The Barclay brothers have reportedly drawn up a plan to sell their national weekly newspaper, The Business. According to confidential documents obtained by the Financial Times, a possible management buy-out of The Business has been under consideration for some time. It is understood that lawyers acting for the Barclays have exchanged letters with City advisers… Continue reading Barclay Brothers Set To Sell The Business

Despite the ongoing advertising downturn, the majority of UK agencies managed to increase or sustain their investment in marketing and new business during 2002. A survey of over 150 agencies across advertising, PR, direct marketing, digital and media disciplines shows that advertising agencies had the largest number of staff dedicated to new business and marketing,… Continue reading Agencies Maintain New Business Spend During 2002

After suffering a 12.5% decline in 2002, US online advertising is set to return to growth this year, with eMarketer forecasting a 6.3% rise in revenues. The online ad sector has undergone two years of decline following the burst of the dotcom ‘bubble’ and has not been helped by the downturn in the broader advertising… Continue reading US Online Advertising Forecasts From eMarketer

The level of customer service at US online stores has improved considerably in the past year, according to the research carried out by the e-tailing group. The Chicago based consulting firm secretly shopped at 100 e-commerce sites during the fourth quarter of 2002 to assess the state of online customer service. It concentrated on a… Continue reading Customer Service Improving For Internet Shoppers, Finds Study

UK mobile operators have responded angrily to the decision of the telecommunications regulator to impose reductions on the cost of many calls and warned that customers could lose out as a result. In response to recommendations from the Competition Commission, Oftel has called on the operators to cut their termination charges – the additional tariffs… Continue reading Mobile Operators Unite In Opposition To Oftel Ruling

Bidders are now lining up to make offers on Vivendi Universal’s entertainment assets, even though the group has so far maintained that they are not for sale. According to US press reports this week, Vivendi is being approached by at least for suitors for its US entertainment assets, which include Universal Pictures, USA Cable, Studios… Continue reading Bidders Move On Vivendi For Entertainment Assets, Say Reports

Premiere, the German pay-TV operator, said yesterday that takeover talks were proceeding smoothly and it expects to have a new owner confirmed by the end of March. Last month, a deal was brokered by which the private equity house Permira will take a 70% stake in Premiere, which was formerly part of the fallen Kirch… Continue reading Premiere Deal Nears Completion

Spain’s Auna Operadores de Telecomunicaciones SA has been forced to buy back a 6% holding in its liquidated digital terrestrial TV business, Quiero TV (see Forecasts), from Carlton Communications, according to a report from AFX News. The story is sourced from La Gaceta de los Negocios, which claims that Auna was obliged to return the… Continue reading Carlton Pockets €7.3m Quiero TV Reimbursement

After compiling and analysing a broad selection of other high-profile predictions, eMarketer is forecasting that US advertising spend will grow by 4.7% in 2003. These comparative figures are shown below. It should be noted, however, that forecasters do not necessarily produce their figures on the same basis. In this selection all the data include TV,… Continue reading US Advertising Growth Comparisons From eMarketer

Despite the confidence emanating from high-ranking decision makers at the UK’s top companies, there is as yet little concrete evidence to support claims that the marketing and media sectors are on the road to recovery. The latest IPA Bellwether report showed that of those setting new budgets for 2003 in the fourth quarter, twice as… Continue reading INSIGHTanalysis: Bellwether Brings Mixed Message For Marketers