Pre-tax profits at advertising and communications giant, WPP, tumbled by 50% to £205.4 million in the year ended 31 December 2002, indicating the severity of the worldwide recession and its impact on advertising and marketing services.The group this morning said that conditions are to remain tough throughout the remainder of this year. Budgets are anticipating… Continue reading WPP Profits Fall 50% In The Face Of Recession
Hachette Filipacchi has appointed the Manchester based Pepper Group, to handle its regional advertisement sales business across its range of titles.The Pepper Group will take over from Media Sales Network on the Red, ELLE, Elle Decoration and ELLEgirl accounts with immediate effect.The group will also take over the sales operations at B, Sugar, TVHits!, Inside… Continue reading Hachette Appoints Pepper Group To Regional Sales Role
The success of the new digital terrestrial platform, Freeview, has hit ITV harder than expected and is hastening its loss of audience share, according to a report from influential broker, Morgan Stanley. In its latest guidance note, the broker states that the new digital terrestrial platform is having a negative effect on ITV, which is… Continue reading Freeview Launch Hits ITV Harder Than Expected
The UK’s top ten advertising agencies saw their combined billings revenue fall by 1.1% – or £27.1 million – in 2002, according to the new top 300 table published by Campaign. The figures, compiled by Nielsen Media Research, show that whilst the advertising downturn has pushed the top agencies’ revenues into negative growth for the… Continue reading Top 10 Ad Agencies See Billings Drop, Whilst Media Agencies Rise
Future Publishing has promoted Jayne Caple to advertisement sales director of the group.Caple, who was previously deputy advertisement sales director, will replace Andrew Milbourn, who is leaving the company at the end of March to set up his own business.In a separate move, the publishing company has confirmed the appointment of Chris Spratling as retail… Continue reading Future Boosts Management Team With New Appointments
The planned formation of a dominant satellite television group in Italy looks set to go ahead without regulatory obstruction, according to an article in the Financial Times today. It is the merger of News Corp’s Stream division with Telepiù, the pay-TV arm of Vivendi Universal, that will create the country’s largest satellite operator – Sky… Continue reading News Corp’s Telepi
Top City media analyst, Neil Blackley, has told the Times newspaper that the ‘dire’ decline in the media markets is ‘easily as bad’ as the 1971-2 recession, with little prospect of any ‘quick-fix’ solution. In an interview with the paper ahead of his departure from Merrill Lynch, Blackley said that the only ‘crumb of comfort’… Continue reading Neil Blackley Sees ‘Dire’ Decline In Media Industry
Nielsen//NetRatings has announced plans to extend its MegaPanel internet consumer panel service into the US.The consumer panel, which provides market research results based on over one million internet users, is already established in the UK, France and Germany. Marketers and advertisers utilise the system to devise strategies to maximise return on investment, from their internet… Continue reading Nielsen//NetRatings Expands MegaPanel
The web is gradually gaining in popularity in Central and Eastern Europe and new figures show that internet penetration in the region will reach 17% in 2003. According to a new IDC report, Internet Usage and E-Commerce in Central and Eastern Europe, 2001-2006, total internet connections will top 5.6 million in 2003. Approximately 85% of… Continue reading Internet Usage On The Rise In Central And Eastern Europe
Virgin Radio has secured a deal with The Times to promote its season of film screenings through its Access All Areas initiative.The eight week-long bespoke campaign begins later this month and will see Virgin Radio broadcast a series of promotional trials and features in the form of movie updates. Ten ‘Film First’ movie updates will… Continue reading Virgin To Promote Film Screenings For The Times
