In-depth features, interviews and insights into marketing’s biggest issues.
Sky chief executive James Murdoch has lambasted Virgin Media for failing to settle the dispute over restoring its basic channels to the cable company’s customers. The satellite pay TV giant has made public two letters Murdoch wrote to Virgin Media chief executive Steve Burch, claiming Virgin Media has done little to resolve the situation. The […]
Microsoft has set out plans to launch an internet-wide advertising platform for clients, publishers and advertising agencies after snapping up digital marketing services group, aQuantive, for $6bn.
Former ITV marketing director Clare Salmon has re-emerged at Royal & SunAlliance (RSA), the parent company of financial services brand More Than. Salmon, who left ITV in the New Year, becomes group strategy, marketing and customer director at the insurance giant.
British Airways saw a slight drop in pre-tax profits to 611m in its full year results. The drop came despite a 3.4% increase in revenue from 8.5bn to 8.2bn over the period.
Vodafone has reappointed Tim Yates as its UK marketing chief following a management reshuffle. Stephen Noakes, who has been the telecoms giant’s top UK marketer on an interim basis, is understood to be leaving the company. It is not known whether he has a job to go to. Yates has been the interim head of […]
Electrolux UK brand and marketing director Andy Mackay is leaving the company after 19 years. His departure follows a major restructure of the company’s European management team. The Swedish consumer electronics company has scrapped Mackay’s role and is creating a new role that will include European responsibilities and product line management. It is recruiting for […]
UK Trade & Investment, the government organisation, is set to launch a global marketing initiative to promote the UK economy internationally and help fulfil Chancellor Gordon Brown’s vision of transforming the UK into the world’s “preferred business partner”.
M&C Saatchi is launching a new division called Accelerator that will work with private equity companies to assess brands and identify deals. The division will be headed by the agency’s UK chief executive Tim Duffy.
Renault is attempting to steal a march on its European rivals by launching a new range of “green” vehicles that will come close to meeting strict European Commission targets on carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, five years before they are introduced. The French manufacturer is introducing Renault eco2, a designation for its most fuel-efficient cars. To […]
Bratz dolls-owner MGA Entertainment is to set up a UK business in 2008 and sever its four-year partnership with Vivid Imaginations. Details of the new MGA operation are yet to be announced and Vivid, which has the license for the brand in the UK, say the separation is amicable. However, the move could prove a […]
Search is big business, but brands struggle to get the most from paid and organic search – mainly because they are treated as separate disciplines. Nathalie Kilby discovers how to bridge the two
Stock market-listed marketing services companies have seen profits dented by as much as 8% as a result of new accounting rules surrounding share incentives. Research from Marketing Services Financial Intelligence shows the rule, that requires companies to levy charges for any employee benefits under share incentive schemes against profit, has reduced operating profit margins. Its […]
It’s not only brands that are pushing increasingly for variations of previously successful campaigns. Consumers, too, are saying they want more of the same. By Paul Gander
Porsche has extended its direct marketing review to include its advertising business in a move that could see it put a greater focus on above-the-line activity. It was reported at the start of the month that the luxury car marque was in talks with a number of DM agencies but it has emerged that the […]
Sledge, the brand experience agency, has won the launch campaign for The Natural Confectionery Company (TNCC). The agency won the business following a competitive pitch against undisclosed agencies. TNCC is a range of bagged sweets that are free from artificial colour and flavours and are aimed at parents that want to give their children “better-for-you” […]