Analysis

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

Ridding speaks up for FT

Marketing Week

If new owner NewsCorp reinvigorates the Wall Street Journal, it could spell disaster for the FT, but chief executive John Ridding isn’t worrying just yet. The global success of its newspaper and website have made him bullish about future growth, the former journalist tells Stuart Smith

The fall and rise of Leagas Delaney

Marketing Week

Leagas Delaney is on a roll. The agency has won five out of five pitches in 2007, including VTech and The Body Shop, and observers believe the 27year-old agency, which has five international offices, has the feel of a start-up. Some add its famously “difficult” co-founder Tim Delaney is mellowing and that a fresh, hard-working […]

Camelot renews National Lottery licence

Marketing Week

Camelot has won the licence to run the National Lottery for the third successive bid beating competition from Indian rival Sugal & Damani. The National Lottery Commission has selected Camelot as preferred bidder and will spend this month in talks with the company to finalise details of the licence, which runs for ten years from […]

NHS Direct seeks agency to promote helpline

Marketing Week

NHS Direct, the health advice service, has shortlisted St Luke’s and Experience, WCRS and Carat, and Abbott Mead Vickers.BBDO and PHD to pitch for its advertising and planning accounts ahead of a £2m campaign to promote it telephone helpline.

Lowe wins £20m global Beck’s business

Marketing Week

Lowe has won the £20m global advertising business for beer brand Beck’s after a three-way pitch against McCann Erickson and UK incumbent Leo Burnett. The account will include the UK business, which was not previously expected to be part of the pitch.

COI pulls advertising from social networks

Marketing Week

COI has pulled all government adverts from user-generated pages on social networking sites after a host of brands stopped advertising on Facebook last week. The COI’s digital agency I-Level has been ordered not to buy space on personal web pages as part of a long-standing government commitment not to advertise near racist or sexist material. […]

HSBC replaces Stringham with Reuters chief

Marketing Week

HSBC has appointed Alex Hungate to the new role of global head of personal financial services and marketing. Hungate joins in September from news service Reuters, where he was Asia managing director. He will be based in London reporting to HSBC group chief executive Michael Geoghegan. Hungate, who will be group managing director of the […]

Amstrad brand will live on at BSkyB…

Marketing Week

The Amstrad brand will continue under BSkyB after it agreed to buy the business from media tycoon Sir Alan Sugar for £125m. Amstrad group yesterday (Tuesday) accepted the terms of the Sky takeover bid in a deal that will see the star of The Apprentice collect £34.5m. A Sky spokesman says the brand name will […]

K-C moots link-ups with GSK and Pfizer

Marketing Week

Kleenex manufacturer Kimberly-Clark is in talks with GlaxoSmithKline and Pfizer about forming partnerships to promote related products. In an exclusive interview with Marketing Week, Kimberly-Clark’s general manager for the UK and Ireland, Troy Warfield, revealed that discussions were taking place about link-ups between Kleenex tissues and cold and flu remedies such as the Beechams range […]

Bafflement over Red Bull redundancies

Marketing Week

The sweeping restructure at Red Bull UK would normally suggest a company in turmoil, but the brand that created the energy drinks category still commands a 76.5% share of the market, and last weekend hosted the latest round of its Air Race World Series in London. Red Bull is believed to be making redundancies across […]

WRAP holds review ahead of ad push

Marketing Week

Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP), the government body tasked with reducing waste, is reviewing its roster of agencies ahead of a new advertising push next year. It is thought that the business is worth several million pounds. WRAP has put out a tender document for its advertising, direct marketing, marketing services and public relations […]

Bird’s start-up agency wins raft of business

Marketing Week

Another Anomaly, the start-up agency to be headed by Sony BMG vice-president of futures Duncan Bird and backed by Anomaly founder Carl Johnson, has won a raft of business before it opens. It will work with former Neutrogena skincare expert Tammy Ha on the skincare products line Eu. The joint venture will cover design, positioning, […]

Fruit of the Loom’s trade catalogue to be revamped

Marketing Week

Fruit of the Loom has appointed Big Communications to overhaul its trade catalogue for distribution across all its markets in Europe. The clothing manufacturer’s 116-page catalogue will be themed on “a road trip to Morocco”. It will be produced in eight languages and will showcase the entire product range for its forthcoming Mens, Ladies, Children […]

Senior takes charge of Saatchi-Fallon

Marketing Week

Following a fruitless search to replace Saatchi & Saatchi London chairman and chief executive Lee Daley, who stepped down earlier this year, Publicis Groupe is taking a novel approach to trying to save the once-mighty agency. A week after Saatchi lost the bulk of its UK Toyota business to CHI & Partners (MW July 12), it emerged that it was being aligned with sister agency Fallon in the latest bid to halt its decline. The new holding company – to be called Saatchi & Saatchi-Fallon – will be run by Fallon London founding partner Robert Senior, who has turned down the top job at Saatchi London in the past.