Welcome to August's Click-thru, your indispensable round-up of the latest online industry news, brought direct to your inbox from the Internet Advertising Bureau.
In this edition of Click-thru we provide details of a research first. The IAB and RAB announced the results of their collaborative study on simultaneous cross-media consumption to great interest from both trade and national press. If you have missed the fascinating results over the last couple of weeks, we bring you up to speed below.
A reoccurring theme this month is the online video streaming format, whch is set to revolutionise many areas of the media industry. In the same way the MP3 has turned the music distribution business on its head, video streaming is set to do the same to the TV, film, news and online advertising industries. As ISPs battle to secure the subscriptions of the growing broadband audience through cheaper and - more importantly - faster connections, video streaming is becoming widely available to an audience which is expanding every day. It is not surprising, therefore, that online marketers are recognising its interactive potential for increasing consumer engagement.
Other articles for the delictation of your cursor, include socially conscious search engines; FCUK advertising online for the first time; Domino's pizza's revenues rising thanks to the introduction of online orders and the countdown of MediaGuardian's annual hot 100.
This email gives you the headlines and the links to the information sources, enabling you to get both a top-line snapshot and to Click-thru to the full story.
As always, I hope you find it a valuable and enjoyable addition to your inbox.
Kind Regards
Guy Phillipson, CEO, Internet Advertising Bureau
|
The Top-line...
|
| Healthy figures |
|
The unstoppable rise of broadband has been officially confirmed. Government figures have revealed that broadband has overtaken dial-up as the preferred connection to the internet in the UK.
BBC, July 19
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/4696613.stm
The Guardian, July 20
http://media.guardian.co.uk/newmedia/story/0,7496,1532266,00.html
A 30% rise in online advertising revenues has been reported by CNET Networks. With a second-quarter profit of $7.7m, the online media firm has reversed their $1.5 loss from a year ago and have a sales total of $84.5m.
MarketWatch, July 25
http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story.asp?guid=%7BEE3FD8F7%2D506F%2D4285%2DA1BF%2DB410FFA49293%7D&siteid=mktw&dist=
IMRG have reported that £1.4bn was spent purchasing goods online by UK internet users in June.
NMA, July
http://www.nma.co.uk/Document.aspx?did=5b89a0bb-cfcf-44cc-8297-ae1a73880382
A study from technology research company Forrester has predicted that search engine marketing adspend will be up 65% this year on 2005, generating a European total of £959million.
Mad, July 8
www.mad.co.uk
Nearly a third of companies in the UK increased their online marketing budgets in the second quarter of 2005 according to the latest Bellwether Report from the IPA.
NMA, July
http://www.nma.co.uk/Document.aspx?did=7b51b25c-8971-4acd-8241-5aac7e22d27e
Coca-cola has topped the list of global brands by dollar value, holding onto the top spot for another year edging out Microsoft and IBM at two and three.
Brand Republic, July 22
http://www.brandrepublic.com/bulletins/digital/article/487531/cocacola-holds-onto-top-spot-list-global-brands-/
or
http://www.interbrand.co.uk/best_brands_2005.asp
| |
Online behaviour
|
| The online consumer |
Combined media study reveals extent of simultaneous online and radio consumption
The Internet Advertising Bureau (IAB) and the Radio Advertising Bureau (RAB) have collaborated on a new piece of research into the extent of combined online and radio media consumption in the UK. The report reveals that at any given time, one in five people online are also listening to the radio and that the browsing habits of consumers are influenced by what they are listening to. 57% of those surveyed said they had checked things on the internet after just hearing about them on the radio.
IAB, July 25
http://www.iabuk.net/news/article.php?news_id=44
TV giants told to get on-the-ball and screen games online
ITV and BskyB - the companies who jointly own the broadcast rights to Champions League football games in the UK, have been told by the European football governing body UEFA that they must screen live games simultaneously on TV and the internet from next year. A pre-requisite has been included in the new £83m-a-year deal that will run from 2006-2009 that the games must be shown via the broadcast giants' websites.
NetImperative, July 19
http://www.netimperative.com/2005/07/19/Champions_League_streamed_live_online
The lowdown on the downloads
Legal music downloads have passed the 10 million mark in 2005 alone, double the figure recorded for the whole of 2004 and far outselling the sales of CD singles, according to latest figures. Encouragingly for the recording industry legal downloads have already overtaken illegal file sharing in terms of growth.
NetImperative July 11
http://www.netimperative.com/2005/07/11/downloads_10m
|
| Behavioural targeting |
Behavioural targeting hits the bulls-eye
Behavioural targeting can increase an online marketer's click-through response rate by as much as 250% according to a 24/7 Real Media study. Not surprisingly considering Real Media's figures, a further recent survey has revealed that the use of behavioural targeting is expected to increase by 65% and account for about 20% of all online ad buys in 2006.
Clickz July 20
http://www.clickz.com/news/article.php/3521471
|
| Broadband |
Parents push ISPs for increased online controls
Now school's out for the summer and the nation's children are heading for the internet, concerns for their online safety have been risen by a report from comparison service uSwitch. Eight out of ten parents are worried about their children using the internet with nine out of ten believing ISPs should supply 'parental controls' as standard with all broadband connections.
NetImperative, July 26
http://www.netimperative.com/2005/07/26/Parents_urge_ISPs
"naked DSL" to strip twin broadband and phoneline costs
Vonage, the internet telephony company has argued that internet users should not be charged for a DSL line and a telephone service; quoting a survey that claims two-thirds of people online are unhappy about having to pay for both services separately. Vonage believe that BT should cut the cost of phone line rental and are pushing for "naked DSL" to be available to broadband users, enabling them to choose VoIP services as opposed to traditional phone lines.
The register, July 13
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/07/13/vonage_line_rental/
|
| Blogging |
The Internet and blogs helping in hard times
The bombs that rocked London on Thursday July 7 2005 had a sickening sense of inevitability about them, but the way the events were reported signalled the arrival of a new kind of community journalism. Amid the confusion, conjecture and miss-information the internet's interactive capabilities - particularly blogs, took an important role alongside traditional reporting and became a source of great comfort and support amid the chaos.
IAB, July 14
http://www.iabuk.net/news/article.php?news_id=40
Media network's addition of blog and video streaming prompts a "seismic change in television news" - CBS digital media chief, Larry Kramer
CBS News have appointed an in-house blogger to provide a rare glimpse into the news gathering process. The addition of a blog is part of a major overhaul of the CBS news website that will also result in clips from the network's TV broadcasts being streamed through the site. These twin incentives are intended to build on the station's younger, broadband savvy audience and attract advertisers to the network.
Reuters, July 12
http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=internetNews&storyID=2005-07-12T183019Z_01_MOL266607_RTRIDST_0_OUKIN-MEDIA-CBS.XML
|
| Online creative |
| Awards and polls |
|
The winner of the CreativeShowcase.net Awards for June is Wheel's campaign for Brahma, Brazil's number one
beer. A series of interactive and rich media fomats invite consumers to interact with the brand and make their own Brazilian music using beer bottles and match boxes as percussion. The campaign uses simple executions with blue screen video and a graffiti style backdrop to bring the essence of the brand alive and recreate the hottest carnival experience this side of Rio. The percussion sounds for the ads are provided by Jorge Batista from Basement Jaxx. Overlays and skyscraper ads link to MP3 downloads on the brand site and the campaign will run on music sites including www.batanga.com.
For more information, please visit the Creative Showcase website
|  | | Michael makes the grade in MediaGuardian's hot 100
BBC duo Michael Grade and Mark Thompson have topped the MediaGuardian's fifth annual guide to the most powerful UK media figures. The top 100 has been drawn up by an experienced panel comprising journalists, politicians, advertisers and key players from the world of PR and online. The list - which features 35 new entrants - rewards candidates on their economic, cultural and political muscle.
MediaGuardian, July 25
http://media.guardian.co.uk/top100_2005/index/0,16108,1513901,00.html
|
| New online |
|
Gay and lesbian media company launch online travel site
The gaydar group have expanded into the online travel market after launching Gaydartravel.com. The new site - backed by a £1million marketing campaign - offers bespoke packages to worldwide destinations around the world and follows the successes of Gaydar.com and Gaydar Radio.
Revolution, July 27
http://www.revolutionmagazine.com/News/index.cfm?fuseaction=ViewNewsArticle&newsID=488094
Britons online Travelzoo and fro with new site
Travelzoo has launched the UK subsidery of its US website; enabling Britons to take advantage of the US based travel offers listing service. 15 advertisers - including EasyCar, Thomas Cook and British Airways, have already signed up to publish their holiday packages online.
Mad, 20 July 2005
www.mad.co.uk
FCUK online
FCUK is to become the first - in what Yahoo! hope will be a long line of retailers, to advertise on the Yahoo! messenger service, when they promote their spring and summer collection through the instant chat tool. The deal marks another first as FCUK have never before advertised online and see the move as the solution to their sales slump. The 5.1m messenger users across Europe can become virtual stylists by dressing Yahoo! avatars in outfits from the latest FCUK lines.
Brand Republic, July 21
http://www.brandrepublic.com/bulletins/dm/article/486936/yahoo-lands-fcuk-first-messenger-advertiser/
July 19, MediaGuardian
http://media.guardian.co.uk/newmedia/story/0,7496,1531557,00.html
Coming soon? Advertising on BBC website
The BBC may carry advertising on its website for the first time as part of plans to raise commercial revenue. Director of new media and technology, Ashley Highfield has confirmed that the corporation also plans to boost funds by selling downloads of Doctor Who, Blue Planet, Little Britain and other popular programmes to overseas viewers.
MediaGuardian, July 18
http://media.guardian.co.uk/newmedia/story/0,7496,1530848,00.html
The internet gets snap happy with new site
Up to 200,000 of the world's most important photographs are to be made freely available online thanks to a joint venture by two of the largest photographic houses in the US. Photomuse.org has been set up by the International Centre of Photography and Eastman House (the world's oldest museum of photography) and enables historic and iconic photographs to be located and viewed online. The site is expected to drastically increase the number of images available to 200,000 by next Autumn.
Brand Republic, July 26
http://www.brandrepublic.com/bulletins/digital/article/487800/historic-digital-photo-libraries-go-online/
|
| Video |
|
The Sun puts online newspapers in shade by becoming first to stream news bulletins
The Sun is leading the online newspaper revolution by becoming the first to feature streamed bulletins on its website following a deal with the Press Association. The bulletins run for 90 seconds and are updated four times a day.
Brand Republic July 15
http://www.brandrepublic.com/bulletins/digital/article/485097/the-sun-becomes-first-national-feature-daily-video-news/
New comedy series premieres on BBC Three website
BBC Three has become the first channel to premiere programmes on the internet by streaming new comedy series 'The Mighty Boosh' this month. Available a week before it is aired on BBC3 the new series can be viewed on the BBC Three website at any time.
Brand Republic July 11
http://www.brandrepublic.com/bulletins/digital/article/483990/bbc-three-becomes-first-channel-premiere-content-broadband/
Heard it through the Pipeline? CNN launch video on demand service
CNN Pipeline has been introduced to give web users access to all the news giant's video services. Live video streams, video archives and on demand news clips are all available along with hourly web-exclusive news updates for CNN.com subscribers.
NetImperative July 18
http://www.netimperative.com/2005/07/18/CNN_video_news
|
| Display |
Eurostar's online journey continues
Eurostar has launched the second wave of a two-part online campaign with the strapline "you carry your journey with you, so make it Eurostar". Designed by digital agency Glue, the internet marketing - featuring banners and skyscrapers - has been tailored to complement the travel giant's current above-the-line advertising.
NMA, July
http://www.nma.co.uk/Document.aspx?did=3b9fb816-6283-43eb-bab4-5587c645bc0a
|
| Rich media |
Post Office ant-icipate increased brand awareness from rich media push
The Post Office has begun a six week campaign promoting travel insurance to holidaymakers through a series of rich media ads. Each of the online executions features the brand's animated ant character that viewers can interact with, before clicking through for more information.
Brand Republic, July 14
http://www.brandrepublic.com/bulletins/digital/article/484747/post-office-online-drive-push-travel-insurance-holidaymakers/
Ford Focus online
Ford has doubled the amount it plans to spend on internet advertising this year. The leading automotive player signalled its increased attention in the online medium with the launch of its 'Summer of love' major retail marketing campaign for the 5.5% typical APR offer on new Focus models. The ads use an array of online formats to portray 'flower power' animation.
NMA, July 12
http://www.nma.co.uk/Document.aspx?did=9d5144a0-bd6e-4561-ad6b-f0a677d1097f
|
| Viral |
|
Blair 'like a puppet on a string' in Greenpeace viral ad
Greenpeace has launched a hard hitting viral film depicting Tony Blair as George Bush's puppet to draw attention to Bush's refusal to deal with the issue of climate control at the G8 summit. The Mr and Mrs film is part of a wider campaign to encourage the US to join the proposals already in place to battle global warming and to stop Blair making any changes to the agreement.
NMA, July
http://www.nma.co.uk/Document.aspx?did=6fb0fd42-2e45-455a-9940-51951d29a06a
Danish Bacon lean on Citroen for viral ad
The Danish Bacon and Meat Council (DBMC) have made their first move into online marketing with a brand building viral campaign parodying the recent Citroen Transformer ads. The campaign from Meme Digital features a dancing figure made out of an English breakfast, transforming into a plate of food.
July 12
http://www.nma.co.uk/Document.aspx?did=2afb9fb9-5f8c-4c49-b41e-efe08c3b81db
|
| Promotional microsites |
|
Discount railcard promotional site on quest for UK's sexiest city
The hunt for the UK's sexiest city is underway as part of an integrated campaign promoting the Young Person's Railcard for the Association of Train Operating Companies. At the centre of the campaign is the microsite sexyinthecity.co.uk featuring a map of great Britain where you can assess the hot or not factor of 59 cities
NMA, July
http://www.nma.co.uk/Document.aspx?did=3334741c-3f59-4c87-be31-f40174850f43
Coca-Cola refreshingly health conscious in new campaign
Coca-Cola are advertising their full range of drinks on a microsite as part of the bold, 'world of refreshment' campaign that aims to appeal to an increasingly health-conscious public. The multi- million, cross-platform campaign from VCCP includes Coca-Cola's fruit juice and water drinks alongside the carbonated products framed within Coke's iconic bottle shape.
Brand Republic, July 26
http://www.brandrepublic.com/bulletins/br/article/487828/cocacola-unveils-first-uk-umbrella-campaign/
|
B2B
|
|
Rich pickings for new FT B2B advertising site
The Financial Times has launched a global business-to-business advertising website, redesigned to better target the FT reader demographic. The site from digital agency Good Technology - featuring live ad demos and integrated video clips - was prompted by the startling results of research into readers' wealth. Designer labels and cutting edge technology are used to appeal to an audience with combined total assets greater than the GDP of Switzerland!
Media Week, July 20
http://www.mediaweek.co.uk/articles/folder2005/07/julydaily/ft-b2badsite
|
| Creative opportunity |
|
Make your creative dreams a reality with a £35,000 start-up grant
NESTA's Creative Pioneer Programme (CPP) is accepting applications for a residential course providing business and personal development for those early on in careers within the creative industry who want to have an effect on the way business is done. The course offers a life-changing opportunity to apply for up to £35,000 in start up finance to make your ideas reality. The closing date for applications is September 6.
http://www.nesta.org.uk/
|
Search
|
|
Rectifi engine searching for poverty solution
A new search engine that works in a similar way to Yahoo! or Google is enabling web users to raise money for charity whilst locating what they are looking for online. Rectifi is a site striving to decrease the gulf between rich and poor by donating all profits generated from the sponsored links of more than 400 shops including eBay, Apple and Sony to charity.
BBC, July 26
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/4701033.stm
|
E-commerce
|
|
Increased slice of orders online boost Domino's profits
Domino's Pizza's 2005 pre-tax profits have been boosted 34.7% to £5.5m thanks to a rapid increase of customers ordering their takeaways online. Internet orders have risen 64% and now make up 10.6% of Domino's business. The opportunity to spend longer studying the menu on the website also means that the values of the individual transactions are higher than when orders are taken by phone.
BBC, July 25
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/4714255.stm
Brand trust and knowledge key in online purchase decisions
The issue of trust continues to be an issue in purchase decisions with nearly two-thirds of consumers preferring to buy online from a known brand that also exists offline. The study from Direct Line also found that just one in three consumers said they felt as well informed over their purchase decision buying online as they would buying face to face or by telephone.
NetImperataive, July 13
http://www.netimperative.com/2005/07/13/Consumers_distrust_Web_only_brands
Half of UK kids shop online
53% of all UK children aged between 7 and 16 have made an online purchase new research commissioned by Halifax has revealed, a 10% increase on 2004. 60% of boys said they had bought something on the internet compared to just 46% of girls. The most common products purchased were CDs, tapes and computer games and equipment.
NetImperative, July 7
http://www.netimperative.com/2005/07/11/Kids_online_retail
Online Trailblazers Amazon celebrate 10 'well thumbed' years
Amazon.com celebrated its 10th birthday in July, but despite turning the internet and the book industry on its head, the ride has not been easy for the company's founder Jeff Bezos. As recently as the late 1990s, Amazon was still making a loss despite a revenue of $1.5bn a year.
BBC, July 12
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/4674817.stm |
|
Member company news
Tiscali host pic posting promotion
Tiscali has built an online photo gallery as part of a collaboration with Sony Ericsson to promote a new camera phone. Visitors to the campaign's website are encouraged to submit their digital photographs and rate the other snaps posted on the site. The four pictures that are deemed the best receive tickets to the V-Festival later this month.
Brand Republic, July 25
http://www.brandrepublic.com/bulletins/digital/article/487645/sony-ericsson-teams-tiscali-promote-new-camera-phone/
Record Q2 for Google
The records continue to tumble for Google as they reported their best quarterly revenue yet, for 2005 Q2. Google recorded $1.4billion from April to the end of June, with a net income of $343 million.
ClickZ, July 21
http://www.clickz.com/news/article.php/3522061
AOL: making "internet history" with record 5m online viewers for Live8
AOL recorded record figures for their coverage of the Live8 concert at the beginning of July. More than 5million people logged on to the live streaming of the star-studded "Make Poverty History" event. The increasing number of broadband connections is seen as a contributing factor to the size of the online audience.
Media Week, July 5
http://www.mediaweek.co.uk/articles/folder2005/07/julydaily/aol-live8stream
Wanadoo launch competitively priced 2MB with added VOIP incentive
As the broadband market becomes increasingly competitively priced, connection speed and complementary services have become contributing factors in consumers' package purchasing decision processes. The ISP, Wanadoo has recognised this and launched a 2MB service for £17.99 a month, which also includes an internet phone service for free for the first six months.
NetImperative, July 19
http://www.netimperative.com/2005/07/19/wanadoo_broadband
Tiscali facilitate simultaneous online, DVD and cinema film launch
For the first time in the UK a film has been launched simultaneously online, at the cinema and on DVD. Tiscali teamed up with Dogwoof Digital for the multi-platform premiere of the movie EMR; offering consumers the luxury of choice for how they wish to view the film.
NetImperative July 11
http://www.netimperative.com/2005/07/11/Tiscali_EMR | |
Global snapshot
|
|
Internet audience in China grows by 9million in 6 months
The amount of web users in China by the end of June was up 9% to 103m compared to the beginning of the year. Overall only 7.9% of the Chinese population are online compared to 67% (135m net users) of the population in the US. China, however still represents the world's second largest internet audience.
Reuters, July 22
http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=internetNews&storyID=2005-07-22T023012Z_01_MOR209001_RTRIDST_0_OUKIN-CHINA-INTERNET.XML
We're all going on a summer holiday... With our laptops
A recent survey of US adult computer users revealed that 51% said they are likely to take a laptop on a future vacation and not just to enable them to keep up with work. Entertainment and email were cited as two of the most common reasons for taking a computer away on vacation.
eMarketer, July 22
http://www.emarketer.com/Article.aspx?1003499
Lucrative 'new mover' market reduce stress with local searches
House buyers are increasingly using local search to research information about their new towns to reduce the stress accompanied with moving house, a new Harris Interactive study for Yahoo! has revealed. 91% of new movers stated that online searches for local services reduced their stress.
ClickZ, July 19
http://www.clickz.com/news/article.php/3521076
Japanese TV giant to sell TV programmes online
Nippon Televison Network, the biggest broadcaster in Japan is to begin streaming TV programmes over the internet from October. NTV anticipates selling £52million worth of programmes over a three year period on a members only site, for 50p per show.
MediaGuardian, July 12
http://media.guardian.co.uk/newmedia/story/0,7496,1526720,00.html
|
Contact us
Thank you for taking the time to read IAB Click-thru. If you have any comments/ suggestions as to the type of stories you would find useful for future editions of Click-thru or if you have been forwarded this publication by a colleague and wish to subscribe, please email the editor ben.butler@iabuk.net. |
| |
The IAB online guides
Whether you are new to the medium or an advertiser already channelling part of your ad budget into online, our Guides can help you to get the most out of the internet.
| 
|