 The online audience
Entertainment
Broadband
Blogging
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The first of three post-Engage podcast features keynote speakers from Engage 2006 and other media luminaries telling us about their digital epiphanies - when their personal love affair with the web started and when they first appreciated the power of the internet as a marketing medium. Listen now for the chance to win a 5th generation video iPod |
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So that's 2006 nearly over and what a year it has been!
Perhaps more than any other year since the advent of the medium, this has been the year of digital. As the internet cemented its reputation as a formidable two-way entertainment and information resource,
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the consumer has embraced the medium as an essential part of their everyday lives. All major marketers are recognising this; they're hungry for greater understanding of the medium and increasing their online spend exponentially.
The online space in which we work has changed remarkebly in the last 12 months. I personally cannot wait for what 2007 will bring. Who will be 2007's YouTube? Where will the consumer lead us? And what powerful executions we will be using to speak to them?
Merry Christmas and thank you to all our members and indeed to the entire industry for a hugely successful year. | Kind regards
Guy Phillipson
IAB, CEO
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Women more likely to purchase Christmas gifts online than men
70% of Britons online intend to buy Christmas gifts via the Internet according to the 2006 Christmas Shopping Online survey from Nielsen/ NetRatings. Turning common perceptions on their head, it's women who are more reluctant to hit the high street to do their Christmas shopping. Women are 38% more likely to buy a gift online and 55% will try to do "as much of their Christmas shopping as possible" using the internet
November 30
For more on online christmas shopping trends please visit Netimperative
We've had web Cameron; new labour now launch their Blair-net
New Labour's response to David "web" Cameron's embrace of all things online is to allow internet users to petition Tony Blair online using the official Downing Street website. "E-petitions" submitted so far cover nuclear weapons, taxes on light bulbs and reforms to copyright laws. Perversely however party political issues, i.e. the ones that are a bit tricky for the government are barred from the site.
November 16
For more on the government's E-petitions visit the BBC
Patience not a virtue for casual surfer
If we learnt anything from Boo.com in the height of the dotcom madness it was if your site doesn't load quickly your audience will become frustrated and look elsewhere. The same is true today, but users are even more impatient. Research by Akamai revealed that if a site takes more than four seconds to load 75% of the 1,058 surveyed would not return to that particular site.
November 9
For more on usability issues please visit the BBC
Ancestry.co.uk opens its vaults
In the wake of the TV series where celebrities were seemingly in competition to find the most put upon members of their family tree, the interest in tracing one's roots has never been greater. For the duration of November Ancestry.co.uk allowed people curious about their distant relatives to access the site for free. The offer coincided with the addition of 9.25 million immigrants who took ships from the British Isles to settle in the US between 1820 and 1960.
November 9
Read more on Ancestry on the Media Guardian (registration required)
For price and product comparisons go to Yell.com
In an effort to gain a greater ecommerce presence in the UK, Yell.com has launched an online shopping channel, featuring price and product comparisons. The local search engine will work with product search and online shopping technology company, Pangora, to create the channel.
November 6
Revolution has more on Yell's new online shopping channel
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| Social Media |
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YouTube gets sporty
Following on from the wealth of music deals YouTube signed last month, the video sharing site has now signed its first deal with a major sports league. 2-5 minute clips of the National Hockey League will be available to watch by users during the 2006-07 season. YouTube and NHL will share advertising revenue from the deal and under the deal YouTube will identify and remove illegal existing NHL content.
November 16
For more on the latest YouTube deal visit the Media Guardian (registration required)
First ever UGC TV channel launches
Dedicated user generated content TV channel Sumo.tv launched in November - a major step forward in the challenge to create a commercial UGC model. An extension of the website of the same name, Sumo.tv, claims to be the first ever TV channel comprising of user content.
November 27
The Media Guardian has more on the UGC TV channel (registration required)
New boyband 365 get virtual launch
New boy band 365 are to be unveiled within virtual community Habbo Hotel. Man bands appear to be the order of the day following the successful Take That reunion. Therefore, any new boy bands looking to break into the market need to be increasingly creative. Synthetic worlds now offer that quirky alternative to the usual media onslaught.
November 9
For more on the 365 launch visit the Revolution website
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| Mobile |
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YourSpace wherever you want it
MySpace are in talks with major phone operators, including O2 to enable the social networking site's customers to access the site on the move. Any deal MySpace makes with a major mobile company will represent a UK first. Many British mobile groups have their own networking sites, but up until now none have officially partnered with a social networking company.
November 13
The Times online has more on mobile MySpace
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| Broadband |
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BT's Vision arrives
BT has launched its long promised broadband TV service. The major push for, BT Vision is planned for the spring but the home entertainment service combining video-on-demand functionality with Freeview channels had its initial rollout in November.
November
For more on BT Vision, visit the Media Guardian (registration required)
Vodafone enters into the broadband market
Picking a broadband deal has become that much harder with the announcement that Vodafone has become the latest mobile phone giant to enter into the increasingly crowded broadband market. Available from January 8, the up-to 8Mb At Home service will cost £25-a-month.
BBC, November 10
Read more about Vodafone's At Home on the BBC
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| Blogging |
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So many blogs... so little time
New figures from tracking firm Technorati has revealed that the blogging community is still growing fast. 100,000 new blogs are created and 1.3million posts are made everyday. Technorati also noticed that the number of posts increase significantly during times of global political unrest, such as the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah in the summer.
November 8
For more on the rise and rise of the blog visit the BBC
When blogs go bad
The Guardian used the Talk Talk free broadband debacle as a cautionary tale for all those would be or practicing corporate bloggers out there. Regular blogger and Talk Talk CEO, Charles Dunstone became conspicuous with his absence when it became clear Talk Talk had seriously underestimated the level of demand for their "free" broadband. Breaking the cardinal rule for corporate bloggers, Dunstone stopped writing when the consumers needed clarity most.
November 17
For more on the Talk Talk blog visit the Media Guardian (registration required)
It's all happening at the Zoo
There's money to be made with them blogs. A monthly £1000 prize is up for grabs from ZooWeekly.co.uk for the most popular blog on its new user-focused website. On the overhauled site users are encouraged to create a MySpace style profile and submit their own clips. The site was trialed before it's launched and recorded a 32% rise in traffic to 5.26m page impressions every month.
November
The Media Guardian has more on the Zoo blog
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| Online Creative |
| Online campaigns |
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Interactive ads get Stranger Than Fiction
The online advertising and email campaign for Sony Pictures new film, 'Stranger Than Fiction' features interactive banner ads that prompts users to type what they would like to be doing at that moment. Regardless of what is written the letters appear as "I want to see the Stranger Than Fiction trailer". The movie trailer is then streamed.
Revolution November 18
Revolution has more on the Stranger Than Fiction campaign
Revolutionary viral film gathers Moss
A revolutionary new viral film from Agent Provocateur will enable objects within moving video to be clicked upon as links to relevant sales websites, for the first time. The film featuring the unsinkable Kate Moss uses coull.tv technology distributed by NovaRising via interactive video email, which opens directly within the receiver's email application.
November 17
For more on the revolutionary Agent Provocateur video viral, go to Netimperative
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| Online awards, events and polls |
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| The winner of October's Creative Showcase Awards is Grand Union's Commit campaign for the Energy Saving Trust. Grand Union have developed a microsite and online advertising for the Energy Saving Trust, to sit at the heart of their 2006 Brand campaign. The climate change prevention campaign encourages visitors to commit to up to ten energy saving measures, and through Flickr, dedicate their commitment to a place in the UK they wish to preserve |
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Google in most popular search engine shocker
In news that I'm sure is shocking to us all... well ok maybe not, Google is, by far, powering the majority of UK internet searches. Hitwise research has revealed that Google powered 78% of UK internet searches in the four weeks to 21 October 2006, up 9% year-on-year.
November 14
For more on Google's search dominance visit Netimperative
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