ITV is rumoured to be about to bid between £100m and £170m for Friends Reunited, the website that helps people contact old friends they have lost touch with.
I have nothing but high praise for Motorola’s marketing chief Geoffrey Frost’s bold attack on global advertising networks (“Motorola chief slams creative standards of global networks”, MW last week). It is gratifying for independent and “creative hot shops” like ourselves to be acknowledged for what instant and creative value we can add, rather than being […]
Ah, more regulation of creativity, that’s just what we need. Maybe we should set up the Viral Advertising Clearing Centre. Or here’s an idea, let’s ban virals altogether and while we’re at it, let’s ban the internet. The kiddies will be safe then – and we can be comfortable in the knowledge that all communication […]
It surprises me that major, high- profile brands such as Amazon and Virgin are being so careless with managing their online customer relationships (“It’s goodbye from me, and is it also goodbye to e-tail intimacy?”, MW October 27). Today, more than 627 million people worldwide shop online and, for many retailers, their online portal brings […]
Barny Stokes’ analysis of the sponsorship potential of Germany 2006 was correct in its assertion that the event offers “huge marketing potential” (MW October 20). While marketing opportunities are considerable, the potential for corporate hospitality, particularly in a tournament being held so close to UK shores, is also huge. A clear warning for UK marketers, […]
Bob Acrey demands an explanation of my criticism of Wayne Rooney and Manchester United’s average attendance of more than 67,000 at Old Trafford fixtures (Letters, MW October 20). These are the highest attendance figures of any club in the Premiership, with the average being a more modest 33,000. Bob’s beloved United have been able to […]
I read with interest Iain Murray’s view that London is full of binge drinking muggers with every pub full of ape-like football hooligans. It’s really not fair to stereotype London in this way, just as it’s not really fair to stereotype Iain as a cynical costermonger who believes everything he reads in the Daily Mail. […]
Company results are generally positive, yet media investors seem to be spooked by softening ad spend and online pressure. By David Forster October was a dire month for UK media stocks, which was interesting because the normal excuses for a significant setback were conspicuous by their absence. US stock markets were relatively robust and outgoing […]
Brands have been guilty of paying little more than lip-service to consumers needs. However, many companies have realised that meaningful dialogue with customers can bring long-term rewards Nestlé, a company that in the past has faced a consumer backlash over policy, was recently awarded a Fairtrade mark for its new coffee brand Partners Blend (MW […]
Drinks giant Diageo is planning to embark on a massive shake-up of its agency relationship worldwide, in a move that could shrink its existing roster. Diageo spends an estimated $2.6bn (&£1.5bn) a year. Insiders suggest that the decision to review the way Diageo manages its agencies is also likely to result in the ditching of […]
Starcom MediaVest chief executive Iain Jacob is tipped to replace Mark Cranmer as head of the agency’s Europe, Middle East and Africa group. Sources suggest that Jacob has yet to sign the contract, but it is thought that a brief to replace him in the UK is about to go out. Cranmer, who has been […]
Marks & Spencer is rolling out its Christmas television advertising campaign this week. Created by Rainey Kelly Campbell Roalfe/Y&R, it features a cast getting ready to take the stage, and is set to the song ‘There’s No Business Like Showbusin
Danone, owner of water brands Volvic and Evian, is set to boost its marketing spend by more than 40 per cent in 2006 to combat increasing competition from rivals. Volvic and Evian are the UK bottled water market’s top two brands respectively, accounts for 29.1 per cent of the market by volume share, compared with […]
Nestlé Waters UK is launching a bottled water called Aquarel at the end of 2006, soon after it embarks on the relaunch of its existing water brands Vittel and Buxton next summer. The company is first trying to address the problem of lack of production capacity, which led to distribution problems for the two brands […]
The recent chemical contamination issue involving Danone’s bottled water brand Volvic was efficiently dealt with by the company. Thanks to some rapid communication from head office to retailers, the drinks industry stood down from red alert almost as soon as details of the scare were published, and the message was repeated to all enquirers: “Just […]