New Media Age articles from April 2003

New Media Age archives from April 2003

Call for OFT inquiry into search listing price rise.
April 3, 2003... The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has been called on to investigate the search marketing sector after a second major player doubled the minimum price of buying a keyword on its network. When Overture raised its minimum bid price from 5p to...

Diageo wraps up mobile marketing division Nightfly.(Brief Article)
April 3, 2003... Diageo has closed its mobile marketing subsidiary Nightfly. Although the move may be seen as a blow for the credibility of the mobile marketing industry, Diageo insists it's committed to the medium. The establishment of a dedicated...

IAB consults over bigger sizes for online adverts.(Brief Article)
April 3, 2003... The IAB is seeking industry approval to bring in a range of bigger and more flexible online ad formats and to scrap some formats it believes the market has outgrown. It's asking media owners and digital agencies for their views on four new...

Agency wages pushed up by demand for specialists.(Brief Article)
April 3, 2003... Advertisers' increasing demand for specialist knowledge from digital media planner/buyers is a key factor driving up agency wages, according to research from media recruitment firm MediaCentrix. It surveyed 40 client agencies between July...

Hopes for boost to digital radio with launch of EPG.(Brief Article)
April 3, 2003... Digital radio will receive a boost this week with the launch of a downloadable electronic programme guide (EPG) enabling PC-based listeners to access in-depth information on BBC and commercial digital radio channels. Unique Interactive,...

Vodafone touted as Affinity buyer.(Brief Article)
April 3, 2003... Vodafone was being tipped as a buyer of Affinity Internet's wireless division as NMA went to press. Affinity called in Kroll Buckler Phillips as administrators last week, just two weeks after selling off its ISP business (NMA 27 March). ...

3 warns that Icstis premium rate regulation may harm 3G.(Brief Article)
April 3, 2003... 3, the UK's first 3G operator, has raised fears that the application of Icstis's premium rate regulation to 3G content will stifle market growth. The operator also called for the formation of a single autonomous body to co-ordinate the...

Carlsberg gives footie fans a vote.(Brief Article)
April 3, 2003... Carlsberg has brought online voting into its marketing mix to promote its status as the official beer of the PA Cup and to support its 'Live the Dream' campaign. The campaign encourages the Carlsberg audience of 18-34-year-old football...

Harrods reopens casino with greater interactivity.
April 3, 2003... Harrods is this week relaunching its online casino, six months after the last version was shut down. Michael Charash, director of business development for Kismet, which developed the casino, said there would be several innovations,...

iTV developers unite over t-commerce.(Brief Article)
April 3, 2003... Interactive TV developer DITG and branded TV specialist Enteraction TV have signed a partnership deal which they hope will give retailers a one-stop shop for t-commerce. DITG and Enteraction will fuse their respective talents in iTV...

Red Nose Day online donations up 25% to [pounds sterling]3m. (Breaking).(Brief Article)
April 3, 2003... Over 100,000 donations to Comic Relief were taken online on 14 March, at least a 25% increase on Red Nose Day 2001. Donations from the site had reached over [pounds]3m by end of the TV show. More than [pounds sterling]700,000 was donated via...

Somerfield to launch mobile vouchers for summer. (Breaking).(Brief Article)
April 3, 2003... Somerfield will this summer become the first major high street retailer to launch a mobile coupons scheme fully integrated with its EPOS system. Consumers will be invited to sign up to receive barcode vouchers via SMS. The scheme is being...

Ikea opens microsite to promote new textiles range. (Breaking).(Brief Article)
April 3, 2003... Swedish retailer lkea has launched a microsite to promote its new range of textiles. Banner campaigns promoting ikea.co.uk/ textiles have gone live on sites including Handbag, iVillage, UKstyle and Freeserve. The microsite is Abel & Baker's...

Crisps get a taste of Liquorice. (Breaking).(Brief Article)
April 3, 2003... Kettle Foods has taken on London agency Liquorice to develop the consumer on and offline marketing strategy for its Kettle Chips brand. Liquorice was chosen from a pitch list of l2. The appointment will be ongoing. Other Liquorice clients...

Flipside signs up to use Softwrap DRM package. (In Brief).(Brief Article)
April 3, 2003... Flipside, which runs the Uproar games channel as well as the TrafficMarketplace ad network, has become the latest online firm to sign up to use the Softwrap digital rights management package. The software allows customers to try programmes...

Redbus Interhouse ends Czech and Luxembourg operations. (In Brief).(Brief Article)
April 3, 2003... Co-location firm Redbus Interhouse has continued its restructuring by closing down its operations in two countries. At the end of last week it sold its subsidiary in Luxembourg for a nominal amount in a deal, which means it's no longer tied...

NTL reports falling revenues. (In Brief).(Brief Article)
April 3, 2003... Cable company NTL saw revenues slip back further in the final quarter of last year, falling from [pounds sterling]535m in the third quarter to [pounds sterling]533m in the fourth. In the same period last year the company reported revenues of...

Haygarth runs online campaign for S Club 'Seeing Double'. (In Brief).(Brief Article)
April 3, 2003... Agency Haygarth is running an online push for Seeing Double, starring pop band S Club. Web promotions with partners such as AOL, Swapitshop and CITV, will run until the end of April and include a competition offering the chance to meet the...

High demand forces delay of COI online media roster.(Central Office of Information )(Brief Article)
April 3, 2003... The Central Office of Information (COI) has been forced to delay the announcement of its long-awaited first online media creative roster after being overwhelmed by the volume of applications. The announcement has been moved from the end of...

Ofcom insists it won't stifle premium SMS industry.(Brief Article)
April 3, 2003... New super regulator Ofcom has moved to reassure the premium SMS industry that it won't be stifled with legislation. Instead Ofcom will favour self-regulation. The regulator also said that it was due to begin work on defining the conditions...

Ad 2-One heads look to increase site portfolio.(Brief Article)
April 3, 2003... The directors of online ad sales house Ad 2-One are looking to grow their site portfolio in key areas after finally completing their MBO. Ad 2-One, set up by media giant Vivendi Universal to sell space on its Web properties, sold its...

Shazam to promote 'Urban' album.(Brief Article)
April 3, 2003... Mobile music recognition service Shazam has struck a deal with Warner Dance/Sony Music to promote its latest TwiceasNice album release Urban Flavas 2003. Shazam will launch an SMS push to promote the release, targeting users who have opted...

Content providers welcome Orange SMS receipt launch.(Brief Article)
April 3, 2003... Mobile content providers are finally able to ensure they're billed for all services delivered to pre-pay users following the launch of SMS delivery receipts from Orange. The operator is the last one to offer this service, which provides a...

Netsize confirms further expansion of global network.(Brief Article)
April 3, 2003... Mobile services firm Netsize has vowed to continue expanding its international network this year, after announcing a six-fold increase in revenues over the past year. The company had turnover of [euro]37.1m ([pounds sterling]25.7m) in...

Ladbrokes first to sign up to age-checking scheme.(Brief Article)
April 3, 2003... Ladbrokes has become the first site to support a new Government-backed age and identity checking scheme. The Interactive Age Check (iAC), developed by CitizenCard, is due to launch later this month. CitizenCard spokesman Andrew Chevis...

Maxim launches MMS photo service.(Brief Article)
April 3, 2003... Men's magazine Maxim has launched MMS photo messaging services, enabling readers to interact with the magazine and its Web site. Maxim readers will be able to send and receive photos of cars and girls from their MMS handsets. The...

BT Click&buy launches option to pay for e-tail in phone bill. (In Brief).(Brief Article)
April 3, 2003... BT Click&buy has this week launched its 'blue bill' payment option, which means users can pay for their Click&buy purchases through their BT phone bill. Since the system launched in September last year, Click&buy has signed up 55 content...

Online losses contribute to fall in Private Media profits. (In Brief).(Brief Article)
April 3, 2003... Adult entertainment group Private Media Group saw profits fall sharply last year while revenues were virtually flat. The company had revenues of [euro]39.4m ([pounds sterling]27.3m) in 2002, compared to [euro]39m ([pounds sterling]27m) in 2001,...

Speedwaybet set to launch first marketing campaign. (In Brief).(Brief Article)
April 3, 2003... Speedwaybet.com, the motorsport betting site run by E-tote and British Speedway, is to launch its first marketing push this week. The campaign starts on Friday to support a Bet 5 Get 5 promotion for the site. It involves sponsorship and banner...

Sony Ericsson begins online push for P800 Smartphone. (In Brief).(Brief Article)
April 3, 2003... Sony Ericsson is backing the launch of its P800 Smartphone with a [pounds sterling]250,000 online campaign running until the end of May. It'll integrate with a [pounds sterling]1m offline push. The campaign, planned by Mediaedge:cia Digital, is...

Moneysupermarket adds insurance search service.(Brief Article)
April 3, 2003... Moneysupermarket is considering expanding beyond its traditional personal finance space after launching the second service to run on its new search technology. The Chester-based company is making strong claims for its new insurance site,...

Mobilestreams spins off content division.(Brief Article)
April 3, 2003... Research company Mobilestreams has spun off its rapidly growing content business into a company called Phone Furniture, and has announced a raft of deals with companies from Sony to 3. Phone Furniture has secured a deal to supply mobile...

Diary.(Brief Article)(Calendar)
April 3, 2003... 1-2 April 2003 SIM 2003 Amsterdam 01932 893855 ibctelecoms.com/sim 2 April 2003 Digital Money Forum London 020 7388 9988 digitalmoneyforum.com 2-3 April 2003 Comms Channel Expo Birmingham...

3i warns of cut in valuation of technology companies. (Finance).(Brief Article)
April 3, 2003... Investment house 3i has warned that the valuations of its technology companies are likely to be cut by around [pounds sterling]360m when it reports its next set of results. The company said further drops in the amount of venture capital...

Nokia shareholders approve share buyback plan. (Finance).(Brief Article)
April 3, 2003... Nokia is to spend up to [euro]2bn ([pounds sterling]1.4bn) on a share buyback programme over the next year. Its shareholders approved the plan at the recent AGM and it was due to start today (3 April). Nokia says it will buy back up to 225m...

Eurovestech slashes value of e-learning investee. (Finance).(Brief Article)
April 3, 2003... AIM-listed investment firm Eurovestech has slashed the value of the Oxford-based e-learning company Boxmind by more than 75%. Since April 2000 it has invested [pounds sterling]905,000 in Boxmind and owns 41% of the company. Last September...

New gambling clients boost Earthport turnover. (Finance).(Brief Article)
April 3, 2003... Earth port, the e-payments company, has more than halved its pre-tax losses in the six months to 31 December 2002. Turnover rose from [pounds sterling]97,000 in the second half of 2001 to [pounds sterling]282,000 as the firm signed up new...

Revenues double pitching email group IPT into profit. (Finance).(Brief Article)
April 3, 2003... The email marketing group behind MyOffers and OK-Mail has moved into profit for the first time after almost doubling revenues last year. The privately owned Interactive Prospect Targeting had revenues of [pounds sterling]5.3m in the year to...

Lastminute has high hopes for Holiday Autos purchase. (Finance).(Brief Article)
April 3, 2003... Lastminute.com says its acquisition of car rental broker Holiday Autos for [pounds sterling]39.7m will have an immediate, positive impact on its earnings this year. The company is paying [pounds sterling]16m in cash for the company, raised...

Sportingbet says profits will be hit by court action. (Finance).(Brief Article)
April 3, 2003... Online bookmaker Sportingbet has admitted it has been hit by a high number of unfavourable sporting results which will reduce its profit figures for the full year. The company has also lost a court case in Australia which will cost it...

Irish network firm in [euro]10m funding. (Finance).(Brief Article)
April 3, 2003... Corvil Networks, a network management company, has raised [euro]10m ([pounds sterling]6.9m) in its second funding round. The financing was led by venture capital firm Apax Partners, joined by Cisco Systems and previous backer ACT Venture...

FastMobile service turns mobiles into walkie-talkies. (Technology).(Brief Article)
April 3, 2003... FastMobile this week launches what it says is the first push-to-talk mobile phone service. Fastchat, demonstrated at the 3GSM Congress in February, turns mobile phones into walkie-talkies, enabling consumers to talk to each other by...

BT Broadcast to reveal new clients. (Technology).(Brief Article)
April 3, 2003... BT Broadcast Services is set to reveal which broadcasters have taken on its mobile video solution. Several well-known brands will use BT Broadcast Services' hosting, encoding and delivery package to launch GPRS video services. It...

Media Masters launches new anti-spam solution. (Technology).(Brief Article)
April 3, 2003... A new anti-spam service launches in the UK this week aiming to tackle the problem of junk email in a more effective way than currently available filtering tools. MailKey aims to stop unwanted emails with a process that gives senders a...

Netonomy and Cognima to offer mobile data management. (Technology).(Brief Article)
April 3, 2003... More mobile phone users will soon be able to back up their data automatically and manage it remotely from a customer self-service portal, following a deal between Netonomy, the customer self-service solutions specialist, and Cognima, a provider...

Real adds commercial radio to European Superpass. (Technology).(Brief Article)
April 3, 2003... RealNetworks has expanded its RealOne media subscription offering in Europe with the launch of over 60 commercial-free radio stations to subscribers in UK, France, Germany, Italy and Spain. RealOne RadioPass follows the launch of the RealOne...

Amstrad adds SMS reception to corded home phones. (Technology).(Brief Article)
April 3, 2003... Amstrad is upgrading its Emailer phones to let them all receive SMS messages from mobiles. The change comes after Amstrad extended its agreement with Thus. The telecoms firm now operates the service and technology platform for the first...

Lastminute severs Unanimis link to take sales in-house. (Agencies).(Brief Article)
April 3, 2003... Lastminute.com has brought its ad sales in-house, ending its link with digital partnership consultancy Unanimis. Unanimis, which helps clients including Ebay and Ebookers develop strategic and marketing partnerships, said it was always part of...

New media brand placement agency Bigmouthmedia. (Agency Wins).(Brief Article)
April 3, 2003... New media brand placement agency Bigmouthmedia has won the pitch to handle all technical site optimisation and search engine marketing for the airline Alitalia. Alitalia currently has Web sites in 23 languages. The optimisation campaign will...

Thoughtbubble has won the contract to support infrastructure for Clickmusic.co.uk. (Agency Wins).(Brief Article)
April 3, 2003... Thoughtbubble has won the contract to support infrastructure for Clickmusic.co.uk. The deal will see the agency help Clickmusic to revamp old back-end technologies as part of a wider content development drive. Thoughtbubble has also won a...

Cardiff Bay-based strategic and creative agency Black Sheep. (Agency Wins).(Brief Article)
April 3, 2003... Cardiff Bay-based strategic and creative agency Black Sheep has won the contract to create an identity, design marketing materials and develop an online presence for the Welsh Assembly Government's Culturenet Cymru initiative. The project is...

Syzygy earmarks profits to fund acquisition drive. (Agencies).(Brief Article)
April 3, 2003... Full service agency Syzygy is hard on the acquisition trail following the announcement of profitability for the second year running. It plans to grow both through mergers and acquisitions and organically in the coming year. Talks are...

The Other finishes first phase of rebrand. (Agencies).(Brief Article)
April 3, 2003... The Other Media, the full service new media consultancy, has completed the first phase of its rebranding project, turning the approach it uses for clients to its own identity. The completion of the first phase marks the consultancy's move...

DNA boosts technical focus to win market advantage. (Agencies).(Brief Article)
April 3, 2003... Full service agency DNA is stepping up its technology offering, a decision fuelled both by market conditions and the needs of its clients. At the start of its new financial year, DNA is poised to make heavy investments in the technology...

Britvic opens microsite to back Freekee Soda TV push. (Marketing).(Brief Article)
April 3, 2003... Britvic Soft Drinks has launched an animated microsite, backed by a rich-media teaser campaign, to create interest in its Freekee Soda brand before TV advertising kicks in later this month. Creative agency Grand Union created the site,...

WB plans generic desktop avatar. (Marketing).(Brief Article)
April 3, 2003... Warner Bros is looking to launch a company-branded downloadable desktop buddy in the wake of the success of the Harry Potter buddy it launched in November last year. Warner used technology from Skinkers Communications to create a 'Desktop...

Kinder launches Cybertop microsite on Nickelodeon. (Marketing).(Brief Article)
April 3, 2003... Children's chocolate brand Kinder Surprise has launched a microsite on TV station Nickelodeon's Web site, nick.co.uk, with the aim of pushing its Cybertop range of space adventure-themed toys. The month-long campaign, which was brokered by...

DMC viral exploits war interest for Splinter Cell push. (Marketing).(Digital Media Communications )(Brief Article)
April 3, 2003... Digital Media Communications (DMC) says it's benefiting from the current popularity of online war-related material with its viral for the Ubi Soft video game Splinter Cell. The video clip being used to promote the game features an inept...

Autotrader updates registration form for greater targeting. (Marketing).(Brief Article)
April 3, 2003... Car sales site Autotrader.co.uk is revamping its on-site registration form, collecting richer data from users, in a bid to send targeted email to users that will appeal more to third-party advertisers. Auto Trader Digital said the new form will...

ValueClick signs advertising deal with Fonetastic. (Marketing).(Brief Article)
April 3, 2003... Digital marketing firm ValueClick has signed an exclusive deal to sell ads on Fonetastic.com. The company says it'll sell ads on a CPM basis on the site, which specialises in Web-to-phone text messaging, covering standard and rich-media ads and...

MSN plans [pounds sterling]1m advertising push for Messenger. (Marketing).(Brief Article)
April 3, 2003... MSN is to launch a [pounds sterling]1m marketing campaign to promote its Internet instant messaging service MSN Messenger. The portal says the push, over a range of radio, press and online ads, is to "grow its leadership" in the messaging...

EC launches IST Results site. (International).(Brief Article)
April 3, 2003... The EC has launched a new Web site designed to keep visitors up to date with results of EU-funded research into information society technology (IST). The IST Results site offers a range of information on emerging technologies and their impact...

Lenk to head Gap US sites. (International).(Brief Article)
April 3, 2003... Clothing retailer Gap has taken on Edward Lenk, founder of defunct dotcom eToys, to head its online operations in the US. Lenk, who oversaw eToys' rise to a market valuation of $10bn ([pounds sterling]6bn) and its subsequent collapse, will...

Icann closer to setting standards for non-Roman URLs. (International).(Brief Article)
April 3, 2003... Icann has moved a step closer to establishing technical standards to pave the way for domain names in non-Roman scripts, such as Chinese, Japanese, Korean and Arabic. Icann chairman Vint Cerf said at the organisation's meeting in Rio de Janeiro...

Vodafone Live! set for Egypt, Australia and New Zealand. (International).(Brief Article)
April 3, 2003... Egypt, Australia and New Zealand will be the next countries to see the launch of Vodafone Live! The mobile operator said last week that its 3G multimedia service, which is now available in 10 countries, has 1m customers. Take-up is strongest in...

Time limits mag site access to promote AOL broadband. (International).(Brief Article)
April 3, 2003... AOL Time Warner has this week cut free access to a number of its magazine Web sites in a bid to boost take-up of its broadband service. The company's Time Inc division has started restricting access to the Web editions of People and...

WSPS offers BidBuddy tool to German Web marketers. (International).(Web Site Promotion Services )(Brief Article)
April 3, 2003... Web Site Promotion Services (WSPS) is marketing its BidBuddy product in Germany after signing a strategic partnership deal with search engine marketing firm Luna-park. WSPS's tool allows advertisers to manage campaigns on multiple...

Canal+ launches new set-top box. (International).(Pilotime )(Brief Article)
April 3, 2003... Canal+ and technology firm Thomson have unveiled a new Canal Satellite set-top box with personal video recorder (PVR) support. The two firms are promoting the Pilotime set-top box, which houses an 80Gb hard drive that can store 40 hours of...

Web site downtime costing UK e-tailers [pounds sterling]30m a month. (Trends).(Site Confidence's research )(Brief Article)
April 3, 2003... UK e-tail businesses are losing [pounds sterling]30m in sales every month due to poorly functioning Web sites, research from monitoring company Site Confidence reveals. 5% of the 1.5m sites monitored during January were unobtainable for 3% of...

Direct Line tops loan sites for usability. (Trends).(PR3 MAPA's report)(Brief Article)
April 3, 2003... Loan Web sites are becoming more user-friendly, reports Internet research consultancy PR3 MAPA. Site assessments of all the major lenders conducted at the beginning of the year showed that the use of Intelligent Forms -- where data is saved and...

Employee game-playing could hit company networks. (Trends).(Brief Article)
April 3, 2003... One in four office workers has games software installed on their PC, says Websense. According to its research, gaming activity among employees could put companies at risk if levels aren't monitored and controlled. Pressure on networks will be...

Intranet archives top problem for one in three IT managers. (Trends).(Stellent's report)(Brief Article)
April 3, 2003... Transferring archived data onto intranet systems is the biggest challenge facing IT project managers, claims content management solutions company Stellent. One in three of the 80 managers surveyed believed transferring content was the top...

Simpler processes lead to growth in online insurance. (Trends).(from eBenchmarkers)(Brief Article)
April 3, 2003... As many as 40% of people who change their car insurance will go online to do so by the end of next year, according to new research from eBenchmarkers. The research found that while a quarter of people who changed their car insurance last...

15% of top FMCG brands lack a Web site. (Trends).(Dragon Brand Agency survey on Fast Moving Consumer Goods)(Brief Article)
April 3, 2003... Nine out of the top 60 FMCG companies still don't have a Web site, finds a new survey from the Dragon Brand Agency. According to its second study on the top 60 FMCG brands, Dragon reveals that 85% have a Web site, over three-quarters of...

Viral emails spread by over three-quarters of receivers. (Trends).(Perceptor survey)(Brief Article)
April 3, 2003... Over three-quarters of people who get viral emails pass them on, says a survey carried out by interactive agency Perceptor. One in 10 people receives more than 15 viral emails a week, while one in three (31%) receives between two and four a...

Plugging the leaks in your revenue stream. (Analyst Speak).(Column)
April 3, 2003... Chances are your fast-track growth hasn't allowed you to step back and systematically review your operations for efficiency and effectiveness. Current demands on your company appear impossible: grow your revenue, increase profitability and...

DRC to test sites for accessibility. (Analysis).(Disability Rights Commission )
April 3, 2003... The Disability Rights Commission is launching an investigation of Web sites in a bid to raise the issues involved in creating sites that can be used by everyone. The Disability Rights Commission has this week launched a forms investigation...

Tesco positions iVillage on and offline: Tesco's taking full control of iVillage UK will strengthen the bonds between the grocer and the women's site, but doesn't mean that the iVillage brand will disappear. (Analysis).
April 3, 2003... The timing of the news that Tesco has decided to take over the half of iVillage UK it didn't already own must have sent out conflicting messages to industry sector watchers. This is because it appeared around the same time as an incorrect news...

Is it ad formats that don't work, or their execution? (Leader).(Editorial)
April 3, 2003... The Internet Advertising Bureau (IAB) has begun a consultation over the range of ad formats that are available online. The aim is to see if there are too many shapes and sizes available to advertisers, to rationalise them if that proves to be...

Online gaming doesn't need Xbox live. (Letters to the Editor).(Letter to the Editor)
April 3, 2003... Tom Gordon, CEO, AllenPants As someone who has been involved with the UK games industry for the past Five years - including being one of the founder members of the UK's largest games service provider, BarrysWorid (now rebranded Game.net)...

Greater involvement in true sponsorship. (Letters to the Editor).(Letter to the Editor)
April 3, 2003... Paul Wright, MD, Auro Sports In your piece on online marketing site sponsorship (NMA Explains... Online Marketing, 20 March), Chris Dillabough stated online sponsorships are the same as tenancy deals and online partnerships. This is a...

Anti-roadworks bill could delay broadband roll-out. (On Government).
April 3, 2003... Regular readers of this column will be aware of my increasing concern over the attitude of the Department of Transport (DfT), which, along with Oftel, seems determined to thwart the communications industry's efforts to deliver broadband across...

Amazon finds surfers ever ready to plunder. (Opinion).(advertising a wrong price)
April 3, 2003... On 13 March Amazon advertised an iPaq for [pounds sterling]7.32 instead of [pounds sterling]300. Within an hour, emails had trumpeted the online price. To halt the deluge of requests, the site was taken offline. Amazon's reaction confirmed that...

Proving sky isn't the limit.(Gointeract TV's Neil Cashman )
April 3, 2003... Since rising from CTO to CEO of Sony-offshoot Gointeract TV, Neil Cashman has made great strides in positioning the company as a viable rival to Sky's dominance in the interactive TV sector. Profile Ben Carter Portrait Alex Segre The...