Media & Marketing: More than 1,100 people are to appear before the Dublin District Court between September 26th and the end of October for not having a television licence in a crackdown on evasion by An Post, writes Emmet Oliver.
RTÉ desperately needs to maximise licence fee income this year in order to bring in a promised surplus of about €3.1 million. A hard-hitting radio campaign is already on the air forcefully reminding consumers to make sure they have a licence.
Figures seen by The Irish Times show that 383 cases of licence fee evasion are due to come before the Dublin District Court on September 26th; 383 cases on October 3rd and 425 cases on October 24th.
Despite the high number of people coming before the courts, RTÉ executives remain concerned that sluggish licence fee revenue could put in jeopardy the company's aim of producing the €3.1 million surplus. At half-year RTÉ revealed it was running a € 13.5 million deficit.
An Post collects licence fees for the Department of Communications, which then passes it to RTÉ. The licence fee currently costs €150 and An Post gets € 8.89 for every licence sold.
According to a set of RTÉ management accounts seen by The Irish Times earlier this year, licence fee revenue had fallen short of RTÉ's target in the first two months of the year.
For example, in February RTÉ was hoping that 92,939 licences would be sold, but only 85,234 were sold. While the position is understood to have improved somewhat, RTÉ's hopes of producing a surplus at year-end could rest on the ability of An Post's inspectors to wear out the shoe leather chasing evaders and increasing the number of licences sold.
Radio rivalry
After the success of its Fugitive campaign, which helped the station rise to a 17 per cent market share in Dublin, 98 FM this week begins another campaign which it hopes will put further distance between itself and deadly rival FM 104.
While FM 104 enjoyed some success with its Joker campaign, the Denis O'Brien-owned 98 FM this week unveiled a new campaign involving Dublin Bus. While the title is a little clunky (the Big Blue Secret Mystery Prize Bus competition), the idea is simple.
About € 50,000 of prizes can be won either by guessing what is on the bus via the clues given out on-air or by catching up with the bus on the streets of Dublin.
Mr Ciaran Davis, marketing manager of 98FM, said: "We have had a very strong year on the promotional front, but we cannot be complacent."
He said the latest marketing drive would allow listeners to interact directly with 98FM.
Shifting account
One of the major PR accounts of the year has been won by the Q4 agency. The Microsoft account was previously held by Financial Dynamics, but has now been handed to Q4, the agency set up several months ago by former government and Fianna Fáil advisers Mr Jackie Gallagher and Mr Martin Mackin and former Eircom press officer Mr Gerry O'Sullivan.
Ms Angie Kinnane, who used to work on the account at Financial Dynamics, will now be responsible for it at Q4. Q4 declined to disclose the value of the account.
The losing agencies in this case are understood to have been incumbent Financial Dynamics and new arrivals into the Dublin market Hill & Knowlton.
Family concerns
Fund managers in London have taken fright at the suggestion that Rupert Murdoch's son James may be installed as BSkyB new chief executive. The incumbent, Mr Tony Ball, is reported to be negotiating his departure after four years in the top job.
There has been heavy selling of BSkyB shares on the back of the news first carried in the Guardian newspaper and subsequently in all the main British broadsheets.
Mr Ball is regularly described as "widely respected" in London and his departure, coupled with the news that young James may be replacing him, has put the shares under pressure. Through News Corporation, Rupert Murdoch still owns 35 per cent of BSkyB.
According to the Guardian, sources close to News Corporation have insisted that the chairman's second son is wholly capable of running Europe's largest pay-TV company. However, the reception from city investors has been sceptical.
Analysts at investment bank UBS Warburg said BSkyB had a strong enough management team to cope with the departure of its chief executive, but warned that appointing the chairman's son might damage the share price.
New marketing head
The Marketing Institute of Ireland has elected Limerick businessman Mr Pat Cahill as its chairman for 2003/04. Mr Cahill, managing director of Conexus International, a consultancy and training company, succeeds Mr JP Donnelly as chairman.
Before setting up Conexus, Mr Cahill held a range of positions in Irish Life, including marketing manager.
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