Marketing Week/Bellwether Confidence Index
Marketing WeekMarketers in bullish mood over financial prospects
In-depth features, interviews and insights into marketing’s biggest issues.
Marketers in bullish mood over financial prospects
The COI has more than doubled its digital spend this year, but cut almost 10% – or £15m – from its £154.7m advertising spend, according to sources. In the year 2005 to 2006 it had an overall marketing and communications budget of £321m, which has risen slightly this year. Much of the increase is due […]
Actor Ewan McGregor will be the face of a new Davidoff fragrance for men, due to launch early next year. The move will be a first in the fragrance market for McGregor. The actor has signed up to do a television commercial and print ads in a worldwide campaign for the new fragrance. Davidoff fragrance […]
Culture Minister James Purnell’s decision to re-examine whether the 16 councils awarded the right to open new casinos actually want them has upset the bewildered councils. Great Yarmouth is among the towns recommended for one of the eight large casinos. Councillor Graham Plant of Great Yarmouth Borough Council says: “It’s very frustrating. We have been […]
As the saying goes, when one door closes, another opens. The smoking ban in England means that for tobacco companies the doors to pubs – and all other enclosed public places – are firmly shut but the ban may have opened up a host of new marketing possibilities. The Gallaher Group, whose brands include Benson […]
Esprit is plotting a raft of standalone stores across Europe for its youth fashion sub-brand edc by Esprit. It marks a dramatic change of strategy by the clothing retailer, which until now has sold and marketed edc with the masterbrand. Esprit brand president Thomas Grote says: “From now on, edc is taking its own path […]
Videogames publisher Sega has restructured and beefed up its UK marketing team. Tina Hicks, formerly brand manager, has been promoted to marketing director for the UK, reporting to managing director Alan Pritchard.
The biggest programme of housebuilding in 30 years is under way after new Prime Minister Gordon Brown last week pledged to build 3 million homes by 2020. The announcement comes at a time when the Office of Fair Trading is looking at the housebuilding market amid fears consumers could be getting a raw deal, and […]
Silverjet, the low-cost business class-only carrier, has appointed Anna Lamont as its first head of marketing. She reports to chief executive Lawrence Hunt. Lamont, who has 13 years of marketing experience in the airline industry with brands such as Etihad Airways, Virgin Atlantic and Emirates, took up her role at the beginning of the week. […]
WPP Group has given experiential marketing a shot in the arm by describing it as a “crucial sector” following its decision to merge branding and events agency PCI Fitch with digital specialist Clever Media to create a global experiential agency called FitchLive (MW last week). But many marketers are still unsure about exactly what experiential […]
Fox’s Biscuits is holding a pitch for its 5m advertising business after parting company with Propaganda.
WWAV Rapp Collins has won a 5m pan-European above-the-line advertising project for Sony Handycam following a three-way pitch.
Media buyers have hit out at the National Readership Survey (NRS) after it decided against publishing its first set of figures for the London freesheets, with one buyer calling for the readership survey to be scrapped. Buyers want the NRS to look at fresh ways of improving the number and quality of its sample size, […]
Toy company VTech has appointed John Ayling & Associates to handle its 2m media planning and buying business. It is thought that the agency won the business following a competitive pitch, which started last year.
Swedish telecommunications company Tele2 is thought to be reviewing its estimated £20m global media-planning and buying account. It has shortlisted Starcom, Carat, Universal McCann and WPP’s Group M to pitch for the business. Tele2 launched in the UK in 2003 and has worked with BLM Media in the past. The company, which sold its declining […]