Revolution articles from September 2006

Revolution archives from September 2006

Letter from the editor.(web protocols)(Editorial)(Brief article)
September 29, 2006... On 6 August 1991, Tim Berners-Lee of the WorldWideWeb project posted a message on a newsgroup that laid out the protocols for the web for the first time. The aim was clear: '... to allow information-sharing within internationally dispersed...

EC pan-European drive seeks to educate on climate change.
September 29, 2006... The European Commission is set to roll out the first phase of a major pan-European marketing campaign to raise awareness of climate change. The drive incorporates digital, press and poster ads. It will launch on 1 September and run in 25...

BBC looks to younger crowd for gardening.(British Broadcasting Corp)(Brief article)
September 29, 2006... The BBC is looking to appeal to a younger audience with the launch of new, interactive features on its gardening site. Recognising a shift in the market, the BBC is using digital to target a new generation of gardening enthusiasts in...

Reckitt Benckiser to boost power brands.
September 29, 2006... Reckitt Benckiser has appointed FullSIX as its lead health-care digital agency in Europe to boost online awareness of its 'healthcare power brands', including Clearasil, Nurofen and Strepsils. The agency, which won the work after a pitch,...

Deals: Goodle and Fox Interactive Media sign a deal.
September 29, 2006... Google and News Corporation's Fox Interactive Media have signed a pounds 472 million three-year deal, which makes Google the exclusive search and keyword targeted-ad sales provider for Fox's web properties, including MySpace.com. Google will...

Deals: ITV teams with mobile media company 3.
September 29, 2006... ITV has teamed with mobile media company 3 to stream ITV's flagship channel, ITV1, to 3's customers in the UK. The deal will enable the 3.5 million customers on 3 to watch ITV1 and ITV Play - ITV's participation channel - live on their mobiles....

Deals: Yahoo UK & Ireland partner with Five.
September 29, 2006... Yahoo UK & Ireland has partnered with Five, the terrestrial commercial TV network, to provide search and ad technology for Five.tv. The deal means Yahoo will provide a search-box at the top of each page on the web site, enabling users to search...

Deals: News International signs a sponsorship and ad deal.
September 29, 2006... News International has signed a sponsorship and ad deal with digital 'in-stadia' channel Sports TV. It will span all 42 of the Football League clubs and feature constantly updated News of the World sports headlines on the screen.

Deals: MTV Networks teams with Goodle.
September 29, 2006... Viacom-owned MTV Networks has teamed with Google to test a video-distribution model that will serve MTV content to consumers, web publishers and advertisers. Through the deal, Google will distribute ad-supported content from MTV Networks to...

Deals: Hypertag and Boomerang Media team up.
September 29, 2006... Interactive outdoor ad company Hypertag and media owner Boomerang Media have teamed up to install a fixed network of 80 interactive ad locations across prime London sites. Under the deal, Hypertag's new embedded Bluetooth and infra-red units...

Deals: MIG signs a deal with ITV.
September 29, 2006... Mobile Interactive Group (MIG) has signed a 12-month deal with ITV to manage the broadcaster's entire portfolio of mobile services in 2007, and deliver a suite of new mobile technologies and applications across all of ITV's channels and...

Deals: Audible.co.uk teams with iTunes.
September 29, 2006... Audible.co.uk, the web-based spoken entertainment and information site, has teamed with iTunes to offer downloadable audiobooks and other spoken-word programmes through the UK iTunes online music store. The worldwide partnership will supply UK...

Deals: USwitch.com signs a deal with The Independent.
September 29, 2006... USwitch.com, the comparison and switching service, has signed a two-year deal with The Independent to offer readers the chance to save money on their household bills. The weekly offer will appear in The Independent, directing readers to the...

TopShop overhauls to boost web sales.
September 29, 2006... TopShop has described the web as its single biggest opportunity and believes it could sell more clothes online than through its high-street stores in future. The Arcadia-owned chain is relaunching Topshop.com this month after a major...

Boots joins breast cancer charity online.
September 29, 2006... Boots and Breast Cancer Care have teamed up to launch their first co-branded campaign to raise awareness of the growing number of people diagnosed with the disease each year. The main element is an online photo gallery, called 41,000 Faces,...

Virgin Radio site redesign puts stronger emphasis on music.
September 29, 2006... Virgin Radio is set to reveal a revamped web site featuring a stronger focus on music. The new site aims to position Virginradio.co.uk as 'a music web site that happens to be run by a radio station'. James Cridland, digital media...

Good month/bad month.(Mergermarket purchased by FT Group)(Big Brother podcast number one download)(digital advertising agencies show increases)(Brief article)
September 29, 2006... Corporate finance news service Mergermarket has had an enjoyable few weeks, being bought by the FT Group for pounds 101m. Founded in 2000, it provides financial data, news and analysis on corporate mergers and acquisitions to most of the...

Virgin online promotion aims to help holiday-makers 'get more'.
September 29, 2006... Virgin Holidays is targeting customers who want to get more out of their travels with a new integrated campaign. The brand push, which incorporates digital, outdoor, radio and direct marketing, was created by Kittcatt Nohr Alexander Shaw...

Seabrook site marks online leap for brand.
September 29, 2006... Seabrook Crisps, the UK crisp manufacturer, is going digital with the launch of its first ever site and online campaign. The family-owned company, founded in 1945, has hired full-service agency The Raft to develop a digital-marketing...

Autotrader.co.uk set for major relaunch.(Brief article)
September 29, 2006... Autotrader.co.uk, the UK's most used car site, will relaunch this month following an 18-month project. Publishing director Jim Murray-Jones is working to a deadline of 28 September for the new site, which is currently used by 6.8 million...

Just breaking: Top 10 breaking banners by impressions (1-31 July 2006).(Chart)
September 29, 2006... 1. Ultralase. Win laser eye treatment 2. BskyB. TV to fit your life 3. Virgin Trains. Great Britain for great prices 4. Racing Post. Let your cards do the talking 5. Skype. The whole world can talk for free 6. O2. Discover our best...

BP urges drivers to pay for C02 impact.
September 29, 2006... BP is using the web to drive its 'targetneutral' initiative, which aims to cancel out the CO2 emissions from cars. The programme encourages motorists to take action and reduce their individual impact on climate change by funding CO2...

Account wins.
September 29, 2006... Digital creative agency Grand Union has been appointed by The Department of Education and Skills to create an online ad campaign and site to drive awareness of the financial help available to students in higher education. Haymarket has...

Owen on digital media: The wife goes back to school and joins the web generation.
September 29, 2006... Students are on my mind quite a bit at the moment. For one thing, we are trying to recruit a number of them to dare as part of our Dare School initiative and, for another, my wife is about to become one again - at the age of 42. I am all...

Govt warns of drug dangers via game.(Brief article)
September 29, 2006... The Government has launched an interactive game, warning young people of the dangers of smoking cannabis, as part of its latest Frank campaign. The 'Dope Dash' game was developed by digital agency Profero in conjunction with the COI,...

Guardian boosts its affiliate programme.(Brief article)
September 29, 2006... Guardian Unlimited (GU) is stepping up its affiliate marketing activity to drive subscriptions for its paid-for services, including its crosswords and Soulmates dating service. It is preparing to launch a new affiliate programme this month...

Tracker: Travel web sites, August 2006.
September 29, 2006... Traffic to UK sites: 82.3% Average session duration: 7 mins 18 secs TERROR ALERTS BOOST VISITS TO AVIATION SITES As news emerged that a suspected terrorist plot to blow up aircraft had been foiled, UK holidaymakers swarmed on to...

Toptable promotes new site services.
September 29, 2006... Toptable, the online restaurant search and booking service, is launching a bars and clubs site in a move to extend, improve and promote its services. The new web site will be linked from Toptable.co.uk and sponsored by English gin brand...

Scottish Widows to try out pay-per-call.(Brief article)
September 29, 2006... Scottish Widows is to trial pay-per-call advertising for the first time to encourage users searching for pension and life insurance online to phone its call centres. The financial services company has signed up to pilot the new ad model on...

Mazda shows track day on ITV F1 domain.
September 29, 2006... Mazda is to show exclusive video footage on ITV's official F1 web site as part of a campaign for its high-end RX-8 PZ model. The car firm is taking three competition winners to a track day in September, where they will be driven around in a...

Griffiths on mobile: UK races ahead of US with direct-to-consumer services.(Market overview)
September 29, 2006... At the time of writing I'm at a Mobile Content - Off Portal conference. It aims to answer a series of questions facing content providers looking to offer services direct to consumers, rather than via network operators' portals. This...

Unilever rolls out innovative digital push for Lynx Boost.
September 29, 2006... Unilever has launched digital activity as part of an ad campaign for its new shower gel, Lynx Boost. The online work, developed by Agency Republic, includes a site, viral and online ads. The site, Lynxboost.com, is based around the...

Bennetts gives site a facelift to offer bikers faster quotes.(www.bennetts.co.uk provides insurance quotes)(Brief article)
September 29, 2006... Bennetts, the motorbike insurer, has revamped its site to make it faster and easier for customers to obtain quotes. The company, known for its racy viral campaigns featuring the 'Bennetts Babes', appointed digital agency Tamar to redesign...

Churchill viral game aims to raise take-up.
September 29, 2006... Churchill Insurance is pushing its TV and print campaign, 'Challenge Churchill', via a viral game. The 'Bus Racer' game aims to raise awareness and take-up of Churchill's car and home cover, and drive traffic to its web site...

Time thief: Alistair Williams, marketing executive at Sulake UK (Habbo Hotel) on his day.
September 29, 2006... 47% Co-ordinating... our UK marketing takes up most of my day. This involves partnership deals like stocking fair-trade chocolate in Habbo or thinking up new ways to reach teens. 22% Media sales - I provide a contact point for clients and...

Yell is first to try out GPS ads on buses.
September 29, 2006... Yell.com is the first to use a new GPS ad system on London buses as part of a multi-million pound integrated campaign for its local search facility. The system, launched by Viacom Outdoor across its fleet of buses with digital panels,...

Gaffney on America: Newspapers won't go places by being grey and boring.
September 29, 2006... The biggest media story of the summer over here in the US has actually been about newspapers, namely The Wall Street Journal. It absolutely rattled the advertising world by announcing in late July that it will allow ads on the front page of its...

Performance index.(rating web site performance)(Brief article)
September 29, 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 Inside.
September 29, 2006... Weight Watchers Online's marketing director, James Hilton, is leaving to join new mobile agency Inside, taking on the role of joint MD alongside Dusan Hamlin, ex-Carat International media communications director.

Moving on up: Appointment at Find.co.uk.
September 29, 2006... Consumer finance web site Find.co.uk has appointed Kate Marsden as marketing director to raise awareness of the service across its target segments. She leaves BT where she spent three months leading the integration of its B2B arm with Dabs.com....

Moving on up: Appointment at GCap Media.(Brief article)
September 29, 2006... GCap Media has hired Paul Sigaloff as head of interactive and CRM. He joins from Channel 4 where he was deputy head of new media advertising. Sigaloff will join GCap at the end of October, where he will be charged with developing and...

Moving on up: Appointment at VCCP.
September 29, 2006... Full service digital agency VCCP digital has hired Claudine Allen as head of production. Allen joins VCCP digital from Profero, where she was head producer, working on campaigns such as COI Frank and Child Protection, Ask Jeeves and Channel 4....

Moving on up: Appointment at Graphico.
September 29, 2006... Marcus Siddons has been employed by digital agency Graphico as media director as part of its continued expansion. He previously worked at i-level.

Moving on up: Appointment at Bigmouthmedia.
September 29, 2006... Bigmouthmedia search agency has selected client services manager Todd Rosen to head up its growing New York client services team. Rosen joins from rival US search marketing agency Beyond Interactive, where he was search marketing strategy...

Moving on up: Appointment at Microsoft.
September 29, 2006... Microsoft has promoted Michael Steckler, head of sales and commerce at MSN UK, to the new role of business planning and development director, EMEA regional advertising sales for Microsoft Online Services Group.

Moving on up: Appointment at Zendor.
September 29, 2006... Zendor, which specialises in multi-channel fulfilment, has strengthened sales with the appointment of a new business development manager. Steve Aylott has held senior sales and business development roles at Hays IMS, Chelsea FC and ATS.

Moving on up: Appointment at Mediaedge:cia.
September 29, 2006... Mediaedge:cia has taken on former Jupiter Research advertising and marketing analyst Julian Smith as its first director of digital insight and research. Working across the interaction and Medialab divisions, he will develop insight into digital...

Moving on up: Appointment at Advertising.com.
September 29, 2006... Richard Robinson, Telegraph Salesperson of the Year 2006, has joined Advertising.com as account manager. He will be responsible for developing and managing major accounts. Advertising.com has also promoted Carla Cotterell to strategic sales...

Moving on up: Appointment at Ambergreen.
September 29, 2006... UK search agency Ambergreen has hired Joanne Jackson as account manager. She joins from Emap consumer media and advertising where she worked across all its brands, including FHM.com and ZooWeekly.co.uk, with clients like O2 and Gillette.

Moving on up: Appointment at Cheapflights.
September 29, 2006... Cheapflights has hired Jagjivan Ram as head of product development (UK). He was most recently at Cendant Travel Distribution Services as senior technical products development manager (EMEA). Vicky McAllister also joins as account manager, from...

Moving on up: Appointment at Global Beach.
September 29, 2006... Digital agency Global Beach has hired Ralph Robinson as global creative director. He joins from Ogilvy where he was creative director. Prior to that, Robinson was a board director at rmg:connect. The agency has also appointed former FI ace Sir...

Moving on up: Appointment at Touch Clarity.
September 29, 2006... Touch Clarity, provider of on-site behavioural targeting solutions, has appointed Brent Hieggelke to the newly created role of chief marketing officer. Joining from WebTrends, he will lead branding and positioning strategies, and demand...

Moving on up: Appointment at NatMag Digital.
September 29, 2006... Niall Hogan has just started as digital advertising director of NatMag Digital, part of the National Magazine Company. In the newly created role, Hogan will lead a central digital sales hub and is tasked with generating revenues across NatMag's...

Ribena promo uses digital Tube panels.(Brief article)
September 29, 2006... Ribena is using digital escalator panels in London's Tottenham Court Road Tube station to promote its new Really Light Blueberry flavour. The panels form part of a wider campaign, incorporating press ads and posters to push Ribena's new...

Vauxhall to improve the user experience.
September 29, 2006... British car brand Vauxhall is increasing investment in its consumer-facing site to make it more engaging and interactive. The General Motors-owned brand has hired digital agency Modem Media to manage the creative design and front-end...

MRM revamps web sites for Govt scheme.
September 29, 2006... MRM Worldwide (UK) has been appointed to redevelop the Respect and Together sites by the Government's Central Office of Information (COI). MRM will redevelop Respect. gov.uk and Together.gov.uk for the cross-government programme, which is...

Murphy on dotcom life: Five secrets of site success and a big dose of simplicity.
September 29, 2006... A recent invitation from the London Business School to speak to students about Friends Reunited and its sister sites forced me to analyse the process of developing new products. As budding entrepreneurs, the students wanted to know how to...

Digital direct: Media owners can do more to protect brands on the web.
September 29, 2006... Brand loyalty used to be a given. Twenty years ago people made a long-term commitment to their credit card, getting it through their bank manager who they met face-to-face. The arrival of call centres ended this, making it easy to reject a...

EA launches lifestyle e-letter for 'Sims2'.(Electronic Arts computer games company)(Brief article)
September 29, 2006... Electronic Arts (EA), the computer games developer, is to launch an email newsletter for UK fans of its popular game The Sims2. The 'lifestyle' newsletter will be a first for the firm and play a key role in its strategy to acquire new...

Direct Stats.
September 29, 2006... This month Expenditure on web and mobile media in 2005 grew 80 per cent to pounds 1.5bn, making it the fastest growing sector in direct marketing. The findings from the Direct Marketing Association's (DMA) annual Census for the Direct...

Land Rover promo has forum at heart.
September 29, 2006... A global community forum and interactive site are at the centre of a major global, integrated, brand push for Land Rover. Land Rover said it aims to 'embrace the web in a way no other car manufacturer has ever done before', with its 'Go...

NatMag Digital rolls out raft of new sites.
September 29, 2006... NatMag Digital is set to unveil new sites for Cosmopolitan, Men's Health and Good Housekeeping in the coming months. These launches, beginning this month with Cosmopolitan, will be followed by more activity in the autumn and a further 10...

Vital statistics: This month - More than 70 per cent of users who can access mobile internet services are not doing so.
September 29, 2006... Research from web-hosting service Hostway revealed that, despite extensive investments by telecoms firms in the mobile web, user levels haven't passed the 20 per cent mark. The study, by research body TNS, found 38 per cent of users were...

Analysis: Ads arrive on the mobile internet.(trial allows banners on Orange World portal )
September 29, 2006... Last month, Orange announced a major move into mobile internet advertising with the launch of a pilot for banner ads. Orange's trial lets brands place banners on the Orange World portal, potentially giving access to about 15 million Orange...

Analysis: Will MTV Flux offer anything new?
September 29, 2006... MTV is looking to play catch-up in the social networking market with the launch of MTV Flux, an interactive and user-generated multi-platform entertainment service. The service, which was rolled out last month, enables users to upload...

Vox pop: Does the industry need new guides on campaign delivery? Will new guidelines from the IPA have an effect on ad variance?
September 29, 2006... The IPA, the body for ad agencies, is drafting a set of guidelines to hold media owners to account when web campaigns are not delivered correctly. It says the objective is to encourage sites to improve the way they plan and deliver ads....

Quotes of the month.
September 29, 2006... 'The easy access and influence creative people have will challenge everything... there are millions of people on the internet - mainly writing rubbish, but a lot are writing words of wisdom' - We hope News Corp boss Rupert Murdoch isn't...

Editorial: ABCe helps lure marketers online.(Editorial)
September 29, 2006... Examining the ABCe-audited figures for our fourth exclusive publication of the full list of site traffic numbers, it turns out that the number of web sites signing up for audits - or at least those prepared to let us publish them - has fallen....

Comment: IPTV: new fad or multi-million-pound generator?(internet television)
September 29, 2006... One fast-moving area into which I'm delving deeper daily is IPTV After speaking with brands, agencies, and the public and private sector in the UK, it appears the process of delivering audio-visual content to the public in an engaging way is a...

Shopping - Review - A fast sale that's picture perfect.(product review sites)
September 29, 2006... I was planning my holiday and, as my last camera got ruined on my previous trip when I was thrown into a pool, I decided it was time to get a new one. Unfortunately, my friend who pushed me in refused to replace the camera as he was taking...

Shopping stats - Four in five shoppers feel 'web rage' - Will poor performing sites send online shoppers back to the high-street?
September 29, 2006... 'Web rage' is on the rise and online retailers need to improve the functionality of their web sites, according to a study by web-testing specialist SciVisum. SciVisum's Regional eCommerce study, which surveyed 1,000 people aged 18 to 60,...

Sector checker - RadioCentre could get more listeners by changing tone.(web site evaluation)
September 29, 2006... Giles Colborne of cxpartners reckons the site of the radio industry body is solid and competent, but is missing out on a wider audience. Web: www.radiocentre.org Developer: DG Development You can tell a lot about an organisation by...

Unilever rethinks its digital view.
September 29, 2006... Unilever's chief marketing officer, Simon Clift, tells Susie Harwood how the world's biggest advertiser is looking to get its head around digital. 'If you're a long-in-the-tooth marketer like myself, you need some help and, of course, we...

The simple guide to ad networks.(online advertising networks)(Industry overview)
September 29, 2006... Accounting for 20 per cent of online display, advertising networks have come a long way. Danielle Long offers a sector overview. From their meagre beginnings as simple sales houses getting rid of unsold inventory for web publishers, online...

ABCe figures: Traffic debate - Revolution provides the latest ABC figures for the digital sector.(advertising market share)
September 29, 2006... The topic of site and campaign measurement remains a critical one for the digital marketing sector. As Revolution again publishes, exclusively, the full list of ABCe-audited site figures, the industry's leading lights maintain that developing...

Forum preview: 15-17 November 2006, Forest of Arden Marriott Hotel and Country Club, Warwickshire.
September 29, 2006... The ninth Revolution Forum looks set to be another key event in the digital marketing calendar, with The Times' managing director, Paul Hayes, lined up to give the opening keynote speech. Hayes will discuss how media owners are adapting to...

Resolution Online Retail Report sponsored by Ecommerce Expo: Web site failures cost customers.
September 29, 2006... In a recent survey of 2,000 UK internet users, nearly 70 per cent said they found themselves on an improperly functioning site at least once a week. This research, funded by web application specialist Empirix, went on to say that more than...

The Revolution Online Retail Report sponsored by Ecommerce Expo: Multi-channel - Many channels are better than one.
September 29, 2006... Retailers are reaping the benefits of giving consumers a choice of buying experience, finds Adam Woods. Whenever an offline retailer claims its target audience doesn't shop online, or an e-tailer proclaims the death of the high-street...

The Revolution Online Retail Report sponsored by Ecommerce Expo: Fashion - Are clothes sites back in fashion?
September 29, 2006... As clothing retailers pour more cash online, Victoria Furness finds out if the market is set to really take off. 'Two years' work, five offices overseas, 350 staff. All these people trusted me and now I have failed them. What have I done?...

Masterclass: The Revolution Masterclass on MMS campaigns.(multi-media messaging)
September 29, 2006... MMS offers advertisers a platform for creating more interesting, engaging and rich campaigns, but is the price tag prohibitive? By Suzy Bashford. The potential of multi-media messaging (MMS) as a marketing channel is a 'no brainer',...

Trailblazer: Moving pictures.
September 29, 2006... MobiTV's advertising VP, Jack Hallahan tells Danielle Long he's confident mobile TV is the next big marketing channel. A recent Gartner Report reignited the debate over mobile TV, claiming it was overhyped and five-to-10 years away. But,...

Creative review: Arthur Parshotam, executive creative director, Draft FCB London.
September 29, 2006... 'The last time I wrote one of these, I had a moan about the paucity of decent online ideas,' says Parshotam. 'That was a couple of years ago. So, what's happened? Well, I think the industry has finally cottoned on to the fact that no-one...

Campaign of the month: Sure for Men.
September 29, 2006... Campaign: Sure for Men. Client: Unilever Agency: AKQA Background: Unilever wanted to build the Sure for Men brand across Europe and saw the World Cup as an excellent fit for its Sure Sport for Men product line. Building on its...

Terminator: Creating a sense of belonging works for customers online.
September 29, 2006... The advertising 'promises' a charming and intelligent, virtual assistant using a Minority Report-style interface to guide you through the myriad of products to the item of your dreams. But, ads aside, what makes a company create amazing...