Used to a servile media cowed by PR, the queen of spin was shocked by criticism coming from student journalists. Is the press in the process of growing new teeth? I do not know where she does her professing. Perhaps she holds the Max Clifford chair of Modern Dissimulation at the University of Slithering-in-the-Mire, but […]
Superdrug, the health and beauty retail chain, is axing all of its estimated £10m above-the-line creative work with immediate effect.
Marketing jobs at Mercedes-Benz and Smart could be at risk after parent company DaimlerChrysler announced it is to make 130 UK staff redundant out of a total slightly above 850. The company has started a 90-day consultation period as part of a restructure of its UK division in order to “maintain its competitive edge”. It […]
Electrical retailer Dixons will axe its in-store radio next month, when its contract with provider Immedia comes to an end. Immedia provides the Dixons Live station in 200 of the retailer’s 220 stores nationwide – but the station will go off-air when the stores close on Christmas Eve. The retailer has announced the end of […]
Heinz’s former vice-president of brands Scott Garrett has joined mobile marketing company The Light Agency as chief executive. Garrett, who starts this week, has been briefed to grow the 20-strong company behind mobile phone-based customer loyalty scheme Shop Scan Save. He left Heinz earlier this year, following the company’s decision to freeze its &£25m advertising […]
Cereality, the US fast -food chain that serves brand-name breakfast cereals, looks set to open in the UK next year, as part of the company’s worldwide expansion plans. Cereality was launched in the US 18 months ago and has only four outlets, but it has attracted a huge amount of media attention and interest from […]
Bacardi-Martini UK has promoted commercial director Maurice Doyle to managing director for global travel and retail. The move is part of a restructure of the company following the promotion of Stella David to the global chief marketing role for the Bacardi brand (MW last week). It is not clear whether head of marketing Andrew Carter […]
Barclays has appointed consultant Rob Rees as interim marketing director for its Insurance brand, which relaunched on a “price promise” in April. The bank signed a partnership with Aviva to sell products underwritten exclusively through the insurance giant’s UK brand Norwich Union. In the past, Barclays has also distributed Legal & General insurance products. Barclays […]
Google is recruiting a top marketer for the UK and Ireland as part of its marketing expansion in Europe. Google director of European marketing Lorraine Twohill says that the search giant is conducting “an aggressive push to find marketing people with the right qualities”. It is understood that the current UK marketing head, Marion Gamel, […]
Golden Wonder marketing director Rob Morgan has left the company after two years in the role. It is understood that he has quit to go into consultancy work. The crisp manufacturer has restructured its marketing team instead of replacing Morgan directly. It has appointed Loretta MacFarlane as marketing controller and Rashid Khan as brand manager. […]
InBev UK is to launch two beer variants in the New Year, continuing the market trend for “extra cold” beverages. Chilled versions of Castlemaine XXXX and Boddingtons are to be rolled out from January 1 next year following successful trials of the new variants. The launches will be rolled out under a “big chill” initiative […]
Credit-card companies should stop chasing “credit-card tarts” and start building customer loyalty, says Morgan Stanley consumer marketing director Patrick Muir. The call to action comes as the American financial giant launches its ultra-premium credit card i24. The card is aimed at high earners in the UK who are tired of overtly “prestige” branding and it […]
Terms such as “single malt” and “Speyside” are likely to be given legal protection, under an agreement between the Scotch Whisky Association (SWA) and the Scottish Executive announced earlier this week. The SWA also wants legal protection for Speyside, Islay, Highland, Lowland and Campbeltown, so that only whiskies from those areas can use the names. […]
Pizza Hut is launching a pizza under the Big New Yorker brand that is 50 per cent bigger than its standard products. The fast-food chain says it is its biggest pizza yet. The Big New Yorker, which will launch on December 1, will be a 16-inch pizza, offering customers another four extra slices. It will […]
The annual Association of British Travel Agents convention, held last week in Marrakech, was dominated by Thomson’s announcement that it is lowering the commission it pays to high street travel agents for selling its holidays, from a double-digit percentage to just seven per cent. On Monday, Thomas Cook announced that it was cutting commission to […]