Revolution articles from September 2004

Revolution archives from September 2004

Heinz backs Beanz rebrand on the web.
September 1, 2004... Heinz's pounds 5 million baked beans rebrand to turn Beans into Beanz is being backed by a pounds 100,000 digital campaign, including a new site and online advertising. Its incumbent digital agency swamp has created the new site...

Vital statistics: This month.(broadband transmission)
September 1, 2004... With broadband uptake increasing in the UK, Emma Rigby finds out why the figures are set to rise further Some 15 per cent of UK homes - that's almost four million - have broadband and the figure is rising, according to Ofcom. There has...

Reiss boosts online experience for users.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... Fashion retailer Reiss has hired digital agency de-construct to overhaul its site (www.reiss.co.uk). It will be relaunched in time for a new fashion season on 1 September. The revamped site aims to align the brand with its offline presence...

Analysis: Will IPO stretch Google's brand?
September 1, 2004... Google's journey to organise the world's information has reached a crossroads. By auctioning a portion of itself online (about 10 per cent), the search engine stands to make an estimated pounds 1.8 billion - that's 24.6 million shares, sold for...

Analysis: Online delivers the facts.
September 1, 2004... Pensions, tax rebates, nutrition, careers; perhaps not the snappiest of topics to push in an ad campaign. It's not practical to get a complex behemoth of a message across in a 30-second TV ad, but the web is stepping in to support and drive...

Vox pop: What is the significance of a record rise in ad spend?(Marketing budgets)(Bellwether report )
September 1, 2004... Online ad spend is on the increase, but what does this growth mean? Reports show that online ad spend is increasing. The Q2 2004 Bellwether Report, the quarterly survey of marketing budgets on behalf of industry body the Institute of...

Editorial: Digital needs friends for the future.
September 1, 2004... It isn't just bad news that brings problems. Good news can generate a set of challenges and issues all by itself. It is, of course, a pleasure to note that the online marketing sector has been on the receiving end of a lot of good news...

Comment: We should relish the challenge of new technology.
September 1, 2004... A lot has been written about the personal video recorder over the past few years since brands like TiVo and, more recently, Sky+, came on the scene. The difference is that we now, finally, have robust data on how viewers are using the devices...

Review: Second-hand bids for first place.(Management Today)(MiniDisc Recorder)
September 1, 2004... It's bad enough to mislay something you own, but recently I had the trauma of losing a MiniDisc player that belonged to a friend of mine, and my friend wasn't too happy about it. The upshot of my carelessness was that I needed to get an exact...

Shopping stats.User satisfaction boosts online booking.(Dave Martin)
September 1, 2004... Budget flight booking online is still rising in popularity. The online travel market is expected to reach pounds 4.8 billion by 2007 according to the Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA). That's a 17 per cent share of the total UK...

Sector checker: MSN plays well, but can boost its overall game.(Microsoft Network L.L.C.,)
September 1, 2004... What does it take to turn a load of games content into a great experience for users? Cxpartners' Giles Colborne finds some answers on MSN. Web www.msn.co.uk/games Developer In-house/Oberon Media/midasplayer.com/gamesradar.com ...

MSN: MSN battles for search crown.
September 1, 2004... UK head Gillian Kent tells Philip Buxton how MSN is aiming to conquer search. Today is Gillian Kent's last day before maternity leave. As director, MSN UK, she is performing her many tasks eight months pregnant. Such is the important...

The Revolution forum: Revolution forum 8-10 November 2004, The Oxford Belfry.(digital marketers forum)
September 1, 2004... The fifth Revolution Forum is taking place on 8-10 November at The Oxford Belfry in Oxfordshire. As the success of its predecessors - including this year's event at the Cheltenham Park Hotel in May - shows, the Forum can be relied upon to...

Digital top 40 stars.
September 1, 2004... For the second year running, The Revolution Digital Top 40, in association with NOP World, tells us which digital brands are winning. Amazon.co.uk has risen to the top of the pile, scooping the number one spot in the second Revolution...

National Direct Marketing Show preview: Direct Marketing Show 2004 guide.
September 1, 2004... Emma Rigby looks at what digital and direct marketers can look forward to at this year's National Direct Marketing Show. The direct marketing industry will be out in force for the second time this year at its biggest autumn event, The...

Online Advertising Report: Online ads work, but can do more.
September 1, 2004... The recent IAB figures confirming the ongoing growth of the sector are very important. Major brands are spending more online and looking to produce more effective advertising on the web. But this rapidly expanding sector is still experiencing...

Online Advertising Report: Who should lead your digital advertising?
September 1, 2004... When it comes to digital advertising, is it better to use one agency, a group of them, or take everything in-house? Philip Smith finds out. How do you get the most out of your online advertising? It is one thing to come up with a magic...

Online Advertising Report: Creative budgets online - Putting a price on creativity.
September 1, 2004... While increases in online advertising spend are reported, is enough money being spent on the creative side of digital advertising? Philip Buxton reports. Something is stirring in the world of digital agencies. Since iTraffic resigned the...

Web analytics masterclass: The Revolution Masterclass on Web analytics.(Overview of Web analytics software)
September 1, 2004... Embarking on a web analytics project might be daunting, but a few pointers could help you improve the way you work on the web, says Philip Buxton. It has been said that you can't manage what you can't measure. It is unlikely that the...

Trailblazer: Boy zone.(Charlie Redmayne)
September 1, 2004... Serial entrepreneur and teen girls' portal managing director Charlie Redmayne tells Emma Rigby how he plans to succeed with his next project - a site for teenage lads Unravelling the murky mindset of hormonal teenage boys may seem like an...

Creative review: Victor Benady - CEO, Randommedia.(chief executive officer)
September 1, 2004... 'Creativity in online advertising and marketing is reaching new heights,' says Victor Benady. His company's clients include Sony Computer Entertainment Europe and the BBC. 'Having said that, I struggled to find four recent campaigns that I...

Campaign of the month: Think you know?
September 1, 2004... Campaign: Think you know? Client: Home Office/COI Agency: Profero (creative), i-level (media) Background The Home Office, managed through the government's publicity agency COI Communications, first appointed digital agency Profero in...

Terminator 1: Revealing all in a blog can pay for ambitious people.
September 1, 2004... Nowadays you shouldn't be surprised if you glance at the name on a new book and realise that the author sounds familiar. Their first book may not be the first piece of their writing you've seen. The internet is becoming increasingly important...

Terminator 2: ASICS runs with fishy promo of canned breath.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... Morning breath, garlic breath, coffee breath, booze breath - all an inspiration to roll over and play dead, not to reach new peaks of physical performance. But Hero Breath promises to be something quite different. It claims to be the...

Terminator 2: Is Vodafone a secret Helen Daniels fan?(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... Apparently the voice (not face) of Vodafone should be a sporty, 'interesting' female from the south of England. According to speech software business Rhetorical, the mobile operator asked it to supply a voice for its UK automated services,...

Terminator 2: Love is ... writing a poem to get a Google T-shirt.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... It's amazing what you can find on Google. One fan found his wife, though he doesn't specify how exactly. Perhaps he typed in 'Love'? Google took a breather from its quiet period to forward Terminator its besotted user's request for a...

Letter from the editor.
September 3, 2004... You can build the best, brightest and most efficient site in the world, but it's no good if your customers can't find it. That simple maxim shows why search marketing is not only a big, but rapidly expanding, area of digital business. In...

Mercedes-Benz seeks to grab customers via interactive site.(Brief Article)
September 3, 2004... An online campaign announcing the arrival of the new-generation Mercedes-Benz C-Class and SLK models has been launched. A Flash-based microsite (www.drivetheelements.co.uk), which was designed by agency Syzygy, uses a virtual test-drive...

Fulham FC upgrades site to drive sales.(Brief Article)
September 3, 2004... Premiership football club Fulham FC has refreshed its site to drive ticket sales, corporate hospitality packages and merchandise. The new site (www.fulhamfc.com) will have less news on the landing page and focus on generating...

BIMAS 2004 reveals reader awards list.(Awards ceremony)(Brief Article)
September 3, 2004... Ofcom and The EU's Directive on Privacy and Electronic Communications are just two of the nominations that will battle it out on the shortlist for the new Experts' Choice category in the BIMAS 2004 awards. The winner, to be voted for by...

Deals: BT joins lastminute.com.(British Telecommunications PLC)(Brief Article)
September 3, 2004... BT has joined with lastminute.com to launch an interactive online booking system on the travel and leisure site. The venture lets restaurants advertise table vacancies via broadband the moment they become available, and will include a live...

Deals: Hellomagazine.com signs partnership with Telewest Broadband.(Brief Article)
September 3, 2004... Hellomagazine.com has signed a partnership with Telewest Broadband to provide celebrity news information on the cable company's site, blueyonder.co.uk. Customers online will receive rolling celebrity news on the homepage.

Deals: Associated New Media forms number of content and ad partnerships.(Dailymail.co.uk)(Brief Article)
September 3, 2004... Associated New Media (ANM) has formed a number of content and ad partnerships for the launch of its new motoring channel on Dailymail.co.uk. This incorporates editorial from Auto Express, new car data from UK dealer network Broadspeed, and...

Deals: Wandadoo signs distribution deal with Time.(screenselect.co.uk)(Brief Article)
September 3, 2004... Wanadoo has signed a distribution deal with PC retailer and manufacturer Time to pre-load Wanadoo access software on all PCs it sells in the UK, push Wanadoo Broadband across its sites, and distribute Wanadoo products through its retail arm,...

Deals: Streetcar chooses Mapaphone.(Brief Article)
September 3, 2004... Streetcar has chosen mobile phone-tracking service Mapaphone to locate its fleet of self-service pay-as-you-go cars in a one-year deal. The Mapaphone service helps businesses to co-ordinate workforces by locating mobiles and displaying the...

Deals: Usability Compnay seals partnership with WebAbacus.(Brief Article)
September 3, 2004... The Usability Company has sealed a formal partnership with web-analytics supplier WebAbacus to provide online data as part of its service. WebAbacus, which has often worked with The Usability Company, will provide data on how users are...

Deals: Carphone Warehouse joins PhotoBox.(Brief Article)
September 3, 2004... The Carphone Warehouse has joined online digital photography firm PhotoBox to provide camera-phone customers with a range of digital photographic services. The Carphone Warehouse Photo Service is available at www.carphonewarehouse.com/photos.

Deals: Sky sports signs up for Reuters' online Olympic service.(Brief Article)
September 3, 2004... Sky Sports is one of a number of media organisations signing up for Reuters' online Olympic service, with breaking news and photos from the games direct to sites. Reuters has a team of 200 people providing up to 400 pictures and 150 headlines a...

Deals: Overture becomes exclusive provider of sponsored results.(Brief Article)
September 3, 2004... Overture has become the exclusive provider of sponsored results to shopping search engine Kelkoo - both companies are subsidiaries of Yahoo!. Overture will provide up to four sponsored links at the bottom of Kelkoo's content pages and serve its...

More Than in pounds 900k web-branding push.(Internet campaign)(Brief Article)
September 3, 2004... Royal & SunAlliance-owned insurer More Than is spending pounds 900,000 on a two-pronged internet campaign, including its first online brand-building push. In a six-figure deal with MSN, worth pounds 100,000-200,000, a brand awareness...

Good month/bad month.(Brief Article)
September 3, 2004... A good one for online music buyers as Real Networks began a potential price war with rival iTunes, slashing the cost of downloads to 49 cents (27p) each. The company also launched the latest version of its jukebox software. Site audits...

New ITV talent show makes digital plans.(Brief Article)
September 3, 2004... FremantleMedia is launching web and interactive TV work to support its autumn ITV talent show, The X Factor. Fremantle has hired digital agency Atticmedia to design the X Factor web site and iTV application, alongside agency@www. The site...

Thomson Directories revamps online to push 'smart' image.(Brief Article)
September 3, 2004... Thomson Directories is pouring almost pounds 300,000 of its new pounds 4 million ad campaign online, with the new push due on the web this month. The firm, which has revamped to compete in an increasingly crowded off and online directories...

Just breaking.(Brief Article)(Illustration)
September 3, 2004... Top 10 breaking banners by impressions (1-31 July 2004) 1. Orange 500 free texts every weekend 2. Sainsbury's Bank Great summer rates 3. Ultralase Laser eye correction 4....

Sky Bet puts five-figure sum into major online promotion.(Brief Article)
September 3, 2004... Sky Bet, BSkyB's digital betting service, has launched its first major online ad campaign. The brand hired interactive agency TBG to develop the campaign, which will run into five figures and aims to attract new registrations to the...

Web site to showcase Roald Dahl.(Roald Dahl Museum and Story Centre)(Brief Article)
September 3, 2004... Fans will have a chance to view digital archived treasures from Roald Dahl's family collection on a site launching next month. Early drafts of his celebrated children's book, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and more than 600 letters...

DGM announces second thinktank.(Brief Article)
September 3, 2004... The second dgmthinktank, hosted by digital-marketing firm dealgroupmedia in association with Revolution, will be held in West London on 19 September. Participants will debate the key digital issues facing the market at the moment and will...

LLoyds TSB signs major Tiscali deal.(Brief Article)
September 3, 2004... Lloyds TSB General Insurance has boosted its relationship with Tiscali by signing a media sales deal with the portal and ISP worth over pounds 100,000. The deal, from mid-August until the end of the year, will see Lloyds TSB Insurance...

Account wins.
September 3, 2004... Sky has appointed marketing communications provider Broadsystem to handle interactive services for Sky One's new science show, Brainiac. It will feed through SMS vote and competition data, aggregate red button data and provide text message...

Owen on digital media: If you want a good idea, you just can't rush the creative.
September 3, 2004... With online marketing spend rising for the 10th consecutive quarter, according to the latest IPA Bellwether Report, it might seem an odd time to have a moan about the size of budgets being allocated to the internet. But I've heard quite a few...

Yahoo! upgrades its rich-media banners.(Brief Article)
September 3, 2004... Yahoo! Europe is offering UK advertisers free rich-media upgrades on all banners after striking a deal with ad technology specialist Eyeblaster. The deal, which follows a similar association between the two companies in the US, will allow...

Orange offers prizes for best snapshots.(Brief Article)
September 3, 2004... Orange will offer prizes to users who take the best pictures on their mobile phone. The Snapshot competition is open to anyone with an MMS-enabled phone on any major UK network. Participants are being asked to snap a photo based on a...

Carers' trust offers support on the web.(Princess Royal Trust for Carers)(O'Sullivan, Esther)(Brief Article)
September 3, 2004... The Princess Royal Trust for Carers is launching a site on 1 September to provide support to young people caring for those with an illness or disability. Design agency Fortune Cookie was appointed to develop the site (www.youngcarers.net),...

Handbag offers up opt-in database.(Handbag.com)(Email marketing)(Brian O'Sullivan)(Ruth Brownlee)(Brief Article)
September 3, 2004... Handbag.com, the lifestyle web site for women, is to open up its database of opt-in email subscribers to advertisers. It has hired email marketing specialist Electronic Direct Response (EDR) to push the list, which offers 200,000 opt-in...

USwitch plans to revamp UpMyStreet.(Start Creative)(Brief Article)
September 3, 2004... USwitch has hired incumbent digital agency Start Creative to revamp the site of UpMyStreet, the homeowners' local information service it saved from administration last May. Start Creative will also help to manage email and newsletter...

Ebay takes auctions to mobile users.(Brief Article)
September 3, 2004... Online auction giant eBay is going mobile, having struck a deal with content applications developer Volantis that enables bidders to track and raise their bids from their handsets. EBay members will be sent SMS alerts when they're outbid on...

Griffiths on mobile - Will ticketing by text make marketing a walk in the park?
September 3, 2004... With the summer festival season in full swing it seems that the take-up of mobile marketing services has, thus far, been better than our English summer. Much better in fact. After three years of enthusing about the idea we are finally...

Time thief: Blair Schooff, executive director, AOL Music, UK and Europe, on his day.(Brief Article)
September 3, 2004... 25% Working with iTunes Finding ways to get the most out of our exclusive online partnership. We look at what we can do for our members, how we drive people to the AOL branded service on iTunes, and triggers that make people buy. 24%...

Birds Eye revamps site to promote 'natural' foods.(Brief Article)
September 3, 2004... Frozen food brand Birds Eye has revamped its web site to push the health benefits of its range. The redesigned and rebranded consumer site (www.birdseye.co.uk) forms part of parent group Unilever's pan-European campaign to promote its...

AOL UK teams with high.tv to take extreme sports online.(Brief Article)
September 3, 2004... AOL UK has partnered with high.tv, an extreme sports TV channel on the web, in a content deal lasting at least a year. The agreement will strengthen the broadband content available on the AOL Sport channel. Andria Allan, PR and...

Daimler offers fleet-buyers a web presence.(Brief Article)
September 3, 2004... DaimlerChrysler Services Fleet Management (DCSFM) is to improve its online presence. Launching this autumn, the site will offer new services, so that users can request quotations, contact sales and post comments online. The home page...

3 launches music videos on handsets.
September 3, 2004... 3 is shaking up the digital music market with a new service offering music videos to 3G mobile users for pounds 1.50 a time. This follows a deal with record label BMG, which has agreed to offer videos from its library of artists, including...

Performance index: 1 July - 31 July 2003, 8am-8pm.(Brief Article)(Illustration)
September 3, 2004... Rank Site Performance Availability (secs) (per cent) 1 Google.co.uk 0.23 99.87 2 BBC.co.uk 0.36 100.00...

Gaffney on America: Could it be the 's' word is no more? Long live the filters.(Column)
September 3, 2004... Warning: this is a column about email marketing. Promise: I won't mention the 's' word - I need to read one more column about the 's' word like I need to hear one more Tom Ridge (US Homeland Security Chief) warning. The reason: I don't...

Moving on up: Appointment at Kelkoo.(Brief Article)
September 3, 2004... Kelkoo has hired Hanif Virani as director of product and merchandising for Kelkoo.com UK. He leaves Kelkoo's retail partner, music site 101cd.com, where he was managing director. Virani's role will be to implement and optimise new site design...

Moving on up: Appointment at Ticketmaster.(Brief Article)
September 3, 2004... Ticketing company Ticketmaster promotes Tommy Higgins to group managing director for the UK and Ireland. Higgins moves from the position of managing director, Ticketmaster Ireland. In his new role, Higgins will oversee ticketmaster.co.uk,...

Moving on up: Appointment at Overture Services.(Brief Article)
September 3, 2004... Overture Services has hired Richard Firminger as sales director of Overture UK. He will be responsible for managing and directing UK sales and speeding growth in the search market. Firminger moves from mobile marketing firm Enpocket, where he...

Moving on up: Laura Ashley.(Brief Article)
September 3, 2004... David Selby, head of mail order and e-commerce at Laura Ashley has resigned for personal reasons. He had worked at the firm for 16 years and is now developing interests in the e-commerce and mail-order fields.

Moving on up: Appointment at Handbag.com.(Brief Article)
September 3, 2004... Woman's lifestyle site Handbag.com has hired Shakeel Mughal as head of agency sales, reporting directly to handbag.com's head of sales, Ruth Brownlee. Mughal moves from Associated Newspapers Metro where he was head of client sales, progressing...

Moving on up: Appointment at Mook.(Brief Article)
September 3, 2004... Phil Jones has joined creative digital consultancy Mook as chairman, six months after leaving direct marketing agency EHS Brann. He was previously MD of agency Real Time, where he increased the team from 10 to several hundred staff before...

Moving on up: Appointments at ValueClick.(Brief Article)
September 3, 2004... Media and technology services ValueClick has made two new appointments. Tina Wild joins as business development account manager at ValueClick Media and Alison Rowley as marketing communications manager at ValueClick Europe. Wild has five years'...

Moving on up: Appointment at YouthNet UK.(Brief Article)
September 3, 2004... Peter Cowley, director of interactive media at interactive broadcaster Endemol UK, has joined youth charity YouthNet UK as a trustee. The virtual charity will benefit from his experience of former projects, including the interactive media...

Moving on up: Appointment at Eurostar.(Brief Article)
September 3, 2004... Kara Livingston has joined Eurostar as head of relationship management. Her responsibilities include Eurostar.com and developing customer relationship strategy. Livingston moves from Orange, where she was head of CRM for Orange Netherlands, and...

Moving on up: Appointment at Shazam.(Brief Article)
September 3, 2004... Mobile music firm Shazam has named Tom Clark as UK business development manager. Clark brings four years' experience in business development and global consulting, and will drive UK revenue from new and existing partnerships. Previously, he...

Moving on up: Appointment at Associated New Media.(Brief Article)
September 3, 2004... Mark Milner has been appointed chief operating officer at Associated New Media (ANM), the digital publishing division of Associated Newspapers. He moves to the newly created position from his previous role as group commercial director and will...

Tetley in digital first for new tea range.(Brief Article)
September 3, 2004... Tetley is using digital for the first time to support the launch its new range of 12 fruit, herbal and green teas. Its new web site (www.tetley.co.uk/specialteas) is targeted at 45 to 64-year-olds who are independently minded, health...

Club 18-30 looks for agency to build site.(Brief Article)
September 3, 2004... Club 18-30, the tour operator known for its wild holidays, is seeking a digital agency to build its new web site. The chosen agency will design and build the site in conjunction with Club 18-30's reservation partner to ensure it is...

UNICEF takes its greetings cards online.(United Nations Children's Fund)(Brief Article)
September 3, 2004... UNICEF, the United Nations Children's Fund, is to launch a global e-greetings offering to complement its card business. This will involve the creation of a test portal in five European markets, including the UK, where UNICEF aims to create...

Pankhurst on dotcom life: Our logo's getting a facelift, but my folks are going nowhere.
September 3, 2004... The big news this month is we've decided to make some changes to the Friends Reunited brand. Not a name change, but a revamp of our logo, which we haven't touched since launch, to give it a global feel. Contrary to what you may have heard, we...

Digital direct: Offering a guide to best practice in the digital world.(Brief Article)
September 3, 2004... Why do I need a data-hygiene policy? What information should I provide when capturing an email address and how do I know which email lists are OK to rent? These are just a few issues addressed by the DMA's recent Best Practice Guidelines,...

ValueClick acquires pounds 15.8m Pricerunner.(Brief Article)
September 3, 2004... Online marketing group Value-Click, which offers ad delivery and tracking, affiliate marketing and search placement, is buying into the online shopping market with the dollars 29 million (pounds 15.8m) acquisition of price-comparison service...

Direct Stats.(Standard banner )(Brief Article)
September 3, 2004... This month: The latest ad-serving trends survey from DoubleClick showed times are changing in the banner world. Philip Buxton reports. DoubleClick's ad trends report for Q2 2004 found that average clickthrough rates for all ads served by...

Euro 2004: Who were the online champions?
September 3, 2004... Euro 2004's official sponsors paid big money for their place in Portugal. Both they and other businesses found online success. Emma Rigby reports. It's an opportunity as rare as picking the ball out of the net after a Beckham penalty. An...