The Financial Times has dispensed with the role of ad director and split
it into two new directorships, focusing on the UK and international.
Michael Murphy, a former group managing director at Westminster Press,
becomes director of UK business, while the director of the electronic
FT, Andrew Gilchrist, becomes international director. The current FT
advertising director, Ben Hughes, will take on a new role concentrating
on the paper’s activities in Europe. Stephen Hill, the FT managing
director, said the changes reflected the growing importance of
international sales.
Agencies are in discussions with rival bidding consortia as the
Independent Television Commission invites applications to run
digital terrestrial TV in the UK. Four digital ‘multiplexes’, carrying
between three and six new channels each, are up for grabs and
applications must be in by 31 January. Agencies will act as marketing
and advertising consultants to the consortia and will handle their
advertising if successful. The ITC hopes to appoint the winners next
spring ready for a launch in July 1998. Consortia are expected to reveal
their hands by the end of the year.
Keith Impey, Lowe Howard-Spink’s broadcast director, is leaving the
agency after six years to work in the sports sponsorship field. Tim
Lindsay, Lowes’ managing director, said: ‘Keith is taking advantage of a
once in a lifetime opportunity. He has done a wonderful job and we’re
sorry to see him go.’ Lowes will announce details of its joint media
venture with Initiative Media next week.
CIA Medianetwork International has picked up Ericsson’s dollars 25
million centralised corporate and business-to-business media account in
continental Europe after a pitch against Carat and Optimedia. The
account moves out of Carat and Zenith Media.
Booth Lockett Makin has picked up the pounds 2 million media planning
and buying account for the Belfast-based tea manufacturer, Punjana,
after a three-way pitch. BLM beat off competition from Frontline Media
and John Ayling and Associates to pick up the work. The creative
business was won by Doner Cardwell Hawkins last month. Punjana will use
TV to help position a new brand.
WCRS has appointed a new planning director, Charles Vallance,
after the move of Richard Swaab to the newly created role of strategy
director. At the same time, Joel Levy moves up to become the agency’s
international director.
Marilyn Baxter, vice-chairman and head of client services at Saatchi and
Saatchi, has been appointed chairman of the IPA Advertising
Effectiveness Committee. She takes over the role on 1 January and
succeeds Hamish Pringle, chairman of K Advertising.
Emap Elan has appointed Yvonne Richards as the publisher of New Woman
magazine. Richards is returning from maternity leave and was previously
ad director at Elle Decoration. She replaces Margaret Leonard, who moved
over to become publisher of Emap’s Minx magazine.
Banks Hoggins O’Shea has beefed up its through-the-line credentials by
hiring Debby Waring, the former managing director of Option One. Waring
will join as one of the agency’s nine partners and will head Banks
Hoggins’s through-the-line unit, BHO Resource.
Duckworth Finn Grubb Waters has promoted Rachel Walker to the post of
deputy planning director in recognition of her work on Daewoo, which won
two prizes at this month’s IPA Effectiveness Awards. The role is a newly
created position reporting directly to the agency’s planning director,
Chris Forrest.
M&C Saatchi has been added to BMW’s global roster with an appointment to
handle the car-maker’s pounds 1.5 million account in Singapore. The
agency was picked from a pitch-list that included Ogilvy and Mather,
which had handled the account for 12 years, and Leo Burnett, which has
the BMW business in Malaysia and Hong Kong. The Singapore office of
Bartle Bogle Hegarty withdrew from the contest at an early
stage.
