Briefs

Lloyds TSB has launched an internet and 24-hour telephone personal

loan service called Loansdirect. The service offers a range of budget

personal loans and guarantees a 48-hour response time. The site can be

found at www.loandirect.co.uk.

MTV Europe has restructured its marketing department and promoted Dave

Sibley, former controller of sponsorship marketing, to vice-president,

European marketing partnerships, to increase revenue from third

parties.

Sibley will head the reorganised team to bring sponsorship on-air and

online, event organisation and licensing under a one-stop shop.

DLJ direct, the US online share trading company, is offering free

trading until January 14 to attract UK customers. The move is the latest

in a price war among online traders, which saw Halifax offer an

introductory rate of pounds 5 per trade when it launched its online

service last month. Meanwhile, Swiss bank, MFC, is launching a banking

and online trading venture called www.swissnetbanking.com. The service

will be launched across Europe with an ad campaign worth pounds 5m

through London advertising agency Wilcox Ambler Rodford law. Using the

strapline ’Shhwiss’, the campaign will stress accessibility and ease of

online trading with the traditional discretion of the Swiss banking

system.

Cosmos, the tour operator, has introduced a new travel brochure which

offers customers holiday packages to suit their lifestyle rather than

choosing a destination. Cosmos claims the new system will attract

customers by making holidays easier to choose.

Calpol, the children’s medicine, is to advertise for the first time on

television, with a campaign through J Walter Thompson and MindShare.

Focusing on Calpol’s new sachets variant, the ad shows parents talking

with great affection about what viewers assume to be children but turns

out to be Calpol. The strapline is ’If you’ve got kids, you’ll

understand’.

Boden, a clothing company which sells purely via mail order and the

internet, is planning to open its first UK store in Chelsea, London, in

spring of next year. Boden has sales of pounds 17m and 110,000

customers.

Ic24, the Trinity Mirror-owned free ISP has appointed four senior staff

from Virgin Net. Rebecca St Johnstone, former Virgin Net editorial

director, joins as managing director of content, with Rick Glanville as

her deputy and David Black as managing editor of content. Virgin finance

director Richard Rees joins as finance director at ic24 in the new year.

The moves follow the appointment last month of Jason Smith as sales

director at the free ISP.

Open, the interactive TV service jointly owned by BT, Matsushita, HSBC

and BSkyB, is spending pounds 1m in the latest stage of its TV campaign,

raising awareness of a series of special promotions available on the

service.

The ten-second spots run throughout November on terrestrial and

multi-channel TV alongside the existing 20-second ads. Creative work is

handled by Ogilvy & Mather with media by MindShare.

Drambuie has launched a TV, press and point of sale campaign through

Court Burkitt & Company. The campaign’s theme is ’The best part of the

evening’, to revive the notion of the after-dinner drink. The ads

coincide with the launch of a redesigned bottle, which is to offer a

more contemporary look. The campaign has a spend of pounds 830,000.

Canon and the World Wildlife Fund have launched a pounds 3m UK promotion

based on Canon’s association with the charity’s Conservation Partner

programme.

Shoppers who buy Canon cameras, printers or cartridges will receive WWF

branded animal toys in gift packs. The campaign was conceived and

co-ordinated by retail marketing specialist the Sure Group.

Marie Curie Cancer Care has become the first charity to advertise on

National Express coach Mega Rears, with a campaign through Maher Bird

Associates. The campaign runs for five months from this week. Frontline

Media booked the campaign through Primeads.

Mardi Gras, the youth dance promoter, is searching for sponsors for

events on the West End stage and other key dance events. Sponsorship

opportunities will culminate in a World Dance Record attempt at the

Birmingham NEC next year.

This article was first published on Marketing