New Media Age articles from March 2009

New Media Age archives from March 2009

Industry unites to defend trust in online advertising.
March 5, 2009... Major players work with IAB to devise guidelines for using behavioural targeting and to allay fears The Internet Advertising Bureau (IAB) has joined forces with key industry players such as Google, AOL and Microsoft to issue good-...

Pact is well placed to serve the digital content industry.
March 5, 2009... 'Content is king', the mantra that supported the early days of the online industry, may have been become a hackneyed phrase but mining the rich seam of digital content running throughout the industry could be key to the success of digital...

BREAKING NEWS: Online payment firms join forces with CEOP.(Child Exploitation and Online Protection )(Brief article)
March 5, 2009... A number of payment companies have joined forces to track and disrupt the commercial element behind child sex abuse images online. Online companies such as PayPal have joined with credit card companies MasterCard and Visa and the Child...

BREAKING NEWS: Egmont launches site for bestselling title.(Egmont Books)(Brief article)
March 5, 2009... Children's publisher Egmont UK has launched a site for its bestselling title Mr Gum to coincide with World Book Day (Thursday). The site will host content for children and parents around the award-winning series of books, as well as push its...

BBC expands social media strategy via personalisation.(British Broadcasting Corp.)(Brief article)
March 5, 2009... Corporation creates head of social media role to drive its strategic engagement plans across all BBC online channels The BBC is to boost its social media strategy as it moves to give audiences more opportunities to discover, share and...

Google snubs IAB/PWC mobile ad spend study by not submitting data.(Internet Advertising Bureau)(PricewaterhouseCoopers)(Mobile Advertising)(Brief article)
March 5, 2009... Industry disappointed by search giant's refusal to contribute to study to create a realistic marketplace for mobile advertising Google has refused to submit its revenue figures for the debut mobile ad spend study from the Internet...

Spotify expands ad targeting as user numbers top 1m.
March 5, 2009... Media agencies begin to embrace audio advertising on music-streaming service as user numbers rocket following full launch Ad-funded music streaming service Spotify is to launch local and mood targeted advertising opportunities as it tops...

TV trade body Pact launches tools to assist digital content producers.
March 5, 2009... TV production trade body Pact has begun talks with online content distributors such as MySpace and MSN as it continues its drive to embrace the digital media industry. Pact today (Thursday) launched a range of services aimed at any company...

Close to half of all web traffic comes through search engines.
March 5, 2009... Almost half of all traffic to websites is driven by search engines, according to research by Hitwise UK. It found search traffic rose from 37.1% of total traffic in January 2008 to 40.5% in January 2009. According to search experts,...

As media evolve, so do the ways of using them.
March 5, 2009... You may have seen Hugh's Gaping Void cartoon, 'If you talked to people the way advertising talked to people, they'd punch you in the face.' This wonderfully captures the feeling of dismay those in digital have felt when they saw their...

Skittles receives mixed response for social media move.
March 5, 2009... As Skittles opens up its website to the full rigours of social media, the industry questions its effectiveness and motives Skittles social media play Interweb The Rainbow has been met with a mixed response as industry specialists question...

BBC Trust begins consultation on Project Canvas j-v IPTV proposal.(joint-venture internet protocol television)(British Broadcasting Corp.)(Brief article)
March 5, 2009... The BBC Trust has launched its public consultation on Project Canvas, the joint-venture IPTV proposal between the BBC, ITV and BT, with a decision expected by 24 July. The project, which aims to create an open-standard platform to give...

Volvo uses QR codes in major campaign for C70 model.(Brief article)
March 5, 2009... Volvo is using mobile QR codes for the first time as part of a major pan-European campaign for its C70 model. The Ice White campaign is part of a focus on lead-generation by the brand during the economic recession. QR codes let users...

UKTV to show online comedy series on Dave after success on YouTube.(UKTV Interactive Ltd.)(Brief article)
March 5, 2009... UKTV is to screen the popular online comedy series Toyboize on TV and web via entertainment channel Dave. The series, created by Talkback Thames and Navelgazing, premiered online last May. It follows the reunion of a former child pop group...

Lego teams with Babycentre site to push Duplo.(Brief article)
March 5, 2009... Lego has created an online playroom to increase perception of its preschool brand Duplo as a development and learning toy for children. The company is creating a campaign site on Johnson's Baby-owned parenting portal Babycentre to help...

Understanding the needs of your online travel audience.(Brief article)
March 5, 2009... One of the greatest sales messages the internet has created for the travel industry is that it has made travel cheaper. Nearly two-thirds (63%) of 20-74-years-olds surveyed by Continental Research in December 2008 agreed prices had come down as...

CondeNet revamps GQ.com following success of Vogue.(Conde Nast Publications Inc.)(GQ.com )(Brief article)
March 5, 2009... CondeNet has relaunched men's site GQ.com with a series of advertisers, including Adidas, HP and Hyundai, as it looks to emulate the success of its fashion site overhauls. GQ.com is the latest relaunch from the publisher, following...

Xbox to grow VoD content via key TV shows.(video-on-demand )(television shows)(Brief article)
March 5, 2009... Xbox is looking to bring key TV content onto its UK platform as part of plans to position itself as the entertainment hub in the home. Xbox UK head Neil Thompson told new media age the console giant is looking at how it can increase its...

The Economist drops mobile subs charges.(Brief article)
March 5, 2009... Weekly news magazine The Economist has dropped subscription fees from its revamped mobile service to bring it in line with its rivals. The international title is keen to grow its mobile traffic by dropping the premium charges to access...

Guardian extends lead as most read newspaper site.(Brief article)
March 5, 2009... The Guardian has further increased its lead as the most visited newspaper website in the UK, attracting just under 30m users, according to the latest ABCE results. In a month in which all newspaper sites increased their unique users,...

FSA appoints LBi to promote healthy eating.(Food Standards Agency )(Brief article)
March 5, 2009... The Food Standards Agency (FSA) is to ramp up its online initiatives in response to increased consumer interest in healthy eating. It has appointed digital agency LBi to work across the FSA's two sites, good.gov.uk and consumer-facing...

ITN On seeks sponsor for The Real Body Show.(Independent Television Network Inc.)(Brief article)
March 5, 2009... Digital production company ITN On is seeking sponsors for its new health and fitness online video series. It has produced a six-minute pilot version of The Real Body Show and has appointed marketing agency The Big Shot to find a partner....

LETTER: Research betrays ignorance of ad basics.(Letter to the editor)
March 5, 2009... David Brennan, research and strategy director, Thinkbox I'm running out of salt to pinch. Two recent pieces of research from Deloitte and the IAB offer as much confusion as insight ('Advertising around online video fails to influence...

LETTER: Find the best time of day for your campaign.(Letter to the editor)
March 5, 2009... Roger Williams, director of international marketing, Right Media I thought immediately of the saying 'not all impressions are created equal' when scanning the story about advertisers failing to use the time of the day as a relevant...

LETTER: Rich-media results may rescue Yahoo search.(Letter to the editor)
March 5, 2009... Nigel Muir, MD, DBD Media Yahoo's plans to introduce images and videos within paid search results (nma 19 February) will provide searchers with a richer experience, adding much-needed value to what has become a second-tier search...

Comment from nma.co.uk.(Brief article)
March 5, 2009... Re: Cover story: Twitter's rapid growth raises regulation issues Totally agree there are some unique privacy issues around Twitter. It seems celebrities in particular have forgotten how a portfolio of followers could quickly turn into a...

Digital agencies wake up to the power of sound in web advertising.
March 5, 2009... According to Greek mythology, Sisyphus was punished by the gods and condemned to push a rock up a hill only to watch it roll down again and having to repeat the same action. Until recently, working in sound design has felt like this. We've...

AD WATCH: Skins shows good ideas just need to be well done.
March 5, 2009... Right out of the gate, Skins is my favourite of this month's campaigns because it scores high on all things good digital work should be: it's a great idea that's well executed with some degree of innovation and engagement. The concept...

PROFILE NEIL THOMPSON: At the controls.
March 5, 2009... With Microsoft pushing heavily into the video-on-demand space, Xbox is at the spearhead of that push. UK head Neil Thompson discusses its goals for entertainment content Xbox's ambition has always been to be more than simply a gaming...

THEATRES: Show time.
March 5, 2009... Theatres are coming round to the idea that online can be effective for more than just ticket sales and are working to engage their audiences Once seen as no more than an alternative way to sell tickets, online is now being integrated...

THEATRES: Online video takes live theatre to new audiences.(Brief article)
March 5, 2009... There's a demand for theatre-related content online, not only from show fans but from those keen to experience more before committing to attending. "We're seeing real engagement with the site from fans around the world," says Really Useful...

AFFILIATE MARKETING: Forward.(Brief article)
March 5, 2009... Ask the affiliate industry what they're most concerned about in 2009 and you'll hear a range of views. As our round-up of opinion on page 32 reveals, some believe the prospects for performance marketing should be good - after all, merchants...

AFFILIATE MARKETING: A ray of light in dark times.
March 5, 2009... If you're one of those marketers still uncertain which half of your budget is being wasted, then this nma Special is for you. With budgets being squeezed and consumer and business spend falling, there has never been a better time to invest...

AFFILIATE MARKETING: Keep the change.(Survey)
March 5, 2009... Cashback sites are heading for the mainstream thanks to buy-in from major brands. But will they work for everyone? Until last year it would have been fair to say the cashback channel - which sees consumers rewarded financially when...

AFFILIATE MARKETING: CASE STUDY - Microsoft Live Search Cashback.(Brief article)
March 5, 2009... Arguably the most high-profile entrant to the cashback market so far has been Microsoft with Live Search Cashback. Launched in the US last May, it was another attempt by the company to usurp Google's dominance of the search market, born from...

AFFILIATE MARKETING: Upward trends.(Survey)
March 5, 2009... A survey of 105 affiliate marketers by Affiliate Future reveals positive attitudes to affiliates and the leads they generate What are the prospects for performance marketing as the UK economy enters recession? Judging by a survey of...

AFFILIATE MARKETING: Inside outlook.
March 5, 2009... What are the prospects for affiliate marketing in 2009? Agencies, affiliates, merchants and networks reveal their hopes and fears for the year ahead What will the tough economic climate mean for how merchants budget for affiliate...

MOVES: Microsoft.(appointment of Jo Wickremasinghe at Microsoft corp.,)(Brief article)
March 5, 2009... Microsoft has appointed Jo Wickremasinghe as international head of product management for consumer local and mapping. She was formerly business manager for Microsoft's Online Services and Windows Business Group. Wickremasinghe has more than...

MOVES: Tequila.(appointment of Nathalie Gaveau as interactive business director at Tequila Hong Kong)(Brief article)
March 5, 2009... Integrated agency Tequila has appointed Nathalie Gaveau as interactive business director. She joins from Tequila Hong Kong where she founded the digital business of TBWA\Tequila Hong Kong. Copyright: Centaur Communications Ltd. and...

MOVES: Bigmouthmedia.(appointment of Richard Tan as chief financial officer)(Brief article)
March 5, 2009... Bigmouthmedia has appointed Richard Tan as the search agency's chief financial officer. He was formerly senior VP of finance and operations at MTV Networks UK & Ireland. Copyright: Centaur Communications Ltd. and licensors

MOVES: WhiteLabelDating.(appointment of Rick Jones at WhiteLabelDating)(Brief article)
March 5, 2009... Online dating service provider WhiteLabelDating has appointed Rick Jones as MD and board member. He joins from Greenbee, John Lewis's services arm, where he was head of marketing. Copyright: Centaur Communications Ltd. and licensors

MOVES: BLM Red.(appointment of Dan Chapman)(Brief article)
March 5, 2009... Premium and luxury media agency BLM Red, a division of Arena BLM, has hired Dan Chapman as head of digital. He joins from Wallpaper where he was digital commercial development manager, responsible for brands including Burberry, Mercedes and...

MOVES: Iris.(appointment of Paul Gage and Duncan Owen as heads of planning)(Brief article)
March 5, 2009... Integrated marketing agency Iris has appointed Paul Gage and Duncan Owen as heads of planning. Gage joins from Proximity London and Owen from TBWA. Copyright: Centaur Communications Ltd. and licensors

MOVES: Kitcatt Nohr Alexander Shaw.(appointment of Julia Conroy as a head of marketing)(Brief article)
March 5, 2009... Integrated agency Kitcatt Nohr Alexander Shaw has promoted Julia Conroy to the newly created role of head of marketing. She was previously marketing manager. Copyright: Centaur Communications Ltd. and licensors

MOVES: Pancentric Digital.(appointment of James Bruce as creative director)(Brief article)
March 5, 2009... Full service interactive agency Pancentric Digital has appointed James Bruce as creative director. He was previously at the BBC where he was creative director of all online content for CBBC and CBeebies. Copyright: Centaur Communications...

SITE INSPECTION: RSPB Shop.(Website overview)(Brief article)
March 5, 2009... shopping.rspb.org.uk Owner RSPB Agency Screen Pages Content 17/25 Usability 24/25 Branding 20/25 Monetisation 15/25 Total 76/100 A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush,...

SITE INSPECTION: National Portrait Gallery.(Website overview)(Brief article)
March 5, 2009... npg.org.uk Owner National Portrait Gallery Agency Cogapp Content 21/25 Usability 19/25 Branding 15/25 Monetisation 18/25 Total 73/100 The National Portrait Gallery's...

SITE INSPECTION: Circle Anglia.(Website overview)(Brief article)
March 5, 2009... myhometruths.com Owner Circle Anglia Agency New Media Maze Content 12/25 Usability 23/25 Branding 20/25 Monetisation 14/25 Total 69/100 One reason why Big Brother holds such...

FULFILMENT: thorntons.co.uk.(Brief article)
March 5, 2009... Selection Lots of chocolates, along with a selection of hampers, flowers, cards and wedding services. Navigation It's tricky to hunt for individual products within each category, not helped by a confusing navigation bar. The...

Ad-funded music model under strain.
March 12, 2009... The collapse of the YouTube/PRS deal highlights uncertain future of ad funding for online music The digital industry is warning music companies not to pin their hopes on advertising revenues to plug the shortfall from declining physical...

A common currency for digital is a necessary start.
March 12, 2009... As some of the UK's largest advertisers gathered last week to listen to a vision of the future of media and marketing at the ISBA conference, ITV executive chairman Michael Grade was announcing the broadcaster's worst ever results. As the...

BREAKING NEWS: Talk to Frank creates branded room on Habbo.(Brief article)
March 12, 2009... Talk to Frank, the Government's drug advice service, has launched a campaign on teen social media site Habbo to build awareness of the side- effects of cannabis. Talk to Frank has created a branded room designed to be a virtual manifestation...

BREAKING NEWS: Kiss launches streaming app on the iPhone.(Brief article)
March 12, 2009... Kiss, the Bauer-owned radio network, is launching a mobile streaming app on the iPhone and iPod Touch. The Kiss Kube 'listen live, listen again' media player allows people to listen live as well as providing a catch-up service. ...

Spotify drives ad revenues through major brand deals.(Brief article)
March 12, 2009... The newly launched music streaming service develops new ad models with top-name brands to increase its online footprint Spotify has signed pan-European commercial partnership deals with Nike, Ray-Ban and H&M, and a content deal with...

Sky 2 creates online community with first web-only video series.(Brief article)
March 12, 2009... Sci-fi fans can tune into the web-exclusive documentary series Abduct Me and contribute their own content to be shown online Sky 2 has launched its first online-only documentary series in a bid to engage with science fiction fans and...

Lack of currency is unacceptable, says ISBA president.(Incorporated Society of British Advertisers)
March 12, 2009... The newly appointed president of ISBA joins the debate around the need for an online advertising measurement standard The new president of ISBA - the advertising trade body whose members spend over #10bn a year - is the latest to wade...

Brand identities at risk as fakers take their place on Twitter.
March 12, 2009... Twitter profiles for brands such as Adidas, Coca-Cola, Sainsbury's and South West Trains have proven to be fakes, which experts say could be damaging to the brands. Micro-blogging site Twitter has come under the media spotlight for...

Experts warn Woolworths and Zavvi will struggle to revive reputations.(Zavvi acquired with The Hut Group )
March 12, 2009... Zavvi has launched major search and affiliate activity to rebuild its brand following its acquisition by The Hut Group last week. The entertainment retailer, which is now exclusively online, is working with media agency Mediavest...

When is the BBC iPlayer not the BBC iPlayer?(British Broadcasting Corp.)
March 12, 2009... There is a rule in life that if something walks like a duck and sounds like a duck it must be a duck. It's a good rule, but I've been struggling with a slight variation on it. What if someone really big and important repeatedly tells you...

BBC launches beta of personalised mobile service.(British Broadcasting Corp.)(Brief article)
March 12, 2009... The BBC's move to create a user-customisable mobile service follows a wider strategy which already runs across BBC.co.uk The BBC is to relaunch its mobile site with a raft of personalisation features in a bid to engage its audience...

Npower uses interactive videos to urge saving energy.(Brief article)
March 12, 2009... Energy supplier Npower has kicked off an online campaign promoting its microgeneration scheme, which encourages customers to be more green, cut energy bills and reduce carbon emissions. The company has launched a series of interactive...

Recession will force digital industry to be more creative.(Interview)
March 12, 2009... The digital advertising community will be forced to be more creative if it's to maintain its effectiveness throughout the recession, according to Lars Bastholm, Cyber Lions jury president for this year's Cannes Advertising Festival ...

Oxfam creates head of digital role to drive worldwide web strategy.(Oxfam International)(Brief article)
March 12, 2009... Oxfam has created a head of digital communications role as the charity looks to boost its global web strategy. The role is to develop Oxfam's digital work on a worldwide level in respect to how it relates to the organisation's...

Tesco signs up Unilever to trial of mobile-based Clubcard scheme.(Tesco Mobile contract)(Brief article)
March 12, 2009... Tesco Mobile has signed Unilever as the first brand to take part in a trial to integrate its Clubcard scheme with mobile services. The trial will see Tesco's 7m Clubcard members offered up to 200 points by registering for products on the...

Weekend leaves people free to use the web without work restrictions.(Survey)
March 12, 2009... David Ray CEO Europe, Lightspeed Research We recently published results from a survey of more than 5,000 UK panellists, carried out with the IAB UK, to understand how the web is used, which sites are visited, by whom and when. The objective...

Conde Nast Digital in ad deal to target international site readership.(Brief article)
March 12, 2009... Conde Nast Digital has struck a global ad deal to capitalise on its growing international online audience. The publisher, which owns titles including Wired and GQ, has appointed global ad sales house AdGent 007 to sell its international...

Dell sponsors online video channel on Vice.(Brief article)
March 12, 2009... Dell is sponsoring of a new channel on VBS.tv, the online video service on youth lifestyle site Vice. It will sponsor the site's video player and run pre-roll ad spots and display banner ads around the channel, which features a sponsored...

ITV cuts services to focus on core areas.(Brief article)
March 12, 2009... ITV is to focus on its core TV and ITV.com operations as it seeks to reduce costs following a 41% fall in profits to #167m. The broadcaster last week announced cost-cutting measures, including plans to cut 600 jobs and the sale of social...

AOP chair to push member contributions.(Association of Online Publishers)(Brief article)
March 12, 2009... Tim Faircliff, the new co-chair of the Association of Online Publishers (AOP), aims to launch an outreach programme in a bid to get more members to contribute to the body. Faircliff, who is general manager of consumer media at Thomson...

LETTER: Keeping Twitter safe for kids helps us all.(Letter to the editor)
March 12, 2009... Ian Mcarthur, creative director and head of brand marketing, NSPCC Here's a micro-slice of Twitter at work. I was searching Twitter for interesting conversations about Twitter and I stumbled across tweets about the piece in new media age...

LETTER: Brands' way into social media is to go it alone.(Letter to the editor)
March 12, 2009... Steve Richards, MD, Yomego Your interviews with the heads of digital media agencies about the scope for social media to become the ad medium of choice was enlightening (Social Media Special, nma 26 February). Rather than looking at...

LETTER: Benefits of targeting emails at loyal customers.(Letter to the editor)
March 12, 2009... Simone Barratt, MD EMEA, e-Dialog I read your feature on the DMA's Email Benchmarking Report with interest, particularly the figures that revealed as of Q2 2008 the number of acquisition emails had fallen for the third quarter in a row as...

Comment from nma.co.uk.(Website overview)(Brief article)
March 12, 2009... Re: Google and Universal Music plan YouTube music channel The real dilemma now seems to be between conventional content - music videos and VOD - and newer elements, such as re-editing TV and film content, putting it to music and editing...

OPINION: Paid search agencies need to give power back to the clients.
March 12, 2009... As service providers in the search industry, we like to think we reflect the attributes of our medium. Performance, accountability and transparency are words most of us use to describe how we work with clients. But what transparency actually...

PROFILE ANDREAS WIELE: Into the fold.
March 12, 2009... President of Bild group and magazines at German media giant Axel Springer, Dr Andreas Wiele has a very clear idea about digital and how it needs to be embraced by the publishing industry If you were one of Europe's biggest media companies,...

CANNES PREVIEW: Expert witness.(dialogue with Lars Bastholm )(Interview)
March 12, 2009... Having previously won the Cyber Lions Grand Prix three times, Lars Bastholm was an obvious choice to be this year's jury president. He explains what he'll be looking for at the awards in June Lars Bastholm, co-chief creative officer for...

NMA WEBINAR EXTRA: Optimum advice.(Discussion)
March 12, 2009... The experts from nma's webinar on optimising your marketing budget answer more listeners' questions As online marketers face shrinking budgets and increased scrutiny, they require transparency, accountability and waterproof return on...

MOBILE: Surplus store.
March 12, 2009... Since Apple's App Store was launched last July, more than 500m applications have been downloaded and it's expected to generate over #556m in its first year. Apple has jumpstarted the market and a host of other companies are trying to get a...

MOBILE: Rush for app stores raises some old questions.
March 12, 2009... Apple won't be the world's biggest handset vendor anytime soon, but its influence stretches far beyond its reach. First, it caused mobile handset vendors to fall over themselves in the rush to develop touchscreens. Now the iPhone App Store...

MOBILE: LoveFilm mobile site promising but online original is better.
March 12, 2009... LoveFilm Mobile Lovefilm.com Agency in-house Online video rental service LoveFilm launched a mobile site for film lovers earlier this month. Access I initially browsed the LoveFilm website but couldn't find any mention of...

MOBILE: App watch.(Brief article)
March 12, 2009... Jonathan Mew Head of mobile, IAB Developer Sapient Availability Apple App Store One of my favourite recent iPhone apps is Spin the Coke. It's beautifully straightforward: pick a background, pick a bottle (classic or modern) and...

MOBILE: I can see you.
March 12, 2009... Google has opened a new box of tricks for brands looking to boost their presence via location-based services with the launch of its friend- tracking service Latitude Location-based services (LBS) are firmly back on the map following...

MOVES: Mobile Interactive Group.(appointment of James Booth as senior advisor )(Brief article)
March 12, 2009... Multimedia mobile interactive service provider Mobile Interactive Group (MIG) has appointed James Booth as senior advisor on the group's digital media and mobile ad strategy. He was previously CEO and co- founder of Tangozebra and still holds...

MOVES: eCircle.(appointment of Simon Bowker )(Brief article)
March 12, 2009... Email marketing services company eCircle has promoted Simon Bowker to UK MD. He was previously director of operations for the UK & France at eCircle. Copyright: Centaur Communications Ltd. and licensors