New Media Age articles from June 2006

New Media Age archives from June 2006

Social networking leaders plan to extend brands onto mobile.(Bebo, Faceparty and MySpace)
June 1, 2006... The leading social networks Bebo, Faceparty and MySpace are gearing up to launch on mobile, in a move that will see them become multi-platform brands for the first time. All three are working on individual mobile ventures, with Bebo and...

Record labels seek chart rule change.(music industry wants digital downloads to be counted as market sales)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... The UK record industry is lobbying to have standalone digital downloads incorporated into the Official UK Singles Chart, heralding an even greater shift towards music being sold and marketed online. The move comes as downloads overtake...

Google calls for clearer mobile data pricing.
June 1, 2006... Google has voiced concern that a lack of transparency around mobile data charges is holding back the market for search on handheld devices. The Internet giant believes that mobile search is being hampered by the way operators charge for...

Movie thriller first to adopt full-screen video for trails.(Lions Gate Films Inc. contracts with Eyeblaster for promoting its movie 'Hard Candy')(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... Controversial thriller Hard Candy has become the first to use Eyeblaster's Video Studio technology for online trailers promoting its cinema release. Launching later this week on MSN, the ads use Eyeblaster's upgraded video platform,...

Puma promotes World Cup site with pan-European campaign.(PUMA AG Rudolf Dassler Sport contracts with Zed Media )(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... Sportswear company Puma is using a pan-European online marketing campaign to drive traffic to its Puma Football site ahead of the World Cup. The site is part of Puma's effort to gain ground on Adidas, the official World Cup sportswear...

Krispy Kreme splits off UK site from US.(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... Doughnut manufacturer Krispy Kreme is overhauling its online strategy with the creation of a bespoke UK Web site that breaks away from its existing US offering. Following its recent expansion into the UK, the company is also launching a...

COI announces agencies listed on restructured digital roster.(Central Office of Information)
June 1, 2006... The Central Office of Information (COI) has revealed its long-awaited #9m digital agency roster, more than doubling the number of agencies on its books from 45 to over a hundred. The government department has also overhauled the way the...

Google trails rivals at pushing services.(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... Search giant Google lags behind its rivals when it comes to cross- promoting its services, according to a study by research company Hitwise. It shows that Yahoo! and MSN are better at using their network of sites to market their services....

MSN ups World Cup content to outdo official partner Yahoo!(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... MSN is stepping up its effort to become the leading unofficial World Cup Web portal by expanding the content available via its MSN Road to the World Cup portal. Added features include a penalty-shootout quiz and a social networking page...

BREAKING: First Direct launches podcast on security.(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... HSBC-owned First Direct will later this month become the first bank in the UK to launch a podcast. The first audio file download will be available from firstdirect.com and will tackle online security, with advice from First Direct's head of...

BREAKING: Ebookers adds TBG London to digital roster.(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... Online travel agent Ebookers has awarded full-service digital agency TBG London a place on its digital roster alongside search agency Guava and ad network 24/7 Real Media. TBG's first task will be to produce a campaign promoting the current...

BREAKING: Isobel offers finance to agency start-ups.(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... Ad agency Isobel is launching a fund to invest in digital and direct marketing companies as part of its ongoing expansion. The idea is to help finance interesting start-ups and find like-minded partners. "We have grown quickly since our...

BREAKING: Marvellous takes on Vodafone's Hurring.(Richard Hurring)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... Mobile marketing specialist Marvellous has appointed Richard Hurring as sales director. He is the former head of the mobile marketing division at Vodafone, the telecoms giant which announced pre-tax losses of #14.85bn this week. ...

IN BRIEF: Big Chip names Smoothe as Grand Prix winner.(Big Chip Awards)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... The Grand Prix in this year's Big Chip Awards was won by design company Smoothe for its DVD to promote property developer Urban Splash's Rotunda project. The awards, organised by Manchester Digital, recognise the best digital work in the...

IN BRIEF: Freeloader to develop subs service for Lego.(LEGO Systems Inc.)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... Game site Freeloader has signed a global deal with Lego to develop an online subscription service for the children's brand's back catalogue of PC Games. Freeloader will host and manage the online subscription service at legopcgames.com. It...

IN BRIEF: Samsung takes on MIG for Tussauds attraction.(Samsung Group, Mobile Interactive Group)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... Samsung has selected the Mobile Interactive Group (MIG) to create World At Your Feet, a new attraction at Madame Tussauds. The interactive attraction allows visitors to record their own commentaries to one of 11 classic England goals, which...

IN BRIEF: Livity prepares second series of 'Dubplate'.(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... Livity, the youth communications group, is putting together the second series of its drama Dubplate. The second series will be even more interactive than the first, which was broadcast on Channel 4 and MTV last year. Livity has teamed up...

Miva and 118118 extend scope of joint SMS TXT//AD service.(short messaging service, text messaging, advertising)
June 1, 2006... Directory service 118118 and paid search specialist Miva have restructured their TXT//AD service just three months after its initial launch. The move sees 50 new advertising groups - including plumbers, gyms and spas, and pubs - made...

RBS signs up to red-button sponsorship across Sky Sports.(Royal Bank of Scotland PLC, British Sky Broadcasting Group PLC. Sky Sports)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... Royal Bank of Scotland has become one of the first brands to sign a red- button sponsorship deal spanning iTV services across Sky's portfolio of six sports channels. The high street bank is extending its broadcast sponsorship of Sky's...

TeamTalk opens World Cup spin-off site.(TeamTalk Media launches football site Football365.com targeting England football fans )(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... TeamTalk Media is targeting England football fans with the launch of a dedicated World Cup spin-off from its football site Football365.com. Worldcup365.com provides a range of news and features focused on the England team's assault on...

3 And MSN in deal to put Messenger on mobile phones.(3G UK Ltd., MSN UK)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... 3 is set to roll out MSN Messenger on mobile later this month in the latest example of the two companies working together to make their services available across multiple platforms. Subscribers to 3 will be able to connect to MSN...

Bebo takes on MySpace with ad-friendly branded overlays.
June 1, 2006... Bebo is offering advertisers new ways of interacting with its 4.5m- strong youth audience, as it increases its drive to overtake MySpace as the UK's top social network. For the first time Bebo is allowing advertisers to create branded...

Thomas Cook signs World Cup travel deal with Tiscali.(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... Thomas Cook has signed up as the exclusive sponsor of a World Cup campaign site created by ISP Tiscali to offer tournament-related competitions and travel offers. The move is part of Thomas Cook's ongoing effort to raise brand awareness...

Third of young adults use their mobiles for email and Internet.(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... More than a third of 16-24-year-olds use their mobile phone, PDA or Blackberry to access the Internet and send emails, according to the latest research from the European Internet Advertising Association (EIAA). A further 39% of consumers...

Help The Aged overhauls site for rebrand.(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... Help The Aged has overhauled its Web site as part of a major rebranding campaign aimed at raising public awareness of the issues surrounding old age. Initially launched five years ago, the revamped Web site plans to better integrate its...

IN BRIEF: The Co-Op plans online relaunch and restructure.(Co-operative Group (CWS) Ltd.)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... The Co-operative Group is planning a complete relaunch of its online presence later in the year as part of an ongoing business-wide restructure. Prior to that a temporary site has gone live to give the group a fresh look. The full redesign is...

IN BRIEF: Reed Personal services creates World Cup viral.(contracts with Inbox Digital)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... Reed Personal Services has launched a new viral football game ahead of this summer's World Cup, in an effort to reach both new and existing job candidates. Players can win several prizes, such as England football shirts, via the game, which...

IN BRIEF: Tonic joins up with Athlon and Cipper Advertising.(and appoints Simon Underhill)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... Digital design agency Tonic has expanded its reach across Europe by announcing partnerships with Greek-based digital house Athlon and Cipper Advertising, which has connections throughout the Continent. The company also appointed Simon...

IN BRIEF: MEM Special.(Correction notice)
June 1, 2006... In last week's MEM special, the pull-quote on page 29 erroneously cited Oscar Jenkins as being from Flytxt. He is, as correctly stated in the text, CEO of mobile messaging solutions developer Dynmark. Copyright: Centaur Communications...

IN BRIEF: Search Marketing Report.
June 1, 2006... In the NMA Search Marketing Report with last week's issue, data for graphs 7, 8 and 9 on page 17 was supplied by Hitwise, not E-Consultancy as indicated. Copyright: Centaur Communications Ltd. and licensors

UKTV adds red-button services across entire range of channels.(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... UKTV is launching a new interactive TV service that will allow viewers to press red during programmes across its portfolio of ten entertainment, lifestyle and documentary channels. The move is part of a wider 360-degree commissioning...

AFP secures deal with Refresh Mobile for World Cup updates.(Agence France-Presse)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... News agency AFP has struck a deal with mobile magazine developer Refresh Mobile to allow football fans to keep up to date with the World Cup via their phones. AFP's deal with the mobile agency involves it supplying football- related...

Weetabix creates healthy-eating site for new campaign.(contracts with Meme Digital)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... Cereal brand Weetabix has launched a Web site for Weetabix Week, its nationwide through-the-line healthy-eating campaign. The site, developed by online agency Meme Digital, allows users to enter information about their eating habits and...

VW unveils Eos site to drive up pre-sales.(Volkswagen UK)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... Volkswagen is rolling out a branded site and heavyweight digital marketing campaign to raise awareness of its biggest car launch of 2006, the Eos. The motor manufacturer is hoping to drive pre-sales of the new five- seater cabriolet with a...

Tamba Internet launches viral division to meet rise in demand.(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... Birmingham-based digital agency Tamba Internet is looking to capitalise on the growth of viral marketing with the launch of a dedicated viral division. Ex-Fuse Digital Web designer Stuart Howarth has been hired to head the division...

Analyst Speak: Listening out for the online music revolution.
June 1, 2006... There's little doubt that in the last few months the music landscape has experienced a shift of seemingly seismic proportions owing to the effect of online. Following the well-publicised role of community Web sites in the Arctic Monkeys'...

IN BRIEF: Euronews adds multi- language site to i-mode.(Euronews Services de Presse S.A.R.L. contracts with O2 Ltd.)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... European news channel Euronews has launched a UK site on the i-mode service offered by O2. The site gives access to videos, photos and texts in six languages and is accessible via the News section on the i- mode portal. euronews.net ...

IN BRIEF: Bugbitten attracts users with iTagg postcard.(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... Travel site Bugbitten is using mobile agency iTagg's postcard service to increase traffic. The service allows people to upload pictures via their phone or digital camera and have them turned into physical postcards and mailed. ...

IN BRIEF: Ofcom licenses high-speed spectrum bands.(Office of Communications )(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... Ofcom has published proposals to open up the 71GHz-76GHz and 81GHz- 86GHz bands for licensed use. These spectrum bands aren't currently in commercial use. However, new technology, such as very high capacity point-to-point wireless networks...

IN BRIEF: Telegraph's 'Alex' strip available on mobile.(Daily Telegraph PLC contracts with Graphico New Media Ltd.)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... The Daily Telegraph has taken its popular 'Alex' cartoon onto mobile. A new WAP service developed by Graphico allows readers to download the daily cartoon, which is hosted on the Telegraph's Business pages. An archive of cartoons is also...

ABC Electronic set to audit RSS feeds in anticipation of growth.(Really Simple Syndication)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... RSS (Really Simple Syndication) is the latest online technology to come under the eye of ABC Electronic. The media auditor is now offering to measure requests for RSS feeds and the visits to sites generated by them for media owners,...

Eye-T enables on-demand TV downloading for small firms.(Eye-T Services launches new software MotionTrack)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... Software development company Eye-T Services is offering instant on- demand TV services to small companies via a new downloadable software package. MotionTrack has been designed to allow anyone with basic PC skills to manage and display...

Skoda credits sales rise to PDA-based data-capture tool.(Skoda Auto UK contracts with TAAP)(personal digital assistants)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... Car importer Skoda UK has been using a new form of PDA-based sales-lead technology that it claims is partly responsible for a 31.7% increase in sales of its Octavia model. It has been using mobile company TAAP's OnTaap DataCapture mobile...

Media and tech firms prepare for challenges of convergence.(Russell Reynolds Associates Inc. survey)(Survey)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... Nearly two-thirds of media and technology companies believe that convergence represents a major challenge to their business, according to research from Russell Reynolds Associates. A study of 125 senior executives in organisations across...

Older singles happy to pay to get a date.(YouGov research on online dating)(Survey)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... Almost 25% of Britons claim they'd pay to meet someone via the Internet, according to research by YouGov for online dating service Parsnip. A study of 2,000 people shows that the growth of the online dating market is being driven by...

NEWS ANLAYSIS: Social networks compete for ad spend.
June 1, 2006... Users' willingness to join social networks is apparent, and brands are hot on their heels. But is there any way to make money from these users without scaring them off? Last week Bebo received $15m (#8m) of funding from venture capital...

NEWS ANLAYSIS: Social networking services.(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... Social networks are online communities that allow Web users to create profiles of themselves and communicate with each other. MySpace, Bebo and Faceparty encourage users to upload photos, maintain blogs and interact in themed groups where...

COMMENT: Where will recruits to relieve staffing crisis come from?(Russell Reynolds Associates)(Editorial)(Survey)
June 1, 2006... According to the NMA Top 100 Interactive Agencies guide, between 2003 and 2004 the total turnover of the top 100 UK agencies increased by 18% and staff numbers went up by 27%. Between 2004 and 2005, total turnover rose by about 11% but staff...

TV sector can't avoid the need to give viewers what they want.
June 1, 2006... A recent NY Times article reported on a patent application for a new kind of TV set and digital video recorder, filed by a unit of Royal Philips Electronics at the United States Patent and Trademark Office. In a nutshell, the patent would...

LETTER: Advertisers must reach out via networking sites.(Letter to the editor)
June 1, 2006... I think your article on advertising on user content sites (NMA 11.05.06) cuts right to the key issue: does advertising on user content sites generate sufficient brand recognition or response? Is there an advertising opportunity? Users are...

LETTER: The death of DM.(Letter to the editor)
June 1, 2006... I was disappointed not to see more being made of the DMA's recent prediction that email volumes could overtake postal direct mail volumes in 2006. It's a significant but overdue milestone which confirms that 2006 is finally 'the year of...

LETTER: Viral marketing must be given room to grow.(Letter to the editor)
June 1, 2006... In response to Justin Kirby's overview of the state of viral marketing and marketing departments' short-sighted thought processes, I would say that his opinions are misplaced and distorted. Viral advertising is still in its infancy and...

The industry still has some way to go to meet usability targets.
June 1, 2006... It's easy to dismiss the principles of usability and accessibility consultancy as contrary to innovative and creative Web design. As this year's NMA Effectiveness Awards demonstrate, these principles are fundamental to any successful digital...

AD WATCH: Dulux colour characters find their match in Web campaign.(contracts with Global Beach Group)
June 1, 2006... Summer is finally upon us, the FIFA World Cup is just around the corner, evenings are lighter and the choice of things to do in our spare time is endless. So with all this extra time on our hands (but hopefully not penalties), what should we...

PROFILE - BORIS IVANOVIC: Broadband hot-rod.
June 1, 2006... By choosing to launch a broadband service in the crowded UK market, Boris Ivanovic of Be Un Limited knew that he had to have a compelling offer. Sean Hargrave reports Boris Ivanovic likes to go faster. The man who saw local-loop unbundling...

INTERNATIONAL SEARCH: Eastward ho!
June 1, 2006... The search giants of the West are finding it tough to crack the market beyond the English-speaking world. Clare Goff reports on their attempts to reach the orient An estimated 500m Internet users don't search in the English language. As...

INTERNATIONAL SEARCH: Naver harnesses social search in Korea.(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... Local knowledge in some Asian territories has enabled indigenous search engines to make inroads, even when up against the resources of Google. Korean Internet users have been taking to indigenous search engine Naver in their millions,...

BIMA: Creative ambitions.(British Interactive Media Association )
June 1, 2006... Growth in the interactive media industry has left BIMA without a clearly defined role. Greg Brooks talks to its newly appointed chairman about his plans for the future Last month the British Interactive Media Association (BIMA) announced a...

INTERACTIVE TV: Game season opens.
June 1, 2006... The US is starting to follow the UK in moving gameshow audience participation from the phone to email, text and red button, report Daisy Whitney and James Hibberd Suddenly TV is all about taking part. Weeks after the unveiling of ITV...

INTERACTIVE TV: PlayMania: bringing interactive gameshows to the US.(GSN Corp.)
June 1, 2006... "You're just in time - we're about to go live," says executive producer John Roberts as he rushes from room to room at GSN's Culver City, California, production facility. He's giving a whirlwind backstage tour of GSN's first live series,...

OPINION: Can ITV stage an effective red-button challenge to Sky?(ITV PLC joint venture with eMuse Technologies Ltd.)
June 1, 2006... Great news: the interactive broadcast market is finally beginning to open up with the arrival of ITV's joint venture with Emuse. Competition in this sector has been scarce since Sky first offered red-button interactive services in 2000....

Carling beats official sponsors at World Cup tie-in campaigns.(Carlsberg UK Ltd.)
June 1, 2006... The cross of St George flying from car windows, The Sun headlining a prayer for yet another striker's foot, and a bandwagon of advertisers desperately trying to associate themselves with the wonderful game. Yes, it's World Cup time. ...

INTERACTIVE DATA: ITV data.(dedicated advertiser location)
June 1, 2006... April saw a new record level of DAL campaigns running on Sky channels as car and drinks brands led the red-button charge, reports Gareth Jones April was a record month for iTV advertising, with a total of 30 red- button campaigns running...

Moves: Ad 2-one.(Jo Pike promoted)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... Online advertising sales agency Ad 2-one has promoted former senior sales executive Jo Pike to assistant sales manager. She joined from Primelocation.com 18 months ago. Copyright: Centaur Communications Ltd. and licensors

Moves: Red Bee Media.(Andrew Moss appointed)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... Distributor and promoter of multimedia content Red Bee Media has appointed a new head of content and rights. Andrew Moss will take up the newly created position immediately. Copyright: Centaur Communications Ltd. and licensors

Moves: Migration Marketing.(John Dandy appointed)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... John Dandy has joined the Migration Marketing sales team with responsibility for all major Northern digital agencies. He has previously worked at IMD Group, Media Initiatives Group and Mirror Group Newspapers. Copyright: Centaur...

Moves: Opodo.(Petra Friedmann appointed and Sally Balcombe promoted)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... Opodo has announced that the existing country manager for France, Petra Friedmann, has been appointed director of sales and marketing. The newly created position will see Friedmann report to recently promoted commercial and product director...

Moves: DGM.(Emma Boyce and Prakash Patel appointed)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... Two new hires have been announced at online marketing group DGM. Emma Boyce will become head of AdNetwork, joining from Newsquest Media Sales. Meanwhile, Prakash Patel will become head of traffic management, joining from the Guardian Unlimited...

Moves: Netsize Group.(Patrick Lelleu appointed)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... Netsize Group has announced that the former chairman and CEO of French cable network operator Noos, Patrick Lelleu, has joined the board. He will also become Netsize's chief operating officer. Copyright: Centaur Communications Ltd. and...

Moves: ClarityBlue.(Steve Davies)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... Customer intelligence specialist ClarityBlue has appointed Steve Davies as managing partner for its information, communications and entertainment practice. Prior to this he was a partner in KPMG Consulting's ICE sector practice. ...

Moves: Fluid Creativity.(Kay Dinsdale appointed)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... Multimedia and design agency Fluid Creativity has expanded its search engine optimisation (SEO) capabilities with the appointment of specialist Kay Dinsdale. She will become SEO consultant. Copyright: Centaur Communications Ltd. and...

Moves: Golley Slater.(Sarah Marshall promoted)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... Marketing service company Golley Slater has announced that Sarah Marshall will step into the role of senior account executive. She has previously spent time at Proximity and Creative Partnership. Copyright: Centaur Communications Ltd. and...

Moves: Code.(James Barley, Katrina Gallagher and Vivienne Slack appointed)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... Manchester-based agency Code has announced several new appointments. James Barley joins as account manager from the new media division at With, Katrina Gallagher joins as account executive from Citi Group, and Vivienne Slack joins as Web...

Site inspection: Sporting Life World Cup.(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... Owner: Teamtalk Media Agency: in-house Content 23/25 Usability 15/25 Branding 22/25 Monetisation 23/25 Total 83/100 The advertising on Sporting Life's World Cup...

Site inspection: Sky Sports World Cup.(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... Owner: Sky Agency: in-house Content 20/25 Usability 18/25 Branding 22/25 Monetisation 20/25 Total 80/100 With the BBC and ITV duopolising the broadcast of this...

Site inspection: Yahoo! World Cup.(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... Owner: Yahoo! Agency: in-house Content 10/25 Usability 15/25 Branding 14/25 Monetisation 18/25 Total 57/100 The news section on Yahoo!'s World Cup site aggregates stories from a...

Site inspection: easyipod.co.uk.(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... Selection The full range of iPod music players and accessories. These include anything from an iPod clock radio to iDrops iPod scratch remover liquid. Technical problems: None. Navigation Navigation is by iPod model or item...

Coca-Cola uses video blogging to reach young World Cup fans.
June 8, 2006... Coca-Cola is aiming to tap into youth culture with a branded video blogging network featuring daily reports from the World Cup in Germany. The initiative is a major departure for the FMCG giant, which has previously relied on TV advertising...

Agencies slam pro-rata ad charges.(Interactive Advertising Bureau UK Ltd.)(advertising agencies)
June 8, 2006... Digital agencies are slamming some of the UK's most powerful media owners, including Channel 4, Emap and The Guardian, for imposing pro- rata charges for late delivery of ad copy. Agencies have called the Internet Advertising...

Internet users tune in to ad-funded content.(Channel Four Television Company Ltd plans plans to launch a video-on-demand service )(Brief article)
June 8, 2006... Reality TV gameshow Big Brother 7 has proved that there's a market for advertiser-supported video content on the Web, according to figures released by Channel 4. The broadcaster claims that more than 5m free Big Brother video clips have...

Fiat promotes new Sedici model via spoof viral ad.(Fiat Auto UK Ltd contracts with Arc Worldwide )(Brief article)
June 8, 2006... Car manufacturer Fiat is launching a heavyweight online marketing campaign based around a spoof of 'crocodile hunter' Steve Irwin to promote its new 4x4 model. The digital drive is just one of a series of campaigns that have seen Fiat...

COI faces criticism from IAB and industry over agency list.(Central Office of Information)(Interactive Advertising Bureau UK Ltd.)(Brief article)
June 8, 2006... The COI has come under fire from digital agencies and the Internet Advertising Bureau (IAB), which claim its new digital roster, set up last week, could be too broad. The government department appointed more than 100 agencies to the...

Lycos repositions via new sports channel.(Brief article)
June 8, 2006... Lycos is launching a new sports channel around the World Cup as part of a strategic move to reposition itself as a leading entertainment destination for Internet users. The portal is aiming to create an online community where users can...

Transport for London selects agencies for new digital roster.
June 8, 2006... Transport for London (TfL) has selected eight interactive agencies for its new multi-million-pound digital media roster, to work across all interactive projects including Oyster payment services. The roster is split into three categories,...