In-depth features, interviews and insights into marketing’s biggest issues.
TUI Travel, the holiday company formed from the merger of TUI and First Choice Holidays, is reviewing its £25m media planning and buying account. The travel company is expected to consolidate the account and is understood to have asked Walker Media, the incumbent on the First Choice account, and Media Planning Group, which handles the […]
There was much disappointment – and even a little anger – last week when the chance to buy EMAP Radio was snatched away from radio-specific bidders by consumer magazine group H Bauer. Bidders included former Chrysalis chief executive Phil Riley, who led a bid for buyout group Veronis Suhler Stevenson, and Tim Schoonmaker, the former […]
Virgin Atlantic has signed a deal which will see the airline supply Pearl & Dean branded ice-cream on its flights.
Express Newspapers’ dispute with the Newspaper Publishers Association (NPA) once again throws the spotlight on the industry’s trade bodies and their relationship with those funding them. Last week’s dispute centres on Express Newspapers’ failure to pay a bill of £100,000. The newspaper group also withdrew its support for the Newspaper Marketing Agency (NMA), the marketing […]
Greetz, an online greeting card service that sends real cards through the post, is talking to digital agencies ahead of a £2m UK launch next year. Greetz UK country manager, Gavin Stirrat, says that he is talking to i-Level, Agency Republic and Media Contracts on a “relatively informal” basis. Greetz is operating a pilot scheme […]
Sponsoring high-profile sporting events is a good way for a brand to get noticed but if fans think it is just trying to cash in on the popularity, this attention will not always be welcome. By Paul Gander
Orange is one of the great marketing success stories of recent times but even parent company France Telecom (FT) admits the brand has lost some of its lustre. In the New Year FT is bringing in Virgin Mobile founder Tom Alexander in a bid to rediscover the sparkle that made the operator the darling of […]
This has been a year of marketing battles and agency bust-ups, flashy new product launches and an avowedly unflashy new Prime Minister. In 2007, we have witnessed some stratospheric highs and nadir-scraping lows, while a number of pivotal events have wrought changes across many of marketing’s biggest sectors. Significant events include the introduction of smoking […]
Renault has promoted senior vice-president of global marketing Stephen Norman to its management committee just three months after he joined the French marque from Fiat. Norman, who reports to executive vice-president of sales and marketing Patrick Blain, joins the management committee on January 2 along with senior vice-presidents Michel Balthazard (pre-engineering, projects and requirements), Christian […]
The European Union has not given protected status to vodka made from potatoes and will no longer force vodka brands made from other raw ingredients to rename their products “white spirits”. The EU has ruled that vodka made from potatoes, and sugarcane and grapes can all be called “true vodka”. The ruling ends a five-year […]
Centrica, the utilities giant that owns British Gas, has warned that gas prices may rise due to “more challenging” market conditions and a “difficult environment” for energy suppliers in 2008. It made the comments in a trading statement ahead of its full year results, which are due in the New Year. The company says it […]
Tesco has launched a Child Trust Fund (CTF) in a drive to encourage eligible parents to cash in their vouchers. It says the initiative aims to make it easier to parents to save for the children’s future. The fund, which was launched this week, will be supported by an in-store campaign to raise awarness among […]
Orange is overhauling its marketing strategy in a bid to get its “voice” back. The changes follow the appointment of Justin Billingsley as UK brand marketing director earlier this year.
Orange has signed rapper Snoop Dogg and actors Rob Lowe, Dennis Hopper and Anjelica Huston to appear in its Gold Spot cinema ads next year.
Thorntons, the high street chocolatier, is launching into the ice cream sector for the first time. The ice cream will be positioned as a super premium product and will be introduced early in the new year.