New Media Age articles from February 2004

New Media Age archives from February 2004

Ofcom plans study into digital rights protection.(Brief Article)
February 5, 2004... The new media regulator, Ofcom, is planning an investigation into digital rights management (DRM), to help content providers address the problem of online copyright protection at an industry level. The regulator believes that since DRM is a...

'Price is right' set for comeback via gambling site.
February 5, 2004... Classic TV quiz show The Price is Right is being reborn online after a tie-up between the show's owner FremantleMedia and US Internet gambling specialist WagerWorks. The series, which has a heritage in 36 countries around the world,...

Concern rises regarding mobility of shortcodes.(Brief Article)
February 5, 2004... The ownership of SMS shortcodes is becoming a significant industry issue as companies increasingly incorporate the numbers as part of their branding. There are presently no regulated procedures for the transferral of shortcodes, the...

Publishers plan overhaul for men's mag Web sites.
February 5, 2004... The recent flurry of activity in the men's magazine market is being matched online with leading publishers IPC, Emap and Dennis all planning overhauls of the Web sites belonging to their flagship brands Loaded, FHM and Maxim. FHM.com and...

Yahoo! to launch account aggregation service in UK.
February 5, 2004... Yahoo! has this week become the largest UK site to launch an account aggregation service. The move could well provide a boost for the account aggregation model in general. Although similar services are already offered by Egg, Citibank and...

Sky announces TV betting channel.
February 5, 2004... Sky has released details of its interactive TV betting channel after months of industry speculation that the firm was on the verge of launching its own proposition in the same vein as gaming channel Avago. Sky Vegas Live will be free to...

O2 to launch flexible billing system for mobile content.
February 5, 2004... O2 plans to launch a billing system for mobile content that industry insiders have described as comparable to Vodafone's m-pay offering. The launch, which is being kept under wraps by the operator, has been hailed as a highly significant...

Virgin Mobile to offer GPRS and MMS services.
February 5, 2004... Virgin Mobile will finally begin offering next generation mobile data services in the next few months. The virtual network operator will begin supplying GPRS and MMS services to its customers and open its attractive subscriber base to...

Lastminute plans biggest ad push for Valentines Day.
February 5, 2004... Lastminute.com is launching one of its largest ever integrated ad campaigns this week, with SMS response, viral ads and print and radio slots all based around Valentines Day. The company has developed the campaign with Banc, which won the...

BlueSquare sets 1m [pounds sterling] WAP target.
February 5, 2004... Online bookie Blue Square expects to be taking bets worth more than 1m [pounds sterling] a month via WAP by June. It has offered odds on Vodafone Live! for a year and on rival Orange World since December. The figure further confirms the...

British Horseracing Board launches one-stop shop.(Breaking)
February 5, 2004... The British Horseracing Board, the governing body of horse racing, has launched an online one-stop shop about racing. It is designed to appeal to anyone involved in the industry, from novice and regular race-goers to owners, breeders, sponsors...

Murphys plans nationwide US SMS push for St Patrick's Day.(Breaking)
February 5, 2004... Beer and stout brand Murphy's is to launch a nationwide cross-operator SMS campaign in the US, to coincide with St Patrick's Day on 17 March. Run by Enpocket, the promotion, a limerick competition, will be promoted in bars nationwide. ...

Gronmark taken on as iTV ad consortium development head.(Breaking)
February 5, 2004... The BBC's outgoing head of interactive TV Scott Gronmark has been taken on by Zip Television to serve as development director for Consortium4TV, the group of advertisers put together by Zip to promote growth in iTV advertising. Zip has...

NMA Effectiveness Awards.(Breaking)
February 5, 2004... The final deadline is approaching for the NMA Effectiveness Awards 2004. If you want to qualify for the biggest prize in new media, you need to get your entry in by Wednesday 11 February. Full details and entry forms can be found on this site:...

Google adds new tools to tracking service for AdWords.
February 5, 2004... Google has added new tools to its free conversion tracking service for AdWords campaigns. This is aimed at giving advertisers more detailed information about conversions, helping them to better understand the number and type of user actions...

Hot Group buys up rival Netrecruit for 450,000 [pounds sterling].
February 5, 2004... Hot Group has bought rival online recruitment firm Netrecruit for 450,000 [pounds sterling], its second takeover deal of the year. Netrecruit was set up three years ago and runs a network of Web sites targeting 18-28-year-olds. Its founder...

Virgin Atlantic invests in online ticket sales.
February 5, 2004... Virgin Atlantic is investing heavily is online ticket sales, and has upgraded its Web site so customers can amend their flight details online. The new functionality will allow customers to change their flight times and dietary requirements, and...

MSN teams with Moreover Technologies for aggregation.
February 5, 2004... MSN has teamed up with Moreover Technologies for the provision of its news aggregation services on My MSN and international MSN Newsboot. The portal will be using Moreover's database of headline links to breaking news and business information,...

US casino giant trials new online model for UK.
February 5, 2004... Harrah's, one of the largest US casino groups, has chosen the UK for the launch of its first interactive services but is taking a different approach from its competitors. In a break from industry norms it's avoiding traditional casino...

Security firm offers data to beat money laundering.
February 5, 2004... Online casino firms are being offered a new security service which promises to continually vet their customer bases for money launderers. The service, from security firm Kycos, has been welcomed by the trade according to the company and...

Eyeblaster closes 4.4m [pounds sterling] VC fund.
February 5, 2004... Rich media advertising firm Eyeblaster has closed an $8m (4.4m [pounds sterling]) round of venture capital funding from New York-based Insight Venture Partners. It's a further sign of the confidence in the market for rich media...

Yahoo! to target offline brands.
February 5, 2004... Yahoo! is stepping up its drive to attract more offline advertisers, and has doubled the size of its UK sales team to help attract more high street brands to the portal. The company has recruited individuals from traditional offline media...

UK premium SMS players find US open for business.(Brief Article)
February 5, 2004... The US premium mobile market is fully open for business, according to two UK mobile services firms both claiming a first for launching premium SMS into the market. UK content providers and brands will now be able to launch their premium...

Mobix trials first mobile video soap opera.
February 5, 2004... Mobile video specialist Mobix has produced a pilot of one of the first mobile video soap operas. The firm is now talking to brands and mobile network operators for a commercial launch of the series. Mobix has tied up with Jack Brand,...

IAB predicts online ads will top 300m [pounds sterling] for 2003.(Brief Article)
February 5, 2004... The Interactive Advertising Bureau says it's confident that online advertising will top 300m [pounds sterling] for the past year, representing an annual growth rate of more than 50%. Having hit record levels in the first hall of 2003, with...

Private Media plans operator services.
February 5, 2004... Global adult entertainment giant Private Media Group has revealed plans to launch services with a raft of European operators over the next few mouths. The launches will see the provider of hardcore adult entertainment venturing further...

Glen Yearwood Group brings Flava back to life online.
February 5, 2004... Urban marketing and music consultancy the Glen Yearwood Group is resurrecting Channel 4's 1990's pop TV show Flava online with the launch of a new Web site. Whatsyourflava.tv features video footage from the show, including Public Enemy, Tupac...

Kayak Interactive raises 6.4m [pounds sterling] in first funding round.
February 5, 2004... Kayak Interactive, a mobile multiplayer gaming firm, has raised $11.75m (6.4m [pounds sterling]) in its first round of funding. The firm is based in the US, but recently hired Kevin Bradshaw, the founder of Scottish mobile games publisher...

Polaroid launches microsite for Valentine's Day.
February 5, 2004... Polaroid has launched a Valentine's Day microsite for its camera range. Love-letter.co.uk is part of an overall media campaign including viral activity, MMS and billboard posters. Ads ask consumers to visit the microsite, where they can create...

Oddschecker expands odds comparison service.
February 5, 2004... Punters are now able to compare odds being offered by betting exchanges as well as rival bookies, after Oddschecker.com expanded its service. Before now, the odds comparison site only carried prices from 19 bookies. Figures from the exchanges...

TVR clarification.(Correction Notice)
February 5, 2004... In NMA's 22 January Strategic Play feature on TVR, automotive industry information and business relations specialist Gedas was incorrectly referred to as Gedus. gedas.co.uk

Netsize to launch mobile multimedia applications.(Technology)
February 5, 2004... Mobile service provider Netsize is launching a range of multimedia applications for mobile operators, offered on a pan-European basis and through partnerships with newly established service providers. The initial offering will include...

UK campus trials music messaging.(Technology)
February 5, 2004... Mobile messaging firm Dialogue Communications has joined with Vodafone to give students at Westminster University an interactive campus messaging system. The messaging platform will be used to provide a music service for the campus, so...

Mobile Commerce solves problem of mobile porting.(Technology)
February 5, 2004... Mobile Commerce has upgraded its Location Gateway to address the issue of ported mobile phone numbers, which are hindering the physical tracking of mobile handsets. The location service aggregator, which serves the four main UK operators,...

BBC adopts Colledia tool for new Broadcast Centre.(Technology)
February 5, 2004... BBC Technology is using its Colledia control software to monitor the playout infrastructure at its new Broadcast Centre. The service will log, filter and provide status updates for playout equipment and systems in the centre, so that faults are...

Samsung to connect devices to BlackBerry Enterprise server.(Technology)
February 5, 2004... Samsung is using RIM's BlackBerry Connect licensing scheme to connect its wireless handheld devices to the BlackBerry Enterprise Server, and the BlackBerry Web Client at a later date. The service will be targeted at business clients, and will...

StarHub to use FaceWave tool.(Technology)
February 5, 2004... Singapore's mobile network StarHub Mobile is to use Anthropics' FaceWave messaging tool to enable customers to send and receive animated talking messages. Users select a virtual face and record their message into a mobile, before sending it as...

Fullsix appoints CRM strategist to boost reputation.(Agencies)
February 5, 2004... Integrated digital marketing agency Fullsix has appointed a dedicated CRM strategist as part of a move to help firm up its current reputation for developing CRM programmes. Nupur Manchanda, formerly of Heresy, will initially focus on Fullsix's...

Glue London boosts staff levels for a positive 2004.(Agencies)
February 5, 2004... Glue London has made a series of staff appointments in anticipation of a positive 2004. The agency has taken on Janet Grimes, former planning director of Ogilvy & Mather and Wheel, as an associate director. It's also appointed art director...

Kibook.(Agency Wins)
February 5, 2004... Interactive media design agency Kibook has designed and developed the interface and content management system for the new foyer information display at the Institute of Contemporary Arts in London. The interface presents viewers with the ICA's...

NeoWorks.(Agency Wins)
February 5, 2004... NeoWorks has built a fully integrated bespoke software solution for Dateindeubles, a new online dating service designed to make the process more comfortable by allowing friends to sign up together to go out on dates with other pairs....

Rufus Leonard considers buyouts despite cutbacks.(Agencies)
February 5, 2004... Full service agency Rufus Leonard says it's on the lookout for acquisitions, despite making the latest in a series of rounds of redundancies only a couple of months ago. The company has moved to scotch rumours of a sale, which have arisen...

E3 Media to seek COI work following staff expansion.(Agencies)
February 5, 2004... Bristol-based agency E3 Media is planning to target the COI and other government departments as the latest part of its expansion. The agency, which has seen rapid growth in the last year, is taking on another six senior staff over the next...

Weapon7 recruits strategic director.(Agencies)
February 5, 2004... Interactive TV agency Weapon7 has taken on Mark Brown as strategic creative director, as the company seeks to push the success of campaigns it has run on behalf of the likes of Honda, Adidas and EMI to a broader audience. Brown has...

Ebookers consolidates UK brand marketing teams.(Marketing)
February 5, 2004... Online travel firm Ebookers is consolidating its brand marketing teams in the UK into a single group, headed by Colin Whaley as UK marketing director. Whaley will report to Peter Liney, the firm's UK group MD, and will be responsible for...

Honda launches online push for first diesel model.(Marketing)
February 5, 2004... Honda has launched an online push for the new diesel version of its Accord, the first time it has designed its own diesel car. The campaign has been designed by Wieden and Kennedy, with planning/buying by Starcom Motive. It will involve ads on...

Kangol relaunches site with first e-commerce functionality.(Marketing)
February 5, 2004... Clothing brand Kangol has relaunched its online presence, with a new Web site designed by Chibiabos giving it e-tail capability for the first time. The site is based around an image of 'urban cool' and the home page is designed to change every...

Guardian uses online prize offer to clean up database.(Marketing)
February 5, 2004... Guardian Unlimited has launched its biggest online promotion to date, to mark its fifth anniversary and new efforts to clean up its database as it refines its Internet strategy. Emails have been sent to 1m registered GU users, many of whom...

Easynet signs as sponsor of British Olympics team.(Marketing)
February 5, 2004... Easynet has signed up to sponsor the Great Britain Olympic team for the next three years. It's to be the official broadband network sponsor of the British Olympic Association (BOA) for this year's summer Games in Athens and the Winter...

Tiscali launches broadband ad push.(Marketing)
February 5, 2004... Tiscali UK launched its new ad push this week, led by a six-week campaign on terrestrial and cable TV. The broadband campaign will also take in national press and the Web. The new TV ads were created by Picture Productions and feature the...

Superscape gets marketing help from Microsoft.(Marketing)
February 5, 2004... Mobile games developer Superscape is to benefit from marketing support from Microsoft after it was invited to join the latter's Mobility Partner Advisory Council. Set up a year ago, the Councilaims to gather firms creating innovative...

Software CE0s anticipate rapid growth in Web services.(Trends)(Brief Article)
February 5, 2004... A poll of CEOs from European and US software companies by venture capital firm 3i has found that they're looking forward to rapid growth of Web services and business process management software over the next five years. Of the 77 CEOs...

Broadband growth in US.(Trends)(Brief Article)
February 5, 2004... A fifth of all US households have broadband Internet connections, says new research from Internet analysts Jupitermedia. A total of 21.5m households are connected to the Web this way, and the report predicts this figure will more than double to...

Euro mobile data subscribers up by a third in 2003.(Trends)(Brief Article)
February 5, 2004... The number of mobile data subscribers in Europe rose by almost a third in Q3 2003, estimates wireless analyst EMC's quarterly World Cellular Data Metrics summary. Of the total 100m global mobile data subscribers, Europe has 16m users, making it...

Four in five publishers to charge for online content.(Trends)(Brief Article)
February 5, 2004... Four-fifths of online publishers will be charging for online content by the end of the year, according to the Association of Online Publishers' (AOP) latest membership survey. Figures revealed to NMA show that while 58% of online publishers...

Anti-spam measures hit legitimate email marketers.(Trends)(Brief Article)
February 5, 2004... The costs to online marketers of opt-in emails mistakenly blocked as spare will nearly double over the next four years, according to new findings from Jupiter Research. Inadvertently blocked emails currently cost online marketers $230m...

UK banks fail to satisfy business customers online.(Trends)(Brief Article)
February 5, 2004... The online efforts of UK banks are failing their business customers, says a new survey of more than 500 small firms around the country. Some 61% of the companies surveyed said their bank's Web site was either poor or very poor. Bottom...

Operators fight for home broadband.(Trends)(Brief Article)
February 5, 2004... Fixed-line and mobile operators will be fighting for the lion's share of the broadband home services market, which will be worth 10bn [euro] (6.8bn [pounds sterling]) by 2008, forecasts telecoms consultancy Analysys. It predicts that...

Falling quality of applicants puts HR managers off Web.(Trends)
February 5, 2004... HR managers are losing faith in the Internet as a channel for recruiting staff and contractors, because they're being swamped by CVs from unsuitable applicants. That's the conclusion of research commissioned by IT services firm Parity,...

Paid-search requires constant vigilance.(Analyst Speak)
February 5, 2004... Search engine marketing is the fastest growing sector of the online advertising economy. It will double in size between 2002 and 2004, from 160.1m [euro] to 324.8m [euro] (110m-223m [pounds sterling]). While advertisers are beginning to...

Five's interactive strategy signals shift to more video: being the last terrestrial channel to offer interactive services, Five is giving viewers a glimpse of things to come.(News Analysis)
February 5, 2004... Five's intention to enter the interactive TV market has been an open secret in the industry for some time. But in last week's NMA, the UK's fifth and final terrestrial channel to sign a carriage agreement with Sky Interactive revealed some of...

Small firms find there's still a benefit in networking.(Leader)(Editorial)
February 5, 2004... One of the characteristics of the dotcom boom was the emphasis on networking. First Tuesday was the most high-profile example, but there were many other events that brought together the nascent new media industry, its potential clients and...

Universal Web site.(Letters to the Editor)(Letter to the Editor)
February 5, 2004... Rupert Fleming, brand manager, Universal Pictures (UK) Universal Pictures (UK) Ltd wishes to clarify the article written last week in NMA. The newly launched Web site, universalpictures.co.uk, is a promotional project and not a direct sales...

Japan shows US mobile's future.(Letters to the Editor)(Letter to the Editor)
February 5, 2004... Pamir Gelenbe, co-founder and director of corporate development, Flytxt What can we learn from the world's Largest and most advanced mobile data market? My recent fact-finding mission to Japan yielded some fascinating insights. Japan...

Three steps to customer heaven.(Sleight on customer relationships)
February 5, 2004... This is my last column for New Media Age, and while searching for a suitably pithy opening I discovered that an anagram of 'all good things must come to an end' is 'good hedonism can't last'. Another is 'amusing the good-old malcontents'. The...

The sensitive issue of solving mobile spam.(Opinion)
February 5, 2004... The EU Directive on electronic communications came into force on 31 October and was an attempt to stop the seemingly unrelenting tide of unwanted and unsolicited messages flooding into our email inboxes. As well as email, the Directive also...

Question master: a solid business background in FMCG marketing hasn't been as irrelevant to Adrian Cox's move into the Internet search engine sector as some originally thought.(Interview)
February 5, 2004... Adrian Cox, CEO of Ask Jeeves Internet, is far too gracious to name the now-defunct dotcom that, in the boom days of 1999, wouldn't interview him when he was looking for a change of direction. The man who launched the Twirl, Time Out and Boost...

Briffa.(Moves)
February 5, 2004... Law firm Briffa has expanded its digital sector with the appointment of Alex Chapman. Formerly a solicitor within the company, he has now become a partner and will specialise in the new media, interactive entertainment and computer games...

Image Semantics.(Moves)(Brief Article)
February 5, 2004... Image Semantics, the mobile imaging company, has appointed Richard Harris as CEO. He previously headed mobile data company Cognito and has over 10 years' experience within the mobile sector. nma.moves@centaur.co.uk

EGi.co.uk.(Moves)
February 5, 2004... EGi.co.uk, the news, research and data site for the UK commercial property market, has promoted three people in its sales team. Account managers Niki Kernohan and Daniel Ciements become senior account managers, while research sales manager...

Advertising.com.(Moves)(Brief Article)
February 5, 2004... Digital marketing agency Advertising.com has promoted Alex Woods to UK sales director. She was previously a saleswoman and replaces Claire Delaney, who recently left the company. Woods will be responsible for maintaining company growth over the...

BlackSpider Technologies.(Moves)(Brief Article)
February 5, 2004... BlackSpider Technologies, the email security solutions provider, has announced three sales and marketing appointments. Scott Duncan joins as channel director, Alison Hall has been taken on as channel manager, and Emma Dunstone as marketing...

TDA.(Moves)(Brief Article)
February 5, 2004... Marketing agency TDA has recruited Sarah Don-Bramah as account director. She will took after key company accounts including Cats Protection and the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust. Don-Bramah previously held senior roles at ad agencies Target...

Telefonica UK.(Moves)(Brief Article)
February 5, 2004... William MacKay has joined global telecommunications company Telefonica UK as head of marketing, where he will be responsible for developing the company's UK profile. MacKay is founder of marketing development services company Strategie-M. ...

j4b.(Moves)
February 5, 2004... Rob Burbidge has joined Wilmslow-based online information services company j4b as financial director and company secretary. He was previously group financial controller of communications solutions company Eurotel. nma.moves@centaur.co.uk

Buongiorno Vitaminic.(Moves)
February 5, 2004... Buongiorno Vitaminic, provider of interactive mobile services, has appointed Lindsey Pickles as marketing services manager. She will focus on the company's expertise in the wireless marketing industry. She previously held positions at wireless...

Digital Therapy.(Moves)
February 5, 2004... Jonathan Filewood has joined new media agency Digital Therapy as design and production director. He was formerly senior designer at Digitronix, the digital communications company. nma.moves@centaur.co.uk

More than just a magazine: leading men's magazine FHM is keen for its Web site to add something to the print edition, not just repeat it. Hence its forays into video content and gambling.(Strategic play: FHM.com)
February 5, 2004... Think hard of a publishing phenomenon in men's magazines and Loaded is bound to leap to the front of your mind. However, if you look closer at the market a very different, yet familiar, name emerges as the sector's benchmark title: FHM. ...

TV anywhere: there's still debate over whether mobile users will watch TV on their phones, but at least this could be the year they get the chance.
February 5, 2004... When the notion of watching live TV on a mobile phone first surfaced several years ago, it was met with derision. Although there are still sceptics, several companies--including handset manufacturers, network operators and software firms--have...

Escaping the Web: an increasing number of Internet retailers are choosing to open offline outlets and play the high street giants at their own game. But is this really the best plan to pursue?
February 5, 2004... It's just about conceivable that after a big win on the horses you might, in a fit of euphoria, ask your beloved to marry you. After which, of course, you'll need to organise the wedding and the honeymoon getaway. Beyond that unlikely...

All grown up? Has online advertising matured into just another channel to be bought, sold, measured and analysed in the same way as TV and radio, or is it media's juvenile delinquent?(NMA Advertising)
February 5, 2004... CARTER TANNER MD, 102.2 JazzFM You could argue that it's not so much a question of the industry maturing as it is about it being understood. 'Dotcom' may not be the buzzword of the day, and the stories about Internet failures are...

Savoygroup.com.(Case Study)
February 5, 2004... Client: The Savoy Group Agency: iPerceptions BACKGROUND: Like many traditional businesses that didn't feel particularly threatened by the dotcom boom, hotel and leisure chain The Savoy Group had an online presence by the turn of the...

Alex Nisbett, creative director of digital, Craik Jones Watson Mitchell Voelkel.(Ad Watch)
February 5, 2004... New Year resolutions crumbled already? Need a little lift? Then this might be of interest. At the Virgin Upgrade Your Life Web site (no ads, it's self-promoting) you'll find a baker's dozen of little gamelets to waste a few precious minutes of...

Branding campaigns: June 2002.
February 5, 2004... Last month saw increasing evidence that burgeoning video-in-banner technology was moving beyond the core adopter sectors of car manufacturers and film companies. This month saw yet more innovative use of video in online campaigns. Samsung's...