In-depth features, interviews and insights into marketing’s biggest issues.
UK sales of Diet Coke have fallen sharply despite a multimillion-pound campaign to refocus the Coca-Cola brand to a female market. The latest figures from Nielsen show volume sales of Diet Coke down nearly 20 million over the past year across the ta…
Environmental charity Global Cool is launching a celebrity SMS-based campaign on MySpace to encourage people to look at simple ways of reducing their carbon footprint. The campaign, which will target 16to 34-year-olds, will feature Hollywood stars S…
Gala is considering dropping Sharon Osbourne as the face of the brand less than a year after she was signed up. The bingo operator says it is reviewing its marketing strategy ahead of this summer’s smoking ban. Osbourne appeared in the launch campai…
GOA.com, Europe’s first free gaming portal launches next week. The portal allows users free access to games and generates revenue through charging small amounts for accessories for online alter-egos and avatars. Gamers will be encouraged to buy clot…
Corporate communications chiefs are increasingly gaining the upper hand over marketing directors in the struggle for control of brands. Just last week, Marketing Week reported that oil giant Shell was looking to put its marketing unit under the auspices of corporate affairs chief Roxanne Decyk following the retirement of veteran marketing boss Raoul Pinnell (MW […]
ING, the Dutch financial services company, is launching its first global advertising campaign to support its sponsorship of the Renault Formula One team. It breaks this weekend during the Australian Grand Prix coverage. The campaign, created by German agency kempertrautmann, will run across national TV in 30 countries and on international channels. The adverts will […]
The sale of Aston Martin to a consortium led by automotive entrepreneur David Richards has been broadly welcomed by the car industry but raises questions about the direction in which the new owners will take the famous UK marque. Richards – an ex-rally driver and former boss of the BAR Formula One team – becomes […]
The premium phone line scandal that engulfed first television and now commercial radio has thrust regulator Icstis into the spotlight. The Independent Committee for the Supervision of Standards of the Telephone Information Services (Icstis), which by its own admission has low consumer recognition, has found itself at the heart of a debate surrounding broadcasters, their […]
JWT worldwide chairman and chief executive Bob Jeffrey is planning to launch a series of digital hubs across the globe, as part of his plans to revitalise the network. The new divsions will not operate as standalone agencies, and will report to the …
The mysterious cloud surrounding Rainey Kelly Campbell Roalfe/Y&R’s new offering Swarm has begun to lift following months of speculation. RKCR has at last come clean about the existence of the agency, although it remains tight-lipped over Swarm’s launch client BT.
Virgin Radio has a turbulent history and 2007 is shaping up to be no different. By the start of March, the station had already lost its chief executive and appointed a replacement, while owner SMG had ended a second round of merger talks with Ulster TV, dismissed its board and gained a new chairman and […]
The benefits of live events are clear, but careful planning and sharing the platform with selected partners can reduce the cost of staging them without diluting their impact. By Pete Roythorne
Major strategic changes are under way in the telemarketing sector, with contact centres ditching the scatter-gun approach in favour of targeted, customer-friendly methods. Paul Gander reports
Despite increased inputs of creativity and technology, point of purchase ads are not held in high regard. Marketers must alter their directors and store managers’ opinions. By Jo-Anne Flack
Absolut Vodka is preparing to embark on a major brand push in the UK as it shifts its focus from targeted experiential and events-based marketing. The Vin & Sprit (V&S) owned Swedish premium spirit brand is plotting a return to print-based advertisi…