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Ian Darby discovers if it still has the point of difference in its remit, or if market forces are making it play safe. Channel 4 launched on 1 November 1982. [...]

Even in the fast-moving consumer magazine market, summer is usually a quiet time. But not this year. The UK market is about to experience a shake-up with the French publisher [...]

Ten years ago, the commercial radio landscape was unrecognisable. No Classic FM, no Virgin, no Heart, no Galaxy, Magic or Talk - all big and heavily marketed commercial brands that [...]

It seemed that Alec Gerster would be Grey forever. Most recently the chief executive of MediaCom in New York, he had worked at the network in one form or another [...]

Balancing RT's quality and heritage is Horne's challenge, Ian Darby says 'The English do their socialising by choice and form clubs.' Jeremy Paxman observes in his book The English. 'There [...]

Genie, BT's mobile internet service, is launching a series of direct-response press and poster executions that poke fun at text messaging. Agency Republic, the Omnicom-owned digital agency, has created the [...]

Lexus, the premium car marque, has appointed Partners Andrews Aldridge to handle its direct marketing account. Andrews Aldridge won the 1 million £ account following a three-way pitch. Lexus, owned [...]

Leo Burnett has produced its first work for Kellogg's Frosties since winning the 3 million £ account last year. The agency has created four TV ads to back a national [...]

Paul Longhurst, the chief executive of Quantum New Media, has quit the agency. Longhurst, who launched Quantum in 1998 with backing from BLM Media, is to work as an independent [...]

Mark Tutssel, the joint executive creative director of Leo Burnett London, is leaving the UK agency to take a senior creative role at Burnett's Chicago HQ. The departure of Tutssel [...]

Universal's regional chief relishes the challenge of his new role. The office of Brian Jacobs, Universal McCann's new chief in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, is still in a [...]

Claydon Heeley Jones Mason is launching an aggressive customer acquisition drive for Bradford & Bingley. The agency is targeting close to three million consumers with direct mail, and bill stuffers [...]

The majority of advertisers do not believe that the UK is facing a recession but a third are planning to reduce their advertising budget next year. Asked if a significant [...]

The agencies involved in the Transport for London pitch are threatening legal action after the organisation announced it was handing its congestion charges and transport services briefs to M&C Saatchi. [...]

John Owrid, the managing partner at Ogilvy & Mather, is leaving the agency to join the Agency.com division i-traffic. Owrid, who has worked for the Ogilvy Group for five years, [...]

PPP Healthcare, the private health insurer owned by AXA, is reviewing its direct marketing roster. The insurance company, which spends about 5 million £ below the line, uses several agencies [...]

Marlboro is moving its 6 million £ UK media planning and buying account held by Carat into Initiative Media. The win for Initiative follows a review brought about by the [...]

Poster effectiveness has fallen to its lowest level in ten years, according to new industry research. Average awareness for poster campaigns fell to just 29 per cent across 2000 and [...]

Ian Darby rounds up a year in direct marketing and introduces the top 20 league table of DM agencies On the face of things, it has been a dull year [...]

Sky's new marketing chief understands the potential of the brand. At first glance, Charlie Ponsonby seems an odd choice to head Sky's marketing effort. The digital TV market has come [...]

The man from Del Monte is returning to television to back the launch of a product called Fruit Express. The advertising is the first created by Euro RSCG Wnek Gosper [...]

Claydon Heeley Jones Mason has created a direct marketing campaign to back the launch of a football game for Sony PlayStation 2. The DM campaign supports the launch of This [...]

British Airways is to make huge cuts to its 15 million £ advertising spend in the wake of the terrorist attacks in the US. The airline said that it is [...]

Heathrow Express, the rail service that runs between Paddington and Heathrow, is reviewing its advertising and direct marketing agency requirements. Black Cat, the below-the-line agency owned by J. Walter Thompson, [...]

PHD has won the 20 million £ Transport for London media planning and buying account. The agency will handle media planning and buying across the transport infrastructure of London, including [...]

Marketers preach a focus on the bottom line at their 2001 Forum. For obvious reasons a sense of restraint and contemplation hung over initial proceedings at the 2001 Marketing Forum. [...]

Ian Darby, the acting media editor on Campaign, chooses the Absolut ad on the cover of Sleazenation. 'Absolut's takeover of the cover of October's Sleazenation is, as you'd expect from [...]

Lions Sports Mixture, the chewy sweet brand, is unveiling its first ad campaign since its launch in 1912. The TV executions, through Euro RSCG Wnek Gosper, back the national launch [...]

Cadbury Fingers is launching a national TV campaign, which will be backed by a 5 million £ spend. Saatchi & Saatchi has developed the campaign for the chocolate brand, owned [...]

Voluntary Services Overseas is launching a press campaign to help increase its levels of volunteer recruitment. The response campaign, through Leonardo, will run both in national and trade professional press [...]

Tempus Group, which is the target of a takeover offer by Sir Martin Sorrell's WPP, has made substantial job cuts after profits fell during the first six months of the [...]

A row has erupted between Carlton Television and the Radio Advertising Bureau over research findings advertised by the RAB. Martin Bowley, the chief executive of Carlton Media Sales, has written [...]

David Grint aims to bring consistency to the Beeb's branding The past few days have been eventful for the BBC. First it calls a review of its media account, held [...]

Agency Republic, the Omnicom-owned digital agency, has unveiled its launch work for Boots' Pure Beauty brand. Pure Beauty, a chain of stores that will stock premium beauty products, is opening [...]

The BBC is to put 10 million £ behind advertising the launch of its digital television and radio channels. The ads will promote the BBC's channels, approved by the culture [...]

ITV Digital is reviewing its direct marketing business as it attempts to win new subscribers in its battle with Sky. The account, worth about 6 million £ when reviewed a [...]

BBC Creative Services, the broadcaster's branding and promotion department, has hired three staff from ad agencies as it moves towards the commercial sector. Victoria Zimmerman, previously an account director at [...]

The BBC is about to launch a statutory review of its 10 million £ media planning and buying business, currently held by PHD. Agencies will be invited to tender for [...]

Paramount Comedy Channel is reviewing its 2 million £ media planning and buying account. The business has been handled by BLM Media for more than four years. Paramount is in [...]

AXA Sun Life Direct, the direct selling arm of the insurance giant AXA Sun Life, has appointed Proximity London to its 10 million £ direct marketing account. The agency won [...]

BBDO is conducting a major shake-up of its UK below-the-line operations to create a new agency called Proximity London. The direct marketing agency BHWG Proximity, the sales promotion agency Clarke [...]

Carlton has pulled me plus on its Taste venture with Sainsbury's. Is this the beginning of a cull of niche programming? It seemed like a bad omen when the Taste [...]

Computing titles have had a bad year with leading titles hit by a quiet time for product launches and saturation of the PC market. The largest circulation fall came for [...]

Consignia is to call a review of its 30 million £ media planning and buying business for the Royal Mail and Parcelforce Worldwide divisions. The statutory review is expected to [...]

BHWG Proximity has lost its managing director, David Perkins, just seven months after his arrival. Perkins was brought in by BHWG in January to run its London agency and to [...]

As media agencies adapt their offering to help themselves stand out, have we seen the end of the traditional media agency model? There was a time when any media agency [...]

The integrated agency Archibald Ingall Stretton has created two direct-mail campaigns for Skoda. The first of the two executions, 'Live with the badge', is designed to support brand work from [...]

The AA is rolling out a campaign to attract former members to rejoin its Roadside Assistance service. The mailing is by Harrison Troughton Wunderman and attempts to use personalised postcards [...]

IPC Connect, the women's weeklies division of IPC Media, has appointed Roose & Partners to handle its 5 million £ creative account. The agency beat Leith London, Banks Hoggins O'Shea/ [...]

WPP is on the verge of launching a counterbid for Tempus, which could scupper Havas' takeover. Sir Martin Sorrell, the group chief executive of WPP, has been in talks with [...]