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Week ending - Friday 22 March 2002 Supplied by http://www.brandrepublic.com This week's top stories: IPC appoints direct marketing director Proximity London appoints new creative director of design Project Mountain hires ex-Air Miles marketer Marriott hires MRM to push leisure offering Fiat aims Seicento ‘compact’ mailing at female drivers News stories from the last 4 weeks IPC appoints direct marketing director By Claire Billings - LONDON (Brand Republic) IPC Media has promoted subscriptions marketing director Amanda Chester to the position of direct marketing director of the company's consumer direct division. Chester takes up the role immediately with responsibility for IPC Media's four direct marketing divisions: subscriptions, database, fulfilment, and mail order and reader offers. She will report to group marketing director Philippa Brown. Brown said: "Amanda has unrivalled knowledge of subscriptions marketing and I am confident that she will lead the division in strengthening the team still further and delivering even greater revenue growth. Chester joined IPC in 1994 as a subscriptions marketing manager. Before joining IPC, she worked in the marketing department of international mail order company, The Good Book Guide. In her most recent role, as subscriptions marketing manager, Chester was instrumental in driving the recently launched subscriptions drive on AOL, owned by IPC's new parent AOL Time Warner. The appointment comes just days after IPC appointed Jemima Ransome, head of marketing for its TV listings division TX, to the position of marketing director of the division's titles, which include Radio Times and What's on TV. [back to top] Proximity London appoints new creative director of design By Claire Billings - LONDON (Brand Republic) Proximity London, the below-the-line division of BBDO, has boosted its creative line-up with the appointment of Jason Fletcher to the position of creative director of design. Fletcher joins Proximity from new-media agency Red Hot Chilli, where he was creative director with responsibility for a team of 16 designers. At Proximity, Fletcher will be responsible for all design projects at the agency, both online and offline. He will report directly to Proximity creative director Warren Moore. Moore said: "We're committed to producing beautifully crafted work for our clients in every discipline. Jason's appointment further strengthens our offering and we are delighted to have him working for us." Proximity London has won a raft of awards for its creative work in recent months, including three at the Automotive Awards in the US for work on the Volkswagen account. It won two John Caple Awards for work on Volkswagen and Famous Grouse, and walked away with more awards than any other UK agency at the DMA Royal Mail Awards last year. [back to top] Project Mountain hires ex-Air Miles marketer By Mark Kleinman - LONDON (Marketing) Loyalty Management International, the company behind the new Project Mountain loyalty scheme, has hired a former Air Miles marketer as its first client services chief. Duncan Stirling will be responsible for developing relationships with the scheme’s partners, which include Sainsbury’s. The supermarket chain has ended its tie-up with Air Miles and is looking at options to promote the new scheme. He will work alongside Project Mountain’s head, the Air Miles co-founder Keith Mills, and marketing director Richard Campbell who joined from Debenhams last month. Stirling previously worked for Air Miles and WWAV Rapp Collins. Project Mountain is scheduled for launch later this year. It will position itself as an aggressive rival to Air Miles by developing a prominent retail presence and launching a major marketing push. The scheme is already understood to have signed up WH Smith and Homebase as partners as well as an unnamed telecoms company. Potential partners in the telecoms sector include Vodafone or One 2 One, shortly to be rebranded as T-Mobile. WWAV Rapp Collins is working on a launch DM strategy for Project Mountain, while Campbell appointed WCRS to handle the advertising account earlier this month after a pitch against Leo Burnett (Marketing, March 7). The advertising and DM accounts are expected to be worth a combined £40m. The consumer name for Project Mountain has yet to be announced, but is likely to be unveiled within the next few months. The launch of the scheme will intensify competition in the market. Air Miles recently signed up BT Retail as its latest partner, and customers of BT Cellnet, soon to be renamed O2, will be able to earn miles on the time they spend on their mobile. Stirling was unavailable for comment as Marketing went to press. [back to top] Marriott hires MRM to push leisure offering By Mark Kleinman - LONDON (Marketing) Marriott Hotels has appointed McCann Relationship Marketing (MRM) to handle its UK direct marketing activity as it seeks to strengthen its presence in the leisure market. The appointment was made without a pitch and will see the agency focus on bolstering Marriott’s leisure breaks offer through a strategic communications programme over the next year. Marriott’s advertising business is handled by MRM’s sister agency McCann-Erickson. Marriott positions itself as a luxury brand which competes against chains such as Hilton and De Vere Hotels. The company is also renowned for the international calibre of its golf courses, which are the focus of MRM’s first work for the Marriott brand. A mailing campaign aimed at previous Marriott guests and at prospects sourced from golf magazine subscriptions launches later this month. The campaign highlights the Marriott Hotel and Country Club locations which offer championship-class golf courses. It is designed to act as a cross-selling communication that also targets previous Marriott leisure-break and business customers. Marriott International, the global owner of the Marriott brand, runs a loyalty scheme called Rewards, which incentivises stays at the chain and use of its leisure facilities. Whitbread Hotel Company runs nearly 60 three-, four- and five-star Marriott hotels in the UK, while Marriott International operates several more. Whitbread also owns the UK’s largest hotels chain, Travel Inn, and 13 Swallow-branded hotels. Last October, Whitbread cut 300 jobs at the Marriott chain following a 25% fall in like-for-like sales at its London hotels. The cuts followed the foot and mouth epidemic which had a major effect on many hotel operators in the UK. [back to top] Fiat aims Seicento ‘compact’ mailing at female drivers LONDON (Marketing) Fiat Auto UK is positioning its special edition Seicento 2Tone as a must-have fashion accessory in a direct marketing campaign targeted at female drivers. The mailing, which drops this month, will attempt to communicate that the Seicento 2Tone stands out from the crowd and is a surefire way to get noticed. Created by IMP London, the pack is designed to resemble a make-up compact, and is headlined: ‘Get this season’s new look’. It offers a test drive incentive to win a makeover weekend in London. Recipients are invited to open the pack, which includes a booklet featuring all the colours of the Seicento 2Tone and a description of the car’s features. At less than £7000, the car is designed to appeal to price-conscious car-buyers. Fiat’s decision to target 40,000 female prospects marks a departure from traditional male purchasers of Seicento models and also sees the car manufacturer attempt to recruit more customers within the 17- to 35-year-old group. Fiat, which also makes the Stilo, Punto, Doblo and Multipla models, is currently hunting a UK marketing director to replace Federico Goretti, who left the car firm to return to his native Italy in January. [back to top] News stories from the last 4 weeks: |
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