£6m campaign to show what's exactly in a company's name

The name change from Cablelink to NTL is being supported by a £6 million (€7.6 million) advertising and information campaign devised by McCann Erickson. The first phase began in the past week, with 375,000 households receiving mailshots, and the TV campaign, which started with an 80-second ad, has been planned to cover 85 per cent of all adults. This campaign is supported by print and radio advertising. The initial burst concentrates on the name change but the campaign will change gear in three weeks when its emphasis changes to explaining that NTL offers television, Internet and telephone services. The third phase of the campaign will begin at the end of the summer when specific telephone and Internet services are on offer. For competitive reasons, Mr Ian Jeffers, managing director of NTL, declined to say when these services would begin.

Some £1.5 million of the budget is being spent on direct mail. "`We are upgrading the Cablelink network, spending £500,000 a day and, as soon as it is upgraded in a particular area, we will be following that up with targeted communications which will be direct mail combined with local press."

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