News Archive

VIDEO: Audi 'believes there is growth in the UK market', says Chambers

Dominic Chambers, marketing director, Audi UK says after a 'strong year' for the car manufacturer, there is room for growth in the UK in 2012 and beyond.

Betfair to knock rivals for the first time in campaign

Betfair is to name rival bookies for the first time as part of its new Europe-wide marketing campaign.

VisitWales top marketer exits for Cardiff & Co

VisitWales top marketer Roger Pride is leaving the Welsh tourism body to take up the role of managing director at Cardiff & Co, the public-private partnership which promotes Cardiff.

Brands struggling to follow consumer journey online, finds IAB

Over half of brands still struggle with following and understanding the journey of a potential consumer online, known as attribution modelling, according to new research from the Internet Advertising Bureau (IAB).

Google to launch 'own-brand entertainment hardware'

Google is developing an own-brand, home-entertainment system that streams music wirelessly through the home, according to reports.

PepsiCo to cull 8,700 jobs and invest an extra $600m in advertising

PepsiCo is slashing 8,700 jobs, around 3% of its workforce, and is to mirror rival Coca-Cola by announcing a major investment in advertising and marketing.

Clarks launches AR campaign for Spring collection

Footwear brand Clarks is launching its first ever augmented reality campaign at the end of the month to promote its women's Spring/Summer collection.

Marmite aims to spread love with Facebook e-cards

Marmite, the Unilever-owned yeast spread brand, has teamed up with artist Pete Fowler to create a series of e-cards for Facebook users to send to their loved ones on Valentine's Day.

Absolut partners Gorillaz artist Hewlett for 'Bloody London' push

Absolut has teamed up with Jamie Hewlett, the co-founder and illustrator of band Gorillaz, to create a limited edition London-themed bottle.

Thursday 09 February 2012

RBS Insurance division to rebrand as Direct Line Group

RBS Insurance Group, the insurance division which owns the Direct Line, Churchill, Privilege and Green Flag brands, is set to rebrand as Direct Line Insurance Group.

VisitBritain and DCMS in £25m global tourism push

VisitBritain, the marketing body and UK tourism board, and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) today announced the launch of a £25m global marketing push to boost tourism to the UK over the next four years.

M&S brings Valentine's Day model to life

Marks & Spencer is attempting to lure men who are seeking Valentine's Day gift ideas to its mobile website with an augmented reality-powered outdoor advertising campaign.

BT broadcasts Valentine's messages to the nation

BT is broadcasting Valentine's Day messages on its nationwide big screens, with the best ones appearing on the "infoband" at the top of the BT Tower in London.

Groupon reins in marketing spend as it reports loss of $42.7m

Groupon has cut its marketing spend by nearly $50m in the three months to 31 December 2011 and reports a net loss of $42.7m (£27m) in its first set of financial figures since it floated last year.

Barclays hires former Vodafone marketing chief Wheldon to brand role

Barclays has hired former Vodafone marketing chief David Wheldon to head up its global corporate reputation, amid the negative perception of the banking industry in the UK and overseas.

RB takes to Facebook to sell Cillit Bang extension

Reckitt Benckiser (RB) is pushing its latest Cillit Bang brand extension through Facebook and is bringing back its advertising character Barry Scott to bolster its marketing offensive.

Junk food 'super complaint' puts Krave, Nesquik and Cadbury's Buttons in firing line

The Children's Food Campaign (CFC) is filing a "super-complaint" to the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), as part of a move to curb the online marketing of junk food to children.

Wednesday 08 February 2012

Social brands: Betfair turns to comedy writers for social media

Online gaming giant Betfair has placed experimentation at the heart of its social media strategy, hiring a team of comedy writers to create content for Twitter.

Feel Good Drinks in Mamma Mia! promotion

Feel Good Drinks, the soft drinks brand, has partnered with the musical production 'Mamma Mia!', to launch a major on-pack promotion running across 500,000 of its bottles.

Jennifer Saunders fronts 'Choccy Philly? Don't Be Silly' campaign

Kraft is launching an integrated advertising campaign, called 'Choccy Philly? Don't Be Silly', which stars Jennifer Saunders parodying people's extreme reaction to its new cream cheese chocolate spread.

Foster's launches Facebook Timeline app

Foster's has become one of the first alcohol brands in the UK to develop an app for Facebook's Timeline to showcase its exclusive comedy content.

Google releases Chrome for mobile

Google has launched a smartphone and tablet version of Chrome for Android devices, to boost the browser's growing popularity around the world.

Social brands: Unilever shifts focus from social media to word of mouth

Marketers are being urged to reappraise the value of fans and re-focus their social media activity on building long-term engagement.

RB commits £100m to building brands and 'powermarkets'

Reckitt Benckiser has today committed to an additional £100m investment in brand building and is mirroring its Powerbrand initiative by identifying 16 new Powermarkets.

Coca-Cola to boost brand spend by up to $400m

Coca-Cola has outlined a plan to re-invest up to $400m (£253m) of operational cost savings into brand-building initiatives over a period of four years.

Simon Calver quits LoveFilm for Mothercare

Simon Calver, the long-serving chief executive of LoveFilm, is taking on the task of turning around the struggling mother and baby retailer Mothercare, as its chief executive.

Heineken to feature James Bond in ads

Heineken is once again tying up with the James Bond franchise, in a move that will feature the film's character, played by Daniel Craig, feature in its ads for the first time.

City Index to boost brand with integrated push

Spread betting firm City Index is hoping to raise awareness and drive growth of its various offerings with a series of integrated marketing campaigns.

Honda plots to overhaul customers' online journeys

Honda is overhauling its digital presence in a bid to improve customers' online journeys.

Tuesday 07 February 2012

All Her Majesty's brands: 10 brands the Queen can't live without

To celebrate Her Majesty's accession milestone this week, Marketing magazine thought it fitting to compile a list of the Queen's must-have brands, from the monarch's favourite chocolate to her underwear brand of choice.

Sport Relief launches mobile app to drum up support

Sport Relief, the sister charity event to Comic Relief, has launched its first mobile app for both Android and iPhone devices, which will feature news and behind-the scenes-celebrity gossip for its flagship weekend event in March.

Groupon buys data start-up Adku to boost personalisation

Groupon, the group deals service, has acquired data personalisation start-up Adku for a reported $10m (£6.3m).

Reebok set to relaunch controversial EasyTone shoes range

Reebok is mounting a European relaunch of its EasyTone sports shoes, backed by fresh research into their toning effects, following previous complaints made to regulators about its advertising claims.

Vimto shifts marketing spend with increased digital investment

Vimto is shifting its marketing spend from TV to digital, as the brand looks to capitalise on its growing online fan base.

Ex-Camelot commercial chief lands Diamond Jubilee post

Former Camelot, Kraft and Somerfield marketer Phil Smith has been appointed to the lead marketing role for the Queen's Thames Diamond Jubilee Pageant.

BT to sponsor 'London Live' Olympic entertainment events

BT is to sponsor a series of live screenings and music concerts at Hyde Park, taking place under the 'London Live' banner, during this summer's Olympics.

Umbro sidelines John Terry from ad campaigns

Sports brand Umbro is seeking fresh football brand ambassadors, with former England captain John Terry left out of its marketing amid allegations of racism against him.

Branding 'police' mask non-sponsor logos at Olympic venues

Kimberly-Clark is one of several companies that will find its brand logos at sporting venues being covered with masking tape ahead of the Olympics.

Monday 06 February 2012

Warburtons parts company with marketing director Hayes

Warburtons has parted company with marketing director Richard Hayes after nearly five years.

Unilever personal care brands sponsor British Lotus F1 Team

Rexona (Sure in the UK) and Clear, the deodorant and anti-dandruff brands owned by Unilever, are to sponsor British Formula 1 team Lotus in a multi-year deal.

O2 extends England rugby sponsorship for four years

O2 has signed a new four-year extension to its sponsorship of the Rugby Football Union (RFU), which is thought to trump the value of the previous £4m a year contract and will add England home matches to its Priority tickets offering for customers.

Marketers need to work on loyalty activation, research claims

Marketers are not doing enough to make customers activate loyalty programmes, with two in five (39%) people not using all the loyalty programmes they are enrolled in, according to findings from ICM Research.

Tesco delays banking launch until 2013

Tesco is delaying the rollout of a full banking proposition, after announcing its flagship current account product will not be available until next year.