Revolution articles from February 2008

Revolution archives from February 2008

Letter from Revolution.(Brief article)
February 4, 2008... This month we unveil the eagerly anticipated shortlist for Revolution's 11th awards, which will be awarded on 7 March at a glittering awards ceremony at The Grosvenor Hotel in London. The quality of the entries continues to rise, and it's...

Deals: Criteo secures funding.
February 4, 2008... Criteo (www.criteo.com), provider of real-time, personalised recommendations to online shoppers and advertising platforms, has secured pounds 5.2m of series B funding led by Index Ventures. The round also includes historical investors AGF...

Deals: Trinity Mirror acquires Career Engineer.
February 4, 2008... Trinity Mirror, publisher of the Daily Mirror, has acquired The Career Engineer, an online recruitment site, for about pounds 2.3m. Trinity Mirror will pay an initial pounds 1.9m and a deferred amount up to pounds 400,000 - wholly...

Deals: Havas acquires media agency BLM.
February 4, 2008... Havas, the French marketing services group, has acquired independent media agency BLM for an undisclosed sum. Havas has acquired a 100 per cent stake in BLM, which owns digital media agency Quantum, among other specialist divisions. BLM...

Deals: Founders of Howzat Media invest in Trivago.
February 4, 2008... The founders of Howzat Media, also the founders of Cheapflights, have completed their fourth dotcom investment. The fund has invested in Trivago, a German-based, pan-European internet media company. It publishes travellers' experiences and...

Deals: Latitude secures financial backing.
February 4, 2008... Search engine marketing company Latitude has secured financial backing from private equity investor Vitruvian Partners in a management buy-out. The investment will be used to fund the business through further acquisitions and growth....

Deals: 4th Screen Advertising signs new deals.
February 4, 2008... 4th Screen Advertising, the mobile advertising agency, has signed publishing deals with Associated Newspaper Group and Teletext. The partnership with Associated involves exclusive rights to serve mobile advertising on the recently...

Deals: Shape-up Challenge goes online.
February 4, 2008... Future Health and Fitness magazine has joined forces with newly launched MySport.net to provide an online training platform for the title's annual Shape-up Challenge. The event, supported by Nike Women, is a 12-week fitness programme...

Deals: Bluepod Media secures exclusive rights.
February 4, 2008... Bluepod Media, the Bluetooth marketing specialist, has secured exclusive rights at football clubs including Blackburn Rovers, Birmingham City, West Ham, Portsmouth, Wigan Athletic, Wolves and Celtic. The commercial deal will allow third...

Toyota unveils integrated brand campaign linking Bebo and Aygo.
February 4, 2008... Toyota is to launch its first digital brand integration for the Aygo, partnering with Bebo's drama series Kate Modern. The partnership will last for three months initially, and Toyota, agency Newcast (the non-traditional media arm of...

Butlins boosts conversion and interactivity.(Butlins Skyline Ltd.)(Brief article)
February 4, 2008... Butlins' digital strategy for 2008 will focus on conversion via optimisation, and increased interactivity. The holiday company has restructured its marketing department with separate teams dedicated to acquisition, retention and conversion,...

Waitrose launches first eCRM campaign.
February 4, 2008... Waitrose is unveiling its first strategic eCRM activity, following a successful run of tactical email marketing last year. The programme has been created by integrated agency, Kitcatt Nohr Alexander Shaw, and monthly emails roll out from...

Way2Blue holds on to Paramount work.(Brief article)
February 4, 2008... Paramount Pictures has retained Way2Blue as its digital PR agency. The deal, which cements a six-year relationship, will see the agency execute digital press and promotions for all Paramount and DreamWorks films. Upcoming campaigns...

Good month/bad month.(Syzygy Communications Inc. acquired Hi Res)(Brief article)
February 4, 2008... Syzygy forged on with its third acquisition in the past year. The digital agency, partly owned by WPP, has taken a majority stake in London-based Hi-ReS! Syzygy has acquired an 80 per cent stake for an undisclosed sum. Last year, it...

Revolution announces 2007 awards shortlist.
February 4, 2008... AKQA, Dare and CHI & Partners have made the shortlists for the Revolution Awards, to be given out at a ceremony on 7 March at Grosvenor Hotel. AKQA, which won Agency of the Year in 2006 has been shortlisted 12 times in the 2007 awards,...

Cheapflights names Paul Hecht as group product director.(Brief article)
February 4, 2008... Cheapflights, the UK and North American internet travel company, has hired Paul Hecht as group product director. Hecht will be based in London and will report to Cheapflights' group managing director, Chris Cuddy. Hecht will be responsible...

Just breaking: Top 10 breaking banners by impressions (1-31 December 2007).(Direct Holidays)(MyTravel Group PLC)(Thomascook.com)(Brief article)
February 4, 2008... 1. My Travel Rainy days, post-Christmas blues? 2. VisitWales For stars you can believe in 3. Direct Holidays pounds 10 million giveaway 4. Virgin Broadband From pounds 4.50 a month...

Bennetts takes the search for 2008 biker babes squad online.(Brief article)
February 4, 2008... Bennetts, the motorbike insurance provider, has turned to the internet for its annual nationwide hunt for girls to join its Bennetts Babes squad. Leeds-based design and web development company Zolv has created a site that allows voters to...

Enable lands Breast Cancer Care after pitch.
February 4, 2008... Breast Cancer Care has awarded its complete site overhaul to Enable Interactive following a three-way pitch. The charity is altering its online strategy because its discussion forum, which launched in 2001, receives around 50 per cent of...

Yell invests in social media monitoring.
February 4, 2008... Yell is the latest brand to use social media monitoring to track online brand coverage. The UK arm of Yell Group has hired Prompt Communications to provide social media monitoring services for all its UK brands, including Yellow Pages,...

Digital direct: How to deploy email to give consumers what they really want.
February 4, 2008... Email ROI continues to be high, but don't let the numbers fool you. Make sure you're thinking about what consumers really want, or risk finding yourself a jilted brand. Today's consumers are looking for value in relationships with their...

Volvo reveals a new brand positioning.
February 4, 2008... Volvo has revealed a new brand positioning, which will harness digital channels, as it shifts away from its longstanding rational safety message. Digital work for this campaign was planned by MindShare and executed by Burrows (part of...

Direct Stats.(Survey)(Brief article)
February 4, 2008... This month Vertical search now needs to be taken seriously, according to the Vertical Search Report 2008 from e-consultancy and Convera. The overwhelming majority (93 per cent) of the 500-strong professional community surveyed said that...

Sony creates Rambo game for Facebook.
February 4, 2008... Sony Pictures has created a Facebook application, to support the re-release of the iconic Sylvester Stallone war film, Rambo, opening in cinemas on 22 February. Digital agency Spinnaker has developed the application, which goes live on 14...

Account wins.(Carat Espace to advertise for Saga)(Profero to advertise for MyLotto24)(ATG to advertise for Bulgari S.p.A.)(Brief article)
February 4, 2008... - Fuse Digital has been appointed by Bullring, the Birmingham shopping centre, to launch a new internet TV channel - Bullring TV. The agency is currently producing the first site content, which will be added to over the coming months. Visit...

Owen on digital media.
February 4, 2008... Don't blame the net for EMI's troubles - content is the key. Can a medium ever really die? TV did not kill off radio, just as radio didn't kill newsprint. The CD didn't even completely kill off vinyl. Last month's headlines about EMI,...

Mintz on China: Look to Confucius to vault the great firewall of China.
February 4, 2008... Driving down any expressway in Beijing this year is totally different from last year. Early 2007 was a skyline of high-rise Blade Runner neon, today most of the ads have gone - the Chinese authorities ripped them all down, without asking...

Ligne Roset appoints ID Media London.
February 4, 2008... International luxury furniture brand Ligne Roset has appointed ID Media London as its first global digital partner for international communications activity, as part of growth plans. Ligne Roset, which currently has outlets in 50 countries,...

Performance index.(Brief article)
February 4, 2008... The Revolution Keynote Performance Index measures the performance of 20 representative sites from across the digital economy in terms of speed of loading and availability. The top ten sites are featured each month and the worst performer...

Pioneer turns to video with DJSounds.com.(Brief article)
February 4, 2008... Pioneer, a supplier of DJ equipment, has been using social networking, having found that it can reach more potential customers online than offline. DJsounds.com, Pioneer's clubbing community blog, has relaunched as a video channel carrying...

Nuts TV launches on Sky Guide platform.
February 4, 2008... Nuts TV launched on the digital satellite platform via the Sky Guide, following its successful launch on Freeview last September. The channel launched on 21 January and runs 7pm until 3am every night. It will be supported by an outdoor,...

Yahoo! and T-Mobile offer banner ads.
February 4, 2008... T-Mobile has teamed up with Yahoo! to launch the first banner advertising on its Web'n'Walk internet service. T-Mobile users will be served targeted ads when using the service, with roll-out set for the first half of 2008. 'After much...

Gaffney on America: Responsibility is a marketable quality, as MySpace proves.(MySpace.com Inc.)
February 4, 2008... 'MySpace makes site safer for kids.' That was the general gist of all the headlines over here recently. However, the press got the story wrong. By setting age guidelines and building in parental controls, MySpace made its site safer for...

Moving on up: Appointment at The Wikimedia Foundation.
February 4, 2008... The Wikimedia Foundation has hired Erik Moeller for the newly created deputy director role. Moeller has been involved in editing and developing projects at the non-profit organisation, which sets up free-content web projects, since 2001....

Moving on up: Appointment at ipoints.co.uk.(Adam Maher appointed as director)(Megan Stevenson appointed as acquisition manager)(Andy Hulse appointed as head of direct marketing)
February 4, 2008... Maximiles-operated ipoints.co.uk, the online coalition loyalty programme, has brought in new recruits. Adam Maher joins as director of loyalty, after seven years as head of commercial development at You at Work, an employee benefit and...

Moving on up: Appointment at LG Mobile UK.
February 4, 2008... LG Electronics, the consumer electronics company, has hired a new head of marketing for LG Mobile UK. Jeremy Newing joined the business in Decemeber 2007 from Benefon, where he was chief marketing officer. He brings 12 years of experience...

Moving on up: Appointment at Propertyfinder.com.(Gillian Kent appointed as chief executive officer)(Brief article)
February 4, 2008... Propertyfinder.com has appointed former MSN-boss, Gillian Kent, as its new chief executive officer. Kent was the managing director of MSN UK from 2003 to 2006, having previously been head of products and business development and head of...

Moving on up: Appointment at iris.
February 4, 2008... Digital agency iris has poached OgilvyOne managing partner and former Proximity Worldwide digital chief John Baker to head its digital division. Baker will become joint managing director alongside George Nimeh, who joined a year ago...

Moving on up: Appointment at Spring Digital.
February 4, 2008... Spring Digital has appointed Paula Jago as operations director, as the full-service design agency looks to develop its strategy and brand. Spring Digital was set up in 2002, and Jago is tasked with developing a new business-growth model....

Moving on up: Appointment at EnQii.(James Abdool appointed as president)(Brief article)
February 4, 2008... EnQii, the digital out-of-home advertising provider, has announced James Abdool will be joining as president, EMEA. He joins EnQuii after completing the sale of digital out-of-home audio business TSC Music Systems. Abdool will be...

Moving on up: Appointment at DoubleClick.
February 4, 2008... DoubleClick has appointed Andy Mihalop as director of strategic services, with responsibility for clients based in Europe and Asia Pacific, as the company looks to strengthen its global market presence. Mihalop joins from Reed Business...

Moving on up: Appointment at Sport Media Group.(Barry McIlheney appointed as editor in chief )(Brief article)
February 4, 2008... Sport Media Group, the integrated multi-media group that publishes the Sunday and Daily Sport newspapers and digital content for internet and mobile channels, has appointed Barry McIlheney as editor-in-chief of Sport Newspapers. McIlheney...

Moving on up: Appointment at LinkedIn.(Interview)
February 4, 2008... LinkedIn, the professional network, has brought in Kevin Eyres as European managing director in line with the opening of a European operation in London. The new office reflects a huge increase in membership, with the millionth UK member...

Enable set to rebuild War Child Music site.
February 4, 2008... Enable Interactive, the top-ranking agency in Revolution's Agency and Supplier Survey, 2007, has scooped the contract to rebuild War Child Music's website and create a powerful online brand for the charity. Part of War Child, the charity...

UMG names Ad2One for digital sales task.
February 4, 2008... Universal Music Group (UMG), the global music company, has appointed Ad2One as the exclusive digital sales house for its portfolio of music websites, including the official sites for artists Girls Aloud, Amy Winehouse and Razorlight. In...

Vital statistics.
February 4, 2008... This month Sports and mates are reasons to use mobile social networking services, writes Hayley Pinkerfield. Sports news and communicating with friends are among the most popular reasons for people to log on to mobile social networking...

Awards shortlist: Is your company a contender?
February 4, 2008... Have you earned a place on the shortlist for a Revolution award this year? As the Revolution Awards ventures into its 11th successful year, we reveal the shortlist of campaigns and projects that caught our panel's eye. The final results...

Analysis: Bellwether reveals maturing market.
February 4, 2008... Growth in internet advertising spend is falling off, with the latest Bellwether Report revealing the slowest upwards revisions to online marketing budgets since autumn 2003. That said, internet advertising budgets were again increased up to...

Vox pop: Does the latest Lynx site make the most of web 2.0?
February 4, 2008... The new website for Lynx/Axe is causing controversy, writes Hayley Pinkerfield. Lynx/Axe Digital, a Unilever brand, has unveiled its first work since appointing Bartle Bogle Hegarty lead agency in December 2006. The much-awaited...

Analysis: Will Wikia Search ever compete?
February 4, 2008... The launch of Wikia Search (http://alpha.search.wikia.com/) in January was hardly the glorious celebration its founder, Jimmy Wales, would have wanted. TechCrunch blogger, Michael Arrington, called it 'a complete letdown', while Chris...

Bellwether Report: Quotes special.
February 4, 2008... 'Traditionally, spending on direct marketing holds up well in a recession - it is the 'fluffier' brand-building work that tends to get axed.' Mike Teasdale, planning director, Harvest Digital 'It's inevitable that marketing budgets in...

Editorial: A Modern saga for online times.(Editorial)
February 4, 2008... The headlines around the death of Bebo's Kate Modern will have seemed odd to many. The online drama series that has been running for a year regularly attracted millions of viewers and - rough estimates suggest - tens of thousands of pounds...

Comment: TV and internet convergence is going both ways.
February 4, 2008... As a digital veteran, I admit to a love/hate affair with online video. Like many in the industry, I have a persistent fear that our offline peers will use our beloved internet as a dumping ground for 30-second spots. Where else could they...

Sector checker: The internet for children as seen by the real experts.
February 4, 2008... ValueClick's Carl White and his three young children, Jacob, Wilf and Rosie, review websites aimed at the under 16s. It's always a challenge for adults to build websites for children that appeal to a wide age range, reflect the brand's...

Shopping: Shopping review - Round the houses for rail tickets.(Nationalrail.co.uk )
February 4, 2008... Well, what a journey I've been on - but not through choice! We often head down to the South Coast at weekends, so I decided to buy my ticket online a few days in advance, rather than suffering the scrum at the station. Nationalrail.co.uk...

Shopping: Shopping stats - Pure-play e-tailers ahead on satisfaction.
February 4, 2008... Internet pure plays top multichannel retailers on customer satisfaction. Hayley Pinkerfield reports. Play.com, Amazon, eBay, QVC, HMV and Marks & Spencer are among the top-rated online retail sites for customer satisfaction.This is...

Army of one.
February 4, 2008... Military recruitment is a tough job in today's climate. But the Army's Mark Bainbridge has success in his sights, reports Alicia Buller. He's the man with the most difficult job in the country. Probably. But Mark Bainbridge's composed...

Mobile usability: When less is more.
February 4, 2008... Usability is central to the mobile website experience - you can't just convert PC-based sites. The future doesn't always arrive on schedule. Back in 2000, when Britain's mobile operators spent pounds 22 billion on licences to run...

Digital radio: Tune into profit.
February 4, 2008... DABverts - ads using the screens on digital radios - can add value to any radio or online campaign. Andy McCormick investigates. Digital radio means more stations now have the ability to broadcast extra information alongside the audio -...

Web analytics: IP targeting: hit or miss?(Company overview)
February 4, 2008... Hailed as a way to get the best returns from your advertising investment, is IP targeting all it's cracked up to be? 'I often access a radio website called www.kfog.com, which is located in San Francisco,' says Bob Ivins, executive...

Masterclass: The Revolution Masterclass on on-site targeting.
February 4, 2008... On-site targeting - selling the right things to the right people - can bring big uplifts in conversions. But how do you go about it? If 2007 was the year of search marketing, then 2008 is the year of behavioural targeting. With increased...

Brand profile: Domino's puts quick service first.
February 4, 2008... Domino's has always sold on speed, but with its internet service it can take less than a minute to order a pizza. With one in five of all pizzas sold by Domino's in the UK now ordered online, the company is investing more heavily than ever...

The Revolution Affiliate Marketing Report.
February 4, 2008... The fact that an affiliate marketing category has been added to the Revolution Awards this year speaks volumes about its progress, and consequent visibility, in the digital marketing sector. Affiliate marketing activity has rocketed over...

Deduplication: Has your site got double trouble?
February 4, 2008... Affiliate marketing is getting it together, but many websites need to pay attention to how much they are paying for leads, writes Gareth Jones. Affiliate marketing is gearing up for a bumper year in 2008. Having established itself as one...

Trailblazer: Perfect match.
February 4, 2008... In his new global role at Match.com, Jason Stockwood plans world domination in the online dating sector. Hayley Pinkerfield reports. Why would the head of a business that's been a global hit since 1995 need to be a trailblazer? Think...

Creative review: Simon Gill, LBi.
February 4, 2008... Simon Gill is creative director at LBi Member of BIMA since August 2005 Simon looks after creative on PlayStation, De Beers, Orange, HMW and Starwood Hotels among others. He has worked in digital for 14 years, during which time he has...

Valentine's league: Take your pick.
February 4, 2008... As promised, Revolution brings you a selection of the cutest people in the digital marketing sector - as submitted by readers. And, my, what a good-looking sector we work in. Now, it's down to you One boy and one girl will walk away with...

Terminator: Sod the romance - try my digital recipe for anti-Valentine's.
February 4, 2008... Creatives hate Valentine's Day. They have to trot out the same 'send a flirt' flash animations or ridiculous online love tests year after year. Meanwhile, millions of men give millions of women flowers, cards and chocolates as a heartfelt...

Terminator: Life is peachy when Christie calls the shots.(Brief article)
February 4, 2008... The great and good of digital marketing have finally gathered for the momentous judging of the Revolution Awards 2008. The location was glamorous Hammersmith (fondly nicknamed 'Glamoursmith' by Haymarket inmates) on a particularly wet and...

Terminator: Ah yes, the old ones are the best.
February 4, 2008... Speaking of the men of digital, and not forgetting the lovely ladies, Revolution Towers spent January swamped in a welcome deluge of totty pics for the Valentine's League. Of course, there had to be one... Simon Parker of SPS Marketing...

Terminator: This site is the cat's whiskers.
February 4, 2008... Kitty Wigs. These really are the ultimate present for the cat lover who has everything, and we mean everything. For the truly pampered puss, Kitty Wigs are the ultimate in feline chic Owners can choose from a range of Barbarella-esque wigs,...