Edinburgh Festivals Hunt Agency
A consortium of Edinburgh’s leading festivals is on the hunt for an agency to promote the city’s flagship events through a single marketing campaign. The move by Festivals Edinburgh will be the first time it has taken such a joint approach in its history.
The body represents the city’s major events including the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Edinburgh Jazz Festival, Edinburgh Military Tattoo and Edinburgh’s Hogmanay.
Advertising and branding agencies across the UK have been invited to pitch for the launch campaign, which is expected to be a multi-million pound drive to attract visitors from the Middle East, Eastern Europe and Asia.
While agencies are being asked to base their pitches on a spend of £200,000, the confirmed budget for the overall business will be revealed at the end of the month.
Once the agency is appointed one of its first tasks will be to create an official brand image for the two-year old consortium.
Festivals Edinburgh is headed by director Faith Liddell and was formed in December 2006. The city’s main festivals have been estimated to contribute around £135m to its economy. Source
Samsung Cameras Expands Marketing Team
Samsung Cameras has expanded its marketing team with the creation of four new roles. As part of the new appointments, James Loader has joined as product marketing executive charged with helping driving its range of compact digital cameras.
Alex Glanvill has been appointed as marketing executive and joins from Billington Cartmell.
Cari Bibb has joined as retail marketing consultant, providing further support to Samsung’s current retailer initiatives.
Bibb, along with the rest of the expanding marketing team, are part of an increased marketing focus for Samsung Cameras, which this year launched a new multi million pound advertising and marketing campaign.
The growing team will also be supported by Laura Prior in her role as marketing assistant.
Juan Ramlill, marketing manager of Samsung Cameras, says the new hires come as a result of significant growth experienced by the company.
“Our increased commitment to marketing is part of our vision to grow Samsung’s strong market-leading position into 2009 and beyond,” Ramlill says. Source
Vodafone and Facebook in text message tie-up
Vodafone UK is launching a pilot service that will enable Facebook users in the UK to send text messages from their profile page to friends. The service will also be extended to include picture messages later this month.
The Vodafone Connect to Friends application will allow any Facebook user based in the UK to send text messages from their profiles at a cost of 10p per text. Vodafone will provide 25 free text credits to get customers started.
Users will then have to buy messaging credits via the online payment system Pay4it.
Pieter Knook, Vodafone Group internet services director, says: “With more than 20 million social network users the UK alone it is the perfect market in which to test a Vodafone service that allows all mobile users to send texts and picture messages via the Facebook experience.”
The service has been created in partnership with the Value Creation Centre, a Vodafone joint innovation initiative with IBM, and the Vodafone Internet Services division at Vodafone UK. Source
Yahoo! brings partners in network
Yahoo! UK and Ireland has created the Yahoo! Network, which it says gives advertisers access to 80% of the UK’s web population. The network includes publishing partners and mobile platforms.
Advertisers will have access to the Yahoo! websites including Yahoo! Search, Yahoo! Mail and Flickr, mobile operators 3 Group, T-Mobile, O2, Orange and Vodafone and search publishing partners Loot, broadcaster Five and FT.com.
Display publishing partners, including Eurosport, Bebo and BT, and inventory from over 100 other websites are also included in the network.
Mark Rabe, vice-president and managing director of sales at Yahoo! UK and Ireland, says the network will reach more than 29 million monthly users and offers advertisers “the ability to reach their target demographic with branded or direct response campaigns”.
Source
Electronic Arts stunt causes traffic chaos
A promotional stunt set up by Electronics Arts giving away £20,000 worth of fuel has caused traffic jams around a London petrol station today (September 5). The campaign was created to promote the launch of its new computer game Mercenaries 2: The World in Flames.
The games company has been offering motorists £40 worth of free fuel at the Last Stop garage in Finsbury Park, north London.
But with hundreds of motorists taking advantage of the offer the promotion has caused traffic jams throughout neighbouring streets, with cars queuing up by as far as 150 metres along the road.
Security staff had to be brought in to deal with angry commuters affected by the campaign during peak hour traffic.
An Electronic Arts spokesman says the aim of the promotion was not to cause havoc, but “cheer consumers when fuel prices are steep”.
He adds that in spite of the drama, overall the reaction towards the promotional campaign “has been very positive”. Source
 

A consortium of Edinburgh’s leading festivals is on the hunt for an agency to promote the city’s flagship events through a single marketing campaign. The move by Festivals Edinburgh will be the first time it has taken such a joint approach in its history.

The body represents the city’s major events including the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Edinburgh Jazz Festival, Edinburgh Military Tattoo and Edinburgh’s Hogmanay.

Advertising and branding agencies across the UK have been invited to pitch for the launch campaign, which is expected to be a multi-million pound drive to attract visitors from the Middle East, Eastern Europe and Asia.

While agencies are being asked to base their pitches on a spend of £200,000, the confirmed budget for the overall business will be revealed at the end of the month.

Once the agency is appointed one of its first tasks will be to create an official brand image for the two-year old consortium.

Festivals Edinburgh is headed by director Faith Liddell and was formed in December 2006. The city’s main festivals have been estimated to contribute around £135m to its economy.Source

Samsung Cameras has expanded its marketing team with the creation of four new roles. As part of the new appointments, James Loader has joined as product marketing executive charged with helping driving its range of compact digital cameras.

Alex Glanvill has been appointed as marketing executive and joins from Billington Cartmell.

Cari Bibb has joined as retail marketing consultant, providing further support to Samsung’s current retailer initiatives.

Bibb, along with the rest of the expanding marketing team, are part of an increased marketing focus for Samsung Cameras, which this year launched a new multi million pound advertising and marketing campaign.

The growing team will also be supported by Laura Prior in her role as marketing assistant.

Juan Ramlill, marketing manager of Samsung Cameras, says the new hires come as a result of significant growth experienced by the company.

"Our increased commitment to marketing is part of our vision to grow Samsung’s strong market-leading position into 2009 and beyond," Ramlill says.Source

Vodafone UK is today (September launching a pilot service that will enable Facebook users in the UK to send text messages from their profile page to friends. The service will also be extended to include picture messages later this month.

The Vodafone Connect to Friends application will allow any Facebook user based in the UK to send text messages from their profiles at a cost of 10p per text. Vodafone will provide 25 free text credits to get customers started.

Users will then have to buy messaging credits via the online payment system Pay4it.

Pieter Knook, Vodafone Group internet services director, says: "With more than 20 million social network users the UK alone it is the perfect market in which to test a Vodafone service that allows all mobile users to send texts and picture messages via the Facebook experience."

The service has been created in partnership with the Value Creation Centre, a Vodafone joint innovation initiative with IBM, and the Vodafone Internet Services division at Vodafone UK.Source

Yahoo! UK and Ireland has created the Yahoo! Network, which it says gives advertisers access to 80% of the UK’s web population. The network includes publishing partners and mobile platforms.

Advertisers will have access to the Yahoo! websites including Yahoo! Search, Yahoo! Mail and Flickr, mobile operators 3 Group, T-Mobile, O2, Orange and Vodafone and search publishing partners Loot, broadcaster Five and FT.com.

Display publishing partners, including Eurosport, Bebo and BT, and inventory from over 100 other websites are also included in the network.

Mark Rabe, vice-president and managing director of sales at Yahoo! UK and Ireland, says the network will reach more than 29 million monthly users and offers advertisers "the ability to reach their target demographic with branded or direct response campaigns".

Source

1th- 29th       Ramadan
6th               Braemar Royal Highland Gathering, Aberdeenshire
4th -7th         Burghley Horse Trials, Stamford, Lincolnshire
11th-14th      Heritage Open Days, England, Wales & Northern Ireland
13th             Last Night of the Proms, Royal Albert Hall, London SW7
10th – 13th    St. Ledger Festival, Doncaster racecourse
11th – 14th    Blenheim International Horse Trials
12th – 14th    Harrogate Autumn Flower Show, Great Yorkshire Showground
16th – 18th    Incentive World, NEC, Birmingham
16th – 18th    National Venue Show, NEC, Birmingham
22nd             Autumnal Equinox
27th – 28th    Malverns Autumn Garden and Country Show
29 Aug– Nov  Blackpool Illuminations, Blackpool

Michael Phelps criticised for Frosted Flakes sponsorship deal

Michael Phelps, the eight-time Olympic gold medallist, is suffering a backlash from health campaigners after agreeing to appear on boxes of Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes and Corn Flakes instead of the company’s healthier Wheaties cereal brand.

After winning a record-breaking eight gold medals at the Beijing Games, US swimmer Phelps will appear on Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes and Kellogg’s Corn Flakes cereal boxes from mid-September.

However, some nutritionists have hit out at the move, pointing out that Frosted Flakes (the US equivalent of Frosties) contains three times as much sugar as Wheaties and a third of the fibre. Wheaties traditionally features Olympians on its boxes.

They have argued that Phelps, who already has a sponsorship agreement with McDonald’s, is encouraging already overweight American children to eat more.

Douglas Castle, senior advisor to the Children’s International Obesity Foundation (CIOF), said: "Public figures like Michael Phelps exert a major influence over our youngsters.

"CIOF believes that celebrities should think twice before choosing to endorse or encourage the consumption of any product which is inherently unhealthful (sic) to children, especially if that product is correlated to obesity, diabetes and a myriad of dangerous conditions."

Marta Cyhan, vice-president of global promotions at the Kellogg Company, said: "Michael embodies the values behind our Frosted Flakes Earn Your Stripes programme.

"As an official sponsor of the 2008 US Olympic team and a proud sponsor of Phelps, it is only fitting that Kellogg Company feature this world-class athlete on its iconic boxes of Kellogg’s Corn Flakes and Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes cereals."

Phelps is currently appearing in a Visa commercial which celebrates his record-breaking achievement.

The TBWA/Chiat/Day ad is part of Visa’s ’Go World’ campaign. It features footage showing Phelps’ part in the US swimming team’s 4 x 100 freestyle relay victory.

Source

Guide Dogs promotes Sponsor a Puppy scheme with DRTV drive

The Guide Dogs for the Blind Association is releasing in a direct response TV campaign to promote its Sponsor a Puppy fundraising programme.

The campaign, created by TDA, aims to inspire people to support the charity with a monthly direct debit which will help fund a puppy’s training to become a qualified guide dog.

The ad shows an everyday journey that a qualified guide dog and its blind or partially sighted owner might make via public transport, including negotiating steep staircases, crowds, roadworks and cyclists. Footage of the fully trained guide dog is interspersed with that of a puppy in training.

Amanda Mitchell-Francombe, head of individual giving at Guide Dogs, said: "Guide dog puppies undergo extensive training before they are ready to provide a truly life-changing level of independence and freedom to a person with sight loss.

"By sponsoring a puppy people can help to fund the puppy’s training from six weeks to around 20 months of age, when the young dog will qualify as a working guide dog with its new blind or partially sighted owner."

The ad will air on satellite and terrestrial channels including Sky and UKTV from September 15. Viewers will be encouraged to call Guide Dogs or go online to pledge £1 a week to become a Sponsor a Puppy supporter.Source

Microsoft acquires Ciao shopping portal in $486m deal

Microsoft is acquiring market research firm Greenfield Online for $486m (£265.8m), but will only keep its European shopping comparison business Ciao and sell off its online surveys business to an undisclosed buyer.

The Seattle-based software giant has muscled in on a previously agreed $426m deal for private equity firm Quadrangle to buy Greenfield. Microsoft said it would integrate Ciao’s technology platform, online community and retailer relationships within its Live Search platform.

Ciao was founded in Munich in 1999 and was acquired by US-based Greenfield in 2005. It operates in the UK, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands and Sweden, and is the most popular shopping portal across Europe with 26.5m users per month according to ComScore.

It competes with Yahoo-owned Kelkoo, eBay’s Shopping.com, Experian’s PriceGrabber and Google Product Search (formerly known as Froogle).

The deal is expected to go through in the fourth quarter, after which Ciao will report to Rajat Taneja, general manager for worldwide search at Microsoft.

John Mangelaars, vice-president of consumer and online at Microsoft Europe, Middle East and Africa, said: "Ciao’s success has been led by a team of talented people who took a unique combination of intuitive technology and the insight that comes out of their passionate consumer community to become one of Europe’s leading shopping comparison sites.

"This makes the company a fantastic asset to the future of our search offer. Integrating Ciao’s capabilities into Live Search will provide a strong launchpad for our commercial search offer in Europe and enhance our e-commerce offering on MSN."

The related sale of Greenfield Online’s survey business is also expected to go through in the fourth quarter. No information as to the identity of the buyer Microsoft has found has been released, apart from the disclosure that it is a financial rather than a trade buyer.Source

AOL UK and Russell Grant launch interactive astrology service

AOL UK is to partner with Russell Grant Astrology to launch a new and enhanced Horoscope channel.

In addition to the traditional star-gazing content, the site includes new features such as the introduction of daily video horoscopes delivered personally by Grant.

Detailed forecasts for any sign are available, with weekly or monthly forecasts to reveal what the stars have in store. Interacting with AOL’s horoscope site, users can "Ask the Psychic" — a new service where readers can email even their most personal questions to the site’s team of psychics for a bespoke answer.

Joanna Bickmore, director of lifestyle & entertainment at AOL Europe, said: "AOL and Russell Grant working together provides a great opportunity to bring exciting content to consumers.

"We strive to offer users a compelling online experience and currently reach more than 17m unique visitors across the UK AOL network.

Kevin J Parker, sales and marketing director of Russell Grant Astrology, said: "With the experience and brand positioning of AOL it was an obvious synergy to partner with such a strong online brand. AOL continues to drive innovation and enhance the user experience and I am privileged that we can provide high quality entertaining content to further engage the users."

The partnership is the latest content deal that AOL has signed this year and follows a partnership with Last.fm that allows AOL Radio users to benefit from Last.fm’s free-on-demand service.

AOL also signed a deal with instyle.co.uk, the online arm of fashion and style bible In Style, owned by IPC Media.

Bickmore said: "Deals such as these represent AOL’s commitment to working with the world’s leading content providers and publishers to provide our users and advertisers with the most compelling offering on the market." Source

MySpace passes Yahoo! to take US display ad lead

SAN FRANCISCO – News Corporation’s Fox Interactive Media and its group of websites, led by MySpace, have overtaken Yahoo! in the US online display market measured by number of ads viewed, according to new research.

Fox Interactive’s sites attracted 56.8bn ad views in June compared to 53.1bn ad views on Yahoo!’s sites, a drop of around 12% from May, according to comScore.

However Yahoo! display ads are reportedly sold at five times the price of ads on MySpace, which has had trouble pulling in the higher rates of rivals Yahoo! and AOL.

The News Corp-owned site said it was closing the gap on its competitors in terms of display ad revenue after the revamp of its home page in June, which has attracted big-name sponsors such as fast-food chain Wendy’s.

Yahoo! raised concerns about comScore’s measurement methodology following the release of the results. In response, comScore said that Yahoo! had experienced an "organic decline" in display ad views, which was unrelated to any changes in the company’s measurement methods.

It is a further blow for Yahoo! and its embattled management led by chief executive Jerry Yang.

Source

Michael Phelps criticised for Frosted Flakes sponsorship deal

Michael Phelps, the eight-time Olympic gold medallist, is suffering a backlash from health campaigners after agreeing to appear on boxes of Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes and Corn Flakes instead of the company’s healthier Wheaties cereal brand.

After winning a record-breaking eight gold medals at the Beijing Games, US swimmer Phelps will appear on Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes and Kellogg’s Corn Flakes cereal boxes from mid-September.

However, some nutritionists have hit out at the move, pointing out that Frosted Flakes (the US equivalent of Frosties) contains three times as much sugar as Wheaties and a third of the fibre. Wheaties traditionally features Olympians on its boxes.

They have argued that Phelps, who already has a sponsorship agreement with McDonald’s, is encouraging already overweight American children to eat more.

Douglas Castle, senior advisor to the Children’s International Obesity Foundation (CIOF), said: “Public figures like Michael Phelps exert a major influence over our youngsters.

“CIOF believes that celebrities should think twice before choosing to endorse or encourage the consumption of any product which is inherently unhealthful (sic) to children, especially if that product is correlated to obesity, diabetes and a myriad of dangerous conditions.”

Marta Cyhan, vice-president of global promotions at the Kellogg Company, said: “Michael embodies the values behind our Frosted Flakes Earn Your Stripes programme.

“As an official sponsor of the 2008 US Olympic team and a proud sponsor of Phelps, it is only fitting that Kellogg Company feature this world-class athlete on its iconic boxes of Kellogg’s Corn Flakes and Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes cereals.”

Phelps is currently appearing in a Visa commercial which celebrates his record-breaking achievement.

The TBWA/Chiat/Day ad is part of Visa’s ’Go World’ campaign. It features footage showing Phelps’ part in the US swimming team’s 4 x 100 freestyle relay victory.

Source

Guide Dogs promotes Sponsor a Puppy scheme with DRTV drive

The Guide Dogs for the Blind Association is releasing in a direct response TV campaign to promote its Sponsor a Puppy fundraising programme.

The campaign, created by TDA, aims to inspire people to support the charity with a monthly direct debit which will help fund a puppy’s training to become a qualified guide dog.

The ad shows an everyday journey that a qualified guide dog and its blind or partially sighted owner might make via public transport, including negotiating steep staircases, crowds, roadworks and cyclists. Footage of the fully trained guide dog is interspersed with that of a puppy in training.

Amanda Mitchell-Francombe, head of individual giving at Guide Dogs, said: “Guide dog puppies undergo extensive training before they are ready to provide a truly life-changing level of independence and freedom to a person with sight loss.

“By sponsoring a puppy people can help to fund the puppy’s training from six weeks to around 20 months of age, when the young dog will qualify as a working guide dog with its new blind or partially sighted owner.”

The ad will air on satellite and terrestrial channels including Sky and UKTV from September 15. Viewers will be encouraged to call Guide Dogs or go online to pledge £1 a week to become a Sponsor a Puppy supporter.

Guide Dogs promotes Sponsor a Puppy scheme with DRTV drive

The Guide Dogs for the Blind Association is releasing in a direct response TV campaign to promote its Sponsor a Puppy fundraising programme.

The campaign, created by TDA, aims to inspire people to support the charity with a monthly direct debit which will help fund a puppy’s training to become a qualified guide dog.

The ad shows an everyday journey that a qualified guide dog and its blind or partially sighted owner might make via public transport, including negotiating steep staircases, crowds, roadworks and cyclists.

Footage of the fully trained guide dog is interspersed with that of a puppy in training.

Amanda Mitchell-Francombe, head of individual giving at Guide Dogs, said: “Guide dog puppies undergo extensive training before they are ready to provide a truly life-changing level of independence and freedom to a person with sight loss.

“By sponsoring a puppy people can help to fund the puppy’s training from six weeks to around 20 months of age, when the young dog will qualify as a working guide dog with its new blind or partially sighted owner.”

The ad will air on satellite and terrestrial channels including Sky and UKTV from September 15. Viewers will be encouraged to call Guide Dogs or go online to pledge £1 a week to become a Sponsor a Puppy supporter. Source

Microsoft acquires Ciao shopping portal in $486m deal

Microsoft is acquiring market research firm Greenfield Online for $486m (£265.8m), but will only keep its European shopping comparison business Ciao and sell off its online surveys business to an undisclosed buyer.

The Seattle-based software giant has muscled in on a previously agreed $426m deal for private equity firm Quadrangle to buy Greenfield. Microsoft said it would integrate Ciao’s technology platform, online community and retailer relationships within its Live Search platform.

Ciao was founded in Munich in 1999 and was acquired by US-based Greenfield in 2005. It operates in the UK, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands and Sweden, and is the most popular shopping portal across Europe with 26.5m users per month according to ComScore.

It competes with Yahoo-owned Kelkoo, eBay’s Shopping.com, Experian’s PriceGrabber and Google Product Search (formerly known as Froogle).

The deal is expected to go through in the fourth quarter, after which Ciao will report to Rajat Taneja, general manager for worldwide search at Microsoft.

John Mangelaars, vice-president of consumer and online at Microsoft Europe, Middle East and Africa, said: “Ciao’s success has been led by a team of talented people who took a unique combination of intuitive technology and the insight that comes out of their passionate consumer community to become one of Europe’s leading shopping comparison sites.

“This makes the company a fantastic asset to the future of our search offer. Integrating Ciao’s capabilities into Live Search will provide a strong launchpad for our commercial search offer in Europe and enhance our e-commerce offering on MSN.”

The related sale of Greenfield Online’s survey business is also expected to go through in the fourth quarter. No information as to the identity of the buyer Microsoft has found has been released, apart from the disclosure that it is a financial rather than a trade buyer. Source

AOL UK and Russell Grant launch interactive astrology service

AOL UK is to partner with Russell Grant Astrology to launch a new and enhanced Horoscope channel.

In addition to the traditional star-gazing content, the site includes new features such as the introduction of daily video horoscopes delivered personally by Grant.

Detailed forecasts for any sign are available, with weekly or monthly forecasts to reveal what the stars have in store. Interacting with AOL’s horoscope site, users can “Ask the Psychic” — a new service where readers can email even their most personal questions to the site’s team of psychics for a bespoke answer.

Joanna Bickmore, director of lifestyle & entertainment at AOL Europe, said: “AOL and Russell Grant working together provides a great opportunity to bring exciting content to consumers.

“We strive to offer users a compelling online experience and currently reach more than 17m unique visitors across the UK AOL network.

Kevin J Parker, sales and marketing director of Russell Grant Astrology, said: “With the experience and brand positioning of AOL it was an obvious synergy to partner with such a strong online brand. AOL continues to drive innovation and enhance the user experience and I am privileged that we can provide high quality entertaining content to further engage the users.”

The partnership is the latest content deal that AOL has signed this year and follows a partnership with Last.fm that allows AOL Radio users to benefit from Last.fm’s free-on-demand service.

AOL also signed a deal with instyle.co.uk, the online arm of fashion and style bible In Style, owned by IPC Media.

Bickmore said: “Deals such as these represent AOL’s commitment to working with the world’s leading content providers and publishers to provide our users and advertisers with the most compelling offering on the market.” Source

MySpace passes Yahoo! to take US display ad lead

SAN FRANCISCO – News Corporation’s Fox Interactive Media and its group of websites, led by MySpace, have overtaken Yahoo! in the US online display market measured by number of ads viewed, according to new research.

Fox Interactive’s sites attracted 56.8bn ad views in June compared to 53.1bn ad views on Yahoo!’s sites, a drop of around 12% from May, according to comScore.

However Yahoo! display ads are reportedly sold at five times the price of ads on MySpace, which has had trouble pulling in the higher rates of rivals Yahoo! and AOL.

The News Corp-owned site said it was closing the gap on its competitors in terms of display ad revenue after the revamp of its home page in June, which has attracted big-name sponsors such as fast-food chain Wendy’s.

Yahoo! raised concerns about comScore’s measurement methodology following the release of the results. In response, comScore said that Yahoo! had experienced an “organic decline” in display ad views, which was unrelated to any changes in the company’s measurement methods.

It is a further blow for Yahoo! and its embattled management led by chief executive Jerry Yang. Source