Revolution articles from May 2009

Revolution archives from May 2009

Leader: Like your Barry Manilow? Well thanks to digital music, no-one has to know.
May 1, 2009... Remember life before iTunes? Remember desperately trying to convince the cashier in HMV that the Vanilla Ice CD you were buying was actually a present for a non-existent six-year-old sister? Thankfully those days are long gone and now,...

The Download: Advertising - Wilkinson airs innuendo ad.
May 1, 2009... Wilkinson Sword has created an online video ad to promote its new Quattro for Women Bikini razor. The ad, created by JWT and seeded by Unruly Media, is called 'Mow the Lawn'. It relies heavily on innuendo, and features a trio of women...

The Download: Advertising - Amazon rejects Phorm.
May 1, 2009... Amazon UK has become the first high-profile website to deny behavioural targeting firm Phorm access to scan its web pages to produce targeted ads. The Open Rights Group had previously written to the chief privacy officers at leading websites,...

The Download: Advertising - Ask brings back the butler.
May 1, 2009... Ask.com has resurrected its butler Jeeves, as it seeks to further differentiate itself from rivals Google and Yahoo!. The search engine has also reverted to its original name askjeeves.com, which was dropped two years ago, along with the...

The Download: Advertising - Shell teams with Multimap.
May 1, 2009... Shell UK has signed a deal with Multimap to run a nine-month campaign that will see the location of 850 Shell stations appear on the website's maps. The deal includes a sponsorship position on the route planner, homepage banners and ads on...

The Download: Advertising - Orange promotes McHugh.
May 1, 2009... Orange has promoted its digital chief Spencer McHugh to the role of UK brand director, ahead of the departure of Justin Billingsley. McHugh currently oversees digital advertising and media in his role as head of brand communications. ...

The Download: Advertising - Brands shirk responsibility.
May 1, 2009... Brands are worried about the effect of keyword bidding from both legitimate competitors and counterfeiters, yet only 25 per cent are willing to take steps to protect themselves online, a Marks & Clerk survey says. The practice of competitors...

The Download: Viral - Kev 'n' Dave promote WKD.
May 1, 2009... WKD has created an online video campaign it hopes will go viral Kev 'n' Dave, its 'cheeky' stars, claim that they will answer any question that a viewer wants to pose through a blog and Facebook app created by Five by Five. ...

The Download: Social Media - Land Rover turns to Twitter.
May 1, 2009... Land Rover harnessed Twitter to build live discussions around its 2010 model vehicles as they were unveiled at the New York International Auto Show. Y&R/Wunderman actively promoted Land Rover's Twitter hashtag #LRNY in both traditional and...

The Download: Media - Universal ties with YouTube.
May 1, 2009... Universal Music Group has partnered with YouTube to create Vevo, a standalone music service which will host the label's video content. Vevo will allow users to access Universal's entire catalogue of premium music videos, as well as artist and...

The Download: Media - The Co-op launches online TV channel.
May 1, 2009... The Co-operative group has launched an online TV channel which aims to highlight its ethical credentials as part of a sponsorship deal with ethical.tv. The Co-op will post its campaign clips and programmes on subjects such as fairtrade and...

The Download: Media - 'Online to overtake TV'.
May 1, 2009... The time people in Europe spend online will outstrip the length of time they spend watching TV by June next year, according to research by Microsoft. It says that by June 2010 people will spend on average 14.2 hours a week online and 11.5 hours...

The Download: Beckham becomes Terminator.
May 1, 2009... Motorola has enlisted the help of England football star David Beckham to promote its latest handset, the Aura. The mobile manufacturer's integrated campaign, which was produced in-house with input from roster agency Ogilvy London, includes...

The Download: Killer Quote.(Wall Street Journal)(Brief article)
May 1, 2009... 'There is no doubt that certain sites are best described as parasites or tech tapeworms in the intestines of the internet.' - The Wall Street Journal editor Robert Thompson on Google. -------------------- Did you find this article...

The Download: Smart Stat.
May 1, 2009... 6% is the year-on-year decline in UK search marketing spend in Q1 2009, according to search engine marketing company Efficient Frontier. -------------------- Did you find this article useful? Why not subscribe to the magazine? Please...

The Download: Hot or Not.(Brief article)
May 1, 2009... HOT Paris Hilton may finally get recognition for her outstanding acting skills after her spoof Paris For President internet videos were nominated for a Webby award. A US consumer is living the dream after discovering that typing...

The Download: Hotlinks - Stuff we found we think you might like ..(Brief article)
May 1, 2009... - GIF appreciation society Animated GIFs are great fun. Dare's Flo Heiss knows this, and has set up a website dedicated to their greatness. Well done indeed http://agas.tumblr.com - Social media pedia Looking for inspiration for a...

The Download: In-depth - Brands push social media integration.
May 1, 2009... The arrival of specialist social media agency Rocket XL in the UK will help brands embrace the medium. Brands including Beck's, Sony and Vodafone are planning to boost their social media strategies following the launch of specialist agency...

The Download: Viral effect - This month's hottest virals.
May 1, 2009... - Nike: Show Your Five This video for Nike's amateur footie tournament is filmed by CCTV cameras. 144,810 views. - Kia Soul: A New Way To Roll Hamsters go viral yet again in this cheeky ad for Kia's new Soul 241,715 views. -...

The Download: Start-up - Smartclip.(Brief article)
May 1, 2009... Smartclip, the European interactive video network, has set up shop in the UK providing video ads, publishing and distribution services for media owners, advertisers and agencies. The one-year-old German firm enables advertisers to revise...

The Download: World-wide web.
May 1, 2009... What's the state of play with digital marketing on the international circuit? This month, in Dallas, Senator Hinojosa tries to ban the purchasing of Windows Vista, while in South Korea, eBay is boosting its expansion by buying into Gmarket. ...

The Download: Smart guide to ... Yahoo! Connected TV.
May 1, 2009... The first TVs featuring Yahoo!-branded widgets have finally gone on sale, allowing viewers to surf the internet while catching up on their favourite shows. Samsung 7000 series LED HDTVs equipped with Yahoo!'s Connected TV platform hit the...

The Download: Stats - Next-generation TV.
May 1, 2009... 70% of young people regularly watch TV and browse the internet at the same time, according to Tuned In Research. pounds 1,675 is the price of Samsung's 7000 series LED HDTV featuring the Yahoo! Connected TV platform. 76% of consumers...

The Download: Google Maps with Latitude.(Brief article)
May 1, 2009... The latest version of the already comprehensive Google Maps app includes Latitude, letting you to share your location with friends. How does it work? This has all the usual Google Maps options: zoom in, map or satellite views, business...

The Download: Inside track - Auto Trader's marketing department.(Auto Trader Systems Ltd.)
May 1, 2009... AutoTrader is about to launch a multimillion-pound summer ad campaign, making its biggest-ever online investment. The integrated initiative forms part of Auto Trader's three-pronged digital strategy, which focuses on customer acquisition,...

The Download: Moves - People - Stuart Anderson, Multimap.
May 1, 2009... Microsoft has appointed Stuart Anderson as marketing communications manager for mapping and local, EMEA, with responsibility for implementing a marketing strategy for multimap.com. He moves internally from the role of UK online consumer...

The Download: Moves - Accounts.
May 1, 2009... Teletext Holidays has awarded its pounds 3 million search business to Vizeum. Confused.com has handed its pounds 38m media account to PHD Media following a three-way pitch. Microsoft has appointed JWT to launch its Kumo search engine...

The Download: Status update - Daniel Bonner ... chief creative officer, AKQA, is ..
May 1, 2009... - in the office dressed head to toe in Lycra. 8.30am - wondering why he decided to judge this awards festival at his desk and not in a room full of cakes and coffee in New York. 9.20am - wondering where all the good work is? 10am -...

The Download: Google watch - Google grows ever more akin to Tesco.
May 1, 2009... While Google is watching you, every month we're watching Google. Despite feeling the pinch while Tesco's profits soar, every week Google is apparently becoming more like the supermarket giant which, given the number of anti-Tesco campaign...

The Download: Briefing - Media owners - Brands being failed by media owners.
May 1, 2009... Advertisers and agencies are getting a poorer standard of service from digital media owners now than they were six months ago as the recession hits online businesses hard. FT.com, Platform-A and Yahoo! are failing to deliver acceptable...

The Download: Briefing - FMCGs shun online as TV ad prices fall.
May 1, 2009... FMCG brand owners are shifting spend away from online advertising as they rush to capitalise on the falling cost of TV ads, according to industry insiders. The latest figures from the IAB show that the consumer goods sector accounted for...

The Download: Briefing - Paid search - Advertisers stung by rising click fraud.
May 1, 2009... Brands are coming under an unprecedented level of attack from click fraud, unscrupulous tactics used to push up the price of paid-search campaigns. Click fraud reached its highest-ever point in the final quarter of 2008, hitting 17.1 per...

Opinion: User-generated comment - Will YouTube ever become profitable?
May 1, 2009... Despite ramping up its commercial strategy with in-stream ads, downloadable videos and an e-commerce offering, YouTube is set to lose dollars 470 million (pounds 319m) this year, according to Credit Suisse With its annual operating costs...

Opinion: Blogs I can't live without - Rory Sutherland, Ogilvy Group UK.
May 1, 2009... - Dave Trott's Blog Heading the list is Dave Trott's Blog - formerly at CST and now housed at Brand Republic. The IPA will kill me for saying this, but its very existence allows the ad industry safely to cut training budgets by 30 per...

Opinion: The best way to ride out the downturn is by concentrating resources online.(Viewpoint essay)
May 1, 2009... When the last advertising recession struck, it coincided with the dotcom bubble going pop. Those of us with online businesses clung on for dear life. This time, the recession itself may be deeper and longer-lasting, but the internet is...

Opinion: Traditional businesses must keep up with advances in technology.(Viewpoint essay)
May 1, 2009... There is no question that we are operating businesses today in a complex and fast-changing landscape. Economic, technological, societal, political and environmental change is flying at us from all corners. If, as business leaders, we want...

Opinion: Half-life is a sound gauge of your digital marketing initiatives.
May 1, 2009... In the world of radioactive decay, a half-life is the period of time in which a quantity of a material is reduced by half. As a concept, this can apply to other areas as well, including (oddly enough) the internet. An increasing number of...

Music: Is time running out for digital music?
May 1, 2009... Sites like Spotify and Last.fm are enjoying great success, but huge royalty fees coupled with declining ad spend mean significant challenges lie ahead. Adam Woods investigates whether or not the bubble is about to burst for ad-funded digital...

Innovator: The man behind Obama.
May 1, 2009... UK political parties gearing up for the next general election would do well to take a look at what Scott Goodstein did for Barack Obama, says Andrew McCormick. At last month's Digital Britain Summit a surprise appearance by Prime Minister...

Search: Algorithm that rules the web.
May 1, 2009... Google's clandestine search engine formula is mysteriously favouring big brands. While conspiracy theories abound smaller brands seek ways to compete. CASEBOOK - Wiped off the web by Google When Google changes its algorithms, even the...

Start-Ups: Starting up in a downturn.
May 1, 2009... It may seem counterintuitive, but launching in a recession can inspire a future-proof business model. Funding-wise, venture capital is ideal, but there are alternatives, too. Google's dollars 100 million (pounds 68m) move into venture...

Personalisation: Beam your ads directly into their brains - well almost.
May 1, 2009... Like it or loathe it, personalisation represents the future of advertising. Kunal Dutta investigates the best ways to get the right ad in front of the right people at the right time. Imagine a form of advertising that would allow consumers...

Masterclass: Boosting your ROI.
May 1, 2009... To maximise ROI brands need to use web analytics to build up a holistic view of customer behaviour and then fine-tune campaigns accordingly. Most marketers find themselves nodding off at the mere mention of web analytics, but show them how...

Social Media: Special Report - Battle of the brands.
May 1, 2009... Facebook may be an established household name but Twitter is fast catching up, despite having yet to lift the lid on its commercial strategy. Kim Benjamin compares the web's biggest social media sites. Facebook or Twitter? That is the...

Social Media: Twitter FAIL!
May 1, 2009... The 8 worst brands on the world's hottest microblog... By @gj The sound of marketers excitedly scrawling the word 'Twitter' on whiteboards and flipcharts up and down the UK is now almost deafening Sure, the early adopters that...

Social Media: Will Blog For Cash.
May 1, 2009... Brands are recognising that paying bloggers to write about their products is a cheaper alternative to display advertising. But how will consumers react? Kunal Dutta investigates. Out of shape? Like computers? Can't get a girlfriend? You...

The Work: From brief to browser - Honda.
May 1, 2009... Agency: Collective Brief The Honda Insight is billed as the world's most affordable hybrid car, producing just 101g/km of carbon dioxide (average CO2 emissions were 158g/km in 2008). The UK launch of the marque needed to tie in with...

The Work: Case studies - Entertainment - Momentum Pictures.(Brief article)
May 1, 2009... Campaign: Lesbian Vampire Killers Agency: greenroom@momentum Background: Lesbian Vampire Killers stars BAFTA-winning comedy duo James Corden and Mathew Horne. The film's plot focuses on two no-hopers in a Welsh village with a bus full...

The Work: Automotive - Kia Motors.
May 1, 2009... Campaign: Soul launch Agency: E3 Background: Kia Motors launched the new shape Kia Soul in March 2009, billing it as a completely new type of small car that appeals to consumers who like to assert their individuality. Aims: The...

The Work: Entertainment - UKTV.(Red Bee Media Limited)(UKTV Interactive Ltd.)(Brief article)
May 1, 2009... Campaign: Red Dwarf Agency: Red Bee Media Background: UKTV tasked Red Bee Media with promoting Red Dwarf's new series, which aired on Dave over Easter. Red Bee Media created a word-of-mouth digital campaign for the return of the...

The Work: Creative review - The Damned United.
May 1, 2009... Reviewed by Enda McCarthy, president, Agency.com Campaign: The Damned United Brand: Sony Pictures Entertainment Agency: Spinnaker Almost 30 years ago, on 30 May 1979, I was allowed to stay up late to watch Nottingham Forest...

Diary: Web crawler.
May 1, 2009... It may seem like ages ago, but Crawler couldn't resist dragging up some dirt from the recent Revolution Awards 2009. By now, the official winners will have had plenty of time to admire their new silverware, but here are some awards that won't...

Diary: JPEGs.
May 1, 2009... I've told you twice already: my tie is NOT made of liquorice Anyway are you not full after eating my tux jacket? Man superglues own face to carpet. Do we call an ambulance or an upholsterer? No-one knew, so apparently he's still there. ...

Diary: Questionnaire - Peter Beech.
May 1, 2009... Peter Beech is managing partner and co-founder of Poke, the creative agency behind ground-breaking campaigns including Orange's 'Play Balloonacy' and 'Spot the Bull'. - Describe yourself in three words. Optimistic, dark, retiring. ...