TMD Carat has retained the 40m Abbey National media buying and planning account after a three-way pitch, while Zenith Media is tipped to win Abbey National’s General Insurance business. TMD Carat pitched against Abbott Mead Vick-ers.BBDO and Mediastar in a statutory review headed by Abbey National marketing director Ambrose McGinn. BMP DDB Needham was invited […]
Tarzan may well beat his chest over the red tape being forced upon us, but it looks as if petty officialdom is here to stay
Asda is taking on the Government with the launch of a campaign to have Value Added Tax removed from sanpro products such as tampons and sanitary towels. The chain will run a one-month promotion on the products at VAT-free prices starting from October 6. The promotion will be supported by point-of-sale material, advertising in stores […]
Asda trading director Tony Campbell has launched a scathing attack on the effectiveness of supermarket chains’ customer loyalty cards, fuelling speculation that Asda could halt its own card trials. The chain is running loyalty card schemes in 16 stores with two versions available. But Campbell, speaking at the Marketing Society last week, said he doubted […]
A weather channel, horse racing channel and a new business and finance channel have joined the list of cable-exclusive services launching shortly in the UK. Cable sources confirm that Bloomberg Information Television’s The Racing Channel, backed by SIS – the company that transmits live racing coverage to Britain’s bookmakers – and The Weather Channel, backed […]
Filofax is considering appointing an advertising agency this autumn for its first above-the-line campaign. The push will launch a new range of personal organisers and mark the company’s 75th anniversary next year. Filofax’s marketing department has recently undergone a restructure. Newly appointed marketing controller Jill Pinnington says the planned 1m campaign, to be launched in […]
From a cherubic “Putti” designed by Vivienne Westwood to an Eastertide “Eggsdream”, Swatch launches more than 150 watch designs each year. The company – conceived by Swiss watch giant SMH in 1983 – manufactures 15 to 17 million watches a year. At the heart of this success story is its unique approach to direct marketing. […]
Airtours Holidays has split its sales and marketing roles at board level as part of a company-wide restructure. The move follows a swathe of redundancies. Marketing director Richard Carrick will no longer be responsible for sales. The UK’s number-two tour operator says he will remain on the board of six with the title director of […]
Boots has suspended publication of its magazine while it considers its future
As the technology revolution gathers pace and the ‘virtual agency’ becomes a reality, human concerns must not be sacrificed on the altar of progress. John Shannon reports
Mediaserve moved a step closer to its goal of becoming the leading regional multimedia sales specialist this week after opting for a stake in Manchester-based Sales & Marketing Service (S&MS). The company, which owns Amra, the largest regional newspaper sales house, confirms it is taking a controlling interest in S&MS, which handles regional sales on […]
Maiden Outdoor has retained British Transport Advertising’s senior management as part of a restructuring move following their merger. Maiden Group will comprise a roadside division headed by present group joint managing director Francis Goodwin, a transport division headed by Roger Fernley, former BTA managing director, and an operations division headed by Maiden’s other joint managing […]
Pepe Jeans is furious over a decision by MTV not to screen its latest commercial by Leagas Delaney, featuring a teenager being spun inside a tumble dryer. The company says it spent two months pushing to have the ad screened through MTV, which was only last week fined 15,000 for screening another Pepe Jeans commercial […]
Gone are the bad old days of junk mail.” That statement by Bill Portlock, planning director at WWAV Rapp Collins, is echoed across the below-the-line industry. But it sometimes seems at odds with the facts, especially those showing that direct mail volumes continue to soar. According to the latest figures from the Direct Mail Information […]
Mark Gault, managing director of McCann-Erickson, is understood to be leaving his post to take on a European role within the company. Gault was made managing director of the London agency after it was merged with HK McCann in August 1994, in a move which is said to have surprised some senior staff within the […]