Revolution articles from July 2006

Revolution archives from July 2006

Letter from the editor.(Editorial)
July 20, 2006... Quite why Coca-Cola is the one FMCG you can hold up as a true digital convert isn't entirely clear. Perhaps it has a culture of innovative marketing. Perhaps it's because it is targeted at the young. Or perhaps it is because it's probably...

Yell.com hires digital agency to handle offline ads for new push.
July 20, 2006... Online directory Yell.com has taken the rare step of appointing a digital agency to handle offline ads for a new campaign. The site is planning to launch its first significant offline ads via a through-the-line campaign by AKQA. The online...

BIMA invites entries by the end of July.
July 20, 2006... The deadline for entries to the 2006 BIMAs and for potential judges to volunteer has been set at 31 July. The British Interactive Media Association (BIMA) is working with Revolution again to launch and produce the awards, which reward...

Nokia offers 14,000 free videos on AOL.
July 20, 2006... Nokia is giving away 14,000 free, full-length music video downloads to mobile users via AOL Music in an ongoing promotion of its N91 handset. The promotion will run until all the videos have been downloaded. Visitors to AOL Music are...

Deals: 3 and Yahoo! sign global agreement.
July 20, 2006... 3 and Yahoo! have signed a global agreement that sees the latter provide its portfolio of rich mobile services to 3 worldwide. The deal will see the two firms offer key internet services, such as Yahoo! Search, Yahoo! Mobile Web, Yahoo!...

Deals: O2 buys broadband provider Be.
July 20, 2006... O2 has bought broadband provider Be for pounds 50 million. The purchase gives O2 broadband capability in the UK and a platform for developing converged services that integrate mobile, fixed-line and internet. Be plans to provide 50 per cent...

Deals: DoubleClick buys into Adtech AG.
July 20, 2006... DoubleClick has bought a minority holding in digital marketing technology supplier Adtech AG. DoubleClick is acquiring shares previously held by other firms. The deal follows DoubleClick's acquisition of Falk eSolutions AG earlier this year,...

Deals: DoubleClick buys Klipmart.
July 20, 2006... DoubleClick has also acquired online video advertising firm Klipmart as part of its plan to integrate its rich-media, display and search channels to create one digital platform. The deal will allow agencies to integrate Klipmart's video and...

Deals: ChannelAdvisor joins eBay.
July 20, 2006... Channel management firm ChannelAdvisor has joined eBay to launch eBay Giving Works; a programme for 'good cause' marketing on eBay. ChannelAdvisor merchant sellers will be able to donate part or all of the final sale price to a non-profit...

Deals: 118 118 partners PriceRunner.co.uk.
July 20, 2006... 118 118 has partnered price-comparison site PriceRunner.co.uk to offer the price-finder service over the phone. There are also plans for a microsite on 118118.com and an SMS service.

Deals: Cello buys controlling stake in Oomph.
July 20, 2006... Marketing group Cello has taken a controlling stake in digital agency Oomph, clients of which include Co-operative Financial Services and Cottswold Outdoor. Cello has bought 50.1 per cent of Oomph in a deal worth about pounds 300,000. The...

Deals: MSN strikes deal to screen highlights from Wimbledon 2006.(Brief article)
July 20, 2006... MSN struck a deal with the All England Tennis & Croquet Club to screen match highlights from Wimbledon 2006. The recently launched MSN Video Channel streamed exclusive clips, daily previews and round-ups. Coverage included highlights from all...

Deals: Clear Channel Outdoor agrees partnership with Magink.
July 20, 2006... Clear Channel Outdoor has agreed a partnership with Magink to roll out the UK's first network of outdoor digital ink billboards across London this autumn. The billboards will appear in 10 prime locations around the capital, following a deal...

Sony to break new Bravia TV ad online.
July 20, 2006... Sony plans to break the eagerly-awaited second ad for its Bravia high-definition TVs online, following the digital success of its award-winning 'balls' spot. The ad, directed by Jonathon Frazer for agency Fallon, will be featured on a new...

Magnum runs with Handbag for new push.
July 20, 2006... Unilever ice-cream brand Magnum has signed Handbag.com as the exclusive online partner for its new marketing push. The six-month deal will see Handbag.com host a Magnum-branded microsite, featuring a competition and interactive facility...

Amnesty International focuses on e-marketing for fundraising.
July 20, 2006... Amnesty International has hired digital agency Chameleon Net to handle the charity's online fundraising. A new promotion, which runs until March 2007, will use an integrated three-pronged approach of banners, paid-search marketing and...

Good month/bad month.(market research of online information services)(Brief article)
July 20, 2006... Happy days for internet entrepreneur Benjamin Cohen, who, having founded SoJewish aged 15 and then launched gay newspaper and web site Pink News, has just moved into mainstream journalism. Channel 4 has appointed him as its first ever...

Just breaking: Top 10 breaking banners by impressions - (1-31 May 2006).(advertising campaigns)(Table)(Brief article)
July 20, 2006... 1 Skype The whole world can talk for free 2 Lufthansa An experience that feels like cloud nine 3 Brunel Franklin & Company Limited Compensation worth thousands 4 Eurotunnel ...

Crown paints' owner initiates digital push for brand portfolio.
July 20, 2006... Akzo Nobel has hired digital agency Code to update and maintain the web site for its flagship Crown paint brand and develop two new sites. Code was appointed on the back of the microsite and online campaign it ran for Crown Colour Week 2006...

Orange builds branded site in Times deal.(contracts of Orange Business Services and Times Online)(Brief article)
July 20, 2006... Orange Business Services has developed a branded microsite for the Times Online as part of a sponsorship deal. The nine-month sponsorship of the Work Revolution section of The Times and Times Online aims to raise the profile of Orange...

Betfair has Eastern Europe in its sights.
July 20, 2006... Peer-to-peer betting site Betfair is continuing its expansion into Central and Eastern Europe by launching a French-language microsite in Belgium. The online-betting exchange appointed digital agency Lawton eMarketing to create the site,...

Sport Relief adopts digital for charity run.
July 20, 2006... Sport Relief is using digital more than ever to promote its 'Go the extra mile' event on 15 July and enable people to sponsor the runners. Martin Gill, head of new media at Comic Relief, said Sport Relief 2006 would be backed by Comic...

Account wins.
July 20, 2006... BMW Mini has split its digital brand ad account between Profero and glue London after a five-way pitch. BMW, which previously used WCRS sister agency Meme, divided the account after a final shoot-out between the two. - Glue London has also...

Owen on digital media: Creative sheep have much to learn from the Cannes Lions.
July 20, 2006... I haven't spoken to anyone that's openly enthusiastic about the US VW GTI work, which won the interactive campaign Grand Prix at last month's Cannes Festival. Maybe they're jealous. Maybe they're sick of the dominance of the online awards...

Past Times rolls out brand refresh online.
July 20, 2006... Past Times is to launch a new logo and web site as part of a major redesign for the high-street brand. The revamp will see the firm, which specialises in historical products, strengthen its brand positioning as a historical and...

RAF uses interactive to interest recruits.(www.raf.mod.uk/careers)(internet services of The Royal Airforce)(Brief article)
July 20, 2006... The Royal Airforce (RAF) has overhauled its careers web site, adding interactive features such as blogs, videos and podcasts to appeal to 16 to 24-year-olds. The 'Rise to the challenge' site (www.raf.mod.uk/careers) informs potential...

IPC signs ad 2-one for consumer titles.(marketing agreements)(Brief article)
July 20, 2006... IPC has picked online ad sales network ad 2-one to sell advertising inventory on the bulk of its consumer sites and help train the publisher's sales staff to sell on the web. The agency will take on banner inventory sales for web sites in...

Tracker: Definitions.
July 20, 2006... Unique visitors: The number of unique people who have gone to the site at least once in the defined time period. Reach % (active): The number of unique web users seeing a web site one or more times, expressed as a percentage of the total...

Xerox joins FT.com in Blackberry campaign.
July 20, 2006... Xerox has teamed with FT.com to launch a branding campaign targeting BlackBerry users. The 'Business colour' promotion delivers Xerox ads to those BlackBerry users who access news from the Financial Times' web site. The two companies...

Holiday firms hit by 'brand interception'.
July 20, 2006... The number of travel companies suffering from 'brand interception' on search engines has risen, according to research from digital brand consultant Nucleus. The findings show that the number of travel operators suffering brand interception...

ITV man Elms takes ad role at Teamtalk.(Colin Elms joins as advertising and sponsorship director)(Brief article)
July 20, 2006... Colin Elms, the former head of online publishing at ITV, is to become the new advertising and sponsorship director at sports site Teamtalk. Elms, the most famous face on ITV's online team, begins his new role in July, taking over from Paul...

Griffiths on mobile: Consumers can only win as T-Mobile airs live World Cup clips.
July 20, 2006... As I write, the FIFA World Cup has just kicked off and Germany have beaten Costa Rica 4-2. Readers will know more as the competition unfolds, but, in the digital age, what role is mobile playing? Perusing the web sites of the carriers and...

RadioCentre launches site to compete for ad spend.
July 20, 2006... The radio industry is looking to the internet in its efforts to represent itself more strongly to the media world. The RadioCentre, the new industry body, is launching a web site (www.radiocentre.org), which will allow visitors to listen to...

Silentnight multi-million-pound campaign gives site a facelift.(Silentnight Holdings PLC)(Brief article)
July 20, 2006... Silentnight has revamped its web site as part of a multi-million-pound marketing drive. The campaign, which includes TV ads, promotes the launch of a new bed, the Mirage, and aims to maintain the bed brand's market-leading position. ...

Times MD to give keynote at Rev Forum.
July 20, 2006... Paul Hayes, managing director of The Times Newspapers, will deliver the keynote speech at the Revolution Forum. Hayes will kick off the event with his thoughts on how online communities change the rules for marketers. Speakers include:...

Time thief: Louis Wahl - UK head of marketing at Audible.co.uk tells us his day.(interview)(Interview)(Brief article)
July 20, 2006... 10% Running It's great to go for a run in the morning in the empty streets, but not in winter when it's cold, raining, and anyone about looks at you like you're nuts. 20% Commuting I live in Anerley, but work in Chiswick, so...

Coca-Cola refreshes Coke brand and site.
July 20, 2006... Coca-Cola has launched a global digital strategy to coincide with the rollout of its new 'Coke side of life' brand positioning, set to hit the UK this summer. The soft-drinks giant has overhauled its core coke.com/coca-cola.com web site,...

Performance index.(web site ranking)(Table)(Brief article)
July 20, 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 week, and the worst performing web...

Gaffney on America: Marketers need to grab teens where they talk and play.
July 20, 2006... About six years ago, when I was working for the esteemed but short-lived US version of this magazine, I had lunch with an executive from a huge US telco. Among his hobbies was US business history and he knew his stuff way back to the industrial...

Moving on up: Appointment at 3 UK.
July 20, 2006... Gary Pepler has joined 3 UK as director of brand and marketing communications. He brings more than 20 years' marketing communications experience, both in-house and agency-side, in the B2B and B2C sectors. Pepler's most recent position was...

Moving on up: Appointment at Profero.
July 20, 2006... Full-service digital marketing agency Profero has poached Mathias Hellquist from dare to be its new technology director. Hellquist will be responsible for the running of the technology team, and managing the web development and content creation...

Moving on up: Appointment at HMV.
July 20, 2006... HMV has announced two new additions to its digital product team. Andy Hearn moves from the head-office product catalogue department to become rock/pop buyer for digital. Meanwhile Steve Mathison is the new digital soul/dance buyer. Mathison was...

Moving on up: Appointment at dgm.
July 20, 2006... Web marketing services group dgm has added Paul Alexander to the board as non-executive director. Alexander is the global head of consumer markets for data analysis firm dunnhumby, where he has managed a number of high-profile customers,...

Moving on up: Appointment at Tamar.
July 20, 2006... E-commerce agency Tamar has appointed Kim Byers as a project manager, overseeing site design, build and maintenance work for its client portfolio. Joining from Ticketmaster, where she was online manager, Byers will be responsible for ensuring...

Moving on up: Appointment at 24/7 Real Media.
July 20, 2006... 24/7 Real Media has promoted Rob Wilson from MD for the UK to MD for Europe. Wilson, who joined from search marketing network Overture in 2004, succeeds Christopher Wagner, who resigned after six years as CEO of 24/7 Real Media Europe.

Moving on up: Appointment at Tribal DDB.
July 20, 2006... Digital agency Tribal DDB has recruited a new senior planner, Chris Wood, to lead the strategic direction of the Volkswagen account. He joins Tribal from Wheel, where he developed global digital strategies and communications for Brahma beer and...

Moving on up: Appointment at Wheel.
July 20, 2006... Wheel has brought Simon Gill on board as head of design to boost its six-man web development team. He will be responsible for visual and user experience design. Previously, Gill worked at tmg, where he developed award-winning sites for clients...

Moving on up: Appointment at i-vu.
July 20, 2006... Interactive screen media owner i-vu has appointed Guy Phelps as head of advertising to build on the company's global client portfolio and its relationships with outdoor specialists. Phelps joins i-vu from Boomerang, where he sold its portfolio...

Moving on up: Appointment at uSwitch.
July 20, 2006... Independent comparison and switching service uSwitch.com has appointed Richard Stables as CTO. Stables, who joins from Stamps.com, will lead the IT team, oversee the deployment of the technology required for global expansion, and provide the...

Moving on up: Appointment at Quartz Interactive.
July 20, 2006... Paid search marketing specialist Quartz Interactive has hired Sarah Lindsay-Bush as client director to drive growth. She joins from Yahoo! Search Marketing, where she was UK account director for three years.

Moving on up: Appointment at Haygarth.
July 20, 2006... Integrated marketing agency Haygarth has appointed Bob Blandford to the newly created position of deputy creative director. He has been with the firm for nine years, where he has worked across key accounts, including Nokia and Signet.

Moving on up: Appointment at MSN UK.
July 20, 2006... MSN UK has hired Alex Marks as head of trade marketing. His remit will include Microsoft adCenter and Windows Live. Marks leaves i-level, where he was marketing director. MSN has also promoted Chris Dobson to the position of VP international...

Moving on up: Appointment at Digitaltmw.
July 20, 2006... Digitaltmw has hired Dug Falby as senior digital consultant, responsible for web innovation and developing campaigns involving online communities. His first task will be to create a community marketing service.

Eyeblaster director joins mobile venture.
July 20, 2006... Eyeblaster, the online ad technology firm, has lost its European business development director, Nitzan Yaniv, who is moving to a mobile video advertising start-up. Yaniv will join his new firm on 14 July, having played a key role in the...

Everton to boost site with streamed video.
July 20, 2006... Everton Football Club will offer streamed media to fans as part of a partnership with new-media sports-casting supplier Servecast. The exclusive five-year deal will see Servecast provide a digital business platform which includes streamed...

Haymarket unveils new directory site.(Blueboomerang.com)(Brief article)
July 20, 2006... Haymarket, the publisher of Revolution, has launched an online directories site that lets companies find suppliers in the marketing and print industries. Blueboomerang.com houses directory services from Haymarket's range of titles and...

Murphy on dotcom life: Invest in trust, so consumers divulge data you can use.(market research of online advertising)
July 20, 2006... Last month (June) was an exciting time for us as our new parent company, ITV, took over online ad sales for our portfolio of sites. With the change will come an important shift to a more brandled approach, integrated with the range of ITV's...

Digital direct: One-size-fits-all is way forward for rich content for mobile.
July 20, 2006... Wireless service providers have faced an uphill battle in introducing rich content and data services across a broad selection of mobiles. This bewildering array of devices from many manufacturers makes it difficult to deploy new content....

3 focuses on digital for direct marketing.
July 20, 2006... 3 is ramping up its direct marketing strategy with a focus on digital, following the appointment of agencies Holler and Claydon Heely. Activity will initially focus on communicating with existing customers across a range of media, rather...

Direct Stats.
July 20, 2006... This month Direct mail still dominates marketing budgets, accounting for 25 per cent of overall media budgets. The findings, from the Direct Marketing Association's Marketing & Direct Marketing Budgets Report 2006: where are clients...

Ticketmaster offers gig entry via mobile.
July 20, 2006... Ticketmaster has launched a wireless delivery service that lets customers receive tickets on registered mobiles. The MobileTicket service will send ticket buyers an SMS containing a unique barcode that is valid for entry to an event. ...

Ikea hires agency for store and web work.
July 20, 2006... Ikea has appointed Agency.com to handle its eCRM programme, in-store plasma-screen strategy and creative. As revealed by Revolution last month (June, p4), the furniture retailer launched a competitive pitch for an agency to unify its...

Vital statistics: Yahoo! and MSN.
July 20, 2006... This month Yahoo! and MSN battle it out for second place as Google takes 77 per cent of UK search. Research from Hitwise reveals Yahoo!'s share of executed searches in the UK has risen to seven per cent, level with MSN. However, Google...

Analysis: Industry hails new user survey.
July 20, 2006... The quarterly internet audience survey, launched last month by the Internet Advertising Bureau (IAB) and National Readership Surveys (NRS), is regarded as a significant move forward. The initiative is described as the first step towards...

Analysis; Dotmobi gains support of brands.
July 20, 2006... More than 4,000 companies, including big names such as the BBC, BSkyB, Virgin, Marks & Spencer and Nike registered '.mobi' sites within the first two hours of the new mobile top-level domain's (mTLD) early registration period last month. ...

Vox pop: Is creativity lacking among the UK's interactive agencies?(United Kingdom)
July 20, 2006... Are UK creatives more interested in results than winning prizes? In Cannes last month, two US agencies and a series of Brazilian campaigns picked up most of the Cyber Lion Golds. Meanwhile, UK companies such as Agency Republic, glue London,...

Quotes of the month.
July 20, 2006... 'I believe internet access via mobile telephony will have such an important part to play in helping to close the gap between rich and poor... Mobile is going to be the next big internet phenomenon. It holds the key to greater access to...

Editorial: It's time for UK talent to step up.(Editorial)
July 20, 2006... Touring Europe in the past month has proven a fascinating way of gauging digital from outside the confines of the insular UK market. In Mallorca, the stage for the Online Marketing Europe show, the news for Blighty was positive. IAB figures...

Comment: Offline knowledge can benefit your online strategy.(Dan Clays)
July 20, 2006... For the past two years, finding skilled, innovative digital professionals has been time-consuming for agencies, clients and media owners. The good news is that investing in young talent is now paying off and, from the agency side, there's...

Shopping: Review - Prestige tea breaks coming up.
July 20, 2006... A kettle isn't the most interesting purchase in the world, but a necessary one all the same. I liked my glass, cordless model, but, as it had started making noises like the new Airbus 380 in take-off mode, I knew it needed replacing. And, with...

Shopping stats: Web is the new high street for UK users.
July 20, 2006... Why are UK shoppers expected to spend pounds 30 billion online this year? Findings from the Interactive Media Retail Group (IMRG) reveal strong growth in the online retail market, which it predicts will increase by 56 per cent this year...

Sector checker: Odeon's revamped site could do more to engage visitors.
July 20, 2006... MSN UK's Katy Adelson finds Odeon has a lot to offer cinema-goers online, but feels the chain could do more to exploit the web's many opportunities Web: www.odeon.co.uk Developer: Design UK The cinema sector has changed...

Coke brings digital to life.
July 20, 2006... VP of global interactive marketing Tim Kopp tells Susie Harwood why Coca-Cola is using the web for its most ambitious, global marketing strategy. FMCG brands are notoriously sensitive about revealing even the slightest details of their...

Web 2.0: The power of 2.
July 20, 2006... Web 2.0 could have a huge impact on marketing, but what is it? Susie Harwood attempts a definition. The web has always had more than its fair share of buzzwords and acronyms. But, every now and then, one pops up that causes everyone to go...

Email marketing: Back to basics.
July 20, 2006... With recent research showing 40 per cent of UK companies do not test their email marketing, Danielle Long asks how big a risk they're taking. More than one-third of companies are not testing their emails before doing bulk marketing...

Ad:tech preview: Ad:tech aims even higher.
July 20, 2006... What's on offer for digital marketers at next month's ad:tech conference? Susie Harwood takes a look. Ad:tech, the conference all about digital marketing, is preparing to descend on London for the second year running in September, and it looks...

The Revolution Affiliate Marketing Report: Just rewards for innovative brands.
July 20, 2006... Sponsored by TradeDoubler The growth of affiliate marketing has been impressive. Often accounting for over a quarter of an advertiser's online sales, the channel is estimated to have grown by 125 per cent last year. Yet, its significance...

Masterclass: The Revolution Masterclass on search engine strategy.
July 20, 2006... Getting the most out of search marketing means planning your strategy properly to maximise returns, discovers Suzy Bashford. More than 200,000 advertisers are now advertising on search engines. As a result, search marketing has become...

Campaign of the month: Boots.
July 20, 2006... Campaign: Change One Thing Client: Boots Agency: Poke Background: Retailer Boots wanted to create a New Year initiative that encouraged customers to keep their resolutions by inspiring them to change just one thing about themselves....

Trailblazer: Virtual showroom.
July 20, 2006... Andrew Howells tells Danielle Long about Zype, his iTV agency borne out of the now defunct Zip TV, and his plans for Honda. Whether it's the fish tank-style windows, white-tiled floors or the new-car smell, something about dealerships is...

Creative review: Wes Hogg executive creative director, E3.
July 20, 2006... Wes Hogg oversees all the creative work that comes out of E3 for clients including Orange, Kia Motors, Triumph Motorcycles, Peugeot, Citroen, Toni & Guy, BBC, Channel 4, MTV and Living TV. 'There's some amazing work out there, really...

Terminator 1: The Borg are taking over and they're not doing it for the cash.
July 20, 2006... I was discussing 'disintermediation' at the We Media Global Forum the other day. Organised by the American Press Association's Media Centre, and sponsored by Reuters and the BBC, the event, staged in London in May, 'brings together the...

Terminator 2: Brazil strides off with lion's share of cyber awards.(Brief article)
July 20, 2006... Ah Cannes... the sun, the sea, the creatives' green flip-flops. It's enough to convince you that advertising ain't so bad after all. Also impressive was this year's array of UK digital agencies, which, at the culmination of the digital...

Terminator 2: Dubble agents make a choc drop at Habbo.
July 20, 2006... When you create a virtual world, sooner or later a number of life's little realities will creep in, but virtual protests to get virtual products stocked in a virtual store? That's a new one. The real people behind online community Habbo...