Month: June 2007

Murdoch’s move will give Pearson jitters

Marketing Week

Incredible as it may seem, Rupert Murdoch is poised, at 76, to pull off the deal of his life. It’s not the biggest deal he’s ever done – though at $5bn (£2.5bn)-plus its size is not to be sneezed at. Nor is it MySpace, with the flashy attraction of its “Road to Damascus” conversion to […]

Branded entertainment takes centre stage

Marketing Week

The launch of another new agency focusing on non-spot advertising has thrown the spotlight back onto branded entertainment and the issue of brands getting involved in the creation of content. Village Green, headed by former Starcom executives Andy Roberts and Adam Bishop, along with former EMAP Advertising cross-media director Jane Kesley, says it is the […]

New website part of CNN’s ‘good Web citizen’ plan

Marketing Week

CNN.com is rolling out a new-look website for both its US and international portals, as it overhauls its entire online strategy to offer a better user experience with a focus on being a “good Web citizen”. The revamp is part of a wider initiative to integrate CNN services across all media and will include digital […]

Starcom loses head to start-up

Marketing Week

Media agency Starcom is losing yet another high profile name with its group head of sponsorship and director of Starcom Adam Bishop leaving to join Andy Roberts’ start-up Village Green. Former EMAP Advertising cross-media director and founder of consultancy XmC Jane Kesley is the third partner in start-up Village Green, which will focus on offering […]

Major PriceRunner push starts with logo and strapline

Marketing Week

Online price comparison site PriceRunner.co.uk is gearing up for a major ad push as it aims to reposition the brand, build its profile and expand its user base. The strategy is part of a wider repositioning for PriceRunner, owned by ValueClick, which sees the site launch a new logo and brand strapline: “The Price Comparison […]

Axe falls on Manhunt 2 marketers

Marketing Week

Take Two Interactive, the parent company of Rockstar Games behind the banned Manhunt 2 game (MW last week), is understood to have axed its entire UK marketing department. UK marketing director Sarah Seaby left suddenly last week and a spokeswoman at the company says there now remains only a single PR representative for Take Two. […]

Online boom responsible for growing UK ad spend

Marketing Week

UK ad spend will grow by 4.1% this year and 3.9% in 2008, driven “almost entirely” by online advertising, according to figures published by media agency Carat. The predictions mark a dramatic rise on the 1.4% growth of 2006, but fall short of the global average. The 2007 estimate is also slightly down on Carat […]

HP uses It’s Personal Again strategy for latest release

Marketing Week

Hewlett-Packard (HP) is gearing up for the release of a new PC product called Dragon as it rolls out the second phase of its global “It’s Personal Again” marketing strategy. Dragon is a cross between a laptop and desktop PC and will be marketed as a domestic portable PC. The Dragon has four built-in speakers […]

BSkyB forced to put football venture on ice

Marketing Week

BSkyB’s plans to launch a pay-TV service on Freeview in time for the start of the 2007/08 football season have been scuppered by Ofcom. The service will not be launched before 2008, effectively giving rival Setanta a head start. Its offering of 46 live Premiership matches plus its other sports rights will be available to […]

Weighing the price of Cannes

Marketing Week

As some of the world’s most senior marketers joined advertising executives on the French Riviera to attend last week’s Cannes International Advertising Festival, others stayed at home and sniped about the event. The advertising world’s annual get-together and premier awards ceremony divides opinion. Many agencies would cherish a Cannes Lion, awarded to the most creatively […]

Threadneedle reviews its ad strategy

Marketing Week

Threadneedle Investments, the American Express-owned asset management company, is in talks with agencies over its advertising business. The financial services company has confirmed that it is talking to agencies about its marketing communications, but adds that the process is in its early stages. It is believed to be reviewing a number of communication projects, of […]

Publicis chief to chair Research International

Marketing Week

WPP has appointed Publicis’ UK chief strategy officer Paul Edwards as UK chairman of its market research agency Research International. The appointment follows the reshuffle at Publicis which led to Edwards’ departure after just three years with the agency. He is expected to leave Publicis by the end of summer. Edwards will be returning to […]