International News
The European Union has said it has approved WPP Group's proposed $1.2 billion acquisition of Grey Global Group, removing a major hurdle for completion of the highly anticipated deal.
The Mac Mini computer goes on sale this month -- 25 years after it was first introduced. Apple Computer's newest model turns out to carry the name of a handheld game machine unveiled in January 1980.
The Washington Post Co has announced it is acquiring online magazine Slate from Microsoft Corp. The Post company said Jacob Weisberg will stay as Slate's editor and that the business operations of Slate will be run by Washingtonpost.Newsweek Interactive, a Washington Post Co. subsidiary.
Online gaming publisher WildTangent has launched an Internet game for the season premier of the Fox TV series 24 that features branded product placement by LG Mobile Phones within the game.
Viacom co-president and CBS chairman Leslie Moonves has announced the creation of a new marketing group and named CBS marketing chief George Schweitzer its president. The new unit will serve CBS, UPN, King World, Paramount Television, Infinity Broadcasting and Viacom Outdoor.
Predictions for advertising spending next year from two leading industry forecasters are surprisingly upbeat, as they project gains will be made even after the strong growth anticipated for 2004.
U.K.-based WPP, the No. 2 advertising holding company, agreed Sept. 11 to buy New York-based Grey, the industry's No. 7 firm, in a deal initially valued at $1.52 billion in cash and WPP stock. Under that pact, either side could cancel the deal if it doesn't close by nine months later -- June 11, 2005.
Coca-Cola Co. sounds a lot like it's banking on ads for growth. In outlining its plans earlier this month the CEO said the company needs a greater share of voice. The CMO said it needs more ads promoting Coke's broad appeal. The VP of corporate marketing asked for a return to the heartstring-twanging ads of old.
Yahoo has announced it hired WPP Group's OgilvyOne to handle its interactive marketing and that the agency will soon open an office in San Francisco. The creatives numbered "about 15". Soho Square in New York, another WPP agency, will remain Yahoo's agency of record.
Samsung Electronics is about to announce that WPP Group has won the Korean consumer electronics marketer's global account worth up to $700 million during Olympic Games years, after a nine-month review. Samsung notified WPP Group over the weekend, executives familiar with the situation said.
Kraft Foods announced today it will sell its confectionary business to Wm. Wrigley Jr. Co. for roughly $1.5 billion. The expected sale, part of Kraft's ongoing "Sustainable Growth Plan" intended to build much-needed top-line growth, includes Life Savers, Creme Savers, Altoids, Trolli and Sugus brands, which make up 1.5% of Kraft's global revenues.
The summer Olympics and the election season helped boost third-quarter broadcast network net revenues from advertising sales by 32.6% from $2.1 billion to $2.8 billion, compared with the year-earlier period.
In its quest to be close to consumers wherever they are online, HP has bought the rights to tens of thousands of search engine keywords, according to the company's interactive global brand marketing chief.
While the soaring revenues of search-based Internet advertising have received the bulk of media coverage of late, a new eMarketer study indicates that other forms of online advertising are also doing well.
In a bid to buy time from investors as the Coca-Cola Co. looks to engineer a turnaround. At the heart of the new strategy, Coke executives vowed to restore "world-class" marketing with a permanent boost of up to $400 million in annual marketing and innovation investments. Executives also aim to double the value of the Coca-Cola trademark within a decade by reviving the icon with advertising with a youthful point of view.
Footwear maker Reebok has shifted a portion of its advertising responsibilities to independent agency McGarry Bowen from Omnicom Group's Arnell Group, according to executives familiar with the matter.
Consumer control. Accountability. Innovation. Engagement. Collaboration. These are the buzzwords of the marketing industry today, and they can't be repeated often enough. "Intellectually," one marketing exec told me last week, "people are starting to get it."
Nestle has cut Interpublic Group of Cos.' Universal McCann from its $1.5 billion global media review and is expected to split the business between Publicis Groupe's Zenith Optimedia, Toronto, and WPP Group's Group M, London.
Advertisers took a step closer to understanding exactly how their commercials influence shopping habits when VNU announced proposals for a new joint service between its AC Nielsen unit and Arbitron. Meanwhile, one of the world's leading ad spenders, Procter & Gamble Co., has signed up as the service's first customer and will provide input as to what kind of information advertisers are seeking.
Mars has terminated its partnership with Grey Worldwide, soon to be part of WPP Group, as part of a consolidation of its advertising with Omnicom Group's TBWA Worldwide and BBDO Worldwide. The business is officially set to be realigned by Jan. 1, 2005.
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