This week’s movers and shakers in the digital industry: Match | Econsultancy | Experian | Blinkx | LoveFilm | Tesco Mobile | Debenhams | Realise Digital Populis | Visualsoft | LBi | Havas | Callcredit | Affilinet | 7thingsmedia | Localstars | Zeus | Underwired Amaze | Pressitt | Ebookers | Nissan | Skype | Clang | w00t!media | Times Higher Education Supplement | Autotrader | Net Media Planet | Cognitive Match | KMP Digitata | Forward
Match debuts ‘Going the Distance’ campaign
Dating site Match has launched a new campaign seeing British couple Mike and Alanna Clear embarking on a 6 week, 1,500 mile UK journey on a motorcycle and sidecar to uncover the secrets of lasting relationships. Known as ‘Going The Distance’, the project was conceived by Mother for match, the company behind the UK’s best known dating and relationship sites – match.com and matchaffinity.com. Mike and Alanna will be interviewing countless British couples on their journey to find out what it is that makes couples go the distance. Their interviews, anecdotes and adventures are being captured along the way for a documentary series by the makers of Jamie Oliver’s TV shows, Fresh One Productions.
In an industry first, content from the documentary will be used by Mother to create TV spots for match’s relationship service matchaffinity.com that will air as the journey takes place. There are no scripts, no actors, and the public are invited to shape the journey by interacting with Mike and Alanna and share their secrets to lasting love across twitter, facebook, YouTube. At the heart of the campaign sits www.goingthedistanceuk.com – a bespoke facebook application developed by social technology specialist Techlightenment, which allows people to track Mike and Alanna’s progress every step of the way via an interactive map, their blog and regular webisodes. As well as contributing their own thoughts on what makes for a successful relationship, visitors to the site can suggest couples Mike and Alanna should meet along the way.
www.goingthedistance.co.uk
Econsultancy launches in Middle East
Consultancy and publisher Econsultancy has launched its online marketing best practice research reports, training and events in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region to support the growing importance and growth of online digital marketing amongst brands and publishers. The first research to be published is The Middle East and North African Internet Statistics Compendium. A regional version of Econsultancy’s report which provides access to recent statistics and market data on online marketing, e-commerce, the internet and related digital media in MENA. Further regional research is planned in terms of consumer behaviour online as well as what online channels are growing in use and importance in the region.
In addition to reports, Econsultancy will run regular training courses including the Fast Track Digital Training Course, taking place in Dubai on 6 – 7 February 2011. This course looks at the key considerations for digital marketers providing attendees with an understanding of the practical skills and knowledge required to excel as a digital marketer. Digital Cream Dubai, the peer-to-peer roundtable conference hosted by Econsultancy launches in Dubai on 12 April in partnership with GEM events. Exclusively for just 120 senior client-side marketers, this event already runs successfully in London, New York and Chicago.
http://econsultancy.com
Experian Acquires a Stake in Techlightenment
Experian, the global information services company, has acquired a majority stake in Techlightenment, a leading provider of social media marketing tools headquartered in the UK. Founded in 2007, Techlightenment is a data-driven technology and marketing business which provides social media marketing services to multinational companies and global advertising agencies. Techlightenment uses its proprietary technology platforms to help its clients market and advertise effectively using social media. Techlightenment’s clients include GlaxoSmithKline, Universal Pictures and Dr Martens. The company employs 40 people.
The acquisition is a further step in Experian’s global strategy to develop and grow its digital marketing activities, providing a range of social media marketing tools to its clients. This acquisition will allow Experian to use its data, client base and geographic reach alongside Techlightenment’s technology and digital expertise, to enable clients to build their brand and direct response campaigns in the social media environment.
http://www.experianplc.com
blinkx signs video content deal with TV Guide Network
Video search engine blinkx will distribute exclusive video content from TV Guide Network. A continually expanding library of pop culture videos from TV Guide Network is now fully searchable and viewable at www.blinkx.com. Leveraging its unique AdHoc platform, blinkx will also place contextually relevant advertising against these videos and share resulting advertising revenue with TV Guide. TV Guide Network offers entertainment fans exclusive coverage of Hollywood’s biggest stars, from interviews with TV and film celebrities at the Academy Awards and the Golden Globes, to sneak peeks of what’s to come on hit shows like American Idol, Law and Order, Modern Family, NCIS and Dancing with the Stars. The Network also covers breaking news in Hollywood and celebrity fashion.
www.blinkx.com
www.TVGuide.com
LoveFilm partners Ocado for DVD rental offer
LOVEFiLM and Ocado kick start 2011 with a 12-month contract that will see the supermarket giant direct marketing to LOVEFiLM’s customer base. LOVEFiLM will distribute uniquely branded inserts direct to customers’ doorsteps via rental titles over the course of the year. The first part of the campaign starts this week and will offer LOVEFiLM subscribers £15 off their first £75-plus shop at Ocado. The deal was struck off the back of last year’s tie-up between the two brands, which led Ocado to rapidly increase the amount of inserts they were distributing via LOVEFiLM after a successful trial run of 500,000.
In 2010 the two companies teamed up to offer existing members and new triallists a Pizza Meal Deal promotion which coincided with LOVEFiLM’s Extra Time offer – visitors to LOVEFiLM.com were able to access the watch online catalogue at no additional cost during the World Cup, order a Pizza Meal Deal and claim £15 off a first time spend of £75 with Ocado.
www.ocado.com
Bumper Xmas for Tesco mobile
Tesco Mobile has reached the milestone of 2.5 million customers on Christmas Day this year after experiencing its best ever Christmas sales. Tens of thousands of Tesco Mobile handsets were activated on Christmas Day with the iPhone proving the most popular Christmas gift for customers. The network experienced double digit airtime growth in every quarter of 2010 as it attracted new customer types through new service and product offerings.
This success has seen Tesco Mobile grow its customer numbers by 25% in 2010. This year saw the network move into the contract market bringing more choice for consumers with the launch of 12 month contracts as well as 24 month options. The mobile operator is a joint venture between Tesco and O2 which utilises the O2 network and therefore provides first class national coverage for both voice and data, a choice factor for consumers which is becoming increasingly more vital as the uptake of mobile data rapidly increases. Tesco Phone Shops have also seen growth internationally across the Tesco estate and there are now Phone Shops in Slovakia, Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary, Turkey and South Korea.
www.tesco.com/mobilenetwork/
Debenhams Launches Mobile Marketing Campaigns On Neolane
Conversational marketing technology provider Neolane, today announced that Debenhams has launched SMS mobile marketing campaigns on its existing Neolane marketing automation software platform. The initiative extends the retailer’s cross-channel marketing capabilities, now enabling both text as well as email marketing from the same platform.
Following a major campaign encouraging shoppers to opt-in to receive its mobile marketing messages, Debenhams has since alerted customers to the Debenhams Sale and to many special offers and promotions. For example, a personalised, unique voucher discount code within one major SMS promotion can be redeemed in store or online. The Neolane platform tracks each customer’s response behaviour to campaigns in any channel (via email click-throughs and text voucher redemptions for example) and drives event-triggered follow-up conversations where appropriate. This cross-channel, ‘single customer view’ data is analysed by the Neolane software to define what stimulates an individual’s interest, enabling future communications from Debenhams to be ever better targeted, personalised and relevant.
www.debenhams.com
www.neolane.com
Realise Digital Re-skins Skins for Channel 4
Realise Digital has redesigned the website for Channel 4’s flagship teen drama, Skins. The websitewhich launched in December in advance of the premiere on 27th January 2011, features a brand new design that reflects the darker tone of the forthcoming series. Skins is one of Channel 4’s most successful shows, with the series 4 premiere pulling in over 1.5 million viewers on E4 and E4+1. Every other season, Channel 4 overhauls the entire Skins cast to keep the show fresh. This season, it commissioned Realise Digital to create a new design for the site to reflect these cast changes and the new direction of the programme. Aimed at a young, teenage audience, Skins has an intensely loyal fan base that is constantly staying up-to-date with the show’s latest developments through the site, as well as through the official Facebook page and Twitter accounts.
http://www.e4.com/skins/
Dating Lab’s former MD joins Global Personals
Dating firm Global Personals one of the most successful privately owned online dating company in Europe, has appointed Matthew Pitt as its Operations Director. Pitt will lead international growth and development for Global Personals Ltd and their platform, WhiteLabelDating.com. He joins Global Personals Ltd from The Dating Lab where he was Managing Director, heading up their UK and international business-to-business accounts. He has more than fifteen years’ experience in the digital media industry, with extensive knowledge of the online dating industry as well as other e-commerce sectors. A key figure in the digital dating business, Pitt has represented the industry at a number of media events and has provided board level advice and direction to some of the world’s leading media owners and digital businesses, enabling them to significantly increase online revenues and ROI. Matthew was hired by Ross Williams, Global Personals’ Co-founder and CEO. He adds:
www.globalpersonals.co.uk
Populis buys South American blog network Blogo
Content on demand firm Populis (formerly GoAdv) has confirmed it is acquiring Blogo, one of the larger international thematic blog networks in Europe and South America for EUR 6 Million. With over 250 bloggers covering 70 different subject areas from automotive and sport to finance and the arts, Blogo offers fresh content, a unique editorial voice and compelling stories to its audience in the UK, France, Spain, Italy and Brazil. The network produces approximately 100 million pageviews (Nielsen, November 2010) every month on its blogs including Dasmarias in Brazil, Cotilleoblog in Spain, Autosblog in France, TwoWheels Blog in the UK and Tvblog in Italy. The acquisition of Blogo will increase the Group’s international market share, content production and revenue streams significantly, as well as opening up the South American market. Populis will retain Blogo’s office in Milan along with its international team of 16 content and social media experts, which will add to the Group’s dynamic team of 130 in Dublin, Rome and Milan.
http://www.populis.com
Visualsoft partners with PredictiveIntent to enable smart recommendations and behavioural marketing
Visualsoft, the turn-key e-commerce platform provider, has chosen PredictiveIntent’s PersonalMerchant behavioural recommendation technology to deeply integrate with their system. Companies using the Visualsoft eCommerce platform can now quickly implement powerful behavioural marketing and re-targeting to increase revenue through putting the right products and content in front of the right visitors at the right time, onsite and within targeted email.
Visualsoft are a UK based specialist eCommerce agency who provide over 400 clients with both turnkey eCommerce and marketing solutions, as well as licensing the Visualsoft eCommerce Software Platform to customers directly. Both full service and license customers can benefit from this exciting agreement, co-developed between PredictiveIntent and Visualsoft technical teams.
http://www.predictiveintent.com
http://www.visualsoft.co.uk.
LBi UK promotes Anil Pillai to UK CEO
Anil Pillai, currently UK Managing Director, has been promoted to the role of UK Chief Executive. He will drive the expansion of LBi’s UK operation, working to define and execute digital strategies for clients including BT, Lloyds TSB and Ericsson. Throughout 2011 Pillai will strengthen LBi’s UK management team with a series of high-profile hires. He will also be responsible for taking the agency’s blended full-service offering to new UK clients. Pillai has been UK Managing Director since the creation of LBi three years ago in the UK. Prior to that he was Client Partner at Framfab, and before that Sales Director at Oyster Partners.
Additionally, the reorganisation will see Bigmouthmedia UK Managing Director Phil Gripton take on the newly created role of Managing Director of both LBi UK and Bigmouthmedia UK. LBi and Bigmouthmedia merged last year to provide brands with digital marketing, consulting and technology services in multiple international territories. Gripton joined Bigmouthmedia UK in September 2009. Prior to that he was Director of Partners at Cable & Wireless.
www.lbi.co.uk
Havas agencies launch real-time social media monitoring tool for clients
The first complete listening tool to give visibility of what people are saying about brands in social media is being launched to offer marketers greater online insight than ever before. Created by Cake and developed alongside sister agency EHS 4D Group, The Flightdeck aggregates quantitative and qualitative metrics from a broad range of sources of online information, displaying them in a user-friendly and creative interface, accessible across multiple platforms. It will allow users to track the sentiment of every piece of online activity around their brand, and will show the importance, influence and authority of any individual that posts a comment, giving far greater insight into brand perception at any given time.
The Flightdeck is powered by data from a number of expert sources. Leading buzz monitoring specialist Sysomos provides real time analysis of multi-language and multi-territory conversations taking place across blogs, forums, social networks and news sites. The Flightdeck also incorporates influencer analysis and authority rankings. The remaining data is aggregated from open APIs from existing social networks and a brand’s profile page, all gathered using bespoke modules and algorithms developed by Cake and EHS 4D Group. The Flightdeck features an alert system which notifies users when the sentiment of online brand conversations drops below a pre-agreed level. Furthermore, not only will The Flightdeck give marketers visibility on social media chatter, but will also track share price and monitor competitor activity. This allows for all key metrics around a brand – not just those in social media – to be tracked. All information and metrics will be available to download as a report.
www.cakegroup.com
www.ehs4dgroup.com
Callcredit Purchases The Trading Floor
Callcredit Information Group has announced the purchase of data provider The Trading Floor, which will allow Callcredit to offer clients an even more comprehensive range of services from an unparalleled data pool. Established in 2005, The Trading Floor has developed the largest multi-channel transactional database in the UK, providing data solutions to clients across a range of sectors. The Sowerby Bridge based company has grown rapidly since its inception and has received several prestigious industry awards for helping clients improve their marketing effectiveness . The Trading Floor’s dynamically updated data will complement and strengthen Callcredit’s comprehensive prospect database Core, delivering access to the names and addresses of 42 million UK consumers selectable by a unique combination of demographic, behavioural and transactional variables. Importantly in today’s multi channel environment the combined database will provide access to one of the largest sources of email addresses, mobile telephone numbers and landline telephone numbers in the UK.
www.callcredit.co.uk/
Warehouse enters the affiliate marketing space with affilinet
affilinet, the specialist affiliate marketing company, has been hired by leading UK women’s fashion retailer Warehouse. The deal integrates Warehouse’s use of affiliate marketing into the retailer’s wider online strategy to increase visits to its site and maximise the number of consumer transactions over the internet.
As one of the biggest retailers for women aged between 18 and 35 on the high street, affilinet will use its network of publishers to develop an affiliate programme to support the selling of goods online. The campaign will use a variety of media channels to attract traffic to the site including voucher code and email platforms, while also using more targeted affiliate models such as corporate employee benefit schemes, to help connect city workers with the Warehouse site to purchase their working wardrobe. The campaign will also run over social media sites such as ‘Chiconomise’ run by The Apprentice winner Michelle Dewsberry.
www.affili.net
7thingsmedia opens US office to push UK brands
7thingsmedia, the performance-based digital marketing agency, who
recorded rapid growth in the UK in 2010 will introduce their proven expertise to the US market, providing an international marketing platform for current clients whilst exploring new opportunities locally. Former New York ad agency Vice President, Jennifer Hoffman, has been appointed as General Manager for the US location. With over seven years digital experience, she is charged with assisting the launch of UK-based brands looking expand their Ecommerce activity into the US and setting up 7thingsmedia business locally. The American market – which has never been in better shape following a best-ever Christmas performance worth $32.6bn – is being made instantly accessible to both 7thingsmedia’s current client portfolio and will be seeking UK brands that require assistance with US growth.
www.7thingsmedia.com
Online Video Ad specialist gears up for growth by hiring ex-Trinity Mirror regional digital chief
Localstars, the geo-targeted online video advertising specialist, is gearing up for major growth in 2011 with the appointment of new managing director, Chris Bunyan, the former digital director at Trinity Mirror’s regional media division. According to Localstars’ founder and former MD, George Dann, who now becomes CEO, Bunyan’s appointment comes as Localstars’ unique online video ad creation technology and geo-targeted syndication network is fully proven and ready for expansion. Localstars has created an online portal that publishers’ ad sales teams can use to sell and manage video-led ad campaigns for advertisers. It lets them create a 15 second video ad for each customer by customising content from the Localstars library, which is probably the largest of its kind in the world. Ads are personalised with individual business contact information, images and logos. After uploading the ads, sales people use a specially designed map-based interface to define geographic play-out areas, selecting from a list of recommended media. The entire process can take as little as 3 minutes, to produce a professional, high quality, customised video ad.
www.localstars.com
toptable.com books Zeus to boost web performance
Zeus Technology, a software-based application traffic management company has been appointed by toptable.com to improve the web performance of the restaurant reservation site by better managing and prioritising its web traffic. The deal, handled by Zeus partner Qual, will ensure the growing number of users accessing toptable.com, a leading UK online restaurant booking website, enjoy a premium service and can always book online, even during peak periods. toptable.com has implemented the recently launched Zeus Traffic Manager 7.0 within a virtualised platform, maximising the business benefits of virtualisation and Zeus software, to ensure customers receive a fast and effective response all the time.
www.zeus.com.
Underwired Amaze wins ASICS
ASICS, the specialist sports footwear company, has hired Underwired Amaze as
its eCRM agency across a number of key European markets. ASICS, which is an abbreviation of “Anima Sana In Corpore Sano”, meaning “Sound Mind In A Sound Body”, has been developing innovative technical sports shoes and apparel for more than half a century. The brand has built a strong reputation amongst athletes with products including its Impact Guidance System and Biomorphic.
Underwired Amaze is a digital strategy consultancy and creative agency
specialising in sophisticated customer engagement strategies and eCRM.
Underwired’s clients include McCain Foods, Laithwaites Wine and NSPCC. It is
part of Amaze plc, a £15million European digital agency which currently ranks 5th
in YouGov’s agency reputation survey.
www.underwired.com/
Pressitt adds Customisable Newsrooms to its Social Media News Release platform
Pressitt, the free Social Media News Release (SMNR) creation and publishing platform, today announces the launch of customisable newsrooms. The newsroom functionality allows users to create their own online branded news environment. Now journalists, bloggers and anyone online will be able to find news information published by brands and organisations in one central, branded online hub. Additionally, the newsroom template will also serve as a branded release template for all past and future releases that are indexed on Pressitt. Eurosport, Europe’s leading sports entertainment group, has been quick to jump onboard and become one of the first brands to utilise Pressitt’s newsroom feature as part of its social media plans for 2011. One individual newsroom is priced affordably at £15 per month, but is free to all registered charities.
www.pressitt.com
Ebookers debuts mobile site
Online travel agent, ebookers.com, is paving the way for mobile travel by announcing the launch of its mobile website, which allows consumers to browse and book direct from their mobile phone. As the first online travel agent in Europe to offer a fully bookable mobile service for multiple products, the new mobile site sees ebookers leading the way in driving m-commerce in the travel sector while responding to consumer demands and making the travel planning and booking process easier than ever before. Beta trials for the new website have shown that 70% of hotel bookings made through the new mobile website are for same day check-in – versus 15% of the bookings made through the desktop website – highlighting the convenience of the new service. The new ebookers mobile site will give its customers full access to all flight, hotel and car hire products that are available on their desktop website.
http://m.ebookers.com.
Nissan launches CRM-based campaign for new Micra
Nissan Motor (GB) Ltd is rolling out its first ever CRM-led launch campaign for the new Micra. Digital and direct agency, Tullo Marshall Warren (TMW), has developed the campaign based on the theme ‘In Sync with the City’. The campaign encompasses DM and digital, complemented by events, regional press and media partnerships. The car launches this month. Before developing the campaign, TMW conducted research to provide further understanding of the slightly older, traditionally-minded Micra customer. This identified a driver more focused on the freedom owning a car brings than the pleasure of driving, who appreciates the benefits of the Micra’s thoughtful technology, and develops a close relationship with their car.
The research led TMW to develop a CRM campaign throughout 2010 to engage existing customers, re-engage ex-customers and generate new prospects. CRM was also used to invite customers and prospects to a series of local events which were held at shopping centres and garden centres around the country. To encourage customers to engage with the brand, the events were backed by celebrity gardener Diarmuid Gavin. The suite of communications culminated in a mailing and email to drive pre-launch orders.
To convert the interest generated through the pre-launch period, TMW is targeting 250,000 existing customers, ex-customers and hot prospects for the launch. This is led by a highly personalised mailing that reflects the close relationship Nissan Micra customers have with their cars, and demonstrates the way in which the Micra’s thoughtful technology helps in everyday situations. To further support the campaign, media partnerships have been arranged with BBC magazines, The Telegraph, The Daily Mail, and Classic FM to run prior to and after the launch, encouraging people to register their interest in Micra. This activity will be followed up with DM, email and dealer events during launch week.
www.tmw.co.uk
Skype updates group video calling
Skype has officially launched group video calling for consumers and enterprises, allowing people to do more together wherever they are. Video calling accounted for approximately 41.5% of all Skype-to-Skype minutes in the second half of 2010. Group video calling is available as part of the new Premium package from Skype which offers group video calling together with access to live chat customer support as a day pass for $4.99 (€3.49/£2.99) or as a monthly subscription for $8.99 (€5.99/£4.99) per month. Skype users who sign up for group video calling in the first month it’s available will receive a 33 percent discount on 3 and 12-month subscriptions. New users receive a 7-day free trial. In addition, consumers who sign up for group video calling will receive a 25 percent discount off an HD webcam.
www.skype.com.
Clang increases ‘intelligence’ of email marketing campaigns
The new version of CRM-focused email marketing platform Clang makes it easy for digital marketers to automatically test different versions of an email in order to use the one that is most effective. Launched in the UK today by digital marketing technology specialist E-Village, Clang version 1.3.0 introduces split-run and smart-run testing capability to email marketing campaigns. Split-run testing enables digital marketers to run up to 26 variations of an email campaign in order to determine which generates the best response from recipients. Clang’s additional smart-run module ‘scores’ the different versions depending on open and clickthroughs and automatically sends the best scoring one to the rest of the database. Clang 1.3.0 allows digital marketers to further tailor their campaigns to the recipient’s preferences. Variables such as subject lines, content, greetings, creatives, wording, message length and time of day for distribution can all be tested to see which work best for the specific target audience.
www.createaclang.com
www.e-village.eu
Social music video site Muzu appoint w00t!media
MUZU.tv and Mixcloud have appointed independent digital sales house w00t!media to source premium advertising campaigns for their websites. w00t!media, which provides premium representation for entertainment and lifestyle publishers, will helpcomplementary brands engage with MUZU.tv and Mixcloud’s content and audiences via branded players, banner adverts, homepage takeovers and sponsorship. MUZU.tv is the UK’s first music video social network with the largest legal music video catalogue on the web. The site attracts one million unique users each month and allows people to watch, create and share music video playlists. A further two to three million users access MUZU.tv via its hosted content distribution network, which includes major newspaper publishers, broadcasters, social networking sites and official artist websites. MUZU.tv shares advertising revenue with all video content owners. Mixcloud, which the national press has called ‘the YouTube of radio’, is an on-demand radio platform allowing people to upload high quality radio shows, podcasts or DJ mixes. Content producers upload their programmes or mixes as ‘Cloudcasts’ which can easily be embedded and shared across the web and social networks. Although predominantly music-focused, Mixcloud also hosts documentaries, comedy programmes and educational material.
www.w00tmedia.net/
The Times Higher Education (THE) launches app for iPad, iPhone and iPod touch
The Times Higher Education (THE), the market-leading weekly magazine for the Higher Education sector, today launches its branded app for the iPad, iPhone and iPod touch. Today’s launch follows the success of the recent THE World University Rankings app in September 2010. For the first time, print subscribers will have immediate access to the THE from the moment the content is published, rather than wait for their copy to be delivered. Subscribers will receive free access to each week’s copy of the THE magazine from their app, allowing them to read all the news, features, and in-depth commentary from the HE sector, as well as search for the latest HE jobs. The app will also enable readers to access the archives, allowing them to search for specific articles from previous issues of the THE.
www.tes.co.uk
Auto Trader’s Call Tracker helps dealers get more from their calls
Auto Trader today announces the launch of its new and improved Call Tracker service, powered by Cable & Wireless. The exclusive Call Tracker service allows dealers to place tracking numbers on all their ads, both online and print. Once on their ads, dealers can examine and maximise the performance of their business through analysis of incoming leads, sales team responses and customer conversions. The new Call Tracker packages include a free-of-charge version alongside the more advanced Plus and Pro packages, each of which offers its own unique benefits and features.
www.autotrader.co.uk
Net Media Planet wins Bathrooms.com
Bathrooms.com has appointed dedicated PPC (pay per click) specialist, Net Media Planet to devise and implement its paid search strategy. Following a four-way competitive pitch, Net Media Planet will build long-term online brand value and awareness for Bathrooms.com through a strategic PPC programme on a paid-on-performance model.
Bathrooms.com has strong growth plans and is looking to become the market leader as well as the provider of choice. To achieve this aim, Bathrooms.com recognised the need to refine its search efforts to increase traffic to the site, particularly identifying its paid search programme as an area where a step change was required. Over the first three months, Net Media Planet will be rolling out a paid search programme, across Google, Yahoo and Bing in the UK and Ireland markets, to achieve the step change Bathrooms.com is looking for. Following this, Bathrooms.com hopes to continue to increase traffic to the site through its partnership with Net Media Planet, which will in turn drive further incremental growth in sales and revenue.
www.netmediaplanet.com
Cognitive Match boosts team
Cognitive Match, the market leader for integrated ads and onsite targeting, today announced that Mike Harris has joined the company as SVP Global Sales. Reporting to CEO Alex Kelleher, Harris will be responsible for all new business development and existing customer revenue as part of the company’s global expansion plan. Harris, who previously served as EMEA VP Sales at Touch Clarity and EMEA General Manager, Test & Target at Omniture (recently acquired by Adobe), joins at a time of high growth for the company. He will focus on delivering business value to existing customers and driving acquisition of more brand name clients, to add to names such as Financial Times, Yahoo! and Just Giving.
www.cognitivematch.com/
KMP Digitata and Manchester Airport launch Facebook game ‘pig-a-pult’
Manchester Airport approached KMP Digitata with a challenge of informing people of all the destinations that Manchester Airport fly to, in an interactive way while also increase their CRM database. Drawing inspiration from a campaign run by Manchester Airport back in spring, featuring a piggy bank, KMP felt there was a game in the concept of an airport sending a pig around the world. The idea of pig-a-pult was born and to fulfil the objectives given by the airport the aim of the game is to catapult the game’s character, Piggles, from Manchester Airport and get him to land at one of their many destinations and in doing so subtly inform the user of where Manchester Airport can catapult them to. By applying a scoring system that rewards those who get nearer to the furthest destinations a leader-board allows people view how well they rank and then give a top prize to whoever scores the highest, which will be an iPad In addition to the iPad, £500 worth of Holiday vouchers will be given to randomly selected players who have entered in their details.
Play pig-a-pult here
WPP content agency Forward gets new Editorial Director
Forward, the WPP-owned publishing and content agency, has appointed Louise Pearce as its new Editorial Director. She assumes the role with immediate effect, working alongside Forward’s Creative Director, Will Scott, looking after creative strategy and output across the agency’s whole client list, which includes Tesco, Ford and Patek Philippe. Louise joins Forward from specialist retail agency Jupiter where she was Creative Strategy Director. She has a wide range of experience in marketing communications and worked for many years as an editor in the publishing industry, notably for Redwood Publishing where she launched the Boots customer magazine and Parenting Club. Louise has also worked directly with leading UK brands and retailers including Boots, Clarins and Dolland & Aitchison helping them to plan and implement customer communication strategies. Louise started her career on newsstand magazines and was a Health and Beauty Director on several glossy lifestyle titles including Good Housekeeping, She and Country Living.
www.theforwardgroup.com