Analysis

In-depth features, interviews and insights into marketing’s biggest issues.

Ad-funded mobile network hunts UK head of marketing

Marketing Week

Blyk, Europe’s first advertiser-funded mobile phone network, is looking for a UK managing director. It is thought the brand has held talks with several senior marketers about the role. Blyk, which is run by former Nokia president Pekka Ala-Pietila, will offer free calls and text messages to users willing to accept ads on their handsets. […]

Mattel under fire for not running recall ad campaign

Marketing Week

US toy brand Mattel is under fire for its “inconsistent” reaction to its toy recall crisis. The criticism comes as the toy company launches a major PR campaign in the US to reinforce its commitment to child safety, yet the brand has failed to act in the UK. Mattel faces its first lawsuits in the […]

Geek Squad hires marketing chief

Marketing Week

The Geek Squad, the technology troubleshooting service backed by the Carphone Warehouse, has appointed Will Lever as its first UK marketing director. Lever, who was head of marketing and communications for Apple UK and Ireland, will be responsible for brand positioning, strategy development and cross-group marketing across retail, PR and direct channels. Prior to joining […]

Ever decreasing circulations

Marketing Week

As magazines across all sectors suffer from falling circulation figures, many find the solution is to increase internet readership and use promotions or price cuts to boost sales, says Sonoo Singh

Morrisons makeover

Marketing Week

Supermarket brand Morrisons has been rocked by turbulence since it took over Safeway in 2004. Its latest mishap an E.coli outbreak on the eve a 450m brand makeover has done nothing to persuade analysts that the retailers fortunes will turn a corner. By Matthew Gorman

Man in the media

Marketing Week

Jim Hytners decision to leave Barclays for Top Up TV may seem like a step down, but at least hell be back in the media world he loves. Will he defy critics by showing his experience at Barclays has given him a more hard-nosed and strategic side? Time will tell, says Catherine Turner

Harris lands top marketing role at Nokia

Marketing Week

Nokia has appointed former O2 marketing chief Will Harris as UK marketing director. Harris, who starts his new role in October, replaces Simon Lloyd, who left to join The Number 118 118 earlier this year (MW April 19). Harris, who is also a former marketing director of the Conservative Party, joins Nokia from Voice over […]

Which? report slammed for being “out of date”

Marketing Week

The food and advertising industries have slammed a Which? report into the use of kids cartoon characters to promote “junk” food for being “out of date” and “bizarre”. The report, which was released today (August 21), warns food companies that using the characters could harm their brands. The Cartoon Heroes and Villains report criticises companies […]

Cisco and Microsoft pledge to collaborate

Marketing Week

Cisco chief executive John Chambers and Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer have held a joint webcast to reveal plans for closer collaboration between the two companies as they seek to offer consumers more compatible solutions between the products they offer. The move towards working together follows more than a year of fierce rivalry between the […]

Odeon signs sponsor for over-50s screenings

Marketing Week

RIAS, the specialist insurer for the over-50s, has become the first brand to sponsor Odeon Cinema Senior Screen, which offers over-50s regular, reduced-price cinema screenings across the UK. As part of the deal, RIAS has rolled out a multi-media ad campaign, created by Watson Phillips Norman. The campaign uses the theme of “happy endings”, with […]

Lego seeks child stars for Nickelodeon TV ad blitz

Marketing Week

Lego – which this year celebrates its 75th anniversary – and Nickelodeon are searching for two children to star in Lego’s next TV ad campaign. The 40-second TV execution for its City sub-brand will break on Nickelodeon children’s channel in mid-October, ahead of the run up to the Christmas trading season, to tap into the […]