In-depth features, interviews and insights into marketing’s biggest issues.
Peter Erskine, the chairman and chief executive of mobile operator O2, announced he is leaving the company next year. Matthew Key, currently chief executive of 02 UK, has been named as his replacement. Erskine will step down from his role from 31 January 2008, but will retain a position on the board of Telefonica as […]
Dell has appointed WPP Group to its 2.2bn advertising business after a final shoot out against Interpublic Group. The three-year deal will see WPP create a new agency to service the business.
Creston, the marketing services group that owns Delaney Lund Knox Warren, is shifting its short-term focus from acquisition to organic growth due to the global economic uncertainty. Creston says it “remains committed to building the group both organically and acquisitively over the long-term” but that it is “mindful” of the current situation. It revealed the […]
Sony Computer Entertainment is understood to have appointed Interpublic Group-owned Deutsch to handle the £72m ($150m) advertising business for Playstation. It ends a 13-year relationship with incumbent TBWA/Chiat/Day. It is understood to have been in the final shoot-out between Deutsch and Seattle-based Publicis in the West. Venables Bell & Partner, which is based in San […]
O2 is looking to ramp up its offering in areas such as mobile advertising and internet protocol television (IPTV) by investing in entrepreneurial companies as part of a new venture capital programme. The initiative will see O2 parent company Telefonica make “strategic investments” in small, specialist businesses in three different sectors: mobile, fixed line (including […]
Sony Ericsson is thought to be close to sealing a sponsorship deal with the UEFA Champions League, marking its first move into football. The handset manufacturer is understood to have been in talks with TEAM, UEFA’s rights-selling agency, about becoming the official mobile partner of the Champions League. Insiders say that this would only be […]
Pritt, the Henkel-owned glue brand, is targeting mums and children with a new range of coloured glue sticks ahead of a brand revamp early next year. Rainbow Pritt Sticks launch early next month, and will be sold in multi-coloured packs of four, containing yellow, blue, red and green glue sticks. Henkel is planning a major […]
Glue London has won this month’s Interactive Advertising Bureau’s Creative Showcase Award, in association with MDAS, for its latest work for Virgin Trains. The campaign was in response to a “greener travel” brief and also based on statistics that show how environmentally friendly train travel is compared to planes and cars. Glue based its campaign […]
Pizza Hut director of retail marketing Simon Wallis has left the company to join rival pizza chain, Papa John’s. It is not known what role he will take. Wallis has already left Pizza Hut and is on gardening leave. It is not clear if Pizza Hut plans to replace him or if his responsibilities will […]
Sales of Camelot’s Olympic fundraising game Dream Number have fallen by a third since it launched last year, calling into question the ability of the National Lottery to raise £2.2bn to fund the 2012 games. Dream Number was launched in July 2006 to replace the underperforming Lotto Extra game. All good cause funds from each […]
Selfridges unveils Christmas ads
Julia Goldin, Coca-Cola Great Britain’s former marketing director, is understood to have landed a senior marketing role at the soft drink giant’s operations in Japan and China. Coke declined to comment and would not reveal whether she would be replaced. But it is thought that Goldin, who is the company’s director of new product development […]
A 100% rise in gun crime in London’s City of Westminster has added to pressure on Home Secretary Jacqui Smith to step up the fight against gang violence and firearms offences. Smith launched a national drive against gang violence in September and is considering whether to hire an ad agency as part of the battle. […]
The Association of British Travel Agents has launched its first approved carbon offsetting programme for the travel industry. The web-based initiative, reducemyfootprint.travel, has been developed by ABTA and has the backing of the Association of Independent Tour Operators (AiTO). It will be operated by Carbon Offsets. Reduce My Footprint aims to support offsetting projects that […]
Glasses Direct has appointed Phil Gates, former head of online marketing at Virgin Mobile and Virgin Media, as its marketing director. The appointment is one of a number of recruits for the online retailer’s inaugural marketing department. The move comes ahead of plans by Glasses Direct founder Jamie Murray Wells to ramp up his operation, […]