This week’s movers and shakers in the digital industry: Stardoll | Dori Media | TagMan | Euro RSCG | Myriad | TKGB | nToklo | DirectGov | Think Jam | Oodle | Moneysupermarket | Adnams | James Caan | Websense | 4th Screen Advertising | Zeus | Webtrends | R.O.EYE | Just Search | Maxymiser | CMW | VideoJug | thetrainline | Sitecore | ServiceTick | Efficient Frontier | Eloqua | Tourism New Zealand | Stuff Magazine | dbg
Teen social network Stardoll signs toy deal with Mattel
Stardoll, the online fashion game and worlds largest website for teen and tween girls today announced at the International Toy Fair, a multi-year licensing agreement with Mattel. The partnership is aimed at taking the Stardoll brand from the virtual into the physical world with the first product line to come in the autumn of 2011. Global toy company Mattel has teamed up with Stardoll after years of successful commercial collaborations allowing brands to engage online with their target audience. Mattel brands that have advertised on Stardoll include Barbie, Fashionistas, Monster High, with the companies deploying a range of highly creative solutions that included launching a fan club, exclusive dolls and a virtual store.
Stardoll.com
Dori Media ‘uMan’ sells interactive reality game to ITV USA
Dori Media Group has sold its format, “uMan”, in collaboration with Indiemedia to ITV Studios America. ITV Studios America is a leading producer of reality and scripted programming in the USA; Indiemedia is a format and social media company based in the UK. “uMan” is a cross-platform show, where eight contestants enter a “Lab” for 21 days during which their every move is controlled by viewers and they have to score ‘life-points’ to win. Viewers, who can watch the program on their mobile or on TV, have constant control over how contestants live, what they eat, what they wear and who they sleep with. Since its debut in July 2009, “uMan” has been sold to 15 countries. In 2009 the show won 3 Accolade Awards – an Award of Excellence for reality programming; an Award of Merit for creativity / originality and another Award of Merit for viewer impact and entertainment value. During the second half of 2011 “uMan” will be launched in Portugal and Brazil.
www.dorimedia.com
Confused.com signs up to TagMan
Car insurance comparison site Confused.com, is working with TagMan to manage all the tracking tags from its online campaigns more effectively. Confused.com will use TagMan to remove all the tags placed on its site to implement, manage and track paid search, display advertising, affiliates, site analytics, and email marketing. They will be replaced by just one tag and rehoused in the TagMan system to enable the company’s marketing teams to add, edit and remove tags much more easily. This will save time and money in the way Confused.com runs its online campaigns since the tags on which they rely can be managed through a single online interface rather than through back-end code changes to the site.
www.Confused.com
www.tagman.com
Euro RSCG London launches Social Media unit ‘Cupola Lab’
Euro RSCG London has launched a social media capability utilising world class monitoring tools and providing engagement services for clients and brands. A dedicated social media team will monitor online brand conversations and deliver social insight which will inform strategic development and content creation. By adding this new capability Euro RSCG (which includes offices in Manchester and Edinburgh) further strengthens its integrated offering in the UK under CEO, Russ Lidstone. In December the agency integrated with Biss Lancaster adding corporate and consumer PR to its multi channel offering which includes advertising, content creation, digital, SEO and channel strategy. This means that Euro RSCG will offer clients truly integrated solutions to any brand challenge.
www.eurorscglondon.co.uk
Myriad Powers Mobile Social Networking for Non-Data Users
Myriad Group has launched a new text-based social networking service, Myriad Updates, that makes mobile social networking, IM and email accessible to mass-market phone users. Myriad’s Xumii platform is the first of its kind to enable operators to offer social networking services over USSD and SMS, creating new opportunities to reach an untapped market of over 4 billion consumers worldwide. Myriad Updates uses the Xumii platform that powers services for Telefónica and other major operators. This enables deployment in just a matter of weeks, allowing operators the opportunity to monetize data services in a new way that is complementary to existing data offerings, and is open to all subscribers. Using short codes through any mobile phone, subscribers who have no access to data can now connect to their favorite social networks, and stay in touch with their friends on Facebook, MySpace, Twitter and Flickr via Myriad Updates. The Xumii platform aggregates the most popular social networks into one single, operator-branded environment and enables subscribers to stay connected to these social networks without a data subscription and no need to download or install an application.
www.myriadgroup.com
Adconion boosts network with 2,000 Goldbach sites
Adconion Media Group has won the exclusive rights to represent the joint Goldbach Audience and ARBO networks for international advertisers and agencies in London. The deal sees Adconion, Goldbach Audience and ARBO networks take up position as the largest pan-European online advertising and global video network, with a combined reach of 400 million users on more than 3,000 premium websites worldwide. The Goldbach Audience and ARBO networks represent more than 2,000 websites and online advertising platforms across Switzerland, Austria, the Adriatic Region, Eastern Europe and Russia. Following the deal, Adconion’s Global Sales Team will be supported by Goldbach International staff, with specialist knowledge of the Eastern European and Russian markets, who will be permanently based in Adconion’s London headquarters. Through the partnership, the Global Sales Team will be in a position to offer planner buyers and agencies a specialist, genuinely pan-European network with a dominant position in the Eastern European markets.
www.adconion.com
www.goldbachgroup.com
New digital custom publishing company launched
TKGB, a media company producing digital print and film designed exclusively for web platforms and mobile devices such as the iPhone, iPad and others, launched today to produce customised, original content for corporate brand clients. The company will be headed by journalist, PR executive and media industry veteran David Noble. Since leaving print and broadcast journalism in the early 1980s, Noble has created custom media for dozens of companies, from Volvo to Electrolux to ABB to Renault. The start of this new company builds on momentum from Swedish partner Tidningskompaniet, which went live some 20 years ago. Today Tidningskompaniet is the acknowledged mover and shaker in the custom digital publishing arena in the Nordic markets. Noble will oversee the custom content development team for TKGB, which includes the dynamic young digital media producer Alex Marshall together with other specialists in relationship marketing, sponsorship and commercials.
www.tkGB.co.uk
nToklo Launches to Enable Retailers and Operators to Boost Sales through Social Shopping
nToklo today announces the launch of its Social Gateway and Recommendations Engine, which uniquely combines customers’ online social behaviour and communities with a retailers’ store. nToklo creates a social shopping experience which drives more personalised recommendations and is more fun and engaging for users. According to the 2009 Nielsen Global Online Consumer Survey, recommendations from personal acquaintances are the most trusted forms of advertising, with 90 per cent of consumers acknowledging some degree of trust in these. nToklo enables retailers and mobile operators to integrate this social activity and recommendations into their existing stores to extend audience reach, increase sales and boost customer loyalty. The nToklo Social Gateway allows you to combine your customers’ community with your retail store, creating a window on your site through which they can invite friends from their social networks, email and mobile phone address books. The Recommendations Engine then uses the power of customers’ social network connections to create promoted recommendations that will be more tailored to each customer.
www.nToklo.com
DirectGov picks Jadu for accessible online transactions
IT consulting firm Steria has partnered with leading UK based Content Management Systems provider Jadu to deliver the strategic online forms solution for Directgov, the official UK Government website for online services. Directgov is working with a number of other government departments to use the strategic forms solution to deliver a wide range of different services. This will help to achieve a greater degree of inclusion and increase the accessibility of Government services for disabled users using assistive technologies as well as those on handheld and mobile devices – one of the key benefits for taking a web standards approach. Directgov receives up to 30 million visits a month and is the UK’s central website for delivery of online government services to the public. Jadu, working in partnership with Steria and Directgov, has implemented its XForms Professional software (part of the Jadu transactional Content Management System: Jadu CMS ‘Clearwater’). Directgov will be using this software platform to implement accessible online forms within the Directgov website.
www.jadu.net
www.direct.gov.uk
Wicked musical hires Think Jam to create online buzz
Stage show Wicked is set to enhance its digital presence this month with the appointment of digital creative and PR agency THINK JAM to manage the smash hit musical’s online PR and social media activity in 2011. In partnership with Wicked, THINK JAM will create a targeted digital strategy enthralling all dedicated ‘Ozians’ through exclusive access to video and backstage content, whilst initiating a focused outreach programme of news, lifestyle and tastemaker digital PR, promotions and social media activities. Working alongside the production’s cast and crew, the agency will initially highlight the performances of an entire new company, including heart-throb-to-be Mark Evans (Fiyero), whilst preparing sites for major green activities such as Wicked’s fifth anniversary and the show’s annual charity event, Wicked Day.
www.thinkjam.com/
Oodle brings Auto Trader and Facebook Marketplace together
Auto Trader, the UK’s leading motoring website, today announced an exclusive partnership with Oodle, the online classifieds marketplace and operator of Facebook Marketplace. The partnership will give Marketplace users in the UK access to more than 350,000 vehicles already available on the Auto Trader website –– connecting more prospective buyers than ever before to sellers. This partnership continues to help build Auto Trader’s existing network of exclusive partners, designed to increase response rates through a range of high-profile digital channels. The announcement is an integral part of a new social media offering that Auto Trader is making available to its 12,000 automotive trade customers. This specific collaboration allows dealers to integrate their stock into Marketplace, giving them access to a potential audience of more than 26 million Facebook users in the UK.
www.autotrader.co.uk
www.oodle.co.uk
moneysupermarket.com launches next gen broadband comparison tool
moneysupermarket.com has launched its next generation broadband comparison channel to help consumers navigate the hundreds of broadband, mobile broadband and ‘bundled’ deals on the market. New functionality enables consumers to filter over 600 broadband products from 20 different providers. Consumers can also compare five deals side-by-side and make an informed decision. With this many bundled broadband deals on offer, the new-look channel is designed to help consumers save money on their broadband, landline and TV packages, by as much as £218. The addition of a broadband speed test, in partnership with thinkbroadband, enables those looking for the best deal to eliminate the deals where top speeds aren’t achievable, ensuring that they do not pay extra for a package that they don’t need. Consumers can also view broadband speeds for other users in their neighbourhood.
www.moneysupermarket.com
Brainshark Partners with Brightcove to boost video content
Brainshark, a creator of online and mobile video presentation software, today announced it has partnered with Brightcove, the leading online video platform, to expand the use of video across everyday business communications. As part of the partnership, Brainshark has also unveiled a “Publish to Brightcove” capability – enabling users, with only a PowerPoint deck and the telephone or computer microphone, to create powerful video content that can be delivered via the Brightcove platform. Through its partnership with Brightcove, Brainshark is also able to provide its rapid content creation capabilities to Brightcove customers to reduce the cost and complexity of video production. Brainshark customers can also take advantage of Brightcove’s vast reach and additional opportunities for syndication and social sharing.
www.brainshark.com
Adnams gets a voice with new marketing campaign
A new marketing campaign from Adnams, the Suffolk brewer, distiller and retailer, launches this week. The company has again joined forces with Dave Dye at Soho-based communications agency DHM to build on the success of his award-winning 2003 ‘Beer From the Coast’ campaign, whose iconic illustrations captured the character and charm of Adnams’ home town of Southwold in Suffolk and reinforced the brand’s sense of place. The first in a series of posters and beer mats launches throughout Adnams’ pub estate and freetrade outlets this week. The new campaign, ‘Let’s Talk Beer’, gives the brand a voice and
tells Adnams’ stories through sketched posters and doodle-inspired beer mats. Creative concepts such as Broadside – It’s rich. Or as one Facebook member said – ‘It’s not a beer, it’s a pie’. (Thanks Jack!) and ‘Have you seen our grass roofed distribution centre? You might have seen it and thought it was the only hill in Suffolk’ adopt an honest, conversational tone, enabling consumers to learn more about the brand, direct from the Adnams brewery team.
www.dhmlondon.com
James Caan launches charity webchats to support young unemployed
Nine hundred and fifty one thousand 16 to 24-year-olds in the UK are now out of work – the highest number since records began in 1992. This Thursday, 17 Feb, James Caan, former Dragon, employment guru and author of new book ‘Get the Job You Really Want’ will help youth charity The Prince’s Trust to launch a series of live monthly webchats which are aimed at providing advice and support to unemployed young people. A new report by The Prince’s Trust and the Citi Foundation, Today’s Young People; Tomorrow’s Economy, shows that disadvantaged young people supported into jobs or self employment by The Trust’s Enterprise Programme could add millions to the UK economy.
www.princes-trust.org.uk/jobsquad
Websense Releases App for iPhone and iPad
Websense has created a new iPhone and iPad app designed to help customers and partners stay up to date on the latest security risks and get support for Websense solutions, all with powerful functionality that is uniquely available through Websense. Available for free through iTunes and the Apple Store, the application lets security professionals stay in the know and receive support for Websense security solutions wherever they are. The Websense iPhone and iPad app provides Websense-unique up-to-the-minute threat information, breaking insights on advanced threats, and access to the Websense Knowledge Base and top support articles, Tech Alerts, product demos and upcoming events. This new app is part of the Websense Customer First Initiative, a three-pronged program that includes enhanced tools, support, training, and education to help customers achieve the best security at the lowest total cost of ownership.
With the free Websense app, IT security professionals can:
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/websense/id413073070?mt=8&ls=1
www.twitter.com/websense
MobileActive’s 4th Screen Advertising Australia adds McDonalds as client
MobileActive’s 4th Screen Advertising Australia adds McDonalds to its mobile advertising client roster. 4th Screen Australia showing consistent client roster growth with delivered mobile advertising campaigns including Qantas, 20th Century Fox, Telstra and Spreets. Campaigns are delivering high performance, click through rates across 4th Screen’s expanding publisher network. MobileActive Limited (ASX:MBA), Australia’s leading independent mobile phone content, interactive services and technology company, said its majority owned 4th Screen Advertising Australia (4th Screen Australia) has added McDonalds to its client roster. The client roster has grown consistently with delivered mobile advertising campaigns including Qantas, 20th Century Fox, Telstra and Spreets. 4th Screen Advertising Australia complements the existing infrastructure Mobile Embrace offers to clients, including mobile internet and applications publishing, multichannel digital marketing solutions, M-commerce and billing, messaging solutions, interactive mobile platforms, branded mobile content and applications development, hosting and delivery, loyalty & reward and mobile membership.
www.4th-screen.com/
Zeus maximises Comic Relief’s online performance for Red Nose Day 2011
Zeus Technology is continuing to work with the Comic Relief Technology Partners to ensure the charity’s web performance is consistently reliable in the run up to and during Red Nose Day 2011 (18th March 2011). Comic Relief will use Zeus software to ensure fast response times and maximum uptime, so the charity can process millions of pounds of donations. By managing Comic Relief’s web performance in real-time, the solution will mean www.rednoseday.com is highly scalable during peak periods and that the delivery of online donations and call centre team applications is reliably fast. Online performance will be a key factor for Comic Relief as the charity aims to have the highest level of donations possible. In 2009, there were 540,000 online donations made on the night of Red Nose Day and up to 116 transactions made per second.
www.zeus.com
Webtrends works with the Telegraph to deliver insight for its iPad appWeb, social and mobile analytics market leader Webtrends has been working with the Telegraph to support the development of its iPad app, which features the best content from the Daily and Sunday versions of the newspaper for free. As internet users leave their desktops behind and take to the mobile internet in rapidly growing numbers, analytics provided by Webtrends has enabled the Telegraph to gain a comprehensive understanding of how this increasingly sophisticated audience interacts with its iPad app. This understanding, when combined with a series of focus groups run by the Telegraph, has been fundamental in the development of v2 of the app which is currently in the pipeline for a 2011 launch. By working closely with Webtrends The Telegraph gained a variety of insights into the behaviour of its iPad app users, including: frequency of use by individual users, total page views, specific articles viewed (key information for both the Telegraph and advertisers), outbound link conversion, and the device operating systems and connections types that readers used to reach the app.
www.Webtrends.com
Bench picks R.O.EYE for web sales push
Urban fashion brand Bench is strategically enhancing its digital marketing activity, appointing performance marketing agency R.O.EYE to handle its burgeoning affiliate programme as it focuses on increasing worldwide sales. The British brand sees its affiliate campaign as key to expanding its global e-commerce operation. “Bench has a great following in the UK which we want to continue to exploit alongside a focus on driving even greater online awareness of the brand abroad and in turn growing international online sales,” said Nik Burton, Head of E-Commerce at Bench. “Strategic affiliate marketing is an essential element in reaching this goal and R.O.EYE has the proven skills to help us achieve this.” R.O.EYE is managing Bench’s affiliate programme through the Affiliate Window and Webgains networks.
www.ro-eye.co.uk
New company launches after trial with Just SearchHaving tried out their micro teaching sessions with the staff at Just Search before Christmas, SEO and social media expert Nichola Stott (Founder, themediaflow) and PR and social media specialist Claire Thompson (Founder, Waves PR) have announced the launch of a new joint venture, SEO PR TrainingThe company ‘does what it says on the tin’, offering tailored SEO training to PR people and strategic media skills training to SEO practitioners. Before the launch of their company, Nichola and Claire paid a visit to Just Search headquarters in Manchester where they presented two ‘proof of concept’ micro-teaching sessions with the SEO experts there. Nichola and Claire thought it was important that they got to know their target audience before the launch of their company, so they chose to work with the Just Search team to get a feel for the interests and requirements of an established SEO company.
www.justsearching.co.uk
Telegraph picks Maxymiser to boost reader engagement online
Telegraph Media Group announces a partnership with conversion management expert Maxymiser to enhance the online experience for visitors to The Telegraph. By working with Maxymiser, The Telegraph is able to take a customer-centric approach to website design and refreshment, where changes to page layouts, sequences and content can be trialled on real web visitors in order to identify the most effective variants that are beneficial to the user.
www.Maxymiser.com
NIVEA FOR MEN appoints CMW
CMW has been appointed by NIVEA FOR MEN as their retained digital agency. The agency will work across the full range of NIVEA FOR MEN grooming products. As well as website maintenance, a key element of CMW’s remit will be to continue to support NIVEA FOR MEN’s England Football Team sponsorship in the year ahead and in the run up to Euro 2012. CMW worked with NIVEA FOR MEN last year on a one-off initiative to amplify the brand’s association with the England Team during the World Cup year. In March 2010 The Football Association agreed a four-year deal with NIVEA FOR MEN to become the Official Men’s Grooming Supplier to the England football team.
www.cmwlondon.com
Panasonic picks VideoJug for how-to videosPanasonic is continuing to invest in online video with a series of five Videojug–produced how-to online videos aimed at enhancing its customer service offer. Answering the most frequently asked questions about Panasonic’s products, the five films launching on 9 February,will be hosted on Panasonic’s YouTube channel, as well as embedded into the Panasonic website. Panasonic is using a variety of digital media to help its customers understand and get the most out of its feature-rich products, both pre and post purchase – with video tutorials complementing the interactive FAQ system on its website. Last year the brand commissioned Videojug to produce how-to films for its Intelligent Living, Lumix Lifestyle and Kitchen Ideas brands.
Videojug.com
Thetrainline runs geo-location technology with Digital Element
UK’s leading independent retailer of train tickets online complies with booking regulations, looks to deliver more localised promotions. Digital Element, the leading provider of IP Intelligence and geolocation solutions, today announced thetrainline, the UK’s leading independent retailer of train tickets online, has chosen its NetAcuity technology to comply with new license requirements from transportation regulators, and will also be leveraging the technology to deliver more targeted, city-level travel offers to its online rail customers. Initially, thetrainline will use NetAcuity to identify the likely country from which a booking is made.Independently verified to be more than 99.99 percent accurate at a country level and 95 percent accurate at a city level worldwide, Digital Element’s IP Intelligence and geotargeting technology provides information such as geographic location (country, region, state, city and postcode), connection type, Internet Service Provider (ISP), proxy information, and more, based solely on IP address.
www.digitalelement.com
MSN Sankei and Sitecore Launch New Photo Experience in the Cloud
Sitecore today announced that a leading Japanese media outlet, MSN Sankei News (The Microsoft Network), has adopted the company’s cloud solution to power its photo publishing and sharing site. By using the Windows Azure Platform for extending the content delivery and management of Sitecore’s software, MSN Sankei News was able to create and launch the photo site in just ten weeks. In addition, the cloud-based environment will reduce the website management cost by more than 60 percent.
“We are new to Sitecore’s Content Management System and the Windows Azure Platform and are very delighted with Sitecore’s high-level of technical service,” said Ryuichi Togo, senior producer, product management group, MSN Consumer & Online. “Sitecore supported us to build and launch the photo portal site in only ten weeks.”
MSN Sankei Photo is designed to handle more than 20 million page views per month with massive amounts of data and high quality photos. Sitecore’s Content Management System (CMS) Azure Edition leverages the considerable advantages of the Windows Azure Platform for scalable, enterprise class deployment.
www.Sitecore.net
Aviva first to use new Social Advocate tool
Customer experience management company, ServiceTick today announced that Aviva is the first company to use its new Social Advocate programme. This allows positive comments from customer feedback to be instantly posted to Facebook and Twitter. It can also be used to generate special promotional offers based around the micro-audience of an individual’s social network. ServiceTick gathers customer feedback in real time from all the touchpoints between a brand and its audience. By prompting with a basic advocacy question (e.g. Net Promoter Score) the system can filter those customers who give a positive feedback score and give them the opportunity to post a positive comment about their experience to Facebook or Twitter. The Social Advocate tool can be further enhanced by building a special promotional offer onto posts that are made.
www.ServiceTick.com
Countrywide signs online marketing deal with Efficient Frontier
Performance marketing specialist, Efficient Frontier, has won a major contract to run performance marketing and paid search campaigns for Countrywide, the UK’s largest property services group. Countrywide is a leading provider of estate agency, lettings, mortgage services, land and new homes, franchising, auctions, surveying, conveyancing and corporate property management services. Countrywide’s new agreement with Efficient Frontier will enhance the online proposition for a number of the property industry’s biggest and most successful high street names from Countrywide’s stable, which include Hamptons International, Slater Hogg & Howison, Bairstow Eves, Mann Countrywide, Taylors, Bridgfords, Abbotts, Gascoigne Pees, John D Wood & Co., Entwistle Green, Fulfords and Sotheby’s International Realty.
www.efrontier.com
Eloqua Publishes “Grande Guide for the Social CMO”
Eloqua, a provider of Revenue Performance Management solutions, today published the Grande Guide for the Social CMO. The guide provides busy Chief Marketing Officers with counsel, examples and resources appropriate for those in a company’s most senior marketing role. The 14-page resource is the fourth edition in the award-winning Grand Guide series. Designed to provide “subject matter expertise in the time it takes to drink a cup of coffee,” the Grande Guide for the Social CMO demonstrates not only why the top marketing executive needs to engage meaningfully in social media, but also shows how to go about measuring the impact of the company’s investment.
www.eloqua.com
Tourism New Zealand unveils new UK digital marketing campaign
Tourism New Zealand’s long running 100% Pure campaign enters a new phase this week with the digital media launch of a UK marketing campaign putting visitors’ unique New Zealand experiences at the heart of the message, by adding ‘You’ to ‘100% Pure’. The New Zealand 100% Pure You messaging will be used in conjunction with the line ‘It’s about time’ that cleverly highlights both the unique experience of visiting New Zealand as well as driving a more immediate desire to travel. The new campaign encourages potential travellers that there’s no better time than now to visit New Zealand, through a series of emotive images depicting authentic experiences against the backdrop of stunning landscapes.
www.newzealand.com/travel
Stuff magazine revamps website
Haymarket’s Stuff, the world’s best-selling gadget magazine, has boosted the potential of its online presence with the launch of a brand new website. Designed by user-experience agency Clearleft, the new site aims to increase engagement with Stuff’s readership by providing an online experience that maximises the depth of content and functionality that a digital publication can offer. Clearleft was asked to work closely with Stuff to absorb and understand the magazine’s brand strategy and create a website that would reflect the heritage of the print version whilst retaining its own identity. The new website provides readers with access to the thousands of reviews featured in the publication with a visually appealing aesthetic that matches the design sophistication of the hardcopy version.
www.Clearleft.com
Liberty picks dbg for email marketing push
Luxury department store Liberty has chosen data and marketing services company dbg to help deliver its email marketing programme to UK and international subscribers. Liberty London is one of the world’s most beautiful, exclusive stores with a heritage started by Sir Arthur Liberty in 1875, who travelled the world to find eclectic, unique objects for his discerning clientele. The store today showcases some of the most inspirational and avant-garde fashion, design, home, gift and beauty brands in the world.
liberty.co.uk
www.dbg.co.uk