Sir Victor Blank will quit as chairman of Trinity Mirror in May and is tipped to take the same role at Lloyds TSB. Blank has opposed the sale of Trinity Mirror’s national newspapers, and his announcement has led to speculation that a deal could be close.
Luxottica, the Italian eyewear manufacturer that owns Ray-Ban, is believed to be in final negotiations with Carat International over handing the media agency its &£40m pan-European account. The company, which also produces sunglasses under licence for companies including Prada and Chanel, called the pitch for the consolidated business in October last year. It is thought […]
Confectionery companies are being courted by the makers of cult US drama Lost to buy the rights to a chocolate bar brand that is featured in the second series. Industry insiders say that Touchstone Television, a subsidiary of Disney’s ABC, was forced to create the Apollo chocolate bar after it failed to sell a product […]
Metro International is expanding its London-based sales team with the launch of a division that aims to serve multinational advertisers such as Unilever, Procter & Gamble and Ikea. The team wants to make it easier for decentralised advertisers, who make decisions on a market-by-market basis, to use Metro internationally. It has appointed Michael Craig to […]
The Rugby Football League (RFL) has signed up soft drinks manufacturer AG Barr as its official partner. The two-year deal will see the company’s D’N’B drink used as the headline brand. The tie-up, which is worth &£500,000, will allow AG Barr to use RFL images across its advertising, including point-of-sale and on-pack promotions. It will […]
HomeChoice, the broadband television provider, has appointed former Abbey and BT marketer Michael Johnson as sales and marketing director. Johnson joins parent company Video Networks Limited as the replacement for marketing director Vicky Mitchell, but his remit also includes sales. He will head VNL’s sales operations ahead of a national roll-out of its services. It […]
The future of sponsorship lies in creating events tailored to brands’ needs rather than looking for existing tie-ups, according to a leading sponsorship consultant. Brian Greenwood, UK chief executive of sports marketing agency Prism, says that bespoke events offer brands greater focus among the increasing number of marketing messages that are aimed at today’s consumers. […]
Nintendo has signed a £1m sponsorship deal with the Science Museum in an effort to challenge consumers’ preconceptions about video games.
The British Heart Foundation (BHF) has signed a series of deals with high street and online retailers to promote its 2006 Valentine Appeal. The charity is teaming up with Boots, Debenhams, Selfridges and Figleaves.com to sell branded BHF merchandise during the campaign, which will run until the end of February. The charity has also formed […]
ASICS, the cult Japanese trainer maker, is to run what it claims is the world’s first internet karaoke competition, as part of a pan-European online football World Cup campaign for its premium range, Onitsuka Tiger. The campaign – “Lovely Football” – marks the launch of a new street shoe, the Injector DX. StrawberryFrog, the international […]
The “Help us stop it” campaign created by Agency.com for the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children has been voted the most creative online campaign of 2005 by a panel of creative heads from leading digital agencies. The campaign used three executions to encourage viewers into think ing about child abuse from a child’s perspective; […]
Three quarters of all home internet users in the UK – 18 million people – now have a broadband connection, while another 4 million have used a wireless connection at home, according to the latest research from BMRB. A third of broadband users connect in the living room, a quarter in an office or study and 16 per […]
ScreenSelect.co.uk, the UK online DVD rental business, consumer brand of Video Island, has extended its partnership with Vue Cinemas to allow ScreenSelect members to book Vue cinema tickets online. Subscribers to the online DVD service will now be able to look up cinema listings for all films ‘showing now’ and then link through to the […]
Mobile marketing is gaining increasing interest from organisations (MW January 5), but dependence upon expensive third-party services is significantly constraining both innovation and the development of the mobile marketing platform. Yet, with the opportunity for highly sophisticated, highly targeted campaigns that leverage new technologies such as mobile video calling on the horizon, organisations cannot afford […]
It was interesting to read that David Cameron is putting corporate social responsibility (CSR) back on the Conservative Party’s agenda (MW January 12). He might have come to it a little late, but he couldn’t be more timely. But in talking about CSR, we should acknowledge the range of activities it covers and the benefits […]