Saatchi & Saatchi has denied newspaper reports that it is planning
about 50 redundancies at its London agency. Derek Bowden, chairman of
Saatchis in Europe, Africa and the Middle East, said they were pure
speculation and no decision had yet been made.
The Incorporated Society of British Advertisers and the Marketing Forum
have joined forces to launch a manifesto on media research. Advertisers
are being asked to add their names to a petition demanding better
quality media research and a more pro-active role for advertisers.
Brantano, the Belgian shoe retailer which owns 51 former Shoe City
stores, has picked Bates Dorland to spearhead its entry into the UK.
Dorlands’ task will be to build Brantano, which is virtually unknown in
the UK, into a household name. Initial work will revolve around store
openings but eventually evolve into national advertising. Dorlands’
affiliate agency, Zenith, picked up the media task two weeks ago.
CGU, the financial services company formed from the merger of Commercial
Union and General Accident, is reviewing its pounds 4 million direct
marketing business, and has seen pitches from Feather Brooksbank, Carat,
MediaVest Direct and CIA Medianetwork. A decision is imminent.
Adam Kean, Saatchi & Saatchi’s creative director, is to be the next
chairman of the IPA Creative Directors’ Forum, succeeding Tim Delaney,
whose two-year term of office is ending. The forum’s vice-chairman will
be Peter Souter, the Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO creative director. He
takes over from Andrew Cracknell, who has resigned as chairman of
Ammirati Puris Lintas.
A spokesperson for Talk Radio has dismissed rumours that Talk’s
management, led by the general manager, Paul Robinson, has upped its bid
for the station from pounds 20 million to pounds 26 million. Meanwhile,
TalkCo, the consortium headed by Kelvin MacKenzie, denied its offer has
fallen considerably from an original pounds 25 million.
The ITV companies believe their TV sponsorship income will triple to
more than pounds 100 million a year during the next decade. At present,
about one-quarter of programmes are sponsored and ITV is planning a
campaign to find more sponsors for other programmes. Growth
possibilities have also been forecast for advertiser-funded programmes
and masthead television.
Young & Rubicam and its direct marketing arm, Wunderman Cato Johnson,
have won the Levi’s account in Germany, Switzerland and Austria after a
competitive pitch. The account was formerly split between Springer &
Jacoby and Leo Burnett.
Summerfield Wilmot Keene has been appointed by Chubb, the insurance
group whose activities range from upmarket household insurance to
commercial underwriting, to raise its profile as a leading player in the
global insurance market.
The Radio Authority is expected to announce the winner of the last
remaining UK regional radio licence next Friday. The North-east regional
licence is being contested by 13 companies, including Chrysalis, Emap
and Capital.
The Norwegian media company, the Green Media Group, has acquired the UK
regional poster contractor, Metro Outdoor Advertising.
GMG said the acquisition would strengthen its base for growth in Europe
and form the axis for further UK expansion.
Harari Page, shortly to merge with Travis Sennett Sully Ross, has been
appointed to handle creative work for the pounds 1 million account of
the parcels carrier, Lynx Express. MediaVest will handle media buying
for the campaign which begins with a press and poster offensive next
month.
CDP has promoted its Honda account director, Nick Webb, to the role of
new-business director. Webb, who oversaw the launch of Honda’s new
Accord (see story, p4), takes over from Emma Rhodin who has run CDP’s
new business for the past two years but is now leaving the industry.
