New Media Age articles from October 2004

New Media Age archives from October 2004

Utility providers turn to online marketing to build awareness.(News)
October 7, 2004... Utilities suppliers are turning to online marketing to build brand awareness and customer relationships as competition in the sector heats up. Npower and British Gas are leading the way in the drive to use digital to differentiate...

BBC looks to put iTV content onto DVD.(News)(Brief Article)
October 7, 2004... The BBC is looking to sell some of its interactive TV content on DVD via its commercial arm BBC Worldwide, with next week's new series of Spooks potentially the first show to benefit. The Corporation's programming departments are having...

NSPCC trials Web as fundraising channel.(News)(National Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Children, services)(Brief Article)
October 7, 2004... The NSPCC is to test the effectiveness of the Internet as a way to recruit donors, fundraisers and campaigners for the first time, in a pre-Christmas awareness campaign. The six-week, three-pronged initiative by the children's charity will...

Thomson local Purrfect ads move online.(News)(Thomson Local)(Brief Article)
October 7, 2004... Directory firm Thomson Local has taken its Purrfect campaign online with a 300,000 [pounds sterling] brand awareness push. The aim is to increase traffic to the Thomson Local.com site. It follows TV spots created by above-the-line agency...

GM begins viral push for Opel Tigra Twin Top.(News)(Brief Article)
October 7, 2004... General Motors has kicked off its first pan-European viral campaign to back the launch of the Opel Tigra Twin Top. The Tigra Rendezvous campaign, which has gone live in Germany and is to be rolled out in more than 10 European markets, is...

Metro launches permanent digital music download service.(News)(Metro)(Brief Article)
October 7, 2004... Free commuter paper Metro is the latest in a long line of dailies to enter the crowded digital music download space. It has launched Metrotunes.co.uk as a paid-for online music store, with a catalogue of digital download tracks designed to...

GMTV brings ad-funded model to mobile with branded portal.(News)(Brief Article)
October 7, 2004... Breakfast broadcaster GMTV is to expand its advertising-supported broadcasting model to mobile, with the launch in the new year of a flown loadable mobile Java portal. The portal will feature a range of content from the show, along with...

IAB UK prepares to publish its first rich-media ad standards.(News)(Brief Article)
October 7, 2004... The UK Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) will next week publish the first in a wave of rich-media standards aimed at giving the online audience greater control over rich-media ads. The industry body said the standards aim to create a...

AOL retools site to attract rich-media ads.(News)(Brief Article)
October 7, 2004... AOL UK aims to attract more rich-media ads, to exploit the growing use of new rich-media formats. The ISP has kicked off the second phase of an overhaul of its content delivery platform, switching from its proprietary Rainman system to...

Sky takes on editor to helm revamp of interactive TV portal.(News)(Brief Article)
October 7, 2004... Sky has appointed the head of a new team that will be responsible for transforming its interactive TV portal Sky Active into a more televisual viewer experience. The satellite company has poached Julian Phillips from Nation 217, where he...

FHM takes on JD Sports as e-newsletter sponsor.(Brief Article)
October 7, 2004... FHM.com has signed up JD Sports as the sponsor of its weekly email newsletter, which goes out to more than 450,000 users each Friday and has just relaunched. JD Sports has signed up for six weeks and FHM.com says more deals are in the pipeline....

Sportinglife launches new look Cricket365.(Brief Article)
October 7, 2004... SportingLife.com has relaunched its cricket site cricket365.com with a redesign that brings it into line with its 365 brands, including Football-365, Planet-F1 and Planet-Rugby. sportinglife.com cricket365.com

Boodle & Dunthorne to revamp site for Christmas.(Brief Article)
October 7, 2004... Premium jewellery brand Boodle & Dunthorne is planning to extend its growth in the luxury retail sector to online with a new site due in time for Christmas. The site will feature an online shop for the first time and will be enabled so B&D can...

London Film Festival to run Webcast promotions.(Brief Article)
October 7, 2004... The Times BFI London Film Festival will this year for the first time use Webcasting to promote itself, with trailers from featured films streamed via the organisation's Web site. The festival has partnered with streaming firm Groovy Gecko to...

Times Online increases blogging output.(Brief Article)
October 7, 2004... Times Online is using the current run of political party conferences to raise its blogging output, with business reporter Jenny Booth currently covering the Conservative Party conference in Bournemouth. Peter Bale, online editorial director of...

T-Mobile, Motorola and Black Eyed Peas in deal.(Brief Article)
October 7, 2004... Operator T-Mobile and handset manufacturer Motorola have signed a mobile music marketing deal with chart-topping band The Black Eyed Peas. There will be competitions to win concert tickets when purchasing a Motorola handset and the opportunity...

YooMedia acquires MMTV and expands public remit.(Brief Article)
October 7, 2004... YooMedia has significantly expanded the public service side of its operations with the acquisition last week of MMTV, part of the AIM-listed interactive TV business MultiMedia Television. The deal, comprising 6.3m shares in YooMedia and 300,000...

Sky One adopts online teasers to support new teen drama Hex.(News)(British Sky Broadcasting Group PLC. Sky One)(Brief Article)
October 7, 2004... Sky is putting online at the heart of an ad campaign to promote the launch of its new teen drama Hex, which hits Sky One on 17 October. The broadcaster has signed six-figure deals with MSN and Yahoo!, which are being supported by offline...

Rich-media price war looms as CheckM8 slashes ratecard.(News)(Brief Article)
October 7, 2004... The possibility of a rich-media price war in the UK looks increasingly likely following ad technology specialist CheckM8's decision to drop its ratecard prices. Goallover, the UK distributor for CheckM8, said that it will offer all 64 of...

DA Group develops Java-based tool to send animated characters via SMS.(News)(DA Group)(Brief Article)
October 7, 2004... Mobile content and application developer DA Group has released a new Java-based application that provides animated character messaging at SMS messaging price levels. The new applications feature rich-media content such as you would find in...

Ofcom plans 3bn [pounds sterling] investment in IP broadcaster to rival BBC.(News)(Internet Protocol)
October 7, 2004... Ofcom is proposing a 3bn [pounds sterling] investment in the creation of a new public service broadcaster, which will use Internet technologies to deliver programmes and rival the BBC. The regulator claims the BBC will have a monopoly over...

DMA to educate members about mobile marketing.(News)(Brief Article)
October 7, 2004... The Direct Marketing Association (DMA) is embarking on a programme to educate its members on mobile marketing, believing a tipping point for the medium will be reached next year. The trade association believes that improvements in mobile...

Fox supports Alien vs Predator release with global SMS vote.(News)(Brief Article)
October 7, 2004... Twentieth Century Fox has launched a global mobile marketing campaign to support the launch of the film Alien us Predator. The campaign is part of an integrated global campaign, worth 1.8m [pounds sterling] in the UK, based around a vote on...

BBC News takes on Moreover for story links.(Brief Article)
October 7, 2004... BBC News has taken on Moreover Technologies to provide it with links to other news stories alongside its own. The BBC Newstracker will go some way towards addressing concern raised during Philip Graf's review of the BBC's online...

Five signs up with Zip for interactive TV ads.(Brief Article)
October 7, 2004... Five has become the latest broadcaster to sign up for interactive TV advertising with Zip Television. The deal means Five now joins Flextech/UKTV sales house IDS in being able to offer advertisers i-ads via Zip or Sky Interactive, through which...

A third of people online in UK download music.(Brief Article)
October 7, 2004... A third of the UK online population has downloaded music from the Internet, reveals research from digital publisher Guardian Unlimited. Although legal digital download service providers like Napster and Apple will be pleased to hear that...

Top 100 corrections.(Correction Notice)
October 7, 2004... The declared turnover for CMW Interactive in last week's Top 100 Interactive Agencies 2004 guide should have been 3,337,140 [pounds sterling], not 1,001,142 [pounds sterling] as stated. In addition, Dare has a staff of 35. ...

AOL launches rebranded Learning channel.(News)(Brief Article)
October 7, 2004... AOL has rebranded its Research and Learning channel as the Learning Channel, with content and features targeted at school pupils. The new channel is designed to focus on the National Curriculum and will offer free access to content from...

Olive magazine to supply content for Handbag.(News)(Brief Article)
October 7, 2004... BBC Magazine's Olive has signed a content deal with women's site Handbag.com. Olive will provide key editorial to Handbag's food pages, including some content from its Simple Suppers and Food in Season sections, and a selection of restaurants...

Samsung takes on Holler for graffiti competition.(News)(Brief Article)
October 7, 2004... Samsung Mobile has commissioned digital agency Holler to create a graffiti-art competition site to support its Urban Art event. The site invites budding artists to submit a 'digital tag' using a spray can tool or upload their own design, to...

Nestle to launch new European kids' sites with Shrek 2 game.(News)(Brief Article)
October 7, 2004... Nestle milkshake brand Nesquik is using its latest online 'Quicky' game, themed around this summer's hit animated movie Shrek 2, to launch children's Web sites in eight new European territories. Quicky's Giant Leap, the third and final...

Barnardo's considers SMS for fundraising after marathon test.(News)(Barnardo)(Short messaging service)(Brief Article)
October 7, 2004... Children's charity Barnardo's is looking into SMS marketing and will roll out a Christmas fundraising service if a trial proves successful. Barnardo's ran a text-to-win push at last Sunday's Cardiff marathon, publicised in the local press,...

Online ad spend set to grow by one-third.(News)(Brief Article)
October 7, 2004... Online ad spend in the UK will grow by almost a third in 2005, predicts The Advertising Association. Its report claims Web ads will be the fastest growing medium next year, with revenues increasing by 30.3%. However, it said that the...

Media Square moots AI for Arnold rebrand.(News)(Brief Article)
October 7, 2004... Marketing communications group Media Square plans to rebrand Arnold Interactive as AI, following its 600,000 [pounds sterling] acquisition of the agency last week. The firm isn't allowed to keep the Arnold name, which is owned by the Havas...

Lonely Planet offers its content for use on travel operator sites.(News)(Brief Article)
October 7, 2004... Travel firm Lonely Planet has launched a white-label content service designed to help airline and travel sites provide more in-depth content. CEO Judy Slatyer said the firm has worked with partners such as Travelocity to find out how it...

More are hearing the call of voice technology.(Analyst Speak)
October 7, 2004... Voice applications have long been heralded as a natural extension to Web technologies and ecommerce. Not only do vendors appreciate their potential for building long-term customer relationships, as well as reducing overhead costs, but end-users...

Overture[TM].(News)(Brief Article)
October 7, 2004... www.uk.overture.com Search Statistics This information represents searches carried out through August on Overture's search network, which reaches 88% of the UK online population *. BT tops the list of telecom brand searches, which is...

Hi-Tech crime unit looks into Jeftel's secure email system.(Technology)(National Hi-Tech Crime Unit)(Brief Article)
October 7, 2004... The company that launched a new secure email system last week has had to defend itself against allegations that the service will make it harder for the police and City regulators to investigate online crimes. The National Hi-Tech Crime Unit...

Companies fail to address accessibility issues.(Technology)(Brief Article)
October 7, 2004... FTSE 100 companies are failing to address accessibility issues for disabled users of their Web sites, claims Internet solutions agency LB Icon. Research reveals that 81% of the listed company sites failed to comply with the World Wide Web...

Over 5m people in UK said to have broadband.(Brief Article)
October 7, 2004... Over 5m people in the UK now have broadband Internet connections, reveal new figures from the Telecom Market's Broadband Subscriber Database. According to the research, 50,000 people are subscribing weekly, while 8m people are expected connect...

Bliss magazine signs blogging deal with Mobrio.(Bliss)(Mobrio)(Brief Article)
October 7, 2004... Emap Elan magazine Bliss has signed a deal with personal publishing provider and mobile company Mobrio to offer Mobrio's blogging service to Bliss's 300,000 readers. Bliss readers will be able to use Mobrio's TheZpace personal publishing...

(aq) offers free upgrade to bulk email sender.(Brief Article)
October 7, 2004... Leeds-based mobile messaging company (aq) has launched a new version of its desktop SMS service which allows users to send, receive and track SMS messages at low cost. The service lets users send bulk messages--up to 200 a second--for as low as...

Press Red partners with 24/7 real media.(Brief Article)
October 7, 2004... Interactive TV advertising company Press Red has partnered with 24/7 Real Media to enable the latter to offer advertisers on digital cable networks NTL and Telewest interactive campaigns using Press Red's Black Box Designer i-ad creation tool....

UK publishers sign up to online voice greeting 'e-card' service.(Technology)(Brief Article)
October 7, 2004... Associated New Media and The Mirror are the first UK publishers to sign up for a new revenue-generating service for their Web sites. The new technology, an online greeting application, allows users to personalise an e-card by recording a...

BT lowers price of broadband offering to 17.99 [pounds sterling] a month.(Technology)(Brief Article)
October 7, 2004... BT has lowered the price of its broadband offering in the latest round of the price war that's seeing the broadband market becoming ever more commoditised. BT Broadband Basic is now priced at 17.99 [pounds sterling] a month, bringing it in...

Falk hires ex-24/7 Real Media director in bid to top UK market.(Technology)(Brief Article)
October 7, 2004... German ad serving company Falk eSolutions has thrown down the gauntlet in its bid to win the bulk of online publishers' business in the UK. The company has hired ex-European director of direct marketing services at 24/7 Real Media, Phil...

Emailvision offers update to campaign commander.(Brief Article)
October 7, 2004... Emailvision, the email marketing technology firm, has released the latest version of its email and SMS campaign management service Campaign Commander. Version 3.5 includes an updated user interface design, faster page loads, a campaign progress...

Loudeye Corp to use OD2 to promote services.(Brief Article)
October 7, 2004... Loudeye Corp is set to use its OD2 music download company in Europe to promote is range of asset protection and promotion services. The services, offered through Loudeye's Overpeer brand, protect digital files from illegal download by replacing...

Mediasurface upgrades content system to 5.1.(Brief Article)
October 7, 2004... Mediasurface, the AIM-listed content management provider, has launched the latest version of its enterprise content management system. The upgrade, Mediasurface 5.1, includes instant messaging services and Web site management and control...

Digital music market to be worth 575m [pounds sterling] by 2009.(Brief Article)
October 7, 2004... The digital music industry in Europe will see massive growth over the next five years, forecasts Jupiter Research. Revenues will jump from 46.3m [euro] (31.8m [pounds sterling]) at the end of the year to be worth 836m [euro] (575m [pounds...

Travel portals head for new destinations: as airline and hotel groups limit their use of travel sites and do more direct selling, the holiday portals are looking for new markets in which to position their brands.(News Analysis)
October 7, 2004... The big travel portals are responding to the slim margins in some parts of their business by branching out into new areas, such as selling tickets for entertainment and activities at the destination, as NMA reported last week. This move is...

Ofcom puts the cat among the public service pigeons.(Comment)
October 7, 2004... It's hard to read Phase 2 of Ofcom's review of public service TV broadcasting, published last week, without a smile. Not because it's in any way flippant or unserious, but because of the authors' insistence that what's important is to start the...

Freedom of Information must not become a barrier to entry.(Woolfson On Government)
October 7, 2004... E-government is the hot topic for 2005. The Government's aim that all public services should be online by the end of 2005 offers an unprecedented market opportunity for new media. Providing accessible and user-friendly content is key to driving...

Top 100 shows healthy future for agencies.(Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
October 7, 2004... Last week's publication of the NMA Top 100 Interactive Agencies 2004 report has provided a valuable guide to the UK new media sector, and an excellent insight into potential trends for 2004/05. It's encouraging to see that new agencies have...

Designing sites to be seen.(Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
October 7, 2004... I agree with the point made recently in the Leader column that "the simple answer to [designers' resentment of usability rules] is that a good design is one that meets the needs of its users, whoever those users might be" (NMA 9 September). As...

Risk assessment.(Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
October 7, 2004... Risk management may have climbed the corporate agenda, but UK organisations retain a haphazard, departmental-based approach to business continuity that's not only wasting money but is actually damaging business value. The issue is no...

More knowledge can only lead to better ad creative.(Opinion)(Larry Light, McDonald's Corp.)(Column)
October 7, 2004... I'm in front of a pink drink and the marketing director says, "We need a brand message." I say, "Drink Pink." He eyes me suspiciously, then says, "It's packed with strawberries and high in vitamins." I ponder. "Be in the Pink." He eyes me even...

Morning light: Nog Sawdon, head of new media at GMTV, has shown that creating an interactive relationship with viewers keeps them loyal to the show.(Profile)
October 7, 2004... Primetime Saturday night shows like Pop Idol are where you'd expect to discover the latest developments in participation TV. But surprisingly, some of the most cutting-edge mobile innovation is to be found at housewives' favourite breakfast...

Striking it lucky: with its policy of not competing on price, RSA direct sales insurance brand More Than has had to offer a compelling service to attract customers.(Royal and SunAlliance Insurance Group PLC)
October 7, 2004... The UK online insurance market is the largest in Europe, with rapid growth and high levels of competition. Familiar household names are vying for market share against more recently-established brands and the so-called online supermarkets or...

Play to the crowd: to cope with demand for its Olympics coverage, the BBC made its first serious moves into multicasting. Clare Goff examines the advantages of one-to-many streaming.(Multicasting)(British Broadcasting Corp.)
October 7, 2004... This year's Olympic Games in Athens achieved many sporting firsts, but they will go down in new media history as the event that brought multicasting into the mainstream. The BBC broadcast the games online using multicast technology for the...

Gadfly.
October 7, 2004... Gadfly has had a number of phone calls this week from the great and not-so-good of the digital agency world, suggesting that he check out what the three musketeers of exitraffic fame--Jon Sharpe, Matt Gorzkowski and Ethan Segal--are up to in...

All Response Media.(Moves)(Brief Article)
October 7, 2004... Media agency All Response Media has recruited Steve Carrod and Sanchia Silver as media assistants. Carrod joins from Manchester University after gaining a degree in business management, while Silver recently graduated with a psychology degree...

Themutual.net.(Moves)(Brief Article)
October 7, 2004... Themutual.net, the online shopping reward site, has appointed Rob Staunton as sales account manager and Siyenne Dourado as head of marketing. Staunton previously worked at shopping portal DealTime UK as head of sales. Dourado has been promoted...

Reuters.com.(Moves)(Brief Article)
October 7, 2004... Reuters.com, the worldwide news and financial information site, has appointed Daniel Bernard as its first global head of advertising development. He will focus on developing Reuters' online ad business. He joins from CBS MarketWatch, where he...

Charity Technology Trust.(Moves)(Brief Article)
October 7, 2004... Former Cable & Wireless product management boss William Hoyle has joined the Charity Technology Trust (CTT) as CEO. He will focus on building applications using SMS, WAP and iTV platforms to enhance the way charities collect donations.

Dennis Interactive.(Moves)(Brief Article)
October 7, 2004... Julia Smith has been promoted to group sales director at online publisher Dennis Interactive. She previously held the post of ad director, and will be responsible for increasing revenue across sites including maximmag .co.uk and...

DMD.(Moves)(Brief Article)
October 7, 2004... Digital direct marketing agency DMD has recruited Annabel Bird as client services director. She will oversee all clients, including Opodo, Black & Decker and Orange. For the past two years, Bird was head of CTT Communications, the...

The Press Association.(Moves)(Brief Article)
October 7, 2004... The Press Association has appointed Asha Oberoi as head of multimedia editorial. She previously worked at RealNetworks, where she developed consumer broadband video services within the UK and Europe. Oberoi has also worked at BBC News...

Sponge.(Moves)(Brief Article)
October 7, 2004... Sponge, provider of mobile applications, has taken on Phil Trelease as director. He was formerly MD of TV production company Action Time.

Friday-Ad.(Moves)(Brief Article)
October 7, 2004... Alex Langley, former new media project manager for the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, has become head of new media at classified publisher Friday-Ad.

Xbridge.(Moves)(Brief Article)
October 7, 2004... Online commercial finance and marketing technology company Xbridge has appointed Chris Slater as insurance manager. He takes the post after spending four years in executive positions at Royal & SunAlliance and More Than.

Diary.(Brief Article)(Calendar)
October 7, 2004... Entries to claire.armitt@centaur.co.uk For a full listing go to nma.co.uk 13 OCTOBER 2004 02/CMA Strategy Day London 01372 361234 thecma.com 13-14 OCTOBER 2004 Enterprise Wireless Technology London 020...

Milkshake.(Site Of The Week)(Brief Article)
October 7, 2004... Milkshake five.tv/milkshake Owner: Five Agency: Lateral CONTENT 23/25 USABILITY 25/25 BRANDING 21/25 MONETISATION 22/25 TOTAL 91/100 TV channel Five has produced a new site for its...

Sleeping Solutions.(Site inspection)(Brief Article)
October 7, 2004... Sleeping Solutions sleepingsolutions.co.uk Owner: Sussex Beds Agency: Moonfish CONTENT 20/25 USABILITY 15/25 BRANDING 10/25 MONETISATION 25/25 TOTAL 70/100 This new site dedicated to...

Manchester Airport.(Site inspection)(Brief Article)
October 7, 2004... Manchester Airport manchesterairport.co.uk Owner: Manchester Airports Group Agency: KMP Associates CONTENT 20/25 USABILITY 15/25 BRANDING 10/25 MONETISATION 10/25 TOTAL 65/100 ...

mankind.co.uk.(Fulfilment)(Brief Article)
October 7, 2004... Site founded 2000 Selection A selection of quality men's grooming products. Technical problems None. Navigation The home page is cluttered. However, it's sorted into types of product and bestsellers, and...

ITVi backs 24:7 brand with 1m [pounds sterling] ad push and high-level recruits.(Interactive television)
October 14, 2004... ITV is signalling its arrival as a force in interactive TV capable of matching the BBC, Sky and Channel 4 with a high-profile expansion of the team and a 1m [pounds sterling] airtime ad campaign. The official launch of the ITVi 24:7 brand...

Vodafone and 3 line up 3G campaigns.(Vodafone Group PLC)(Brief Article)
October 14, 2004... Mobile operators Vodafone and 3 will go head to head in a marketing battle to promote their 3G services in the run-up to Christmas. Both firms will be aggressively pushing 3G content and video services using integrated campaigns with...

Grade promises BBC will 'invigorate' iTV.(News)(British Broadcasting Corp.)(Interactive television)
October 14, 2004... BBC chairman Michael Grade will today assert the Corporation's determination to ensure that allegations of anti-competitive behaviour which have dogged its online operations aren't replicated in the world of interactive TV. Grade will tell...

Paul Raymond moves content onto mobile.(News)(Paul Raymond Publications)(Brief Article)
October 14, 2004... Adult entertainment brand Paul Raymond Publications has embarked on a push to become the premier mainstream mobile adult brand. The company has launched a downloadable Java portal and WAP service that is being promoted throughout the...

Mobile industry vulnerable to Euro regulation.(News)(Brief Article)
October 14, 2004... The lack of a powerful central trade body is leaving the mobile content industry vulnerable to threats, such as European regulation. The industry has faced continuing threats over the last few years, and recent months have seen this spiral....

Yell takes over MSN Today home page to highlight local listings.(News)(Yell Group)(Microsoft Network L.L.C.)(Brief Article)
October 14, 2004... Online directory Yell.com took over MSN Today's home page this week as part of an awareness-raising ad campaign to highlight its market-leading position in the local listings arena. As well as prominently appearing on MSN for a day, ads...

Sony Ericsson rolls out K500i with 'biggest ever' online push.(News)(Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications AB)(Brief Article)
October 14, 2004... Sony Ericsson is putting more than half of its overall marketing budget for the roll-out of its new K500i multimedia camera phone for the Christmas period online. The new phone, which is targeted at the youth market, is being supported...

Hollyoaks to raise profile of RNIB Web accessibility goals.(News)(Royal National Institute for the Blind)(Brief Article)
October 14, 2004... Stars of the teen soap Hollyoaks could soon be lending their support to the RNIB's campaign to promote Web accessibility after the company behind the series put the hollyoaks.com site through its paces. Conker Media, the digital...