Sir Frank Rogers, the chairman of the Newspaper Publishers
Association, is to step down at the end of the year after a seven-year
reign. Stephen Grabiner, chief executive of United Newspapers, is to
become the new chairman and Douglas Flynn, managing director of News
International Newspapers, will be vice-chairman. Rogers said: ’Last
summer, I expressed a wish to leave once a new director had been brought
in to implement essential changes.’
Poster Publicity Limited, the poster buying specialist, has hired Liz
Sage from the outdoor contractor, TDI, as senior account manager
following a spate of new-business wins. PPL has won a total of pounds 8
million in new business in the past two months.
The Mail on Sunday, CLT and House Beautiful are among the media owners
that have donated prizes for the Mediapolis/WCRS charity auction on 4
December in aid of the Pepper foundation. The evening event hopes to
raise pounds 25,000 for the foundation, which provides nurses for
terminally ill children.
For more details, call Marc Mendoza on 0171-393 9000.
Carlton Television’s music show, Videotech, is to be broadcast
simultaneously on ITV and on the world-wide Web over the next few weeks.
The official artist sites and music news groups will be linked to the
Videotech Website which will carry exclusive interviews not featured in
the TV show.
Conde Nast in Italy has bought the bridal magazine, Sposabella. The
magazine, which is 13 years old, is also published in Spain and
Portugal.
Conde Nast will retain the existing editor, Rita Rabassi.
Martin Conry, the managing director of TMD Carat Manchester, has
died.
Conry, 43, was recovering from an illness and his death was
unexpected.
Ray Kelly, chairman of Carat UK, said: ’Martin was inspirational, a
family man and a bloody good bloke.’
Accolade, a quarterly lifestyle magazine for millionaires, launches this
month, targeting 10,000 of the most affluent individuals in the country.
The magazine is edited by Martine Montgomery, former editor of Tatler
and editor-in-chief of Cartier Polo magazine, with contributors such as
Tara Palmer-Tompkinson, Annabel Heseltine and Fiona Fullerton. Accolade
is published by Propeller, which has put pounds 150,000 into the
launch.
The contract publisher, Brass Tacks, has won deals to publish customer
magazines for the export marketing consultancy, Food From Britain, and
Norwich Union’s Hill House Hammond company. FFB’s Food & Drink Exporter
was won following a three-way pitch, and will be relaunched in January
as a 36-page A4 magazine. Hill House Hammond’s magazine, In Touch, will
be distributed to 450,000 UK customers as well as through 260 branches
of the Norwich.
Vidal Sassoon is to be the first advertiser to use cinema as a medium
for advertising hairdryers, in a bid to avoid the pre-Christmas
congestion on TV. The ads have been booked by Booth Lockett Makin and
created by BDDP GGT.
Future Publishing will launch a monthly customer magazine in February
for the entertainment chain, Blockbuster. The magazine will cover
Blockbuster’s film, games and music products, future releases and
instore promotions.
The title will edited by Dean Evans, reviews editors of Future’s Total
Film magazine, and distributed through Blockbuster’s 700 UK stores.
The US media research company, Arbitron, is to acquire the UK market
research company, Continental Research, as the company seeks to expand
beyond North America into Europe. The acquisition will also help
Arbitron launch a bid for the UK radio industry audience research
contract which Rajar has put out to tender.