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Will you be the Meister this season?

Leading German herbal liqueur Jägermeister is investing £1m in a UK digital advertising campaign in the run up to Christmas, in a bid to win the hearts and minds of the younger generation.

The ‘Be the Meister’ campaign, which will run from 13 November for eight weeks, aims to deliver 30m impressions amongst 18 to 24-year olds.

The advert, encouraging consumer to be the ‘meisters’ of their own lives, will air on broadcast and non-broadcast Video on Demand channels, such as Sky, Channel 4, Ladbible, NME.com, and Givemesport.com, as well as being promoted on Jägermeister’s YouTube channel and social media platforms.

The ad, created by Opperman Weiss, takes place in a German nightclub where the crowd is led in a toast by the ‘Meister of Cold’, supermodel Nadja Auermann.

“Our digital ad campaign… is designed to appeal to our youth audience and empower them to be their own meister,” said Nicole Goodwin, marketing director at Mast-Jägermeister. “Unlike other spirits, Jägermeister is requested by name and has an established cult following, so our aim is to resonate with our UK youth audience in the all-important Christmas count down.”

Iceland’s Palm Oil push banned for being too political

Iceland is reconsidering its entire Christmas marketing push after the jewel in its crown – a repurposed Greenpeace advert was banned for breaching political advertising rules.

As part of its festive campaign the discount supermarket struck a deal with Greenpeace to rebadge an animated short film (shown here) featuring an orangutan and the destruction of its rainforest habitat at the hands of palm oil growers.

Earlier this year, Iceland became the first major UK supermarket to pledge to remove palm oil from all its own-brand foods. Habitat loss in countries such as Malaysia – a major global producer of palm oil – has contributed to the orangutan now being classified as critically endangered.

“This was a film that Greenpeace made with a voice over by Emma Thompson,” said Iceland’s founder, Malcolm Walker. “We got permission to use it and take off the Greenpeace logo and use it as the Iceland Christmas ad. It would have blown the John Lewis ad out of the window. It was so emotional.”

One of the stipulations enshrined in the broadcast code for advertising practice (BCAP), is that an ad is prohibited if it is “directed towards a political end”.

Iceland will still be placing TV ads, but only 10-second clips that will highlight palm oil-free products.

“We wanted [the Greenpeace film] to be our signature campaign,” said Richard Walker, Malcolm’s son, who has led Iceland’s switch to environmental campaigning. “We have said repeatedly we are not anti-palm oil, we are anti-deforestation.

“We think this is a huge story that needs to be told. We always knew there was a risk [the clip would not be cleared for TV] but we gave it our best shot.”

STG launches cigar trade web site

Scandinavian Tobacco Group (STG UK), producer of leading cigar brands such as Café Crème, Moments and Henri Wintermans, is celebrating the launch of its trade website, www.stgtrade.co.uk.

The new website will act as a platform for independent retailers to access industry information and category advice on how to maximise the cigar sales opportunity and increased profits in store.

The trade website, centred on the strapline ‘Let’s Talk’, builds on insight from research that STG UK conducted which shows that many retailers are missing out on tobacco sales due to not proactively engaging with customers.

To help retailers rectify this and maximise the cigar category opportunity in their store, www.stgtrade.co.uk includes information on STG UK’s brands and products, category management and profit-maximising tips, legislation, tobacco insights and industry updates and advice.

The website also features ongoing competitions where retailers could win free stock, as well as take part in its new initiative where ‘Local Heroes’, or retailers with the best local community service ideas, will be awarded a host of prizes, including a £2,000 cash prize to put towards their proposal.

Jens Christiansen, Head of Marketing & Public Affairs at STG UK, comments: “The relationship between independent retailers and their customers is integral to sales success, especially within the Tobacco category. Taking the time to engage with shoppers and forge a stronger connection by proactively offering advice can really pay off in sales. With the launch of our new website, we want to provide retailers with all the tools they need to help them take advantage of this opportunity, so they can successfully grow and enhance their businesses.”

UK Marketing Director appointed at William Grant & Sons

William Grant & Sons has appointed Ifan Jenkins to the role of marketing director for UK and Ireland.

Taking on his new role with immediate effect, Jenkins replaces Caspar MacRae who has left the business.

Jenkins was previously head of marketing for William Grant & Sons’ global travel retail business - a position he had held since 2017, leading a team of 10 and driving the company's portfolio of brands, including including Hendrick's gin, Monkey Shoulder, Glenfiddich, The Balvenie, Grant's, Tullamore Dew, SailorJerry and Drambuie.

Prior to this he was global marketing manager for Glenfiddich.

With his “extensive global brand management and luxury portfolio development experience”, Jenkins was well placed to support and drive the marketing team to new heights, said the company.

Last month, William Grant & Sons reported strong profit growth of 12.6% to £250.2 million after tax for the year ended 31 December 2017.

Group turnover for the period hit £1,188.1 million.

Wilko launches community causes platform

National home and garden retailer Wilko has announced new partnerships with Keep Britain Tidy, The Prince’s Trust and Keep Wales Tidy as part of its new Together for Communities programme.

The programme will see Wilko and the three charities come together to work with local communities and support hard-working families to be the best they can be by helping them build more sustainable futures.

Wilko has pledged to invest up to £1million over one year, with the money going towards supporting projects locally, including working with some of Keep Britain Tidy’s Eco-Schools and creating sustainable green spaces, plus offering skills and training to the next generation of young people.

Wilko chief operating officer, Sean Toal said: “At Wilko we exist to help hard working families be the best they can be, and building a more sustainable future is vital to this.

“We are delighted to be working with these three fantastic charities. It’s an exciting time for the business and with our stores in the heart of communities we’re in a good position to support local projects.

“Since 2011, we’ve been raising money from our 5p carrier bags, and have donated over £13 million to charities. We’re looking forward to moving the business forward and working closely with Keep Britain Tidy, The Prince’s Trust and Keep Wales Tidy.

“Our team will be working closely with the charities to achieve our ambition to create a positive, social and environmental impact in our local communities.”

Keep Britain Tidy chief executive Allison Ogden-Newton said: “We are thrilled to be partnering with Wilko to make a difference.

“Keep Britain Tidy is committed to improving the environment on people’s doorsteps and, thanks to our partnership with wilko, we will be doing just that in places across the country.

Deputy CEO at The Prince’s Trust, Tara Leathers said: “Wilko is committed to helping communities across the UK to thrive and we are delighted to be working with them to empower young people to get involved with this initiative. Young people have so much to offer their local communities and we have a lot to gain from harnessing their drive, passion and ideas.

“Through our Prince’s Trust Get Started and Team programmes, we support young people to lead projects in their communities, which helps them to make a real difference to their local area and to develop the confidence and skills they need to succeed in life.”

Keep Wales Tidy Chief Executive, Lesley Jones said: “We are proud to be part of the Together for Communities programme and would like to thank wilko for their ongoing support.

“These vital funds enable us to help volunteers care for their local environment and transform areas for everyone to enjoy.”

Successful push for digital payments hailed by First Bus

A trial campaign to refresh marketing on First Bus in West Yorkshire has led to an increased awareness of its digital payment methods.

The firm said it was now rolling the branding out to other parts of the business, including York and Glasgow.

“Prior to the trial we had noticed inconsistencies with the on-bus marketing across the business and we therefore wanted to launch a trial campaign to refresh the messages and to measure the effectiveness of this,” said Ros Burrows, divisional marketing manager at First Bus.

The marketing team said that the move was to “increase spontaneous awareness” of key messages amongst customers.

Harvey Jones plots a digital future with agency news

Kitchen designer and retailer Harvey Jones has made a six-figure investment in its new digital marketing strategy.

Newly appointed agency Equator will “overhaul” the company’s digital marketing activity to “ensure the channels work harder to drive more sales through the kitchen designer’s website”, Harvey Jones said.

“Equator impressed us with its integrated approach to digital marketing,” said Harvey Jones marketing head Olivia Faranda.

“We were aware of the strengths of each of the channels, but the team opened our eyes to the cutting-edge ways they could work together, supporting overall conversion growth.”

Faranda added: “We’ve got some exciting plans for the future. We’re aiming to explore how we can further enhance our entire digital presence, so it’s essential we have a world-class digital marketing strategy to cater for our planned growth.”

Agfa looking for positive signs with financial results

Agfa Graphics has reported a big jump in sales at its inkjet business on the back of its new Jeti wide-format printers, but results overall are down as the firm reshapes its offering.

In the third quarter sales were down 9.6% at €257m, although Agfa said that if discontinued businesses and currency effects were excluded, the decline was 3.8% “markedly better than in previous quarters”.

Sales at its inkjet business were up by 9% in the three months to 30 September after it booked multiple orders for the Jeti Tauro H3300 and H2500 LED wide-format printers launched in June.

Other new product launches included v11 of its Apogee workflow software and Avatar V-ZH, a no-pre-heat, chemistry-free violet plates for newspaper printing.

However, Agfa also reported “strong market-driven decline” for analogue film products, and volume pressures for computer-to-plate product lines.

Gross profit margins fell from 27.6% to 25.6%, while EBITDA was down 43.6% to €7.9m. Agfa cited the high price of aluminium and “adverse product and regional mix effects” as impacting profits.

The business announced global prices increases for plate products of up to 10% in May, which is expected to help mitigate the profit decline; and expects to grow top-line sales through the recently-announced alliance with Lucky HuaGuang Graphics in China, and the subsequent acquisition of Ipagsa’s pre-press business.

Agfa group president and chief executive Christian Reinaudo reiterated the firm’s ambitions to play “an important role in the consolidation of the offset industry”.

Last month Agfa also announced that it planned to shut its Branchburg plate manufacturing plant in the US, with the loss of 125 jobs.

Overall group sales, including Agfa’s Healthcare and Specialty Products divisions, were down 9.1% to €539m (or -4.8% excluding currency effects and discontinued businesses) and the group booked a €5m loss for the period (2017 profit: €14m).

“The strong third quarter performance of most of our growth engines was snowed under by the top line decrease of most of our traditional businesses,” Reinaudo stated.

Now Healthcare turns to TV for app service NPD

Digital health company Now Healthcare Group (NHG) has created a new TV advertisement to promote its app-based prescription service Now Patient.

Now Patient allows patients to order their repeat NHS prescriptions via mobile technology and arrange FREE delivery to their homes.

The animated advertisement hit screens on the 1st November and will be aired on Channel 5, Sky channels + 20+ digital channels throughout November and highlights how people needing three or more medications can benefit from its technology and delivery service.

The TV ad comes on the back of the £1.5m digital ‘super-hub’ Pharmacy NHG opened in Liverpool in August, which uses the latest robotic technology to be able to dispense 500,000 prescriptions per month.

Lee Dentith, Founder and CEO of Now Healthcare Group said: “We launched Now Patient onto the marketplace last year to help people living with chronic care conditions manage their medicinal needs from their mobile phone. The response has been astounding and we are proud that our inimitable digital offering is empowering patients and easing some of the strain on our country’s overstretched health services and helping those who have been affected by Pharmacy cuts or have difficulty accessing their medications via their local Pharmacy. Our new digital Pharmacy is equipped with the best technology to streamline processes and service and fulfil medicines for thousands of NHS patients. We look forward to looking after the healthcare needs of more patients across the UK”.

NHS Chronic Care Patients can simply nominate Now Patient as their NHS pharmacy to get free delivery of their repeat prescriptions nationwide. NHG has agreed a contract with the NHS to ensure they deliver the same quality service for the whole of England. The app is free to download (available on iOS and Android). It includes medical adherence platforms to help users manage their medicine usage and repeat prescription services offering free medicine delivery.

Last year, the Now Healthcare Group became the UK’s first digital health provider to be assured by the Care Quality Commission to meet all requirements within the new enhanced digital guidelines, with no areas for improvement. Patients commented on the “great service” and stated that the GPs were “professional, knowledgeable, caring and fantastic.”

JD Wetherspoon boss pro-Brexit and free trade

JD Wetherspoon chairman Tim Martin has attacked Brexit detractors during a trading update to shareholders.

In a brief update for the 13 weeks to 28 October 2018, dominated by chairman Tim Martin’s views on Brexit, the pub group reported that it had opened two new pubs since the start of the financial year and closed or sold three.

It added that it intends to open between five and 10 pubs in the current financial year.

Martin said that he was currently recovering from an operation after a burst appendix so would be “working part-time from home for several weeks”.

He went on to spell out his thoughts on the Brexit situation, making a case for free trade and turning on those who have expressed caution.

He said: “Free trade will benefit consumers and the economy, yet few commentators today make the case for it, or appear to understand it.”

Martin added: “In reality, I believe the most consistently inaccurate forecasts of the last 40 years have been made by pro-EU economists, bankers, academics, MPs, and organisations like the CBI, City accountants and the Financial Times.”

He said that some 500,000 jobs had been created since the Brexit vote, while mortgage rates were lower and the stock market had risen.

Martin added: “Wetherspoon has set an example by swapping EU products like Jägermeister, Courvoisier and German beer for UK or non-EU products of equal or better quality and price. It follows that UK businesses and consumers have the power to reduce EU exports to the UK to zero, or almost zero.

“Everything that can be bought from within the protectionist EU club can be bought from the 93% of the world outside the EU – if you look hard enough.”

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