Snapple’s foothold in the UK market is under threat from Coca-Cola’s planned ú3.7m launch of its lookalike Fruitopia range.

End-of-year estimates for the value of meetings and incentives placed and organised by Banks Sadler were up £3m at £12.5m, compared with £9.7m at the end of 1993. The company is forecasting growth to £15m for the next 12 months. About 5,000 events were handled during 1994: 62 per cent of these were for 50 […]

Charles Saatchi has been summoned to a showdown meeting, with Saatchi & Saatchi chief executive Charles Scott and finance director Wendy Smyth, to discuss the remainder of his three-year, ú1.

Coca-Cola Schweppes Beverages has teamed up with Trebor Bassett to test market soft drink spin-offs of sweet brands. Drinks based on Trebor Bassett’s Jelly Babies, Sherbert Fountain, Black Jack, Fruit Salad and Refreshers went into 780 Woolworth stores this week. The retail chain will carry out a 12-week trial. CCSB then intends to roll them […]

As the cola market becomes saturated, the war has moved to a new theatre: `alternative’ soft drink flavours. However, the public’s willingness to sample US products does not mean they will naturally like them.

Alban Communications, owner of poster specialist Concord, is considering setting up a specialist radio buying unit following its appointment of a business development director. Simon Halden, ex-sales and marketing director for Maiden Outdoor and Metro Traffic Control (the former traffic update service for commercial radio), has joined Alban with a brief to expand its activities […]

Classic FM succumbed to the romance of Valentine’s Day by posting just one copy of this 96-sheet ad in London’s Cromwell Road. The ad, which went up on Sunday night and came down again yesterday evening (Tuesday), was created by Bainsfair Sharkey Trott. Meanwhile, Classic will unveil a surprise for music lovers when the national […]

A huge telemarketing operation, promotions and ads seem to be paying off for BSkyB.

Unilever is understood to have appointed Brann Direct to investigate group-wide, below-the-line project opportunities. It is thought the agency will work on cross-promotions for brands within the group which include Van den Bergh Foods, Birds Eye Wall’s and Lever Brothers. Brann Direct is one of the UK’s largest below-the-line shops. It is likely to report […]

From the car company that brought us “interactive” advertising – forcing the average punter to increase the volume on their television set to hear what was being said and then video it to get the message – we have a new initiative: Photosynthetic advertising. The Japanese manufacturer Mazda is in talks with an east London […]

News International will keep The Times’ cover price at 20p following strong circulation growth in January and a penny increase in the Sun’s price this week, say industry analysts and press buyers. The Times defied expectations that its post-price cut circulation had peaked at 614,477 in October by increasing its circulation last month to 631,449. […]

Virgin Radio and Haymarket Magazines have joined forces to launch Encore, a rock and modern music title in April. It will go monthly from September. The new title, first revealed by Marketing Week last month (January 13), has been in development for 18 months. Encore will initially be published bi-monthly to “celebrate musicians and their […]

The closure of Rumbelows’ high-street shops signals an industry-wide slump. As the other retailers battle it out for the share of the decreased market, what is the outlook for electrical stores?

How right John Shannon is in his article “Cross-Channel Interactivities” (MW January 27) when he says of interactive technology that “our immediate priorities should be on what practical applications we can exploit now”, but why does he suggest that it must be integral only to consumer needs? As leaders in interactive technology, we aim to […]

Publicis SA and FCB have broken off their international alliance over differences in the strategic development of the partnership. The alliance was an agreement to develop international business together and it led to the creation of the joint venture Publicis-FCB Europe. Negotiations to resolve differences are continuing but the relationship, which began in 1988, was […]