Absolute Radio is celebrating that ‘all great food starts with a pinch’ and paying homage to the humble fish and chip in a bespoke campaign with Maldon Sea Salt to find a chippy that stands head and shoulders above them all.

The Hometime Chip Shop Tour with Maldon^® Salt will see presenters Bush and Ritchie travel to the heart of local British communities – the chip shop – to celebrate the heritage British brand in a unique campaign spanning radio, digital and social – with Absolute Radio’s lively audience of ‘reluctant adults’ at the heart of the action.

In a multi-platform campaign celebrating Maldon Salt’s quintessential Britishness and enduring authority on the value of perfect seasoning, Absolute Radio’s loyal listeners have been driving the campaign in the run-up to the tour through a suite of interactive on-air branded content nominating their favourite chip shops and defining the perfect chip with the help of celebrities including Stephen Merchant and Nick Frost.

Hitting the road in a specially-commissioned Maldon Salt mobile truck, The Hometime Chip Shop Tour with Maldon^® Salt kicked off in Edinburgh and visited various fish and chip shops up and down the country, stopping at local landmarks and tourist attractions, nominated by the station’s audience, in a true celebration of local communities.

Simon Kilby Chief Revenue Officer at Bauer Media said: “Our insight and understanding of Absolute Radio’s audience of ‘reluctant adults’ coupled with our programming expertise, has delivered a unique campaign seamlessly celebrating the best of Britain up and down the country with Maldon Salt, underpinned by Absolute Radio’s inimitable sense of humour, across radio, digital and social.”

Steve Osborne, Managing Director at Maldon Salt said: “Perfect seasoning is as good as it gets for fish & chips. Being a British family business since 1882, we glow with pride over traditions, so partnering with Absolute Radio on The Hometime Chip Shop Tour was the perfect fit. It has been the ultimate experience to celebrate the heritage of this nation, and Britain’s favourite dish.”

The winner of The Hometime Chip Shop Tour with Maldon^® Salt will be decided by the Hometime listeners and will be awarded a bespoke ad created by Absolute Radio, voiced by the winning shop with Absolute Radio talent and a trophy designed by listeners.

The Hometime Chip Shop Tour with Maldon^® Salt was brokered by The Village Communications and ran from 18^th – 22^ndMarch covering Edinburgh, Sunderland, Blackpool, Nottingham and Canvey Island. The campaign encompasses radio (with bespoke on-air branded content), a dedicated hub online and social activity: #hometimechiptour

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First Bus Scotland has delivered a first for Glasgow by unveiling the world’s largest ‘model’ bus in the city’s famous George Square. The ‘bus-in-a-box’ experiential stunt was used as the launch pad for First Bus Scotland to announce the arrival of 75 new buses into the city.

The activation was designed, delivered and managed by creative brand and strategy agency MadeBrave, which was appointed in July as First Bus Scotland’s sole creative agency. The eye-catching, interactive ‘bus-in-a-box’ display aims to help the city’s largest bus operator engage with customers and get them on board the new buses, which include free WiFi and USB charging points.

The 16-foot structure was the focal point of a customer awareness day and the first stop for a far-reaching integrated creative marketing programme that runs for the next three months with the aim of changing people’s perception of bus travel in the city.

This latest activity follows the “kids go free” campaign that ran over the summer, with MadeBrave developing a creative campaign to promote the free travel initiative.

Andrew Jarvis, Managing Director for First Scotland, says: “MadeBrave has created an eye-catching campaign that will allow us to communicate to customers the significant investment that we’re making to bus services in Glasgow, and ultimately help us to attract more people on board our services.”

Andrew Dobbie, founder of MadeBrave, adds: “First Bus Scotland appointed MadeBrave to drive a change in customer behaviour and help the business shift its focus more on to the customer, through its creative communications. The bus-in-a-box initiative was designed to enable First Bus Scotland to have some fun with its customers and present the humble bus as a more playful ‘toy’, just like the ones we all had when we were kids.”

The second phase of the multichannel campaign sees a creative programme of activity delivered across outdoor, radio, print, digital and social channels, as well as on and in buses across First Bus Scotland’s fleet.

MadeBrave is an award-winning agency based in Glasgow, Edinburgh and London. It works with UK national and international brands across several sectors, including the BBC, Hard Rock Hotels, Naked Grouse, Jacobs Engineering, Vango and Distell. MadeBrave acquired content production agency Campfire in July 2018, creating the BornOriginal Group to further enhance its client service offering and help drive group turnover to a projected £2.3m for 2018.

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Princes has launched an integrated marketing campaign, ‘So Good. So Simple’, to support its canned fish and fruit product ranges.

Reaching at least 8.4 million consumers, the initiative will involve a partnership with some of the UK’s largest radio stations, social and digital media, in-store sampling, coupons, a new website with improved user experience and the renewal of the brand’s successful partnership with celebrity dietician Lucy Jones.

The activity has been driven by consumer research and trends showing that shoppers are looking for tasty, easy and nutritious meals. It demonstrates how Princes meets those needs while encouraging them to increase their repertoire of dishes made with canned fish and fruit.

Neil Brownbill, Marketing Director for Princes Limited, says: “We have put an integrated marketing strategy in place to ensure we reach families through engaging content via channels that they most actively consume.”

The campaign will promote Princes Tuna Chunks in Springwater and its range of Tuna Fillers as simple, tasty toppings for jacket potatoes, alongside Princes Mackerel and rice as a quick protein and Omega 3-rich meal solution for busy lives.

Consumers will also be encouraged to try Princes Peaches, Mandarins and Mango with Juice – which are packed from fresh and contribute to one of your recommended five-a-day – as a convenient breakfast with yoghurt.

Brownbill adds: “We are confident that this campaign will provide a valuable boost for the brand and wider category.”

The campaign launched at the end of September and runs until March 2018, the activity builds on the success of the brand’s 2016 marketing initiatives which contributed to increased value sales of more than 12% on the featured lines across Princes Fish and Fruit products.

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Eight out of 10 marketers rank Point of Sale (POS) as the most influential marketing channel for influencing shopper purchasing decisions, ahead of traditional channels such as TV, radio and press advertising, according to a new study commissioned by PoS specialists Creo.

Three quarters of marketers also indicated that between half and all their campaigns are now driven by in-store shopper marketing strategies as more brands and retailers seek to directly impact shopper behaviour at the point of purchase, yet 44% of marketers failed to measure spend against a shopper’s path to purchase.

Yet 82% of marketers are failing to measure marketing return on investment (ROI) in an effective way, with access to data being cited as the stand-out barrier to measuring ROI, followed by time pressures and the complexity of campaigns.

The findings come from the 2017 Point of Sale Industry Report, conducted by researchers TKM and sponsored by Creo. The report surveyed 210 brand, marketing and retail executives from a cross-section of industries, including automotive, cosmetics, FMCG, food and drink and pet food.

Richard Saysell, Managing Director of Creo, part of DS Smith plc, said: “In a world where we are all increasingly cynical and brands need to understand the interaction they’re having with their consumers across a fragmented network of touch points, shopper marketing strategies and point of sale has never been more relevant. The retail industry is evolving so understanding the in-store experience and how to influence behaviour beyond price is critical if brands are to stand out from the crowd.

Saysell added: “While the majority of marketers are clear about the power of POS and reflect this in their marketing spend, there seems to be a real gap in terms of measuring ROI and also understanding a shopper’s path to purchase”.

Andy Bodley, Print & Distribution Manager, Instore Marketing, Boots, commented: “We are always looking at ways to improve the experience for our Customers, whether its store layout, website design or greater flexibility of delivery options. We continually challenge ourselves about how we offer and display our products and services. Customers can access information through multiple touch-points, and it has never been more important to deliver a consistent message through the multiple channels available to us and then transform those in to a great ‘joined up’ Customer experience.”

When asked about top trends for 2017, 77% of respondents believe personalised digital displays will be a permanent feature on the high street whereas interactive mannequins and in-store magic mirrors were deemed ‘a flash in the pan’.

Creo is a specialist in Point of Sale and services for in-store marketing. The UK-based business, which focusses on the FMCG, retail and media markets, was acquired by DS Smith Plc in June 2016 and strengthens the latter’s existing pan-European point of sale network.

The 2017 Point of Sale Industry Report is available to download from Creo’s website.

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Bisto has launched ‘Open Door Sunday’, a new initiative to encourage neighbours in Britain to enjoy a good meal together and get to know each other.

The initiative is part of Bisto’s Together Project to bring people together, and follows Bisto’s ‘Spare Chair Sunday’ campaign in 2015 which encouraged people to volunteer to invite a lonely older person for Sunday lunch.

Like ‘Spare Chair Sunday’, ‘Open Door Sunday’ was devised for Bisto by McCann London.

The campaign is inspired by research commissioned by Bisto that shows more than one in three (35%) of British adults feel their neighbourhood does not have enough community spirit, while one in four think that community spirit has decreased in the last five years. Currently, 29% of people don’t say hello to their neighbours and half don’t know their neighbour’s name. However, 43% would like to see the level of community spirit and interaction increased.

The campaign centres on a film, created by McCann London, which shows three sets of neighbours from around the UK meeting for the first time to enjoy a Bisto Sunday lunch.

The film, which has been created to inspire viewers to take part in the initiative, launch online on Friday, November 18th through Bisto’s social channels. The campaign is being supported by PR and a radio partnership with Magic FM’s Sunday request show, hosted by Kim Wilde, and Bauer Network’s Sunday Dinner Show with Paddy McGuinness. Consumers will have the chance to win a professional chef cooked meal for themselves and a neighbor.

Consumers are being encouraged to share their Sunday lunch experience and recipes on the Campaign website, www.bistotogetherproject.com, and on social media using the hashtag #BistoOpenDoorSunday.

Helen Touchais, Brand Director at Premier Foods, Bisto, says: “Whilst the research shows that community spirit across the UK is low, it is encouraging to see that many people want to improve it.  We have been bringing families together around the table for over 100 years, and now we’re encouraging communities to partake in Bisto Open Door Sunday to get to know their neighbours over some good food.

Touchais adds: “You may discover new wonderful friends right on your door step or make a lonely neighbour smile.  A small gesture of a meal invitation could make a significant difference to those around you and make your neighbourhood a happier, closer knit place to live.”

Laurence Thomson, CCO and Co-President, McCann London, adds: “This is a great example of Bisto standing for what they do best. For years, they have been bringing families together, and now they are turning their attention to the broader community. Although at face value it’s about improving community spirit, deep down it’s about the power a much-loved brand has to make connections that build understanding – and at a time when it’s never been more needed.”

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Chocolate brand Elizabeth Shaw is marking the clocks going back this weekend in the UK with a new marketing campaign, ‘Thoughtful Gestures’, which will be asking Britons to use the ‘extra hour’ they get to show appreciation to someone else.

The promotion is the first activity since the brand was bought by Colian Holding SA, Poland’s biggest confectionery company, from its previous owners, a Norwegian investment company, in March 2016.  ‘Thoughtful Gestures’ has already launched on social media and the press campaign will commence tomorrow, October 25^th 2016.

The idea behind the campaign is that, in a world where everything is moving so fast, there is often no time to think about anyone else. The brand wants to encourage thoughtfulness and demonstrate how even the smallest gestures of kindness can make the biggest difference to someone’s day.

A Woman’s Own promotion will encourage people to share their thoughtful stories on the Elizabeth Shaw Facebook page, which is supported with a fully integrated social media campaign activated by Spider PR.

In conjunction with the promotion, press print ads will feature across women’s lifestyle and foodie titles.  The creative, along with media planned and booked by Home, features thoughtful stories showcasing small gestures friends or family members have made. The stories feature a grandmother buying her grandson a rocking horse with money set aside for a vacuum cleaner and a best friend providing support through a heart break.  The stories are elegantly inscribed on slabs of chocolate.

Elizabeth Shaw will also partner with Magic Radio as an official partner of Magic Radio’s ‘The Magic of Christmas,’ a star-studded concert held on November 27^th 2016 at the London Palladium. In the four-week run-up to the event, as part of Angie Greaves show, which airs 2pm-5pm every weekday afternoon, listeners will be encouraged to nominate someone they want to thank for their thoughtful gestures on ‘Thoughtful Thursdays’. Angie will then gift the deserving winners with a hamper crammed full of Elizabeth Shaw chocolate.

Hayley Coggins, Marketing Manager for Elizabeth Shaw, says, “We are really proud and excited for the launch of our integrated campaign – the first of many more to come! With Christmas fast approaching, we really wanted Elizabeth Shaw to own ‘thoughtfulness’ and to encourage giving the gift of chocolate for kind and considerate gestures, as chocolates speak louder than words.”

In Britain, British Summer Time ends at 2.00am on Sunday October 30th, as the country reverts to Greenwich Mean Time. The result is that people effectively get an extra hour in bed.

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Strongbow – the UK’s number one cider brand – has launched a multi-million pound campaign as part of its exclusive sponsorship of Team GB ahead of Rio 2016, including an on-pack competition to win limited edition glasses.

The ‘Let’s Own It’ integrated campaign issues a rallying cry to the nation to get together and roar on Team GB this summer. The campaign will run across a range of media channels including TV, out of home, video on demand, radio, digital and social.

The new TV ad will run from July 14th and will kick off a six week campaign across the nation with a stirring 30-second spot that highlights the tension, excitement and elation of cheering on Team GB.

Out Of Home advertising will ignite the emotions of supporters, featuring the most captivating elements of the games; unity, tension and the thrill of being lost in the moment.

Strongbow’s British heritage and brand values of pride, unity and respect make it a perfect fit with the Team GB ethos. Whilst all eyes are on Rio, Strongbow is firmly positioning itself at the heart of the action with the fans in the UK.

Cindy Tervoort, marketing director at brand owners Heineken, said: “We want to bring back the excitement we all felt during London 2012 and rally the nation to get behind Team GB. The pride and enthusiasm we experienced as a nation in 2012 was incredibly special, and we anticipate that our campaign will help the nation feel it once again.”

This is the first campaign to run across all Strongbow variants which include Strongbow Original, Strongbow Dark Fruit and Strongbow Cloudy Apple. It is supported in-store with special Team GB packaging across the whole range as well as a chance for consumers to win limited edition Strongbow Cloudy Apple pint glasses.

The new TV commercial can be viewed on Strongbow UK’s YouTube channel.

Headquartered in Edinburgh, Heineken employs around 2,000 people. In addition to being Britain’s leading cider and beer business, the company owns around 1,100 pubs through its Star Pubs & Bars business. Its portfolio of brands includes Foster’s, Heineken, Strongbow, Desperados, Kronenbourg1664, John Smith’s and Bulmers, plus backed by a full range of niche and specialty brands

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Four high profile UK brand partners will support the UK release of the new Ghostbusters film on Monday July 11th 2016, including National Tyres and Autocare, Sony Mobile, O2 for O2 Priority and cleaning technology company Karcher.

The campaign, running throughout June and July, was created by partnership marketing specialists Brand & Deliver for client Sony Pictures.

Activity includes: a national press and drive time radio campaign by National Tyres and Autocare, utilising the iconic “Who You Gonna Call?” soundtrack by Ray Parker Jr; a TV campaign by Karcher supported by POS in more than 3,000 stores; a TV and Digital Out Of Home (DOOH) campaign by O2 for O2 Priority offering the chance to win tickets to the US premiere and preview screenings; and a POS promotion by Sony Mobile within 480 O2 stores. All four partners will engage customers on digital and social channels.

Peter Taylor, Managing Director of Sony Pictures UK, says: “Ghostbusters is quite simply one of the best-loved film franchises ever made. These partnerships are vast in scale and fun factor, giving us a powerful platform to promote the film with UK-wide promotions across multiple touchpoints.”

Richard Barnes, Partnerships Director at entertainment marketing specialists Brand & Deliver, adds: “Ghostbusters is an iconic franchise with multi-generational appeal. These brands have tapped into the movie’s feel-good factor with memorable partnerships that will ensure it’s the most highly anticipated film of the summer.”

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P&G has teamed up with celebrity performer and TV presenter Kimberly Wyatt to create a series of spring cleaning-inspired dance moves for each room of the house, and is running a series of dance-related competitions with Magic Radio.

In association with P&G’s household brands Fairy, Flash, Viakal and Febreze, the campaign aims to inspire the nation to dance their way through dirt, grease and grime during the year’s spring clean. P&G’s Dance Your Place Clean with Kimberly Wyatt video can be viewed here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hXskTvuQbDE

Mariella Mariotti, Surface Care Assistant Brand Manager at P&G UK & Ireland, says: “With the spring cleaning season now in full swing, we’re encouraging consumers to follow Kimberly’s easy dance moves to make household chores a more enjoyable task. We have conducted a study which reveals that Brits will go to great lengths to make cleaning more fun, and the spring cleaning-inspired dance moves do just that.”

All campaign images and videos featuring Kimberly Wyatt can be viewed on P&G’s online consumer platform www.supersavvyme.co.uk.

The campaign is supported by a Magic Radio competition to win a selection of music-themed prizes such as a seven night family Flamenco holiday to Madrid, tickets to a London West End musical or £150 in music vouchers. Consumers enter the competition via http://creative.bauermedia.co.uk/pg/.

There will be eight weekly draws with three names selected at random each week to win the three prizes – the holiday, the musical tickets and the vouchers.

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McDonald’s UK has launched a new campaign that encourages the British public to film themselves singing Wizzard’s ‘I Wish It Could Be Christmas Every Day’ for the chance to appear in the fast food giant’s TV advertising over Christmas.

The campaign, which is part of McDonald’s brand platform ‘Good Times’, is centred around a new ad that explores the journey to Christmas and the role that McDonald’s plays during these memorable trips.

Created in partnership with Leo Burnett London, OMD UK and Razorfish, ‘The Journey to Christmas’ 60 second TV campaign features a young family making a long car journey just before Christmas Day, joyfully singing together the well-known Christmas classic by Wizzard, ‘I wish it could be Christmas everyday’. They break up the trip with a visit to McDonald’s.

The call to action at the end of the advert encourages the people of Britain to film themselves singing this same song while on their own Christmas journeys and uploading their videos to a brand new festive themed hub on www.mcdonalds.co.uk.

Each video entry will be in with a chance of starring in McDonal’ds special 90 second Christmas day ad, played inthe ad break of the most watched programme – Coronation Street. The ad will give insight into those ‘Good Times’  created on Christmas journeys, showcasing people from all across the country singing along to a festive classic.

The ‘Journey to Christmas’ campaign will be supported in a number of different ways, including a paid partnership with Heart FM, a fun ‘cab-i-oke’ experience touring cities across the UK and a McDonald’s restaurant in Southampton being transformed into a Winter Wonderland.

Steve Hill, Head of Marketing at McDonald’s UK, says: “We’re really excited to be doing something different this year. Whilst we want to highlight the role that McDonald’s can play during the festive period, we also want to encourage a little bit of fun.  Combining a well-known song like Wizzard’s ‘I wish it could be Christmas everyday’ with the traditional festive journey, we’re creating the perfect environment for people up and down the country to enjoy themselves and get the chance to feature in our Christmas day advert.”

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