Arif Durrani

Mark Creighton’s promotion to chief executive of WPP’s Mindshare has been well received among the media fraternity, with at least one industry stalwart wondering what took them so long. Read More »

As 2012 hurtles towards its finale, hopefully not the one foreseen by the Mayans, the industry’s holding groups have dusted down their crystal balls, but how do the outlooks from WPP, Publicis Groupe and Interpublic stack-up? Read More »

Gerry Boyle is preparing to step aside from his role as chief executive of ZenithOptimedia, the agency he joined more than 13 years ago, according to internal and external sources. Read More »

Celebration was most definitely in the air at ITV’s sparkling Upfronts last week, along with some underlying vibes about becoming a more accessible brand than in years gone by. Read More »

Edie Campbell, Nicholas Coleridge and Olympia Campbell.

At the start of the summer I had a baffling conversation with Condé Nast’s managing director, Nicholas Coleridge. The esteemed leader, and former chairman of industry body PPA, fixed me with his trademark grin before assuring me that magazines were in unbelievably rude health.  Read More »

Lord Sugar is not a fan of subtle. The 65 year old East End boy made good is a straight talking, no nonsense, simple kind of bloke, and that’s just how he likes his advertising.

You know CDP’s surreal B&H ads in the 70s and 80s would have driven the Amstrad man to distraction. He’s more a webuyanycar.com, direct response kinda guy. So it was with great interest that Alan, “I like hard-selling adverts”, Sugar took to the stage for an “audience with…” event hosted by Nabs last week. Read More »

Keenan notes "If you’re seven foot tall, covered in white fur and live in cold places, the chances are..."

It’s been a busy couple of weeks for Bauer Media’s chief exec Paul Keenan, revisiting licensing contracts, inciting regulatory battles and, of course, dabbling in some existential philosophy. Read More »

Andrew Marr and guests discuss the weekend's newspapers

For many, the glorious glow of the Olympics and Paralympics came to an abrupt end this weekend, as unfathomable amounts of copy and airtime  filled with stories of a Duchess’ breasts and grubby publishers trying to make a quick buck. Read More »

Facebook UK's commercial leader Stephen Haines

It’s been one of the best kept secrets of the summer among the media elite, apparently; Facebook UK is soon to be under new management.

Discreet conversations with potential candidates for the role of a local managing director at the world’s largest social media network have been taking place while the rest of us were glued to London 2012. Read More »

The BBC's London 2012 Olympics Red Button

Considering the media winners of the London 2012 Olympics after its Closing Ceremony, I ventured it had signalled a “coming of age” for digital TV’s Red Button, this sentiment has since been bolstered by some welcome hard facts.

The 2012 Games, with its 26 individual sports, provided the ideal springboard for the BBC to develop the interface of its digital Red Button service and expand its six channel offering to 24.

Aaron Scullion, executive product manager at BBC Future Media, who led the Red Button overhaul, reports a “fantastic uptake”, with more than 24 million people (42% of the UK population) watching at least 15 minutes of Olympics coverage via its interactive service. Read More »