Phones4U has appointed Adam & Eve to handle its 7m advertising account following a three-way pitch against Mother and incumbent WCRS. The Jack character, used in its advertising for the past five years, will be scrapped as a result of the appointment.
Software giant Microsoft is cutting 5,000 jobs over 18 months, with 1,400 employees to be axed immediately. Marketing roles will be affected by the plans, although it is not yet clear where. It says the redundancies are necessary following an 11% fall in year-on-year profits to $4.17bn (£3bn) for the three months to December 31, […]
Nokia has reported a 19% year-on-year fall in sales in the fourth quarter of 2008, with net sales of €12.7bn (£12bn). The mobile manufacturer predicts that market volumes will shrink 10% this year as the economic slowdown hits consumer spending. Nokia says it aims to cut annual costs at its key handset unit by €700m […]
Morrisons has reported “record” Christmas sales as consumers traded down to save cash over the festive period, according to its chief executive Marc Bolland (pictured). The supermarket chain has reported a 8.2% increase in like-for-like sales, excluding fuel, for the six weeks of January 4. Announcing the results this morning (January 22), Bolland says the […]
Sony forecasts that it will report its first operating loss in 14 years when it announces its full-year results. It has predicted that it will see a loss of about Y260bn (£2bn) by the end of the financial year (March 31). The global downturn has been blamed for the reduction in sales and the company […]
Direct marketing agency Targetbase Claydon Heeley has appointed Steve Grout as its first UK chief executive. He joins from Rapp Collins Europe, where he was managing director for UK and Europe. The appointment, which is effective from February 2, will allow international chief executive Chris Gordon to focus on expanding the agency globally. David Scholes, […]
EMI Music has appointed Adam & Eve to promote its portfolio of artists, which includes Coldplay and Lily Allen, and increase revenue through non-traditional channels.
Carat has scooped the 70m Vodafone media planning and buying business after a final two-way pitched against incumbent OMD. The agency had worked with the mobile operator for 12 years.
Axa is relaunching life insurance arm Sun Life as a standalone brand after more than a decade. The Axa name will be removed but its logo will continue to be used under the Sun Life logo, indicating the brand’s association with the French Insurance company.† The rebrand forms part of ambitious plans for the unit, […]
Diageo has appointed Simon Litherland as managing director for Great Britain, following the promotion of Benet Slay (pictured) to the same role for Northern Europe. Litherland joins Diageo GB from Brandhouse South Africa, where he is managing director. Brandhouse is a joint venture between Diageo, Heineken and Namibia Breweries. Slay, a former PepsiCo sales chief, […]
Digital channel Five US is being relaunched as Five USA from next month. Five says the channel will have a new on- and off-air look as part of the rebrand. The channel was launched in October 2006 and positioned as “slick” Americana alongside the female-skewed Five Life. Five rebranded Five Life as Fiver in last […]
Google’s decision to liberalise its policy on competitive brand bidding may have had a dramatic effect on the travel and financial sectors, but has had little impact in many other disciplines
The BBC News website’s mobile version is the most frequently visited site on UK mobile phones. The BBC has had a mobile presence since 1999 and its experience shines through in the current news site, which easily meets mobile users’ needs – whether it’s reading up on the economic crisis or getting the latest Brangelina […]
Coca-Cola Great Britain has promoted two key brand directors, Paul Woodward and Bobby Brittain. The pair will move to senior roles at international divisions of the company. Woodward, brand director for adult and performance beverages, has been promoted to general manager of Coca-Cola Sweden. He has been with Coke GB for two and half years […]
Manchester United FC are launching a campaign to attract fans and tourists to its Old Trafford ground on non-match days by highlighting their museum and stadium tour attractions. The ads show ordinary supporters in unlikely places around the club. One young fan is seen running out of the tunnel alongside Wayne Rooney, Rio Ferdinand and […]