SmithKline Beecham’s Lucozade is preparing for competition from Virgin, which is understood to be planning the launch of a canned sport drink made by the Cott Corporation. The company describes the new product as a high-energy, restorative drink, which will line up alongside the cola it launched last year (MW October 14). Cott also supplies […]
What an appalling mess. No, not the Saatchi imbroglio for once, but the Government’s so-called media policy. The Broadcast Act 1990 seemed ill-conceived at the time. Now it has more holes through it than a piece of timber riddled with death-watch beetle. Will the Government clear out this deadwood with sweeping new legislation? Not before […]
Jo-Anne Walker paints a totally misleading picture when she assesses direct mail opening and reading statistics (MW December 9). The figure quoted (or rather misquoted) gives the impression, when viewed in isolation, that hardly anybody opens and reads their direct mail. Not true. In fact, if you look at the opening statistics in full you […]
Targeting the working classes effectively is the challenge facing the marketing fraternity.
The NW Ayer offer for Bates may have been officially withdrawn, but a continuing role in the Saatchi saga cannot be discounted. Richard Humphreys, a former Saatchi director close to Maurice Saatchi, and major player at Ayer, is currently in South Korea conferring with Ayer’s main financial backer Choi Won-Young. Ayer money, possibly supplemented by […]
Brookside makes its debut as a national radio soap next week when a version of the Channel 4 soap breaks on commercial radio. The hunt is under way for a sponsor. “Brookside: the radio series” will be broadcast to approximately 95 per cent of the UK’s commercial radio audience through deals struck with more than […]
The NW Ayer offer for Bates may have been officially withdrawn, but a continuing role in the Saatchi saga cannot be discounted. Richard Humphreys, a former Saatchi director close to Maurice Saatchi, and major player at Ayer, is currently in South Korea conferring with Ayer’s main financial backer Choi Won-Young. Ayer money, possibly supplemented by […]
Italian battery brand Volta has called on actor Bill Maynard, who plays Claude Greengrass in the hit TV series Heartbeat, to launch its products in the UK. Already established on the Continent, Volta will this month unveil an ad campaign, featuring the actor. Volta aims to take a five per cent share of the ú460m […]
Reuters Radio News has won the contract to supply news to Virgin 1215 and its new London service. The move is being seen as a boost to Reuters’ hopes of offering a rival syndicated radio news service to Independent Radio News. IRN, jointly owned by major commercial radio groups, supplies 124 stations. It is offered […]
Sun Alliance and the Turkish Tourism Board are vying for Quote of the Week. Director of the Turkish Tourist Office, Mustafa Turkmen, is about to end his five-year tenure in the UK office with a posting back to the Turkish headquarters. “It’s all very sad. I would prefer Venice or Paris. Ankara isn’t really a […]
Italian battery brand Volta has called on actor Bill Maynard, who plays Claude Greengrass in the hit TV series Heartbeat, to launch its products in the UK. Already established on the Continent, Volta will this month unveil an ad campaign, featuring the actor. Volta aims to take a five per cent share of the ú460m […]
Commando-style management training courses are in vogue at the moment in Britain. But they leave most participants feeling tired, wet, cold and alienated
Virgin is planning to launch a lifestyle music consumer title with Haymarket Magazines. A men’s music interest magazine is understood to be one option under consideration. The discussions follow Virgin Group’s recent diversification into soft drinks and financial services. However, the initiative is understood to have come from Haymarket, which is assessing the merits of […]
UK cigarette consumption is expected to fall at an annual rate of five per cent, according to fresh research from Mintel. The market intelligence report shows that consumption sank 11 per cent between 1989 and 1994. But the drop is expected to accelerate because of a mixture of anti-smoking campaigning, increasing excise duties and a […]
I was surprised to read your article in Marketing Week last week in which it was stated that UK Living had a share of viewing in cable and satellite homes that was double that of The Family Channel. While we are pleased to applaud the growth of any satellite channel, the comparison that was made […]