Stand by for Google's next market-changing move

Stand by for Google's next market-changing move

Posted using ShareThis

What the F**K is Social Media: One Year Later

View more documents from Marta Kagan.

Chris Anderson launches 'Free' to UK media industry

The Long Tail author Chris Anderson launched his new book Free to the UK media industry on 3rd July at London's Royal College of Physicians.

















After giving the introductory speech outlining the thinking behind his new book, Anderson, also editor-in-chief of Wired magazine US, pitted his wits against some of the UK's leading media practitioners in a Q&A session.

Joining Anderson on the panel were representatives of the free media world: Paul Brown, managing director of Spotify UK, Stefano Hatfield, editor of thelondonpaper, and Rory Sutherland, vice-chairman of Ogilvy Group UK and president of the IPA.

The panel, chaired by Haymarket Brand Media's Caroline Marshall, fielded questions from the audience on the winners and losers of the free economy and the effect the "radical price point of zero" will have on the media world.

The event was run in association with Media Week, Random House and thelondonpaper.

You can download the book from MediaWeek available until 14th August for FREE!

Jacek Utko designs to save newspapers

Jacek Utko is an extraordinary Polish newspaper designer whose redesigns for papers in Eastern Europe not only win awards, but increase circulation by up to 100%. Can good design save the newspaper? It just might.

About Jacek Utko
Could good design save the newspaper -- at least for now? Jacek Utko thinks so -- and his lively, engaging designs for European papers prove that it works.

How to use click path analysis to inform your Paid Search strategy

As media buying budgets become more accountable with all eyes on cost per conversion, the pressure is on to make every penny contribute to the ROI of paid search campaigns.

However, as the search landscape gets more competitive and CPCs are inflated year on year, the margins of paid search campaigns are getting tighter and profitable growth is harder to achieve.

This, magnified by the current lack of trademark protection available on Google and resulting CPC increases, has resulted in a need for organisations to start embracing new ways of looking at their search data and user behaviour.

Traditionally, agencies and organisations base their search results on a ‘last click wins’ basis. This means that the last click a consumer makes always gets attributed to the sales revenue or conversion, regardless of how many other searches are made prior to this.

Therefore, brand terms appear hugely profitable and costly generic terms appear to offer an extremely low ROI, if at all. However, by looking at the buyer decision making process it is clear that consumers carry out research first with highly generic and costly search terms. When close to purchase, consumers will use highly specific, low cost keywords or brand terms to make their purchase.

This means that whilst expensive, generic keywords are playing a vital part in the research phase of a purchase, on paper they have low conversion rates and deliver a low ROI because they do not receive correct credit for the conversions.

With click path analysis, the whole consumer journey is revealed and the value of all clicks in the consumer journey can be rightly accredited.

Gone are the days when it was only the data analysts and number crunchers who could make sense of the unmanageable log data files. The new era of bid management tools makes it a realistic and painless process for search professionals to understand the consumer journey and justify increasing search budgets.

Now, every search manager can use the accessible data as a basis for their every day bid management. This will involve boosting bids on those generic keywords that appear at the beginning of the click path where CPCs would have previously been reduced.

1. Educate your client

Explain the benefits and value of all clicks before the conversion. Many may not even know this kind of data is available and that their competitors are beginning to use click path data as a means of justifying increasingly expensive generic keywords.

It can also go some way to explain how key players seem to be able to afford to appear for a large majority of impressions on expensive terms.

2. Install a bid management package to track up to at least the last five clicks

Several bid management tools now provide click path reports as part of their standard package or for an additional fee. Rates are competitive for tracking costs and are available from companies including (but not exclusive to) TD Searchware, DART and Double Click.

3. Establish a methodology for attributing click path conversions

Common standards of click path attribution have yet to be defined in any particular business sector. This presents a real opportunity for the agency and business to establish the best methodology which demonstrates the greatest ROI. This can then be used to grow the campaign and take vital steps towards becoming a major player in the marketplace. Common forms of attribution are:

- Equal: Assign equal proportions of revenue to each click in the path, ie, each keyword in the click path is assigned an equal proportion of revenue – from example below, both clicks in the path would get 50% of revenue.

- Cost of path: Take CPC of keywords and calculate the cost of the path. Attribute revenue on a % basis. This will be based on the cost of the click path. See example below article.

- Last click weighting: the final click gets a higher proportion of resulting revenue

4. Collect at least one month of data

One month of results is the least amount of data that should be used to provide a valid set of results to establish a pattern in search behaviour for your business or client. If the cookie window is longer than 30 days, extend the data set to this time period so any vital last clicks or conversions are not missed.

5. Collate results and analyse

Initially, use all sets of methodology from above to determine the most appropriate reporting approach for your business. Compare the results from all methods of click path attribution to discover your consumer conversion pattern and the costs involved for a typical click path.

This will dictate the best methodology for your business. For example, if consumers in a particular business sector typically use a long path of expensive generic keywords before converting, the cost of path methodology would be most appropriate.

This will mean that the high costs of the keywords will be justified according to their contribution to the click path.

By Larissa Green, Senior Search Analyst at I Spy Search Marketing

Internet turns customers into ambassadors | Trends | Marketing Week

Internet turns customers into ambassadors | Trends | Marketing Week

Shared via AddThis

Facebook Announces Facebook Connect for iPhone

Facebook has announced Facebook Connect for the iPhone, which enables users to take their Facebook friends, identity and privacy with them wherever they go. Facebook Connect for the iPhone provides the first live social experience for iPhone and iPod Touch applications, as users can now connect with their Facebook friends to play games -- whether their friends are at home on a computer or on their iPhone.


Facebook has announced Facebook Connect for the iPhone, which enables users to take their Facebook friends, identity and privacy with them wherever they go.

Facebook announced the new capability on March 14 at the South by Southwest (SXSW) 2009 conference, noting that there are nine applications currently live in the iTunes app store, with more to launch in the coming days.

Developers can get started taking advantage of Facebook Platform APIs to add social context to all kinds of iPhone applications.

Facebook Connect for the iPhone provides the first live social experience for iPhone and iPod Touch applications, as users can now connect with their Facebook friends to play games—whether their friends are at home on a computer, or on their iPhone—and share restaurant reviews on the go, location-based status updates, and more.

Users can go to the iTunes app store to see the first nine applications:
Who Has the Biggest Brain by Playfish

Movies by Flixster
iBowl and Agency Wars by SGN
Urbanspoon
Tap Tap Revenge 2 by Tapulous
Whrrl by Pelago
Live Poker by Zynga
Binary Game by SayEight
In a March 14 blog post, Joe Hewitt, the engineer who built Facebook for iPhone, said:

Resource Library:



5 Reasons Why You Need Better Visibility of Your Network


Next-Gen Load Balancing: Delivering Advanced Web Apps


Integrated Web App Security


Next-gen Load Balancing: 3 Keys to Successful Delivery of Advanced Web Apps


"A few months ago, we announced Facebook Connect, an extension of Facebook Platform that makes it easy for you to bring your friends with you all over the Web. We're now expanding this to Apple’s revolutionary iPhone and iPod touch, making it easy to connect with your Facebook friends in your favorite applications from Apple’s App Store.

"If you've used Facebook Connect on the Web, this will seem pretty familiar. You can now use Facebook Connect on your iPhone in the same way you can for a website. Simply download any application featuring Facebook Connect and log in using your Facebook account from your iPhone. Then, you'll be able to easily find your Facebook friends. They will be able to see the same profile information as they can on the site, controlled by your privacy settings. You can also share what you’re doing with your iPhone applications with all of your Facebook friends by publishing stories back to your profile."

Facebook officials said several developers are working on Facebook Connect for iPhone applications that will begin to be released shortly.

"In the coming days, many more applications will be available in Apple's App Store so keep checking back," Hewitt said. "If you don't see your favorite iPhone application soon, ask the developer to implement Facebook Connect -- together we can make your application experience on the iPhone truly social."

Meanwhile, according to Gareth Davis, another Facebook engineer who wrote a March 14 blog post, "Facebook Connect easily lets developers make their websites and desktop applications more social. And with the explosion of iPhone apps over the last year, we want iPhone developers to reap all the benefits Facebook provides."

Added Gareth:

"If you develop apps for the iPhone and iPod Touch, you can now start making those apps more social. With just a few lines of Objective-C code, your users can log in to Facebook from within your app, find their friends, then share what they do in your app back on Facebook, which opens up exciting new opportunities for your users."

In addition, he said that now your iPhone apps can enjoy the benefits that Facebook Connect sites and Facebook Platform apps already enjoy, including:

* Making API calls so your app can access users' profiles and share information on Facebook.

* Publishing to Facebook via Feed forms.

* Asking users for extended permissions, like offline access, so you can still interact with their data when they're offline.

Meanwhile, Limbo, one of the largest mobile social networks in the United States, today announced that Limbo for iPhone and iPod touch now features Facebook Connect for iPhone. iPhone and iPod touch users can link their Limbo and Facebook accounts, enabling automatic status and activity updates that are shared between the two accounts.

With Facebook Connect, Limbo members can see their Facebook friends on Limbo without their friends having to be Limbo members. They can also view the status of their friends on Limbo based on their Facebook status message, or automatically set an “On Facebook” status for members who are logged on and active on Facebook.

“Our members want a new way to share their experiences from their iPhone or iPod touch with friends who may not yet be Limbo members,” said Jonathon Linner, Limbo’s CEO, in a statement. “Now that Limbo features Facebook Connect for iPhone, they can easily share and distribute information and experiences with their friends via Facebook status updates, requests and notifications. The location-aware emphasis of the Limbo application enables users to find and meet up with their friends to increase face time and real world experiences. This makes it even easier to connect with friends in the real world, not just online.”

By Darryl K. Taft
2009-03-14

Brands target ethnic markets

As the UK's ethnic minority groups continue to expand in both size and influence, Media Week reports on how the media industry is facing the challenge of servicing these disparate communities

Britain's ethnic audiences are expanding rapidly - and so is their spending power. The 2001 census showed 7.9% of the UK belonged to a minority ethnic group, with the figure rising to 29% in London.

Not only have most ethnic minority groups mushroomed since then, the enlargement of the EU in 2004 has also resulted in tens of thousands of Eastern European migrants entering the country. More than 300 languages are now spoken in London alone, according to the Office for National Statistics, and one in five small businesses are owned or managed by members of ethnic minority communities.

According to a 2003 report by the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising (IPA) on ethnic diversity in the UK, the combined disposable income of ethnic minorities is an estimated £32bn. However, many UK media planners and buyers remain both ignorant and wary of ethnic media.

Of the larger agencies, only MediaCom has a specialist ethnic media division: CultureCom, run by director Sanjay Shabi. The division's clients include the COI, arguably the biggest spender on ethnic print media in the UK.

Other agencies tend to handle ethnic campaigns on a client-by-client basis. For example, Mindshare's Unilever team handles its campaigns on Asian TV channel Sunrise, while at Initiative, ethnic campaigns for Tesco tend to be based around local store openings, so are handled by regional and local planning teams. Other clients will brief specialist ethnic agencies, such as Media Reach, Sterling Media and Media Moguls to reach a multicultural audience.

So why is ethnic media relatively neglected by advertisers? MediaCom's Shabi says one of the major challenges in planning multicultural campaigns is a lack of accurate data. Despite efforts by Barb, Rajar and the IPA to recruit ethnic audience members onto their panels, most available data still does not give an accurate reflection of these audiences.

Toby Aldrich, director of Spectrum Radio, which broadcasts to ethnic communities in 22 languages, says: "We used to subscribe to Rajar, but the numbers made little sense to us, because of the postcode system of measurement."

However, MediaCom's Shabi says media owners must become more proactive about making audience figures available - for example, providing print-run certificates.

Ethnic media specialists argue that mainstream brands could benefit hugely from targeting multicultural audiences. Jay Rai, director at Indoor Media, which sells online ad inventory across ethnic sites, says: "Our big challenge is getting advertisers to look beyond the brief and see ethnic audiences as being predisposed to certain brands, products and services. For example, understanding that South Asian men are tech-savvy, socially competitive and thus early adopters."

And, as Media Reach chief executive Saad Sharaf points out: "Particularly in the current climate, targeting ethnic audiences could provide advertisers with the uplift in market share they need to help their bottom line."

Chinese

Represent 0.4% of the population (highest densities in London boroughs of Westminster, City of London and Barnet, plus Cambridge)
Source: Census 2001

The UK's Chinese population is on the rise, with a particularly steep increase in Chinese students. However, this group is still under-served by home-grown media, particularly for advertisers wanting to run campaigns in English.

The key English-language publication for the Chinese community is Sing Tao Daily, which has run a London edition since 1975 and claims a circulation of 140,000 across Europe, with the majority of readers in the UK. A paid-for broadsheet, it carries political, cultural, financial and entertainment news.

An increasingly popular title is the international Epoch Times, originally founded by a group of academics in China. Now based in New York, but with a UK edition, the paper prides itself on uncensored reporting of major news stories from China, such as the SARS epidemic and the baby milk contamination scandal.

The Epoch Times prints 30,000 Chinese-language copies and 10,000 English-language copies a week, although its readership is estimated at 80,000, and it plans to go twice-weekly this year. The 24-page broadsheet is distributed free in restaurants, Chinese shops and in university libraries, and its international website receives up to 1.5 million hits daily.

Spectrum Radio has a service catering for Mandarin and Cantonese speakers, and programmes in both languages can be found on TVB Satellite-Europe, a 24-hour satellite channel operated by The Chinese Channel and PCNE (Phoenix), both available on Sky. Digital media brands include Dimsum.co.uk, a site aimed at second-generation, English-speaking Chinese and East Asian professionals.

South Asian

Indian: 1.8% of the population of England and Wales (highest densities in Leicester, London, Wolverhampton, Slough)
Pakistani: 1.3% (highest densities in Yorkshire [Bradford], West Midlands)
Bangladeshi: 0.5% (highest density in Tower Hamlets, London)
Source: Census 2001

South Asians - including Indians, Pakistanis and Bangladeshis - are the UK's largest ethnic minority group. But with several different languages, religions and cultural sensitivities to take into account, targeting this audience might seem a complex task for the uninitiated media planner.

Indoor Media director Jay Rai says: "The question I am most often asked by agencies is what language to use - Punjabi, Urdu, Hindi or Gujarati? However, you must bear in mind that younger, British-born Indians will mainly communicate in English, although they will still, for example, listen to Indian music."

Sunrise Radio sales and marketing director Kay McCarthy agrees: "Unless you have something like a specific health message and want to reach the older generation, most advertising can be run in English."

There has been a proliferation of Indian broadcasters in the UK in recent years, mirroring an explosion in India's television industry. Sky Digital now carries about 45 Indian channels and, as the market develops, some South Asian media brands are subscribing to industry standards.

For example, free-to-air Sunrise TV has subscribed to Barb since its launch last April, with advertisers including Unilever and Johnson & Johnson.

As well as Sunrise TV, which broadcasts locally produced news and shows, leading free-to-air Asian networks include Zee TV, which has five UK channels. In addition, News Corp's pay-TV channel Star TV has four UK channels: Star News, Star Gold for Bollywood movies, Star One for a younger demographic, and entertainment channel Star Plus, which features hit shows such as Nach Baliye, an Indian version of Strictly Come Dancing.

But while younger Indians are less likely to be watching Indian-made soaps and dramas, they have one thing in common - a passion for Bollywood. With a host of movie channels and radio stations - which have just been joined on Sky Digital by all-Bollywood Zee Radio - younger Asians have bought into Bollywood in a big way. "It's the glue that draws the generations together - and the reason why Sunrise Radio is still alive and kicking," acknowledges Sunrise's Kay McCarthy.

With a weekly reach of 528,000 Asian adults, Sunrise broadcasts in English and Hindi. Another leading radio station, Club Asia, plays music targeted at the Asian youth market and reaches 200,000 listeners a week. Both subscribe to Rajar.

Other stations cater for more specific groups. For example, Panjab Radio caters for Punjabi speakers, broadcasting nationally on Sky Digital, DAB and the internet. It has just received its first Rajar measurement of 49,000 weekly listeners.

Spectrum Radio caters for Indian, Pakistani, Sikh and Bangladeshi audiences among its 22 languages.

Of the print titles, the Eastern Eye went into administration last month, but has been bought by Asian Media & Marketing Group, where group managing editor Kalpesh Solanki plans to invest in the title. The Asian Age is an Indian broadsheet that publishes a daily London edition, with a circulation of about 20,000, while Asian magazines include glossy English-language titles Asiana and Asian Woman.

South Asians are also increasingly voracious users of digital media. Top websites include lifestyle and shopping portal Redhotcurry.com, as well as Indian newspaper sites such as The Economic Times.

Polish

Estimated to represent a population of between 750,000 and 1.2 million in the UK (highest densities are in the London boroughs of Hammersmith, Ealing, Enfield and Haringey, plus Southampton, Peterborough, Bristol)
Source: various

Polish media has flourished in the UK since Poland joined the EU in 2004, with established publications such as Polish Daily joined by a new wave of weekly Polish-language publications targeting a younger, migrant worker audience.

Even mainstream British media is catching on: The Sun ran a special Polish edition for the duration of the Euro 2008 football tournament.

Of the weekly papers, Polish Express, published by Fortis Media, claims a circulation of 60,000 per week. The paper reports day-to-day life for Poles in Britain, as well as providing major news and economic reports from Poland. Fortis also publishes a weekly glossy magazine, Panorama.
Cooltura, which claims a weekly circulation of 45,000, is aimed at the younger generation of Polish immigrants. The company also owns the first Polish-language radio station available on DAB, Polish Radio London.

Krzysztof Chowaniec, managing director, says advertisers include mainstream as well as Polish brands - although ads tailored to Polish audiences get the best response. Other print titles include The Polish Times (Goniec Polski), which claims a weekly audience of 30,000 to 40,000.
A number of Polish TV stations, including TVPL24, are available via satellite in the UK, although there are no significant home-grown channels as yet. Viewers can also buy a Polsat dish to pick up channels beamed directly from Poland.

Meanwhile, digital media has taken off fast for UK Poles, thanks to the plethora of younger immigrants - Home Office data from 2006 shows the Polish community's average age is 28. Last October, Cooltura launched a UK internet portal, Elondyn.co.uk, while other sites include Mojawyspa.co.uk and Londynek.net.

And, with Polish food the fastest-growing ethnic food group, brands are using outdoor media to target Poles. For example, Polish food group Wadowice used Clear Channel to advertise its Tymbark brand in areas of high Polish population.

African-Caribbean and African

Black Caribbean: 1% of the population (highest densities in London boroughs of Lewisham, Lambeth, Brent, Hackney)
Black African: 0.8% (highest densities in London boroughs of Southwark, Newham, Lambeth, Hackney)
Source: Census 2001

With the African-Caribbean community in the UK now into its third and fourth generation, the media needs of the marketplace are changing.

Indeed, a new report by the Equality and Human Rights Commission suggests the increasing number of mixed-race births means African-Caribbean culture could eventually die out in the UK. Long-established titles such as The Voice are having to reinvent themselves, while the rival New Nation closed last month.

The Voice is 27 years old and is owned by GV Media, owner of Jamaican newspaper The Gleaner, which also has a weekly UK version. Ope Bankole, head of advertising, says: "We have had to evolve from a newspaper into a media brand delivering content to African-Caribbeans - from the first-generation 1950s immigrants who came over on the Windrush and were still in touch with their Caribbean families, to their British-born grandchildren who have a totally different taste for news."

With this in mind, spin-off Young Voices, previously a print title, will relaunch as an online brand later this year. Other regular supplements include Body Beautiful, a beauty title, and Cookbook, featuring Caribbean recipes.

The Voice itself claims a circulation of 50,000 per week, with a readership of more than 250,000, 70% of which is in London. Bankole acknowledges its unaudited status can be challenging when dealing with agencies. However, he argues: "Media agencies have to understand that the pass-on value is very high in this community."

He adds: "Our biggest disappointment is that we don't attract more advertising from corporate clients - they tend not to see or relate to the African-Caribbean marketplace. In particular, the business and banking sector is very conservative. It should really be targeting these communities. Retailers are more enthusiastic - for example, Tesco has been a great supporter."

Print media aimed specifically at Africans is more niche, with different publications aimed at Nigerians, Ghanaians and other nationalities. One area that is flourishing is Nigerian broadcasting, particularly with TV stations showing movies from the Nigerian film industry, known as "Nollywood".

Nollywood Movies is a 24-hour Nigerian premium movie channel available on Sky Digital, while Hi TV launched in November on Sky Digital, broadcasting its two channels, Nigezie and Hi-Nolly.
For Ghanaians, a Ghanaian channel, OBE (Original Black Entertainment) is available on Sky Digital, while Spectrum Radio has a Ghanaian slot. Other radio stations include The Voice of Africa, a London-based community radio station launched in 2000 to service the pan-African community. The station broadcasts on FM, but plans to join Sky Digital.

Programmes are broadcast in a range of African languages as well as in English, French and Portuguese.

Leading digital media brands include Blacknet.co.uk, a portal for the international black community.

Hamsters and hedgehogs star in cute Samsung Mobile viral

Hamsters and hedgehogs star in cute Samsung Mobile viral
19-Feb-09

LONDON - Samsung Mobile has released a viral using cute fluffy animals to promote its UltraTouch phones.


The viral focuses on the quality of the phone's screen, imagining the uses various animals such as bunnies, kittens and hedgehogs could put it too.

The Samsung's screen becomes a hamster cinema, an evil hedgehog control screen and a photo booth for puppies.

Since being posted on YouTube yesterday it has already racked up 28,000 views and a five star rating.
The viral encourages people to visit the Samsung UltraTouch website for more information.

World's first 3D online casino

World's first 3D online casino
LeCroupier.com combines class and technology
Posted: 18 February 2009, 11:02

We've all pictured ourselves, head to toe in Saville Row tailoring and Italian shoes, taking the roulette wheel to pieces with a harem of statuesque beauties gasping at our every success. We'd probably order a vodka martini, too. In reality, though, it's back room poker or a gambling website that resembles something from a Commodore 64. But soon things will be very different...

In early March, LeCroupier.com will be launched. With graphics to rival Grand Theft Auto, this 3D casino from France's biggest casino chain, Lucien Barriere, will revolutionise the online gaming experience. The location of the incredibly detailed game is based on the company's casino in Dauville, even the croupier who deals your cards is based on a real employee. You can change your appearance, the way you dress, and will eventually be able to play against live opposition sat in a real French casino - from the comfort of your own home. That's not even the half of it, but you'll have to wait until ShortList magazine's upcoming feature on the game to find out more. Until then, here's a teasing trailer for you.