Samsonite, the international luggage company, is reviewing its estimated
pounds 8 million full-service global account. In Europe, the creative
account is handled by Grey Belgium. In the UK Samsonite spends pounds
300,000 through Optimedia.
Arc Advertising and the Media Factor are understood to be working on a
campaign for Royal Sun Alliance, the newly merged insurance company.
Mike Jones, head of group corporate affairs at Royal Sun Alliance,
refused to confirm or deny the appointment but said it may appoint one
agency for a short-term name awareness campaign and another to work on a
drive to promote separate brands within the group. Before the merger,
Arc handled the pounds 11.5 million Royal Insurance account, while
Leagas Shafron Davis looked after the pounds 10 million Sun Alliance
account.
Pete Watkins, the former joint managing director of Saatchi and Saatchi
in Charlotte Street, and the chief executive of Saatchis in Asia, is
leaving advertising. He will be replaced by Patrick Pitcher, who is
chief executive of Saatchis in Canada. Asia is Saatchis’ fastest growing
area. Pitcher will oversee offices in ten countries.
BT is pulling advertising for its joint promotion with BSkyB after a
ruling by Oftel, the telecommunications industry watchdog. BT said it
was ‘baffled’ by the ruling on the campaign, which offers people signing
up for its ‘Friends and Family’ scheme discounts on linking up to BSkyB.
Oftel claims it is in breach of BT’s licence, which states it must not
prefer or discriminate against anyone.
Cogent’s joint managing director, John Wringe, is moving out of the
agency to become a group development director. He will steer the growth
of sister shops such as the joint media venture, PHD Compass, and the
direct agency, the Drury Lane Company.
The WPP Group has announced reported revenues up by more than 11 per
cent year on year in the first nine months of 1996. On a like-for-like
basis, revenues rose by more than 9 per cent. Operating profits grew by
more than 1 per cent, while average net debt was down 32 per cent from
pounds 240 million to pounds 164 million.
Emap, the media giant, is said to have made a move into cable TV with
the acquisition of a significant stake in the music channel, the Box.
Emap is understood to have bought around 50 per cent of the cable-only
channel from Ticketmaster.
Liam Kane, the former chief executive of Caledonian Newspapers, is to
join the main board of Mirror Group Newspapers. He left Caledonian,
publisher of the Herald and the Evening Times in Glasgow, last week in
the wake of Scottish Television’s takeover bid being approved the
Department of Trade and Industry.
The Scotsman Publications, publisher of the Scotsman, Scotland on Sunday
and the Edinburgh Evening News, has appointed Keith Bales, a former
executive assistant to Rupert Murdoch and vice-president at Walt Disney,
as business development director.
Len Sanderson, managing director of Telegraph Sales, will take on the
responsibilities of Andy Jonesco, the Telegraph’s display ad director,
who last week resigned to take up the post of group ad director at
Express Newspapers (see Headliner, p17).
Total Media has notched up two new-business wins worth pounds 1.7
million, from the home entertainment firm, Astrion, and the high-street
retailer, the ERA Group. Both tasks had formerly been held by CIA
Medianetwork, which maintains that it resigned from the two accounts
earlier this year.
European advertisers are preparing to ward off a possible call by the
European Parliament for a ban on advertising to children. The World
Federation of Advertisers is seeking early talks with consumer
organisations that claim advertising harms children. The Guardian is
targeting the House of Commons with four posters trumpeting its exposure
of the former minister, Neil Hamilton, in the ‘money for questions’
scandal. The posters, by Leagas Delaney, replicate recent press ads
showing the Guardian’s front page headline about Hamilton: ‘A liar and a
cheat’.
