Revolution articles from February 2005

Revolution archives from February 2005

Letter from the editor.
February 28, 2005... One of the areas targeted by the people who are charged with boosting the online ad sector is the FMCG market. The theory goes that brands that are not primarily concerned with direct response and ROI do not tend to treat digital as seriously...

Diesel stages its music talent competition on MP3 web site.(Brief Article)
February 28, 2005... Diesel is launching its annual international music talent competition, diesel-u-music, on a site where entrants can download and listen to free MP3 demos. The fashion brand is targeting its traditional 'cool, young audience' with the...

Diet brand recruits TBG for campaign.(Weight Watchers (UK) Ltd.)(Brief Article)
February 28, 2005... Diet specialist WeightWatchers has hired digital agency TBG Creative to produce an online ad campaign targeting UK slimmers after a competitive pitch. The brand, which spends pounds 10 million on marketing each year, with six figures going...

RNID launches new online shop offer.(Royal National Institute for the Deaf)(Brief Article)
February 28, 2005... The Royal National Institute for the Deaf (RNID) is launching a new site that includes an online shop and adheres to the highest accessibility standards. The RNID, the largest charity to represent the UK's nine million deaf and hard of...

Deals: Online forms major part of deal.(between men's magazine FHM and The World Poker Exchange site)(Brief Article)
February 28, 2005... Online forms a major part of a deal between men's magazine FHM and The World Poker Exchange site, promoting the game as an essential skill. Advertorials in FHM will be backed by a microsite on FHM.com with downloadable 'technique' videos....

Deals: Alliance & Leicester renews ad deal with AOL.(Brief Article)
February 28, 2005... Alliance & Leicester has renewed its online advertising deal with AOL. The agreement, worth up to pounds 1m, will see the financial brand featured across the entire AOL service until January 2006. It will focus on AOL's money and motoring...

Deals: LB Icon buys Wheel.(Brief Article)
February 28, 2005... Digital agency Wheel has been bought by Swedish company LB Icon, only a year since it secured its independence from South African Primedia with a management buyout. Philip Hunt, Wheel's CEO, said: 'LB Icon provides us with a stronger platform...

Deals: Haymarket acquires leading motorsport site.(Haymarket Publishing, AtlasF1.com)(Brief Article)
February 28, 2005... Haymarket Publishing, which owns Autosport and publishes Revolution, has acquired one of the world's leading motorsport sites, AtlasF1.com. In a deal signed this week with Atlas-owner Kaizar.com, the site's name, content and infrastructure will...

Deals: Firms seal planning deal.(EMAP Advertising, Sky Media and Chart Show )(Brief Article)
February 28, 2005... EMAP Advertising, Sky Media and the Chart Show have sealed a strategic planning deal, allowing advertisers a presence on 60 per cent of all music TV channels. The firms will collectively sell Music TV opportunities to advertisers, leading to...

Deals: James Villa Holidays joins Ottakars in deal.(Brief Article)
February 28, 2005... Independent villa holiday firm James Villa Holidays has joined with book chain Ottakars in a deal through SP Partnerships, the promotions arm of SP Holdings. Ottakars will offer customers money off travel books while James Villas Holidays is...

Deals: O2 partners IN-FUSIO.(Brief Article)
February 28, 2005... O2 has partnered mobile games publisher IN-FUSIO to offer games to customers, who will be able to download three Java games, including South Park, to a range of handsets. They will be available on the portal before any other operator releases...

Deals: Filmnight joins forces with Apollo.(Brief Article)
February 28, 2005... Filmnight, the online DVD retailer and film content provider, has joined forces with UK film rental chain Apollo. Filmnight will use the Apollo stores as its offline base. The deal was funded by a mix of cash and shares, with Apollo...

Deals: Mistral Internet buys customer base of Keybridge.(Brief Article)
February 28, 2005... UK Business ISP Mistral Internet, has bought the customer base of Keybridge, subsidiary of data provider Global Switch.

Cadbury Creme Egg makes online debut.(Cadbury Trebor Basset)(Brief Article)
February 28, 2005... Cadbury Trebor Bassett is taking Cadbury Creme Egg online for the first time for its traditional pre-Easter push. The campaign is the first time the Creme Egg brand has been advertised online and also the first time any brand has used a new...

Adidas links new trainer to Le Parkour.
February 28, 2005... Sportswear brand adidas has launched an online campaign to support its latest trainer, the A3 Hyperride, which aims to exploit the cult popularity of the new sport of Le Parkour. The new trainer, exclusive to high-street chain Footlocker,...

Sky Sports brings presenters to life in virtual web studio.(British Sky Broadcasting Group PLC. Sky Sports)(Brief Article)
February 28, 2005... Sky Sports has invested in 3D animation as part of a new live-chat project for its web site, skysports.com. Sky Sports presenters such as Rodney Marsh, Helen Chamberlain, Tim Lovejoy and Chris Kamara have been turned into digital cartoon...

Good month/bad month.(Brief Article)
February 28, 2005... A good month for Yahoo!, which is claiming another 'record year'. The US-owned giant reported sales of some dollars 3.5 billion for 2004, which has doubled 2003's figures, and pre-tax profits of over dollars 1bn. Art lovers can claim...

Sony Ericsson puts 10 per cent of S700i launch budget online.
February 28, 2005... Sony Ericsson is committing 10 per cent of a pounds 3.7m launch budget for its new S700i camera phone on the web. As part of an integrated push that saw TV ads break late in January, an online campaign will educate users on how to take...

Milk council in first major web push.(Brief Article)
February 28, 2005... The Milk Development Council is embarking on its first major consumer push online as part of a pounds 3m promotion of the benefits of milk, cheese and yogurt to teenage girls. The online element is due to go live in March and April....

PDV launches free pounds 1m fruit machine.(Brief Article)
February 28, 2005... PDV, the permission-marketing company behind The Daily Draw web game, has launched a free online fruit machine, offering a pounds 1 million top prize. Fruitillion, which PDV claims is the first game of its kind to have a pounds 1m jackpot,...

Just breaking: Top 10 breaking banners by impressions.(Brief Article)(Illustration)
February 28, 2005... (1-31 DECEMBER 2004) 1 BT Broadband More power to you 2 AA Don't be left stranded 3 Expedia Book together for less 4 Lycos Christmas giveaway 5 Orange Smartphone 6 Meetic...

Excel gains online boost with XL.com.(Brief Article)
February 28, 2005... Excel Airways has launched into the wider world of online travel after buying the URL XL.com. The airline, known for its low-cost flights, has expanded its online offer to include flights from other airlines, car rental, hotels and package...

Account wins.(Advertising Contracts )
February 28, 2005... Hairdressing chain Toni & Guy has appointed E3 Media to overhaul its web site. The new site will offer e-commerce in 30 countries. United International Pictures (UIP) is working with creative agency Fallon and strategic planning...

Owen on digital media: A welcome force for change at the helm of the IAB.
February 28, 2005... Guy Phillipson's appointment as chief executive of the IAB is gob-smackingly impressive. It's also extremely appropriate. After five years as head of advertising at one of the UK's biggest digital brands (Vodafone), Phillipson is well-placed to...

Disney to launch DVD with teen site.(Walt Disney Co. )(Brief Article)
February 28, 2005... Disney is to launch the DVD for The Princess Diaries 2 on girls' teen site Mykindaplace (MKP). The family 'rom-com' will be promoted in a month-long push on the site from 11 February. The agreement, negotiated by marketing company...

MSN UK signs two year Udate deal.(Brief Article)
February 28, 2005... MSN UK has signed a two-year seven-figure advertising deal with online dating site Udate. The agreement will give Udate and sister company Match.com exclusivity in personals advertising across the entire MSN UK network. A similar...

Tracker: Fast mover - retail.(Brief Article)
February 28, 2005... The festive season saw the year's strongest performance for UK online retail, whose sites saw 23 per cent more traffic than Christmas 2003. The week ending 4 December performed best, with its market share of retail traffic surpassing 13...

Kelkoo search to power Yahoo! cars.(in contract with Auto Trader Systems Ltd.)(Brief Article)
February 28, 2005... Yahoo! has dropped a partnership with Autotrader to launch its own pan-European car channel, based on the shopping search technology of its subsidiary, Kelkoo. The new channel, which will offer 120,000 new and used cars, runs across...

MNA moves major media survey online.(Midland News Association)(Brief Article)
February 28, 2005... The newspaper group Midland News Association (MNA) is moving its major survey, which promotes West Midlands' local newspapers, on to the web for the first time. The group, which owns and publishes regional titles such as Wolverhampton's...

Wine buff web site adds pop-up tool.(Berry Brothers and Rudd Ltd.)(Brief Article)
February 28, 2005... Berry Bros. & Rudd, the 300-year-old wine merchant and whisky-maker, has added a new tool to its site, so wine buffs can receive news and information direct to their desktop. Wine Splash is a downloadable tool that sits on users' desktops...

Griffiths on mobile: Mobile devices pose hidden threat to the workplace.
February 28, 2005... So, what did Santa bring you for Christmas? If you run any kind of network, you might be getting some late, unexpected gifts as new records were set for the purchase of mobile devices as presents. Thousands of people returned to work...

Time thief: John Ryan, director of hotels at Opodo.co.uk, tells us his day.(Brief Article)(Interview)
February 28, 2005... 25% Rethinking ways to sell the hotel industry online Opodo has just launched a new-look hotel service, designed to make it easier for customers to find and book hotels. Our product offering now consists of niche hotels. 23% Meeting...

Coors allocates pounds 7m to digital channels for 2005.(Coors Brewers Ltd.)(Brief Article)
February 28, 2005... Coors Brewers, owner of Carling and Grolsch, is upping its digital spend by up to 35 per cent this year to an estimated pounds 7m. The company said the extra money would go on revamped sites for the two beer brands, as well as search...

Reuters promotes revamped web site to City commuters.
February 28, 2005... Reuters is targeting commuters in the City of London in a new campaign to promote its overhauled online services. As part of the push, print ads appear at London commuter 'hubs', such as Liverpool Street - where Reuters will take all the...

Vision 2005 to focus on technology.(Brief Article)
February 28, 2005... Vision 2005, the triennial conference devoted to tackling the needs of the visually impaired, is to focus on web design and technology. The event, at the QEII Conference Centre in London on 4-7 April, is inviting designers and technology...

More Than boosts ad spend on digital.
February 28, 2005... The Royal & SunAlliance-owned insurer More Than is planning to spend pounds 6 million online in 2005 as it doubles the percentage it spends on digital channels. The company plans to spend 20 per cent of its overall marketing budget of...

Performance index.(search engines)(Brief Article)(Illustration)
February 28, 2005... 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 week, and the worst performing web...

Gaffney on America: Now is no time to get cute if you want to build user trust.(John Gaffney of Peppers and Rogers Group)(Interview)
February 28, 2005... I've always thought you Brits had a better handle on that great American attitude called 'optimism' than Americans. Churchill, The Beatles, Nick Hornby, Madonna (that's right, she's yours now): need I go further? This belief was...

Moving on up: Appointment at RAC.(Jonathon Brown at RAC Motoring Services Ltd.)(Brief Article)
February 28, 2005... Motoring services firm RAC has hired Jonathon Brown as head of RACe, its digital channels and e-business division. Brown will be responsible for the RAC's consumer services portfolio of digital channels, which includes rac.co.uk and bsm.co.uk....

Moving on up: Appointment at Emblaze Mobile.(Laurence Alexander)(Brief Article)
February 28, 2005... Former O2 executive Laurence Alexander, who is credited with the operator's sponsorships of Big Brother, Arsenal FC and England Rugby, is the new chief executive officer of Emblaze Mobile. Alexander joins the handset development company...

Moving on up: Appointment at Genes Reunited.(Martine Parnell to replace Michelle Barker)(Brief Article)
February 28, 2005... Genes Reunited, the ancestry sister site of Friends Reunited has hired Martine Parnell as its new head. Parnell replaces Michelle Barker, who was responsible for building the site from 650,000 members at the end of 2003 to 2.2 million in 2004....

Moving on up: Appointment at Dow Jones International.(Karen Mullis)(Brief Article)
February 28, 2005... Dow Jones International, the ad sales unit for Dow Jones & Company, has promoted Karen Mullis to the new position of managing director, sales and marketing, EMEA. She will report to John McMenamin, managing director of Dow Jones International.

Moving on up: Appointment at Digital Outlook.(Will Barlow and Jo Cordon)(Brief Article)
February 28, 2005... Digital Outlook, the new media marketing agency, has appointed two new staff who specialise in online entertainment retail. Will Barlow will develop the agency's team in this area while Jo Cordon takes on the role of senior account manager for...

Moving on up: Appointment at MSN.(Dan Watson)(Brief Article)
February 28, 2005... MSN has appointed Dan Watson to head up its new European strategy team, which aims to evolve the company's sales strategy to focus on client market analysis and target audience segmentation. Watson will lead the team of seven digital marketing...

Moving on up: Appointment at Reuters.(Astrid Zweynert at Reuters Group PLC)(Brief Article)
February 28, 2005... Reuters has named Astrid Zweynert as its new UK online editor. She will lead news coverage for Reuters.co.uk and manage the news service it provides to UK customers. Zweynert has been at Reuters since 1994 in various senior roles, most recently...

Moving on up: Appointment at Direct Marketing Association (UK).(Charles Ping)(Brief Article)
February 28, 2005... Charles Ping has been appointed chairman of the Direct Marketing Association (UK). Ping, who is head of CRM at Guardian Newspapers, will take over the position from David Coupe, managing director of Experian's marketing services division, who...

Moving on up: Appointment at Orange UK.(Mike Newnham)(Brief Article)
February 28, 2005... Orange UK has hired Mike Newnham as vice-president of sales and customer service. In his new role, he will continue to report to Bernard Ghillebaert, executive vice-president of Orange UK as part of the Orange UK management board. Newnham...

Moving on up: Guy Phillipson, Interactive Advertising Bureau.(Brief Article)(Interview)
February 28, 2005... Guy Phillipson has been appointed the new chief executive officer of the Interactive Advertising Bureau(IAB), succeeding Danny Meadows-Klue. As head of advertising at Vodafone, Phillipson was responsible for brand, consumer, business, new media...

A&L appoints new e-commerce chief.(management reshuffling at Alliance & Leicester PLC)(Brief Article)
February 28, 2005... Alliance & Leicester has appointed a new director of e-commerce in a major management reshuffle at the bank. Ian Tandy, who was previously head of the company's savings, investments and credit cards businesses, will take on the new role as...

Butlins uses site for 'kids love it' promo.(Design UK for Butlins Skyline Ltd.)(Brief Article)
February 28, 2005... Butlins has launched a brand new web site as part of a pounds 5 million integrated advertising campaign to promote its new 'kids love it' message. A TV campaign will feature the Butlins.com web address as the call to action, with the...

Web portals take over in UIP campaign.(Zed Media campaigns for United International Pictures, )(Brief Article)
February 28, 2005... United International Pictures (UIP) is claiming the first 'roadblock' online media campaign after it booked homepage take-overs on most of the UK's biggest internet portals, all on the same day. The Zed Media campaign to promote the cinema...

Pankhurst on dotcom life: Good times, but broadband offers more opportunities.(Steve Pankhurst of Friends Reunited)
February 28, 2005... For the Friends Reunited business in general 2004 was a good year, but, I must say, in some respects we had a phenomenal year. Genes Reunited has continued to grow to the point that we are now adding, on average, two relatives' names to the...

Digital direct: Digital and direct marketing combine with mutual benefits.(Brief Article)
February 28, 2005... If there's one thing I'll remember 2004 for, it will be as the year that digital and direct marketing really started to come together, and clients made a few critical tweaks on their side of the fence. Incumbent client structures certainly...

DMA begins email benchmarking study.(Direct Marketing Association )(Brief Article)
February 28, 2005... The Direct Marketing Association is embarking on a major project to produce benchmarking statistics on email marketing. Its Email Marketing Council plans to aggregate information from email service providers to compile standards on metrics...

Direct Stats.(email marketing)(Brief Article)
February 28, 2005... This month DoubleClick has released its EMEA Email Trend Report for the third quarter of 2004. Philip Buxton reports. The Q3 2004 data shows email performance and delivery rates are stable. There was a significant rise in interaction...

Comic Relief plans to integrate digital.(Brief Article)
February 28, 2005... Comic Relief is integrating its payment systems with digital channels for the first time as part of its plans for Red Nose Day on 11 March. The charity's new media partners - Cisco Systems, Empirix, Energis, Macromedia, Oracle, Sun...

Schafer joins IPA to represent digital.(Institute of Practitioners in Advertising)(Valerie Schafer appointed)(Brief Article)
February 28, 2005... The Institute of Practitioners in Advertising (IPA) has appointed a new e-commerce and new media consultant following the departure of Nigel Gwilliam in December last year. Valerie Schafer, who has held a number of roles with interactive...

Vital statistics.(growth in online advertising)
February 28, 2005... This month: Increased internet useage has shown a growth in banner ads on European web sites, reports Philip Buxton. Internet research house Nielsen//NetRatings found that the number of banner advertisements run on European web sites is up...

News Analysis: DMA measures email's success.(Direct Marketing Association)
February 28, 2005... The Direct Marketing Association has 'taken a while' to embrace email marketing, according to Martin Kiersnowski, chief operating officer of email service provider IPT. But the trade body has just launched a significant cross-company effort to...

Analysis: Study prompts overlays debate.(advertising using overlays)
February 28, 2005... A new study by media agency OMD UK and ISP Wanadoo has found that ads using overlays can be just as intrusive as pop-ups, prompting fresh debate. Overlays, which appear on top of content, but within the same browser, escaped the ban fever...

News Analysis: Forecasts see boom in 2005 online ad spend.
February 28, 2005... Advertisers are matching their confidence in online with a rise in ad spending as the Advertising Association forecasts internet marketing budgets to increase by 38 per cent in 2005. The predictions reflect on a positive overall market as...

Vox pop: Can brands promote goods ethically to kids online?
February 28, 2005... Marketing to kids can provide rich returns, but is it ethical? McDonald's Restaurants is rethinking its national education programme in primary schools and Kraft has promised to stop marketing certain products directly to children. ...

Editorial: Digital gears up for further growth.
February 28, 2005... The New Year has heralded a new start for one of the major names in the online advertising sector. The IAB, which, in the main, represents the views of the biggest online media owners, has a new chief executive in Guy Phillipson, head of...

Comment: IDM meets digital marketing training demand.(Institute of Direct Marketing)
February 28, 2005... We know that digital marketing is growing at a prodigious rate and accounts for at least three per cent of all marketing spend. Yet, there are no vocational qualifications to reflect this trend, leaving a severe threat of a skills shortage, now...

Shopping: Review - Shop until your battery runs out.(Reporo's shopping service)
February 28, 2005... It's tricky, but I think I've got the hang of it. And now I'm in danger of spending a lot of money on books and CDs from high-street retailers via my mobile phone, thanks to Reporo's shopping service. That means, wherever you are, whenever you...

Shopping stats: UK tops European online shopping poll.
February 28, 2005... Last year, more than a quarter of UK users each spent pounds 1,000 online and their numbers look set to rise. The UK is home to Europe's biggest online spenders, according to the European Interactive Advertising Agency (EIAA), whose...

Sector checker: Amazon takes sensible leap into the DVD-rental market.
February 28, 2005... ValueClick Europe's Carl White finds Amazon is well kitted out to offer users a competitive online DVD-rental service at a low entry cost Web: www.amazon.co.uk/dvd Developer: in-house Reviewing Amazon's new UK DVD-rental service...

Brewer's millions go on digital.
February 28, 2005... Coors' Nicola Young tells Philip Buxton how the US-owned brewer is planning to spend 10 per cent of its UK budget on digital in 2005. In Coors Brewers' reception in Burton-upon-Trent - a room still full of memorabilia from its long history...

Revolution Awards 2004: Is your name on the final list of entries?
February 28, 2005... We reveal the shortlist for the Revolution Awards 2004, in association with Yahoo! UK & Ireland. Are you there? This year's Revolution Awards, in association with Yahoo! UK & Ireland, will be the seventh time that Revolution has held its...

Managed Hosting: Which host offers the most for you?
February 28, 2005... The Revolution Affiliate Marketing Report sponsored by Rackspace. 2005 will continue to see significant consolidation in the web-hosting market, with acquisitions and mergers such as Pipex's purchase of Host Europe taking place across...

Bands rise to online demand.
February 28, 2005... Like the rock and pop stars they admire, fans need to feel loved and digital is helping artists gain from giving them exclusive access, says Emma Rigby. The web is providing bands and their record labels with new marketing opportunities in...

Infrastructure: The problem with traffic.(internet marketing)
February 28, 2005... The Revolution Web Hosting Report sponsored by Rackspace. High demand is one measure of a web site's success. But marketers must act to ensure interest isn't crippling. Dealing with peaks in site traffic requires cunning or investment,...

Hosting: How to reach the right agreement.(service level agreement with web hosting provider)
February 28, 2005... The Revolution Web Hosting Report sponsored by Rackspace Managed. The key to securing a good service level agreement is to be specific from the start about what you want from your hosting provider, reports Mark Mayne. The difference...

Show preview: IDMF 2005 looks at the whole picture.
February 28, 2005... Faced with the multitude of options in the digital marketplace, it can be a strange and bewildering world for the enlightened marketer. It has often been seen as a complex place, thanks to the intimidatory powers of technology and progress,...

Thinking by numbers.
February 28, 2005... How can marketers ensure their post-campaign analysis is both accurate and useful? Deborah Bonello finds out. When the internet debuted on the marketing scene about 10 years ago, one of its strongest selling points was its measurability....

Search engine marketing: The Revolution Masterclass on search engine marketing.
February 28, 2005... How can brands improve the ranking of their products and services in both natural and sponsored search listings? Emma Rigby finds out. According to Jupiter Research, 55 per cent of all e-commerce transactions originate from a search engine...

Trailblazer: Stretching SPACE.
February 28, 2005... Jon Clarke, managing director of Eyeconomy, tells Emma Rigby how a new format, called SubLines, will change the banner options that web sites can offer advertisers. Eyeconomy, the company behind pop-under ad format SubSites, has a new...

Creative review: Fred Flade creative director, de-construct.
February 28, 2005... Fred Flade is founding partner of digital creative agency de-construct, whose clients include Panasonic Europe, adidas and BBC Radio 1. 'With the rising uptake of broadband, online advertising is going through a massive transition,' says...

Campaign of the month.
February 28, 2005... Campaign: Absolut Cut Client: Inbev Agency: Wheel Background: Wheel was hired in late 2003 to launch the Absolut Cut brand on the Canadian market with Swedish-based communications agency Springtime. It launched Absolutcut.com as part...

Terminator 1: How the web is providing a lifeline in tragic times.
February 28, 2005... I've been fascinated by the way in which the internet has been involved in the aftermath of the recent tsunami devastation in the Pacific. At the time of writing, the good citizens of Great Britain had pledged an unprecedented pounds 100m in...

Terminator 2: The hunt is on for the goddess of the office.(Careergen)(Brief Article)
February 28, 2005... It used to be all e-evangelists and sultans around here. Remember the good old days of dotcom folklore when a wacky, incomprehensible job title was de rigueur for any hip, young e-entrepreneur? Terminator does. But Leeds-based 'career...

Terminator 2: Cough mixture that will make your mobile ill.(Pfizer Inc.)(Brief Article)
February 28, 2005... Coff! Coff! Coff! It's an all too familiar sound in the office at this time of year and, thanks to some bright spark at Pfizer, it's about to get worse. Yes, you read that correctly. The pharmaceutical giant has launched a set of ringtones...

Terminator 2: Time for new media bods to get smooching.(Udate.co.uk)(Brief Article)
February 28, 2005... Depending on your particular set-up, Valentine's Day can be a time of love, tears or cynicism. There's an argument for and against a card featuring mud-loving mammals that reads 'I'm hip-hip-hippopotamus over you'. To recognise the...