Revolution articles from October 2005

Revolution archives from October 2005

Letter from the editor.(Editorial)
October 24, 2005... It's not clear what effect a company's office has on its staff, but the number of miserable faces wandering around the vast reception area of the BBC 'Broadcast Centre' is small. The modernistic block was built on the site of the White City...

Philips pushes new shaver via global campaign and microsite.
October 24, 2005... Electricals giant Philips has unveiled a new shaver, backed by a global campaign and microsite. The push supports the launch of SmartTouch-XL, described by one source as 'the Porsche of shavers', and kicked off in the US last month. ...

Games firm takes viral to EU database.
October 24, 2005... Electronic Arts is to push racing console game Burnout Revenge via an online European push. A viral game, seeded across EA's European database, backed by online ads, will let users mix, edit and send a music video. Using a studio-style...

Digital spending hits 10 per cent mark.
October 24, 2005... Marketers spend more than 10 per cent of their budget on digital, according to a new report by E-consultancy.com. Research took account of factors such as site design, build and email marketing, as well as online advertising. The...

Deals: Microsoft partners HMV UK.
October 24, 2005... Microsoft has partnered HMV UK to provide the technology for its new digital-download and subscription service, HMV Digital, which launched on 5 September. (see Vox Pop p22).

Deals: eBay agrees to buy Skype Technologies.
October 24, 2005... Online auction giant eBay has agreed to buy online telephone company Skype Technologies for a minimum of dollars 2.6bn (pounds 1.4bn) in cash and shares, with the potential of a further dollars 1.5bn being paid depending on performance (see...

Deals: DatingDirect.com signs two-year agreement.
October 24, 2005... DatingDirect.com has signed a two-year agreement to provide Tiscali.co.uk users with an online dating service. The partnership will provide Tiscali with an exclusive white-label service. Users will be able to search for suitable partners from...

Deals: MIVA signs deal with Mirror Group Newspapers.
October 24, 2005... MIVA has signed an exclusive content deal with Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN) to provide targeted pay-per-click ads across the home, article and channel pages of MGN's portfolio of sites: mirror.co.uk; sundaymirror.co.uk; people.co.uk;...

Deals: Ask Jeeves extends content partnership with Hellomagazine.com.
October 24, 2005... Ask Jeeves has extended its content partnership with daily celeb news site Hellomagazine.com. Ask Jeeves (www.ask.co.uk) will provide a web search and site search function on the site, and users will be prompted with 'contextual links' to...

Deals: ITV and Sky both sign new deals to broadcast UEFA Champions League.
October 24, 2005... ITV and Sky have both signed new deals to broadcast UEFA Champions League football throughout the 2006-2009 seasons. Sky will stream coverage of the games online for the first time.

Deals: TuneTribe to supply live music downloads.
October 24, 2005... TuneTribe, the digital download service founded by Tom Findlay of Groove Armada, will supply live music downloads from autumn's Nokia Raw Tour in conjunction with Clear Channel Entertainment. Artists on the tour will supply pre-recorded tracks...

Deals: Netsize partners T-Mobile Netherlands.
October 24, 2005... Netsize, the Mobile business and entertainment services firm, has partnered T-Mobile Netherlands to create revenue-generating mobile content portals on the T-Mobile network.

Deals: NEC supplies mobile web platform.
October 24, 2005... NEC has supplied the mobile web platform for O2's i-modeTM service. The platform offers complete management of user information, content and services, agent charging and billing.

Deals: Access supplies NetFront(tm v3.3 browser.
October 24, 2005... Access, global provider of mobile content delivery and internet access technology, has supplied its NetFront(tm) v3.3 browser for Sony Ericsson's new W600i and W550i Walkman phones.

Deals: Correction.(Correction Notice)
October 24, 2005... In last month's issue, an article profiling the sports firm Nobok made reference to rugby player Jonny Wilkinson. Revolution would like to confirm that Nobok has no commercial arrangements with Wilkinson and that the article merely highlighted...

Timberland backs new brand online.
October 24, 2005... Timberland has hired agency de-construct to create an online campaign for its new clothing brand, Timberland Boot Company, following a pitch against AKQA and Greenroom Digital. The firm is launching a site (www.timberlandbootcompany.com),...

Cadbury offers Happiness in online promo.
October 24, 2005... Cadbury Dairy Milk is celebrating its centenary with a massive online and on-pack promotion. It will offer more than 15 million experiences as prizes in its Happiness Xpress campaign. Each bar of Dairy Milk will carry a unique boarding...

CNN teams with Nokia for new interactive multimedia launch.(Cable News Network)(Brief Article)
October 24, 2005... CNN has launched an online and on-air initiative, sponsored by Nokia, which invites viewers to reveal the hidden side of international cities. The Scene push comprises a 15-week series of 80-second, high-quality, video vignettes, with one...

Good month/bad month.
October 24, 2005... A happy time for web-using football fans as Sky Sports signed a new deal for UEFA Champions League coverage, which included rights to stream live coverage of matches over broadband. Up to eight will be available via Sky Sports Broadband. ...

PruHealth seeks to boost sales by improving user experience.
October 24, 2005... Private medical insurance firm PruHealth is to spend about pounds 250,000 of a pounds 5 million integrated ad campaign online. The company, a joint-venture between Prudential UK and South African private healthcare provider Discovery...

Email now the best message for consumers.
October 24, 2005... A quarter of consumers cite email as their favourite method of communication from marketing firms even though 55 per cent of marketers thought direct mail would top the list. In contrast, only 15 per cent of consumers stated a preference...

Dunlop pushes site via global campaign.
October 24, 2005... Dunlop has launched a global online ad campaign to promote its motoring destination. Across the UK and Germany, the campaign is driving traffic to Injection.tv, which gives automotive fans an online driving experience, and complements its...

Just breaking: Top 10 breaking banners by impressions.(Brief Article)
October 24, 2005... (1-31 August 2005) 1 Ultralase - Win laser eye treatment worth up to pounds 3,000 2 BSkyB - Only at Sky.com 3 AA - Join now from just pounds 40* 4 Capital One Bank - One minute application response 5 Future Publishing -...

Nintendo promotes DS game on Dubit.(Brief Article)
October 24, 2005... Nintento has joined forces with youth communication site Dubit to promote its latest games title, Nintendogs. In the new game for the handheld DS console, players take care of virtual puppies; from feeding to entering them in dog-shows. The...

Account wins.
October 24, 2005... Konica Minolta Business Solutions has hired Ware Anthony Rust to develop a pounds 1m direct response push for its line of Bizhub printers to launch them as multi-functional products. The campaign comprises direct mail and online marketing....

Owen on digital media - Agencies that fail to change will see their future eclipsed.
October 24, 2005... Predicting the future is hazardous. Just ask Glenn McGrath. 5-0 to Australia, indeed. But, he's not alone. Throughout history, people have been wildly over-zealous in their forecasting. Look back at those suggestions about the amount of money...

BBC begins trials of digital media player.
October 24, 2005... The BBC has begun trials of the integrated media player (iMP) that will help shape the corporation's approach to online broadcasting for years to come. BBC director of new media and technology Ashley Highfield, who topped Revolution's...

DfT uses animation to teach road safety.
October 24, 2005... The Department for Transport has unveiled a new site that brings its well-known hedgehog road-safety characters to life, backed by an online campaign. Hedgehogs.gov.uk contains information on the Green Cross Code and aims to teach children...

Tracker.(email marketing)(Brief Article)
October 24, 2005... ABOUT IPT IPT is a supplier of email marketing data and services, with brands such as MyOffers and OK-mail providing permission-based data to advertisers every quarter. IPT's low-cost managed email-delivery service, EmailBureau, sent...

Jaguar in six-figure push for XK coupe.
October 24, 2005... Jaguar has spent a six-figure sum online to promote its new XK sports coupe. The manufacturer is show-casing the car though 3D and full-screen video, developed by agency Global Beach, ahead of its launch in Q1 next year. Visitors to...

Budget rejigs site to boost conversions.(Budget Group Inc)(www.budget insurance.com)(Brief Article)
October 24, 2005... Insurance intermediary The Budget Group, which has more than one million customers, has relaunched its site to attract new users. The web site (www.budget insurance.com) offers improved navigation and more calls-to-action to drive customers...

Piaggio uses viral to drive sport scooter.(Brief Article)
October 24, 2005... Scooter manufacturer Piaggio has launched a viral game to push its sport-styled Gilera Runner range.The Flash game, at Gilerarunnergame.com, targets male commuters under 24. Players must avoid hazards as they race to complete missions...

Griffiths on mobile: I-mode promises to revolutionise mobile services in the UK.
October 24, 2005... What is the future of mobile data services in the UK? This question has been on the minds of content and application developers for some years, but i-mode, arriving later this year, promises some optimistic answers. I-mode is an important...

Privilege backs 'posh' TV ads with interactive game.
October 24, 2005... Royal Bank of Scotland-owned insurance brand Privilege has launched an online campaign to support its above-the-line advertising. Web activity continues the message of the M&C Saatchi TV ads, starring Joanna Lumley and a cafe of Northerners...

Guardian supports newspaper relaunch with online revamp.
October 24, 2005... Guardian Unlimited is planning a raft of online ventures to coincide with the pounds 80m Berliner-format relaunch of The Guardian. New additions to the travel and music sections aim to build synergy between the print and web versions. ...

Total Jobs in drive for web advertisers.
October 24, 2005... Total Jobs Group, the online jobs board, has embarked on a suite of campaigns to drive the recruitment of web advertisers. A push for Catererglobal.com targets recruiters and staff of luxury hotels and cruise ships. Creative on...

Time thief.(Brief Article)(Column)
October 24, 2005... 30% Meetings The focus and clear agenda of meetings for The Times and The Sunday Times remind me that I'm working for a great news organisation. My job is a perfect combination of editorial, design and commercial, with great people to work...

The Sun offers PSP content in movie tie.
October 24, 2005... The Sun Online is offering free, exclusive Sony PSP downloads to push Optimum's Australia-based horror film Wolf Creek. This is the first time Sony PSP downloads have been promoted on a UK newspaper web site. Visitors to the site...

Performance index.
October 24, 2005... 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: Three reasons why the global news is a local story.
October 24, 2005... I'm going to do something very American in this column. I'm going to show a short attention span and jump around the globe a bit. Why? Three, seemingly unrelated, events have set me thinking about the web as a global medium: the London...

Moving on up: Appointment at Skype.(Saul Klein)(Brief Article)
October 24, 2005... Saul Klein is the new VP of marketing at Skype, the peer-to-peer communications firm. Based in London, he will oversee global product and partner marketing, integrated communications, research and brand management. Previously, he was chief...

Moving on up: Appointment at Starcom Digital.(Nigel Sheldon)(Brief Article)
October 24, 2005... Nigel Sheldon, former managing partner of MindShare's digital division, M Digital, has been appointed to the new position of director of digital at Starcom Digital. He replaces Jeremy Hill, who left to set up his own business (see Trailblazer,...

Moving on up: Appointment at cahoot.
October 24, 2005... John Goddard has joined online bank cahoot as MD. Formerly marketing director at M&G Group, he also worked at UBS and Procter & Gamble. He will be responsible for growing the bank and its brand, reporting to Fergus Crockett, managing director...

Moving on up: Appointment at Press Association.(Robert Freeman )(Brief Article)
October 24, 2005... The Press Association has hired Robert Freeman as deputy head of multimedia editorial. He joins from the BBC to support head of multimedia Asha Oberoi to develop the PA's multimedia services. Freeman joined the BBC in 1997 as part of its...

Moving on up: Appointment at Zed.(Mauricio Leon )(Brief Article)
October 24, 2005... Media agency Zed has named Mauricio Leon as digital buying director. He moves from his role as television director at sister agency ZenithOptimedia. Leon replaces Damian Burns, who left to join Google as head of agency relations for western...

Moving on up: Appointment at handbag.com.(Shakeel Mughal )(Brief Article)
October 24, 2005... Women's lifestyle web site handbag.com, has promoted Shakeel Mughal to sales director. His remit covers sister site getlippy.com and he will be responsible for a team of 13. Previously agency sales director, Mughal has nine years experience in...

Moving on up: Appointment at Cheapholidaydeals.co.uk.
October 24, 2005... Alison Jago becomes head of sales at travel price-comparison site Cheapholidaydeals.co.uk. She was national sales manager at P&O Stena Line and consultant for Travel Visibility.

Moving on up: Retirement at uSwitch.(Keith Eden)(Brief Article)
October 24, 2005... Keith Eden, a non-executive director of independent comparison and switching service uSwitch, has retired at the age of 62. He was a co-founder of uSwitch.com, set up in 2000, and established the initial direction and strategy for the company...

Moving on up: Appointment at 95.8 Capital FM.
October 24, 2005... Fiona Hodge has been promoted to web site editor at 95.8 Capital FM, where she will oversee content and introduce new online features to support station activity. Angie McFarlane has also been promoted to CRM editor. She will focus on growing...

Moving on up: Appointment at Mook.
October 24, 2005... Florentijn Diepeveen has joined Mook as senior designer. He previously worked at Dutch design agency Studio Dumbar on web and mobile applications.

Moving on up: Appointment at Reporo.
October 24, 2005... Mobile shopping brand Reporo has hired Kim Walma as marketing director. She will handle marketing and customer acquisition, and launch Reporo to consumers. Walma will report directly to managing director Richard Watney. She moves from Monster,...

Moving on up: Appointment at Yahoo! UK.(Blake Chandlee)(Brief Article)(Interview)
October 24, 2005... Blake Chandlee has been appointed director of UK media sales at Yahoo! UK, replacing Alison Reay, who was commercial director. He will report to managing director Jon Gisby. Chandlee moves from the New York office, where he was group category...

MXR refits its radio sites for digital drive.
October 24, 2005... The UK's regional digital audio broadcasting (DAB) consortium MXR has relaunched its web site portfolio, supported by an online marketing campaign. MXR markets stations such as Chrysalis, Heart, Galaxy, GCap Media XFM and Classic Gold. It...

DreamWorks builds interest for zoo hit.
October 24, 2005... DreamWorks is promoting the DVD and video release of its box-office hit Madagascar with an extensive online push. The animated film about four Central Park Zoo animals who break out in search of a friend, but end up in Madagascar, will be...

Harvey Nichols perfume shop opens online.
October 24, 2005... Top-end Harvey Nichols boutique La Foret du Parfum, which opened in London in September, is to launch a site to back its first marketing push. The fourth-floor store sells contemporary perfumes and uses French boudoir antiques to create an...

Pankhurst on dotcom life: We've watered our family tree business and branched out.
October 24, 2005... My wife Julie constantly reminds me how Friends Reunited was her brainchild. Well, I've got my own site to be proud of now. Family tree-builder Genes Reunited, which was my idea, is flourishing and we're now branching out by providing data...

Digital direct: Without a method, data is just a list of useless numbers.(Brief Article)
October 24, 2005... What is data integrity and what does it mean for advertisers and agencies? It can be split into three areas: compare apples with apples; de-duplicate data, and using systems to boost the effectiveness of online media. Advertisers are...

EBay eyes pay per call after Skype buy.
October 24, 2005... Online auction eBay is to look at pay-per-call services following its dollars 2.6 billion (1.4bn) acquisition of Skype, which lets PC users talk to each other for free. The deal will bring eBay and Skype into the lead-generation business...

Direct Stats.
October 24, 2005... This month IPT found most consumers interact with the marketing emails they receive, writes Emma Rigby. Almost 80 per cent of people choose to receive marketing emails at their home address, according to research by email services company...

British Red Cross in first aid drive online.(Brief Article)
October 24, 2005... The British Red Cross is backing its latest road safety drive with an interactive challenge. The online game (www.red cross.org.uk/firstaid) forms part of an above-the-line drive, which includes outdoor media. More than 3,000 people...

Britvic rolls out pounds 3m push with CD WOW!
October 24, 2005... Britvic has teamed with CD WOW! for a pounds 3 million promotion of a range of its drink lines. To boost sales of brands such as Pepsi Max, J2O, Robinson's Fruit Shoot and Britvic 55, the point-of-sale promotion will give consumers...

Vital statistics.
October 24, 2005... This month Companies face organisational challenges as they increase their online spend, as Emma Rigby reports. Marketing and e-commerce managers spend an average of 11 per cent of their communications budget online. These findings,...

Analysis: Telewest saves on duplication.
October 24, 2005... Telewest is de-duplicating sales data from its acquisition campaigns for the first time; a move it says could save the firm hundreds of thousands of pounds. The cable company has overhauled the way it assigns media budgets after a test...

Analysis: EBay forks out pounds 1.4bn for Skype.
October 24, 2005... EBay has agreed to buy internet phone firm Skype Technologies, which allows PC users to talk to each other for free, for dollars 2.6 billion (pounds 1.4bn). For eBay, the deal will 'create an unparalleled e-commerce and communications...

Analysis: Global campaigns embrace digital.
October 24, 2005... Sony Ericsson is spearheading the global launch of its Walkman phone with digital. The flagship new product, the W800, is the first in a family of handsets that allow users to listen to music, handle calls, take pictures and film video clips....

Vox pop: Will HMV and Virgin break new ground for digital music?
October 24, 2005... What does the arrival of the retailers mean for music downloads? Download services from the UK's biggest record stores, HMV and Virgin, will bring digital music to the mass market. HMV Digital and Virgin Digital launched last month. They...

Editorial: Who speaks for the digital sector?(Editorial)
October 24, 2005... Nothing points to the failure of above-the-line ad agencies to pick up the digital baton than the way that none of the industry's trade bodies have managed to 'own' interactive. If advertisers were asked to name the ad association to which they...

Comment: Why ad-blockers will cause everyone to lose out.
October 24, 2005... My wife and I really enjoy watching Lost on Channel 4 and I've duly set Sky+ to record it, just in case we miss an episode. But, why should you care? Because the proliferation of ad-avoidance technology, such as PVRs on TV and ad-blockers on...

Shopping: Review - Surreycricket rises for the Ashes.
October 24, 2005... Some observers might describe Australia as the Microsoft of the cricket world. For the last two decades, they've bullied other test nations into submission with their skill, strength and sheer determination to win. So, when chinks in the armour...

Shopping: Shopping stats - Multi-channel retailers miss out online.
October 24, 2005... Why are UK retailers failing to take full advantage of the internet's cross-selling potential? Retailers have failed to optimise targeted sales on their web sites, according to a survey of 103 top UK retailers, which sell through more than...

Sector checker: Lacoste takes its cue from the packaging for perfume promo.
October 24, 2005... Amanda Anthony checks out Lacoste's web site, and finds the brand is pushing its latest perfume to arty trend-setters through Pop Art fun. Web www.lacostepop.com Developer CMW North On landing on Lacoste's web site, it's obvious...

Auntie's digital revolutionary.
October 24, 2005... Our Power 50 number one, Ashley Highfield, tells Philip Buxton about the BBC's plans for a cross-channel interactive future. To the three BAFTAs on his bookshelf, Ashley Highfield can now add the title of most influential person in digital...

Top brands: Digital top 40 brands.
October 24, 2005... Now in its third year, The Revolution Digital Top 40, in association with Gfk NOP, tells us which brands are seeing success. The rising power of online-only brands is clear from Revolution's third survey of the companies dominating the...

With a little help from our friends.
October 24, 2005... The Revolution Email Marketing Report sponsored by CheetahMail, an Experian company. We must address all the issues that surround email marketing to ensure this highly successful and effective method of targeting customers continues to...

The Revolution forum.
October 24, 2005... Janet Scardino, Reuters' executive vice-president and global head of marketing for media business, will spearhead a fresh-line-up of top speakers at the seventh Revolution forum. The event takes place on 21-23 November at a new venue, the...

Poker wars.(online gambling)
October 24, 2005... The web is providing a lucrative playing field for poker operators as the sector picks up more players by the day. Paul Newman coined one of poker's great maxims: 'If you look around the table and can't tell who the sucker is, it's you.'...

ISPs and email: What to do about deliverability.
October 24, 2005... In the war on spam, requested marketing messages are getting lost in the mix and the industry needs to find an answer, reports James Thornton. If spam is an infuriating part of the daily grind for users, for direct marketers it has become...

Segmentation: Divide and conquer.
October 24, 2005... Marketers realise that who you target is just as important as what you send, but how can you get it right? Justin Pugsley reports. When a mailout for Viagra lands in a woman's inbox, the sender is no more blame-worthy than a bank promoting...

3G masterclass: The Revolution Masterclass on 3G mobile campaigns.
October 24, 2005... Early-bird marketers are looking at the opportunities offered by 3G, which some say will become the glue in integrated ad campaigns, says Emma Rigby. It would be so much easier if consumers were the same, but they all want different...

Trailblazer: Clear response.(Jeremy Hill)(Interview)
October 24, 2005... Ex-Starcom boss Jeremy Hill tells Emma Rigby about his hopes for new consumer venture Buy3cows.com. Jeremy Hill says the best decision he ever made was to have kids. But pretty close behind comes launching his own business. The former...

Creative review.(advertisements)
October 24, 2005... Seb Royce, creative director, glue London Royce started out as an account manager at Ogilvy and Mather, but, deciding a suit wasn't for him, he moved to the creative department. With overall responsibility for glue's creative, Royce made...

Campaign of the month.
October 24, 2005... To promote its new online services, British Airways opted for a mixed-media push that targeted people on the move. Campaign - Have You Clicked Yet? Client - British Airways Agency - Agency.com Background: Last year, British Airways...

Terminator 1: Many voices cause global warming in the blogosphere.
October 24, 2005... The blogosphere is doubling in size every six months. About 100,000 online journals are created every day - a new one appears almost every second - and 55 per cent are active. With over 1.4 million new posts a day, and spikes on big news days...

Terminator 2: A little extra to help you swim with the fishes.
October 24, 2005... Over a crate of rose and some deep-fried smelts (tiny, shimmering fish to you and me), Bill Brock, MD of Tribal DDB, has you hooked with his story. The lighting is low, and the conversation turns to weddings. We're not too sure what the...