A new look for the new year...

Welcome to December's Click-thru, your indispensable round-up of the latest online industry news, brought direct to your inbox from the Internet Advertising Bureau.

The eagle-eyed amongst you will notice we have given Click-thru a new look to ensure you can get all the latest industry news quicker and easier than ever before.

The final Click-thru of 2005 touches upon issues which we anticipate will become major industry talking points next year and beyond. The movie download service Movielink has secured a deal with 20th Century Fox, meaning it now stocks films from the six major Hollywood studios; internet telephony packages have hit the high-street; the number of people Instant Messaging has overtaken email and there are further details of both teenagers' and over 50s' online behaviour.

As always, I hope you find it a valuable and enjoyable addition to your inbox.

I would like to thank you for your continued feedback and interest in Click-thru and we look forward to bringing together all the best of the new year's news stories in 2006.

Kind regards



Guy Phillipson
IAB, CEO

The online audience

Online travel sites the destination for over 50s 86% of British internet users over the age of 50 have visited a travel site in the last year, with 1.5million of the age range booking online in September this year. 14 million people every month visit travel websites according to research from Nielsen//NetRatings. NetImperative, Nov 21 Click-thru for more

Internet used on both sides of French riots The recent race riots in France demonstrated the power of the internet... for those on both sides of the law. Three bloggers were arrested in France for encouraging people to burn police stations on a major radio station's blogging site. At the same time the major enemy of the rioters, interior minister Nicolas Sarkozy, used search services to push his agenda. French Googlers who used the words "riots," "burned cars", and "violence" as search terms, were directed to a petition to support Sarkozy. The Guardian, Nov 14 Click-thru for more

Teenagers find their voice in "connected cacooning" The internet is having a great effect on the stereotypical image of the antisocial and uncommunicative teenager. PCs, mobile phones and gaming consoles have created "connected cacooning" where today's teenagers are in permanent communication with friend at all times. The Guardian, Nov 10 Click-thru for more

Internet users get the instant message Nearly half of 18-24 year olds send more instant messages than emails, with 23% of all internet users utilising IM services more often than email. 31%of the general population also said that they would like to use instant messenger to make internet, or VoIP, PC-to-phone calls according to a study from IM company ICQ. NetImperative, November 11 Click-thru for more

Battle of the browsers Microsoft's internet browser, Internet Explorer has an 85.4% global share according to figures from OneStat, with 11.5% of the world's internet users going online using Mozilla's alternative browser, Firefox. The Register, November 3 Click-thru for more

Torrent of streams viewed as online video news becomes first port of call An increasing number of internet users are using the medium as the first place they go for breaking video news. 71% of respondents to an online survey from VitalStream Holdings said they had viewed major news events using video streamed through the internet. The survey also forecast that there will have been 3.5billion news and information streams delivered in 2005. NetImperative, November 15 Click-thru for more

Online, on-demand threat to traditional TV news According to the NewsXchange media industry conference the online audience wants more online, on-demand services. The rapid up-take of broadband is having a dramatic impact in the way televison news is collected, transmitted and received. Technologically minded people are no longer are confined to traditional channels for news and want their news on their own terms. BBC, November 15 Click-thru for more

Most wanted website, wanted too much A new website launched by crimestoppers to help track the UK's most wanted criminals received more than 350,000 hits on its first day, with 21,000 hits in just five minutes, briefly jamming the site. Police appeals and pictures of suspects will be posted on the site along with CCTV footage. BBC, Nov 17 Click-thru for more

Internet telephone market hits the high street Internet telephony is making a move into the mainstream, as both Dixons and BT look to become major players in what is expected to be a profitable market. Dixons has launched a £79.99 service called Freetalk which is set to challenge BT's Broadband Voice. The Guardian, Nov 10 Click-thru for more

Entertainment

Music

Digital distribution service keeping music live Concerts will soon be digitally available within hours of the event thanks to a new music service from distribution firm Momu. Technology directs the live feeds from the gig to a recording studio where the event is mastered and encoded immediately for digital distribution. NetImperative, Nov 17 Click-thru for more

iTunes outsells high street rivals for first time Two high street record stores in the US have been outsold by an online music store for the first time according to research from the NPD Group. iTunes from Apple has sold more music than both Borders and Tower Records in the US, figures that may signal the beginning of the end for CDs and other hard-copy formats. Media Guardian, Nov 24 Click-thru for more

EMI advises iTunes prices rethink Major music publisher EMI is continuing its campaign to get Apple to re-evaluate the prices of downloads from its digital music service, iTunes. EMI are expecting Apple to agree to raising the price of tracks by bigger acts and lowering the amount charged for music by breaking acts, within the next 12 months. Times, November 17 Click-thru for more

Movies

20 Century Fox moves into the 21st Century with Movielink download deal Film distributor 20th Century Fox has agreed a deal with online movie download service Movielink to giving the website content from all major Hollywood studios. 1,200 Fox titles have been added to Movielink's downloadable library, that already includes films from 6 of the biggest studios. The move from Fox reiterates online's position as the future of film distribution as mooted by Lord Puttnam at a recent IAB conference. Reuters, November 21 Click-thru for more

Internet DVD rental market continues to grow New research from screen digest has revealed that the online DVD rental market will account for one third of video rental spending in Europe by 2009. 6.3million people will have rented DVDs online, by the end of 2005. NetImperative Nov 16 Click-thru for more

Online newspapers

Rupert bears gloomy future for print In a recent interview, the media mogul, Rupert Murdoch, outlined a dark future for print newspapers thanks to the growth of the internet. He also forecast a similar fate for newspaper classified advertising revenue - something he once described as providing "rivers of gold". Murdoch pointed out that "sometimes rivers dry up," and put this down to a generational thing, saying "I don't know anybody under 30 who has ever looked at a classified advertisement in a newspaper." Media Guardian, November 24 Click-thru for more

Telegraph made available as daily podcast In a effort to attract internet users to the Daily Telegraph's content, the publisher has launched a daily podcast, where content is read aloud by actors and writers. This initiative is the first of many projects intended to offer content from the Telegraph across several platforms. Press Gazette, November 17 Click-thru for more

Pay for online newspaper subscriptions? A sign of the NY Times? Recent New York Times figures have revealed that there is a market for the selling of news content online. 270,000 people have subscribed to the publishing giants internet service that charges readers for premium content and access to the New York Times archives. The New York Times identifies this subscription initiative as a possible solution to the problem publishers' face and which News International chairman, Les Hinton has identified as "how to grow aggressively your online presence without, at the same time, making your company less valuable". Media Guardian, November 14 Click-thru for more

TV on the internet

Channel 4 game 4laughs Channel 4 will launch a broadband comedy channel early next year to enable up and coming comedians to showcase their performances on the internet. 'A virtual comedy' festival will be created by ten minute video sketches being uploaded on the 4Laughs website. Channel 4 sees this project as a way of creating exclusive internet content, whilst locating new talent. NMA, November 17 Click-thru for more

BBC2 online offers 'Extras' Roly Keating, controller of BBC2 has promised to be at the frontline of the broadband revolution. Keating backed words with actions by revealing that from 2006 certain programmes will be broadcast on BBC2 and broadband at the same time. Newsnight, Top of the Pops and Ricky Gervais' Extras are three of the shows that will be made available 'live' on the inernet. Brand Republic, November 25 Click-thru for more

A dollar a download for NBC and CBS shows Following on from the New York Times story above, further traditional media owners have also begun charging for their online audience to view their content. Major US broadcasters NBC and CBS are offering downloads of their TV shows for 99cents each. Last month ABC announced that they were making Desperate Housewives and Lost downloadable to iPods without adverts for $1.99 each. Brand Republic, November 8 Click-thru for more

AOL set to launch free internet TV service AOL will make programmes from sister company Warner Bros. Pictures available on a free internet TV service; set to be launched early next year. In2TV will stream 3,400 hours of DVD quality programming and will be funded from advertiser revenue. NetImperative, November 14 Click-thru for more

Online Creative

Viral

New stripper viral from Napster teases iTunes... and a large proportion of male internet users. A new viral campaign from digital music provider Napster featuring a stripper, has taken a mischievous sideswipe at rival service iTunes. In the ad from Drugstore, a woman begins a striptease, but just before the big reveal she stops, sits and the tagline "30 second previews leave you wanting more? At Napster you get the whole thing," appears on the screen. Brand Republic, November 18 Click-thru for more

Sony viral 'fires it up' for Christmas market Sony is encouraging interaction with its range of 'Fire It Up Party' PlayStation 2 games, with a viral campaign intended to tap into the Christmas market. Male users at boreme.com are encouraged to submit questions and send them to friends. In another initiative to stir interest in Sony, gamers can upload recordings of themselves singing along to the PlayStation 2 karaoke game 'Singstar '80s', onto lycos.co.uk and have their recordings judged by visitors to the site. NMA, November Click-thru for more

Trinny and Susannah 'full of beans' for Nescafe viral The Trinny and Susannah fronted 'Lift Your Cups' campaign for Nescafe, is being supported by an online viral game. Competitors are challenged to catapult coffee beans into mugs against the clock. Trinny and Susannah offer Carry-On style encouragement with phrases like, "I'd love cups like those, Sus" and "just feel that lift". Revolution, November 8 Click-thru for more

Christmas animal cruelty the subject of shocking SPCA viral Following on from the award winning NSPCC online advertising campaign, another charity, the Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) has launched a hard hitting viral campaign to draw attention to the issue of animal cruelty at Christmas. HesBehindYou.com is hosting the ad that shows a pantomime horse being beaten with a crowbar in front of a shocked family audience. Brand Republic, November 24 Click-thru for more

Microsites

Glamour.com gets 'In Her Shoes' For the launch of 'In Her Shoes', the film's stars Cameron Diaz and Toni Collette gave an exclusive video interview to Conde Nast's Glamour.com with 70,000 subscribers to Glamour.com receiving a link to the interview in their daily newsletter. The comedy-drama, 'In Her Shoes' sponsored the gossip section of the female orientated site for the week of the film's release. Brand Republic, November 7 Click-thru for more

Video

Bravia from Sony; having a ball online The next generation of Sony televisions, the Bravia LCD TV, has been launched supported by a major online marketing campaign. Featuring video streaming and blogging to promote consumer awareness and drive sales. The online campaign is based around the San Francisco, coloured, bouncing balls TV ad. Revolution, November 2 Click-thru for more

Online, awards, events and polls

The inaugural UK Online Creative Week is coming...get involved! Run in conjunction with the IAB and MSN, Online Creative Week will be the definitive industry forum of 2006 celebrating online creativity in the UK. Taking place from 23-28 January at the ICA in London, the country's top creative agencies and household brand names will be discussing the issues and trends that are shaping creativity online now and over the next 10 years. If you'd like to speak, attend with colleagues or request further information, please email or contact Andrew Olley directly on 0207 025 6508

The most influential man in online advertising speaks The Media Guardian conducted an interview in November with the man who has recently been voted the most influential pioneer in online advertising about his ongoing mission to revolutionise the entire industry. Mark Cridge, the chief executive of digital agency Glue London talks about the two significant landmark online campaigns for BMW and Burger King and looks to the future of the industry. Media Guardian, November 28 Click-thru for more

Creative Review looks for entries to their Annual Creative Review is seeking entries for its fourth edition of The Annual. The Annual is a compilation of the finest creative work produced in Britain and beyond in the year 2005. It is the ultimate guide to the year in advertising, design, new media, photography, illustration and pop promos both from Britain and around the world. The Annual will accompany the Creative Review May 2006 issue. Click-thru for more

Lean Mean Fighting Machine has won November's Creative Showcase with a campaign for AOL that uses a series of ingenious ads including interactive and personalised banners and an execution inviting the user to drag and drop small figures which raises a pulley with the campaign message. The campaign employs key messages about effective targeting through online advertising to engage and challenge the user with the line 'Source: 10 years, 2.4 million members' as its focal point. The campaign strategy challenges pre-conceptions about online advertising by presenting AOL research using interactive online advertising formats.

Online campaigns

Online optician the site for sore eyes Online optician Specslab have launched a campaign to demonstrate the savings that can be made by obtaining spectacle prescriptions online. In an aggressive move promotional crews have taken to the high-street with lap-tops to show shoppers the savings that can be made online. NetImperative, November 16 Click-thru for more

Screenwriters hope pixel advertising will make their own Million Dollar Baby The success of student Alex Tew's million dollar homepage - where he sold ad space on a single page of a website for a dollar per pixel, to fund his university degree - has inspired others to get involved in pixel advertising. Married couple and aspiring screenwriters, Talia Channon and Lee Curle, have launched pixelyourshops.com in an effort to fund their debut romantic comedy, 'Too Good to Be True'. Revolution, November 21 Click-thru for more

Ecommerce

Episode 1: Online tills ring, are you listening? 89% of UK shoppers will shop online this festive season, according to research from SciVisum and 44% are planning on visiting eBay to get bargain priced Christmas gifts. A quarter of those surveyed revealed that buying Christmas presents online appealed because it allows them to avoid the high street crowds. NetImperative, November 28 Click-thru for more

Episode 2: The high-street strikes back The battle between online and the high-street to attract shoppers has heated up. The electronics industry are raising the prices of their online goods this Christmas in an effort to secure the survival of high-street stores. Sony, Panasonic and Sharp have all signed up to offer discounts to "bricks and mortar" stores ahead of the busiest shopping period of the year, with 10-15% increases in price being imposed on online shopping sites from the electrical giants. The Times. November 16 Click-thru for more

Global snapshot

New $100 laptops no wind up The UN Secretary General Kofi Annan has welcomed the prototype of a $100 wind-up laptop and anticipates they will "open up new fronts" of education for children in developing countries. Annan predicts millions of the machines to be in production within a year. BBC, November 17 Click-thru for more

US IAB reports online advertising set to break $12billion mark by the end of the year Latest figures from the Interactive Advertising Bureau in the US has revealed that online advertising was worth $3.1bn in the third quarter of this year and was on course to break the $12bn for the year. A $2.4bn increase on 2004. News.com, November 21 Click-thru for more

Wikimedia; talking your language An ambitious US project has been launched with the aim of providing relevant online knowledge to people around the world in their own language. The Wikimedia Foundation's (from online encyclopaedia Wikipedia) aim is to tackle the major issue - identified during the UN World Summit - of the lack of material online in non-English languages. BBC, November 20 Click-thru for more