New Media Age articles from December 2007

New Media Age archives from December 2007

Disney draws kids into branded virtual worlds.(Disney.co.uk)(Disney Channel Worldwide)
December 6, 2007... Disney this week launched its most ambitious digital strategy in Europe, including integrated virtual worlds for all its key brands, kicking off with Pirates of the Caribbean. Disney.co.uk has today been revamped as a broadband...

The Sun adopts mobile barcodes.(Brief article)
December 6, 2007... The Sun has launched a strategy to push mobile editorial and ad content using mobile barcodes. The newspaper has signed up Ladbrokes, Sky and Twentieth Century Fox to the new format. Readers using their phones to take and send a...

Online loyalty sites move offline to rival Nectar.
December 6, 2007... Online cashback and loyalty businesses are looking to challenge Nectar by taking their propositions onto the high street. GreasyPalm has become the first such site to provide members with an offline offering that lets them earn cashback...

Blyk looks to hit targets as it signs 3,000 subs a day.(subscribers)(Brief article)
December 6, 2007... Blyk has claimed it's notching up 3,000 new subscribers every day as it moves to hit its projected target of 100,000 customers within a year. These numbers suggest that the ad-funded MVNO, which provides 16-24- year-olds with a limited...

IPC to revamp Marie Claire site as it poaches head of Handbag.(marieclaire.co.uk)(instyle.co.uk)(housetohome.co.uk)(Brief article)
December 6, 2007... IPC is planning the overhaul of marieclaire.co.uk following the announcement that it has poached Handbag.com publisher Alicen Stenner from Hearst Digital. The plans also extend to IPC's recent launches instyle.co.uk and housetohome.co.uk....

Complete Control wins BBCW site pitch.(BBC Worldwide Ltd.)(Brief article)
December 6, 2007... Complete Control has won a three-way pitch to create the website for new BBC Worldwide children's programme Animalia. Animalia is created from the cult picture book by Graeme Base, which features two children who enter a world of talking...

DfT uses video ad to take drink-drive message online.(advertising)(Brief article)
December 6, 2007... The Department for Transport has launched an online drink-drive campaign through Leo Burnett and Weapon 7 this week. The ad, featuring a grumpy looking man with the strapline 'What ruined his Christmas?', encourages users to click and...

Five to roll out first major push onto mobile via Vodafone deal.(Brief article)
December 6, 2007... Five is preparing for its first major push onto mobile by rolling out a TV service for Vodafone subscribers. The Gadget Show, Fifth Gear and Guinea Pigs are among the flagship shows to be included as part of a one-hour loop of streamed...

Sony uses Bravia Bunnies in 3D game.(Brief article)
December 6, 2007... Sony Europe has developed a Christmas game starring the Bravia Bunnies, to build on brand recognition for its campaign featuring plasticine rabbits. The 3D game, Santa Saves Christmas, was developed by digital creative agency...

Thomas Cook plans on-demand service via site/channel merger.(thomascook.tv)(ThomasCook.co.uk)(Brief article)
December 6, 2007... Thomas Cook is launching an on-demand TV channel through its main travel website. It estimates it has 17,000 hours of footage worth #1.5m from its Thomas Cook TV and Going Places TV channels on Sky TV. The majority of this will be...

World Vision drives alternative gifts site.(Meteorite Uk Ltd.)(Brief article)
December 6, 2007... World Vision has rolled out the digital element of a major marketing drive to encourage consumers to buy ethical Christmas presents for friends and relatives. A viral film is being seeded on YouTube, Google Video and Joost and is being...

The Brit Awards to grow interactivity for 2008 event.(Outside Line)(Brief article)
December 6, 2007... The Brit Awards 2008 site has been slated for launch later this month. Awards organisers - who have agreed that ITV1 will broadcast the ceremony live from Earls Court on 20 February - are bidding to top the level of interactivity achieved...

Reuters appoints Nokia to handle ad sales on reworked mobile site.(Brief article)
December 6, 2007... Reuters has unveiled a revamped mobile site and handed a UK ad sales contract to Nokia's newly formed mobile sales house Ad Business. The news resource has developed an in-house platform to help it integrate its mobile site with its...

Albion wins online and branding work for Riviera Desserts.(Brief article)
December 6, 2007... Ad agency Albion has won the branding and online advertising account for Riviera Desserts. Albion's first brief is to create a website for Riviera's dairy-free range of chilled desserts, NoMoo, and a supporting online ad campaign. ...

Dixons creates dedicated web portal for video product demos.(Dixons Group PLC)(Brief article)
December 6, 2007... Dixons has unveiled Dixons TV, a dedicated portal within Dixons.co.uk designed to host video demonstrations of products on sale. While Dixons has been producing video demonstrations for a year, this is the first time the company has...

Figleaves.com signs deal with Maxymiser.(Brief article)
December 6, 2007... Figleaves.com, the online retailer of underwear, swimwear and sleepwear, has signed a partnership deal that will increase the effectiveness of the content it presents to visitors. The etailer has agreed a deal to adopt technology from...

Yahoo! plans major initiatives for 2008 to combat click fraud issues.(Brief article)
December 6, 2007... Yahoo! is to roll out a series of major initiatives in 2008 as the internet giant continues work to boost traffic quality and prevent click fraud. It will introduce domain blocking and increased reporting as it tries to clean up its...

The Sun and The Times target advertising across both titles.(Brief article)
December 6, 2007... News International titles The Sun and The Times are teaming up to offer targeted online advertising. The alliance is the first example of major publishers working together to boost their ad propositions (NMA 01.11.07), with publications...

Canada woos Europeans ahead of Games.(Tourism British Columbia)(I-Spy Search)(Brief article)
December 6, 2007... Tourism British Columbia has appointed I-Spy Search to manage its European paid-search account in the run-up to the 2010 Winter Olympics, to be held in Vancouver. The Canadian province is looking to the UK-based search specialist to...

Wedding TV adds social tool to help brides get advice.(Brief article)
December 6, 2007... The Wedding TV channel has added a social function to its site. The tool lets users skim the web, gathering information on products and services for their wedding day. The content is then compiled into a 'project folder' that friends and...

Steak Media to offer global reach via new US and Australian offices.(Brief article)
December 6, 2007... Steak Media will open New York and Melbourne offices this month as the media agency looks to give clients global reach for campaigns. Steak - which won Media Agency of the Year at last month's Interactive Marketing and Advertising Awards...

Runescape takes on OTP Media to handle UK ad sales.(advertising)(Brief article)
December 6, 2007... Online adventure game Runescape - which has 9m players worldwide and serves 1.2bn page impressions a month - has appointed OTP Media as its first UK digital sales house. Previously Runescape managed its UK online advertising in-house,...

Salvation Army hopes to raise #500,000 online at Christmas.(Harvest Digital)(Brief article)
December 6, 2007... The Salvation Army has begun its Christmas campaign, aiming to raise #500,000 through online. In partnership with digital agencies Harvest Digital and Trinity Communications, the Salvation Army has developed christmasappeal.org.uk to...

Charity uses virtual world to resettle kids.(Women's Aid)(Brief article)
December 6, 2007... Domestic violence charity Women's Aid has opened a children's virtual network to help families in a refuge. The virtual world, built by Atticmedia, is aimed at under-seven-year- olds to help ease them into a stay at a women's refuge by...

Vice and Nokia team to trial mobile video.(Brief article)
December 6, 2007... Vice magazine has begun a mobile trial of its video service with support from Nokia. The publisher rolled out VBS TV, its online video channel directed by Spike Jonze, last month (NMA 27.09.07) and now hopes demand for the service exists...

Guardian Unlimited launches commission-free gift guide.(Brief article)
December 6, 2007... Guardian Unlimited has launched a guide to Christmas gifts in a new section on its website. The paper isn't taking a commission for the brands it recommends, despite linking through to retailers. The temporary section of the site is...

ANALYST SPEAK: Consumers trust others' opinions more than ads.(advertisements)
December 6, 2007... Word-of-mouth media is coming of age. Social content, as a rival to professional content, has two key implications for media and advertisers. Not only does it provide competition to professional content for the eyes and ears of consumers, but...

Over 90% of Christmas shoppers will be purchasing presents online.(Survey)(Brief article)
December 6, 2007... Online retailers are set for a busy season as 92% of consumers will be carrying out at least some of their Christmas shopping online, according to research from online loyalty programme ipoints.co.uk. Nearly a third (29%) of respondents...

Use of text messaging in the US grows by 67%.(Survey)(Brief article)
December 6, 2007... The average number of text messages sent in the US has jumped by 67%, from 12 a week in 2006 to 20 in 2007, according to research by the Mobile Marketing Association. Results from the third annual 'Mobile Attitude and Usage Study' found...

ANALYSIS: Ad industry is sure privacy fears are unfounded.(advertising)
December 6, 2007... With the news that the EU is looking into privacy issues of targeted online ads, the industry is confident it will find their policies don't infringe individuals' rights Last week the UK online ad industry revealed it was uniting to...

COMMENT: Learning to trust consumers' views.(Brief article)
December 6, 2007... Researching my Christmas holiday, one of my key reference points was TripAdvisor. The hotel reviews site has, in fact, become a staple in the travel plans of millions. This reflects the speed with which user- generated content, the wisdom of...

COMMENT: Ad Watch review column.
December 6, 2007... This issue we relaunch our monthly Ad Watch review column (see page 18), this week written by Cannes Cyber Lions jury chair Tom Eslinger. The aim is to provide more analysis of the success or otherwise of interactive ads. Input from campaigns'...

Further measures to keep kids safe lie at Government's door.
December 6, 2007... The explosion of social media applications has led to an unprecedented number of young people embracing the potential of the internet. Too often, however, the negative aspects have been the focus and it's these that are drawing interest from...

LETTER: England team lets down whole online industry.(Letter to the editor)
December 6, 2007... From Justin Brookfield, MD, Locker Room Sports England's failure to qualify for Euro 2008 will have massive implications across the digital market. Sports books will have factored in massive uplift in new accounts and turnover in June 2008,...

LETTER: Insurance providers fail to satisfy online buyers.(Letter to the editor)
December 6, 2007... From Pete Ballard, founding partner, Foolproof Tealeaf reports that 37% of consumers would abandon an online transaction if they encountered problems (NMA 08.11.07). Foolproof's Online Shopping Survey (OSS) found a similar issue, with 22%...

LETTER: AOL misses the point of the mobile internet.(Letter to the editor)
December 6, 2007... From Sham Careem, MD, MoMac UK AOL's announcement that it has launched a mobile internet portal in the UK that transcodes websites for mobile devices represents a huge step in the wrong direction. The lack of Java and Flash support...

LETTER: Niche terms are the key to paid search.(Letter to the editor)
December 6, 2007... From Justin Yates, sales director, Just Search With paid search on the increase, the key for many small businesses is increasing ROI when undertaking a PPC campaign. With cost per click on the rise in many markets, businesses and...

OPINION: Tapping into the societal shift towards community clusters.(Column)
December 6, 2007... A month ago Laura Jordan Bambach and I contributed to a report by The Future Laboratory commissioned by Zurich Bank about how Britain is undergoing a societal revival. It identified new ways of thinking that redefine our sense of business,...

AD WATCH: Sony brings Walkman brand up to date with engaging play.
December 6, 2007... Ramping up for the Christmas season, I find myself on the receiving end for all sorts of promotions as the annual spending/buying cycle kicks into gear. That's why I've chosen the Sony Walkman campaign as my Campaign of the Month. I'm deeply...

PROFILE - EMILY BELL: Quality comment.
December 6, 2007... Guardian Unlimited is in a strong position having set a new record for unique users. Director of digital content Emily Bell talks to Ed Dorrell about newspapers' future Last month Guardian Unlimited set a new sector record with the...

VERTICAL FOCUS - TRAVEL: Sun seekers.
December 6, 2007... As travellers increasingly deal directly with airlines and hotels, operators and aggregators must develop closer community relations, finds Sean Hargrave Choosing a holiday used to be a predictable process: flicking through a few...

NMA iTV: All systems go.
December 6, 2007... Entertainment brands see the benefits of Sky's cheaper and more flexible ad platform. Sean Hargrave reports As one of this year's most talked-about ads, it was apt that Cadbury's drumming gorilla was used to co-launch Sky's latest...

NMA iTV: VAL facts.(Brief article)
December 6, 2007... VAL campaigns can be booked in single, week-long slots, with airtime for the ads booked and paid for separately. The technology is aimed at entertainment brands, which Sky claims want to cut the cost of interactivity. A VAL campaign can...

NMA iTV: Broadcasters' first moves into video-on-demand lack unity.
December 6, 2007... NMA columnist Richard Huntington asked at a recent Promax event, "Why are there so many channels and so few brands?" The BBC and Channel 4 have some of the few channel brands that do stand for something and give the viewer a lead on what...

NMA iTV: Content of Orange ad lives up to promise of its call to action.(Orange AB)
December 6, 2007... The quality and variety of triggers deployed to promote interactive services can be the difference between success and failure. For those not familiar with iTV jargon, the trigger is simply the screen graphic designed to encourage viewers to...

NMA iTV: iTV data.
December 6, 2007... The red-button element of Audi's A5 campaign used engaging video content to make it the third most successful car campaign to date, finds Jon Ducker of Decipher This month we evaluate the iTV ad that was part of car marque Audi's recent...

MOVES: Syzygy.(appointments of Riccardo Sala, Chris Kerr, Blundstone Osterberger, Angelika Egger, Jon Burrell, Quentin Drain and Tina Saul)(Brief article)
December 6, 2007... Full service interactive agency Syzygy has announced a host of appointments. Information architect Riccardo Sala moves from Dare Digital; project director Chris Kerr and senior project manager Blundstone Osterberger both join from Digitas...

MOVES: Equator.(appointment of Kay MacGregor)(Brief article)
December 6, 2007... Online marketing agency Equator has hired Kay MacGregor as client services director. She was head of integration at Tequila in Dublin after four years in Dubai heading teams at OgilvyOne and McCann. Copyright: Centaur Communications Ltd....

MOVES: Skinkers.(appointment of David McAdam)(Brief article)
December 6, 2007... Technology company Skinkers has strengthened the management team for its Livestation internet broadcast collaboration with Microsoft with the appointment of David McAdam as head of programme and operations management. He joins from ITV...

MOVES: Bazaarvoice.(appointment of Justin Crandall, Robert Peat)(Brief article)
December 6, 2007... Bazaarvoice, a provider of outsourced technology, hosting services and analytics, has appointed Justin Crandall and Robert Peat as commercial and sales directors respectively. Crandall moves from the US division where he was sales director,...

MOVES: Simplylawjobs.com.(appointment of Oliver Byrne)(Brief article)
December 6, 2007... Legal jobs website Simplylawjobs.com has taken on Oliver Byrne as account manager. He previously worked under contract with the UK Chambers of Commerce, promoting its digital B2B services. Copyright: Centaur Communications Ltd. and...

MOVES: Acme Mobile.(appoinment of Kristan Rivers, Bryan Head)(Brief article)
December 6, 2007... Mobile content distribution company Acme Mobile has recruited two mobile industry veterans to senior positions. COO Kristan Rivers was previously general manager of Asia/Pacific for Player X, while Bryan Head starts as country manager for the...

MOVES: Huge Entertainment.(appointment of Charles Burdick)(Brief article)
December 6, 2007... Digital entertainment company Huge Entertainment has appointed Charles Burdick as non-executive director to the board. He has held senior positions within companies including Telewest Communications, Time Warner and MediaOne. Copyright:...

SITE INSPECTION: Hotblack Desiato.(Website overview)(Brief article)
December 6, 2007... Hotblackdesiato.co.uk Owner: Hotblack Desiato Agency: The Tin Content 23/25 Usability 24/25 Branding 23/25 Monetisation 20/25 Total 90/100 Sci-fi fans will recognise the name from Douglas...

SITE INSPECTION: Long Way Down.(Website overview)(Brief article)
December 6, 2007... Longwaydown.com Owner: Long Way Down Agency: Outside Line Content 23/25 Usability 20/25 Branding 23/25 Monetisation 20/25 Total 86/100 For a site supporting a major TV series,...

SITE INSPECTION: City Car Club.(Website overview)(Brief article)
December 6, 2007... Citycarclub.co.uk Owner: City Car Club Agency: Rich Media House Content 15/25 Usability 12/25 Branding 20/25 Monetisation 15/25 Total 62/100 Car clubs offer a way to cut the rising cost of...

FULFILMENT: startfitness.co.uk.(Website overview)(Brief article)
December 6, 2007... Founded: 2001 Selection Rather than offering a full range of fitness products, this site focuses on running, predominantly trainers, t-shirts, shorts and leggings. Navigation A traditional ecommerce layout, with departments...

Govt bids to fill digital skills gap.(Sector Skills Council for the Audio Visual and Publishing Industries)(Brief article)
December 13, 2007... A government-backed initiative has launched a major skills scheme in a bid to tackle the endemic skills shortage in the digital industry. The initiative aims to create training and university courses that produce graduates who meet the...

Search engines dismiss Ask's privacy move.
December 13, 2007... Google, Microsoft and Yahoo! have indicated they won't follow Ask's lead by offering consumers an opt-out privacy control, following this week's launch of AskEraser. AskEraser is an option on the Ask.com home page that allows users to...

Jicwebs urges industry to support new online metric.(Joint Industry Committee for Web Standards)(Brief article)
December 13, 2007... The online industry is being urged to adopt an additional metric to measure time spent online better. The Joint Industry Committee for Web Standards (Jicwebs), has called on the industry to embrace its Visit Duration metric in order to...

Halifax uses festive viral game to push home insurance offers.(Brief article)
December 13, 2007... Halifax has launched a festive viral game as part of an integrated campaign for the financial services' home insurance brand. The game, Grotto Defence, forms part of a larger integrated campaign to inform Halifax home insurance customers...

Future reveals new technology sites in pre-Christmas launch.(Future Publishing)(Brief article)
December 13, 2007... Magazine publisher Future is set for further aggressive moves into the technology sector with the launch of two websites before Christmas. The specialist publisher will unveil technology website Techradar .com and an overhaul of T3.com....

Sky News ramps up digital push as it looks to take on rival news sites.(British Sky Broadcasting Group PLC. Sky News)(Sky.com)(Brief article)
December 13, 2007... Sky News is setting its sights on newspaper websites and the BBC as it looks to expand aggressively into the online news sector. The news operation is preparing for a digital push early in the new year with a full site overhaul. ...

OSoYou.com signs integrated sponsor deal with Boots.(Brief article)
December 13, 2007... OSoYou.com, the social shopping site, has signed an integrated ad and sponsorship deal with Boots. The deal will create a brand area for the retailer on OSoYou combining Boots' retail content within the site's social networking...

Adidas plans major strategy for Euro 2008 with Intersport.(Brief article)
December 13, 2007... Adidas Football has begun its preparations to capitalise on the 2008 European Championships with a major pan-European digital campaign in association with Intersport. The international sports brand and retailer have joined forces for The...

ITV extends its Local service with user-posted news & sport content.(Brief article)
December 13, 2007... ITV has begun a major push of user-generated video content centred around local communities. ITV Local Your News and Grassroots Sport have both gone live focusing on encouraging visitors to upload news and sports videos from their area...

Sky overhauls Rivals.net with greater ties to other properties.(British Sky Broadcasting Group PLC)(Brief article)
December 13, 2007... Sky has unveiled a new look for Rivals.net this week, the largest overhaul since the media giant bought parent company 365 Media Group. Rivals.net, a network of fan sites for all 92 professional football clubs, is now more closely...

Halfords adds mobile element to service.(Brief article)
December 13, 2007... Halfords has added a mobile element to its Reserve and Collect service. The service sees online customers who enter their mobile number as a part of their booking sent an SMS to confirm their order. This will be followed by a further...

Turner appoints Chello to expand interactive TV offer.(Chello Interactive)(Turner Broadcasting Europe Ltd.)(Brief article)
December 13, 2007... Turner Broadcasting is set to ramp up its interactive TV services across Europe with the appointment of iTV company Chello Interactive. Chello will be responsible for the design, publishing and management of Turner's interactive TV...

Media Corp adds news and video to Gambling.com for site relaunch.(Brief article)
December 13, 2007... Gambling.com is to relaunch in January as parent company Media Corp bids to position it as a key destination site for online gamblers. As well as links to gambling and gaming resources, the new-look Gambling.com will provide visitors with...

Start Creative creates campaign for Human Rights.(Universal Declaration of Human Rights)(Brief article)
December 13, 2007... Digital and branding agency Start Creative has launched a digital campaign and website for a new initiative to get people around the world to sign up to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The campaign responds to a brief from the...

Tate Online focuses on social networks for new kids' area.(Brief article)
December 13, 2007... Tate Online is looking to overhaul the young people's area of its website in an effort to encourage more traffic and repeat use. The redesign of Tate Kids will look to bring in social networking elements. The site, aimed at 6-12-year-olds,...

ABN Amro pushes investment products.(Brief article)
December 13, 2007... ABN Amro has launched a dedicated campaign site to promote its commodities investment products. The site, built by digital agency Holler, is part of an ongoing push to promote the financial services company online. The campaign site...

CrossCountry Trains reveals plan to put mobile at centre of strategy.(Crosscountrytrains.co.uk)(Brief article)
December 13, 2007... CrossCountry Trains, the newest UK rail franchise, has unveiled its online strategy with a plan to utilise all digital platforms. The company, which is part of the Arriva Group, is looking to make mobile central to its digital strategy,...

Microsoft plans cross-platform Facebook game targeting men.(Brief article)
December 13, 2007... Microsoft will launch a game within Facebook next year in the first initiative the technology giant has launched since investing in the social network in October. The cross-platform game, called Fishticuffs, will be available to Windows...

Glass relaunches boutique for Christmas.(Brief article)
December 13, 2007... Digital agency Glass has relaunched its Glass Boutique online shop, a site that sells men's fashion. The move, which was timed to coincide with the Christmas rush, was developed to allow the agency to showcase its own competencies. As...

Simply Media signs syndicated lifestyle content deals.(Brief article)
December 13, 2007... Content production house Simply Media has signed syndication deals for its entertainment and lifestyle content to appear on TV Hits and Golf International. The deal will enable the web-only entertainment magazine TV Hits to expand its...

Vodafone creates virtual stadium social site for UEFA sponsorship.(Union of European Football Associations)(Vodafone Group PLC)(uefa.com)(Brief article)
December 13, 2007... Dare has created a virtual stadium that will act as a social network for Vodafone's sponsorship of the 2007/2008 UEFA Champions League. The Stadium of Fans site allows users to upload a picture of themselves, choose a hairstyle and colour...

Pizza Hut uses viral game to promote online ordering.(Brief article)
December 13, 2007... Pizza Hut has produced a viral game to promote its 4forAll pizza and online ordering service. The 4forAll Trivia Challenge, part of a wider offline campaign, takes users through four rounds of questions before allowing them to enter...

Allinson revamps website as it overhauls entire brand image.(RPM 3 Beechwood)(Brief article)
December 13, 2007... Bakery giant Allinson is set to roll out a new website in line with an entire brand overhaul. The site will be closely linked to Baking Mad, Allinson's baking resource which claims tens of thousands of users a month. Both Allinson...

IPC Media signs European ad sales deal.(Tomorrow Focus)(advertisement)(nuts .co.uk)(marieclaire.co.uk)(Brief article)
December 13, 2007... IPC Media has signed a deal that will see German sales house Tomorrow Focus sell ads on its online properties across continental Europe. The publisher, which owns nuts .co.uk and marieclaire.co.uk, has signed up to Tomorrow Focus's...

Yell.com to offer more than local information.(Brief article)
December 13, 2007... Yell.com is looking to expand from its core directories offering into providing other information, after the relaunch of its site last week. The directories specialist is trialling an insurance quick link on its home page. This is part...

Setanta signs deal with Zebtab for interactive desktop widget.(Setanta Sports)(Brief article)
December 13, 2007... Setanta Sports' news website setantasports.com is to launch an interactive desktop widget. The sport broadcaster has signed a deal with desktop content channel Zebtab, which will run the service. Adam Marshall, managing editor of...

ANALYSY SPEAK: Syndication is central to online video success.
December 13, 2007... While traditional TV continues to command large audiences, broadcasters must look elsewhere for growth. Video is increasingly viewed online, due to faster internet connections and the availability of more and varied content. According to...