Revolution articles from December 2006

Revolution archives from December 2006

Letter from the editor.(Editorial)
December 31, 2006... We ask this month if 2006 really was 'the year of digital' as IPA supremo Hamish Pringle claimed this summer. It's a tasty little soundbite, but do those in the industry in question agree? By and large, not really. Yes, it's been a cracking...

New web tool allows Baileys to become part of our social lives.
December 31, 2006... Diageo-owned drinks brand Baileys is rolling out a new global web site that incorporates a 'social planning' tool to position the brand as part of people's social lives. The revamp of Baileys.com, which has yet to launch in the UK, has...

Thinkproperty thinks big with pounds 9m campaign.
December 31, 2006... Consumer property portal Thinkproperty.com, owned by Trader Media Group, is planning a pounds 9 million integrated marketing campaign in the New Year to raise awareness and boost its market share. The campaign will run from January to March...

Virgin turns to UGC for new site launch.
December 31, 2006... Virgin Trains has unveiled a new web site built around user-generated content (UGC) as part of its ongoing 'Valuable Thinking Time'campaign. The beinspiredbytime.com site, created by digital agency glue, aims to support the proposition...

Deals: Shopping.com signs deal with MSN.
December 31, 2006... Shopping.com, the comparison shopping service owned by eBay, has signed a deal with MSN to provide its services to users of MSN Shopping. Particular focus will be given to key categories, including clothing and home and garden.

Deals: BT seals new agreements with MTV.
December 31, 2006... BT has sealed three new video-on-demand agreements with MTV, Paramount Comedy and Nickelodeon in the UK to supply content for BT's IPTV service, BT Vision. The deals will allow on-demand access to titles, including Punk'd and Pimp My Ride from...

Deals: Sky renews deal with Adtech.
December 31, 2006... Sky has renewed its online ad sales deal with German-owned ad-serving provider Adtech. Adtech's Helios IQ service will continue to be used to serve and manage campaigns across Sky's portfolio of web sites, including those for Sky Sports, Sky...

Deals: Vodafone and Yahoo form alliance.
December 31, 2006... Vodafone and Yahoo have formed an alliance to develop mobile advertising services. Under the deal, Yahoo will become Vodafone's exclusive mobile display advertising partner in the UK and aim to provide a variety of mobile advertising formats...

Deals: ITV signs Mediacom.
December 31, 2006... ITV signed media agency Mediacom as advertising partner for mobile and online clips of the new series of I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! Mediacom will sell space in clips that can contain TV-style advertising embedded in the video...

Deals: SimplySwitch agrees deal with Comparethemarket.
December 31, 2006... SimplySwitch, the online utilities switching service owned by Associated Northcliffe Digital, has agreed a deal with car insurance comparison site Comparethemarket to offer their services to SimplySwitch users. The agreement will allow...

Deals: Lastminute.com strikes alliance with Touch Clarity.(Brief article)
December 31, 2006... Lastminute.com has struck an alliance with on-site behavioural targeting provider Touch Clarity to deliver targeted content to its site users. Touch Clarity will aim to help Lastminute deliver relevant offers and best-performing creative...

Deals: emuse absolutely signs deal with ids.
December 31, 2006... emuse absolutely, the iTV specialist, has signed a deal with ids, the sales house that represents Flextech channels such as UKTV Gold and Livingtv. The two will work together to offer interactive TV advertising on Flextech's stable of digital...

Deals: Sony Ericsson promotes new phone.
December 31, 2006... Sony Ericsson, in conjunction with O2, is using Boomerang's network of Hypertag-enabled promotion sites in bars and cinemas around London to promote its new limited edition silver Casino Royale K800i phone. The 80-strong network will deliver a...

Canon seeks digital agency for new site.(Brief article)
December 31, 2006... Canon is looking for a digital agency to redesign its European web site following the appointment of Eduardo Beltrao as European online communications manager. Beltrao said the brand was in talks with a number of digital agencies and was...

Emirates sings praises of its in-flight system.(Emirates Airline)(Brief article)
December 31, 2006... Dubai airline Emirates has kicked off a global digital campaign to promote its award-winning in-flight entertainment service. The activity is based around the idea that having great in-flight entertainment will make your journey appear to...

Tomb Raider goes mobile as Orange and Eidos join forces.
December 31, 2006... Orange is set to launch an integrated marketing campaign to promote the launch of the 3D game Tomb Raider: Legend on mobile phones. The network operator has partnered with mobile entertainment software company Eidos New Media to develop the...

Good month/bad month.(Industry overview)(Brief article)
December 31, 2006... Positive news for mobile advertising. Results of trials by Amobee of paid-for mobile content showed that, for every person that paid to download mobile content, up to 50 preferred to accept a cheaper, ad-funded version. It added that ad...

Tragus continues web revamp with Bella Italia site launch.
December 31, 2006... Independent restaurant group Tragus has launched a new web site for its Bella Italia chain as part of an ongoing overhaul of its online presence. The new site aims to conjure up images of a traditional, homely, Italian restaurant, serving...

The British Red Cross drives web revenues.(launches e-commerce facility)(Website overview)(Brief article)
December 31, 2006... The British Red Cross (BRC) has launched an e-commerce facility to drive its online fundraising. Created by digital agency Baigent, the web shop aims to maximise sales opportunities by selling 1,500 items, including gifts, cards, first-aid...

Jarlsberg hits 50 with new digital campaign.
December 31, 2006... Jarlsberg, Norway's most popular cheese, is making its first foray into digital marketing in a bid to raise awareness among UK consumers. Digital agency Hatch Partners and Beattie Communications were appointed to create an integrated...

Just breaking: Top 10 breaking banners by impressions - (1-31 October 2006).(Brief article)(List)
December 31, 2006... 1 BT Let us introduce you to BT Total Broadband 2 Sky An offer you can't keep your hands off 3 CISNet Someone's got the hots for you 4 eBay eBay express.co.uk is here 5 Ecar...

HMV to unite e-store and download facility.
December 31, 2006... HMV plans to combine its newly revamped digital-download service with its core web store in early 2007 by creating a new site that sells music and entertainment in any format. E-commerce director Gideon Lask envisions one site where users...

Account wins.
December 31, 2006... Smirnoff has handed AKQA its online creative account. It was appointed to the Diageo roster in May to work on web ads and design, and emerging media. EHS Brann and OgilvyOne also pitched for the account, which was previously handled by...

Owen on digital media: Leave the big dumb agencies by making poverty your friend.(Column)
December 31, 2006... Digital budgets are never enough. Ask any agency. Like most, we also tend to believe the grass is greener on the other side of the fence. Or, more accurately, the other side of the pond. This, we tell ourselves, is why some of the most...

Moving on up: Appointment at Glue London.
December 31, 2006... Glue London has poached Wayne Brown from Sara Lee for the role of client services director. Previously marketing manager on Brylcreem, Brown brings client-side experience in digital and traditional media. Prior to Sara Lee, he was an account...

Moving on up: Appointment at ITV.
December 31, 2006... ITV has hired three new online sales managers. Rob Hicks, Alexis James and Fiona Stedman, who will work closely with Colin Ramsay, head of online sales and Vanessa Kent, controller of online sales at ITV. Hicks was previously an account...

Moving on up: Appointment at Loewy.
December 31, 2006... Integrated agency Loewy has appointed Mark Killingley as head of digital. He will consolidate the consultancy's existing pounds 2 million digital business across web build, search marketing and online campaigns. Killingley joins from Proximity...

Moving on up: Appointment at Universal McCann.
December 31, 2006... Media agency Universal McCann has appointed Edward Foster as head of search for EMEA. He joins from The Search Works where he worked for two years. In his most recent position, he was business analysis director, responsible for new business and...

Moving on up: Appointment at OgilvyOne Worldwide.
December 31, 2006... OgilvyOne Worldwide has appointed Annette King to the new position of deputy MD. King will support teams on key accounts such as HBOS, IBM, Amex and Mothercare, and continue putting digital 'at the heart of the agency'. She has been at Ogilvy...

Moving on up: Appointment at Play.
December 31, 2006... Digital agency Play has hired Nick Hamilton to the new position of design director. He will oversee the visual quality of Play's output and form a senior creative team with creative director Jon Sharpe. He produced interactive ads for clients...

Moving on up: Appointment at Bigmouthmedia.
December 31, 2006... Search agency Bigmouthmedia has recruited Stewart Reid as head of search from All-Hotels, a Lastminute firm. Reid will join the expanding travel team at Bigmouthmedia, which works with a range of clients, including Hilton, BA, Superbreak and...

Moving on up: Appointment at Poulters.
December 31, 2006... Leeds-based integrated marketing agency Poulters has hired Ross Hewitt as head of digital. Previously at Scarborough Building Society, Hewitt has vast experience of the financial services sector. He designed and implemented a five-year...

Moving on up: Appointment at Spinnaker.
December 31, 2006... Danna Koonce has been hired as digital operations director at creative communications agency Spinnaker. The new role signals a strengthening of the agency's strategic and operational digital output. Koonce was most recently director of...

Moving on up: Appointment at Shiny Media.(hiring of Shaa Wasmund)(Brief article)
December 31, 2006... New media network Shiny Media has hired internet entrepreneur Shaa Wasmund as a non-executive director. Wasmund, who founded Mykindaplace.com in 2000, which was later sold to BSkyB, will work with the current Shiny Media directors - Ashley...

Moving on up: Appointment at Foviance.(Brief article)
December 31, 2006... Usability and web analytics firm Foviance has appointed Mark Gristock as its new head of marketing. He replaces Ian Thomas who left to take up the position of MSN's director of customer intelligence. Gristock, who was formerly marketing...

Moving on up: Appointment at Associated Northcliffe Digital.(Annabel Hembry)(Interview)(Brief article)
December 31, 2006... Annabel Hembry has joined Associated Northcliffe Digital (AN Digital) as its first head of mobile. In the newly created role, Hembry will develop revenue-generating content-to-mobile products and services for AN Digital sites. She joins...

Chivas revamps site for 'Life' experiences.(Chivas Regal 12's experiential Website)(Website overview)(Brief article)
December 31, 2006... Whisky brand Chivas Regal 12 has relaunched its experiential web site (www.thisisthelife.com) as part of the brand's global positioning for 'Chivas Life'. It showcases the world's best experiences such as kayaking in Morocco, drinking...

WellChild offers kids' health advice online.
December 31, 2006... WellChild children's charity has launched an interactive health channel to offer an information resource on children's health. The interactive channel lets users search a wide range of health topics, using a tool that draws content from a...

Oxfam invites users to build a campaign.(Oxfam International's Make Trade Fair awareness campaign)(Brief article)
December 31, 2006... Oxfam International has a new site and logo to promote Make Trade Fair's latest awareness campaign, 'Make a Big Noise'. The site, designed by digital agency unit9, will promote the global competition being run to promote the issue of fair...

Griffiths on mobile: Improving customer experience is key for mobile TV to take off.
December 31, 2006... Having reviewed the options for mobile TV last month, I was intrigued by a white paper from Ovum a few days after my copy deadline on the same subject. The conclusion was that operators are struggling to establish mobile TV as a mainstream...

Ipoints uses email to push Xmas giveaway.
December 31, 2006... Ipoints.co.uk, the online loyalty programme, has launched a major email push to back its Christmas Giveaway Promotion. The campaign, throughout December, encourages members to do all their Christmas shopping online by offering ipoints bonus...

Digital direct: Personalising emails helps marketers to win new customers.
December 31, 2006... I was chatting to the head of a digital agency whose clients include some of the most sophisticated email marketers in the land. One nugget stuck out: despite the wealth of information available, he felt only a quarter look at email campaign...

PlayStation branches out with online arts.
December 31, 2006... PlayStation aims to 'broaden out' its target audience with the launch of a public arts portal, PlayStationSeason.com. The site will carry information and original content from the PlayStation Season, a joint-venture between the gaming brand...

Performance index.(Brief article)
December 31, 2006... The Revolution Keynote Performance Index measures the performance of 20 representative sites from across the digital economy in terms of speed of loading and site availability. The top 10 are featured each month, and the worst performing...

Gaffney on America: Surfing USA: why it's time the politicians got the internet bug.(John Gaffney)
December 31, 2006... You Brits don't get hammered on an annual basis with this twisted media event we call elections. Normal people will show up at a completely archaic voting booth (probably the same one their grandparents used) and pull levers. They will...

Analysis: Profit margins dampen digital's rise.
December 31, 2006... Digital agencies are growing faster than all other marketing services sectors, yet lacklustre profit margins are letting the industry down. The findings, from the Willott Kingston Smith annual survey, Financial Performance of Marketing...

Analysis: McDonald's unveils digital strategy.
December 31, 2006... McDonald's is set to launch a global strategy it hopes will turn the company into the world's most innovative digital marketer. It follows the appointment last month of AKQA as its first global digital marketing agency. AKQA's appointment...

Vox pop: Are Google's new plans for commission any better?
December 31, 2006... Will Google's 2007 BPF programme be better received? When Google said it would drop the 15 per cent commission for agencies and replace it with the Google Best Practice Funding (BPF) programme last September, many agencies reacted angrily....

Editorial: Individuals will define the digital age.
December 31, 2006... In digital, happily, it is actually quite common to be inspired. There are plenty of people working in the sector who see it less as a trade and more as a cultural movement that's changing the texture of many people's - and businesses' -...

Comment: Time now for effectiveness to step up to the plate.
December 31, 2006... Measurement and accountability. For those of us old enough to remember, this is the platform on which the digital marketing industry was built. Barring the occasional marketing director blinded by the lustre of the dotcom boom, this promise...

Quotes of the month.
December 31, 2006... 'People need to wake up and realise this is not just a cyclical issue - there is deep structural change, rather like global warming. If we want to protect the fantastic legacy of UK broadcasting, we need to wake up to this sooner rather than...

HMV's new digital master.
December 31, 2006... HMV's e-commerce director Gideon Lask tells Philip Buxton how he and the music retailer hope to respond to the online challenge. When the boss of a retail chain responsible for 20 per cent of an entire sector's sales resigns and cites the...

2006 round-up: The year of digital?
December 31, 2006... With more advertisers chasing consumers online, was 2006 'the year of digital'? Danielle Long takes a look back at the last 12 months. Hamish Pringle, director-general of the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising (IPA), declared this...

Masterclass: The Revolution Masterclass on beating banner blindness.
December 31, 2006... With users besieged by online ads, how can marketers ensure they don't irritate, bore, confuse or simply get lost in the crowd? Creative agency Lean Mean Fighting Machine ran an online campaign for technology company EyeBlaster last year to...

The Revolution web 2.0 Report: Consumers call the shots online.
December 31, 2006... Web 2.0 is revolutionising the way we communicate, consume media, entertain ourselves, shop and bank. Sure, the drivers that are changing internet use today are partly due to the developments that have emerged from the technology landscape...

Creative review: Andy Sandoz creative director, Agency Republic, BIMA member since February 2005.
December 31, 2006... 'Digital's shift from information to entertainment has been meteoric. It's such an intelligent, lively, rich mash-up that you cannot fail to have a good time creating ideas for it. What we want now is more smarts, more interactivity, more...

Site design: How to web 2.0 your web site.
December 31, 2006... Pressed by the buzz surrounding 'web 2.0', brands need practical ideas to bring their sites up to date. Marketers love nothing more than a buzzword and 'web 2.0' has provided the perfect sound bite for those working in digital to drop into...

Sony Bravia: Campaigns like no other.
December 31, 2006... A massive creative success, Sony Bravia's 'Balls' campaign was also a lesson in how to think '2.0', reports Victoria Furness. San Francisco's residents were understandably bemused when they saw 250,000 bouncy balls being fired down their...

What's the big idea?(Tim O'Reilly, O'Reilly Media talks about web 2.0)(Interview)
December 31, 2006... To truly understand the idea of web 2.0, it's best to talk to the man who helped coin the phrase. Susie Harwood meets him. Type the phrase 'web 2.0' into Google and it's highly likely that you'll come across the name Tim O'Reilly. The...

Terminator: Time for creative teams to focus on the truth well told.
December 31, 2006... I read a quote the other day from a German fellow on the suspicious subject of being trendy: 'Trends are like aeroplanes - once you see one flying, you've already missed it'. He wasn't from the German fashion industry; he was speaking...

Terminator: Lee and Dan put their feet in it again for Glaxo.(Restless Legs Syndrome awareness-raising campaign by GlaxoSmithKline)(Brief article)
December 31, 2006... It sounded like a joke: GlaxoSmithKline launching a viral campaign promoting Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS). And it was by Lee and Dan, the guys behind the infamous VW Suicide Bomber viral. It smelled funny to Terminator, but it seems RLS is...

Terminator: Morgan flogs a dead horse at the IPA awards.(Piers Morgan hosts Institute of Practitioners of Advertising (IPA) Effectiveness awards)(Brief article)
December 31, 2006... Piers Morgan does a nice line in self-deprecation, even if you're not sure he really means it, and it was again self-evident as he hosted the prestigious Institute of Practitioners of Advertising (IPA) Effectiveness ceremony at London's Park...

Terminator: The gift that goes the extra mile - to space.
December 31, 2006... Ah Christmas, a time of peace and goodwill, unless you're jostling for a seat on public transport among irate shoppers. Yes, 'tis the season to be jolly, especially if you work in digital and avoid the crowds by shopping online. But, that...