Marks & Spencer was forced to suspend its Web site last night after customers on the site were able to see the personal data of other users, including names, orders and addresses. M&S said it took the site down within 30 minutes to fix the issue, which it said was not from a third-party hack but a result of an internal technical issue. Customers shopping on the site were temporarily able to see other people's personal information -- but not full financial data.

The company has approached agencies about the brief, which is understood to include the advertising for each of its shopping village locations. Creativebrief is working with Value Retail on the pitch process. Value Retail operates by setting up shopping villages filled with designer-label outlet shops. The UK is represented by Bicester Village in Oxfordshire, which was the company's first venture and opened in 1995.

The WPP chief executive is "happy to help the ANA in any way," but said "a joint investigation" would have been better. He told Campaign that rivals should follow WPP's lead and report net sales rather than just revenues. Sorrell said: "The best way of the ANA ensuring full transparency is to insist the other agency holding companies do what we do -- report a consolidated billings figure, a consolidated revenue figure and a net sales figure. We're the only people that do it."

Trinity Mirror has claimed that its GBP220 million "transformative" acquisition of "Local World" will double its digital ad sales business and put it on a par with "The Guardian" and MailOnline in terms of revenue in the UK. The deal will make Trinity Mirror the biggest publisher of regional and local newspapers in the UK, with 30% of the market in circulation terms and 120 million monthly unique browsers. It is too early to say whether the two groups will merge their local ad teams.

Karmarama has won a competitive four-way pitch that was run directly by Capita. J Walter Thompson was the incumbent and repitched for the business. The WPP agency remains on Capita's roster and will continue to create digital, SEO and CRM work for future Army activity. The new recruitment campaign will include TV, outdoor, radio and digital executions. Karmarama is tasked with boosting the number of applications for the Army by challenging 16- to 24-year-olds' perceptions about a career in the military.

Mondelez has shaken up its senior marketing team as it looks to boost sales through a focus on innovation and ecommerce. Tim Cofer will take over responsibility for global marketing in his new role as chief growth officer. He replaces Mark Clouse, who has moved to the newly created position of chief commercial officer as Mondelez looks to more closely align its sales and marketing. The company's chief executive Irene Rosenfeld said the brand is creating the role to streamline the company's operations.

Volkswagen's CEO has set out the company's top priorities, including instilling its brand values across the company, as costs of the emissions scandal continue to mount. Volkswagen reported its first quarterly loss for at least 15 years after setting aside EUR6.7bn (GBP4.8bn) to cover the costs of the scandal, which saw 11 million of its vehicles fitted with rogue software. The brand's CEO Matthias Mller emphasised that the business has to "change its mindset" to embrace a culture of openness and local decision making.

Greene King, the owner of pub brands Hungry Horse and Old English Inns, has appointed Zone to a digital strategy and build brief following a four-way competitive pitch. The agency has been briefed to update the site's design, improve navigation and enhance its mobile responsiveness as well as to create a more joined-up user experience. The brief also asks for a content management system refresh to support user journeys for the multiple audiences.

Britons are planning to spend GBP24.4 billion on Christmas gifts this year, according to research from RadiumOne. On average, people are expected to spend about GBP489, with 25- to-34-year-olds spending the most. The report also said 45% plan to research and buy presents online while 13% said they will do both research and shopping in-store. Nearly 25% of online Christmas shoppers said they will use at least two devices to make their purchases. 72% of respondents said they preferred the desktop.

The most powerful man in advertising has warned that the looming referendum over a potential British exit from the European Union has overshadowed attempts by the government to foster closer economic links to countries such as China. Sir Martin Sorrell, the chief executive of WPP, said that a narrowing of the polls about the outcome could increase uncertainty for companies that were already proving reluctant to spend.