Tess Alps: How an idealistic hippy learned to love advertising
The former head of Thinkbox looks back over her career, including eschewing a life treading the boards, the single ad that sparked her enduring love for advertising and why she is not about to stop championing TV.
My campaign: Tess Alps on going from gamekeeper to poacher in 1992
It was an offer she couldn't refuse
TV personalisation is as good or bad as the intentions behind it
However far TV goes down the personalised road it must keep the deal in favour of the public. By Tess Alps.
TV without ads? That was the view from Edinburgh
Advertising was noticeable by its absence from this year's Edinburgh International TV Festival.
Thinkbox: We're not looking for a fight with YouTube
Tess Alps, the chair of Thinkbox, responds to ±±¾©Èü³µpk10's head of media, Gideon Spanier, who said last week that the commercial TV trade body is engaged in an "epic battle" with YouTube.
84 bundles of joy: Tess Alps on the Thinkbox Planning Awards entries
Tess Alps, the executive chair of Thinkbox, gives her view on the Thinkbox Planning Awards, in which Manning Gottlieb OMD won the Grand Prix for PlayStation yesterday afternoon.
It's about time our industry ditched the 'digital' moniker
The term 'digital' is no longer fit for purpose in a continually evolving market, Tess Alps argues, as it causes confusion and hampers integration.
Think BR: Sunshine and smiles at the Barbican
This week's RTS conference reflected the improving mood of the TV industry, offering a global perspective on the challenges and opportunities ahead, such as VoD and local TV, writes Tess Alps, CEO, Thinkbox.
Think BR: Stop saving clients money
We now have the missing link of advertising. We have snared the Yeti that has stalked Soho for so long. Tess Alps of Thinkbox explains.
Business effectiveness is the mantra, not media efficiency
There were many happy media people at last Monday's IPA Effectiveness Awards, and not just Mediaedge:cia, who made history by becoming the first media agency to be crowned Effectiveness Agency of the Year and to win the Grand Prix without having to share it with a creative agency.
Professional journalism and public opinion enhance democracy
If you fantasise about giving BNP leader Nick Griffin a slapping after his appearance on BBC1's Question Time, then go to Albion London's website and follow the links from there. More than 60,000 people have already delivered more than 11 million virtual slaps.
Respect between online and broadcast must be restored
The skies are rumbling - the earth is out of sorts. Last week, my fellow Media Week scribe Richard Eyre promoted an IAB perspective in his column (page 15), breaking the unwritten columnists' etiquette.
Why display advertising remains the lifeblood of brands
There has been a lot of fuss over ad spend numbers recently, following the publication last week of the Internet Advertising Bureau's online ad spend report, which I promise not to drag up again.
New VoD regulation poses industry-wide dilemma for media
As client industry body ISBA's Bob Wootton summed up so succinctly last week: "There is no recession in regulation."
Media industry needs at least as much science as it does art
IPA President Rory Sutherland - adland's answer to Stephen Fry - has been challenging us all again, this time on the representation of science graduates in the business.
This is not the time to be chasing new accounts with no margin
It's August, it's been sunny on at least two days in the last week and the media world is strangely empty.
Cinema industry's chance to have its popcorn... and eat it
Last week, I was driven by my son's relentless nagging to visit a commercial cinema for the first time in ages in order to see the latest Harry Potter movie.
Awards and entertainment are more than indulgent pastimes
Apparently, attendance at this year's Cannes Advertising Festival was down 40%. Given there are now so many categories covered at the event, including Media Lions, Cyber Lions and - for the first time - PR Lions, all of which should have attracted their own communities, the organisers must be extremely depressed.
Even cut-throat rivals may find profit in a touch of collaboration
Loath as I am to churn out the "this thing is the new something else" cliché, it really does feel like collaboration is the new competition this week.
The BBC needs to make the licence fee more logical and explicit
Lord Carter's Digital Britain report has been out for less than 24 hours as I write, so it is still being vigorously dissected and debated. The recommendations in the report have delighted some and depressed others.