News round-up: 7th December 2009
- Added:
- Jan 07, 2010
This week’s movers and shakers in the digital industry: Baidu | Seppukoo | Kindle | Nexus One & Sedo | 192.com | TBG London | Strongmail | Interflora | Web TV Enterprise | Jam | Improve Digital | Sitecore | paythru | 118 118 | Underwired | Illicit Encounters
Baidu to launch online video firm
China's top search engine Baidu plans to start a new independent company to provide licensed online video to Chinese Internet users. The new company will work with content providers to provide copyrighted video content to Internet users through an advertising supported model, Baidu said.
Baidu did not provide details of any partners but Reuters reports the company is working with Providence Equity Partners, an investor in U.S. video-viewing site Hulu, to set up an online video channel. Yu Gong, a former chief operating officer of China Mobile's 12580 business, has been named chief executive officer of the new company, Baidu said.
Facebook blocks social network profile removal service
Social network giant Facebook has blocked a website from accessing people's profiles in order to delete their online presence. The site, Web 2.0 Suicide Machine, offers to remove users from Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Myspace. It does not delete their accounts but changes the passwords and removes "friend" connections.
Seppukoo.com, which offers a similar service, was issued with a "cease and desist" letter by Facebook in 2009. Netherlands-based moddr, behind Web 2.0 Suicide Machine, says it believes that "everyone should have the right to disconnect". However Facebook says that by collecting login credentials, the site violates its Statement of Rights and Responsibilities (SRR).
Amazon expands Kindle overseas
Amazon is expanding overseas sales of its larger Kindle electronic reader amid increasing competition from makers of e-readers. Consumers in more than 100 countries can now pre-order the $489 Kindle DX, which has a 9.7-inch screen, Seattle-based Amazon.com said today.
The 6-inch version of the Kindle has become Amazon.com’s top-selling item in at least 10 countries including the U.S., U.K., France, Australia and Hong Kong, the company said. Annual sales this year from Kindle devices and content will reach $671 million, according to estimates by Sandeep Aggarwal, an analyst at Collins Stewart LLC in San Francisco.
Google fails to secure NexusOne.com domain
Google has not acquired key web address, NexusOne.com. The domain name is recorded to be first registered in 1998 to a private individual.
Nora Nanayakkara, Director of Business Development, Sedo comments: "Domain names are an essential channel to market for companies, especially when it comes to new product launches and branding. A comprehensive domain portfolio plays a crucial part both in consumer marketing and brand awareness. As Google are offering handsets directly to consumers, they will need to carefully assess how they can use direct navigation domain names in ensuring positive uptake of the device, as neglecting to fully utilize the type-in traffic of domain names means they will potentially miss out on large volumes of consumers looking for information on the new handset."
"Domain names can reveal a great deal about product development plans from major companies. For example, Apple seems to have taken a step in the right direction with its pre-emptive purchase of the web address iSlate.com, but this has created a flurry of online speculation that this may be the name of an upcoming product - something Apple may not have intended to do. A pre-planned and well executed online brand management campaign will help organisations maximise the success of a new launch without giving away any future developments."
192.com puts 2010 Electoral Roll online
192.com has marked the start of a new decade with the addition of the 2010 Edited Electoral Roll to the site. The Edited Electoral Roll is a tool for finding lost friends and family, and for specialist people finders such as family tracing agencies and missing persons charities. It’s also a critical tool for identity verification used by businesses as diverse as e-commerce websites through to estate agents.
This launch sees 22 million records added to 192.com including 3.5 million newly registered names and addresses. Around 2.5 million more records are expected to be added within a few weeks bringing the total number of records for the year to around 25 million.192.com searches over 700 million records from free directory enquiries as well as the Edited Electoral Roll and Birth, Marriage and Death Register giving three times more coverage than the phonebook or social networking sites such as Facebook.
Zoosk picks ONE Media Manager to attract new singles on Facebook
Social dating community Zoosk has signed up to ONE Media Manager from TBG to expand its profile and increase its singles community on Facebook. Zoosk enables its users to meet and connect with others within the context of their online social networks. It is the only social dating community that allows users to seamlessly connect across multiple networks, e.g Facebook, MySpace, or Hi5.
Headquartered in San Francisco and founded by Shayan Zadeh and Alex Mehr, more than 40 million singles use Zoosk. TBG has seen an influx of clients attracted by the significant returns generated by campaigns run using ONE Media Manager. The benefit of using a scaleable tool, which allows the advertiser to test and adapt campaigns to exploit the buying behaviour of targeted audiences, is evident across many sectors.
www.tbglondon.com
Hotel giant picks StrongMail for transactional emails
IHG (InterContinental Hotels Group) has picked Strongmail to provide the company with the platform through which its marketing and transactional email streams can be delivered. IHG will utilise StrongMail to manage and deliver email communications to its customer base. From one StrongMail system, IHG will now be able to centrally manage and coordinate all of its email streams, including email newsletters, promotional campaigns and event-triggered messages such as reservation confirmations, reward balance requests and password resets.
In addition to InterContinental Hotels & Resorts, IHG owns such recognised hotel brands as Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express, Crowne Plaza, Hotel Indigo, Staybridge Suites and Candlewood Suites. IHG manages more than 640,000 guest rooms in nearly 100 countries and territories around the world.
Interflora launches Irish site
Interflora - the world’s largest flower delivery network has launched a new website for it’s customers in the Republic of Ireland. The new site is designed specifically for Irish consumers; orders can be placed in Euros making it simple and easy to order online. As with all Interflora products, orders placed via Interflora Ireland will be created, individually wrapped and personally delivered by an expert florist. Interflora has a growing network of over 200 independent florists in the Republic of Ireland.
IPC Media re-appoints Web TV Enterprise for video ad sales
IPC Media has re-appointed Web TV Enterprise to exclusively handle its online video advertising sales after a competitive three-way pitch. Alongside its range of consumer magazines, which reach over 26 million adults in the UK, IPC Media has a number of hugely successful online brands. Its men and music brands, including NME.com, Nuts.co.uk, Loaded.co.uk and Mousebreaker, combine to deliver 10.7 million unique users every month.
Web TV Enterprise will be managing online video advertising sales across IPC’s entire portfolio of digital titles, which also include Whatsontv.com, TrustedReviews.com, Nowmagazine.co.uk and Goodtoknow.co.uk. Exclusive IPC video content this year has included the Shockwaves NME Awards, the NME Big Gig featuring The Cure and Marie Claire’s behind the scenes Fashion Week highlights.
Comet picks Jam for social media
Comet has appointed Jam, i-level’s social media unit, to handle its social media account, after a four-way pitch with three other undisclosed agencies. This is the first time Comet will use social media in its marketing, and Jam’s brief will include reputation management and buzz research. Jam was launched in March 2008 to help marketers understand the social media environment. Since launch, Jam’s client list includes Renault, Turner Broadcasting, Absolute Radio, Samsung, Next, the FA, Specsavers and COI.
Improve Digital strengthens team
Online advertising revenue specialists Improve Digital has expanded its European team with three new appointments. Sabina Zinat joins the company as a strategic partnership manager from Blackrock Merrill Lynch where she was a senior analyst. Improve Digital hopes Zinat's role will combine the analytical knowledge she acquired in the financial sector with Improve Digital's technology. Zinat will use her financial industry experience to develop yield management tactics to assist UK publishers to maximise the revenues from their unsold advertising inventory. Other service roles have been taken up by Kevin Le Gall and Fernando Huguett, in France and Spain respectively. Both are responsible for integrating online publishers with the Pubmatic technology platform used by Improve Digital for its ad network optimisation service.
Totaljobs picks Sitecore for CMS
Sitecore has been selected by Totaljobs Group to supply the CMS for its online recruitment sites.
Totaljobs Group, a part of Reed Elsevier, a FTSE 100 company, is responsible for seven of the UK’s busiest job-seeking websites. Between them they carry over 130,000 jobs, attract over 4 million jobseekers and handle 2.5 million applications every month. Sitecore was selected after Totaljobs Group’s previous web solution became too inefficient and cumbersome to manage.
Rangers FC picks paythru as mobile payment provider
Rangers FC Development Fund has selected paythru as its mobile payments supplier for three fundraising activities for Rangers FC – Lotto; ‘Rising Stars’ and ‘Buy a Brick’. The ‘Rangers Lotto’ has been running since 1994 and using the paythru mobile payments platform supporters will now be able to buy a ticket on their mobile phone, with their debit or credit card, whether they are at the ground or not. No pre-registration is required.
Tickets for the ‘Rising Stars’ draw, which helps fund Rangers’ youth squad, can now be bought via the supporters mobile phone and then the half-time draw watched on two giant screens at Ibrox. This means that supporters can get to their seats quickly without having to stop and buy a ticket from one of the stadium vendors. The paythru payment system will also allow passionate supporters to buy one of 120,000 bricks in a walkway round Ibrox via their mobile phone.
First Chief Marketing Officer at 118 118
Commencing 11th January 2010, Jo Blundell joins The Number UK Ltd. as the company’s first Chief Marketing Officer. The appointment follows an extensive strategic search by CEO Gerry Murphy for a candidate to drive brand development and market the company’s existing and new services and benefits. Jo Blundell joins 118 118 from TBWA London, where she was Managing Director and responsible for a wide portfolio of blue chip brands and products, including clients McDonalds, Mars Chocolate, Beiersdorf, BNP Paribas and Merck.
The post of Chief Marketing Officer further strengthens the Marketing team, which includes James Soames, Head of Marketing, who joined in March 2009 from BT where he headed up sales and marketing for BT Vision. Jo Blundell will be responsible for delivering 118 118’s commercial goals with a £15 million annual marketing budget. The company’s agency roster includes Brooklyn Brothers, ZenithOptimedia, Workclub, 2CV and Brazil.
Underwired Amaze launches new website for Economist Group business
Specialist digital and eCRM agency Underwired has launched a new website for Economist-owned EuroFinance, a provider of conferences, training and research on cash management, treasury and risk. The new site has been restructured to improve the sales funnel and make the site’s commercial ROI much easier to audit. Critical focus has been paid to revenue generation and improved retention, and the new design has simplified the user experience with enhanced usability and navigation.
Building on Underwired’s position as a market leader in eCRM (Electronic Customer Relationship Management) the new site also facilitates the tracking of customer journeys, allowing EuroFinance to offer customised conference and event information. Underwired has also developed a bespoke content management system to improve the administration process and make event information more accessible for delegates using the site’s Event Booking Management System.
Affairs site takes on new site ‘to cope with January rush’
A UK-based dating site, which creates a platform for married people to find lovers, claims it has been forced to recruit new staff to cope with the expected rush of members in January 2010. IllicitEncounters.com, the UK's largest extra-marital dating website, has struggled to cope in previous years with the amount of members joining the site in the new year. After a record year at the site, owners expect to receive over 12,000 new members in January. The company have also upgraded their server technology to avoid any possible overload issues caused by the rush.
"We gain around 20% of our yearly membership in those 31 days", says Sara Hartley. "There are considerably more women than men that join at this time of year." Sara explains the winter months are universally acknowledged as being a difficult time for couples. "The majority of British divorces occur in January and February. There are so many possible arguments to be had. If a couple are already having problems, the added pressure that Christmas brings could force them to make drastic decisions about their future. Some may decide to break up; others may seek an escape. That's where we come in." IllicitEncounters.com has been running since 2003, and has in excess of 400,000 members in the UK.
