Food retailers are being more thrifty with their spend this season. By Barbara Johnson. Barbara Johnson is general manager of Register-MEAL

Value for money and quality of account handling are the most important criteria for clients when assessing direct marketing agencies. These are the findings in new, exclusive research into client awareness and attitudes towards direct marketing agencies from Marketing Week and the Direct Marketing Association (DMA). Our investigation into a range of client concerns – […]

The long arm of the law is clearly guided by a discerning eye, as the Diary found out last week. Checking rumours of a drugs bust at an agency, which sadly for the image of the agency concerned proved to be unfounded, a colleague phoned Inspector Knacker at Paddington Green nick: “I’m from Marketing Week […]

Virgin Our Price is restructuring its marketing department to bring its two music retail brands closer together, following the departure of marketing manager Dave Alder. Alder left last Friday to begin a year’s sabbatical for personal reasons, after working at Virgin for more than 11 years. He had been marketing manager for the past five […]

The Isle of Jura off the Scottish coast has a population of 200, many of whom work at the local Whyte & Mackay distillery, producing Isle of Jura Single Malt whisky. But the local transport system has been under intense pressure since one of the island’s two bus drivers, Charlie MacLean MBE, retired earlier this […]

Matthew Clark has been given clearance for the 271m acquisition of Taunton by the Office of Fair Trading. The new company, Matthew Clark Taunton, starts trading from today (Wednesday). One of the first moves made by the new management has been to appoint Matthew Clark Gaymer’s marketing director, Mike Ader, marketing director of the new […]

I am sorry Torin Douglas has such a negative opinion of cable TV and of Videotron (MW October 27). Reassuringly, he is not typical of Videotron’s customers nor of consumers in the UK. Where it is available, cable has a higher market penetration than dishes and each month more people connect to cable than to […]

The ‘kids getting older younger’ phenomenon is hitting the toy industry, with children preferring a computer mouse to a clockwork mouse. So where does that leave toy makers? Big players such as Mattel and Hasbro have overhauled their marketing

The Terrence Higgins Trust is searching for a brand manager with 70,000 to spare. The Aids charity wants a sponsor for two of its key events marking World Aids Day on December 1. However, the Trust has found the cupboards bare at the companies it has approached. Sponsorship opportunity number one is Counter Revolution, a […]

Cellnet is poised to clinch the 1.2m sponsorship deal with the English Rugby Football Union. An announcement is being made today (Wednesday) at Twickenham on this season’s chief sponsor for English rugby and the England 21-strong squad. Cellnet and the RFU would not confirm the deal, but Cellnet says it has been in negotiations with […]

In the era of ‘mobile communications’, offices may become a thing of the past with users able to access databases, read e-mail and send or receive information at the touch of a PC button.

Bass Brewers is testing doorstep deliveries of its top beer brands in a bid to bypass retailers and sell directly to the public. The brewer has set up three separate trials in London, Nottingham and Birmingham for the home shopping service, Premium Beer Direct. The tests begin this month and run until the end of […]

Sainsbury’s will save up to 30m from its marketing budget after its decision to withdraw its Saver Card loyalty scheme from 200 stores. The chain has ruled out launching a national loyalty scheme similar to Tesco’s Clubcard, and will pull the Saver Card at the end of December. But the card will be re-introduced in […]

Consumers trust holiday companies less than car or domestic appliance manufacturers and only marginally more than insurance companies, according to a new study. Advertising agency Travis Sennett Sully Ross commissioned the research from RSGB. The findings also suggest that nearly 20 per cent fewer people are planning to take holidays in the UK next year. […]

US transport ad agency TDI will almost double in size with the acquisition of a five-year contract for all public transport ads in Eire and its expected acquisition of British Transport Advertising’s buses. An announcement is imminent on the buyer of BTA’s advertising contracts for 13,000 buses in the UK, put up for sale by […]