News

What's to blame for Marks & Spencer's sluggish sales - its clothing, a slowdown in spending or, despite Stuart Rose's prior suggestion that bad weather is a lame excuse for struggling, the soggy summer?

In the world of advertising the old adage that ‘a picture is worth a thousand words’ has never been truer. Seemingly the use of imagery in advertising is now more important than ever in conveying messages about brand or product identity.

The direct marketing industry appears to be making progress in its efforts to attract graduates into agencies, but more needs to be done to recruit people into the supplier side, according to industry figures.

So, some of the losing agencies on the British Gas pitch thought it wasn’t terribly well run (PM April 20). I have no idea if it was or wasn’t, and I have no intention of fuelling that particular debate. That said, many of us agency-side have experienced the good, the bad and the ugly when it comes to pitching. The problem is, you don’t know which one it’s going to be until you are thoroughly committed.

More Than operates in an extremely tough market where consumers can choose between nearly 400 providers. There is a perception of very limited product differentiation and with low customer engagement, price often dictates who people insure with. The sector spends over £200m a year on media, battling it out to create switchers in order to acquire new customers; it then relies on retention and cross selling to drive profitability.

Stephens Francis Whitson (SFW) have hired Simon Panton and Terence Bly as part of its creative team to work on some of the agency’s new accounts including Levi Strauss & Co. Europe and Morley Fund Management.

LONDON - Morley, the asset management firm owned by Aviva, has taken over Bank station for a month, with a new campaign devised by direct specialist Stephens Francis Whitson.

Stephens Francis Whitson (SFW) has been appointed by Aviva asset management brand Morley as its lead marketing communications agency. The appointment comes as part of a wider review of Morley’s agency roster.