Revolution articles from July 2008

Revolution archives from July 2008

Deals: Google signs partnership with Yahoo!
July 14, 2008... Google has signed a landmark partnership with Yahoo! to combine the two companies' search advertising systems. Yahoo! estimates the ten-year deal will yield an annual revenue of dollars 800 million. Yahoo! will be able to run ads supplied...

Deals: Microsoft buys semantic search outfit Powerset.
July 14, 2008... Microsoft has bought semantic search outfit Powerset, in a deal believed to be worth around pounds 50 million. The acquisition follows Microsoft's failure to challenge Google's dominance of the search market either by acquiring Yahoo!...

Deals: VivaKi partnered with Google, Yahoo!, AOL and Microsoft.
July 14, 2008... Publicis Groupe's VivaKi, the ad giant's digital initiative announced on 25 June, has partnered with Google, Yahoo!, AOL and Microsoft to boost clients' ability to target online users. The partnership has been labelled the Audience on Demand...

Deals: Starbucks signs as exclusive sponsor of Take 5.
July 14, 2008... Starbucks has signed up as the exclusive sponsor of Take 5, a new celebrity and entertainment section on Virginmedia.com featuring celebrity, fashion, beauty, travel and games content. The five-week deal will target people interested in...

Deals: Puma signs deal with CyberSports.
July 14, 2008... Puma has signed a deal with CyberSports to incorporate its sportswear products and branding into online video game 'Football Superstars'. IGA Worldwide, the in-game advertising agency, will incorporate the interactive branding into the...

Deals: Yahoo! signs deal with Planet 3.
July 14, 2008... Yahoo! has signed a deal to exclusively sell banner and sponsored links advertising on 3 UK's portal, Planet 3. Ads will target customers who have already shown an interest in mobile internet services, including the 1.4 million-plus users who...

Deals: BT hires BigmouthMedia.
July 14, 2008... BT's directories division has hired Bigmouthmedia to its pounds 5 million search marketing account, following a multi-agency pitch Bigmouthmedia will run paid-for and natural search for BT. Zed Media, the Publicis Groupe agency, continues to...

Deals: ITV2 joins with iTunes to offer programming partnership.
July 14, 2008... ITV2 has joined with iTunes for three weeks this summer to offer an advertising-funded programming partnership. Under the deal, which also involves Endemol, iTunes will pay for production costs for ITV2's coverage of the iTunes Festival: London...

Deals: Glasses Direct in co-branding deal with Northern & Shell.
July 14, 2008... Glasses Direct is to use Daily Express, Daily Star and OK! magazine for a co-branding deal with Northern & Shell. The two companies have created three co-branded websites and catalogues entitled 'Express Sight', 'Star Sight' and 'OK! Eyewear'

Economic climate forces major advertisers to slash spending.
July 14, 2008... The UK's biggest online advertisers including the COI, Orange and Microsoft are slashing their digital spend as the economic downturn takes hold. Research commissioned by Revolution shows that four of the UK's ten biggest internet spenders...

BA plans London to New York social network.
July 14, 2008... British Airways is set to unveil Metrotwin.com, an ambitious social networking project linking Londoners and New Yorkers. The website is currently being privately tested and is due to be unveiled in full later this summer. BA has only...

Nike chief: risk is key to success.
July 14, 2008... Nike's UK marketing director Simon Pestridge claims that being prepared to take risks is the only way to create truly successful digital campaigns. Pestridge, who is responsible for integrating digital into the core of Nike's marketing...

UK gamers give ads the all-clear.
July 14, 2008... Just 20 per cent of consumers have a negative attitude towards in-game advertising, according to a study of campaigns from brands including Jeep, Taco Bell and Wrigley. Research carried out on behalf of IGA Worldwide shows that more than...

Good month/bad month.
July 14, 2008... Internet shopping is growing at the fastest rate in six years, defying the gloom seen on the high street. Online spending on retail purchases rose by 35 per cent to pounds 14.7 billion last year as the number of UK internet shoppers rose to...

Digital direct: Tactical marketing also needs to be tactful marketing.
July 14, 2008... In this difficult economic climate, it's easy to retrench into very tactical digital marketing activities. Clearly this is sensible. However, it doesn't have to be at the cost of fundamentals. In tough times, it's more important than ever to...

Sky expands video ad formats on offer.
July 14, 2008... Sky is set to become one of the first media owners to offer advertisers a wide range of video ad formats to promote their brands. The broadcaster has moved to gain additional ad revenue from its wealth of video content by offering...

Direct Stats.
July 14, 2008... Boosting return on investment and improving deliverability are the biggest issues facing email marketers, according to the latest National Email Marketing Benchmark report. The study, carried out by the Direct Marketing Association's Email...

Orange unveils single mobile platform for social networkers.(Brief article)
July 14, 2008... Orange is launching a mobile social networking service that will allow advertisers to target users of Facebook, MySpace and Bebo via a single platform. The mobile network operator is bringing together the most popular functions from...

Google revises keyword bids for brands.
July 14, 2008... Advertisers can now find out exactly how many people have searched for their brands on Google for the first time, after the search giant moved to make its bidding system more transparent. Advertisers can now track the volume of searches for...

Bebo hires Burns to drive European push.
July 14, 2008... Bebo chief executive Joanna Shields has turned to her ex-Google colleague Kate Burns to run the social network's UK and European operations. Burns, currently UK managing director of video site Dailymotion, will join Bebo in August as...

Just breaking: Top 10 breaking banners by impressions (1-30 June 2008).(Table)(Brief article)
July 14, 2008... TOP 10 BREAKING BANNERS BY IMPRESSIONS (1-30 June 2008) 1 Open University: 25,898,353 Use the gaps in your day to fill the holes in your CV 2 CasinoJoker: 18,878,713 Casino games you can play from home 3 ...

Owen on digital media: If you'd been thinking Google was powerful before, think again.
July 14, 2008... Who said interruptive advertising was dead? Who said it was no longer viable for brands to rely on the conventional model of 'piggy-backing' on original content to reach their target audience? That brands had to go out of their way now to...

Sony Ericsson hands Eyeblaster ad task.
July 14, 2008... Sony Ericsson is stepping up its global digital marketing strategy with the appointment of Eyeblaster to its integrated ad serving account. The world's fifth-largest mobile phone manufacturer has handed Eyeblaster a brief to handle both...

Account wins.(Tourism Australia)(Efficient Frontier)(Moneysupermarket.com)(briefs)
July 14, 2008... Tourism Australia has appointed DDB Worldwide to handle its integrated advertising account, thought to be worth up to pounds 85 million. The network's digital arm Tribal DDB will handle the digital aspect of the account. Tourism Australia...

Lloyds TSB embarks on three-year revamp.
July 14, 2008... Lloyds TSB is overhauling its online banking service in an effort to attract new customers in the face of the worsening economic conditions. The high-street bank has appointed LBi to revamp its website and internet banking operations as...

DoH pushes anti-binge drive online.(Department of Health)(Brief article)
July 14, 2008... The Department of Health is extending its anti-binge drinking campaign with the launch of the latest online film in its 'Know your limits' series. The latest stage in the hard-hitting awareness drive uses viral site Kontraband to seed a...

Turner awards display work to Platform A.
July 14, 2008... Turner Broadcasting has appointed AOL's newly formed ad-targeting division Platform A to handle display ad sales across its portfolio of websites. The broadcaster has selected Platform A to handle online ad sales for its line up of...

FX UK goes viral over Dexter.(Brief article)
July 14, 2008... FX UK is rolling out a viral marketing campaign to promote the second series of hit US drama Dexter, which follows a serial killer who works for the Miami police department. The video application, devised by Ralph, allows users to send...

Griffiths on mobile: An array of operating systems leaves the industry guessing.
July 14, 2008... Earlier this year, at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Arun Sarin gave an important speech in which he highlighted the issues the industry faces with the multitude of operating systems in the mobile world and called for consolidation in the...

Unilever unveils global web strategy for Persil.
July 14, 2008... Unilever is launching a global digital marketing strategy aimed at promoting its flagship Persil laundry brand in more than ten international markets. The FMCG giant has briefed OgilvyOne to develop its biggest digital drive to date for...

Performance index.(Brief article)(Company rankings)
July 14, 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...

Schwarzkopf rolls out brand-building drive.
July 14, 2008... Schwarzkopf, the Henkel-owned haircare brand, is making its first foray into online advertising with the launch of a campaign to promote its Pro.Styling brand. The digital marketing drive is based around the concept of the 'Hair Police',...

Vital statistics.
July 14, 2008... This month: Advertisers are failing to take advantage of social networking sites to promote their brands, according to a report from JupiterResearch. The study shows that half of all sponsored groups on web 2.0 sites such as Facebook, Bebo...

Mintz on China: Olympics will bring online opportunities for many brands.
July 14, 2008... The Olympic Games remain one of the biggest events in the world but, thanks to the internet, this year's games in Beijing will be more significant than ever. Brands will have to rethink their strategies because, with more than 50 sponsors...

Vox pop: What next for Yahoo! after failure of Microsoft bid?
July 14, 2008... What does the future hold for Yahoo! now Microsoft has been rebuffed? Yahoo! has been left battered and bruised by Microsoft's failed takeover approach. In an effort to appease angry shareholders, the internet giant has partnered with...

Project watch.(Breast Cancer Care )(Brief article)
July 14, 2008... Continuing the story of Breast Cancer Care's digital overhaul. This month, the breast cancer charity began working with Enable on the design of the new Breast Cancer Care website. A lot of the groundwork has been done, and the process is...

Quotes of the month.(Quotation)
July 14, 2008... 'Traditional brands must consider all the implications of entering into the social media space otherwise they run the risk of becoming the online equivalent of an embarrassing dad dancing at the disco' - Mark Bainbridge, the Army's marketing...

Leader: Power 50: the challenge for brands.
July 14, 2008... It's an almost impossible task to whittle down the wealth of talent in the UK digital marketing industry to a list comprising just 50 names. But we've done it. After a painstaking and rigorous process, we have come up with what we are...

Comment: Slowdown may be a vital shot in the arm for mobile.
July 14, 2008... It's one of the unsolved wonders of the modern age that the small, personal colour screens that everyone has in their pockets are largely an advertising wilderness. At the same time, the larger colour screens that adorn desktops in...

Sector checker: Women's websites appeal to a growing online population.
July 14, 2008... Nancy Cruickshank, global chief executive of VideoJug and former MD of Handbag.com, reviews women's sites. Web Look.co.uk Agency: Lightmaker Women in the UK are spending more and more time online. They are searching, shopping,...

Shopping Review: Eco-friendly and customer-focused.
July 14, 2008... When 1 January ticked around, I decided that this would be the year that I would get serious about living a greener and more eco-friendly life. But once I'd planted vegetables in my back garden and amassed a fine collection of hemp carrier...

Shopping Review: Shopping stats - Credit crunch helps drive shoppers online.
July 14, 2008... Competitive prices are inspiring growing numbers of budget-conscious consumers to shop online as economic pressures bite. The credit crunch has led to an increase in the number of consumers preferring to shop online rather than on the high...

Shell opens up on the net.
July 14, 2008... Mounting criticism has made it crucial for Shell to engage with a broad audience, from green campaigners to Formula 1 fans. Adam Woods meets the man behind its digital strategy. Few companies find themselves more conflicted by the raging...

Who's watching you?
July 14, 2008... Behavioural targeting is being hailed as the next big thing in online advertising, but privacy issues are not going to vanish overnight, writes Andrew McCormick. Your company can make money from behavioural targeting. The question is: do...

How can email work with web 2.0?
July 14, 2008... The arrival of web 2.0 means email marketers are having to reinvent the medium if it is to stay competitive, says Alex Blyth. In just a decade, email has transformed the way we communicate with each other. In 1997, the primary means of...

Masterclass: The Revolution Masterclass on email marketing.
July 14, 2008... An email marketing agency can bring experience and specialist skills to the table, but how do you find the right agency, asks Victoria Furness. It's an irony not lost on those working in the email marketing industry that while display and...

The Revolution Web Hosting Report: Hosting partners play a critical role.
July 14, 2008... Sponsored by Rackspace The success of a brand is increasingly tied in with its ability to deliver a secure, always-on web presence. Investment in the latest promotional campaign can be wasted if the website fails as demand increases....

Be prepared to beat the rush.
July 14, 2008... With more artists releasing tracks online, Victoria Furness looks at how the right web hosting strategy can help prevent a site crashing under the weight of customer demand. When Coldplay released the first single, Violet Hill, from its...

Web hosting: Future proofing for video.
July 14, 2008... To manage demand for video applications, websites need to build in capacity from the outset, writes Jennifer Whitehead. Unless you're Doctor Who whizzing around the universe in your Tardis, there is no way you can have failed to realise...

Creative review: Bo Hellberg, Ogilvy Interactive.
July 14, 2008... Bo Hellberg is executive creative director at Ogilvy Interactive BIMA member for two years Bo Hellberg is a multi-award winning creative director working for a diverse range of clients including British Airways, Castrol and Persil...

Campaign study: Plum Vision.(Plum Baby)(Work Club)
July 14, 2008... Campaign: Plum Vision Client: Plum Baby Agency: Work Club Work Club created a campaign to make baby food brand Plum Baby stand out from other premium products in a competitive market by connecting with senses other than taste ...

Trailblazer: Sound vision.
July 14, 2008... 80s house music star and self-confessed geek Rudy Tambala plans to reinvent Ministry of Sound's web offering as a digital lifestyle brand. Rudy Tambala was hailed as a pioneer of UK house music after his band Marrs had a hit with Pump Up...

Terminator: Trouble in store if agencies don't walk the technology walk.
July 14, 2008... For an East End boy like me, with a quick wit and a silver tongue, the City beckoned when I started looking for work. The Big Bang had exploded, breaking the constraints of the Stock Market and old-school-tie nepotism was rapidly being replaced...

Terminator: Army admits to ARRSing around.
July 14, 2008... You don't have to be a military historian or an internet whiz to know that the Army and blogging are two things not normally associated with each other. It's hard to picture ranks of soldiers dashing in from the battlefield, plonking...

Terminator: Arena magazine turns back time.
July 14, 2008... Digital creatives have long been pushing the boundaries of marketing, but now they have gone one step further by breaching the space-time continuum. Terminator has uncovered evidence that four of the UK's leading strategic brains have...

Terminator: Brin to search final frontier.
July 14, 2008... Google co-founder Sergey Brin is planning to boldly go where no dotcom billionaire has gone before by putting down a dollars 5m payment on a space flight. Brin has signed up with the space tourism company Space Adventures for priority...