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Boost for Volkswagen as sales rise by a third

Marketing Week

Volkswagen has made a good start to the year with a 31 per cent increase in sales during the first quarter. New car registrations released by the Society of Motor Manufacturers & Traders show that Volkswagen sold 25,996 cars during the first three months of this year compared with 19,699 last year. A spokesman from […]

Banks halt Euro 96 Mastercard ad blitz

Marketing Week

UK banks are believed to have pulled the plug on funding for Mastercard’s generic UK advertising campaign in the run-up to its sponsorship of the Euro ’96 football championships. They are also understood to be resisting pressure from rival card issuer Visa to run a generic campaign in the UK to fight Mastercard (MW July […]

Ikea reviews 4m account at AMV

Marketing Week

Swedish furniture retailer Ikea is reviewing its 4m account at Abbott Mead Vickers.BBDO, after eight years. The agency has refused to repitch for the business, though it is still under consideration by Ikea and could retain the account if no other agency comes up with suitable work. “We’ve been with them for eight years and […]

Banks scotch Mastercard

Marketing Week

Mastercard’s attempts to secure top-up financing from UK banks for a 4m to 5m pre-Christmas advertising push are understood to have collapsed. The new campaign through Publicis is believed to have been approved and scripts agreed for a new ad burst in the autumn. Mastercard’s first round of generic ads – worth 3.5m – began […]

Ikea’s marketing head quits after ten months

Marketing Week

Swedish home-furnishings chain Ikea has lost its head of marketing as it launches its first national brand-building TV campaign. Ikea is seeking a new head of UK marketing to replace marketing manager Herman Gewert who leaves the chain this month for “family reasons”. Gewert quits the post after ten months. He will take up the […]

Can Mastercard make the most of Access?

Marketing Week

Despite denials from Access and a resounding “no comment” from the more involved parties, there is no longer any doubt that the four UK clearing banks are in talks in New York to sell the brand to Mastercard for more than 100m. Lloyds, Midland and NatWest all own a 30 per cent stake in Access. […]

Mastercard puts Visa on the alert

Marketing Week

Visa International is planning a stand alone advertising campaign for its UK credit card business if global rival Mastercard buys the Access brand from the banks. Sources say it plans separate ads for Barclaycard – which has combined the two brands as Barclaycard Visa for a number of years . “Visa is worried that it […]

Ian Wright in magazine joint venture

Marketing Week

Arsenal striker Ian Wright and upmarket publisher the Magazine Collection have formed a joint venture to publish a football and lifestyle magazine. The Player, to be launched in April, will be a glossy upmarket bi-monthly aimed at men aged 20 to 44 and is the latest entrant to the burgeoning men’s magazine market. Dennis Publishing’s […]

Timing’s right to take the plunge

Marketing Week

How many people feel at odds with the current practice of marketing and the closely related business of marketing communications? Battered by the recession and controlled by accountants, perhaps despair is just around the corner? Examples of the damage wrought by the combined attentions of recession, and subsequently the bean counters, are numerous. High-street retailers […]

Sampson strengthens First Choice

Marketing Week

One of last year’s most public identity changes was the metamorphosis of holiday company Owners Abroad into First Choice. Following a troubled 1992/93 season, during which the company had been subject to a hostile takeover bid, lost market share and its share price fell, Owners Abroad commissioned research into its market position, with disappointing results. […]