Briefs

Bradford Council has appointed Owen Williams, strategic planning

director at advertising and marketing agency CWG, as its first marketing

and communications director. Williams will take up the post in

mid-February and will have a free hand to rebrand the city to make it

more attractive to tourists and businesses.

Stephen Quinn, publishing director of Vogue, has been promoted to senior

publishing director at Conde Nast. His additional responsibilities will

include an overview of advertising issues across the Conde Nast

portfolio.

He will also play a central role in monitoring the company’s performance

and share.

Time Magazine this week launches an advertising campaign for its

end-of-the-year ’Person of the Century’ issue, in which Time editors

select the most influential man or woman of the past 100 years. The

campaign launches today (Wednesday), with a poster site at Piccadilly

Circus. TV, print and radio ads will follow.

Skandia Life, the insurance firm, is to continue to sponsor the Cowes

Week sailing regatta after signing a deal worth pounds 1.5m over three

years.

Skandia Life has sponsored the event since 1995.

Ergo, the brand development agency, has appointed Shivani Gupta as head

of research planning. Gupta joins from international research firm

Censydiam, where she worked on projects for Coca-Cola, Volvo and

Heineken. Ergo has also recruited an account manager, Rochelle Martyn,

from Coley Porter Bell.

Camelot, the national lottery operator, will offer cinema and restaurant

discounts in a promotion aimed at encouraging consumers to participate

in more than one game. The promotion, which will be launched early next

year, will be available to customers who buy tickets for any two

different games within one month.

Amazon.co.uk, the online retailer, has signed a one-year deal with

British Airways to sponsor the airline’s in-flight business and arts

magazine programme, Words. The programme, presented by Melvyn Bragg, is

being screened on all BA flights from December 1. Articles from the

programme will also appear on a dedicated Amazon web page. Financial

terms were not disclosed.

Britannia Music is to sponsor awards programme Record of the Year for a

second year running. The programme, which invites viewers to vote for

their favourite record, will be aired on ITV on December 11. The show

will be presented by Denise Van Outen.

The Commercial Radio Companies Association (CRCA) has been granted the

first injunction of its kind against pirate broadcaster Santiago Carlos

Medrano. The injunction prevents him from participating in any future

pirate broadcasting. The CRCA said it wanted people to take the

illegality of pirate broadcasting seriously.

WH Smith has hired Muriel Sterling as marketing director for its Travel

Retail stores division. Sterling, previously marketing controller,

succeeds Andy Davies, who left to become head of marketing at BAA

Retail.

Shopping Unlimited, the Guardian Unlimited gift-shopping internet site,

is to run a pre-Christmas radio campaign through Partners BDDH. The

campaign, featuring TV presenter Davina McCall, is themed around the 12

days of Christmas, with each day offering a different gift. Media buying

is through New PHD.

WH Smith Online is launching its first offline advertising with a radio

campaign featuring comedian Paul Merton. The ads, through Abbott Mead

Vickers BBDO, encourage users to pick up a free CD at one of WH Smith’s

stores.

Working conditions in the UK’s call centres are being investigated by

the Health and Safety Executive, following research that revealed

haphazard shift systems, high staff turnover and constant scrutiny of

performance.

Extended periods working with a telephone and a computer have led to

symptoms including stress, voice loss, back problems, and joint and

muscle pains.

Admedia is undertaking the first campaign to put a music ad behind

toilet doors. Some 520 posters will be placed in women’s washrooms

across 40 shopping centres in the UK, to push the Mary J Blige album

Mary (Universal Island Records). The ads will be seen by an estimated

five million people.

This article was first published on Marketing