Revolution articles from June 2006

Revolution archives from June 2006

Deals: BT acquires dabs.com.
June 21, 2006... BT has acquired online technology retailer dabs.com as part of its strategy to position itself as a leading retailer of converged IT and communications products. BT will offer its entire range online, alongside Dabs' broad base of IT and...

Deals: Propertyfinder.com signs exclusive deal.
June 21, 2006... Propertyfinder.com has signed an exclusive deal to power the property search feature on MSN. Visitors to Propertyfinder.com will be able to browse 340,000 sale or rental properties. In addition to MSN, Propertyfinder.com has exclusive...

Deals: CNN International teams up with Homechoice.
June 21, 2006... CNN International has teamed with digital home network Homechoice to launch a video-on-demand service for shows such as Quest, Living Golf, CNN Business Traveller and Art of Life, as well as CNN documentaries, with new episodes added regularly....

Deals: Trinity Mirror acquires Email4Property.
June 21, 2006... Trinity Mirror has acquired Email4Property, the online directory service and marketing tool for estate agents, for pounds 4.4 million. Email4Property operates nearly 2,000 property sites. Each one is dedicated to a specific town or area in the...

Deals: TUI holiday group teams up with Commission Junction.
June 21, 2006... TUI holiday group, which owns the Thomson Holidays, Portland Holidays Direct and Simply Travel brands, has teamed with affiliate-marketing company Commission Junction to develop new media content for affiliate web sites. This will include...

Deals: Teachers' TV signs exclusive partnership.
June 21, 2006... Teachers' TV has signed an exclusive partnership to supply free video podcasts of The Teaching Challenge series through EducationGuardian.co.uk. The programmes feature celebrities taking on the role of teachers. The first video podcast, called...

Deals: Bango partners Spanish mobile operator TME.
June 21, 2006... Mobile content company Bango has partnered with Spanish mobile operator Telefunica Muviles Espaoa (TME) to provide new, compelling content for consumers to browse and buy outside of the operator's portal from their mobile. The deal means...

Deals: United Co-op Travel Group partners Global Media.
June 21, 2006... United Co-op Travel Group is partnering planning and buying agency Global Media to drive traffic to its flagship web sites: Cooptravelshop.co.uk; Apollotravel.co.uk and Cumbriacruise.co.uk. United Co-op Travel Group plans to invest pounds 1m in...

Deals: FremantleMedia Licensing Worldwide signs deals.
June 21, 2006... FremantleMedia Licensing Worldwide, the licensing division of FremantleMedia, has signed deals with Video Arts and e-learning network Ufi to launch a series of training programmes based on reality series The Apprentice. Video Arts will produce...

Ikea seeks digital agency as it embarks on e-commerce plan.
June 21, 2006... Ikea is on the hunt for a digital agency in the UK to help unify its e-commerce and in-store strategy. As part of a plan to be more accessible to customers, the furniture giant wants to develop and launch an eCRM and e-commerce programme in...

Monster.com lines up two pitch finalists.
June 21, 2006... Monster.com has narrowed its digital pitch-list to two WPP-owned agencies: Ogilvy Interactive and Wunderman Interactive. Modem Media has been knocked out of the running, with a final decision expected as Revolution went to press. The...

John Lewis tests the sexes' buying habits.
June 21, 2006... John Lewis is launching a web campaign to test the online buying habits of men and women. It will consist of two streams, one promoting John Lewis' garden furniture to women and the other high-end TVs to men. The furniture stream will...

Digital UK uses net in switch-over plans.(service introduction)(Brief article)
June 21, 2006... Digital UK, the organisation leading the UK's switch to digital TV by 2012, is developing an online 'switch-over assistant' as part of its strategy to turn its newly launched site into the definitive resource for the change. The...

NSPCC offers free course to moderators.
June 21, 2006... The NSPCC is planning to offer complementary child-protection training to moderators who work on sites used by children. The basic distance-learning programme, which can be completed online or via post, will be available on a first-come,...

Aviva forms one digital division for the RAC and Norwich Union.
June 21, 2006... Aviva, owner of Norwich Union and the RAC, has restructured the digital departments of the two brands to create a combined digital-marketing division. The team, which will handle all of the digital strategy, including web development,...

Good month/bad month.(usage of broadband)(Brief article)
June 21, 2006... Happy days for digital agencies, with Marketing Services Financial Intelligence reporting that they command a higher sale value than traditional firms. Its review said digital agencies have been sold for profit multiples of up to 20 times,...

Just breaking: Top 10 breaking banners by impressions (1-31 April 2006).(rankings of advertising campaigns)(Table)
June 21, 2006... 1 Skype The whole world can talk for free 2 National Savings & Investments Biggest Premium Bond draw ever 3 Eurotunnel The motorist's number one choice for ...

Channel 4 site targets brands with project on youth culture.
June 21, 2006... Channel 4 has created a new site that aims to promote itself as a key youth brand to advertisers and agencies. The site (www.uktribes.com) gathers the findings of a six-month research project into the changing state of the UK's youth...

3 adds music downloads for unsigned acts.
June 21, 2006... Mobile network 3 is launching a digital music-download service for unsigned and indie artists. 3 will partner the MP3 Music Network, a division of Australian firm Destra Corporation, which will power the service through a site on the 3...

Grolsch gives Green Light support online.
June 21, 2006... Coors-owned brand Grolsch has created a 'Green Light District' on its site to support its ongoing micro-marketing campaign of the same name. Site visitors can find out about the initiative, which involves 14 cities around the UK being...

Sega enlists agency to build games site.
June 21, 2006... Sega has hired digital agency Modem Media to create a web site promoting its new Total War game series as part of a strategy to target new audiences. The appointment of an external agency represents a departure for the games firm, which...

Account wins.
June 21, 2006... Waterstone's has appointed Manchester-based agency Code to develop an online bookselling service. It will work with Waterstone's in-house team to develop site design and functionality. Code, which is Waterstone's first digital agency, will...

Owen on digital media: Virals take the pub online and leave the serious talk outside.(marketing management)
June 21, 2006... Viral. A word to send chills down the spine of every agency finance director. He might not know what a viral actually is, but he will know that it won't be making much of a contribution to the monthly income. In truth, budgets are...

Barclays uses web to promote iShares.(online marketing )(Brief article)
June 21, 2006... Barclays Global Investors has kicked off a major, pan-European online marketing push for iShares, its family of Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs). The activity is part of a wider cross-platform campaign involving outdoor, press and TV, which...

Moneysupermarket plans for expansion.(service enhancement)(Brief article)
June 21, 2006... Moneysupermarket.com, the online comparison service, is aiming to employ 150 more people by the end of the year as it seeks to launch a wealth of new channels. The firm, which has 415 staff, the majority at its Cheshire HQ, was founded on...

Fast mover: Cruises - More of the over-50s are using the web to book their holiday.(marketing of cruise lines)(Brief article)
June 21, 2006... Hitwise reveals that travel sites attracted one-fifth more visits from the over-55s in the four weeks ending 29 April than average. The most popular were The Caravan Club, AirMiles UK, P&O Ferries, Monarch Airlines and Holiday Autos UK. ...

MTV unveils site for youth culture show.
June 21, 2006... MTV is planning to launch a web site to support its new youth culture TV show, Barrio 19, which will be aired globally. Digital agency glue London created the site, which is designed to act as a central hub of information for the programme...

Big Picture launches celebrity photo site.
June 21, 2006... Photo agency Big Picture has launched a web and mobile initiative offering budding paparazzi the chance to cash in on celebrity photos and gossip. It includes a new site (www.mrpaparazzi.com), created by agency iConcertina Creative, which...

Ask.com's site backs England cricket team.(IAC Search & Media)(Brief article)
June 21, 2006... Search engine Ask.com has created a new microsite to back its pounds 3 million sponsorship of the England cricket team. Ask.com/cricket will feature all the facts and stats from this summer's matches, and aims to be the main destination for...

Griffiths on mobile: Consolidation brings benefits for players focusing on basics.
June 21, 2006... I recently attended a dinner in South London where the after-dinner speaker was none other than Sir Christopher Bland. While the location was an interesting choice, the venue - The David Gill Galleries - was excellent, and the quality of the...

Time thief: Miranda Duffy, business development manager at Lonely Planet Images.(management of business developments)(Brief article)
June 21, 2006... 29% Travel After my morning dose of Radio 4, I trundle the Northern line from the deep south to Angel. Lots of reading. The Metro is great - so reasonably priced - and I recommend Kazuo Ishiguro's When We Were Orphans. 25% Client...

Domino's plans first TV ad dedicated to e-commerce.
June 21, 2006... Domino's is planning to launch its first TV ad campaign dedicated to promoting its online delivery service. The move is part of the pizza brand's strategy to raise awareness of its e-commerce service and boost sales. Including web and iTV,...

AutoTrader lets buyers bid for vehicles in new dealers' area.(Autotrader.com)(Brief article)
June 21, 2006... AutoTrader is to roll out an interactive bidding service that lets car buyers negotiate vehicle prices on the motoring site. 'Make Me An Offer' allows users to browse a selection of dealers' vehicles and suggest a price via an integrated...

O2 increases investment in web promos.
June 21, 2006... O2 is pushing its mobile music and video-download services through an online campaign. Activity throughout June will advertise its mobile offer and Streetmap promotion, offering free map downloads to mobiles. It forms part of a pounds...

Thomson Labs will house digital offers.
June 21, 2006... Thomson is planning to add a new section to its web site called Thomson Labs, as part of an ongoing strategy to create new, digital, travel content for holiday-makers. The move will see the TUI-owned holiday operator house all its new...

Gaffney on America: Inviting consumers to design your ads is asking for trouble.(advertising)
June 21, 2006... 'We adore titles and heredities in our hearts and ridicule them with our mouths.' So said the great American humourist Mark Twain about democracy. And he was recently proven right through the thoroughly modern medium of internet advertising....

Performance index.(rankings of websites)(Brief article)
June 21, 2006... The Revolution Keynote Performance Index measures the performance of 20 representative sites from across the digital economy in terms of speed of loading and site availability. The top 10 are featured each month, and the worst performing...

Moving on up: Appointment at Designate.
June 21, 2006... Specialist travel, tourism and leisure agency Designate has appointed Jo Wiseman as business development manager. She leaves Ryanair, where she was UK sales & marketing manager. Previously, Wiseman worked at BA as ad manager and was marketing...

Moving on up: Appointment at O2 UK.
June 21, 2006... O2 UK has hired Tanya Field as head of content development, responsible for content strategy across existing and future platforms, including mobile TV and 'visual radio'. She joins in September from Discovery Communications, where she is senior...

Moving on up: Appointment at EHS Brann.
June 21, 2006... Paul Green has joined EHS Brann as chief financial officer, overseeing financial operations for the London, Leeds and Cirencester offices. He will focus on maximising profitability. Green has previously worked at AKQA and Chrysalis TV.

Moving on up: Appointment at Discovery Networks Europe.
June 21, 2006... Discovery Networks Europe, a division of Discovery Communications, has made Deborah Kent senior VP, operations and business services. She will manage IT, business services and technical operations for Discovery Networks Europe. She has worked...

Moving on up: Appointment at DoubleClick.
June 21, 2006... DoubleClick has hired Jeannie Gammon as UK MD, replacing Andrew Rutledge, who moves to the New York office as VP for emerging technologies. Gammon joins from Ask Jeeves, where she was UK sales director. Previously she worked at Phase2Media,...

Moving on up: Appointment at Wheel.
June 21, 2006... Jeremy Garner has been appointed as creative director at Wheel, where he will develop the creative department and Wheel's overall creative abilities. He joins from Modem Media, where he was VP of creative, working with clients like Persil.

Moving on up: Appointment at With.
June 21, 2006... Anthony Diver has become head of new media at With creative agency. He will be responsible for expanding and developing the creative department; working for clients including Microsoft, 3i, NWDA, Kellogg and Unichem.

Moving on up: Appointment at Ricall.
June 21, 2006... Music research and licensing company Ricall has appointed Jennifer Kersis as senior VP for sales & marketing worldwide. She will be responsible for leading and managing the firm's expansion into new sectors, such as advertising, mobile, film,...

Moving on up: Appointment at Sony BMG Music.
June 21, 2006... Ulrich Jaerkel has been named senior VP, strategic marketing & business development, Continental Europe, at Sony BMG Music. His remit includes building a business development unit for affiliates, developing and launching new products, and...

Moving on up: Appointment at OTPmedia.
June 21, 2006... OTPmedia has hired Paul Hickey as business development director, responsible for expanding the company through organic development and new business. He was head of business development at 24/7 Real Media.

Moving on up: Appointment at Dialogue.
June 21, 2006... Julian Weston has been appointed commercial director of Dialogue's new London office. He joins the company from Greenland Interactive and previously worked at THUS Telecom, iTouch and Amplefuture.

Moving on up: Appointment at Lateral.
June 21, 2006... Digital communications agency Lateral has hired Douglas M Smith as senior strategic planner. He joins from These Days, in Antwerp, where he was group account director. Smith brings 14 years' experience and has worked at BBDO, Grey Interactive...

Moving on up: Appointment at Sigmer Technologies.
June 21, 2006... Sigmer Technologies has promoted technical director Malcolm Mcllhagga to technical sales director, responsible for business development. He is being replaced by Peter Kelly, who joins Sigmer from Friday-Ad Group. John Archibald has also joined...

Moving on up: Appointment at 25th.
June 21, 2006... Advertising, marketing and PR agency 25th has made two new appointments. Sara Cridland (left) joins as art director and Helen Shuttleworth as copywriter. Cridland leaves Poulters, while Shuttleworth joins from Fanatic.

Moving on up: Appointment at Lego.
June 21, 2006... Helen Venge has joined Lego as marketing manager, business development, responsible for developing, structuring and growing business. Previously head of digital marketing at Levi's Europe, she relaunched the Levi's Europe site in 2003 and...

Onitsuka Tiger plans cultural campaign.(Onitsuka Tiger)(Foundintranslation.co.uk )(Brief article)
June 21, 2006... Onitsuka Tiger, the Japanese trainer brand, has launched a microsite to raise awareness. Foundintranslation.co.uk will showcase Anglo-Japanese creative talent, with the aim of illustrating what happens when the Japanese and UK cultures...

Third of firms fail to test email properly.
June 21, 2006... More than one-third of firms are still not testing email marketing before sending bulk campaigns, reports CheetahMail. CheetahMail's Email Survey, in conjunction with Revolution, surveyed marketing managers and directors across a variety of...

The Chartered Surveyors aim for the young.
June 21, 2006... The Chartered Surveyors Training Trust (CSTT) is turning to digital to help the charity organisation appeal to young people. The strategy aims to create a 'more youthful brand' for the CSTT, which provides apprenticeships to disadvantaged...

Murphy on dotcom life: Genealogy inspires today's Da Vinci Code Generation.
June 21, 2006... Forget life coaches and style gurus; it's to the lives of our ancestors that people are turning for guidance on how to live amid the confusion of the modern world. The number of people looking to draw strength from their family tree proves...

Digital direct: Blogs offer two-way dialogue that tops traditional media.
June 21, 2006... With an estimated 50,000 new blogs being created every day, blogging represents a huge opportunity for advertisers to reach their target audiences in an engaging way. So, I find it surprising that more brands don't have a presence in the...

RAF targets teens in Altitude CRM drive.
June 21, 2006... The Royal Air Force (RAF) is targeting 14- and 15-year-olds with a CRM programme aimed at creating a pool of potential recruits. 'Altitude' will include acquisition, segmentation and retention activity through various channels, including a...

Direct Stats.
June 21, 2006... This month: An upswing in email marketing in Q4 2005 year saw spam complaints drop and bounce-backs fall. Epsilon Interactive International's Q4 Email Trend Report reported that spam complaints in EMEA fell to 0.36 per cent, an all-time...

Audi extends its Sky TV channel to web.
June 21, 2006... Audi has launched its dedicated TV channel, available on Sky, on the web. The car brand said viewers without Sky boxes will be able to watch the Audi Channel's new programming, which includes exclusive interviews with celebrities such as...

Northern Rock seals AOL World Cup deal.
June 21, 2006... Northern Rock has signed a deal with AOL to become the official sponsor of the ISP's World Cup football package. 'The World Cup on AOL in association with Northern Rock' will kick off with a range of interactive content available only to...

Vital statistics.(customer satisfaction)
June 21, 2006... This month - Companies are increasingly viewing the online customer experience as more important than offline. Danielle Long reports. Ninety-six per cent of UK FTSE 100 companies believe that, in future, managing the customer experience...

Analysis: News groups focus digital assets.
June 21, 2006... Associated Newspapers has merged its digital assets with Northcliffe to create a single, dedicated operation across the group in a move it claims will give advertisers access to 24 per cent of UK web users. News International is reportedly...

Analysis: Microsoft gives lift to in-game ads.
June 21, 2006... Microsoft's acquisition of in-game advertising company Massive, brokered by MSN, gives the industry a big stamp of validation. It also enables Microsoft to deliver dynamic, relevant ads across its online services, beginning with Xbox Live...

Vox pop: Is the market finally ready for mobile retail services?
June 21, 2006... Mobile shopping has improved, but will it take off? At Internet World last month, Lastminute.com co-founder Brent Hoberman said that, despite room for improvement in technology, mobile commerce is becoming a genuine prospect for retailers....

Editorial: Papers plan for cross-media future.(business planning)(Editorial)
June 21, 2006... Organising a company to exploit the 'digital opportunity' is a tricky business, and for our national dailies the task has been one of balancing insight with practicality. Last month, Associated and News International revealed new digital...

Comment: Whys and wherefores of creating an agency roster.
June 21, 2006... Establishing a roster of agencies is a big undertaking for anyone, especially if it's for pan-European or global activity. For FMCG giants like P&G and Unilever, which are in the throes of setting up their first digital agency roster, it shows...

Shopping Review: Marital bliss in a couple of clicks.
June 21, 2006... At 30, the ability to shop online has been around pretty much since I had money to spend, but the internet has just changed my life. It changed a single man into a married one in a few clicks. It all started when my girlfriend of five...

Shopping Review: Users prefer web, but spend more offline.
June 21, 2006... While more users buy their music online, they still prefer CDs to downloads. Internet users are now more likely to purchase music online than from a high-street store, but still spend more on the high street. According to a recent...

Sector checker: Betfair dresses in pink to woo women to the poker tables.
June 21, 2006... Despite its shocking pink hue, ValueClick's Carl White reckons Betfair's new site for women offers some interesting freebies and fun promotions. Web: www.betfairpoker.com Developer: in-house Betfair is better known as the online...

Dixons drops bricks for clicks.(Company overview)
June 21, 2006... As the 70-year-old electricals retailer moves solely to online, Nick Wilkinson tells Philip Buxton why the new plan for Dixons will defy the critics. If fortune favours the brave, Dixons is in line for a serious windfall. One of the most...

Online travel: Web goes beyond the brochure.
June 21, 2006... The travel sector has enjoyed huge growth thanks to the web and now consumer demand is seeing firms raise the bar in terms of site content, writes Susie Harwood. There's nothing more disappointing than carefully selecting a holiday resort,...

Domino's: Domino's delivers through digital.
June 21, 2006... The pizza chain has offered e-commerce services since 1999, but Susie Harwood finds out how it plans to continue its firsts with a mobile offer. Most companies claiming to provide the fastest e-commerce service would be treated with more...

Content management: Content chaos.
June 21, 2006... As research reveals that one in four brand managers don't know how many sites they own, Victoria Furness asks how firms can effectively manage their web content. The number of web sites that are owned by large companies has doubled in the...

IPTV brings new dawn for media.(British Broadcasting Corp.)(Channel 4 Television Co.)(ITV PLC)
June 21, 2006... Anyone outside new media would be forgiven for thinking that Google is the only online ad company. Indeed, the regular releases from Google Labs might have convinced us that one day we will be eating Google, sleeping Google and doing just about...

Video advertising: Cope with TV convergence.
June 21, 2006... As the amount of video content online surges, Adam Woods looks at the new opportunities for advertisers. Video content has been available online for some time now, but a procession of major developments this year shows that video will be...

Behavioural targeting: How online ads got personal.
June 21, 2006... Behavioural targeting is taking off in the UK, says Suzy Bashford, as big brands find it enables them to serve users relevant ads. Blockbuster film Minority Report painted a futuristic world in which our hero walks into a store and is...

Masterclass: The Revolution Masterclass on iTV campaigns.(television advertising)
June 21, 2006... Interactive TV has come a long way from those early response-based campaigns and can now be used for brand-building, says Emma Rigby. It seems strange that the very first interactive TV campaign on Sky, back in March 2000, was for...

Trailblazer: Real experience.
June 21, 2006... Habbo Hotel founder Dee Edwards has plans for a new online travel service. She tells Danielle Long about her vision. Dee Edwards needed a holiday. In 2000, she set up Habbo Hotel, an online community service where users - particularly kids...

Creative review: Caitlin Ryan executive creative director, Proximity London.
June 21, 2006... Ryan joined Proximity London in 1997 as a copywriter, bringing more than 10 years' agency experience from the UK and Australia. In 2000, she was promoted to joint creative director, then creative director in 2004 and, this year, executive...

Campaign of the month: Audi.(Audi AG)
June 21, 2006... Audi used a variety of digital channels to drive overall brand awareness following the launch of its RS4 model. Campaign: RS4 Sinister Beauty Client: Audi Agency: Goodtechnology/MediaCom Aims: The traditional, Audi A4 target...

Terminator 1: Ideas from the 'flair' agencies might not smell of roses ..
June 21, 2006... Any agency is a blend of function and flair; that's what gives it a unique flavour. Recently, particularly among online agencies, there has been a big focus on flair, with hot firms sporting Aeron chairs, space-hoppers and plasma screens....

Terminator 2: Cornish pasties save the day as parties return.
June 21, 2006... Two big parties last month for Profero and BlueLithium had all the earmarks of a return to the flamboyant boom days. Invitations to the BlueLithium party were modest: 'The Best Industry. The Best Venue. The Best Music. The Best...

Terminator 2: Baby talk for media mums and daddies.
June 21, 2006... It's a hard life for media people. Coping with high-pressure jobs and an inflated sense of importance is no easy task, so spare a thought for media mums and dads who have to balance this pressure with the added burden of being a parent. ...