The BBC is piling the pressure on its commercial rivals this Christmas with the launch of a hard hitting seasonal schedule based around blockbuster family movies and time honoured festive favourites.Screenings of Hollywood hits such as Harry Potter and the Philiosopher’s Stone, Shrek and 102 Dalmations looks set to make sure that BBC One obliterates… Continue reading BBC Brings Out Big Guns For Christmas Ratings War

Search targeted marketing firm Overture has signed a contextual advertising deal with financial services provider Interactive Investor to display content match results on its website.The deal will see Overture embed relevant search results on content-based pages, including Overture’s paid placement listings generated by the company’s growing world-wide base of 100,000 advertisers.Interactive Investor’s website provides its… Continue reading Overture Signs Contextual Ad Deal With Finance Site

Advertisers are failing to connect with a previously unrecognised group of 40-something Britains, dubbed Generation Jones by a major new study from media planning and buying agency, Carat.The research, carried out over the last six months, identifies ‘Jonsers’ as an affluent and influential group of consumers distinct from the Baby Boomers of the post World… Continue reading Advertisers Must Reach Out To Generation Jones

The Newspaper Society has appointed Robert Ray, a former head of Starcom Worldwide’s P&G global business unit, as its new marketing director, replacing Russell Collier who quit unexpectedly earlier this year.Ray, a senior figure with over twenty years experience in the agency world, takes up his new position on 11 January with responsibility for selling… Continue reading Newspaper Society Picks Agency Man As Marketing Boss

WPP’s proposed merger with Grey Global looks set to be delayed following a European Commission request for further information prior to its approval of the deal.The request for additional details of the merger comes under the EC’s competition protection legislation, meaning that the merger review procedure will now be delayed until the EC has received… Continue reading Grey Global Merger Delayed By EC Information Request

Next week’s issue of NME will feature a specially designed 3D lenticular cover, in what publisher IPC Ignite claims is a first for a weekly magazine.The holographic image of Libertines’ front man Pete Doherty is part of a solus deal with O2, which will also see back cover of the title feature a full page… Continue reading NME Claims Industry First With Lenticular Cover

GMG-owned 100.4 Smooth FM and car manufacturer SEAT are set to stage the North West’s biggest ever car give-away, offering 40 listeners the chance to win a new car every weekday for the next two weeks.The £150,000 competition will begin tomorrow, with Smooth giving away four cars every weekday for two weeks to celebrate the… Continue reading Smooth Secures Seat For Massive Motoring Giveaway

According to a new report by Screen Digest, growth prospects for European pay TV operators are looking positive and are more sustainable than they were during the boom years of the late 1990s. Growth in the number of European pay TV subscribers has seen a steady decline since the launch of Europe’s first digital TV… Continue reading European Pay TV Market Back On Track

GWR Group, the UK’s most listened to commercial radio group, has seen profits rise by 12% to £6.9 million in the six months to September, but said the radio advertising market remained weak, according to interim results announced today. The owner of Classic FM, which is currently waiting for regulatory approval concerning its merger with… Continue reading GWR Profits Up Despite Weak Market

UBC Media, the UK’s largest independent radio production company, has announced increased profits and rising turnover in interim results published today, following earlier predictions of increased earning with the announcement of its first digital revenues. The company’s interim statement for the six months to 30 September reveal a turnover of £7.15 million, up 9.8% on… Continue reading UBC Profits Rise As Digital Revenues Revealed