London Underground has been forced to slash the cost of sponsorship
for the Millennium Dome tube station. It is about to sign a deal with
Nestle for pounds 3m - less than a third of the original asking price.
LU initially requested pounds 10m for branding North Greenwich station,
which will be the arrival point for millions of visitors. The deal is
being negotiated by MindShare and TDI, which handles London Transport
ads.
Carat has pulled out of the pitch for the pounds 18m Britvic/Pepsi media
centralisation following its Coca-Cola commitments in Germany and
France. The decision leaves incumbents BMP OMD and Michaelides and
Bednash to pitch against MindShare and Walker Media.
Procter & Gamble’s VS Sassoon haircare brand has signed a pounds 2.2m
deal to sponsor London Fashion Week for the next five years. It is the
first marketing exercise for VS Sassoon, which was launched last
October.
IPC Magazines is understood to be considering splitting its pounds 9.5m
media account between Zenith Media and Walker Media. Zenith would retain
its grip on the Women’s Weeklies business while Walker Media would pick
up the TV Weeklies, Music and Sport, Country and Leisure, and the
Southbank division, which includes most of the women’s glossy
titles.
The financial services division of Direct Line is rumoured to be
reviewing its pounds 1.8m advertising account, throwing into doubt the
position of its existing agencies, 1576 Advertising and Navigator
Responsive Advertising. It is understood that the company has approached
a number of agencies about devising a through-the-line campaign for all
its products.
IPC Magazines has picked Fallon McElligott to handle the launch of
Later, its magazine for 25- to 40-year-old men. The launch will be
backed by a pounds 3.5m campaign. The agency handles advertising for
IPC’s Loaded.
Seagram has appointed a managing director to oversee Scotch whisky and
other spirits brands in Scotland. Dr Pepe Bascetta joins this week from
Walkers’ Snack Foods where he was vice-president of operations.
Matthew Clark has signed a six-figure 18-month deal with Galaxy Radio to
produce the Diamond White Galaxy Club Chart. The show will run on
Saturday nights.
Direct mail spend reached pounds 1.486bn last year, up 16% on 1997,
according to MMS Market Movements. The largest single spender was US
credit card company MBNA (pounds 40m), followed by Cornhill, Procter &
Gamble, Lloyds TSB and Reader’s Digest.
Pillsbury has signed its first licensing deal with Thomas the Tank
Engine owner Britt Allcroft, to produce a new frozen dessert called
Thomas Toasters. The product launches next week with a pounds 2m
campaign by Lowe Howard-Spink.
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