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| Welcome to Europe Latest update: 07 September 2005 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Unicom, the trade association which represents a majority of Italian companies involved in the communications industry, has called on the country's competition authorities to launch an investigation into WPP's dominant position on the advertising market in Italy. Lorenzo Strona, head of Unicom, has asked the 'Antitrust' - as the 'Autorità Garante della Concorrenza e del Mercato' is popularly known - to investigate the position as a result of WPP's takeover of Grey. That deal, Unicom says, means that the holding company now controls over one-third of the advertising market in Italy, according to the local industry newsletter AdvExpress. Strona's call has been backed by Marco Testa, head of Italy's leading independent ad agency, Marco Testa. "At a time when the market is suffering, with commissions falling, we are witnessing the continual expansion of WPP. Sooner or later clients will wake up to this, but when?", he tells rival publication Pubblicità Italia. Speaking in the same magazine, however, Marco Benatti, country manager for Italy for WPP, counters that official limits on concentration already exist and that, to a certain extent, the phenomenon benefits the market. Elsewhere in Europe this week, Martin Sorrell, head of WPP, took advantage of a trip to Paris to take a 'pop' at the French-based rival group Havas. Briefly a rival in the pursuit of Grey - the US-based network recently acquired by WPP for $1.3 billion - Havas is currently the subject of speculation as an outside investor, Vincent Bolloré, gradually increases his shareholding ahead of a possible acquisition attempt. Sorrell did not know, he said, whether Procter & Gamble, a key client, had influenced the Grey deal in any way but that Havas had repeatedly lost P&G accounts in the past. Question marks, he says, now hang over the group as a result of Mr. Bolloré's 22% stake. Click on the link below (left) to visit the site of AdvExpress, which published the story about WPP's potential monopoly problems in Italy, in Italian. Alternatively, click on the link below (right) to visit the site of Le Figaro in France, where a longer version of the interview with Martin Sorrell is available, in French.
11.11.04
Saatchi & Saatchi has developed a new campaign designed to build acceptance of Spain's gypsy communities among the general population, says the Spanish industry newsletter Marketing Directo. The work has been produced on behalf of the Fundación Secretariado Gitano, a non-governmental interest group which was able to call on financing from the European Social Fund, and uses the slogan "Conócelos antes de juzgarlos" ("Know them before you judge them"). Its aim is to bring to an end the prejudices that still exist in Spain against gypsies, Marketing Directo says. The agency's approach draws a parallel between this and other forms of discrimination which would appear unjust or unjustified were they to occur: for example, if a bus driver were to react to the refusal of one passenger to pay his fare by throwing all his passengers off the bus. Developed with the aid of qualitative studies among both the public and gypsies, the campaign takes in TV, radio, internet, outdoor and merchandising and will run in two waves - one now and a second to launch in spring 2005. Click on the link below (left) to read this story and see an example from the campaign for yourself, in Spanish, on the Marketing Directo website. Alternatively, click on the link below (right) to visit Saatchi & Saatchi's Spanish website or - recommended - here to go to the gitanos.org website where you can see versions of the campaign prepared for the internet and examples of all the pieces ('piezas').
11.11.04
Germany's discount grocery retail giants are not normally noted for the quality of their service, with barebone presentation and a minimum of in-store assistance. One, however, looks set to break that image with news that Lidl is mounting a recruitment drive and planning changes at the checkout to ensure customers are served quicker and better, says the magazine Der Spiegel. Traditionally, Lidl and arch-rival Aldi keep the prices of their products low by making savings in personnel costs and store outfitting. That one of them is now willing to change its formula may be largely attributable to the longlasting consumer slump which, it appears, is now even affecting the discount sector. After years of unbroken growth, Der Spiegel says, sales at Aldi have been falling for some months: during September alone, according to market observers, revenues were down 3% on a like-for-like basis. According to the grocery trade 'bible' Lebensmittel Zeitung, Lidl is facing even harder times, with sales down 6% year on year. This is in part due to a price-war being waged between the two chains and Lidl may be admitting that that is not the right way to turn the situation around. Click on the link below (left) to read a fuller version of this article for yourself, in German, on the Spiegel website. Alternatively, to see what a Lidl checkout looks like on a good day, click on the link below (right).
10.11.04
Adidas and the England and Real Madrid football player, David Beckham, are set to unveil their Beckham-branded lifestyle collection on November 18th, writes the German advertising magazine Werben & Verkaufen (W&V). It was first announced in March of this year that the sportswear manufacturer had produced a logo for future products based around the shape Beckham's body forms when taking his 'trademark' free kicks (click here to see that press release, in English, on the Adidas corporate website).
Sales in Germany, W&V says, will be exclusively through outlets operated by Otto, Sport Scheck and Foot Locker. PR and point-of-sale promotions will support the launch. Click on the link below (left) to read a fuller version of this story for yourself - in German - in the pages of W&V. Alternatively, click on the link below (right) to visit the Adidas site or here to go to an earlier story on this page in which it is shown that, according to the accountants at Real Madrid, Beckham is, officially, 'worthless'.
10.11.04
Trading income at Spain's private television companies during the first 9 months of 2004 exceeded that of the state-run channels operated by RTVE. Not only that, says the business newspaper Cinco Días, but their share of the audience has been greater than that of RTVE since July of this year. Given that it also receives public funding, RTVE' s overall income remains greater, although even that source is under pressure from the European Union. Of its competitors, Telecinco made the strongest gains, Cinco Días says, up over 28% during the period. Antena 3, the other leading private station, increased its revenues by over 22%. RTVE has been achieving significantly- lower audience figures over the past year, a time during which advertising expenditure has been growing strongly. Above all, however, its income has been hit by the fact that it can no longer sell on the rights to soccer matches, as these can be bought directly by its competitors from whoever owns the rights. Football, as ever, remains an attractive crowd puller in Spain. Click on the link below (left) to read a longer version of this story for yourself, in Spanish, in the pages of Cinco Días. Alternatively, click on the link below (right) to visit Antena 3, the broadcasting empire which grew out of a single, national radio station once Spain's airwaves were liberalised 15 years ago.
10.11.04
Individuals interrupting play at major sporting events is nothing new, but a recent incident at last Sunday's Norwegian football Cup Final between Brann and Lyn may have been something a little out of the ordinary. The man in question, who has not been named, entered the pitch wearing nothing but a pair of briefs but painted entirely in the colours of the Lyn - including a faithful reproduction of the Puma logo which adorns the team's shirts, painted on his breast. Rumour has been rife ever since that the invasion was, in fact, a guerilla marketing stunt dreamt up by the sportswear brand and its events marketing agency, Studio 54. Contacted by the local advertising magazine Propaganda, neither party would confirm or deny the report. When asked by Propaganda about the incident, the country's football association was also in the dark but said that it would be 'extremely serios' if that were the case. Puma is known to have resorted to guerilla marketing tactics in the past to promote its links with Lyn. The game, for the record, was won 4-1 by Brann, thus recapturing the title for the first time in 22 years. Click on the link below (left) to read a fuller version of this story for yourself - and to see a bigger picture of the invader - in Norwegian, in the pages of Propaganda. Alternatively, click on the link below (right) to read a report of the game - again, though, in Norwegian.
02.11.04
When they shop, people are like rats. Store workers may have been thinking it for decades, but now a Dutch professor has gone 'official' with a theory that seems to add substance to anecdote. Stijn van Osselaar, professor of consumer behaviour at the Rotterdam School of Management, says that the similarities between the reasoning of shoppers and rats bear 'striking' similarities. His theory, says the Dutch newspaper Algemeen Dagblad, is intricate, but is based on the fact that shoppers are likely to manifest learned behaviour in selecting their purchases. "If you've learned that Calvé peanut butter is tasty and that it's made by Calvé, then that's what you remember. If you then hear that the reason it's so nice is because there are so many peanuts in it, that's less important. There's little point in telling you subsequently that such-and-such a retail brand doesn't contain as many peanuts". Another of van Osselaar's conclusions, Algemeen Dagblad says, is that we often buy unnecessarily- expensive brands. Not that consumers are dumb, he says, but because they think like rats. "I prefer to say that these animals are clever". Van Osselaer's learnings, he says, allow manufacturers and marketing experts to apply directly to their own research. They shoould, he continues, not make the matter more complicated than it is - after all, consumers don't. Click on the link below (left) to read this story for yourself, in Dutch, on the website of Algemeen Dagblad. Alternatively, click on the link below (right) to visit the site of the Rotterdam School of Management (RSM), which presents itself as a 'gateway to the world' or here - and which is enough to make one think that there is a perverse kind of collective theory- forming going on at the Rotterdam School of Management - to go to a page on the site where another professor, Muel Kaptein, professes to having observed rat-like behaviour in the workplace (and which, for once, is written in English).
02.11.04
Barcelona football club's proud status as standard bearer for the Catalan nation, coupled with its financial strength, has meant that it has been able - unlike most other top teams - to resist the trend for selling advertising space on players' shirts. The subject has become a regular feature of annual general meetings and, until now, the vote has always gone against. Now that could be set to change, says the news agency AFP, with an offer arriving at the club that could be worth between € 13 million and €17 million per year. And the 'suitor' who would want to lay out so much money to associate itself with one of the world's most high-profile football teams. Rather disappointingly, it is the online betting company betandwin. Based in Vienna, Austria, betandwin is said to be in negotiation with 'Barça' over the length of the contract, expected to be between 3 and 5 years, AFP says. Click on the link below (left) to read this story for yourself, in Spanish, on Yahoo's Spanish-language news service. Alternatively, click on the link below (right) to visit the home of FC Barcelona on the web.
01.11.04
Earlier this year, Heineken announced it was linking with Krups to take a fresh approach to the beer-drinking market, (click here to see the story reported on this page, in English, by From Europe With Love or here to see a longer feature relating to the system). Called BeerTender and consisting of a dispensing machine made by Krups and specially- designed barrels of draft beer, supplied by Heineken, the system is on trial in the Netherlands before potentially being rolled out in other countries. This week, Heineken announced that the one-millionth barrel of BeerTender had been sold. In addition, from the end of October barrels of two additional beers - Amstel and Brand, both made by Heineken - will also be available for the BeerTender system. Since Heineken and Krups linked to launch the initiative, rival InBev (formerly Interbrew) has introduced a similar system, developed in conjunction with Philips (click here to see a report of that launch, again in English, on From Europe With Love). Alternatively, click on the link below (left) to read this latest story for yourself, in Dutch, on the website of the financial newspaper, De Financiële Telegraaf, or click on the link below (right) to visit the BeerTender website.
01.11.04
France's economy minister, Nicolas Sarkozy - and, it has to be said, one of the most energetic occupants of that office in Europe - has announced a € 2.5 million promotional campaign to make the French aware of how by making minor adjustments to their driving behaviour, they can reduce the country's petrol-related energy bill by 10%, writes the news agency AFP. On Friday, Sarkozy launched what has been termed as the "chasse au gaspi en voiture" ("pursuit of car-related waste"), designed to encourage the French to make those savings by way of "simple, daily acts". "The French have to know", Sarkozy said, "that you can save a lot of money by looking after your car well - inflating the tyres to the correct pressure, buying a car that doesn't use too much petrol and that is not so polluting". Sarkozy's campaign is based around 10 simple pieces of advice, contained in approxiimately 20 million brochures to be distributed in the nation's service stations. Drivers will be promised that the savings to be made are the equivalent of five full tanks each year. To read a fuller version of this story for yourself, in French, on the AFP website, click on the link below (left). Alternatively, to visit the French government's French website - English version and, it has to be said, rather impressive - click on the link below (right).
28.10.04
Hard times are ahead for the likes of Snickers, Nescafé and Co., writes the newspaper Die Welt, with cheaper retail brands set to chase traditional manufacturer brands off German shop shelves over the next 5 to 6 years. That, at least, is the opinion of consultants A.T. Kearney. Kearney reckons that potential gains of € 300 million are there to be won by retailers over the period, thus boosting private label's share of the German grocery market to 35%. And that's not even counting hard discounters like Aldi. According to a study released to the newspaper by Peter Pfeiffer, head of A.T. Kearney's consumer goods and retail division, the majority of this increase in revenues would come directly from makers of traditional brands, with the most affected being those companies whose brands are only the 2nd- and 3rd-largest in their category. Brand manufacturers, Pfeiffer says, have already had to take big hits as discounters have grown their business over recent years, much of it deriving from the sale of own-label and 'no-name' brands such as Tengelmann's 'A&P' and Aldi's 'Tandil' detergent, which retail, on average, at about 55% less than their branded counterparts. Now retailers are expected to try to extend their private label offering into premium segments. "Our studies show", Pfeiffer tells the paper, that the consumer perceptions between retailer and manufacturer brands have become blurred". Out of 500 interviewees spoken to by Kearney, practically all confessed to having a positive perception of own label, to the point where such products could now be labelled as "quasi brands". German retailers, however, have been slow to truly exploit the full potential offered by private label goods, unlike their foreign counterparts such as Carrefour and Tesco. Click on the link below (left) to read more about A. T. Kearney's view of the German private label market, in German, in the pages of Die Welt. Alternatively, visit Kearney's German website by clicking on the link below (right).
28.10.04
Unilever's Dutch subsidiary Unox has issued a statement to clarify that the webcam placed in a C1000 supermarket in the town of Alphen aan den Rijn were not installed at its request. Unox was obliged to respond to the accusation on account of the fact that the camera was pointing directly at a shelf carrying the company's smoked ('rookworst') sausages. In fact, the camera was set up on the initiative of Gerard Rutte, a Dutch retail expert who has launched a web platform, allesoverfabrikanten.nl ('everything about manufacturers') designed to serve as a focal point for manufacturers, suppliers and supermarkets. Companies subscribing to the site can - among other things - keep an eye on what is happening in individual stores and observe consumer reactions to their products. Unilever is, indeed, a subscriber to the site, as are Heineken, Smiths crisps and Lever Fabergé Nederland. The fact that the camera was set up to point at its products is pure chance, Unox says, despite claims in the media to the contrary. In fact, its managers had not even looked at the images and, in any case, other forms of market research are preferable as they provide more information relating to the purchase decision. To read a fuller version this story for yourself, in Dutch, on the website of AgriHolland Nieuws, which published it, just click on the link below (left). Alternatively, click here to visit the 'allesoverfabrikanten' site or on the link below (right) to visit the Unox website.
27.10.04
The past 22 years, says the French newspaper Le Figaro, have seen a continual stream of brand extensions in the detergent sector with the leading player, Procter & Gamble, having made no new brand introduction since the launch of Vizir, in 1982. Now, however, P&G is looking to extend its 'iconic, male' household cleaning brand, Monsieur Propre, into the clothes detergent category. Mr Propre Lessive, as the new product is known, is intended to fill a gap in the company's range, Le Figaro says: a practical, effective detergent that is easy to use and also has a fun, approachable character. The launch, which is being conducted in conjunction with the ad agency Grey, will use an initial phase of sales promotions and press/ public relations using the line: "Pourquoi le T-Shirt de Mr Propre est-il si propre?" ("Why is Mr. Propre's T-shirt so clean?). An advertising campaign is set to follow in December, the magazine says. To read a fuller version of this story for yourself, in French, on the Le Figaro website, click on the link below (left). Alternatively, to visit Procter & Gamble's French website and, specifically, the page dedicated to the current and historic status of the Mr Propre brand, click on the link below (right).
27.10.04
They are (apparently) a familiar sight on the streets of the Swedish capital of Stockholm, but now the city's authorities have had enouugh and are to enforce legislation barring the use of cars as mobile billboards to advertise local porn clubs, writes the advertising industry newsletter Dagens Media. In a press release issued to local media, city councillor Margareta Olofson says that it should be possible for the inhabitants of Stockholm to go about their daily business without being confronted with degrading pictures of half-naked women and that regulations forbidding it would now be enforced. Stockholm has long sought to disassociate itself from links with the porn industry in visitors' minds. Two years ago it fought a battle to prevent a foreign company from launching a porn-related site at the address stockholm.com. Commenting on the latest development on Dagens Media's website, one visitor asks just how far the new regulations may go. Will, for example, 'sexist' advertisements for women's underwear now be banned in the city? To read this story for yourself, in Swedish, on the Dagens Media website, click on the link below (left). Alternatively, to visit the official public face of Stockholm, in English, just click on the link below (right).
26.10.04
Ikea's latest advertising campaign in Norway features pictures of people's naked bottoms and invites shoppers to select the sofa from its furniture range that best suits the shape. A cheeky approach, but one that is not to everybody's taste, it seems. Principal among those voicing their protest, says the local advertising magazine Propaganda, are two women's groups: Kvinnefronten (The Women's Front of Norway) and Krisesentersekretariatet (The Women's Shelter). "The effect of the campaign may be to evoke associations of prostitution", the two groups state in a joint press release, adding that the advertisements may contravene paragraph 1 of the country's marketing law and questioning the relevance of showing images of naked bottoms in the context. The country's consumer ombudsman, however, has ruled that the Ikea ad does not contravene any law or guideline as the bottoms shown are not presented in a sexually- procative context or manner. To read a fuller version this story for yourself, in Norwegian, on the Propaganda website, click on the link below (left). Alternatively, to visit Ikea's Norwegian website, see one of the bottoms and select a sofa from the company's extensive range which suits it, just click on the link below (right).
26.10.04
Belgium's Catholic church is not known for seizing the initiative and putting itself in the spotlight by way of exploiting modern means of communication, but a campaign running since October 12th is currently changing all that, writes the newspaper La Dernière Heure. In what is an unprecedented step, the Fondation Saint-Paul - a foundation which exists to encourage young people to explore and respect the gospel of Saint Mark - has called in an advertising agency (Grey) to produce a free postcard, poster and internet banner campaign targeting 15 to 25 year-olds and inviting them to 'save themselves' by visiting a dedicated website and learning more about the foundation and its activity. "Because the today's young people are the bosses of tomorrow", spokesman Xavier Cornet tells La Dernière Heure, "and because one can sense a great spiritual thirst among them". The fact that they are targeting purely young people could concern some, the paper says, given that any cult - whether recognised by the state or not - could use similar means to reach similar audiences. Indeed, no legislation exists to restrict their ability to do so, although the cost of mounting promotional campaigns does constitute a practical barrier. Fondation Saint-Paul, however, enjoys significant backing which, although it is a religious organisation, is obtained independently of the church. Click on the link below (left) to read this story for yourself, in French, on the website of La Dernière Heure. Alternatively, click on the link below (right) to visit the website of the 'Fondation' where you can see examples of the posters and visuals developed by Grey. To visit the 'save yourself' website itself, click here. If you want to visit Grey's Belgian website - where the agency bills itself as 'a marriage agency between brands and consuimers' - just click here.
26.10.04
The film 'Super Size Me', in which a man feeds himself for an entire month on nothing but McDonald's hamburgers, launched in Spain on October 15th, writes the local industry newsletter Marketing Directo, but many potential filmgoers may have remained oblivious to the fact, due to an advertising blackout imposed by the country's TV stations. Notro Films, which has distribution rights in Spain, is accusing the TV companies of 'censorship' after a decision by the country's self-regulatory comunications authorities instructing them not to air a campaign originally planned to run between October 10th and 14th. The ads, the authorities decided, did not constitute fair competition and denigrated the company, people and products associated with the McDonald's brand. Although it could also be suspected that McDonald's - one of Spain's leading advertisers - might have exerted pressure in the matter, the company says it had no contact with TV stations over the campaign. To coincide with the film's launch, McDonald's has been running a print campaign focusing on its extended product range, including healthier options. Click on the link below (left) to read a fuller version of this story for yourself, in Spanish, on the Marketing Directo website. Alternatively, click on the link below (right) to visit the McDonald's Spain website (and where the current special offer, on the 'Big Tasty', certainly has a 'super-size' feel about it. Or click here. to visit the website dedicated to Super Size Me, which is, as the site claims, 'a film of epic portions'.
25.10.04
Aldi, the German-based discount retailer of groceries and household goods, claims it sold out of 30,000 pieces of art stocked in its Dutch stores over the past two weeks. More commonly an environment for simply-branded, low-priced consumer staples, Aldi first branched out into art last year in a successful promotion run in its German stores, writes the online newspaper De Volksrant. Now, having extended the concept to neighbouring Holland, it is considering running the promotion in furthr countries. The works offered - all limited-edition pieces signed by the artist concerned - sold for €12.99. Aldi's aim in running the promotion (and apart from making money) is explained by a company spokesman as: "to make the work of young, independent artists accessible to a broader public. In addition to driving demand for contemporary art, the promotion has served to generate a significant amount of publicity for Aldi, which normally limits its own promotional efforts to product leaflets and newspaper advertising. Artists happy to see their pictures displayed alongside cat food and crisps included Robert Heykoop, Corinne Annelies and Thessa van der Voort, De Volkskrant says. Work ranged from realistic to abstract and the promotion sparked a lively aftermarket, with pictures bought at Aldi prices later being offered for sale - often on the same evening - for as much as €150. To read a fuller version this story for yourself, in Dutch on the Volksrant website, just click on the link below (left). Alternatively, to visit the Interview NSS site and read up about other recent studies conducted by the agency, just click on the link below (right).
25.10.04
Migros has unveiled its answer to the highly-successful in-home coffee preparation system marketed by Nestlé under the name 'Nespresso', writes the Swiss newspaper Tagesanzeiger. First announced on this page in September, the new system is to be branded 'Delizio' and has, Tagesanzeiger says, been designed by the same man originally responsible for dreaming up Nespresso. 57 year-old Eric Favre, who runs a small company in the 600-inhabitant village of Saint Barthélemy, was 28 when he first entered service at Nestlé and his idea for a domestic coffee machine using capsules was first patented in 1978. Nestlé didn't realise the potential of Nespresso until seven years later, when it set up a division, headed by Favre, to manufacture and market the machines. Now Favre is set to make life difficult for his former employer, Tagesanzeiger says, with the launch of Delizio, a device using similar technology but able to serve tea in addition to coffee. The idea was developed after Favre left Nestlé and was licensed to the Italian maker of espresso machines, Gaggia, for all markets outside Switzerland. In contrast to Nespresso, which uses aluminium capsules, Delizio uses plastic ones which can simply be thrown away with the rest of the domestic waste. Migros hopes Delizio will help it to boost its share of the Swiss coffee market - already in the region of 50% - even further. An initial price of SFr. 298 has been set, although with Christmas on the horizon, special offers are to be expected over the coming months. Click on the link below (left) to visit the Tagesanzeiger website, where you can read a fuller version of this story for yourself, in German. Click on the link below (right) to visit the dedicated Nespresso website where you can compare the virtues of the 'original' to its more recent rival.
25.10.04
Clear Channel, the media owner and outdoor advertising site operator, has had a ruling against it confirmed by the appeal courts and will now be obliged to take down 23 large-format poster sites it had erected in Vallée de la Rance, around the French town of Dinan. The sites were, the court ruled, illegal and the judgment could have ramifications for similar sites across France, increasingly the target of 'anti-advertising' lobbyists, says the newspaper Libération. The ruling was made on the basis that Clear Channel had violated environmental regulations operating in Dinan and designed to ensure that the landscape retains its natural beauty. The court case was prompted by the interest group Paysages de France, which says it is opposed to "all forms of visual pollution". This is the first ruling of its type but given the principle, Clear Channel and other operators of such sites - such as JC Decaux, will clearly have to sit up and take notice. While the regulations are very precise, punctilious even, Benoît Busson, a spokesman for Paysages de France, tells Libération, they are largely inored because it is in the interests of both parties concerned in the transaction - the site operators who can sell the space and the local authorities who charge them for the location. "For the first time", Busson tells the paper, "we took on the poster company directly here. "Until now we had just gone after the authorities". Clear Channel is, in fact, France's second-largest operator of poster sites, smaller than Decaux but larger than the country's other, historic poster firm, Giraudy, largely as a result of its having taken over Dauphin "Given their size, it was a bit like David and Goliath", Pierre-Jean Delahousse, president of Paysages de France tells Libération. "But we wanted to try. And that encourages us to reorient our strategy in the direction of the poster companies". To read a fuller version of this story for yourself, in French, on the Libération website, click on the link below (left). Alternatively, to visit the Clear Channel's French website, click on the link below (right).
25.10.04
A number of Norway's leading manufacturers of branded goods have commissioned ad agency TBWA to produce a campaign stressing the quality of 'original' manufacturer brands compared to own label products marketed by major retail chains, says the local advertising magazine Propaganda. In Norway as elsewhere, Propaganda says, retailer brands are becoming an ever firmer fixture in shopping baskets, not least because they tend to be sold at prices lower than those of traditional brands. This has prompted the country's branded goods association, Dagligvareleverandørenes - whoes members include Cederroth, Findus, Grilstad, Midelfart, Osram and TINE - to respond with a collective promotion designed to remind consumers that these brands stand for quality, recognisabilty, safety and innovation. The concept presented by TBWA Oslo, Propaganda says, is a local adaptation of work that has already been proven to work internationally. The campaign, originally produced by Vienna-based Demner Merlicek & Bergmann has, indeed, been running in Austria since 1997. Click on the link below (left) to visit the Propaganda website to read a fuller version of this story for yourself, in Norwegian. Alternatively, lick on the link below (right) to visit the website of one of the companies mentioned in this article, TINE - which makes and markets a range of grocery products including desserts, drinks and yogurts - or here to see the campaign reported on the Austrian advertising site, Horizont.
22.10.04
A contentious week in Spanish advertising continued on Friday (click here to see an earlier story about Renault angering Madrid metro workers) with the consumers' association, Facua, disputing fashion firm Hugo Boss's decision to use fashion models as ball girls at the Masters Series tennis event it has been sponsoring in Madrid. Like many other tournaments around the world, the event usually calls on the services of young boys and girls from local tennis schools to pick up balls and deliver them back to the players. Taking advantage of its sponsorhip rights, however, Hugo Boss enlisted a team of attractive young women to run around the courts. This, says Facua, contravenes the general law on advertising in Spain which, in article 3a, prohibits "advertising which harms the dignity of a person or which renders vulnerable the values and rights recognised by the Constitution, in particular in relation to women and young people". Hugo Boss, in using models instead of young amateurs, is accused of being sexist which Facua says, contravenes that article. Manuel Santana, Spanish tennis legend and organiser of the event, has said that Boss can continue to use the models. Click on the link below (left) to read this story for yourself, in Spanish, on the Marketing Directo website, the marketing industry newsletter which originally printed it. Alternatively, click on the link below (right) to visit the dedicated page on the website of Spain's leading sports newspaper, Marca, which covers tennis and where this issue is definitely overshadowing the matches themselves - not least as a result of the photo opportunities it has generated. Or if you'd like to see the story covered, in English, by the BBC, just click here.
20.10.04
Dutch discount drugstore chain Kruidvat has been ordered by an Amsterdam judge to stop altering the packaging of L'Oréal products stocked on its shelves, writes the online newspaper Zibb. The ruling is likely to lead to L'Oréal products disappearing from the retailer's shelves altogether. Kruidvat resorted to its practice of altering product codes on the items sold in order to conceal where it had sourced them from. In the Netherlands, L'Oréal only distributes its products through approved perfumeries and drugstores that meet certain quality criteria. Holes in its distribution system, however, meant that Kruidvat was able to obtain L'Oréal products on the open market and offer them in its stores. The retailer also resorted to the same practice for other luxury brands. Makers of these are now likely to seek similar rulings against Kruidvat and other drugstores acting in the same way. To read this story for yourself, in Dutch, on the Zibb website, click on the link below (left). Alternatively, to visit the Kruidvat website and decide for yourself whether this is an environment suited to 'luxury' products, simply click on the link below (right). For comparison, visit L'Oréal's Dutch website by clicking here.
12.10.04
French cinemas and theatres will soon be able to install mobile phone scramblers, the country's industry minister Patrick Devejian said on Sunday. Devejian was endorsing a decision taken by France's telecommunications regulatory body, ACT, "authorising, within halls of entertainment, radio-electrical installations which will render mobile telephones inactive", says the newspaper Le Figaro. The permission will come into effect once published in the Journal Officiel, in which all new laws must appear. It will be subject, Le Figaro says, to two conditions: the scramblers must not cause an increased failure rate of calls made outside the theatre itself, nor must they affect the cinema's ability to comply with regulations relating to emergency calls. Cinemas and film distributors have been asking to be allowed to install such devices for some years with a view to combating piracy. To read a longer version of this story for yourself, in French, on the Le Figaro website, click on the link below (left). Alternatively, see the latest headlines in respect of attendance at French cinemas on the website of CBO Box Office by clicking on the link below (right).
11.10.04
Who, at some time in the past 30 years, has not bought, sought, swapped or collected Ferrero's colourful children's confectionery, Kinder Sorpresa? It's a question that invites the sophisticated reader to say "well, me", but Kinder Sorporesa - which Ferrero describes as 'fun and ironic, characterised by narrative themes specially designed for boys and girls of any age and going from shops into Italian homes for 30 years now, handed down from father to son, representing a symbol of generational continuity...' is 30 years old this year and the company is putting on an exhibition in Rome to celebrate the fact. From October 7th to 24th, visitors to the Complesso del Vittoriano will have an opportunity to survey three decades of (again, as described by Ferrero) 'an innovation that has revolutionised the world of gadgets for children and is a symbol of play and creativity'. Right-click on the link below (left) to visit the section of Ferrero's Italian website dedicated to this world of chocolate and gadgets for yourself. Alternatively, to enter Ferrero's website by the front door, click on the link below (right).
08.10.04
Only Milka chocolate manufactured by Kraft Jacobs Suchard (KJS) has the right to be packaged in lilac-coloured wrapping, according to a judgment made in a Karlruhe court this week, writes the newspaper Kurier. The judge ruled against a rival Verden-based company that had launched a chocolate and waffle mixture through Aldi stores, packaged in Milka-like lilac. That product has since been withdrawn. Lilac, said the judge, had come to 'embody' Milka and there was therefore a risk that consumers would assume other products sold in the same colour packaging were produced by the same firm. In general, Kurier says, colours can not be registered as trademarks as they are not normally understood as an indicator of origin. Milka, however, is an exception, the judge considers, because it has been proven before that a majority of consumers associate its packaging colour only with that brand. Lilac has been associated with Milka since 1901, when that colour was applied to the first packaging developed for the chocolate bar of that name. Since 1973, advertising for Milka has also been based around a lilac-coloured cow. A lawyer for Verdene Fabrik, that lost the case, says that the fact that brands can 'own' a colour gives major companies the opportunity to buy up the entire rainbow. Click on the link below (left) to read this story for yourself, in German, in the pages of Kurier. Alternatively, prepare yourself for a lilac experience and visit the Milka website by clicking on the link below (right).
08.10.04
The long-running battle as to what can and can not be sold as yogurt in Spain entered a new phase this week as the country's advertising self-regulatory authorities ruled in favour of dairy company Leche Pascual and against a complaint by Danone. Danone and other makers of yogurt containing 'live' cultures - grouped in the trade association AEFY - have long complained that products sold by Leche Pascual should not be allowed to be promoted as 'yogurt', as they are pasteurised and therefore possess inferior qualities. So far, judgments have tended to go Pascual's way, as was the case this week. Autocontrol de Publicidad, the regulators ajudged that advertising produced for Leche Pascual which compared its own 'long-life yogurt' favourably to 'short-life yogurts' and pointed out the 'problems', 'limitations' and 'restrictions' linked with the latter - as a result of the fact that it has to be kept chilled and does not last as long - should be allowed to continue to run. Click on the link below (left) to visit the website of the magazine that published this story, the Spanish marketing journal Ipmark. Alternatively, click on the link below (right) to the Leche Pascual website and find out what all the fuss is about or here to visit a website set up by the company especially to deal with questions of health.
07.10.04
Since 1991, marketers of alcoholic drinks in France have been barred from vaunting the 'subjective' qualities of their product under the terms of the 'Loi Evin' law. But a proposed amendment, due to be examined in the National Assembly on 13th October, could change all that, says the newspaper Libération. Although denounced by professionals engaged in the struggle against alcoholism, the proposal, which comes from France's wine-making community, suggests that, once more, promotion "should be able to contain references which relate to the qualitative aspects of the product". Although small changes were made, it passed through the Senate last week, heading for the National Assembly. French advertising agencies have been creative in their approach the legislation in place, creating advertising which - although largely factual - exploits a kind of twilight zone between what directly relates to the product and what associations you can create in people's minds. The country's ministry of health is at pains to stress that there is no intention to alter the wording of the 'Loi Evin' while the author of the law itself, Claude Evin, says that if the proposals go through, his legislation would be "totally dismantled". To read the rest of this story for yourself, in French, on the Libération website, click on the link below (left). Alternatively, toread the entire text of the 'Loi Evin', which also governs promotion of tobacco products in the interests of public health click on the link below (right).
06.10.04
A bitter battle is currently raging between the snack manufacturers Kelly and Bahlsen, writes the Austrian newspaper Der Standard., over the brand name 'Soletti'. Since German-based Bahlsen launched an advertising campaign in Austria in June, the paper says, its Austrian rival Kelly has been contesting the claim made in a TV ad that "until now, there has only been Soletti ("Bisher gab es nur Soletti"), before going on to introduce the company's new snack product, Saltletts Bits. Kelly - which also markets a snack called Soletti - applied for an injunction to stop Bahlsen airing the ad, which it duly did, subsequently claiming however that the word 'Soletti' was not a brand name, merely a generic descriptor. As such, Bahlsen says, it can not be registered as a trade name. The case will now go to court and, should the judge agree with Bahlsen, all Austrian snack makers will soon be able to stamp the word 'Soletti' across their packs. Click on the link below (left) to read a fuller version of this story for yourself, in English, elsewhere in the pages of From Europe With Love. Alternatively, click on the link below (right) to read the rest of the story, in German, on the Der Standard website.
06.10.04
Real Madrid's poor start to the Spanish soccer season may have had more than one person doubting the true value of the club's team of 'galacticos', but whatever their value in the transfer marketplace, their accounting value - as assets - is zero, writes the Spanish business newspaper Cinco Días. Management at the club has, against accounting rules and the advice of its auditor, completely written off the value (amount paid for) David Beckham in its latest set of accounts, Cinco Días says. The same practice has previously been applied to the 'value' of other star signings such as Ronaldo and Luis FIgo. Accounting norms, says Cinco Días, establish that such values should be 'amortised' gradually, depending on the length of the contract signed and the 'expected useful life' of any asset. Florentino Pérez, however, president of the club, prefers to write off the values in order for the accounts to give a faithful reflection of how his company is operating on a day-to-day basis. Click on the link below (left) to read a fuller version of this story, in English, elsewhere in the pages of From Europe With Love. Alternatively, click on the link below (right) to read the rest of the story for yourself, in Spanish, on the Cinco Días website.
06.10.04
Back in June, Germany's high court decided against an attempt by the broadcaster RTL to block the introduction onto the German market of a device enabling viewers to block out advertising, writes the newspaper Der Standard The decision, in favour of TC Unterhaltungselektronik (TCU), was expected to be contested by RTL but, according to TCU, the period within which RTL would be entitled to do so has expired without any such complaint being lodged. TCU now plans to start marketing the devices as soon as this November, Der Standard says, and seek a damages award against RTL for the expenses incurred during a long court case and the resulting missing revenues on account of not being able to sell its equipment. Click on the link below (left) to read this story for yourself, in German, in the pages of Der Standard. Alternatively, click on the link below (right) tobe taken to the TCU website where its device - known as the Fernseh Fee, or 'TV fairy' - takes centre stage on the homepage.
06.10.04
The Dutch presidency of the European Union is to launch an interactive television debate to be transmitted in five countries at the beginning of December, writes the Spanish newspaper El Mundo, and has turned to Endemol - maker of the TV 'show' Big Brother - to produce it. The Dutch secretary of state for exterior affairs, Atzo Nicolai, made the announcement at a press conference yesterday, El Mundo says, saying that the event will cost the EU €300,000. "It's like a kind of Eurovision festival", he added, "with live contacts with studios in the different countries and in which people will also be able to paricipate via SMS". It is not yet known in which countries the programme will be broadcast, but it will go out one week before the next annual European Union summit. Holland submitted the idea during an informal round of meetings set up to discuss ways of better promoting the concept of the European Union, El Mundo says, and how to get across the notion of "added value".. Click on the link below (left) to read the rest of this story for yourself, in Spanish, on the El Mundo website. Alternatively, click on the link below (right) to see the story also reported on the EU Business website, in English.
05.10.04
DHL has already recognised the difference that ebay has made to its business, becoming one of the auction platform's preferred partners, says FInancial Times' German edition (FTD). Now the company's German subsidiary has gone one step further, by offering to handle the sales of products for the public via ebay, for a fee. In twelve Berlin post offices (DHL is owned by the German postal service, Deutsche Post), customers can take in items which are photographed, packed and stored ready for despatch, FTD says. That ebay has contributed significantly to DHL's business since the innovative web-based auction house grew into more and more areas - many of them professional - is evident from the fact that DHL says one in five of the packages it delivers in Germany already results from an ebay sale. The business DHL is entering has grown up informally as ebay has grown, with small operators springing up to handle the physical elements of the sale on behalf of others. Click on the link below (left) to read the rest of this story for yourself, in German, in the pages of Financial Times Deutschland. Alternatively, click on the link below (right) to visit ebay... who knows, you might find something you like.
05.10.04
Peter Looser, owner of Star Trade, may be making a lot of chocolate lovers happy as far afield as Europe, the US and Japan, but he's definitely not flavour of the month with those in charge of protecting the trademark rights of the Swiss army, writes the local trade magazine Handelszeitung. The design of Looser's 'Swiss Army' chocolate is modelled closely on that of the chocolate issued to Swiss soldiers and, therefore - in a country in which national service remains mandatory - familiar to everyone. The 50-gramme bars of dark chocolate are wrapped in silver paper and differ only in that they contain guarana and cornflake fragments, Handelszeitung says. Evidently a sales success, Looser is aiming for revenues of SFr. 1 million by next year. Not, in the scheme of things, a massive amount, but enough to capture the attention of Armasuisse, the body responsible for ensuring that the 'Swiss Army' brand is correctly applied, under licence, to those products which have received official approval. In addition to 'Swiss Army' chocolate, Looser's Star Trade company also markets 'Swiss Navy' mints and 'Swiss Natural' confectionery. Click on the link below (left) to read the rest of this story for yourself, in German, in the pages of Handelszeitung. Alternatively, click on the link below (right) to read a longer, English-language version, prepared by From Europe With Love, or here to visit the site of Star Trade, maker of 'Swiss Army' chocolate.
04.10.04
Given the reputation Amsterdam - capital city of the Netherlands - enjoys as a haven for drugs and sex, two commodities which have well-known, potentially long-lasting consequences, some people might question the wisdom of a campaign that has been reported this week in the Dutch advertising magazine Adformatie. London, Adformatie says, is currently being 'painted orange' by a massive campaign promoting short trips to the Netherlands. And the slogan? "Holland stays with you long after you've left". The campaign, Adformatie says, was developed by the London-based bureau of tourism and congresses operated by the Dutch government, NBTC. According to research they have conducted, the Netherlands is seen by Britons as a destination well suited to short vacations. In addition, it says, the British find the Dutch easy-going. NBTC director Hans van Driem tells the magazine that this is one of three, large-scale campaigns the bureau has developed. The focus is on major cities such as (yes) Amsterdam, Rotterdam, the Hague, Eindhoven and Maastricht. According to the NBTC, qualities, features and personalities it hopes will be associated with each town include gastronomy (Maastricht), Van Gogh (Amsterdam), the painter Vermeer (the Hague), design (Rotterdam) and 'contemporary' (Eindhoven). The campaign comes at a time when - independently - Amsterdam is gearing up for a similar campaign to that run by New York, to boost the image of the city among inhabitants and visitors alike (click here to see a story about that on From Europe With Love). But the question remains.. that slogan? Click on the link below (left) to read a fuller version of this story for yourself, in Dutch, on the website of Adformatie. Alternatively, click on the link below (right) to be taken to the website developed by the government to promote all things Dutch, holland.com.
Tchibo, the German coffee maker which also operates a chain of retail outlets serving coffee and cakes alongside a range of special offer products, is proving true to its slogan of 'Jede Woche eine neue Welt' ('A new world every week'), by moving into the mobile phone market, writes the GErman advertising magazine Werben & Verkaufen (W&V). The move is a result of a tie-up with the service provider O2, W&V says, and will result in three different handsets appearing on the company's shelves from October 4th. At the same time, a campaign will break encouraging Germans to 'Tchibofonieren' (a play on the German word for telephoning. 'telefonieren'. 10-second TV spots will be accompanied by newspaper ads in major titles such as Bild am Sonntag, plus extensive promotional material, all designed and conceived by the Hamburg ad agency Scholz & Friends. The models on offer, W&V says, will cost betewen €40 and €130, come with pre-paid cards and be available through each of Tchibo's 900 German outlets, as well as on the internet. Click on the link below (left) to read a fuller version of this story for yourself, in German, in the pages of W&V. Alternatively, click on the link below (right) to be taken to the world of Tchibo or here to go directly to the page detailing the company's telecoms offer.
Keeping up with Procter & Gamble product launches across Europe is always going to be beyond the scope of a website such as From Europe With Love (or any others, for that matter), but one piece of information this week caught the eye, to add to the news that P&G was launching a variant of its Vick's range in Germany and Italy which - it claims - creates a barrier that prevents cold-causing germs from entering the nose (click here to see that story on this page). According to the Dutch advertising magazine Adformatie, Philips and Procter & Gamble are to jointly develop an electric toothbrush in whihc toothpaste is automatically delivered to the head. This new alliance between P&G and Philips adds another to the growing list of alliances Philips has formed with major FMCG marketers to develop interesting consumer propositions in recent years, says Adformatie. These have included Douwe Egberts (coffee machines - click here to see that story here on From Europe With Love), Nivea (electric shavers), Unilever (irons) and Interbrew (home-served draft beer - click here to see that story). In addition to Philips, other manufacturers have been following the trend, such as Heineken and Krups (similar draft beer system - click here to see that story). In this new collaboration with Procter & Gamble, equipment manufactured by Philips - called the IntelliClean System - combines with P&G's Crest toothpaste. It guarantees to clean teeth thoroughly, Adformatie says, in two minutes and should be available in Americam shops from next year. Philips already enjoys a strong position in the US with Sonicare toothbrushes, its greatest rival being Gillette's Oral B. Dutch consumers are likely to first see the IntelliClean System in the second half of the year, combined with another brand, says Adformatie, as Crest is not sold in the Netherlands. Click on the link below (left) to read a fuller version of this story for yourself, in Dutch, in the pages of Adformatie. Alternatively, click on the link below (right) to be taken to the Philips website where you can read a press release relating to this development.
Switzerland's various public bodies are to adopt a single logo to reduce the amount of visual clutter that exists at administrative level, writes the news information source Swissinfo. Swiss public administration, Swissinfo says, is made up of more than 80 different offices and departments. In recent years, just about every one of these had introduced its own logotype and developed a distinctive public face. The result has been a flood of designs, each with its own implementation costs - much to the delight, no doubt, of local branding consultancies and graphic designers. Now, however, it is proposed that a single design should be applied across all the different departments, effective January 2005. A 100-page manual, Swissinfo says, has been produced to police the process which - predictably - will involve the replacement of all existing with a white cross shown against a red background. Alongside this, the words Schweizerische Eidgenossenschaft will appear (or its equivalent in one of the country's three other official languages.
Up until now, any number of variations of the national flag have been used, Swissinfo says: the weather department, for example, combines the cross with a cloud symbol. Others avoid its use altogether and have opted for designs like those shown above: like the culture department, for example, which opted for a white 'C' on a black background. Out, too, will go linguistic inconsistencies. The confederation's money, for example, will no longer be described as 'swissmint' - not least, according to Swissinfor, to tremove any confusion that reference is being made to a type of sweet. Similarly, the country's topographical agency will no longer be known as 'Swisstopo', the word 'topo' meaning 'mouse' in Italian, which is spoken by a proportion of the country's population. Click on the link below (left) to read the rest of this story for yourself, in German, in the pages of Swissinfo. Alternatively, click on the link below (right) to go to read a fuller, English-language version, prepared by From Europe With Love.
The new campaign, which has cost, Diário Económico says, €550,000 and will run in a reange of countries, with particular emphasis on eastern Europe. The strapline for the campaign will vary depending on the country: in English, for example, the line used will be 'Portugal, go deeper'; in French, ads will use the slogan 'Le Portugal au plus profond'; while, in its original form, the phrase reads 'Descúbralo a fondo'. 17 languages will be used, in all, with around 1 million brochures being sent out promoting Portugal as a winter destination. Values the ITP hopes to transmit through its campaign include creativity, escape, harmony, inspiration, romance, dreams and tranquility. In addition, the authority has set up a website, which already carries an invitation to visitors to 'go deeper' into Portugal for a 'complete soul recharge'. To visit that site, click on the link below (left). If you'd like to read this article in Portuguese, in the pages of Diário Económico, just click on the link below (right).
24.09.04
All Kellogg's cereal and grocery products are currently being removed from the shelves of the Swedish retail chain, Coop, writes the local advertising magazine Dagens Media. The disappearance, Dagens Media says, is down to the fact that price negotiations between the two companies have broken down. As in many other country's, Kellogg's is the largest player in the Swedish breakfast cereal market, but its sales are likely to be severely affected as a result of being delisted by one of Sweden's three leading supermarket chains. Kellogg's admits it will lose market share, although it hopes to resolve the problem before the end of the year, John Buckles, managing director of Kelloggs Nordic, tells Dagens Media. In the meantime, the manufacturer will intensify its relationships with other retailers. Sales of Kellogg's cereals account for around 30% of Coop's turnover in the category, but it will now shift its attention to other brands, including its own label product, Signum. Kellogg's is not the only manufacturer to be hit this week by a decision by Coop to delist a product, with Procter & Gamble currently smarting after its Kandoo brand of wet toilet wipes for children was similarly taken off shelves. In P&G's case, the decision followed complaints that the tissues could cause problems Sweden's sewage system. The company is currently
reviewing how it promotes the product, including the possibility that future campaigns may
be more educational. According to Dagens Media, Procter & Gamble invested 8.4 million
kronor in media advertising to support Kandoo's launch.
23.09.04
Colds - who needs them? Well, irrespective of whether they need them or not, around 22 million Italians catch a cold each year and, of those, each person is affected approximately 5 times. Recognising this, Procter & Gamble is looking to open up a new category by launching Vick's Prima Difesa, says the Italian advertising magazine Pubblicità Italia. Prima Difesa (in English, 'first defence') is a spray which, P&G says, helps to prevent colds from catching hold by effectively forming a barrier to viruses within the nose. "It's a new category", company spokeswoman Cinzia Angeli tells the magazine. "For our company, health and beauty are two areas showing strong growth. In our Health Care division we are launching one innovative new product every 6 months". The initial launch strategy, Pubblicità Italia says, will take in Italy and Germanyand be supported by an advertising campaign produced by Publicis aimed both at a professional target market (doctors, etc.) and the end consumer. To reach the latter, ads will run in print and on radio using the claim 'Prende il raffreddore prima di te' ('Catch the cold before it gets you'). Once the product is established
in the marketplace, which is expected to be achieved within the year, TV advertising will
be considered, says Pubblicità Italia.
23.09.04
The static display of stars on a blue background may not, it seems, be sufficient to adequately represent all the realities of modern Europe, reports the Spanish newsletter Marketing Directo. A working group, it says, has now been formed, made up of innovative thinkers, politicians and brand creation specialists and headed by the prize-winning architect, Rem Koolhaas, to address the question of Europe's graphical identity, both as it has evolved up till now and how it should do so in the future. In addition to heading the
working group, Koolhaas has installed a large tent in the centre of Brussels to house an
80 metre-long panorama displaying the image of Europe over the past 50 years and some
speculation as to its future.
20.09.04
Eight 'départements' from Paris and its surroundings have joined together to commission a €1.1 million campaign to demonstrate and build support for the city's bid to stage the 2012 Olympic Games, writes the French advertising magazine, CB News. Under the leadership of Jean-Paul Huchon, President of the Ile-de-France region, the eight have called on the ad agency Ogilvy to produce a campaign which will "allow Franciliens (as inhabitants of the area are called) to take on the challenge of organising the 2012 Games".
4,000 posters will appear in stations, on the metro, on bus shelters and in the press showing how the 8 départments stand a better chance of succeeding if they combine their strengths. To read this story for yourself, in French, on the website of CB News, click on the link below (left). Alternatively, click on the link below (right) to go to the official site of the Paris 2012 candidature and, in particular, to the site outlining the campaign and allowing you to see a sample visual from it (these also appear in the CB News article).
17.09.04
Spaniards have long been aware that their airwaves carry more ads than the average country, but now, with figures from the media agency Initiative Media, they're in a position to know exactly how many. Initiative's survey was carried out between 2001 and 2003 in 45 different countries, among them Spain, says the local marketing magazine Marketing Directo. Spain, it says, ranks sixth, with the typical adult being exposed to 634 TV advertisements per week. That sounds a lot and indeed it is, although it is far from enough to make Spain the most advertised-to people on the planet. That honour, according to Initiative, belongs to the Indonesians, with an average 852 ads per week. Second place in the
classification, Marketing Directo says, is taken by the United States, followed by Mexico,
China and New Zealand. And while southern Europe may be exposed to ad overload, that is
far from being the case in more northern countries such as Denmark (where the figure is
185 ads per adult per week), Norway (173), Austria (150) and Sweden (145).
17.09.04
Since the introduction of the euro, Italians have been complaining about 'il carovita'.. that is, the extent to which prices have risen for reasons, they believe, that cannot be justified. Numerous protests have been put in place, the latest of them a 'strike', promoted by the national consumers' organisation, Codacons. And, if Codacons is to be believed, with some success. The 'strike' called on September 16th, Codacons says, was observed by 49% of Italians. That's an optimistically high number, but one that the association is prepared to back up with detailed statistics. Around 30 million consumers, it says, altered their buying behaviour in some way, based on the responses gained from surveys conducted outside supermarkets and shopping centres on both the 9th and the the 16th of this month. Full participation ranged, Codacons says, from 35% in Reggio Calabria to 65% in Catania, with strongest response registered in the south of the country. This compares to a similar so-called 'car strike', which resulted in a reduction of more like 20% (what do you expect if you call a strike on a day when it rains). According to Codacons, the most-affected outlets were supermarkets, clothing stores and shoe shops. Click on the link below (left) to read a longer version of this story, in Italian, on the Codacons website. Alternatively, click on the link below (right) to visit a site showing real-life protests by Italian consumers to the rising cost of living.
In a week in which the drinks giant Coca Cola was forced to admit that earnings are likely to be down this year, with sales of its carbonated soft drinks hit by nutritional trends, in particular the Atkins diet, news from Belgium that further dents the prospects for makers of soft drinks and sweet snacks. In truth, it is symptomatic of a trend evident in a number of countries, particularly in Europe and especially as regards the question of children and healthy eating. The city of Brussels this week annonunced that, from January 1st next year, there will be no more automatic vending machines in its primary or secondary schools dispensing soft drinks or sweets. In their place, says the newspaper La Dernière Heure, the city's authorities are to install water fountains and dispensers which, it says, are better for children's health and don't cause waste to be produced. 24,000 machines will be withdrawn from schools as a result of the decision, most of them originally installed to serve as an additional source of income for the establishment. An average school with around 1,000 students, says La Dernière Heure, could expect to make around €7,000 per year. The decision will hit Coca Cola harder than any other company, given that the company operates fully 80% of the 4,000 machines currently placed in Belgium's secondary schools. A similar blanket ban is due to become effective across France on January 1st. Click on the link below (left) to read a fuller version of this story in La Dernière Heure, in French. Alternatively, click on the link below (right) to visit the section of the Coca Cola Belgium website which deals specifically with questions relating to health and the company's soft drinks.
15.09.04
According to a study published recently by the retail auditors Nielsen, Germans make the most shopping trips during the year, but the French are those likley to spend more when they pass through the checkout. The study, reported in the Swiss advertising and marketing magazine Persoenlich, shows that spending across most European countries on food and 'near food' items dropped between 2002 and 2003, with the exception of Italy, which perhaps backs up the protests of consumer groups in that country that the introduction of the euro has led to a general rise in price levels and thus a fall in demand. At €37.82 and €30.90 respectively, the French and Swiss spend more than their counterparts in other countries per shopping trip, with the Germans appearing the most thrifty, at just €14.80 per visit to the shops. The Swiss make an average of 122 journeys to their local supermarket during the year, a similar level to the French (128 visits) and British (141 visits) but far behind the Germans (220) and Italians (227). Despite these high numbers, however, what is interesting, Persoenlich says, is that the number of trips has continually fallen since the year 2000 in all countries except Great Britain. This has led to the average spend per shopping excursion rising, Nielsen reports.. Click on the link below (left) to read this story for yourself, in German, in the pages of Persoenlich. Or why not click on the link below (right) to go to the global website of AC Nielsen, where you can read stories like this about consumer and retail behaviour around the globe, in English.
14.09.04
Swiss, the private airline launched in Switzerland amid the tears and acrimony that followed the demise of the national airline, Swissair, has quietly dropped the claim it has been using in its advertising, writes the local advertising magazine Persoenlich. "Destination Excellence", the magazine says, has been quietly dropped, according to an internal memo leaked to one of the local newspapers this week. According to the memo, the slogan will no longer be used in external communications because: "it no longer matches the attractive, low-price offers that characterise the European market." Since Swiss reacted to the growing low-cost competition, in autumn 2003, by introducing new service levels, the phrase "Destination Excellence" has looked increasingly out of place. The news was confirmed locally by company spokesman Jean-Claude Donzel, who told the newspaper Tagesanzeiger that: "We don't need the motto any more. It was too diluted." What he doesn't say is that it has also become too associated with the rounds of job cuts which have taken place at Swiss in recent months. No replacement slogan has yet been chosen. Click on the link below (left) to read this story for yourself, in German, in the pages of Persoenlich. Alternatively, click on the link below (right) to go to the website of Swiss where, as you'll notice, there's no mention of going anywhere near a place called 'Excellence'.
14.09.04
The city council, or 'Ayuntamiento', of the capital of Spain, Madrid, has issued a tender inviting agencies to apply for the task of creating a brand to promote the city both within the nation's borders and beyond them, writes the Spanish marketing magazine Marketing Directo. A slogan and logo, the magazine says, may help the city in its efforts to secure the 2012 Olympic Games, for which Paris and London are currently considered favourites. The objective behind promoting Madrid, however, has wider aims too, in particular to encourage tourism and inward investment. Nevertheless, should Madrid's Olympic bid prove successful, the brand will receive worldwide exposure. Many agencies are said to have applied to submit ideas, among them Cato Berro, Interbrand, Landor and Saatchi & Saatchi, which has already worked with the cities of Sydney and Athens in a similar capacity. Other cities to actively consider promoting themselves more strongly in recent weeks include Amsterdam... click here to be taken to a story about that development here, in English, on th epages of From Europe With Love. Click on the link below (left) to read this story for yourself, in Spanish, in the pages of Marketing Directo. Alternatively, click on the link below (right) to go to the website of the 'Ayuntamiento' .
15.09.04
Lidl, the German discount grocery retailer, has backed down on its rule which required all female staff in its Czech stores to wear a headband at the time of their monthly period, writes the online newspaper De Volkskrant. The requirement was introduced, the paper says, as one of a range of measures designed to control activity within its stores as the company strives to achieve operational efficiency and raise margins. The headband, the company reasoned, would allow store managers to see at a glance which female staff would need to visit the toilet more frequently than just during their official breaks and thus ensure that other checkout staff served the maximum possible number of clients. In the face of the commotion caused by the rule, however, Lidl has now withdrawn it. It had, de Volksrant says, led to widespread adverse commentary in the Czech press and caused increasing tensions between Lidl's management in that country and staff at German head office To read more about this story, in Dutch, on the website of De Volkskrant, click on the link below (left). Alternatively, click on the link below (right) to visit Lidl's Czech website where you can see smiling female staff, without headbands and where, at the time of writing, this week's special offers include a range of attractive Looney Tunes rubber boots.
08.09.04
What do you do when your country's national football team fails to reach the final stages of a major football tournament? Well, it seems, first get a new coach, then appoint an advertising agency. That may not be how every association would approach the problem but it is, in fact, how Norway's football authorities have reacted to the nation's failure to make it to the finals of Euro 2004, which took place this summer in Portugal. Aage Hareide, an ex-professional footballer and league coach, was appointed to take over team management in December 2003. After a few months in the job and some encouraging results, however, the sport's ruling body has decided to call on the services of the leading ad agency McCann Erickson to produce a new strategic vision for the team and advise it on communications. To read more about this story, in Norwegian, on the pages of the local advertising magazine Propaganda, click on the link below (left). To read about this development on McCann Erickson's Norwegian website and to see a picture of the strategic planner at McCann Erickson who has been working closely with the authorities, Hågen Pattersen, just click on the link below (right). Alternatively, to read a version drawn from various sources and prepared, in English, by From Europe With Love, just click here.
08.09.04
Siemens 65-series handsets might have been technologically advanced, but they had one significant drawback, as users soon found out. The handsets' software, it transpired, contains a glitch that causes its low-battery shutdown melody to sound at the highest available volume setting, putting a strain on the ears. Siemens issued a product recall in major markets (although not in all) during August, which saw the mobile phones disappear off shopshelves. Now, says the German advertising and marketing magazine Horizont, it is running a print campaign in around 200 German newspapers to apologise for the incident. The incident, it seems, is not considered serious enough as to prevent Siemens from using humour in its advertising. The ads, developed by TBWA in Berlin, use the line: "Uuups, das war unser Elchtest" ("Oops, that was our elk test"), to explain away the problem, in a reference to the Scandinavian test used to measure the stability of new cars which, when it employed to evaluate the Mercedes A-Class, led to the product's launch being delayed while its chassis was redesigned. Siemens has probably been encouraged to associate itself with the A-Class given that the car has since gone on to be a success in the marketplace, despite failing the 'elk test'. Newspapers in which the campaign will appear, Horizont says, include the Financial Times Deutschland and Die Welt. Siemens says that software to correct the problem has been distributed over the internet to around 200 service providers worldwide, meaning the products can be put back onto the market by the likes of Vodafone. It is not known if a similar campaign is planned for international markets. Click on the link below (left) to visit the website of Horizont, where you can read a fuller version of this story for yourself, in German. Or you can click on the link below (right) to explore the site of Siemens mobile phones in Germany, again in German.
18.09.04
Viewing figures for this year's Miss Italy competition have been, frankly, disappointing. Beaten on Wednesday by the match played in football's Champion's League by Juventus of Turin, the programme earned no more than a 26% viewer share, 5% less than just one year ago. Not drastic, perhaps, but enough, it seems, to bring changes for next year. From 2005, the country's leading channel, Rai, is considering giving Miss Italy an on-air presence lasting from June to August, says the newspaper Il Gazzettino, and is not even ruling out broadcasting the show and its lead-up in a reality-style format. According to Paolo De Andreis, of Ria Uno ('Rai 1'), the company is thinking of setting up a slot at around 8.30pm every evening in summer, at around 8.30pm. The presenters, he says, should be young, breaking stars, perhaps even an ex-Miss Italy, "but pretty". The plan, Il Gazzetto says, is still at the study stage. And, Rai is at pains to maintain, it has nothing to do with viewing figures. That may be true, but the fact is that 5 million fewer viewers watched the two programmes devoted to this year's competition than had done in 2003. Click on the link below (left) to read a longer version of this story, in Italian, taken from the newspaper Il Messaggero but reproduced on the website of Italy's consumer association, Codacons (ignore the frog, it's only reminding you to subscribe to the association. Alternatively, and completely gratuitously, click on the link below (right) to see a picture of - and an interview with - 'Miss Italia' 2003, Francesca Chillemi, from Sicily.
07.09.04
Back in June, manufacturers of France's leading brands reached agreement with the French finance ministry to drop prices of their leading brands in order to reduce the pressure on the purses/wallets of the country's supermarket shoppers (click here to be taken to an earlier story on this page about that agreement). Now, finance minister Nicolas Sarkozy is stepping up the pressure. According to the French news agency AFP, Sarkozy issued a call on Monday to industrialists to accelerate the pace, given that the planned 2% price cut is far from being achieved. Ten days, Sarkozy says, is the new limit to reach that objective. The deadline emerged after a two-hour meeting between retailers and suppliers, AFP says, with France's competition authorities on alert to police the arrangement. In fact, the ministry's pressure is being applied to two supermarket chains - Leclerc and Intermarché - who insist that they have been trying to put pressure on 'reticent' manufacturers. What is not clear, however, is if Sarkozy is asking the two retailers to revise their prices - which, in some cases, mean that they are selling at a loss and therefore damaging the companies that supply them - or the manufacturers to cut theirs. Sarkozy has become newly involved, AFP says, because "things so far have only gone half-way". He is now asking for manufacturers to implement an average price cut of 2% by September 20th on between 3,500 and 5,000 products, instead of the 2,500 originally mentioned, with the threat of publicly naming those suppliers who fail to comply. Click on the link below (left) to visit the website of AFP, where you can read a fuller version of this story for yourself, in French. Click on the link below (right) to go to explore the site of Leclerc, one of the companies mentioned in this report.
07.09.04
Merloni, the famous Italian maker of household electrical and white goods, is to change its name to Indesit Company from the beginning of next year, writes the local advertising and marketing magazine Daily Media, and run an international campaign to introduce the company's new identity. The decision was announced, Daily Media says, at Merloni's annual general meeting this week. The new name has been chosen in order to ensure the company's communications are more 'immediate and effective' and is the result of a strategic review conducted in conjunction with the branding agency, Enterprise Ig. In addition, Daily Media says, Indesit was selected as it is the group's most international brand and the one that best expresses the values Merloni wants to project: youthfulness, simplicity of use, dynamism and reliability. Indesit was the first major acquisition by Merloni when it embarked on its expansion drive in 1987, after which further purchases followed, such as Stinol in Russia and Hotpoint in the UK. Enterprise Ig is still working on the group's new positioning, Daily Media reports, before moving on to address the question of an advertising campaign in October/November, the agency for which has yet to be selected. Click on the link below (left) to read a longer version of this story, in Italian, on the website of Daily Media. Alternatively, click on the link below (right) to visit the Merloni website, where the group's traditional identity remains, for the moment, intact but where you will also see - in the countdown clock displayed on the home page, that just 142 days remain until the new name is applied. If you want to read the company's own, English-language press release, just click here.
07.09.04
Albert Heijn, the leading Dutch supermarket operator, is interested in increasing the number of outlets it operates on company premises and in universities, writes the newspaper Dagblad de Limburger. The company has given concrete form to its ambition by the opening, yesterday, of a new outlet on the campus of the technical university of Eindhoven, the paper says. Its strategy is to open new stores with a limited range of goods in locations offerign high footfall, for which Heijn's "To Go" format is ideally suited. Snacks, drinks and ready-to-cook meals are the principal items stocked. Albert Heijn already operates 25 such outlets on stations operated by the national railway service, NS, on high streets or in hospitals. "We are seriously considering expanding further into universities and company premises", a spokesman tells the newspaper. "Anywhere that people want to eat quickly is potentially interesting for us". Click on the link below (left) to go to the website of Dagblad de Limburger, where you can read this story for yourself, in Dutch. Click on the link below (right) to go to the Albert Heijn website where, at the time of writing, Persil detergent is on special offer and younger shoppers can colour in a picture of the Albert Heijn hamsters to win a prize. Or, perhaps, you?
07.09.04
In what is an unusual move for a German advertiser, many of whom seek to associate their brand with modernity and an international state of mind by using English in their advertising, Douglas, the perfumery and cosmetics chain, is to drop its English-language brand signature in favour of a German phrase, writes the local advertising magazine Horizont. Since 2000, Horizont says, ads for Douglas have featured the claim "Come in and find out". From now on, however, and under the creative guidance of the company's ad agency, Select, Douglas will use the line "Douglas macht das Leben schöner" ("Douglas makes life more beautiful"). "Come in and find out", Horizont notes, has long served in case studies as a prime example of how incomprehensible anglicisms pepper German advertising. Other examples which spring to (From Europe With Love's) mind include Beck's beer, which invites German drinkers to "get the Beck's experience". To quote from an article on the Adslogans website, says one German copywriter: "When I'm stuck for a headline I simply string together some words in English and that normally does the trick." Click on the link below (left) to visit the website of Horizont, where you can read this story for yourself, in German. Click on the link below (right) to go to Douglas' German website where you can shop online to your heart's content. Alternatively, click here to "Get the Beck's experience" or here to go to the Adslogans website, where you can read an excellent article on the question of language and English-language use in German advertising, by Jack Willhoft, and including a description of the quandaries faced by translators and copywriters when it comes to working between the two languages.
07.09.04
Perrier may be a world-leading brand, but it has never quite recovered from the benzine scare it suffered in 1990. Nevertheless, Nestlé has persevered with its ownership of the company, which it acquired in 1992, maintaining and adding to the product range. Now, however, it seems that the end might be near for Perrier within the Nestlé stable as a dispute at the company's Vergèze production plant threatens to break the owner's patience. A final decision as to whether Nestlé is to sell Perrier, says the French news agency AFP, will be made during September. That the question ever arose is due to a dispute emanating from French trade unions about the scale of job cuts Perrier's owner is proposing for Vergèze. "A final decision about the future of Perrier will be taken and announced before the end of the month of November", Frits van Dijk, president of Nestlé Waters, tells AFP. Van Dijk, AFP says, then refused to answer any further questions. Richard Girardot, head of Nestlé Waters France, has already told AFP that the preferred decision within Nestlé is to sell Perrier, although other solutions "remain possible". Demonstrations continue at the Vergèze site, AFP says, with between 200 and 500 workers manning the gates on Monday. Nevertheless, the company's fate seems almost sealed. Known throughout the world for
its slogan "Perrier, c'est fou" (says AFP and which, with typical 'Frenchness',
isn't actually true. You also can't really translate the phrase, but if you tried it
might result in something like "Perrier, what a character"), Perrier has never
been able to replicate the success it enjoyed until 1989, when 1.2 billion bottles were
produced. The company was subsequently obliged to withdraw 280 million bottles from the
market after some were found to be contaminated with benzine, irreparably damaging its
market presence.
03.09.04
Concerned that rising prices may be deterring French shoppers, the country's leading trade association representing super- and hypermarkets, FCD, has started a campaign under the title 'Prix d'amis' ('friendly prices'), with which it hopes to encourage manufacturers of leading brands to lower the shelf price of their products. That's fine, says the newspaper Libération, as long as those manufacturers agree to play along. Some, the paper says, are not so sure they want to join in with the FCD initiative. "You can already see the effect in store, but there are still some major brands who haven't proposed any price cuts to us", says Jérôme Bédier, head of the FCD. Among the worst 'offenders': suppliers of branded cooked meats who, it is said, have refused to discuss the issue with retailers. Kronenbourg, the beer company, is another manufacturer said to be holding out, although the company itself denies this. "That's not true", a spokesperson tells Libération. "We are in the process of finalising our proposed cuts, which should become effective in the next few days and weeks." The FCD is seeking to secure average cuts of 2% across retail shelves, in cooperation with supplier's and France's Ministry of Finance, with a view to "giving the French their purchasing power back. By mid September, we should have achieved 50% coverage", Bédier tells Libération. The drive follows an agreement reached between all parties in June, to lower the price of at least 2,500 products. Among those brands currently
participating, the FCD says, are Amora, which has cut the price of its mustards by 6.5%,
Ducros, whose spices and condiments are now up to 16% cheaper, and Nestlé, which has
reduced the prices of its dark chocolate brands by 10%. Others have been less generous,
the association notes, with Soupline fabric conditioner dropping its shelf price by just
1%.
02.09.04
Burger King's burgers may still be 'bigger' and 'better', but the company no longer wants to place that claim at the centre of its advertising in Germany, writes the newspaper Der Standard. Just one year after McDonald's - apparently successful - introduction of the line 'I'm lovin' it' worldwide, Der Standard says, Burger King's 'Bigger. Better. Burger King.' line is to be dropped in favour - in Germany at least - of 'Feel the Fire'. The new strategy comes from the Munich-based agency Smart, the paper says, and also entails new menu items, uniforms bearing flame designs and new store openings. It also includes a new website, devoted to the new positioning. Just how much of an improvement the new sign-off represents, of course, is debatable, with the only comment posted in relation to this story on Der Standard's website suggesting that 'Feel the fat' would have been more appropriate. The new claim, however, takes as its basis the fact that Burger King's burgers have been grilled over flame since the chain came into existence, in 1954. New advertising for the brand pays reference to this heritage by taking the viewer through a 'guided tour' of the past 50 years. Click on the link below (left) to read this story for yourself, in German, on the website of Der Standard. Click here to read a longer version, again in German, on the website of the advertising industry newsletter, Extradienst. Click on the link below (right) to visit the website showcasing Burger King's offer in Germany.
02.09.04
The habit of 'zapping' - switching TV channels as soon as the advertisement break comes along - has long been bemoaned by TV advertisers, as viewer numbers plummet before expensively paid-for screens. One advertiser, on the other hand, is now seeking to capitalise on the habit by actively encouraging viewers to 'zap', says the media industry newsletter Medianet. A new campaign for Renault Germany, breaking today in prime time on Sat 1 and ProSieben and featuring the company's Modus model, centres on a 120-second ad which, although it has essentially the same plot, is airing in different versions on each of the two channels. The idea for the film came, Medianet says, from the advertising agency Nordpol+Hamburg. Click on the link below (left) to read a fuller version of this story for yourself, in German, on the website of Medianet and including visuals which give a taster of how the two versions differ, in the form of a poster. Alternatively, click on the link below (right) to go to a website specially set up by Renault Germany to showcase its novel approach for the Modus, which it calls: 'Werbung zum Umschalten' ('Advertising to turn over from'). One man, two adventures, two ways of seeing things, as the campaign claims.... there's also an opportunity to read the background to the concept and to view the film itself.
27.08.04
Nestlé is the latest manufacturer to join the ranks of manufacturers seeking to establish their own communications medium for star products, writes the Dutch marketing website Marketing Online. The product in question is Nespresso, the company's pre-dosed espresso coffee machine, which is now to be promoted by way of the glossy Nespresso Magazine. The new publication is especially designed for members of the Nespresso Club, Marketing Online says, and is being promoted by Nestlé as a half-yearly style guide. "Everything that has to do with the Nespresso lifestyle, as well as our specialist knowledge of coffee, comes together in the magazine", is the line from the company. In putting together the new initiative, Nestlé has attracted top names such as society photographer Michel Comte and Zoe Williams, from the UK newspaper The Guardian and the newspaper Vogue, who contributes an article on the subject of sugar. The first edition focuses on the Italian designer Angela Missoni, Marketing Online says, and will receive an initial print run of 630,000 in a variety of languages including German, French, Dutch, English and Italian. And, of course, there's an online version (although somehow when From Europe With Love tried to find it, the link didn't work). Click on the link below (left) to visit the website of Marketing Online, where you can read this story in its original version, in Dutch. Click on the link below (right) to visit the rather impressive Nespresso international website (it's up to you to choose your country and language, but you're expected to be able to do that).
Migros, the leading Swiss retailer famous for its policy of only stocking brands which sell under its own name, is preparing the launch of an 'own label' coffee machine to compete with Nestlé's Nespresso, writes the local advertising and marketing magazine Persoenlich. Prompted by the international success of Nespresso, Migros plans to have its own system on shelves in time for the Christmas season, Persoenlich says, although the company refuses to be too specific about its plans. It can be predicted, however, that the new machine will offer a significant price advantage compared to its branded rival. Migros only recently relaxed its policy on stocking major brands, introducing products marketed by companies such as Kellogg onto its shelves and considering the idea of working with Coca Cola. Click on the link below (left) to visit the Persoenlich website, where you can read this story for yourself, in German. Click on the link below (right) to read a longer article, in English and prepared by From Europe With Love, about Migros' branding strategy and approach to dealing with major suppliers.
24.08.04
Interbrew, the Belgian-based drinks giant, has linked the with consumer electronics and household good maker Philips to launch an in-home beer delivery system that allows drinkers to enjoy real draft beer in the comfort of their own homes. The company's initiative comes some months after a similar move by Heineken, which linked with Krups to launch BeerTender (click here to see that story). At first, PerfectDraft will be available only in Belgium, although its roll-out is planned for other countries should experience on Interbrew's home market prove encouraging. It is, the company claims, an 'exciting' new system which combines a high-quality appliance with brands consumers are already familiar with and prefer, such as Stella Artois and Jupiler. PerfectDraft features a real tap handle, internal cooling system, pump and 6-liter light metal keg and is claimed to keep the beer at a constant temperature of 3° C. Once installed, the beer stays fresh for 4 weeks, the partners claim. PerfectDraft® is suitable for a variety of different brands in Interbrew's portfolio. Click on the link below (left) to visit the website of the Belgian advertising magazine Pub, where we read this story. Click on the link below (right) to read a fuller version of the original press release issued - in English - by Philips and Interbrew, on the Interbrew website.
Lufthansa, Germany's leading national airline, breaks a new campaign on August 26th, writes the online advertising magazine Persoenlich, which it hopes will give it a stronger qualitative profile allowing it to achieve a positioning as that of being 'the airline of trust. The campaign, Persoenlich says, is built around the central claim of: 'Alles für diesen Moment' (which, in English, will run as "All for this one moment"). The campaign focuses on the themes of quality, innovation and trust, says Persoenlich, and has been produced by the Berlin ad agency MECH The Communications House, a division of McCann Erickson, which will manage the campaign internationally. Click on the link below (left) to read this story for yourself, in German, and to see images taken from the new campaign on the website of Persoenlich (which, in fact, is a Swiss magazine). Click on the link below (right) to read a fuller version of the story elsewhere on this website, in English, on the 'Germany' page.
One might have thought that, in terms of corporate identity, Danone had already achieved a consistent international appearance with its introduction, some years ago now, of the corporate logo of a child gazing at the stars against a blue background. Not so, or not sufficient, however, according to the French advertising and marketing magazine CB News. Danone, it says, is to introduce a new design which - while maintaining the white-on-blue approach currently used - takes its inspiration from that of Dannon, which is used to brand the company's products in the USA Daniel Carasso, son of the company's founder, was the first to consider that Danone should develop a local brand in harmony with the tastes and expectations of the American market. That situation remains to this day although other markets, such as Australia, adapted well to the 'child' logo initially applied globally. The new design, CB News says, has been produced by the Parisian agency Team Créatif - the same company that came up with its predecessor. The effect is softer, rounded and friendlier, with the incorporation of a red underline in the form of a smile. The logo will be introduced progressively in advertising and on pack as each is updated, rather than in one full sweep. What still has to be decided, however, is what the company's new audio sign-off will be or what the new claim accompanying the logo will say. That, says CB News, is currently the main preoccupation of Young & Rubicam, Danone's lead agency globally, which is working on the idea of the "smile inside". Click on the link below (left) to read this story for yourself, in French, on the CB News website. Click on the link below (right) to visit the Danone corporate website which makes no mention of the plans but does give you the opportunity to appreciate Danone's current corporate identity. Or simply click here to visit Danone's Italian website which is currently under reconstruction, but displays a pristine version of the new logo on its holding home page.
Ingvar Kamprad founded Ikea, the furniture maker and retailer, sixty years ago and is famed for his reputation of being 'stingy' and living a modest lifstyle, says the French newspaper Libération. Indeed, that reputation applied to the corporation he founded provides the basis for much of the way the chain is perceived today. Kamprad, however, may not have been as modest as this image suggests, according to an article published by the Swedish daily paper Dagens Nyheter, and may even have concealed his possession of a number of luxurious dwellings to maintain it. According to Dagens Nyheter, the 78 year-old businessman, who it is well known has built one of the world's largest personal fortunes, has lived in a vast villa on the outskirts of Lausanne, in Switzerland, since the 1970s, principally for fiscal reasons. In addition to that villa, Kamprad owns 240 hectares of land in the south of Sweden and, for the past 15 years, has been the owner of a 17-hectare vineyard in Provence, in the south of France, which is said to produce 60,000 litres of wine per year. Dagens Nyheter puts the value of these three properties alone at €6 million. While this may seem reasonable for a man said to be worth between €20bn and €40bn euros, it does not square with the established image, Libération says. And in any case, what is interesting is not that these properties exist, but that Kamprad may have sought to conceal them in order to maintain both his own and his company's image. "Ingvar Kamprad", writes Bernt Hermele in Dagens Nyheter, "chose to personify a company apparently based on the values of simplicity and parsimony. Anything that threatens the personal image of Kamprad thus threatens the basis of the image of the group as a whole". Most of the Swedish population, Hermele suggests, is completely unaware of the existence of the vineyard in France and Kamprad is even said to have gone as far as to instruct a journalist writing a book about his life to exclude it from here notes. As for his vast Swedish property holdings, Kamprad merely agreed, Libération says, that they could be referred to as a 'fisherman's cabin'. It remains to be seen whether the revelations by Dagens Nyheter will damage the image enjoyed by Ikea, which currently employs 76,000 people in 43 countries, but clearly the potential is there, particularly when you take into account just how far the reality differs from that portrayed in legends relating to Kamprad's lifestyle. After all, Libération says, this is a man said to always travel in second class or on the metro, serve coffee to his employees and drive an old Volvo. Another enduring myth about Kamprad - and perhaps, this time, truly a myth - is that he did not smoke, except by inhaling the smoke from cigarettes of those sitting near him.. Click on the link below (left) to read this story for yourself, in French, on the website of the newspaper Libération, which picked up the story from Sweden. Click on the link below (right) to visit the website of Dagens Nyheter.. you may not be able to understand it, but it's worth a visit nevertheless, or here to visit the Ikea corporate website. Time for some shopping?.
The familiar, universal and unassailable (well, in France at least) green Perrier bottle has a new rival, writes the French news magazine Le Point. Rival Badoit is striking at the market leader with the launch of Badoit Rouge ('red'), a more sparkling water than the traditional 'green' Badoit, the company says, and one that delivers a 'strong sensation'. The rivalry between Nestlé and Danone picked up again in 2002, Le Point says, when Nestlé, which owns Perrier, decided to launch 'Eau de Perrier', a product billed as being somewhat less sparkling and which encroached on the territory previously dominated by Badoit, owned by Danone. In 2004 and with a true sense of balance, now it is the turn of Badoit to stake a claim for its rival's territory, not that the company chooses to describe it exactly in that way, Le Point says. "It's not a counter-offensive", Danone marketing director Marc Jacheet tells the magazine, "but we did need a new product". Thus two years of market research on 'big bubbles' and the after the development of a new plastic bottle, the product is finally ready to hit the shelves The most difficult element of the process, it seems, was to find the right bubble. "We conducted blind tests of 25 waters taken from all over Europe", says Jacheet, "with hundreds of consumers". Given the fickleness of the target market, perhaps the Danone-owned water brands was right to be meticulous in its research. "We're targeting young people, drinkers of soft drinks", Jacheet tells Le Point. Badoit has thus developed a
small-format bottle suited to automatic dispensers. And red. Why? "In a country
dominated by blue and green bottles, we wanted a water that would be easy to spot",
says Jacheet, "something that would really stand out on the shelves".
25..08.04
Their success has been built on the basis of not stocking familiar brands, keeping costs to a minimum and promotion to in-store posters and locally-distributed leaflets. Yet still the 'hard discount' grocery chains have become a dominant force in German retailing and, in recent years, exported that success internationally. Now, however, it seems that the second-largest of them, Lidl, is considering advertising its stores on TV, in what would be a historic first, writes the German advertising magazine Horizont. Until now, Horizont says, only the 'soft' discounter Plus has ventured onto television. According to industry insiders, however, Lidl is currently in 'intensive' discussions with all TV advertising sales houses. Lidl certainly has the resources to extend its promotional activity onto TV, Horizont says, having increased expenditure by 28% in the year to date to 187 million euros. Should it be successful, it is sure to be followed by its larger rival Aldi which would not want to lose its perceived price leadership position to its upstart competitor. Click on the link below (left) to read this story for yourself, in German, on the website of Horizont. Click on the link below (right) to visit Lidl's German home page.
Lever Fabergé is to extend distribution of its skincare product for men, Axe Snake Peel, to Austria, writes the local advertising newsletter Extradienst. Currently available in a limited number of countries, including Belgium, Switzerland and Croatia, the product is designed to satisfy a growing interest among young men in looking and feeling good and extend the range of products that allow them top do this without secretly raiding their partner's make-up bag. Axe Snake Peel is in fact a shower gel, introduced by Lever Fabergé as a response to the trend towards 'metrosexual man', that is men who take pride in their appearance and in aspects such as fashion (click here to see a story on this phenomenon from another country, Belgium). Click on the link below (left) to read this story for yourself, in German, on the website of Extradienst. Click on the link below (right) to read a fuller version of the story elsewhere on this website, in English, on the 'Austria' page.
A number of reports in recent days point to an upturn in advertising markets across continental Europe, with local media monitors suggesting the sector may have returned to growth for the first time since 2001. Advertising spending on Dutch television, for example, rose by 2.9% in the first 6 months of 2004 according to local reporters SPOT, while in neighbouring Belgium, MDB/CIM reports an increase in spending across all sectors of 11% for the same period. In Spain, adspend rose by 10.5% over the first 6 months of 2004, according to the local media monitoring company, Infoadex, reaching 3,095.2 million euros, compared to 2,801.7 million for the same period in 2003. Figures from Switzerland suggest that, overall, expenditure rose by 0.9% to SFr. 1.85bn during the same period - the first time that expenditure has risen over a 6-month period for the past 3 years, says local research company Media Focus. TV stations, the company says, booked 14.7% more space than during the same period the previous year, for a total of SFr. 390 million. Taking Germany as an example of larger markets, figures from Nielsen Media Research show that all sectors except specialist trade journals saw spending increase year on year during the first 6 months of 2004, with TV spending up 4.5% to 4.1 billion euros, spending in newspapers up 12% (to €2.5 billion) and mass market magazines up 5%, to €2.2bn). In practically all cases, one-off events such as the Euro 2004 football championship are said to have contributed to performance. And while the results are partial, commentators in all countries concerned are tentatively pointing to a recovery for the full year, with factors such as the Olympic Games continuing to boost promotional spending. For further detail on individual countries, click on the link below (left) to read a fuller version of the figures for Switzerland, or on the link below (right) to read a fuller version of the report from Spain, both in English and elsewhere in the pages of From Europe With Love. Similarly, click here to go to a fuller article about Belgium, here for more detail on the figures from the Netherlands or here to see more detail, in German, from Germany, in the pages of the local advertising and marketing magazine, Werben & Verkaufen (W&V).
The German government is mounting an extensive poster campaign to convince tha nation that, if there are any bright signs on the horizon, it's all down to the effects of Chancellor Schroder's 'Agenda 2010', writes the national news magazine Der Spiegel. While economic indicators would seem to suggest that little has changed and unemployment continues at a historic high, according to the government's promotional campaign, the upturn is already here.
Most economists, Der Spiegel says, are of the opinion that any effects from the various programmes put in place by Herr Schroder will not be felt before 2005 and, even then, that there is more hope than expectation that they will produce concrete economic results. While forecasts may have been marginally more favourable in recent months, they say, that has little to do with Agenda 2010. The government, on the other hand, refers to its 'first tangible successes', such as the rising number of self-employed people and entrepreneurs. That may be true, Der Spiegel points out, but unemployment during the month of July was officially affecting 4.36 million people, the highest level since reunification. Speaking to Der Spiegel, Heinz Putzhammer, head of the trade union association DGB, says that any attempt to draw a relationship between the 'Agenda' and a presumed upturn "is clearly rubbish. It's simply to do with the global economy." Demand in Germany, he says, remains weak and is more likely to be adversely affected by the measures taken than encouraged. The country's statistical office agrees, Der Spiegel adds. Click on the link below (left) to read a longer version of this story as published on the website of Der Spiegel, in German, and in which the scepticism continues as to the 'success' of Herr Schroder's agenda. Click on the link below (right) to be taken to a page displaying all the new campaign posters (click on 'Weiter' each time to be taken through the slideshow) or here to go to the home page of the website set up by the German government specifically to showcase its 'Agenda 2010'.
Holland's national healthcare body, NIGZ, is running a national campaign to heighten awareness among students of the importance of not consuming too much alcohol, says the online marketing journal Communicatie. The campaign, which involves the placing of posters in 34 Dutch towns, is designed to coincide with the start of the new academic year, which has already started in some instutions.
Click on the link below (left) to read a fuller version of this story for yourself, in Dutch, as reported by Communicatie. Click on the link below (right) to read a fuller version of this story, in English, on the Netherlands page of From Europe With Love.
12.08.04
From mid-August, writes the German marketing magazine Werben & Verkaufen (W&V), buyers of the Kinder Egg, the popular confectionery product made by the Italian-based multinational Ferrero,stand a chance of finding a scale model of a smart car inside their purchase in a pan-European deal struck between the two companies. Approximately 40 million of the tiny plastic cars will be placed inside Ferrero eggs, W&V says, with the aim of encouraging not just children, but also adults to collect the different models. The campaign is due to run over a two-year period and involve models such as the smart Forfour, Fourtwo coupé, Roadster coupé and Crossblade. The promotion extends, W&V says, to collaboration on the Ferrero Kinder website (www.magic-kinder.com). "With Ferrero, we are entering into a long-term cooperation which will serve to support our strategy of finding unusual, innovative ways of supporting our product", Philipp Schiemer, head of sales and marketing at smart tells the magazine. Click on the link below (left) to read a fuller version of this story, in German, in the pages of W&V. Click on the link below (right) to visit the website of Kinder Egg... you can choose your own country and language but after that, as they say, you're on your own.
10.08.04
Advertising for prescription drugs may not be permitted in Poland, writes the newspaper Die Presse, but one manufacturer, Janssen-Cilag, has found a novel way of getting round the restriction by getting female celebrities to wear its patches in public. It may be just 20 centimetres square, Die Presse says, but the little patch is causing something of a stir among Polish women. Since Janssen-Cilag started importing the patches from Germany, where they are made, it has enlisted the services of a well-known singer, a prominent actress and a popular MTV presenter to openly sport one on their shoulder. This public demonstration by icons of Polish popular culture, Die Presse says, has sparked much debate over contraception in a country which is still strongly marked by Catholicism. What's more, however, is that it seems to be turning a simple pharmaceutical product into a summer fashion item. Not only do young Polish women find it simply a cool accessory, by wearing it they are sending out a message that they are sexually active and happy with it, Die Presse says. And what's good for younger women is just as true for those a little more advanced in years. One of the celebrities enlisted,
the singer Reni Jusis, admits to having bee nsocially motivated in agreeing to sport the
patch, hoping that it will help to change the nation's attitude to family planning. And
while Poland's moral arbiters are qualifying it as just another instance of how values are
decaying, some, such as commentator and feminist Agnieszka Graff, truly believe that it
might help to remove a taboo that exists in Polish society as regards ones sexual life.
With the plaster, she says, you are sending out the signal that: "I'm attractive and
I have sex".
08.08.04
Where will the enthusiasm of the French end for 'bricolage', or DIY, asks the newspaper Le Monde. For the past 10 years, it says, the market has grown on average by 3% to 4% per year and should, according to figures from reesarch agency Xerfi, reach €18 billion this year. And there's plenty of room for further growth, Le Monde says. Average household spending on home improvement products is currently €634 per year, far behind that of the Germans or British, who spend €943 and €866 respectively. If there is a black spot, it is only during the warmer summer months that spending drops, with sales during July and August being 10% lower than the rest of the year. Click on the link below (left) to read a fuller version of this story for yourself, in French, as reported by Le Monde. Click on the link below (right) to read a fuller version of this story, in English, on the 'France' page of From Europe With Love.
05.08.04
France's health minister, Philippe Douste-Blazy, has promised to require alcoholic drinks makers to put messages on each bottle warning of the dangers to pregnant women.of consuming the product it contains, writes the news agency Reuters. "We have decided that there should be labelling on the bottle which explains that it is dangerous to drink alcohol if you are a pregnant women", Douste-Blazy said at a recent conference. The requirement, Reuters notes, already exists in the United States. Consumption of alcohol is
believed to carry with it risks for the unborn foetus, Douste-Blazy maintains. A previous
version of the text proposing the law change had previously been ruled out, in part due to
vigorous lobbying on the part of the powerful alcoholic drinks industry.
04.08.04
Audi is replacing the various endlines used in advertising for its different models with a single slogan that will be applied to all models, writes the German advertising magazine Horizont. The familiar, somewhat 'cool' sounding 'Vorsprung durch Technik' is to be superseded by the similar, yet more involving claim 'Vorsprung leben' (which, in an approximate translation, could be rendered in English as 'live life in front'), Horizont says. "People's ability to take in messages is limited", Audi marketing communications head Hans-Christian Schwingen tells the magazine. "This way our advertising will be more effective and we won't have to find a new slogan every time." Click on the link below (left) to read this story as published on the website of Horizont. Click on the link below (right) to visit Audi's German website or here to visit the home of DDB in France.
04.08.04
German advertising agencies, of course, are not completely lacking in creativity, but one has to admit that their performance at international creative advertising festivals has not always been stellar. Imagine the warm glow of satisfaction, then, when the country emerged as the winner, collectively, of most awards at this year's Art Directors Club of Europe event. The ADC*E invites entries from 11 European countries, says the German ad industry newsletter New Business. Of the 125 prizes given out this year, 42 went to Germany, the most of any nation. 16 of these were Gold medals, New Business says, and the haul also included the 'Grand Prix' winner, awarded to a German agency - Jung von Matt - for the first time. The performance, New Business notes, serves as confirmation of the better results achieved at this year's Cannes festival by Germany's ad agencies.Others honoured at this year's ADC*E awards included Scholz & Friends, Ogilvy & Mather and the Frankfurt design agency Atelier Markgraph, New Business says. Click on the link below (left) to read this story for yourself, in German, on the website of New Business. Click on the link below (right) to visit the ADC*E website, which as yet carries only the results from 2003. Click here to visit the interesting website of the winning agency, Jung von Matt, or here to visit the site of another German advertising and marketing magazine which qualifies this year's performance at the ADC*E awards as a 'sensationeller Erfolg' ('sensational success') for Germany's advertising industry.
03.08.04
The Russian parliament looks set to introduce legislation that will ban television advertising for beer between 7am and 10pm, writes the UK newspaper The Guardian. The move, the paper says, is prompted by growing concerns about children becoming addicted to alcohol. In a report filed by Carolynne Wheeler in Moscow, the Guardian says that the new law also prohibits the use in adverts of people, animals or cartoon figures, and messages that suggest beer can help drinkers achieve their goals, improve their health or mental capacity or satisfy their thirst. Because From Europe With Love specialises in finding stories that are not, originally, in English, then making them available in that language, the best way for you to read the rest of this story is to visit the Guardian's own website. Click on the link below (left) to read the media section of The Guardian. Because things take a long time to get voted through, this legislation actually started its passage through the Russian parliament some time ago. Click on the link below (right) to visit the site of realbeer.com, which reported essentially the same story as far back as 2002.
03.08.04
German TV viewers can use whatever technical means they wish to 'defend themselves' against advertising, says the Dutch advertising magazine Adformatie. Adformatie bases its story on the decision of Germany's highest court in a case brought by the TV broadcaster RTL against the makers of Fernseh Fee ('TV fairy'), a device that blocks out TV adverts. The judge found that the device did no significant harm to the TV company and was little more than an extension of the remote control. The 'TV fairy', Adformatie says, was originally launched in Germany in 1999 by a Koblenz-based company called TCU. It immediately changes channels whenever an advert appears, thus angering those who derive their income from selling their ability to deliver adverts to viewers. In its complaint against TCU, Adformatie says, RTL called the Fernseh Fee a 'threat to its livelihood'. TCU, on the other hand, has emerged victorious and now says that the way is clear for it to market a further device, Tivion, that substitutes alternative advertising to that scheduled by the TV channels. Tivion is a variant of Tivo, which Philips has brought the rights to market in Europe. Up till now, Tivo is only on sale in the United States. Click on the link below (left) to read this story for yourself, in Dutch, on the website of Adformatie. Click on the link below (right) to visit the website of TCU, which promises 'Werbung nach Wunsch' ('the advertising you want'). Or click here to visit the site of RTL.
02.08.04
You generally wouldn't guess it from watching most car advertising, with its focus on 'new men', families, versatility and performance, but there's a generation of older drivers out there who are of growing importance to the new car market. According to the German advertising and marketing magazine Werben & Verkaufen (W&V), one quarter of all new car buyers in Germany are over the age of 60. Just a decade ago, that figure was just 14%, W&V says. The report is based on research conducted by the energy company Shell, which predicts that the trend can only be set to continue. In particular, it says, the numbers of older, women drivers will grow. "As people get older, the symbolic importance of owning your own car increases", says Kurt Döhmel of Deutsche Shell. "Cars are becoming the definitive anti-aging product, showing that you don't necessarily have to disconnect from society as your age increases". Car makers, he concludes, would do well to reconsider their product range and the positioning of their brands. Click on the link below (left) to read this story for yourself in the pages of W&V, in German. Click on the link below (right) to visit the website of Shell in Germany, here to visit the web page where the company publishes a lengthy press release on the subject, here to download the entire study in German (right click, then 'save as' to save it to your hard disk as a PDF file) or here to read a condensed version, in English, prepared by From Europe With Love (will be available soon).
Amsterdam, capital city of the Netherlands, is to launch a new campaign to promote itself, writes the Dutch advertising and marketing magazine Adformatie. The campaign, Adformatie says, will run under the title 'I AMsterdam' and has been though up by local ad agency KesselsKramer, among whose other clients are Diesel, the jeans brand. Frits Huffnagel, responsible for the campaign at the city's authorities, Amsterdam Partners, says that it is a "strong international concept that serves as a logo and slogan combined." Amsterdam Partners' remit involves making the city attractive to tourists, inhabitants and companies alike, Adformatie says. Previous attempts to 'sell' it have included the use of the slogan 'Amsterdam heeft het' ('Amsterdam's got it) in the 1980s. Clearly, 'I AMsterdam' offers more opportunity internationally. Huffnagel says the campaign is set to launch in September. The logo is still under development, but a clue to its design lies in the fact that Huffnagel freely admits to having been inspired by the 'I love New York' campaign that began in the 1970s and still resonates today. The slogan 'I AMsterdam' will appear on all letters, posters and informational materials issued by the city's authorities, says Adformatie. Click on the link below (left) to read this story for yourself, in Dutch, as reported by Adformatie. Click on the link below (right) to visit the site of Amsterdam Partners which, conveniently, is in English and contains plenty of information about Dutch capital city.
30.07.04
Unilever plans to unify the branding of its frozen food products across Europe, according to a report in the German advertising magazine, Horizont. Citing a previous article in the grocery trade 'bible', Lebensmittel Zeitung, Horizont says that in future, a single brand will be applied across ten European countries and that 'freshness' and 'naturalness' will form the focus of communications. The phasing in of the new branding approach is expected to be managed in a similar manner to that applied to ice cream. Unilever-owned brands such as Langnese and Wall's still exist in individual countries, but they now share a common logo. In Germany, Unilever's frozen food products currently sell under the name Iglo. The name Bird's Eye is used in the UK, while Findus is used in Italy. In Germany alone, Horizont says, this brand 'renovation' will involve an increase in advertising expenditure of around 20%. Iglo currently spends around €20 million on marketing, Horizont says. Click on the link below (left) to read this story for yourself in the pages of Horizont, in German. Click on the link below (right) to visit the website of Iglo in Germany, here to visit Bird's Eye in the UK or here to visit the web page where Unilever presents its entire range of brands to Italian consumers.
Londoners create invisible mobile phone booths, while Parisians talk in the middle of the pavement and people from Madrid share their phone with friends. That's the conclusion of a new study conducted by Dr. Amparo Lasen, currently on a Vodafone scholarship in the UK, reported by the BBC. Speaking to the BBC's Go Digital programme, Dr. Lasen, who bases her findings on a series of interviews with mobile phone users in European capital cities, says that users in Paris and Madrid are happy to talk openly in the street but that users in London prefer to create a "temporary phone zone", where people group together to speak in the same place. An interesting story, but not one that From Europe With Love, which specialises in sourcing non-English language stories from Europe and making them available in English, intends to simply copy from the BBC. So why not read the original article written by Jane Wakefield on the BBC's own website? Just click on the link below (left) to go to the BBC story. And just to prove that Dr. Lasen knows what she is talking about, click on the link below (right) to visit the web page at the University of Surrey which details her background, interests and previous work.
Concentration in many European media markets is reaching the limits of what is legally allowed, according to a report compiled by Dr. David Ward, one time director general of the European Institute for the Media (EIM), says the Austrian advertising newsletter Extradienst. Dr. Ward was asked by the Dutch media authorities to compare the situation in ten western European markets, Extradienst says. He concludes that concentration is greatest in the broadcast media. After Italy, he says, Germany is where most power lies in fewest hands. "Viewer shares in Germany are concentrated among the state channels, the RTL group and ProSieben-Sat1. There's only around 8% for all the rest put together", says Bernd Malzanini, of the Austrian media journal text intern. "In the future the situation is likely to continue, with the groups having the strongest financing being able to expand. Newcomers who do not have access to the same financing are always going to find it difficult." Click on the link below (left) to go to this story in the pages of Extradienst, in German. Click on the link below (right) to visit the website of the EIM, which carries stories similar to this in a variety of languages.
Sports Marketing Surveys, which specialises in measuring the effectiveness of sports sponsorships and other commercial involvement in sport, claims that the kind of light under which many matches were played during the recent Euro 2004 football championship was a negative factor for sponsors. According to the company, natural light makes for less effective sponsorship given that sunlight, reflection and contrasts produce areas of shade and brightness which, combined, can reduce quality of exposure of a sponsor's name by up to 50%. Lighting at this kind of event is one of the most important 'arms' available to sponsors and advertisers, it says. Artificial light creates the best possible conditions because it provides a more comprehensive level of illumination, SMS says. We read this story in the Spanish advertising journal, IPMark. Click on the link below (left) to read more IPMark stories, in Spanish, on the magazine's own website. Click on the link below (right) to go to the website of Sports Marketing Surveys where you can read more about their activities, in English.
Performance at Dutch advertising agencies fell drastically last year, according to a report released by the agency trade association, VEA. Operating margin fell, on average, by 75%, VEA says, declining from 15.7% in 2002 to 3.8% in 2003. In 2001, an average level of 19.4% had been reported, compared to an international norm of 20%, says the online marketing magazien, Marketing Online. The larger agencies, with income of over 9 million euros, returned the best margin figures, Marketing Online says, reporting an average margin of 12.4%. Smaller agencies, on the other hand, with incomes below 2.25 million euros, reported a negative average margin. At 9.6%, the performance of medium-sized agencies was between the two poles, says the VEA. At least 13 agencies were loss-making during 2003, with a large number of others in danger of going the same way. The figures are taken from the VEA's annual review. The authors of this year's report express serious concerns about the future of the industry, given the negative developments of the past 3 years. Agencies, it seems, have been unable to adequately adjust their costs to falling incomes or develop new sources of income to compensate for the losses. In addition, they are having to deal with an increasing number of legal limitations as to what they can say in adverrtising and falling customer loyalty. Click on the link below (left) to read this story for yourself, in Dutch, as reported by Marketing Online. Click on the link below (right) to visit the site of the VEA and find out more about the Dutch advertising agency scene.
Back in March, Heineken, known worldwide for its lager-style beer, announced it was linking with Krups - known, among other things, for its home appliances, such as coffee machines - in a fresh approach at the beer-drinking market, writes the Dutch advertising magazine, Adformatie. Dutch drinkers are now able to buy a system jointly developed by the two companies, which allows them to enjoy fresh draught beer in the comfort of their own homes. Called BeerTender, the system is being trialled in the Netherlands before possibly being rolled out in other countries. If first results are to be continued, and if Krups and Heineken can keep up with demand, those countries shouldn't have to wait too long. Heineken announced this week that it expected to have soon sold half a million vats of BeerTender. In addition, it said, sister products Amstel and Brand would be made available in BeerTender format before the end of the year. During a meeting with journalists, says the Dutch online newsletter zibb.nl, Heneieken director Erik Korthals Altes, said that approximately 300,000 vats were currently in circulation and that sales are running at around 15,000 units per week. And this despute the fact that BeerTender is not yet available through the country's leading supermarket chain, Albert Heijn (AH), zibb says. When the system was launched, tales were conducted with AH but the retailer declined the opportunity to stock the product. Given the limited production availability, it will now have to be patient. Proof, nevertheless, that it is still possible to achieve a successful new product introduction without depending on being listed by a major retailer. Click on the link below (left) to read more on this development, in English, elsewhere in the pages of From Europe With Love. Click on the link below (right) to read this story in Dutch, on the site of zibb.nl.
27.04.04
Wilkinson, the razor manufacturer, can continue to claim in its advertising in the Netherlands that its Quattro shaving system shaves closer than any other, following a decision by a court in Utrecht. Gillette had complained that Wilkinson's claim was unjustifiable. The judge, on the other hand, found that the company's claim was fully supported by research. Not all smiles and smooth faces at Wilkinson, however. It had brought a counter-case against Gillette, contesting that company's right to claim in its advertisements that Gillette users enjoyed the best, most comfortable shave. The same judge found that superlatives were so commonplace in advertising that any averagely well-informed consumer would easily understand that the company's "the best a man can get" claim was not, strictly, a scientific statement. Click on the link below (left) to visit the website of the Dutch advertising and marketing magazine, Adformatie, where you can read this story, in Dutch. Click on the link below (right) to read about the global partnership between Wilkinson and Manchester United, the football club, and where you can see that team's manager being shaved by (Dutch) striker Ruud van Nistelrooy.
The Vatican has indirectly urged
Catholics to boycott companies that use child labour in the manufacture of their brands,
says the newspaper El Correo Digital. "Using products that have been produced by
exploiting little slaves is intolerable and immoral for Christians", Monseñor
Giampaolo Crepaldi, secretary of the Pontifical Committee for Justice and Peace told
journalists at a press conference designed to coincide with the world's first congress
dedicated to the subject of child labour, which is currently being held in Florence.
27.02.04
Pfizer must alter Dutch advertising for its Viagra product, promoted as a remedy for erectile disfunction, the country's advertising regulatory board, Codecommissie, has ruled. Pfizer has been using the words "bewezen betrouwbar" ("proven reliability") as a pay-off line in ads for Viagra. Now, however, according to a report in the newspaper Trouw, it will be forced to drop the claim. Pfizer is engaged in a battle with rival Eli Lilly, says the Dutch advertising magazine, Adformatie, which has seen the two companies frequently complaining about each others' promotional campaigns. In an earlier judgment, Eli Lilly was told that it could not claim that its competing product, Cialis, was effective around the clock. Although the claim is used internationally, local rules
govern what can and what cannot be said about pharmaceutical products in the Netherlands.
The Codecommissie found that Pfizer's claim exaggerates the effectiveness of Viagra.
Pfizer may appeal the judgement, Adformatie says.
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27.04.04
Two decades after Coca Cola first introduced Diet Coke (or Coca Cola Light, as it is known in Spain), the Spanish market is full of low-calorie drinks, writes the newspaper Diario Sur, with about 60 different brands. "Light", it seems, is in fashion. The kitchen has now been invaded by a wave of low-calorie foods - from drinks to jams, yougurts to cheese, ice cream and even the most tasteful desserts.. all have a "lighter" brother. Then there are other classes of product, such as those low in nicotine, or beers with no alcohol, which have appropriated the term "light" in an attempt to boost sales. The "light revolution", says Diario Sur, arrived in Spain with the launch, in 1984, of Coca Cola Light. 20 years later there are around 60 soft drinks with low or no calories, 15 brands of juice and 20 beers. "These days, low calorie products form part of daily life. A company such as ours is obliged to evolve along with society and respond to its demands", says Coca Cola's marketing director in Spain, Manuel Arroyo. Click on the link below (left) to read more about this story, in English, elsewhere in the pages of From Europe With Love. Click on the link below (right) to go directly to the page in Diario Sur which carries this story, if you'd like to read it in Spanish.
27.02.04
What does the typical German living room look like? What are the fixtures and fittings with which the 'typical' German family surrounds itself? Well, now, thanks to the Hamburg-based ad agency, Jung von Matt, you no longer need to wonder.. you can see for yourself. Interviewed by the German news magazine, Der Spiegel, Bernhard Lukas, the agency's creative director, relaxes on a terracotta-coloured sofa, while gazing out through curtained windows to the street beyond. Next to him towers a light-wood wall unit with lit windows in a kind of Mediterranean design. On the glass table in front of him, a copy of the Kölner Anzeiger newspaper and a much-used TV magazine. "It's the weirdest thing to find in an ad agency", Lukas tells Der Spiegel, describing the 'living room' which sits incongruously amid the Apple Macs and high-ceilinged, brightly-lit rooms of the agency creative department. "On the other hand, I had iamgined it would be worse", he adds. "It's frighteningly real." The living room is one of the results of a research study conducted by Jung von Matt, in order, the agency says, to get closer to real life and find creative ideas in the context in which they will be seen. Click on the link below (left) to read more about this story, in English, elsewhere in the pages of From Europe With Love. Click on the link below (right) to go directly to the page in Der Spiegel which carries this story to see the rest of the article (in German) and to see still photographs of the 'typical' German living room for yourself.
27.02.04
Phillips, the Dutch-based maker of consumer electrical and electronic goods, is to market its Senseo coffee making system in the United States, reports in the local trade press. Already a success in its homeland and various other European countries, Phillips hopes that a 'multi-million dollar' advertising campaign will help it reach an annual sales target of 2 million machines in the US.
In addition to the Netherlands, Senseo has also
proven a success in Belgium, Denmark, Germany and France. From April, the machines will
also be available in the UK.
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