November 2009 Archives

Blogger Dougal Paver on how a calm word in the ear stopped Armageddon in its tracks

LAST week closed with the sure and certain belief that the world's economy was coming to an end - for the second time this year.
The news that Dubai's leading state-owned property developer, Nakheel, was asking to defer payment on its multi-billion pound debt pile sent the nay-sayers in to a frenzy of doom-laden predictions.

The furore over France cheating its way to the World Cup finals shows no sign of abating.

The French acting purely in their own interest should hold no surprises for anyone, of course.

Their whole diplomatic approach is profoundly unilateral and their dirigiste instincts see them ignoring the EU's free market principles at will. Playing by the rules just isn't their thing and being exposed as cheats on the world stage has been met with a gallic shrug.

THE BBC says it wants to team up with digital producers and agencies in Merseyside and beyond to create new digital content for its children's TV websites.
The BBC is moving five departments, including BBC Children's, to MediaCityUK in Salford in 2011.

In the light of today's announcement about @North and the opportunities it could offer to Merseyside creative firms, here's the article I wrote for the September edition of LDP Business magazine about what MediaCity could mean for our region

FROM the 19th floor of one of MediaCityUK's tower blocks, the scale of Peel Holdings' ambition for the Salford Quays site is all too clear.

SNOWMEN Stan and Ollie are the faces of a huge TV Christmas ad campaign by Liverpool-based Shop Direct to promote its online Woolworths.co.uk lines.
The former Littlewoods group bought the Woolies brand earlier this year after the high street store chain collapsed.

SOUTHPORT promotional company Access Point UK has been hired by supermarket giant Sainsbury's to promote products and services in 475 UK stores.
Access Point will promote Sainsbury's "non-listed events programme" - promoting events or services not created by the supermarket itself.

DESIGN agency Smiling Wolf has relaunched a healthy fruit drink brand to help make it more appealing to teenage customers.

MARKETING agency ICE has launched a new campaign for health charity the Deborah Hutton Campaign to help discourage young people from smoking.

DESIGN and marketing agency Ampersand has been signed up by Newcastle United FC to help the club find new shirt sponsors.

LIVERPOOL PR company Think Publicity is launching a new arm this month.
Faces will be a new agency aimed at supporting clients' promotional campaigns. It will supply promotional street crew, hospitality staff and leafleters.