New Media Age articles from April 2004

New Media Age archives from April 2004

Tangozebra adapts red button for online ads.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... The new media marketing community is throwing its weight behind a Tangozebra ad format aimed at countering a consumer backlash against intrusive and bandwidth-heavy rich media. The new banner-based format is called Click Red and offers...

Ask Jeeves bans banner ads from UK search site.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Ask Jeeves, the UK's third-largest search engine, is removing all banner ads, saying they put people off using its site. Until recently banners were the most widely used ad product on the site. Now, although existing deals with advertisers...

Capacity limits holding back mass MMS services.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Lack of capacity in the mobile networks is hobbling the launch of large-scale MMS content services. The issue means time-sensitive mass-broadcast MMS services are impossible today, preventing content owners launching planned services such...

Flextech to update i-ad formats for Sky browser.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Flextech Television is on the verge of offering advertisers a raft of new interactive formats designed to bring brand owners closer to audiences of its Trouble, Living, Bravo and Challenge channels. The broadcaster had been working together...

BSkyB backs Aura Sports by buying minority stake.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Broadcasting group BSkyB has taken a minority stake in Aura Sports, the specialist ad sales and sponsorship house for sports sites. The money involved in the deal should be enough to back Aura Sports' growth over the next two years, leading...

Ofcom Consumer Panel looks at VoIP.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Voice-over-IP (VoIP) services will be a top priority for Ofcom's newly elected Consumer Panel, now that UK ISPs are battling to compete over broadband voice services. Advice to Ofcom will be evidence-based, and the panel aims to develop a...

Blur star slams BPI's 'heavy handed' approach to piracy.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... The battle against online piracy, launched in the UK last week, has been slammed by one rock star for not representing the true will of the wider music industry. Dave Rowntree, drummer with EMI-signed band Blur, told NMA this week that the...

MSN to review future with Kelkoo.
April 1, 2004... MSN is to review keeping Kelkoo as its long-term shopping comparison service, following the firm's recent takeover by rival portal Yahoo!. Matt Whittingham, MSN head of information services, told NMA that MSN would maintain its link with...

BT Click&buy targets mobile content payments.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... BT Click&buy has revealed plans for an aggressive move into the mobile content payments arena, posing a threat to established players such as the aggregator community. The firm has extended its online payment system to enable consumers to...

Alfa Romeo brings UK site up to speed.
April 1, 2004... Car manufacturer Alfa Romeo has fine-tuned its online offering in the UK with a new pan-European site that enables customer profiling. The work, carried out by Arc Interactive, brings the UK site in line with Alfa home market Italy. New...

Ladbrokes launches Grand National viral push.(Breaking)
April 1, 2004... Ladbrokes has launched a viral push to boost interest in this weekend's Grand National. The Mystic Nag campaign is based around a fortune-telling horse offering tips on the race. Email and banner ads will promote the site. The viral was...

Royal Albert Hall commences final phase of site revamp.(Breaking)
April 1, 2004... The Royal Albert Hall will reveal the final phase of work on its Web site to coincide with the reopening of the Hall this week. The work, by digital agency Good Technology, marks the completion of a 70m [pounds sterling], eight-year building...

Teletext Holidays launches cross-media ad campaign.(Breaking)
April 1, 2004... Teletext Holidays has today (Thursday) launched a 5m [pounds sterling] ad push on the Web, TV, press and outdoor channels. The 30-second TV ad features a Dr Teletext character obsessing about good value holidays. The online ads include...

Cat in the Hat takes over CITV.(Breaking)
April 1, 2004... New United International Pictures' film The Cat in the Hat has taken over ITV's kids' site CITV this week, promoting its UK release. The campaign, negotiated by ITV Sales and ZenithOptimedia, uses banners, a video trailer, downloads, games and...

Last chance to vote.(Breaking)
April 1, 2004... Voting closes this Friday for the Greatest Individual Contribution category in the 2004 NMA Effectiveness Awards. For voting details see page 24 or go to newmediazero.co.uk/awards04/voting

BT Click&buy signs two new partnership deals.
April 1, 2004... BT Click&buy has continued on its growth path, with two new partnership deals signed in as many weeks. The online payment systems is to provide its services for accommodation site MondaytoFriday.com as well as the online content from Future...

IPT offers new consumer site for free brochures and coupons.
April 1, 2004... Direct marketing company IPT has launched a new consumer Web site featuring free brochures, catalogues, coupons and offers. The csearch.co.uk site links in with IPT's existing portfolio of online customer acquisition services, including...

O2 teams up with BMG to run cross-media campaign.
April 1, 2004... O2 has teamed up with record label BMG for a combined cross-media marketing campaign to promote O2 Music and its Digital Music Player alongside Outkast album 'Speakerboxxx/The Love Below'. As part of the deal, BMG has created a remix of Outkast...

DITG to push interactive TV into mainstream programmes.
April 1, 2004... The Digital Interactive Television Group has signalled its determination to push new interactive programme formats into the mainstream after agreeing a partnership with Ludus, the firm behind shows including You've Been Framed, Stars in Their...

TradeDoubler aims to be top affiliate network provider.
April 1, 2004... Online marketing firm TradeDoubler is aiming to become the world's largest affiliate network provider by the end of year, according to its CEO Martin Henricson. The Swedish firm saw revenues climb 87% last year to 28m [eutro] (18.7m [pounds...

ISPs and portals are under attack for spam reporting.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Leading ISPs and portals have come under fire for their new spam reporting mechanisms, which could increase the number of false spam reports, according to UK businesses. AOL is at the centre of the controversy, with the launch of its new...

Panasonic rolls out brand guidelines across Europe.
April 1, 2004... Electronics giant Panasonic today begins the roll out of its new online brand guidelines across 30 European countries, an activity it says recognises the Internet as the cote of its marketing strategy. The guidelines developed by...

MSN runs first video ad campaign.
April 1, 2004... MSN Messenger is running its first video ad campaign after successfully trialling instant video streaming technology. UIP launched the DVD release of its film Love Actually via a video ad last week after Flashtalking technology--which...

Google makes search personal.
April 1, 2004... Google's service has stepped up a few notches this week with the launch of three new features. Through Google Personalised Web Search, the search engine can now use user preferences to match search results with their interests. These...

Sportingbet says Gambling Bill could push it offshore.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... The UK's bid to become a global centre for online gambling is in danger of unravelling, with Sportingbet, one of the country's largest online bookmakers, eyeing up a move offshore. Any such move is only likely once the new Gambling Bill...

Cartoon Network plans to run 24/7.
April 1, 2004... Cartoon Network will make the move into 24/7 enhanced TV at the end of this month with the launch of an interactive service menu (ISM) available round the clock, featuring games, competitions and sponsorship opportunities for advertisers. ...

BBC Three develops show for red button-only viewing.
April 1, 2004... BBC Three has commissioned comedians Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer's production company Pett Productions to develop a programme to air in the run up to Easter, which will only be accessible via the red button. Vic's Chicks is a series of...

Vodafone delays adult content control.
April 1, 2004... Vodafone has had to delay the introduction of content controls for mobile adult content by at least a month. The operator was due to switch on barring for adult content for subscribers not opted-in to receive it in the first half of this...

Government reports positive results for iTV pilot scheme.
April 1, 2004... The Government has completed its first multi-platform interactive TV pilot scheme, led by the Department for Work and Pensions. The service was designed to gauge the potential of iTV for government and the results are said to have been...

Paramount Comedy channel to launch interactive Web site.
April 1, 2004... Viewers of Paramount Comedy could see their own content featuring on the channel, with the launch of a new initiative. The TV channel has launched Glue, a new Web site where viewers can upload their own digital photos, Flash movies, sound files...

DVD retailer Blackstar to rebrand as Sendit.com.
April 1, 2004... Online DVD retailer Blackstar will be relaunching as Sendit.com on 2 April, as part of a rebranding exercise. The Belfast-based company has been operating since 1998, and is now looking to shake off its dotcom roots. The new site will retain...

Smile signs exclusive content deal with Freeserve.
April 1, 2004... The online bank Smile has signed an exclusive partnership deal with Freeserve for financial content on the ISP's portal. The campaign begins next month and will last for a year. Smile will appear on the Freeserve home page and its Money...

AOL 9.0 launches offering VoIP and unlimited storage.
April 1, 2004... AOL UK has made its first foray into Voice-over-IP (VoIP) with the launch of AOL 9.0, an upgrade to existing premium service AOL 8.0. The ISP has opted for a soft launch, following a successful beta trial with 75,000 testers. The VoIP...

Google develops voice interface for Web searching.
April 1, 2004... Voice is to be the latest weapon in Google's search armoury, with development on the search technology already underway. Visitors to Google Labs can already try searching Google via a voice interface, with Speech Search available in...

Touch Clarity tool gives real-time user profiling.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Touch Clarity is tackling the real-time optimisation of Web sites with a new service that helps organisations to build live profiles of their readers and target them with relevant content. The Intelligent Optimisation (iO) service provides...

Kelkoo offers new search comparison feature.(Technology)
April 1, 2004... Online shopping comparison site Kelkoo has launched a new product comparison feature allowing consumers to find products with precisely the specifications they are after. Users can now type in the feature they're looking for and are then...

Anti-spam organisation calls on ICANN to allow .mail name.(Technology )
April 1, 2004... Anti-spam organisation The SpamHaus Project has called on Internet standards body ICANN to grant an application for the creation of .mail. This is part of its email verification proposal, with the domain name acting as a 'reputation service' to...

Zope Association to launch at House of Commons.(Technology)
April 1, 2004... An open-source organisation, the Zope Association, will be launching on 19 April at the House of Commons to help promote the adoption of open-source technologies. Zope is an open-source development and application tool for building content...

Agency.com takes on Graham Humphreys for BT account.(Agencies)
April 1, 2004... Agency.com has taken on Graham Humphreys to be account director on the BT account. He'll be overseeing consumer and business online communications for that client. He moves from ZenithOptimedia where he was most recently group account director,...

Rufus Leonard finishes work on Parcelforce Web site.(Agencies )
April 1, 2004... Brand development consultancy Rufus Leonard has finished work on the relaunch of Parcelforce Worldwide's customer-facing Web site. The new site enables enhanced parcel tracking features and allows collections to be ordered online. Invoices,...

Profero.(Agency Wins)
April 1, 2004... Direct Wines has appointed digital communications agency Profero to handle the full service digital advertising of its Laithwaites, Sunday Times Wine Club and Direct Wines brands. First up will be work on Laithwaites, including strategy,...

Spinnaker.(Agency Wins)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Digital and direct agency Spinnaker has announced its first win since its launch (NMA 25 March). The client is Initial Style, the conference and meeting venues operator. Spinnaker is developing email strategy and creative to communicate both...

Dunnhumby division brings measurability to old media.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Dunnhumby, the integrated marketing group behind the Tesco Clubcard, has launched a media services division, driven by the need to bring other media platforms in line with new media in terms of measurability. According to Paul Alexander,...

Cxpartners launches into usability sector.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Competition in the usability agency space has stepped up with the launch of Cxpartners, an interactive agency specialising in the field of customer experience design and consulting. The new agency is the brainchild of UK Usability...

Hyperlink director Andrew Rolf departs to join M-Corp.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Hyperlink director Andrew Rolf(pictured) has left to take up a position at Hampshire-based interactive communications agency M-Corp. Rolf, who held the position of client strategy director at Cable & Wireless subsidiary Hyperlink--which...

Intercea develops microsite to support new Ribena flavours.(Marketing)
April 1, 2004... Intercea has developed a microsite for GlaxoSmithKline's launch of two new Ribena flavours, Oooohh and Aaarghh. The site, aimed at 8- to 14-year-olds, allows users to send and receive SMS messages and mobile icons for free. They can also...

Sony ties up with OK! to promote digital TV.(Marketing)
April 1, 2004... Sony is launching a promotion drive for digital TV through a tie-up with OK! magazine. There will be a mini version of OK! with the 7 April issue of the magazine, featuring Melinda Messenger. The consumer electronics company is also running a...

Tiscali renews sponsorship of MotoGP championship.(Marketing)
April 1, 2004... Tiscali has renewed its sponsorship of the MotoGP World Championship. The ISP is the official Web partner of the championship and also runs the motogp.com site, which will feature live streaming of MotoGP races, interviews with riders and photo...

Travelocity unites branding for European and US sites.(Marketing)
April 1, 2004... Online travel company Travelocity is rolling out a common look and feel for its European and North American sites, after testing the new branding on the UK site for the last two months. The new corporate identity includes three hand-drawn stars...

Orange backs sponsorship deal with in-game branding.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Orange is claiming to be the first operator to use in-game branding to support a sponsorship deal. The snowboarding game Show Jam has been launched to support the operator's sponsorship of the extreme sports Orange AIM Series. The game...

Excel Airways signs to search campaign.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... The three-year-old charter airline Excel Airways has signed up to a six-figure deal for a search engine marketing programme that will run for the rest of this year. The campaign will run through Google, Espotting and Overture. It's being...

Nesquik and 'Shrek 2' in co-promotional campaign.
April 1, 2004... Nesquik, the milk-drink brand owned by Nestle, is launching a co-promotion drive this week based around the forthcoming sequel to animated film Shrek. The campaign will run across Europe, both on and offline, with the Web element the first...

UK mobile users unaware of US text barriers.(Trends)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Two-thirds of UK mobile users believe their texts can be received by those in the US, despite most US subscribers being unable to receive global SMS. New findings from AT&T Wireless and KRC Research show that 60% of mobile users would be more...

Most online applications open to hackers.(Trends)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Almost all Web applications are vulnerable to hacking, claims IT security firm Nebulas. Along with Imperva, Nebulas spent four years testing penetration levels on 250 Web services including e-tail and online banking. It concluded that 92% of...

Digital ads are lowest priority.(Trends)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... The UK's top advertisers allocate only 2% of their marketing budget to the digital medium, a new survey from the Incorporated Society of British Advertisers (ISBA) reveals. ISBA members--big brands from sectors including finance and food--took...

Audience quality better than size shows research.
April 1, 2004... Consumers react more favourably to advertising on sites with which they have a strong relationship, according to research from the Association of Online Publishers (AOP). The research was conducted in a move to persuade online advertisers...

Travellers can't leave technology behind.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... More than four-fifths of British travellers refuse to leave their mobile phones at home, and almost half set up a new email account before going away, according to new research from Yahoo! Mail. Yahoo! asked 1,000 backpackers about their...

Steady growth in digital TV take-up.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Almost 40m homes in Europe will have digital TV by the end of the year, a 24% increase from current numbers, according to predictions from Informa Media Group. In its report, Informa lays out a path of steady growth for digital subs. It...

UK GSM traffic reaches 2bn level for February.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Over 2bn messages were sent over the UK GSM networks in February, according to latest figures from the Mobile Data Association (MDA). That translates to a daily average of 71m texts, which compares month on month to 55m messages in 2003 and...

Pointing out the obvious with .mobile.(Analyst Speak)
April 1, 2004... When industry leaders as powerful as Vodafone, Nokia and Microsoft team up to announce a joint initiative, as they did recently with .mobile, then the tendency is to take their announcement seriously. The .mobile initiative is to create a...

Overture.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... www.uk.overture.com Search statistics in the Telecoms sector The information below represents searches carried out through February on Overture's search network, which reaches 87% of the UK online population (*). Overture provides...

Will e-money decision kill the premium SMS market? Premium SMS services are at risk if the EC defines reverse billing as a form of e-money. Meanwhile, confusion reigns.(News Analysis)
April 1, 2004... The news this week that big-name brands including MSN and Emap are in danger of having SMS payment mechanisms for their online services shut down in order to comply with European e-money legislation comes as a blow to all parties in the online...

Each to their own as online attitudes mature.(Leader)(Editorial)
April 1, 2004... It used to be that the US was the leader in the online world. If you wanted to see what the next trend to hit the UK Internet industry would be, you looked over the Atlantic. But recent events have led me to wonder if this formula has broken...

Making music licensing easier.(Letters to the Editor)(Letter to the Editor)
April 1, 2004... We're very pleased that Napster has chosen the UK as the first stage of its European launch (NMA 18 March) since it has given us the chance to prove that our online licensing scheme--the MCPS-PRS Joint Online Licence, introduced two years ago...

Giving online content its due regard.(Letters to the Editor)(Letter to the Editor)
April 1, 2004... The online content marketplace is now an undisputed part of the media value chain and one that has been adopted by all but the most backwards media organisations. However, there's still a credibility gap among the widest consumer and business...

Is protection against spam going to far?(Letters to the Editor)(Letter to the Editor)
April 1, 2004... I recently read that some network administrators identify an email to be spam if it contains an unsubscribe link. Recent legislation has introduced this measure to protect consumers who want to be removed from commercial lists, but I now wonder...

Convincing brands to try online video advertising.(Rafee from the US)
April 1, 2004... Is video on the Internet hot or not? Based on what I've seen during the first quarter this year, I'm in the camp that says video online is hot. Very hot. Most of the industry discussion so far has focused on two key issues. The first is...

Government must help us to trust again.(Opinion)
April 1, 2004... What's your experience of government? In fact, where do you come into contact with it? The bluster of political sound-bites in the media, or the quiet work of Civil Service mechanisms in the background? Trust in government is at its lowest...

What tomorrow brings: BT futurologist Ian Pearson is tasked with predicting what our lives will be like in 10 years' time. And given how far we've come already, some of his ideas might not be as strange as they sound.
April 1, 2004... Ten years ago, when the word 'Internet' had barely entered people's vocabulary, Ian Pearson was talking of broadband. In 1993 he co-authored a paper entitled 'Broadband: Liberating the Customer' in which he predicted the crucial role that...

Prevx.(Moves)
April 1, 2004... David Brosse has joined security software firm Prevx as VP of Web marketing. He was previously co-founder and marketing director at online rewards company MyPoints Europe. Brosse has 15 years' technology marketing experience, and prior to his...

YooMedia.(Moves)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... YooMedia, the interactive TV and mobile entertainment company, has taken on Jonathan Apps as finance director. He joins YooMedia from an independent consultancy role, where he worked with early-stage technology companies. Prior to this, Apps...

TBG.(Moves)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... TBG, the London-based digital marketing solutions agency, has appointed two new staff. Alex Faust joins from Posterscope, the outdoor marketing specialist, and will take the post of account manager. He will look after clients including BCA,...

Clearswift.(Moves)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Clearswift, the electronic communications software company, has appointed Ian Bowles as senior VP of global operations. He recently held the post of VP and general manager of EMEA for Interwoven, the content management software company.

Westell Technologies.(Moves)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Westell Technologies, manufacturer of high-speed broadband and VoIP technology access products, has appointed David McKeigue as MD of its UK subsidiary. He has over 20 years of telecommunications experience, and was most recently general...

UK Broadband.(Moves)
April 1, 2004... UK Broadband has appointed Keith Hawkins as senior VP of sales and marketing. He joins the company after three years with Freeserve, where he held the post of MD of Marketing. Hawkins will work with the UK Broadband team to bring the Netvigator...

Mobile Streams.(Moves)
April 1, 2004... Steve Hayward has joined mobile content company Mobile Streams as head of market development, managing key UK accounts. His previous experience in the Internet and mobile industries include positions at Pogo and most recently Purple...

MailKey.(Moves)
April 1, 2004... Messaging security company MailKey has recruited Alan Forward as production manager. He was formerly European sales support manager of ADP Wilco, the financial software house, and will manage the production process of MailKey's software...

Saddling up for the next stretch: Lloyds TSB has launched a current account for online users. Does this represent new thinking by the bank about its channels, or is it just a way to cross-sell?(Strategic Play Lloyds TSB)
April 1, 2004... Matthew Timms hardly had time to warm his seat as Internet director at Lloyds TSB before the bank launched its first account to reward customers using the Web and he began working out the logistics of adding a mobile element to the bank's new...

More hurdles: betting exchanges are coming under fire from traditional bookmakers and the Government. Are they doing enough to counter their critics?
April 1, 2004... There's always someone up to no good in the gambling world. Whether ifs horse riders allegedly taking a fall or high-rollers using mobile phones and lasers to beat the house at roulette, someone somewhere is looking for a way to make money with...

Slow on the uptake: big businesses and home users are taking up broadband in droves. But SMEs, which maybe don't use the Internet a lot anyway, are more reluctant. However, there are just as many advantages for them.
April 1, 2004... Big companies have long boasted fat pipes to cope with their Internet demands. Home broadband use has also been ramping up nicely, with 3m homes connected in the UK by the end of 2003. But the big gap has been in the SME market. Many of these...

Benefiting from local knowledge: as portals and search engines offer more geographic detail in their results, will this give a boost to smaller businesses?(Advertising)
April 1, 2004... Yahoo! last month launched an interactive map feature, Smart View, which indicates on maps the locations of companies in Yahoo!'s local listings, for people seeking local information. With this further sign of the increasingly focus on local...

The Princess Royal Trust for Carers Super Hero quiz.(Case Study)
April 1, 2004... Client: The Princess Royal Trust for Carers Agency: Contrapositive BACKGROUND: The Princess Royal Trust for Carers provides support and advice to unpaid carers. Its Web site offers a community where carers can talk to each other via...

Kay Hammond, MD, TAMBA Internet.(AD Watch)
April 1, 2004... Charities and not-for-profit organisations often use the negativity of the need for their existence to promote their aims and objectives. Poignant and eye-catching they may be, but not often uplifting. Barnardo's invariably has to deal with...

Creative thinking: since the IAB began highlighting creativity in online ads with the launch last year of its creative showcase, the Web's prominence among marketers has risen.
April 1, 2004... This month the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) celebrates the first anniversary of its creative showcase, set up to highlight creativity in online advertising. Each month it has chosen the most creative online campaign in the UK,...