This novel economic era is triggering a succession of brand revolutions that will transform the marketing world. From HMV to The Evening Standard, from hair removal brand Veet to TV station Channel 4, the relentless firestorm of change is incinerating once flameproof brand strategies. Brand guardians are drawing up new blue-prints for survival that will […]
John Bevan, former managing director of Lastminute.com, has joined CallUma, a travel services provider, as non-executive director. Bevan left the online travel portal in October after four years with the company. In his new role, Bevan will be responsible for forging new partnerships within the travel industry by working with CallUma’s founder and chief executive […]
Leicester City Football Club, the league one leader, has appointed Mission Marketing Group agency Big Communications to widen the club’s commercial appeal. The Leicester-based agency has created a through-the-line campaign to break this month, which will include outdoor and digital activity. Lee Hoos, chief executive of the East Midlands club, says “The Big appointment is […]
Home Retail Group, the owner of Homebase and Argos, is set to restructure its store portfolio following the collapse of rival furnishing chain MFI in November last year. The company says it is “under pressure” to cut costs and staff as the home furnishing segment continues to suffer in tough economic conditions. Companies such as […]
Intel, the world’s fourth largest technology company, saw its fourth-quarter profits fall by 90% because of reduced spending by customers and businesses on computers. Intel, which twice lowered its fourth-quarter sales forecast, says that recession has badly affected the high-tech industry. It announced that it will not provide a revenue outlook at this time, because […]
Duncan Edwards, chief executive of the National Magazine Company, has been promoted to president and chief executive of Hearst Magazines International. He replaces George J Green, who is retiring at the end of June. At the same time, Edwards has also been appointed as executive vice chairman of Hearst Magazines and vice chairman of NatMag. […]
T-Mobile is launching a campaign that features a “guerrilla-style” ad starring 350 dancers. A three minute execution will take up an entire ad break during Celebrity Big Brother on Friday (January 16). The ad, created by Saatchi & Saatchi, was filmed over a 36-hour period, when the dancers at Liverpool Street station in London broke […]
And it carries on. A further pummeling of our collective wealth. This week the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) reports a “frightening deterioration” of the UK economy, with both the manufacturing and service sectors suffering the toughest conditions in at least 20 years. Add to this the figures from the British Retail Consortium, reporting the […]
Toyota has appointed Naoya Taniguchi as its new UK chairman. He joins Toyota Great Britain from Toyota Motor Company’s global marketing division, where he was brand planning general manager. Taniguchi, who will oversee both the Toyota and Lexus brands, replaces outgoing chairman Shimpei Kobayashi, who left Toyota GB for a senior position in the car […]
Google is cutting 100 jobs across the organisation in a bid to cut costs. The company is also terminating, stopping development on, or restricting access to six products – Catalog Search, Dodgeball, Jaiku, Mashup Editor, Notebook and Video. The internet services company says it will axe recruitment staff, shut three engineering offices and close down […]
Russian oligarch and former KGB agent Alexander Lebedev is reportedly close to buying the Evening Standard. He is expected to acquire the London evening paper for an undisclosed sum as soon as tomorrow (January 16). It is believed that he would take a controlling 76% stake in the paper, while current owner Daily Mail and […]
Health regulators, patient groups and the pharmaceutical industry are launching a campaign to warn consumers about thee dangers of buying fake medicines. The collaboration comes after a steep rise in the purchase of drugs online. Pfizer, the pharmaceutical giant, is leading the initiative, which is backed by UK medicines regulator the Medicines and Healthcare Products […]
The Office of Fair Trading has recommended a relaxation of the contracts rights renewal (CRR) mechanism, which could pave the way for ITV1 charging more for its advertising. The mechanism was put in place to protect advertisers following the merger of Carlton and Granada in 2003. The OFT has published a consultation document today (January […]
Krispy Kreme UK, the doughnut maker, has appointed Simon Fisher as channel sales and marketing manager. He takes over the role immediately. Fisher, who joins from retailer Spar, will be responsible for developing and implementing marketing programmes across the company’s various sales channels, as well as identifying new sales opportunities. He will report to Krispy […]
Sergio Cravero, Alfa Romeo’s head of marketing, has been promoted to chief executive of the car marque. The position became available when Luca De Meo, who was also chief marketing officer for the Fiat Group, left the company last Tuesday.