Revolution articles from March 2009

Revolution archives from March 2009

Leader: Twitter's old hat now but there are plenty of online gems to be mined.
March 1, 2009... What have William Shatner, Philip Schofield and MC Hammer got in common? Apart from their having enjoyed brief and rather questionable music careers, they are all celebrity Twitterers. If more proof were needed that the micro-blogging...

The Download: Advertising - Orange creates film portal.
March 1, 2009... Orange has launched a film website pushing its ongoing Orange Wednesdays promotion. The site offers news, celebrity interviews, picture galleries and a film-finder covering 600 cinemas in the UK, as well as trailers, interviews, premiere...

The Download: Advertising - Car brands adopt email ads.
March 1, 2009... Audi and Motorola are among the first brands to adopt email banner ad technology recently launched in the UK. Glooq, which is being made available by marketing agency mc Square, allows animated banners to be embedded into email, which...

The Download: Advertising - Simpsons credits go viral.
March 1, 2009... The new opening sequence for The Simpsons, which promotes the merits of HD TV, has gone viral, reaching millions of fans across the web. The sequence features the line 'HD is worth every penny', although some fans have accused the show of...

The Download: Advertising - BT seeks to broaden roster.
March 1, 2009... BT is set to extend its roster of digital agencies to come up with 'new opportunities that require new skills and approaches'. Its roster agencies Agency.com, LBi and Crayon remain unaffected by the review. BT said the planned activity will...

The Download: Advertising - British Gas reviews online.(Brief article)
March 1, 2009... British Gas has approached agencies to rebuild its consumer website and advise on e-commerce, design and usability. The utility firm has asked agencies for information, including their opinion on the British Gas site, and informed them that...

The Download: Widgets - Sainsbury's dons Red Nose.
March 1, 2009... Sainsbury's has extended its fundraising activities online for the first time, launching an 'Idea Generator' widget to inspire people with sponsorship and fundraising ideas in the lead-up to Comic Relief on 13 March. The tool enables users...

The Download: Widgets - Labour gets 'tooled up'.
March 1, 2009... The Labour Party, fresh from launching its labourlist.org website, is set to use virals and widgets for the first time to reach voters online. -------------------- Did you find this article useful? Why not subscribe to the magazine?...

The Download: Mobile - LG shoots DJ ads on mobile.(Brief article)
March 1, 2009... LG has launched its Renoir handset with the first campaign to be shot on a mobile phone. Created by Mindshare Invention, the campaign follows DJ Armin van Buuren on his tour of Asia. The photos are supported by a website and a video on...

The Download: Mobile - Yahoo! reveals mobile play.
March 1, 2009... Yahoo! has released its Yahoo! Mobile service, which will allow users to bring together their favourite content in one place. The service will be made widely available in Q2, after beta testing. It will carry display ads from global...

The Download: Social media - VCs back Twitter expansion.
March 1, 2009... Twitter has received pounds 24.5 million in its third round of venture-capital funding. The micro-blogging site has now attracted more than pounds 35m. The latest cash injection, from Benchmark and Institutional Venture Partners, will be...

The Download: Social media - ITV weighs up cost cuts.
March 1, 2009... ITV is considering selling Friends Reunited in an attempt to cut costs. The broadcaster, which bought the social network for pounds 175m in December 2005, is expected to announce a fall in ad revenues early this month. ...

The Download: Nike kicks off five-a-side drive.
March 1, 2009... Nike is launching its biggest digital marketing campaign in a decade to promote a national five-a-side football tournament. The Show Your 5 competition aims to enlist 16,000 players from across the UK to take part in more than 200...

The Download: Killer Quote.
March 1, 2009... 'In reality, we wouldn't share your information in a way you wouldn't want' - Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg responds to privacy furore. -------------------- Did you find this article useful? Why not subscribe to the magazine?...

The Download: Smart Stat.
March 1, 2009... 25% - The rise in click-though rates with Yahoo!'s new search advertising platform, Rich Ads In Search, according to Yahoo! -------------------- Did you find this article useful? Why not subscribe to the magazine? Please call 08451 55...

The Download: Hot or Not.
March 1, 2009... HOT Pirate Bay founder Peter Kolmisoppi seemed so relaxed at the trial brought against his filesharing firm by a record label alliance that he told his Twitter followers: 'It's so boring, it's sleepy.' Romp publisher Mills & Boon has...

The Download: In-depth - Ad spend - Display prices go through the floor.
March 1, 2009... Cost of digital display advertising has fallen by more than a third in the past year as websites seek to retain brands. The cost of digital display advertising has fallen by more than a third over the past year due to an influx of cheap...

The Download: Viral effect - This month's hottest virals.
March 1, 2009... - E-Trade: Baby Outtakes Babies discuss the recession and other grown-up stuff. 3,216,726 views. - Pepsi Refresh Anthem Bob Dylan and Will.i.am team up to perform Pepsi's new theme tune 1,637,388 views. - Bridgestone: Taters...

The Download: Hotlinks.
March 1, 2009... Stuff we found we think you might like... - A better way to browse Sick of trawling multiple websites searching for the perfect handbag? Modista collates images of products from hundreds of websites www.modista.com - Newspapers...

The Download: Start-up Gighit.(Gighit.com)(Website overview)(Brief article)
March 1, 2009... Gighit.com is a new website offering wiki-style content and features to UK music lovers. The site is aimed at enhancing the live music experience for gig-goers by recommending bands, upcoming events and helping users find the cheapest...

The Download: World-wide web.
March 1, 2009... How is digital marketing faring on the international stage? This month, in Dallas, AOL is planning to lay off 10 per cent of its workforce, while in Australia, Optus has secured the sales rights for HTC Dream, the new Google-enabled mobile...

The Download: Smart guide to ... YouTube's download strategy.
March 1, 2009... YouTube is attempting to boost its revenue by allowing users to download videos directly from the site to watch on their computer or iPod. The initiative, which enables consumers to keep video clips to watch even when they are offline,...

The Download: Stats - Online video.
March 1, 2009... - 58% of 16 to 24 year-olds have watched video clips online in the past three months, according to Mintel. - 274 minutes of content is watched by the average online video viewer every month, figures from comScore show. - 200,000 videos...

The Download: Coca-Cola - The Magic Coke Bottle.
March 1, 2009... After downloading this free app from the iTunes store, consumers can spin a Coke bottle image on their iPhone. - How does it work? Flick the bottle with your finger and it spins. That's it. Oh, hang on, you can choose from a range of...

The Download: Inside track - Virgin Media's marketing team.(Brief article)
March 1, 2009... Virgin Media has traditionally devoted much of its pounds 58 million media budget to high-profile TV campaigns starring Uma Thurman and Samuel L Jackson. Now, however, it has set aside an 'online strategic budget' to fund new initiatives....

The Download: Revolution archive - Virgin Media.(Brief article)
March 1, 2009... November 2006: The combined services of ntl:telewest and Virgin Mobile announce they are rebranding as Virgin Media, offering digital TV, broadband, mobile and home phone services. March 2007: Virgin customers lose access to some BSkyB...

The Download: Google watch - Google kills Bambi, but not data fears.
March 1, 2009... While Google is watching you, every month we're watching Google. Withdrawing from print and radio, privacy fears over Google Latitude and most gravely, killing Bambi, have all kept Google's PR machine in overdrive this month. But what can...

The Download: Moves - People - Ian McLelland, RTL Group.
March 1, 2009... Ian McLelland is RTL Group's head of new media, with responsibility for devising and implementing digital strategy across RTL's 45 TV channels and 33 radio stations. In the UK, RTL owns Five, as well as production house Talkback Thames In...

The Download: Moves - Accounts.
March 1, 2009... Electrolux has hired Head to overhaul its online presence in Europe. Cheapflights has awarded VCCP Search its global paid search account following a three-way pitch. Insurance-comparison site Confused.com has chosen The Search Works...

The Download: Status update - Sebastian Dreyfus, chief executive, Publicis Modem.
March 1, 2009... Sebastian Dreyfus, chief executive, Publicis Modem, is... - sleepily consulting the BlackBerry to see what I can get away with sartorially - 6.45am - reading emails. One from Nigerian banker offering dollars 25 million catches my eye....

The Download: Briefing - Ad spend - Brands fail to capitalise on niche sites.
March 1, 2009... Brands are missing out on potential customers by continuing to channel ad spend through the UK's biggest portals, according to research. Targeted ads on relevant niche sites are likely to receive a 22 per cent better response rate than on...

The Download: Briefing - Mobile - Mobile ad metric helps justify spend.
March 1, 2009... Brands are welcoming plans to launch the UK's first audience-measurement system for mobile but are cautious about boosting their investment in the medium. From the second half of this year, advertisers will be able to access detailed...

The Download: Briefing - Apps - Apple faces rivals as app war begins.
March 1, 2009... Apple is facing the biggest challenge yet to its dominance of the nascent market for branded mobile apps as rival companies jostle for market position. Nokia, Microsoft and Symbian have all developed rival propositions to the App Store, in...

Opinion: User-generated comment - Can Woolworths succeed as an online shopping destination?
March 1, 2009... Woolworths is being relaunched as an online retailer after being bought by Shop Direct, the internet shopping portal owned by the Barclay brothers. Can the once-iconic brand find a new lease of life online in spite of its high-street...

Blogs I can't live without - Will Scougal, Cake Group.
March 1, 2009... Will Scougal, head of digital content, Cake Group Frederik Samuel Ad goodness - the best and sometimes the worst around the globe www.frederiksamuel.com/blog Alain Finkiel Krautrock Hidden music treasure galore. Run by the...

Opinion: Blocking Kangaroo for monopolistic reasons was not in the public's interest.
March 1, 2009... Being a regulator, much like being a referee or an umpire, is a thankless task. Someone is always going to be unhappy, whatever decision you take. Strangely, in the case of Peter Freeman, chairman of the Competition Commission, most of the...

Opinion: Want to make the world a better place? Look online for inspiration.
March 1, 2009... Everyone is talking about the new austerity. For many, today's recessionary climate points to our being less concerned with material gain and more focused on making the world a better place. There is a plethora of inspiring and potentially...

Opinion: Do you believe in infinity? The born digital generation certainly does.
March 1, 2009... Mathematicians, philosophers, scientists, theologists, astronomers. They've all studied the concept of infinity for hundreds, if not thousands, of years. It has bewildered the brightest and savviest citizens of planet Earth. The physical...

Revolution INNOVATION awards.
March 1, 2009... After more than a decade rewarding best-in-breed digital marketing and business initiatives, this year the Revolution Awards have an added focus on innovation. The 2009 shortlist recognises those that have consistently pushed the...

Microsoft: I'm a PC ... and I'm UK managing director of Microsoft.
March 1, 2009... Microsoft boss Ashley Highfield now has one of the biggest jobs in digital. In his first interview since stepping into a role that gives him more power than any other UK employee in the company's history, Highfield reveals his strategy for...

Innovator: Giving Coke back its fizz.(Coca-Cola Co.)
March 1, 2009... Coca-Cola's digital guru Stafford Green has brought the brand right up to date, and he's bursting with fresh ideas for engaging consumers, writes Elizabeth Clifford-Marsh. Stafford Green is the living embodiment of the old Coca-Cola...

Social networks.
March 1, 2009... OMG! Twitter is, like, so 2008 but there are handfuls of other social media sites vying to be the next big thing about 33 minutes ago from mobile web. When Jonathan Ross name-checked Twitter on his Friday night chat show recently, he...

Marketing: Traditional marketers need not apply.
March 1, 2009... Are you a channel-neutral thinker? Can you blog, poke and tweet? Know how to make radio ads interactive? Brave enough to sell untested ideas? And strong enough to stand by the data they return? We're after entrepreneurial marketers....

Digital Britain: The six people Lord Broadband should listen to ..
March 1, 2009... The Government's digital guru Stephen Carter has drawn up a blueprint for the future of Britain's digital economy, but it falls short, says Andrew McCormick. Lord Carter spoke to 300 people when compiling the interim Digital Britain...

Masterclass: Viral marketing.
March 1, 2009... There's no doubt about it, virals have taken off in a big way, but now marketers must up the ante and make their content unmissable, writes Elizabeth Clifford-Marsh. Virals have been popular with brands ever since Burger King's Subservient...

e-Commerce: Special Report - Battle of the brands.
March 1, 2009... Supermarkets have cottoned on to the huge revenue earning potential of e-commerce, but are their websites up to scratch? Kim Benjamin sees what Sainsbury's and Tesco have on offer. Despite the gloom on the high street, UK supermarkets are...

e-commerce: Special Report - When bricks meet clicks.
March 1, 2009... Smart retailers are finding innovative ways to blur the line between the in-store and online experience to ensure that consumers get the best of both worlds, writes Victoria Furness. With high-street stores going bust left, right and...

e-commerce: Special report - How to create the perfect e-commerce website.
March 1, 2009... Pureplays have always led the way when it comes to the perfect e-commerce site, but now they need to take their game to the next level. Pureplay retailers have defined the online shopping experience since the early days of e-commerce....

The Work: From brief to browser - Battlefront - Agency Airlock.
March 1, 2009... Brief Battlefront is a nine-month interactive project focusing on the endeavours of 19 teens as they attempt to do their bit to change the world by campaigning for issues they care deeply about. Created by Raw Television for Channel 4,...

The Work: Case studies - Entertainment Skins.
March 1, 2009... Campaign: Skins 3 Agency: 4Creative/Unit 9 Background: Skins is a Channel 4 teen drama series, currently in its third season on E4. To avoid the now very familiar occurrence of such shows being populated by ageing actors, the entire...

The Work: Creative review - Comparethemarket.com.
March 1, 2009... Campaign: Comparethemeerkat.com Brand: Comparethemarket.com Agency: VCCP Price-comparison sites have done the predictable thing in the credit crunch - they are bombarding us with seemingly low-budget advertising to try and appeal...

Diary: Web crawler.
March 1, 2009... It seems that digital dynamo Daniele Fiandaca is going up in the world, swapping lunch at his local Pizza Express for the posh tucker dished up at Shoreditch House. Fiandaca has been spending so much time at the swanky East London members...

Diary: Questionnaire - Mat Braddy, marketing director of Toptable.com.
March 1, 2009... He joined in 2006 with responsibility for heading up product development, promotions and CRM activity. Before that, Braddy worked at the Financial Times as senior marketing manager overseeing the paper's online activity. - If you were a...

Diary: JPEGs.
March 1, 2009... The smile on Mark Cridge and Schultz's faces make us wonder what Beeker has in her hands. - The girl seems determined to get in the same picture as these Siamese twins, who appear more than happy to be fused at the shoulder for life. ...