New Media Age articles from May 2004

New Media Age archives from May 2004

Unified ITV uses debut rate card to push i-ads.(Brief Article)
May 6, 2004... ITV is aiming to encourage growth in the interactive TV ad market by sending out a rate card dedicated to the emerging medium to 1,000 clients, planner/buyers and agencies this week. The division is also planning to pilot a service offering...

Operators plan opt-out over adult content.
May 6, 2004... Orange and O2 are planning to adopt an opt-out policy for adult content for their entire contract subscriber base. The moves would be a significant boost to the mobile content industry, which is concerned that forcing users to opt-in to...

Industry plans for mass take up of ringback tones.(Brief Article)
May 6, 2004... Ringback tones are set to reach mass market this year, with Vodafone, O2 and Orange all having issued requests for proposals (RFPs) for suppliers. Industry observers believe ringback tones, which are seen by many as a possible new cash-cow...

Nation217 first to sell CDs on iTV as MTV drops plans.(Brief Article)
May 6, 2004... Nation217, the Sky Digital TV channel set up by former Channel 4 director of strategy David Brook and Play Jam founder Jasper Smith, has become the first to sell CDs through interactive TV after launching a new music show fronted by DJ Mary...

Sun Online picks partners to help it reach profitability.(Brief Article)
May 6, 2004... The Sun Online has struck up commercial partnerships with Paddy Power and Exchange & Mart as the red-top's Web operation seeks to take itself into the black. The deals are the latest to emerge from Sun Online's business development unit,...

MSN launches safe-surfing site.(Brief Article)
May 6, 2004... MSN has launched a safe surfing Web site for teenagers which uses interactive modules to raise awareness about Internet dangers. This follows the company's decision to shut down its chatrooms last year (NMA 25 September 2003). The...

BBC looks to interactivity in defence of digital channels.(Brief Article)
May 6, 2004... The BBC is putting online and interactivity at the heart of its defence of its new digital TV channels. These, together with its digital radio stations, have been the latest strand of the corporation's activities to come under Government...

Dabs appoints iTV commercial head.(Andrew Milligan)(Brief Article)
May 6, 2004... Electrical retailer Dabs.com has taken the next step towards launching an iTV channel by taking on Andrew Milligan, former head of business development at iTV technology firm DITG. Milligan this week joined as commercial director of the new...

Napster takes on iTunes with Dixons partnership.(Brief Article)
May 6, 2004... Napster is trying to beat Apple iTunes to a UK launch via an early partnership with UK's leading electronics retailer group Dixons. The former renegade download service revealed that it had $6.1m (3.4m [pounds sterling]) in sales in the...

Sport Relief signs technical partners.
May 6, 2004... Sport Relief, the Comic Relief and BBC Sport charity initiative, has joined forces with Multimap, Straker Interactive and Empirix to enhance user experience of sportrelief.com. Multimap will handle mapping technology and content management...

Yahoo! launches online custom radio station.(Breaking)(Brief Article)
May 6, 2004... Portal Yahoo! has launched an online music service that allows users to customise an online radio station based on the ratings of their favourite artists, albums and songs. The Launchcast service covers a variety of music genres programmed...

Finex and Glue join BSkyB agency roster.(Breaking)(Brief Article)
May 6, 2004... BSkyB has added Finex and Glue to its agency roster. Finex is to develop online marketing activities to get more people to sign up to Sky digital through Sky.com. The online campaign, due to start in the summer, will promote Sky Sports and...

DatingDirect to supply white label dating site to My Village.(Breaking)(Brief Article)
May 6, 2004... Online dating portal DatingDirect has signed a deal with community Web site network My Village to supply a white label dating service. DatingDirect will supply its dating model to My Village's network of Web sites, which consists of 80 London...

ANT completes funding round.(Brief Article)
May 6, 2004... ANT, a Cambridge-based software business that specialises in browsers for set-top boxes and other consumer electronic devices, has completed a 3.4m [pounds sterling] round of fundraising. Inflexion, one of the company's previous venture capital...

Arena and BSkyB buy At The Races stake from Channel 4.(Brief Article)
May 6, 2004... Troubled iTV horse racing venture At The Races should relaunch its coverage of UK meetings next month after two key new agreements were signed. Arena Leisure and BSkyB have bought out the one third stake held by Channel 4 for 1.25m [pounds...

Nationwide signs online deal with Premium TV.(Nationwide Building Society)(Brief Article)
May 6, 2004... Nationwide Building Society has signed an online marketing deal with broadband football network Premium TV. The deal will keep Nationwide's association with football, despite it no longer being the title sponsor of the Football League from the...

BT partners GWR to develop multimedia broadcast platform.(Brief Article)
May 6, 2004... BT has partnered with the UK commercial radio group GWR to develop a digital multimedia broadcast platform, which will be used to deliver real-time content to mobile and handheld devices. GWR will provide BT with spectrum available for the...

'Hollyoaks' to pull viewers into storylines using SMS.(Conker Digital)(Brief Article)
May 6, 2004... Hollyoaks fans will gain a new insight into the lives of their favourite teen soap stars with the introduction of a mobile service that allows them to receive text messages exchanged by characters during the show. The service has been...

Blue Square director quits to take Victor Chandler role.(Ed Andrewes, Victor Chandler International)(Brief Article)
May 6, 2004... Ed Andrewes, commercial director of Blue Square, is to leave the bookmaker to become MD of Victor Chandler International. Andrewes' contract with Blue Square doesn't end until 1 September. However, he confirmed to NMA that he's negotiating...

Fish4homes and AOL tie up for search.(Brief Article)
May 6, 2004... Fish4homes has signed an exclusive deal with AOL to have its homes search service on the portal's House and Home channel. The deal is similar to the existing Fish4homes' deal with MSN and should prove to be an important new outlet for the...

Shazam shifts strategy to B2B.(signs monitoring deal with BMI)(Brief Article)
May 6, 2004... Shazam, the mobile-based music recognition service, has signed its first major broadcast monitoring deal with BMI, the US's largest airplay monitor organisation. The deal marks the extension of the company's strategy from consumer into B2B...

E-Envoy promises mobile portal following dTV launch.(Brief Article)
May 6, 2004... Andrew Pinder, the e-Envoy, has promised a mobile portal for Government services will follow after last week's launch on digital TV. His office has also made some changes to the recently-launched Directgov portal in response to early user...

Fight goes on for Betfair and TAB.
May 6, 2004... Betfair has stepped up its war of worlds with rival Australian bookmakers in an effort to ensure that the federal government there doesn't ban betting exchanges. The UK firm is having to fight a concerted effort by one of Australia's...

NTL ready to offer flexible bandwidth ahead of BT.(Brief Article)
May 6, 2004... Cable company NTL has surged ahead of BT with its flexible bandwidth trial, and is ready to launch the technology commercially, while BT has only just managed to get its nine-month pilot off the ground. NTL conducted a two-month technology...

Gamer.tv and 3 strike content deal.(Brief Article)
May 6, 2004... Xbox and PlayStation fans will now be able to watch reviews of upcoming game releases on next generation mobile phones, with Gamer.tv becoming the latest addition to 3's content suite. Gamer.tv, whose flagship programme of the same name...

BBC Magazines divides sales for Radio Times and Top Gear.(Brief Article)
May 6, 2004... BBC Magazines has split out sales for its Radio Times and Top Gear magazine Web sites, handing responsibility for the former to AdLINK Internet Media. Unanimis, which took over sales representation for both titles last summer, will retain...

Government relaunches Business Link site for SMEs.(Brief Article)
May 6, 2004... The Government has relaunched its Business Link Web site, aimed at the country's 3.8m small and medium-sized businesses. Patricia Hewitt, Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, unveiled the new site earlier this week, following six months...

Times Online updates driving section with Deal Exchange.(Brief Article)
May 6, 2004... Times Online has relaunched the driving section of its Web site, offering visitors a new service allowing them to access savings on new cars from franchised dealers. The Deal Exchange comes in addition to the Times Online Car Locator, which...

Honda offers animated 'Book of Help' online.(Brief Article)
May 6, 2004... Honda has extended its current marketing campaign featuring its new IMA (Integrated Motor Assist) engine technology to online, transforming its Web site homepage into an animated 'Honda Book of Help'. The online manual aims to explain with...

BT and Microsoft tailor broadband and IT to SMEs.(Technology)
May 6, 2004... BT has teamed up with Microsoft to develop an integrated broadband and IT service for small businesses. aimed at bridging the growing digital divide between small and large businesses. The BT Connected and Complete package will soft launch...

European firms set up ID group.(Technology)
May 6, 2004... A European consortium has been set up to develop a common framework for electronic identification and authentication which can be used between government administrations, businesses and citizens. The Guide Consortium (Government User...

Splendid and BlueOrange plan digitized music tools.(Technology)
May 6, 2004... Design agency Splendid has teamed up with technology firm BlueOrange to develop a new set of tools that enable record labels to digitise content and distribute it over the Web quickly and easily. The companies said that the idea of the...

AdIntelligence launches European version of software.(Technology)
May 6, 2004... Digital advertising firm AdIntelligence has launched a European version of its behavioural marketing software, which enables advertisers to target specific Internet users. The desktop-based software is licensed to third-party software...

3D facial recognition software used to develop Smart Office.(Technology)
May 6, 2004... 3D facial recognition software has been used to develop a Smart Office system, which combines physical access with network access. ISL Biometric, ECSSC and A4Vision teamed up to unveil the product, which uses an infrared light to identify...

Microsoft launches project on human/computer relations.(Technology)
May 6, 2004... Microsoft's European research centre has launched an Interactive Systems project group, which will investigate the relationship between humans and computers. The research will combine computer science with psychological methods, and aims to...

New clients triple TBG first-quarter revenues.(Agencies)(Brief Article)
May 6, 2004... Digital marketing agency TBG has revealed that revenue between January and March was three times that of last year, boosted by new client wins and the launch of its creative division. The firm, which was placed at 58 in NMA's Top 100...

Wickedweb boosts client base.(Agencies)(Brief Article)
May 6, 2004... Wickedweb has boosted its client base with 23 business wins since the start of the year. The agency has signed brands including Kurt Geiger, Ryvita, Elizabeth Shaw, 118888, BMI, Jacobs and 02, and expects this growth to continue. ...

Digital communications agency Pod1 has designed and built a new site for The Paramount Hotel Group, to enable it to take advantage of the growing number of online bookings.(Agency Wins)
May 6, 2004... Digital communications agency Pod1 has designed and built a new site for The Paramount Hotel Group, to enable it to take advantage of the growing number of online bookings. The site features gift vouchers, brochure requests, online bookings and...

The RSPCA has commissioned M-Corp to redefine its online education programme.(Agency Wins)(Brief Article)
May 6, 2004... The RSPCA has commissioned M-Corp to redefine its online education programme. The agency is researching ways in which the RSPCA can engage and inform children by tapping into their natural enthusiasm for animals. The results will be used to...

Outrider creates team to build digital partnerships.(Agencies)
May 6, 2004... Outrider has created a new Digital Partnership Team that will focus specifically on developing non-paid-for partnership opportunities for clients over a range of digital media. Stefan Bardega, head of strategy at Outrider, is heading the...

Wheel drops Abel & Baker brand in group redesign.(Agencies)
May 6, 2004... Wheel is ditching the Abel & Baker brand as part of a group rebranding scheme. The move comes almost two years after it acquired the creative agency. The full service agency said that dropping the brand demonstrated the fact that the two...

Marketing firm SMLXL launches.(Agencies)
May 6, 2004... A new UK-based marketing firm has launched this week, aiming to help brands engage with their consumers using digital communications. SMLXL was set up by Alan Moore and Axel Chaldecott. Both have advertising and brand agency backgrounds,...

BBC promotes breaking-news desktop alert service.(Marketing)(Brief Article)
May 6, 2004... The BBC is launching an online ad campaign with the strapline 'All the news you need', promoting bbcnews.com's new breaking-news desktop alert service to Internet users in Western Europe. The campaign launches on 11 May and was devised,...

TechnoPhobia launches Green Motoring Assistance site.(Marketing)
May 6, 2004... TechnoPhobia has launched a new Web site on behalf of Green Motoring Assistance to promote sponsorship of the British Touring Car Championship. The new greenflagbtcc.com site offers content including news updates, results and online...

Fox to run online campaign for latest film on MSN in Europe.(Marketing)(The Day After Tomorrow)(Brief Article)
May 6, 2004... Twentieth Century Fox has launched an online campaign to promote its latest film, The Day After Tomorrow, across MSN's European network of sites ahead of its release in cinemas on 28 May. The exclusive online preview forms part of a broader TV...

Warner New Media and VidZone create video for 'Insania'.(Marketing)
May 6, 2004... Warner New Media and VidZone have collaborated to create a major online video presence to promote the hugely anticipated new single from Peter Andre, 'Insania', which will be released on 31 May. 'Insania' will receive its first video airing...

Bupa International targets expats with online drive.(Marketing)(Brief Article)
May 6, 2004... Bupa International is spending upwards of 500,000 [pounds sterling]on an online marketing campaign that will span Europe and Asia, representing a major new drive to attract customers from its target expat and foreign nationals market. The...

Penguin pushes Ramsay book via Web campaign.(Marketing)(Penguin UK, Gordon Ramsay)(Brief Article)
May 6, 2004... Penguin UK is running an online marketing campaign to promote its publication of Gordon Ramsay's book Kitchen Heaven, which accompanies the tempestuous chefs current series on Channel 4, Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares. The book is being...

BMG shows faith in online market.(Marketing)(online promotion for new Faithless album)(Brief Article)
May 6, 2004... BMG is backing the latest album from dance act Faithless with a Web site and a range of online promotional activities that will include making tracks from the album available for download ahead of its going on sale in the shops. The...

Consumer text messaging up by a quarter over 12 months.(Trends)(Brief Article)
May 6, 2004... The number of peer-to-peer text messages sent in the UK has increased by a quarter over the past 12 months, according to new figures released by the Mobile Data Association (MDA). On average, 69m personal texts were sent a day in March,...

Corporate purchasers seek suppliers via the Web.(Trends)(Brief Article)
May 6, 2004... Almost half of corporate staff holding a company's purse strings look for suppliers using a search engine, according to information database company Kellysearch. 42% of professional purchasers with an annual spend of 500,000 [pounds sterling]...

Screens attract customers.(Trends)
May 6, 2004... Hair salons with i-vu personal interactive LCDs have reported a 15% increase in visitors since the screens were installed. According to i-vu, which screens news, lifestyle, fashion and celebrity programmes, advertisers also benefit from the...

3G subscribers up but real rise not expected till 2005.(Trends)(Brief Article)
May 6, 2004... 3G subscribers in Western Europe will increase by 45 times over the next two years, forecasts IT consultancy Analysys. But real industry growth won't start until 2005. 3G subscribers in Western Europe, including France, Germany, Italy,...

Clothing is fastest growing e-tail sector.(Trends)(Brief Article)
May 6, 2004... Online clothing sales reached a high of almost 100m [pounds sterling] in March, making this the fastest growing online retail sector in the UK. The Interactive Media in Retail Group's (IMRG) latest figures show that online sales of...

Local authorities set to miss target.(Trends)(Brief Article)
May 6, 2004... English local authorities will have to push through online projects at a far faster rate if they're to meet the target of getting all services online by 2005, says a new report. To date, 22% of local councils have established fully...

UK firms neglect security despite rise in Web trade.(Trends)(Brief Article)
May 6, 2004... Nearly three-quarters of UK companies reported a huge rise in Web transactions in the past year, but only 23% intend to allocate the biggest chunk of their IT budgets to secure Web services. A survey by security software provider Netegrity...

Go to work without leaving the house.(Analyst Speak)
May 6, 2004... Work is no longer a place but an activity. Widespread broadband in the home combined with advances in wireless and mobile technology mean workers can now be as productive and efficient working outside the office as they are in it. ...

Overture.(Brief Article)
May 6, 2004... www.uk.overture.com Search statistics in the Broadband sector The information below represents searches carried out through March on Overture's search network, which reaches 87% of the UK online population *. Overture provides...

Will video tempt FMCGs to shift ad spend to online? As advances in streaming allow brands to show their TV ads online, is the Web set for an influx of major new advertisers?(News Analysis)
May 6, 2004... The choice by Robinson's Fruit Spring and Cusson's Imperial Leather to run their TV ads online, making them two of the first FMCG brands to do so, reflects signs of a fundamental shift in attitude towards Internet advertising within the sector....

Time is right for sites to build in accessibility.(Leader)(Editorial)
May 6, 2004... The recent Disability Rights Commission (DRC) report dramatically illustrated the scale of the problem of Web site accessibility. Of the 1,000 sites reviewed by the DRC. only 19% even reached the W3C's lowest level of accessibility. This leaves...

Accountability in online advertising.(Letters to the Editor)(Letter to the Editor)
May 6, 2004... Paul Cook, CEO, Red Eye International It's encouraging to see the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) bolstering its workforce to boost the growth of online ads (NMA 22 April). Your article spoke of the IAB reviewing the way the online...

AOP stands side by side with IAB.(Letters to the Editor)(Letter to the Editor)
May 6, 2004... Alexandra White, head, Association of Online Publishers In December 2003 the Association of Online Publishers (AOP) and the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) formed a partnership, agreeing to a number of new initiatives to work together...

US operators must invest in premium SMS.(Letters to the Editor)(Letter to the Editor)
May 6, 2004... Richard Shearer, CEO, Empower Interactive Andrew Bud raises some interesting points about the US mobile messaging market (NMA 22 April), particularly with reference to the development of messaging infrastructure and its impact on revenue...

Mobile music users prove unwilling to pay.(Dwyer on trends)
May 6, 2004... I'm the first to admit I'm no great shakes when it comes to predicting consumer behaviour. In my days as a cub reporter I was dispatched to a Sony press conference to cover a product launch. The product in question would, claimed the PR...

Use the Web to build lasting relationships.(Opinion)
May 6, 2004... The introduction of premium rate phone numbers, iTV and mobile SMS have given TV viewers a greater choice in the way they pay for interaction with their favourite TV shows. But perhaps more importantly, they have provided production companies...

Stuffed full of ideas: to provide the kind of shop he himself would want to buy from, Richard North created mail order and online gadget store Boys Stuff. Now, with plans for a far wider product range, it seems there's no stopping him.(Profile)(Interview)
May 6, 2004... Where can you complete an online transaction in 29 seconds? It sounds implausible, hut Richard North claims he's achieved this record-breaking speed with his toys-for-boys e-tail site Boys Stuff. Meeting North is like going back five years...

Vizuri.(Moves)(Brian Shea)(Brief Article)
May 6, 2004... Brian Shea has been appointed CEO of Vizuri, the IT risk management company. He previously worked for IT services company Atos Origin, where he designed IT projects including the Office of the e-Envoy's Delivery on the Promise (DotP) platform....

Amaze.(Moves)(Martin Chatterton, Elaine Blakemore, Rachel Fegan)(Brief Article)
May 6, 2004... Digital agency Amaze has taken on three new staff. Martin Chatterton takes the post of senior developer and will work on the Ernst & Young account. He formerly worked as a Web programmer at Auto Trader Systems. Elaine Blakemore joins as service...

MG OMD.(Moves)(Tom Morgan)(Brief Article)
May 6, 2004... Media planner/buyer MG OMD has promoted Tom Morgan to senior online planner/buyer. Prior to MG OMD, he worked in online marketing at Electronic Direct Response. Morgan will focus on the company's Virgin Group accounts.

Kaspersky Labs UK.(Moves)(David Emm)(Brief Article)
May 6, 2004... Anti-virus specialist David Emm has joined software development company Kaspersky Labs UK as senior technology consultant. He will assist the UK office in developing white papers and technical training. He previously worked with the McAfee...

Code.(Moves)(Diana Seaney, Deborah Muirhead, Sukh Gidda)(Brief Article)
May 6, 2004... Manchester-based digital communications agency Code has employed three new staff. Diana Seaney joins as production manager, and will head the agency's lo-strong production team. Prior to joining Code she was a designer at Service Point UK....

Band-X.(Moves)(Nick Robertson)(Brief Article)
May 6, 2004... Band-X, the integrated voice and data service provider, has appointed Nick Robertson as Telecoms Trading Exchange account manager. He was formerly manager for Fibernet's Scottish enterprise operations.

Panlogic.(Moves)(Jon Wallace)(Brief Article)
May 6, 2004... Digital marketing agency Panlogic has appointed Jon Wallace to its creative team. He was previously senior creative at communications agency Matinee Sound & Vision, and will lead Panlogic's growing Web site build division.

Mobile Streams.(Moves)(Patrik Nilsson)(Brief Article)
May 6, 2004... Patrik Nilsson has joined mobile content company Mobile Streams as head of European business development. He previously worked for mobile companies including Aspiro and End2End.

Sticking to the main road: converting online researchers into buyers will be the aim of BMW's soon-to-be-revamped used-cars section. But is the company focusing too much on the Web?(Strategic Play BMW)
May 6, 2004... It might not strike you as the first thing BMW would do online to greet the arrival of summer, but the end of May will see its used-cars section receive a major overhaul. For a site that has. in the last year, had to deal with the launch...

Ones to watch: with the amount of corporate information freely available online, it's becoming increasingly useful as a tool for businesses to keep tabs on their rivals.(Trade Secrets)
May 6, 2004... The Internet is a potential goldmine for businesses wanting to keep tabs on their markets and competitors. Companies give out a wealth of information about themselves on their Web sites and in newspaper articles. They also sometimes let slip...

Measuring up: in the run-up to this year's Emetrics Summit, six, of the speakers met to discuss the measurement challenges facing the online sector.(Emetrics summit)
May 6, 2004... Jim Sterne: Let's talk about the quality of search engine traffic. I understand conversion that's easy, that's money. But what is quality traffic and how do I measure it? Mike Grehan: As long as the keyword research has been done so you...

Waving goodbye to the banner ad? First pop-ups fell out of favour with many sites, and now Ask Jeeves is dropping banners. Is no online format sacred?(NMA Advertising)
May 6, 2004... Ask Jeeves last month announced that it's removing all banner ads from its sites, saying they put people off. Following the recent decisions from many large sites to ban pop-up ads, what does this mean for the future of banner advertising and...

Prince of Persia: the Sands of Time.(Case Study)
May 6, 2004... Client: Ubisoft Agency: Digital Outlook BACKGROUND: Ubisoft is no stranger to online advertising, having promoted previous titles including XIII and Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow online. The release of Prince of Persia: The Sands of...

Dan Harrison, head of Digital Creative, TBWA\GGT.(Ad Watch)
May 6, 2004... Times are tough for a gal these days. Not only do they have to deal with the unreliability of us men, their methods of contraception are all too able to let them down. Or so the campaign from Levonelle would have it. It treats the subject of...

Just the two of us: unlike traditional media, partnerships are common in the online world. Is there something fundamentally different about the Internet, or is it just a feature of any new medium that will soon wear off?(Report)
May 6, 2004... In the offline world, media owners have traditionally been bitter rivals. The first cracks recently began to appear in the united front of the Newspaper Marketing Agency, set up to boost advertising spend across the newspaper industry. But in...

Top ten campaigns: March 2004.
May 6, 2004... 1 PHILIPS UPGRADE FLASH Advertiser: Philips Creative: Wundermann Timing: 14 January-1 April 2004 Placement: AOL, BT Openworld, Dotmusic, MSN, Netscape, Yahoo! Ad impressions: 204,964,000 2 VODAFONE LIVE! ...

Top ten viral campaigns: April 2004.(Brief Article)
May 6, 2004... 1 MAZDA Megawash Creative: Attaboy TV Planner/buyer: DMC Downloads: 24,226 2 LYNX Touch It Creative: Dare Digital Downloads: 17,307 3 INTERNATIONAL FUND FOR ANIMAL WELFARE Blood money Creative: Velocity ...

Gadfly.
May 6, 2004... As regular readers will know. Gadfly is always first to leap to the defence of the agency sector. without whose tireless endeavours the industry would be a tar duller place. So he's pleased to commend new media types Good Technology for...