tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32412582743898248672024-03-06T05:04:47.923+00:00HMDG NEWSHMDG NEWShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00417934371301016096noreply@blogger.comBlogger57125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3241258274389824867.post-74829989424998218152012-02-15T16:31:00.003+00:002012-02-15T16:31:58.684+00:00Discovery Networks agrees to product placement deal with Kärcher<div>Published on May 18, 2011 by David Castillo </div><div><br /></div><div>Discovery Networks has agreed to a product placement deal with Kärcher products for the show “Tommy’s Fix It Yourself.”</div><div><br /></div><div>The deal is part of a 12-month sponsorship deal with the network’s home and property programs across different channels, including Real Time, Travel&Living, and DMAX.</div><div><br /></div><div>The arrangement was brokered by Discovery Networks UK, Kärcher UK, ZenithOptimedia, and Hurrell Moseley Dawson & Grimmer. It is accompanied by a microsite dedicated to home improvement.</div><div><br /></div><div>“The partnership with the Discovery Channel is a very important part of our current plans and reflects the wide appeal of our DIY products,” said Mark Penrose, the sales and marketing director of Kärcher UK. “In working with HMDG and their partners we have found another great opportunity to get our message out to an audience of DIY lovers, and in the process be part of some fantastic pioneering product placement technology.”</div><div><br /></div><div>read full article at PPN: http://productplacement.biz/201105183351/branded-entertainment/discovery-networks-agrees-to-product-placement-deal-with-karcher.html</div>HMDG NEWShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00417934371301016096noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3241258274389824867.post-18407609511493239742012-02-15T10:10:00.001+00:002012-02-15T10:26:30.679+00:00Press-ing the flesh and cutting the rope<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102); font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; font-style: italic; "><span class="date" style="font-style: normal; ">8 February 2012</span> by <span class="author">Greg Grimmer</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(17, 17, 17); font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; "><p style="margin-top: 1em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><em style="font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; "><strong style="font-style: normal; font-weight: bold; ">Greg Grimmer</strong> on his grim night at the ANNAs; a far happier print experience with the excellent commercial team from the Guardian; and why there is so much love and affection for the newspaper sector...</em></p><p style="margin-top: 1em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; ">Over the last week or so I have had two deep immersions into the modern world of newspapers. Well when I say modern what I really mean is contemporary.</p><p style="margin-top: 1em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; ">The first was a terrible night at the ANNAs - the Newspaper Marketing Association's annual bash, celebrating creativity in newspaper advertising.</p></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(17, 17, 17); font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; "><p style="margin-top: 1em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; ">The ANNAs are famous in the creative agency world for the largesse of their prize fund. £65,000 (Yes - SIXTY FIVE GRAND) is given away to aspiring copy-writers and media planners alike. However, despite this (and the copious amounts of champagne in a salubrious venue) the event this year seemed incredibly low rent.</p><p style="margin-top: 1em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; ">The comedy highlight wasn't the expensively hired Alexander Armstrong but was watching the winning creative and media 'teams' struggle on to the stage - complete with duffel coats and shopping bags to introduce themselves to each other. (Are there any two individuals less heterogeneous in our disparate industry than a junior copy-writer and press buyer?). At this point they were handed lottery winner-style giant cheques and asked to grin sheepishly at the camera before before disappearing into the night with their ill-gotten gains.</p><p style="margin-top: 1em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; ">The new CEO of the NMA Rufus Olins had a face like thunder throughout the evening. His mood can only have worsened when the always hard to please Dominic Carter (one of the few senior sales people present) accosted him on the general lacklustre nature of the whole event.</p><p style="margin-top: 1em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; ">The lack of senior sales people (and agency trading heads) present at their own party tells its own story. Apart from Dominic, I saw the omnipresent Andy Mullins from the<em style="font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; "> Standard</em> - but the lack of attendance from others spoke volumes and was noted by those I spoke with. Altogether a grim evening for Grimmer.</p><p style="margin-top: 1em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; ">So, onto my second (and far happier) print experience - an enjoyable engrossment with the excellent commercial team from the<em style="font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; "> Guardian</em> and a number of venerable constituents from the higher echelons of the agency trading groups.</p><p style="margin-top: 1em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; ">It was with this congregation that I starting regaling the tale of the ANNAs and, as I expected, was met with similar tales of both disappointing events and extravagant but misplaced marketing pieces emanating from the NMA over the last decade.</p><p style="margin-top: 1em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; ">Everyone had a story of something they liked from Thinkbox, a great piece of research done by the RAB, or good words about the general evangelical zeal of the IAB - but no-one seemed to have a defence for the NMA.</p><p style="margin-top: 1em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; ">But then something unusual (for such a cynical audience) happened... there was an out-pouring of love and affection for the newspaper sector that I haven't seen since Guy Zitter was last issuing invites to Badrutt's Palace.</p><p style="margin-top: 1em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; ">Both print and digital trading heads were in unison that the job of the NMA should in fact be very easy as it represents some of the most powerful and influential media brands on the planet.</p><p style="margin-top: 1em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; ">I, your correspondent, then reminded the enraptured throng that the <em style="font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; ">Guardian</em> print version at the height of its powers sold under 600,000 copies, whereas the online version of 'the world's largest source of liberal news' reaches over 30 million. Another NMA member (and funder) the<em style="font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; "> Daily Mail</em> recently over took the <em style="font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; ">New York Times</em> to become the biggest newspaper brand on the planet. <em style="font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; ">The Times</em> shattered predictions of financial Armageddon by successfully implementing a strong paywall for their edited content. All fantastic stories that have been told with minimal volume.</p><p style="margin-top: 1em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; ">The majority of the big newspaper groups have flourishing online / tablet / mobile revenue streams but you would be hard-pushed to find these stories. Free papers are booming and are as reliant on an ad-funded model as Facebook and Google, but this, it appears, isn't as big a story.</p><p style="margin-top: 1em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; ">The majority of newspaper groups also contribute to the PWC / IAB advertising forecasts, which are then used by the IAB to talk about internet advertising being bigger than print, television, the GDP of the USA and Mount Everest combined. Surely this is something the groups themselves or the NMA should address.</p><p style="margin-top: 1em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; ">The Leveson inquiry, which has been covered by far more qualified scribes than myself again, shows the strength of the sector in the national psyche. However, it appears that journalists are seemingly obsessed with biting the hand that feeds them.</p></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(17, 17, 17); font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; "><p style="margin-top: 1em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><br /></p><p style="margin-top: 1em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><br /></p></span>HMDG NEWShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00417934371301016096noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3241258274389824867.post-58179954489774079382012-02-15T10:07:00.001+00:002012-02-15T10:10:30.514+00:00Peter Buchanan joins HMDG as consultant<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;font-size:85%;">By <a href="http://www.campaignlive.co.uk/news/author/3469/sara-kimberley" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; text-decoration: none; ">Sara Kimberley</a>, <a href="http://www.campaignlive.co.uk/" title="campaignlive.co.uk" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; text-decoration: none; ">campaignlive.co.uk</a>, Thursday, 26 January 2012 04:36PM </span></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;font-size:85%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px; "><br /></span><h2 style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; ">The COI's former deputy chief executive, Peter Buchanan, has joined HMDG as a consulting director.</h2><div><br /></div><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; line-height: 1.3em; ">Buchanan will work the agency on an exclusive basis, working closely alongside HMDG partner Nick Hurrell and marketing director, Lisa Rokny. </p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; line-height: 1.3em; ">He will be advising HMDG on marketing strategy, pitch and procurement best practice, plus wider industry developments in relation to integrated creative and marketing services.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; line-height: 1.3em; ">Buchanan retired from the COI last year. During his 16-year tenure in the government department, he was involved in more than 150 pitches from the UK's top agencies, resulting in many multiple-award-winning campaigns such as Tobacco Education, Army Recruitment and Police Recruitment.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; line-height: 1.3em; ">He also championed best practice in agency selection, intelligent procurement and industry leading evaluation.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; line-height: 1.3em; ">Buchanan said: "I have worked with Nick for many years, starting at Saatchi & Saatchi. HMDG has exciting plans for business development and I will be working with some of the most experienced and talented individuals in the industry."</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; line-height: 1.3em; "><strong style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; "><em style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; ">Follow Sara Kimberley on Twitter </em><em style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; text-decoration: none; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; "><a href="http://twitter.com/#%21/SaraKimberley" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; text-decoration: none; ">@SaraKimberley</a></em></strong></p><p class="firstPublishedOn" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; line-height: 1.3em; ">This article was first published on <a href="http://www.campaignlive.co.uk/" title="campaignlive.co.uk" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; text-decoration: none; ">campaignlive.co.uk</a></p></span></div>HMDG NEWShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00417934371301016096noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3241258274389824867.post-59292144608184632722012-01-11T12:23:00.002+00:002012-01-11T12:27:27.572+00:00Electricity overtakes paper to be biggest benefactor of ad spend<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(17, 17, 17); font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; "><p style="margin-top: 1em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><em style="font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; ">In his wide-ranging opening article of 2012, the talented<strong style="font-style: normal; font-weight: bold; ">Greg Grimmer</strong> manages to squeeze in the Pope, Fenton the dog, several energy companies, the Olympics, Lindsey Clay and a bit of grumpy old man...</em></p><p style="margin-top: 1em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; ">Great news for npower and EDF this week as the plethora of advertising forecasts prevalent at this time of year all predict that media powered by electricity will be the key benefactors of the increases in total advertising expenditure in 2012. In other news, shares of battery-makers soared as battery powered devices continued their rise in popularity.</p><p style="margin-top: 1em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; ">Apologies to all for my flippant start to the first column of 2012, but I - like most of you, I would guess - am bored senseless by the constant barrage of 'digital' media companies telling us that more advertising money will be spent on digital this year than last. No shit Sherlock - and the Pope will be crapping in the woods again this year.</p></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(17, 17, 17); font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; "><p style="margin-top: 1em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; ">The fact that I have been galvanised to pick on this subject matter so early in the New Year is not only due to the obfuscation of the real data when it comes to the release of ad forecasts but also the fact that the overwhelming amount of column inches (will this imperial phrase ever die?) devoted to the rise of digital can mislead the casual reader.</p><p style="margin-top: 1em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; ">I recently met a multi-millionaire internet entrepreneur, who, on finding out that I worked in advertising, immediately started telling me with a huge amount of confidence how fucked ITV was.</p><p style="margin-top: 1em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; ">When I pointed out that total TV advertising had increased in 2011, he looked at me as if I was a stupid village idiot, living in a stupid village without super-fast broadband, in a stupid pre-internet world.</p><p style="margin-top: 1em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; ">On further investigation he turned out to be an IT/software entrepreneur and not an advertising/marketing services entrepreneur... this of course makes him far cleverer than any of us but also makes him about as relevant to comment on the state of the advertising industry as my friends at EDF and npower.</p><p style="margin-top: 1em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; ">Contrary to this experience, I am often accused of being a propagandist for the digital economy - in no small part due to the fact that as both a columnist and a media practitioner you are called upon by interested parties (whether they are readers or clients) to talk about The New, The Fresh, The Anomalous.</p><p style="margin-top: 1em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; ">No-one wants to sit in a meeting and talk about newspaper circulation trends (especially newspaper executives) or television share revenue but it seems everyone will spare time for the latest update on social media trends. Even this morning I have seen a questionnaire from my accountants on the subject, asking me why I don't interact with them more on social media channels. Have a guess guys - #life'stooshort!</p><p style="margin-top: 1em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; ">However, despite both being required to and enjoying all things social, digital, 2.0 and the like, I will make a plea for all of us this year - not to over-hype the next big thing. Contrary to anything you might read over the next seven months, the London Olympics will not be the first Twitter/YouTube/Badoo Olympics - it will be the XXX Olympics with real physical activity by athletes, watched by potentially more real people at venues than ever before. The fact that they will universally have the ability to photograph, film and comment about the event is merely a side show.</p><p style="margin-top: 1em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; ">We all have the duty of care to not exaggerate or indeed use our offspring to forecast future media trends (my media consumption aged 18 was almost exclusively based around reading night club and gig 'flyers' ) - I am sure today's teenagers will mature past exclusively BBMing their coterie.</p><p style="margin-top: 1em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; ">I saw a very apposite tweet over the festive period by Graeme Wood, social media guru at Aegis, who tweeted about linear TV viewing: "The more research I see about DVRs and time-shifted viewing, the more I realise how utterly abnormal I, my family, and everyone I know is."</p><p style="margin-top: 1em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; ">Very true my friend, very true. The much heralded 'second screen phenomenon' shows the continued weight and power of linear TV, although in regard to DVR viewing, Lindsey Clay's Thinkbox team might argue that you are looking at the wrong research. Whether it be the<em style="font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; ">Olympics, The X Factor</em> or <em style="font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; ">Big Brother</em>, we are still watching TV pretty much like we always have done.</p><p style="margin-top: 1em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; ">The old adage of yesterday's newspapers being today's fish and chip paper may be outdated due to some health and safety regulations regarding packaging of fast food but the sentiment is as veracious today as always.</p><p style="margin-top: 1em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; ">Perhaps we need an updated simile for the social media generation...</p><ul style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 2em; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: block; list-style-type: disc; -webkit-padding-start: 40px; "><li style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; list-style-type: none; list-style-position: initial; list-style-image: url(http://mediatel.co.uk/images/bullet.gif); display: list-item; ">As stale as yesterday's status update?</li><li style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; list-style-type: none; list-style-position: initial; list-style-image: url(http://mediatel.co.uk/images/bullet.gif); display: list-item; ">As tedious as an hour old tweet?</li><li style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; list-style-type: none; list-style-position: initial; list-style-image: url(http://mediatel.co.uk/images/bullet.gif); display: list-item; ">As soporific as a previously shared video?</li></ul><p style="margin-top: 1em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; ">Which reminds me, did you know I was there with Fenton in Richmond Park? Oh Jesus Christ I've fallen into my own trap...</p><p style="margin-top: 1em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; ">Read Greg's full article at MediaTel- http://mediatel.co.uk/newsline/2012/01/09/electricity-overtakes-paper-to-be-biggest-benefactor-of-ad-spend/</p></span>HMDG NEWShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00417934371301016096noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3241258274389824867.post-64941022581914930792011-09-07T12:33:00.005+01:002011-09-07T13:04:17.673+01:00Our must-reads... and the list goes on...Sally in our office loves Wuthering Heights. <div>Hayley says it's A Book of Matches. </div><div>Sarah K's favourite is Life of Pi.</div><div>Jen shows her dark side with A Clockwork Orange.</div><div>Gaby went for Michael McIntyre's autobiography.</div><div>Sarah A adores Perfume.</div><div>Rebecca smiles every time she thinks of The Water Babies and is forever haunted by First They Killed My Father.</div><div>Kate eyes lit up when she talked about A Thousand Splendid Suns.</div><div>Jenny devoured The Catcher in the Rye.</div><div>Moluk was sad when she finished The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.</div><div>Lisa's imagination was captured by The DaVinci Code.</div><div>Claire cried over If This is a Man. </div><div><br /></div><div>HMDG girls' favourite magazine The Stylist has a sister site Emeraldstreet.co.uk, which has produced a list of the 20 Books You Must Read. Favourites like To Kill a Mockingbird are featured, along with a few surprises. Sign up to emeraldstreet to receive the list, or choose one from our own favourites. </div><div><br /></div><div>The church next door often has second hand book sales too, for those who love a bargain.</div><div><br /></div>HMDG NEWShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00417934371301016096noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3241258274389824867.post-52125285302879777442011-09-07T12:18:00.002+01:002011-09-07T12:25:40.042+01:00The art world's smallest canvasYou may never have considered your fingertips much. Clean, hopefully, trimmed, perhaps polished or painted occasionally. That may be about to change.. <div><br /></div><div>This September, Nailphilia is showcasing an exhibition which looks at the fingertips as a habitat for art. Stunning, thought-provoking and outlandish designs are displayed at DegreeArt.com's execution room on Vyner St in Hackney... well worth a look.<br /><div><br /></div><div>http://www.degreeart.com/blog/nailphilia-londons-first-nail-art-exhibition</div></div>HMDG NEWShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00417934371301016096noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3241258274389824867.post-52913338532598094912011-08-12T12:09:00.003+01:002011-08-12T12:33:44.384+01:00Free events at More LondonMore London's free summer events at The Scoop are well worth checking out. There's early-morning bootcamp for the hardy, theatre for the thesps and films for popcorn-lovers. Particularly of note though is the excellent exhibition 'Rites of Life' - an outdoor photographic display which examines worldwide ceremonies and events that mark the transition from one life stage to another.
<br />
<br />Listings are found here:
<br />http://www.morelondon.co.uk/events.asp
<br />HMDG NEWShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00417934371301016096noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3241258274389824867.post-48050201420531711522011-08-12T12:03:00.002+01:002011-08-12T12:08:57.934+01:00Camden FringeThe 6th Camden Fringe is on this month, running events right across the borough. The Fringe aims to give the chance to perform to anybody wanting to showcase their talents, and features acts from up and coming talent right through to experienced somebodies.
<br />
<br />Hamster Town, Out Damned Spot and The Cabaret of Potty People are just a few of the incredible productions - not to be missed.
<br />
<br />Check out the full listings here:
<br />http://camdenfringe.com/
<br />HMDG NEWShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00417934371301016096noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3241258274389824867.post-34396961298400877112011-08-11T10:57:00.002+01:002011-08-11T10:58:04.022+01:00The youth who fell to earth<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(88, 88, 81); line-height: 18px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;font-size:100%;"><p style="margin-top: 1.5em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.5em; ">Greg Grimmer, partner, Hurrell Moseley Dawson & Grimmer, on how media consumption habits change in the holiday season…</p><p style="margin-top: 1.5em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.5em; ">A number of things influenced my choice of subject this month and the prudes among you will be pleased to hear that Jim Marshall’s Skittles predilection isn’t one of them.</p><p style="margin-top: 1.5em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.5em; ">On returning from my annual family sojourn to the sunshine (more of this later) I – like most of my media brethren – have spent many hours catching up on emails, newsletters, trade mags and the general information overload that we all deal with the moment our feet are back ensconced at our work stations.</p><p style="margin-top: 1.5em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.5em; ">Two pieces struck a chord, potentially due to the fact that I had been spending extended time with ‘The Grimmer Youth’ and watching first hand their interaction with the media world and the human race. Firstly Dave Brennan’s piece here on MediaTel’s Newsline on the porkie pies told by everyone when asked to self-complete research questionnaires.</p><p style="margin-top: 1.5em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.5em; ">For those that didn’t see Dave’s piece, it was a very ingenuous article about the lies told by the great and good of our industry – who all work 20 hour days, save for a quick read of the Economist or a snaffled listen to the Today programme. It reminded me fondly of my old girlfriend who was ad manager of the now defunct Just 17 magazine, who once proudly told me that according to <span class="caps" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; ">TGI</span> Just 17 readers (average age 14) were more likely than Vogue readers to “drink champagne regularly”.</p><p style="margin-top: 1.5em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.5em; ">The second piece that rose to the top of my virtual mailbox was the earth shattering news that young men use computers. Well knock me down with a featherlite.</p><p style="margin-top: 1.5em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.5em; ">This remarkable insight was provided by The Great Male Survey, developed by AskMen.com. It stated that 72% of young men said they relied on online sources for their news consumption. It went on to say that almost a third of the men (28%) never read a newspaper. Now I’m no mathematician but if 28% never read, that means that 72% must have said they do read newspapers, spookily enough the same amount that are relying on online for news. Work that one out.</p><p style="margin-top: 1.5em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.5em; ">At this point I was drawn to my modern day Disraeli – the ever reliable Tess Alps, who hilariously and charmingly debunked Askmen.com and their ilk in her very apposite blog post about the International Pear Foundation.</p><p style="margin-top: 1.5em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.5em; ">Anyway, back to young men and their love of computers and ‘The Grimmer Youth’ holiday media consumption.</p><p style="margin-top: 1.5em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.5em; ">Having spent meticulous hours packing every network enabled device they could find, the unwashed youth begrudgingly accompanied their handlers into sunnier climes among much talk of “there had better be Wifi”.</p><p style="margin-top: 1.5em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.5em; ">Onto 3am Gatwick hell and perhaps the most surprising find, and first sign of an urbanite adolescent ‘chillaxing’, was the preference for magazine reading on planes ahead of iPads and DS’s. Avaricious reading of the duty free catalogue was soon added to by the stealing of my GQ and Wired and a none too perfunctory glance through a particularly top shelf version of Heat.</p><p style="margin-top: 1.5em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.5em; ">This revisionist trend continued on arrival and whether it was the sun, the sea air or the (unfulfilled) chance of pubescent sex, the digital devices were, if not forgotten, certainly neglected in favour of more traditional media channels throughout the quinze jours.</p><p style="margin-top: 1.5em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.5em; ">There are of course good reasons for this – the much-heralded hotel WiFi was limited to certain hot spots within the campus and did not include teenage rooms. Additionally (and thankfully) one aspect of the criminally insane data roaming charges on smart phones abroad meant that favourite device number one was virtually obsolete for a fortnight.</p><p style="margin-top: 1.5em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.5em; ">On arrival TV viewing of foreign channels became a compulsory part of the day for both budding polyglots. I was impressed by the dedication to the news channels and also the ability of Grimmer Minor to articulate the editorial difference between <span class="caps" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; ">CNN</span>, <span class="caps" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; ">BBC</span> and Russia Today. Whilst talking about the US debt crisis (broadly – We’re F@@ked; They are F@@ked and so are we; they are F@@ked and deserve to be). A shared addiction to the Tour de France also breached language boundaries and reminded me (as well as the tribe) that some sports are best served as edited televisual feasts rather then real time text tickers or indeed live events.</p><p style="margin-top: 1.5em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.5em; ">Other local media also made an impact – I once remember the late great Peter Howard Williams of cinema-fame winning a raft debate by proclaiming “have you ever seen anyone stand up and clap in front of a poster site”. Well Peter, I have now. After 10 days of Greek salads, teenage eyes spotted a McDonald’s poster, and gave it that very response. Other outdoor ads also had the same immediate response effect. The ad plane tagging a Calipo advert at 3pm daily on the beach produced immediate repeated sales. Far more effective than the now Famousily (sic) Effective Grey advertising plane at Cannes this year.</p><p style="margin-top: 1.5em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.5em; ">So, half a month passed without Facebook shutting down (19 holiday ‘friends’ were added swiftly on return though) and in hindsight I thought this media behaviour doesn’t really differ greatly from home consumption. Like the media industry I concentrate my vitriol about failed exams and late nights on the omnipresent Facebook or Xbox… but in reality all media are still playing a part in teenage behaviour and also, contrary to what any youth based media owner will try and tell you, these muddy funksters are the easiest consumers to reach because they are never away from media.</p><p style="margin-top: 1.5em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.5em; ">Free newspaper and magazines are grabbed happily on school commutes in a way that wasn’t available to previous generations unable or unwilling to pay their 20p for the Soaraway Sun.</p><p style="margin-top: 1.5em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.5em; ">Whilst at home, as with every parent in the last fifty years, I say too much TV is consumed, but with ‘The Grimmer Youth’ – in common with their contemporaries – it is almost always at least dual screen and at times simultaneous conversations via networked devices (Skype on the laptop, Facebook on the iPad, IM on the smart phone and Xbox live headphones).</p><p style="margin-top: 1.5em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.5em; ">At times this makes me think of the scene in the great Nicolas Roeg movie – ‘The Man Who Fell to Earth’. David Bowie as a humanoid alien who comes to earth to get water for his dying planet. Due to his high intelligence he regularly consumes multiple screen images. He then starts a high technology company to get the billions of dollars he needs to build a return spacecraft. He does not count on the greed and ruthlessness of business on earth…</p><p style="margin-top: 1.5em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.5em; ">Now this made me think… technology genius… Larry Page? Do no evil? Perhaps a theme for another day.</p></span></span>HMDG NEWShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00417934371301016096noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3241258274389824867.post-33381715758599236432011-08-10T14:09:00.002+01:002011-08-10T14:11:33.785+01:00Online communities provoke action in face of UK riots.<!--StartFragment--> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">News of the recent protests across the UK has spread like wildfire over social networking sites, showcasing the reactions of a shocked nation. Sites like twitter and facebook have been used by protesters to organise riots, however it enabled police to track their movements, who have also said that they will prosecute those who used Smartphones to co-ordinate rioting and looting. </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> Conversely, online communities are uniting in a movement to reclaim the streets. @RiotCleanUp was set up by artist Dan Thompson – with </span></span><span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">#</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Riotcleanup trending on twitter, co-ordinating communities to help the dispossessed in the aftermath of the riots. ‘The Londonist’ also reported that up to 300 residents in Enfield had joined together to deter looters following a twitter campaign. Online communities are responding to the youtube video of a student hurt in the riots who was robbed as he lay bleeding on the street, with the lovely www.somethingniceforashraf.tumblr.com, while DARE have created thisisourlondon.com which is aggregating some of the positive ways Londoners are pulling together. </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">The Great British sense of humour has been in evidence too, with #OperationCupofTea demonstrating a light-hearted ‘make love, not war’ attitude, whilst café chain The Breakfast Club are trending on twitter with #hugsnotthugs, offering a free cup of coffee for anyone who gives their staff a hug.</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">In the commercial sector, businesses such as JD Sports and Currys have been badly affected by the looting. Gumtree and eBay have vowed to assist police following concerns that goods stolen by looters may appear on their sites. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Will be keeping track of more positive reactions over the next few days.</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language:EN-GB"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <!--EndFragment--> HMDG NEWShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00417934371301016096noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3241258274389824867.post-53117759460522852372011-08-05T12:11:00.002+01:002011-08-05T12:11:52.808+01:00HMDG appoints Lisa Rokny as Marketing Director<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, Palatino, 'Palatino Linotype', Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; color: rgb(88, 88, 81); font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; "><p style="margin-top: 1.5em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.5em; "><span class="caps" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">HMDG</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> has appointed Lisa Rokny as the agency’s first marketing director. She will become immediately responsible for the company’s marketing output and business development efforts. She joins the agency on August 8th from </span></span><span class="caps" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">CBS</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> Outdoor where she is currently the head of digital creative and development.</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 1.5em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.5em; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Lisa has over a decade’s experience in marketing, communications and creative development, in both traditional and digital media companies. She started in publishing for </span></span><span class="caps" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">EMAP</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">, developing creative solutions for advertisers and extending magazine brands such as </span></span><span class="caps" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">FHM</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">, Q, and Empire into events, online and TV. Lisa has also worked at Yahoo – developing many brands’ presence and positioning on the Internet, both editorially and commercially.</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 1.5em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.5em; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">In 2007 she joined </span></span><span class="caps" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">CBS</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> Outdoor Digital, where she led creative & production services, content strategy and proposition development. Her focus has been to bridge the gap between traditional and new media channels, developing integrated solutions for brands.</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 1.5em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.5em; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Lisa said of her appointment;<br />“This is a great time to be joining the agency and I’m really looking forward to being part of such a talented and experienced team at </span></span><span class="caps" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">HMDG</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">. I hope to add skills that clients will find both interesting and relevant to their current needs.”</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 1.5em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.5em; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Greg Grimmer added; “After a successful first half of the year with a number of new account wins we have been able to expand with a number of key appointments and the attraction of the calibre of talent such as Lisa outlines our ambition for further growth “</span></span></p></span>HMDG NEWShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00417934371301016096noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3241258274389824867.post-6316104068232745412011-07-06T16:53:00.002+01:002011-07-06T16:54:43.370+01:00The real winners at Cannes<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Greg Grimmer, partner, Hurrell Moseley Dawson & Grimmer, explains why Google and Facebook dominated Cannes conversation…<br /><br />I have a tough taskmaster in my MediaTel editor. She demands relevance, humour, erudite observations and the occasional plug. So here goes, trying to please a multi-headed task master again.<br /><br />I shall start this month’s regaling at the salubrious Haymarket Hotel. MediaTel’s first foray into joint media and client based events, this inaugural one being centred around mobile and retail. A stellar list of UK retail marketers attended, together with a smattering of agency folk and Shaun Gregory’s evangelical O2 media team.<br /><br />Greg Grimmer, partner, Hurrell Moseley Dawson & Grimmer, explains why Google and Facebook dominated Cannes conversation…<br /><br />I have a tough taskmaster in my MediaTel editor. She demands relevance, humour, erudite observations and the occasional plug. So here goes, trying to please a multi-headed task master again.<br /><br />I shall start this month’s regaling at the salubrious Haymarket Hotel. MediaTel’s first foray into joint media and client based events, this inaugural one being centred around mobile and retail. A stellar list of UK retail marketers attended, together with a smattering of agency folk and Shaun Gregory’s evangelical O2 media team.</span></span>HMDG NEWShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00417934371301016096noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3241258274389824867.post-36891787081576756192011-07-05T09:50:00.004+01:002011-07-05T09:51:21.961+01:00Auto Trader launches £2.5m ad campaign<span class="Apple-style-span" style=" color: rgb(88, 88, 81); line-height: 18px; font-family:Georgia, Palatino, 'Palatino Linotype', Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;font-size:12px;"><p style="margin-top: 1.5em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border- font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.5em; font-family:inherit;font-size:12px;color:initial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Auto Trader has launched a £2.5m television and online ad campaign to promote its new-look website that facilitates the sale of new cars.</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 1.5em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border- font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.5em; font-family:inherit;font-size:12px;color:initial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">The TV ads break today (4 July) and will run for six weeks across </span></span><span class="caps" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border- font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; color:initial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">ITV</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">, Channel 4, </span></span><span class="caps" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border- font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; color:initial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">UKTV</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">, Channel Five and Sky, to promote Autotrader.co.uk, which launched earlier this year.</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 1.5em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.5em; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">The campaign has been created by </span></span><span class="caps" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border- font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; color:initial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">HMDG</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> and focuses on the concept of the website being the best new online car showroom, by pushing the range of cars available and its user-friendly research and comparison features.</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 1.5em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.5em; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">In addition to the TV slots, the campaign will also run online via VoD sites, as online display on sites including TopGear.co.uk and Facebook, and at this week’s Goodwood Moving Motor Show, which Auto Trader sponsors.</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 1.5em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.5em; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Matt Thompson, marketing director at Auto Trader, said: “Our New Cars site has already become one of the leading destinations for new-car buyers in the UK and this campaign aims to make it number one.</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 1.5em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.5em; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">“Its scope and reach make it an ideal platform to reach a targeted audience with a clear interest in making a purchase, allowing advertisers to reach local buyers in the way and at the time that will get the best possible response.”</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 1.5em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.5em; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">In September, Auto Trader launched a £2m campaign, created by Hurrell Moseley Dawson & Grimmer, to promote its new mobile platform.</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 1.5em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.5em; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Auto Trader is wholly owned by Trader Media Group, which is itself owned by a joint partnership between Guardian Media Group and private equity firm Apex.</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 1.5em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.5em; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">View the full article at </span></span><a href="http://www.campaignlive.co.uk/news/1077742/Auto-Trader-launches-25m-ad-campaign/?DCMP=ILC-SEARCH" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-weight: normal; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); text-decoration: underline; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline-color: initial; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Campaign Live</span></span></a></p></span>HMDG NEWShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00417934371301016096noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3241258274389824867.post-4206372608472940112011-07-05T09:47:00.002+01:002011-07-05T09:50:01.518+01:00Auto Trader launches £2.5m New Cars ad campaign<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, Palatino, 'Palatino Linotype', Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; color: rgb(88, 88, 81); font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; "><p style="margin-top: 1.5em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.5em; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">“Greatest new car showroom in the www to reach over 20 million consumers from July 4th”</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 1.5em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.5em; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Auto Trader, the official presenting partner of the Goodwood Moving Motor Show, will be launching a new £2.5 million TV and media campaign to promote its New Cars website (</span></span><a href="http://www.autotrader.co.uk/new-cars" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-weight: normal; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); text-decoration: underline; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline-color: initial; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">www.autotrader.co.uk/new-cars</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">) on Monday 4th July. The campaign launches with a new TV advert in July appearing on all major commercial channels with the aim of driving consumers across the UK on to the New Cars site.</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 1.5em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.5em; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Advertising agency </span></span><span class="caps" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">HMDG</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> created the new campaign around the concept of the ‘Greatest new car showroom in the www’ – a theme that encompasses both the range of cars available on the site and also its user-friendly research and car comparison experience, which has been designed as a result of extensive consumer research and beta testing to help consumers identify and purchase the right new car for them.</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 1.5em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.5em; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Media channels to be used in the campaign include TV, Video on Demand, online display, social, eCRM, </span></span><span class="caps" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">SEO</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">, </span></span><span class="caps" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">PPC</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> and public relations. The campaign also involves Auto Trader’s sponsorship of the Goodwood Moving Motor Show, which takes place on Thursday 30th June.</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 1.5em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.5em; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Since its launch earlier this year the New Cars site has secured over 2.5 million page impressions 1 to date, with over 600,000 unique users in its first month, demonstrating the power of the Auto Trader brand name and the customer reach it provides advertisers both on a national and regional level. Research conducted on Auto Trader’s New Cars site shows that 84 per cent of users are actively looking to buy a brand new car2, a clear demonstration of the value of the site and its ability to provide quality leads. 61 per cent of visitors further stated their intention to buy a new car in the next 3 months4.</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 1.5em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.5em; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Matt Thompson, Marketing Director at Auto Trader, comments: “Our New Cars site has already become one of the leading destinations for new car buyers in the UK and this campaign aims to make it number one. Its scope and reach make it an ideal platform to reach a targeted audience with a clear interest in making a purchase, allowing advertisers to reach local buyers in the way and at the time that will get the best possible response.”</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 1.5em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.5em; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Nick Hurrell, Managing Partner at </span></span><span class="caps" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">HMDG</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">, adds: “The New Cars launch is a major strategic step for Auto Trader. The advertising campaign is also moving up a gear, as we launch the greatest new car showroom in the www.”</span></span></p></span>HMDG NEWShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00417934371301016096noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3241258274389824867.post-8428768696304446792011-04-12T14:29:00.005+01:002011-04-12T14:33:33.552+01:00Keep taking the tablets<span class="Apple-style-span" style=" color: rgb(88, 88, 81); line-height: 18px; font-family:Georgia, Palatino, 'Palatino Linotype', Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;font-size:12px;"><p style="margin-top: 1.5em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border- font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.5em; font-family:inherit;font-size:12px;color:initial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">In the guise of a ‘proper journalist’, Greg Grimmer, partner, Hurrell Moseley Dawson & Grimmer, talks tablets with GQ’s Dylan Jones, The Guardian’s Chris Pelekanou and Wired’s David Rowan…</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 1.5em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border- font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.5em; color:initial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">As the latest Apple fanfare surrounding the iPad2 hits full volume I thought it was an apposite time to look at the effect that the rise of the tablet is having on the much maligned print sector.</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 1.5em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border- font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.5em; color:initial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">‘Digital media is killing newspapers and magazines’ has been a drum beaten loud and hard (ironically the loudest by print journalists) – so is the tablet the saviour of every press baron or are they fooling themselves by investing into a technology and ecosystem that they don’t control or understand?</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 1.5em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border- font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.5em; color:initial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">I was a sceptic of the iPad when it launched. I saw it as superfluous digital device that would have to be viewed as an addition to my current gadget portfolio, not a replacement for my iPhone, MacBook , or iPod… (I am ‘Apple Maxed’ according to the Urban Dictionary).</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 1.5em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border- font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.5em; color:initial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">However, one year on I am a convert – the iPad has found a place in my screen-based time schedule and not really at the expense of any paper-based products.</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 1.5em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border- font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.5em; color:initial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">I use it primarily (as do other family members) in a multi-screen environment, when the crucial power struggle of the television remote has been lost. I find myself either using Wiki or </span></span><span class="caps" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border- font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; color:initial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">IMD</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">b to add bon mots to my family’s proletarian viewing habits (for example, did you know Chloe Madley was an underwear model?). Or more likely I can be found gently stroking my way through beautifully designed pages of a magazine app.</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 1.5em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border- font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.5em; color:initial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Condé Nast were early pioneers of the magazine brand online and therefore it was no surprise to see them also pioneering in the iPad stakes . The group’s New Yorker edition is a thing of beauty and one of the highest rated apps.</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 1.5em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border- font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.5em; color:initial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Condé Nast’s British-based colleagues were not far behind and Vogue, GQ and Wired have all produced stunning versions over the past year. Even as I write this another iconic print brand Wallpaper has announced it is joining the fray.</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 1.5em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border- font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.5em; color:initial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Taking a step back from my normal stream of consciousness, I thought I would pretend to be a proper journalist and go and ask some experts from the print field why they are producing tablet editions and what they make of them…</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 1.5em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border- font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.5em; color:initial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Dylan Jones at GQ, one of the most respected print editors in the UK, takes a very enthusiastic view of app design strategy: “The whole process of putting together our iPad edition has totally re-energised the team, and we have all been invigorated by it. Not only has it caused us to look at the whole process of magazine production in intense detail, it has also made us look differently at the entire way we commission and fill the magazine. In all, it’s been thoroughly instructive, and our print title will be all the better for it.”</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 1.5em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border- font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.5em; color:initial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">So, it is not only viewed as an additional channel for content but influencing the content itself. A view which is supported by the leading newspaper on iTunes and articulated by the commercial director of The Guardian Chris Pelekanou: “The browser is an incredibly powerful tool in informing the world 24/7, therefore a far more effective platform to break news on.</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 1.5em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border- font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.5em; color:initial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">“Due to their ‘lean back’ nature, the iPad and other tablet devices, enable content providers to publish news in an edited finite package, that can reflect and analyse what’s going on in the world.</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 1.5em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border- font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.5em; color:initial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">“This gives strong brands, through design, functionality and compelling content, an opportunity to demonstrate their uniqueness once again and ultimately this scarcity enables you to charge for that content.”</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 1.5em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border- font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.5em; color:initial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">This latter point is a crucial one in the way that the smart print owners are approaching the tablet arena. It is especially interesting from the organisation who’s editor has openly championed the free internet in response to News Corporation’s paywall strategy. Is it not news that people will pay for in future but editing and design?</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 1.5em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border- font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.5em; color:initial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">This is a topic picked up on by David Rowan, editor of the unrivalled influencer of the future Wired. “If a magazine company is to add any value to consumers, and have a reason to exist, it has to do what the internet doesn’t do well,” he said.</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 1.5em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border- font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.5em; color:initial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">“Where we can beat the open internet is in curating carefully the stories, people and ideas that we are genuinely excited by each month – and in creating a design and interaction experience that it pretty tough to replicate on a computer browser.”</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 1.5em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border- font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.5em; color:initial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">You would expect Wired to be active in this arena but what struck me with David’s response (as with Chris and Dylan) was the unbridled zeal for this development – a far cry from the doomsayers of the past decade, where press owners tip-toed with intrepidation around the monetisation of their web-based products.</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 1.5em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border- font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.5em; color:initial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">David returned to this theme: “Suddenly the iPad gives us the chance to achieve both in creative and experimental new ways. We curate a monthly package of stories and multimedia in a coherent whole; and we do so using video, design, panoramic photography and interactive design tools that re-imagine the user experience. We’re still learning, but we’re pretty excited by the creative possibilities of re-imagining what Wired magazine can be in this multimedia, real-time digital format.”</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 1.5em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border- font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.5em; color:initial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">With iPad2 sales already forecast to be five times those of the launch version and other tablet manufacturers trumpeting better experiences, the opportunity for magazine brands will continue apace.</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 1.5em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border- font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.5em; color:initial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">However, I am struck that of course in amongst the 800,000 apps on iTunes, Android and Ovi, the reader themselves remain a powerful editor and it is the iconic consumer brands fuelled by both print history and modern day innovation that are most likely to succeed.</span></span></p><div><br /></div></span>HMDG NEWShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00417934371301016096noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3241258274389824867.post-8754314037506312632011-04-05T18:04:00.007+01:002011-04-12T14:32:49.526+01:00Ancestry targets Royal Wedding fans with TV push<span class="Apple-style-span" style=" color: rgb(88, 88, 81); line-height: 18px; font-family:Georgia, Palatino, 'Palatino Linotype', Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;font-size:12px;"><p style="margin-top: 1.5em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border- font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.5em; font-family:inherit;font-size:12px;color:initial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Ancestry.co.uk is capitalising on the upcoming Royal Wedding by launching a TV campaign targeting viewers with questions about weddings in their own family history.</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 1.5em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border- font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.5em; font-family:inherit;font-size:12px;color:initial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Ancestry, one of the world’s largest online collections of historical records, encourages viewers to visit the website to find out more information about their own family.</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 1.5em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border- font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.5em; color:initial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">The ad, which launched on Friday, questions where viewers’ parents met and asking where their grandparents tied the knot.</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 1.5em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border- font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.5em; color:initial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Created by </span></span><span class="caps" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border- font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; color:initial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">HMDG</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">, the 30-second ad shows a montage of vintage photographs and film, accompanied by light-hearted captions and statements such as, “we married in secret”.</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 1.5em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border- font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.5em; color:initial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">John Messum directed the ad, while Big Buoy produced the spot. Peter Crothers was the writer on the ad, and Trupesh Gajjar was the art director.</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 1.5em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border- font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.5em; color:initial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Initiative handled the campaign’s offline activity, while Essence handled online activity.</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 1.5em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.5em; "><br /></p></span>HMDG NEWShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00417934371301016096noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3241258274389824867.post-56244863038918609022011-02-21T14:26:00.001+00:002011-02-21T14:28:48.272+00:00Over the pond TV - the unstoppable rise of Sky<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, Palatino, 'Palatino Linotype', Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; color: rgb(88, 88, 81); font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; "><p style="margin-top: 1.5em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.5em; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Greg Grimmer says </span></span><span class="caps" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">HBO</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> has built a paid-for subscription business in the US by producing high-quality drama – a feat not managed by Sky or indeed anyone else in the UK. Sky’s belated response to this has not been to try and re-create the formula with UK talent tub, but to import in its entirety – I give you Sky Atlantic. So well done to Sky for the next phase of its world domination and farewell to free-to-view high-quality US dramas on the </span></span><span class="caps" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">BBC</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">, </span></span><span class="caps" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">ITV</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> & C4…</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 1.5em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.5em; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">The proliferation of television channels since the advent of satellite and cable in the late 80’s has given broadcasters (not normally) known for their love of marketing some testing problems. Suddenly it wasn’t just about the content, the old adage that ‘people watch programmes not channels’ just wasn’t true in the arena of a 400 channel </span></span><span class="caps" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">EPG</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">.</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 1.5em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.5em; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Then clever marketers s got involved and spawned the likes of Dave, Blighty and Yesterday, leaving the family numbered channels looking slightly tawdry and dull.</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 1.5em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.5em; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">It used to be a ‘build it and they will come’ strategy for programme makers, this then turned into a ‘buy it and they will come’ for the lazier programme directors as they imported (normally but not exclusively from the US) tried and tested dramas from other markets – including </span></span><span class="caps" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">ITV</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">, the </span></span><span class="caps" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">BBC</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> and most notably Channel 4.</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 1.5em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.5em; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Now Sky – or should I say BSkyB (at least while there are still other shareholders) – had circumvented this problem in a number of interesting an successful ways. Firstly, and of course most controlling, is the control of the hardware – that little set top box (does anyone still put it on top of their new plasma set?) gave them the ability to ensure branding of the television service and not just the broadcast stream.</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 1.5em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.5em; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">This has been augmented by Sky+ and more recently HD and 3D. It also gave them further control through the design, numbering and interactivity of the </span></span><span class="caps" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">EPG</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">. But we all know what Sky is really known for and what accounts for its fantastic growth story of the past two decades – sport and within that football and within that the Premier league.</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 1.5em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.5em; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Various competitors have come and gone over the 20 years and most have left with their tales between their legs and their wallets emptied – </span></span><span class="caps" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">ITV</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> digital and Setanta both failed to break the stranglehold on football and paid for it with their businesses.</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 1.5em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.5em; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">However, while sport is obviously content (and arguably the best content we export?), Sky has tried and failed over the last twenty years to break out from sport as its raison d‘être. Sky Movies/Box Office have some fans but have always been overshadowed by</span></span><span class="caps" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">DVD</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">s (or videos before them). Meanwhile, Sky One is still a vehicle for the Fox-produced Simpsons and not much else.</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 1.5em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.5em; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Elizabeth Murdoch (before her success with Shine) was one of many content directors who failed to grab hold of the Sky branded channels to create anything approaching the distinctive look and feel of the </span></span><span class="caps" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">BBC</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">, Channel 4 or even </span></span><span class="caps" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">ITV</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> – whose domination of the ‘Big and Live’ Saturday night is often over-looked by naysayers of that particular broadcast brand. Various British-produced comedies, dramas and entertainment shows have fallen unloved from the Sky schedules. I personally wept at the demise of Harry Enfield on his short run on Sky before gloriously re-claiming him as he returned to the</span></span><span class="caps" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">BBC</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> in his Harry and Paul guise.</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 1.5em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.5em; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">So what of now. I will return to The Simpsons as my inspiration (and perhaps the inspiration of a Sky scheduler). A running gag throughout the jaundiced family story is every time anyone checks into a hotel, talks about cable TV or acknowledges TV, they will make a gag about </span></span><span class="caps" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">HBO</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> and how it always costs more/ isn’t included/ isn’t available.</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 1.5em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.5em; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">So why is this relevant… well my dear reader, </span></span><span class="caps" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">HBO</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> have built a paid-for subscription business in the US built not on sport or even movies but by producing high quality drama, with Hollywood A-list casts and behind-the-camera support. A feat not managed by Sky or indeed anyone else in the UK.</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 1.5em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.5em; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Sky’s belated response to this has been not to try and re-create the formula with UK talent tub, but to import in its entirety with a rebrand of its </span></span><span class="caps" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">EPG</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> – the best channel rebrand since Dave.</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 1.5em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.5em; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">I give you Sky Atlantic.</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 1.5em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.5em; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">After its launch on 1 February, one of my </span></span><span class="caps" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">HMDG</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> colleagues announced: “I’ve series linked the whole channel… It’s that good.”</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 1.5em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.5em; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">And sure the content is superlative. From the new Boardwalk Empire and Blue Bloods, through to classic dramas like The Sopranos and Entourage, to the genius that is Curb Your Enthusiasm… and that is before the new series of Mad Men even starts.</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 1.5em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.5em; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">But for me the real genius of Sky Atlantic is the branding – the fact that most of the content will have been conceived, written, shot and financed on the Pacific coast is irrelevant.</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 1.5em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.5em; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Sky Atlantic at a stroke makes us Brits think of the closeness of the one-sided special relationship, of NY-Lon, of US citizens finding our accent and manners sexy and suave. Had this channel been called Sky Hollywood, Sky </span></span><span class="caps" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">USA</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">, </span></span><span class="caps" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">SKY</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> America or even </span></span><span class="caps" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">HBO</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> UK, the love and affection I have heard from all corners for this new addition to the </span></span><span class="caps" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">EPG</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">would be lessened.</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 1.5em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.5em; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">So well done to Sky for the next phase of its world domination and farewell to free-to-view high quality US dramas on the </span></span><span class="caps" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">BBC</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">, </span></span><span class="caps" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">ITV</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> and Channel 4.</span></span></p></span>HMDG NEWShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00417934371301016096noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3241258274389824867.post-32355897478547737862011-01-18T14:53:00.003+00:002011-01-18T14:56:49.070+00:002011 - not as bad as 2010<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, Palatino, 'Palatino Linotype', Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; color: rgb(88, 88, 81); font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; "><p style="margin-top: 1.5em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.5em; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Greg Grimmer, partner, Hurrell Moseley Dawson & Grimmer, begs, borrows and steals predictions for the year ahead – Sorrell is going to get richer; 2011 will be the year of mobile or location-based ads or digital outdoor (maybe); MySpace will shut; and Mail Online will become bigger than bbc.co.uk/news to name just a few…</span></p><p style="margin-top: 1.5em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.5em; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">The now defunct magazine Punch used to have a long-standing joke fuelled by its readers letters about ‘not being as funny as it used to be’.</span></p><p style="margin-top: 1.5em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.5em; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">This sprang to mind as I approached my first column of 2011 and counseled opinions from inside and outside the agency on predictions for the year ahead – and found the majority ‘praying for not as bad as it has been’.</span></p><p style="margin-top: 1.5em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.5em; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Now regular Newsline readers with a long term memory may remember it is compulsory for columnists under the 1855 Publishing Act to write with their best soothsaying trends at this time of the year.</span></p><p style="margin-top: 1.5em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.5em; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">As I approach the end of my third year at </span><span class="caps" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">HMDG</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> and not coincidentally my third year as a MediaTel columnist, I thought I wouldn’t repeat my mistakes of previous years and try to predict wider media trends or latest technology trends but would instead beg, borrow and steal predictions from industry friends, media acquaintances and people who work at digital companies that think they know me.</span></p><p style="margin-top: 1.5em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.5em; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">But of course any prediction column has to start with advertising’s favourite white knight, Sir Martin Sorrell. Over the years he has enraptured city analysts and media journalists alike with tales of bath tubs, double dips and, more recently, clever acronyms no doubt dreamt up by Adam Smith’s team of boffins in </span><span class="caps" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">WPP</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> HQ . From </span><span class="caps" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">BRIC</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">’s to </span><span class="caps" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">LUV</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">to </span><span class="caps" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">LUVVY</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">, how we have laughed .</span></p><p style="margin-top: 1.5em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.5em; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Well I have a predicted acronym for Sir Martin (</span><span class="caps" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">SMS</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">) in 2011 – B-O-N-U-S.</span></p><p style="margin-top: 1.5em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.5em; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">With the </span><span class="caps" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">WPP</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> share price up from 350p to near 800p in the last two years, it acts as a great barometer for the wider marketing services business. And whilst the city is sometimes slow to recognise the value of people asset businesses, it loves the cash generated by the media machine of GroupM and the smart acquisition of data and digital businesses (the latest of which Blue State digital was credited with Obama’s successful fundraising campaign in 2008).</span></p><p style="margin-top: 1.5em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.5em; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">So </span><span class="caps" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">SMS</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> is going to get richer, but what of the rest of us…</span></p><p style="margin-top: 1.5em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.5em; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Well, my friend John has just launched a mobile business and he thinks 2011 is going to be the year of mobile. My friend Dave has launched a location specific advertising business and thinks location targeting is going to be the next big thing. My mate Lisa works in digital outdoor and guarantees me that this is the year it will come of age. And my friend Damian works at Google…!</span></p><p style="margin-top: 1.5em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.5em; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">My last column talked about the hegemony of the big brands in the web space – Google, Facebook, Amazon etc. However, another prediction for 2011 from just about everyone I have spoken to is that new businesses will continue to appear apace in the web space.</span></p><p style="margin-top: 1.5em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.5em; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Whether </span><span class="caps" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">ANY</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> of these will end up with sustainable business models is a more moot point. At a recent technology fair I met a dozen or so developers who had no plans for revenue but a fantastic sales pitch for VC’s and other investors. The sage who wrote The Geek Shall Inherit the Earth forgot to mention that a computer science degree from Stanford isn’t necessarily accompanied by a modicum of business (or indeed common) sense.</span></p><p style="margin-top: 1.5em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.5em; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">So, back to predictions for 2011 and my New Year chats with members of our media family:</span></p><p style="margin-top: 1.5em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.5em; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">A leading figure at News Corp: “MySpace will shut, and save us money.”<br />Media agency </span><span class="caps" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">CEO</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">: “We will not pitch this year.”<br />Marketing director: “I will reduce the number of agencies I use.”<br />Creative director: “We’ll crack digital by learning that it isn’t just uploading the TV ad to YouTube.”<br />Sales director: “We will seek to do a small number of big deals direct with clients.”<br />General optimism (even from the first contributor) was the overall feeling – and one that is mirrored in the </span><span class="caps" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">FTSE</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">, the ad revenue predictions from the major groupings and even some high street retailers (woes of snow notwithstanding).</span></p><p style="margin-top: 1.5em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.5em; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">However, to end with some of my own more fanciful predictions:</span></p><p style="margin-top: 1.5em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.5em; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Mail Online will become a bigger online news provider than the </span><span class="caps" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">BBC</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">.<br />Apple will finally make peace with Adobe.<br />Sony Erickson will stop making phone handsets.<br />Simon Cowell will get a knighthood.<br />The UK will start to become Olympics crazy.<br />And the one prediction that is guaranteed to come true – this time next year everyone will be looking forward not backwards. I hope your year proves to be better than the last one!</span></p><p style="margin-top: 1.5em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.5em; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p></span>HMDG NEWShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00417934371301016096noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3241258274389824867.post-7692164657347247512010-12-03T17:06:00.000+00:002010-12-03T17:07:34.419+00:00Antler appoints HMDG to global advertising account<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, Palatino, 'Palatino Linotype', Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; color: rgb(88, 88, 81); font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; "><p style="margin-top: 1.5em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 12px; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.5em; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">Premium luggage brand Antler is delighted to announce that after a<br />competitive pitch it has appointed the London-based advertising<br />agency </span><span class="caps" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 12px; vertical-align: baseline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">HMDG</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"> (Hurrell, Moseley, Dawson & Grimmer) to its global<br />advertising business. The review follows the acquisition of the Antler<br />business by private equity firm </span><span class="caps" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 12px; vertical-align: baseline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">LDC</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"> (Lloyds Development Capital) in<br />the spring of this year.</span></p><p style="margin-top: 1.5em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 12px; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.5em; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">Antler, which is headquartered in the UK and has offices in North<br />America and China, is marketed around the world. In the UK it trades<br />with major retailers such as John Lewis, House of Fraser and<br />Selfridges plus hundreds of independent stores as well as its own<br />retail shops.</span></p><p style="margin-top: 1.5em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 12px; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.5em; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">Next year Antler will launch a major new integrated marketing<br />campaign, having already become a partner of the Virgin Racing<br />Formula One team in 2010.</span></p><p style="margin-top: 1.5em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 12px; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.5em; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">David Benjamin, Managing Director of Antler said:<br />The Antler brand has not invested in significant and high profile<br />marketing activity for some years. With a new range of exceptional<br />products coming to market we are ready to remind everybody of<br />Antlerʼs great product strengths.<br />This is the start of a new chapter for one of Britainʼs best loved brands</span></p><p style="margin-top: 1.5em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 12px; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.5em; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">Nick Hurrell, partner at </span><span class="caps" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 12px; vertical-align: baseline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">HMDG</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"> said:<br />Antler is a famous British brand, and with new private equity backing it<br />is ready dramatically to accelerate its marketing activity. We are<br />delighted to have been picked to go with Antler on that journey.</span></p><p style="margin-top: 1.5em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 12px; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.5em; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">About Antler<br />Antler has been in the premium luggage business for over 80 years<br />and has maintained its UK leading market position by<br />following strict principles of design, quality and innovation whilst<br />always assuring maximum product functionality. Recent<br />changes in airline regulations have led to the development of a new<br />generation of super lightweight and cabin friendly<br />products which Antler are now introducing to markets across the<br />world.</span></p></span>HMDG NEWShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00417934371301016096noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3241258274389824867.post-39114543426748672052010-11-29T16:36:00.002+00:002010-11-29T16:45:31.072+00:00Facebook’s recent launches may have run Foursquare out of town.<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">Many thousands of moons ago in the digital world (about 2006). I used to have a theory about social networking sites. This theory was that they had a half life, a bit like a piece of radioactive waste. The theory stood up quite well for a season of conference speeches, as Friends Reunited, Bebo, Second Life (I like to think my ’get yourself a first life’ comment helped this particular site’s demise) and even the mighty MySpace lost favour with their previously fanatical users.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">Then along came Facebook, and I needed another theory (or a longer time span to judge it by.)</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><div>However as The Social Network was going big and hitting Hollywood, the latest piece of mass owned technology (geo-tagging on smart phones) was spawning a number of threats to Facebook. Gowalla, Rummble, Foursquare and numerous other location based services have been gaining traction by getting users to Check in their location via their smart phones in order to let their friends, fans or mere digital acquaintances know their whereabouts.</div><div><br /></div><div>Bright Young Things</div><div><br /></div><div>Briefly Foursquare has been the digerati’s new favourite social app. I was staggered to hear that over 4500 people earned an ’Epic Swarm’ badge by checking in simultaneously at a recent American Football game, until I realised that it was a 49er’s game in San Francisco down the road from Silicon Valley and smart phone penetration was probably about 200%. Therefore the market usage figure for Foursquare was disappointingly low!</div><div><br /></div><div>Then in August this year Facebook Places was launched. Has Facebook Places killed Foursquare dead overnight?</div><div><br /></div><div>I used to run a media company full of bright young things who had already binned Facebook as too mass, and not cool (read “geeky”) enough for their liking.</div><div><br /></div><div>No doubt this lot will be part of the five million current users of Foursquare and will for the time being carry on gathering “Mayorships” and earning badges.</div><div><br /></div><div>The problem for Foursquare is that the launch of Facebook Places will not only stall its consumer growth plans - as Facebook Places is automatically added to Facebook profiles - its companion service Facebook Deals also drives a sledgehammer through Foursquare’s commercial aspirations. (Don’t feel too sorry for Foursquare’s founders, who took out $4.6m in the last round of funding).</div><div><br /></div><div>Facebook has spend the last five years getting brands to set up pages and fan bases. These communities can now be carefully harvested and the investment payback started through offering Facebook Deals to those checking in.</div><div><br /></div><div>Freedom of choice</div><div><br /></div><div>So is this the future for new brands on the web? Launch, wait for one of the big boys to copy your best bits and deliver it seamlessly to their larger audience base, then quietly drift into the ethersphere and a become a distant memory? It wasn’t supposed to be this way.</div><div><br /></div><div>Wasn’t the internet supposed to encourage freedom, proliferation of brands and consumer choice? The actuality is that it is dominated by a hegemony of superbrands: Google, Facebook, Apple, Amazon. The web is increasingly offering consumers a parsimonious choice of suppliers.</div><div><br /></div><div>Forget Chris Anderson’s long tail. Consumer herd mentality has meant that the internet is like a docked Weimaraner. Nothing wagging here except tongues in Mountain View.</div><div><br /></div><div>Talking of Google, the recent news of Facebook launching an email service is perhaps harder to understand than its launch of Places. There is already messaging and chat on the service and by Zuckerberg’s own admission, kids don’t use email.</div><div><br /></div><div>But if Google’s failed social network Buzz was a shot across Facebook’s bow then the announcement of the email service for all 500 million Facebook account holders is a broadside against the Big G.</div><div><br /></div><div>Those that have seen recent user stats from the USA will have seen Facebook overtake Google in terms of time spent with each brand. The addition of Places, Deals and now mail will have ramifications in even the most powerful board rooms of the West Coast.</div><div><br /></div><div>So back to the death of Foursquare.</div><div><br /></div><div>The good thing with Foursquare is that users still have the control in the way they communicate their location other people in their network. You can still check-in in secret, just for your own amusement.</div><div><br /></div><div>Facebook Places current set up means that you subject all of your friends to your updates all of the time, spammer status assured. Unless your friends switch off their notifications (of which there are already detailed guides on how to do on YouTube) your status updates all automatically.</div><div><br /></div><div>A previous oft quoted rule of website creation was, if you do one thing, do it well. For a limited constituency of Foursquare users then this rule may prevail.</div><div><br /></div><div>Now I’m off to oust Rina our own pet digerati as Mayor of HMDG.</div><div><br /></div><div>Original article can be found in <a href="http://www.marketingweek.co.uk/disciplines/digital/how-facebook-will-become-mayor-of-the-square/3021021.article">Marketing Week</a>.</div></span></div>HMDG NEWShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00417934371301016096noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3241258274389824867.post-62289008237310051902010-11-08T16:44:00.001+00:002010-11-11T16:46:45.151+00:00Life's a pitch<span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">8 November 2010 by Greg Grimmer </span></span><p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Greg Grimmer, partner, Hurrell Moseley Dawson & Grimmer, talks pitches: “Bad news, say goodbye to your social life, friends and family, you are going to spend the next three, four or maybe even six weeks producing endless data and charts that my boss will throw away 24 hours before the pitch to make up his own version that the client will hate and violently disagree with”…</span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">As we approach the silly seasonal time of the year and the awards season takes full hold of the marketing world’s social life, I thought it was time to reflect on another year of client/agency pitches and the enormous time and emotional cost that these sometimes fruitless exercises inflict upon the marketing supplier world.</span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">For anyone that has spent time in an ad agency, media agency or digital agency (and there seems to be a growing number of people on the media owner side of the fence who have done) they will remember the dread of their manager wandering over to their desk with an awkward smile on their face and proclaiming: “Good news you are working on the so and so pitch”…</span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Reading between the lines what they really mean is: “Bad news, say goodbye to your social life, friends and family, you are going to spend the next three, four or maybe even six weeks producing endless data and charts that my boss will throw away 24 hours before the pitch to make up his own version that the client will hate and violently disagree with.”</span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">It didn’t always used to be like this. I, like others of my era, used to view new business as a preferential hobby, one that challenged you to look at new markets and gave you a chance to impress the boss, get a pay rise and have a night out on the lash (win or lose)… So why the change?</span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Well part of this shift can be blamed on the economy – my business partner Nick Hurrell has a great line on this when he says we are looking for clients who are looking to get married, not ones that are coming out of a messy divorce… meaning that the best clients appoint a new agency to start something new, not to leave something bad.</span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">However, I was drawn to the recent YouView creative pitch, where you can’t help noticing the chaos surrounding the creative appointment of Adam and Eve. This was after a big headline in the trade press saying that <span class="caps">CHI</span> had been appointed but lost the business because of a clash with their TalkTalk business, and among rumours that <span class="caps">RCY</span>+R were also close to the appointment but fell down because of their <span class="caps">BBC</span> ties. Somewhere in the process, <span class="caps">OMD</span> got appointed despite their (or maybe because of their) long standing relationship with Channel 4.</span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">What a mess, and this was a client without an incumbent! Now I’m sure there is no one party to blame in this case and we have all worked on pitches where there seem to be underhand practices at play, but usually the winning agency and client senior team get to work well moving forward. However, for the winning agency team it is often the case of one thing worse than losing a pitch is winning a pitch…</span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">So, what are the other causes of this general pitch malaise? My agency <span class="caps">HMDG</span> was recently tipped off by one of the many pitch brokers that exist in the sector that our credentials, approach, and work were liked by a client and to expect to be included in the pitch list. Four weeks down the line, after supplying copious documents and case studies, we were informed that as a young company without the necessary bureaucratic processes in place we were unable to proceed. A bit like the clash situation, it seems to be an excuse. “No we don’t have any live fashion business and neither did we at the start of the process six weeks ago so why put us through the mill!”… “Yes we handle one of your minor competitors in Asia and have done since you first asked us to pitch!”… Irritating and annoying but too often excuses given by the client procurement team at the end of an unsuccessful process.</span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Now any sales professionals reading this will probably be thinking get over yourself Greg. We have to pitch daily (to often poorly prepared or non existent agency briefs) and it is true, sales teams have to pitch constantly and will undoubtedly suffer disappointment more often than not. This is one reason that despite being one of the more sales orientated agency folk, I still doff my cap to those on the other side of the fence, the job you do is tough. This notwithstanding, the fundamental difference is that agency pitches normally have to produce bespoke content for each and every pitch and media owners will normally re-cycle the majority of the content. Also on the agency side, a field of 10 will only produce one winner, whereas there can be multiple winners on the media owner side.</span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">So what can be done? Well better understanding the procurement industry remains a goal for most of the agency new business people I know. Also, being clearer, stronger and better prepared for the pitches you do want to participate in must be a prerequisite… (I remember gaining more respect from my management team after walking away from a pitch than I ever did for winning one). It is the life blood of any business and especially in agency life, as my first creative director told me very early on in my advertising career. There’s only one thing guaranteed in advertising, you will lose business!</span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">This cheerful ditty keeps me going on the new business trail, looking for those clients who want ambitious, forward thinking work for their business. The pitch won’t go away but try and enjoy it and don’t treat it as a punishment – it should be a chance to recommend new things and have some fun in the process.</span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">So, life’s a pitch but then you try (and try again)…</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">http://mediatel.co.uk/newsline/2010/11/08/lifes-a-pitch/<br /></span></p>HMDG NEWShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00417934371301016096noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3241258274389824867.post-51114217654371455842010-10-19T11:28:00.000+01:002010-10-20T11:33:06.730+01:00Interview with girl-next-door Joanna Page as she lands her first modelling gig<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibtI2HQQ6Tq1izgeVODJ8bc59aBlI-toeWZeGb4STspSQwukQUwXXfJf7dW5CO4M0cz9s3hf6PcGMepf5YKHg5xPveGk693WTKHxsLCIIj6k78Sk5q4S6vDqtOXKb23B7D-1wtb9GM1G8/s1600/joanne-page--z.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 315px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibtI2HQQ6Tq1izgeVODJ8bc59aBlI-toeWZeGb4STspSQwukQUwXXfJf7dW5CO4M0cz9s3hf6PcGMepf5YKHg5xPveGk693WTKHxsLCIIj6k78Sk5q4S6vDqtOXKb23B7D-1wtb9GM1G8/s400/joanne-page--z.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5530073807947919490" border="0" /></a><br />She was the epitome of the girl-next-door in <em>Gavin and Stacey</em>, but beneath the cheery smile and bubbly persona hid cheekbones like a pair of chicken fillets and the smooth, clear skin of a child.<br /><br />Which is presumably what Superdrug saw when they decided to make <a href="http://www.hellomagazine.com/profiles/joanna-page/">Joanna Page</a> their new face and star of the brand's new TV ad campaign.<br /><br />We caught up with Joanna, 33, who's married to <em>Emmerdale</em> star James Thornton, 34, to try to find the key to her natural beauty (we’re sure it helps that even her dad moisturises!).<br /><br /><br /><br /><strong>I see myself as down to earth, quite simple, tomboyish.</strong> James sees me as really feminine and sparky and positive – a bright, shining star.<br /><br /><strong>I looked at myself the other day and thought, 'Am I ever going to age?'</strong> My mum's nearly 60 and she looks really good and my dad and all his sisters all look really dinky and really, really young. I think I've got their genes. I hardly drink and I've never smoked, but I do sunbathe because I love it when my freckles come out.<br /><br /><strong>I never dreamed of modelling.</strong> I'm comfy in front of the camera, being an actress, but this is a dream come true. I wouldn't wear make-up to go to college, but I'd dress up as different people. So to have the opportunity now to do this with Superdrug and pose in front of the camera is just so much fun. To have bright red lips and smoky eyes and have my hair done and then just stand there and pout is brilliant.<br /><br /><strong>Superdrug Vitamin E Illuminating Moisture Cream is absolutely amazing.</strong> It's not expensive at all, it smells of holidays and it just illuminates your face – Mum can vouch for this because she lathers it on all over her body. It gives you a glow and really wakes you up.<br /><br /><strong>I'm naturally blonde.</strong> My dad's 58 and he’s still got blonde hair and it's thick with a bit of a wave – perfect hair. My mother has got really fine, rubbish hair. I've got her hair, in Dad's colour.<br /><br /><strong>My dad uses Nivea and my mum used to use Oil of Ulay.</strong> She used to tell me always to put moisturiser on with an upward movement so you don't pull the skin and not to forget your neck and your chest. And to backcomb your hair to make it look a bit thicker. That's what I've inherited from her! And positivity – being ambitious, believing in yourself and not worrying about what other people think about you.<br /><br /><strong>I've never dieted or had a problem with my weight. </strong>But now I'm in my 30s, I think it's important to start working out, not just to look good, but for your heart. You forget about that, don't you. But I'm getting older now and should be in my prime. If I'm going to get really fit, it has to be now.<br /><br /><strong>I'll be guaranteed to do something at least three times a week,</strong> even if it's just doing 50 sit-ups before I go to bed or a few press-ups when I get up or taking the dog for a run down to the newsagents or going for a swim. As long as you do something that gets your heart going every day.<br /><br /><strong>I don't know if they’re doing any more <em>Gavin and Stacey</em> Christmas specials.</strong> We'll never do a new series but I wouldn’t be surprised if I got a phone call in a couple of years to say we’re doing another special and that would be really nice. I love working with them all; they’re so much fun. It would be lovely for us all to meet up, have a laugh and spend a few weeks messing around.<br /><br />See the full article at <a href="http://www.hellomagazine.com/healthandbeauty/201010194339/joanne-page/interview/superdrug/1/">Hello!</a>HMDG NEWShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00417934371301016096noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3241258274389824867.post-1891787355173776922010-10-12T17:46:00.003+01:002010-10-12T17:55:00.220+01:00Who the XXXX is Clare Enders?<p><span style="font-style: italic;">...Or to put it another way - "where has the media voice of the agency world gone?" asks HMDG's</span> <span style="font-weight: bold;">Greg Grimmer.</span><br /></p><p>It has come to my attention over the last few months that we have a new 'Empress of Media'. Regular readers of MediaTel Newsline, or <em>MediaGuardian</em> or <em>MediaWeek</em> or indeed virtually anywhere will have seen Enders Analysis, and more specifically Claire Enders, proclaiming regularly and bluntly about all things media.</p> <p>Now I myself am not shy of a bit of self promotion, happy to turn up at the opening of (selective) media envelopes, and speak at conferences, weddings, and barmitzfah's, but Ms Enders is making me seem like a recluse. She is everywhere and not shy of making a few enemies along the way.</p><p>Now I have never met Claire but mutual acquaintances have told me she is sharp, clever, funny and enjoys being the centre of attention (obviously!) and that she is running a successful business - but why has she suddenly become the doyenne of the media circuit? And more to the point, why is it that she has been the lone media voice in areas where we would expect to hear from our trade bodies and media super groups?</p> <p>In fact it is not just the media circuit - the ubiquitous Enders can even be seen at House of Commons' select committees criticising government ministers' naivety and lack of basic media understanding. However, Ms Enders' latest move is the one that has really caught my eye - she is taking on big Rupe himself. The News Corp Evil Empire. I am envisioning Enders in Princess Leia plaits and Big Rupe dressed up in his best Darth Vader kit. Surely this is not a battle of equals?</p> <p>Now running a 'small business' (Companies House definition not mine) registered in Dundee, I can see the business benefit for Claire and her eponymous firm of creating waves and column inches out of not just their reports and forecasts but also her occasional fight-picking abilities (she has proved several times that she isn't scared of the big boys). But normally her forthright views are on old media's habit of tying up capital in fixed assets, or new media's obsession with forgetting to remember the lessons of history.</p> <p>This time she is just trying to stop a seemingly smart piece of corporate manoeuvring by a media maven, or at least raise some serious questions about it. However, the real reason that I am perplexed by Enders asking the government to investigate News Corporation's purchase of the remainder of the BSkyB shares that it doesn't currently own, is the fact that this significant piece of media lobbying is being fronted by a small management consultancy and not by the normal media establishment of the IPA, ISBA, or indeed the media agency super groups who have obvious client interests to protect.</p> <p>I remember Chris Locke, now of the great media buying behemoth VivaKi, then of Mediavest, writing an amusing piece in <em>MediaWeek</em> after the now defunct consultancy Michaelides and Bednash won 'Media Agency of the Year'. Chris argued that as they spend no money on media they could not possibly be the agency of the year. And if M+B could win, then so could his mum as she spends nothing on media either.</p> <p>In another memory recall test, I remember the Monopolies and Mergers Committee investigating the potential power of Rank Screen Advertising when they got to about 80% of the cinema advertising market - a media that was then, as now, less than 1% of the total expenditure in the UK market. It was big news - media directors in advertising agencies got animated about the subject.</p> <p>There was a similar noise around about the same time Rupert Murdoch took control of the failing mid-market tabloid <em>Today</em> from the union-busting Eddie Shah. The advertising world was nervous of the increasing might of the Murdoch media stable and activated both regulatory bodies and lobbying groups to monitor the deal's progress.</p> <p>Today - some weeks after Enders' document was mailed to Vince Cable, where it apparently lay un-opened for some time, the rest of the newspaper industry has come together to petition the business secretary... but why the deafening silence from the media agency establishment when News Corporation are adding to their power once again? Are the likes of GroupM and OPera content with Claire Enders doing their work for them, or is the IPA Media Futures Committee (dominated by the CEO's of all the major buying agencies that equate for about 85% of all money spent on media in the UK) about to pronounce on the subject of Sky's ownership? Will Enders Analysis be able to rest easy as both TV viewers and advertisers have their interests looked after by those that control the income streams to the majority of Murdoch's empire?</p> <p>Or are we now in an era where the major agency groups are too cosy with the major media owners and deals have been struck across boundaries away from the influence or control of a single government?</p> <p>Surely that couldn't happen today in our egalitarian web-based economy... well maybe not, but of course that is a web that is basically run by three companies - Google, Apple and Microsoft.</p> <p>And Claire, if you are reading this, I'm sure I wont have to remind you of the wise words of Mr Wilde - "there's only one thing worse than being talked about..."</p><p>See the article in full at <a href="http://mediatel.co.uk/newsline/2010/10/12/who-the-fk-is-claire-enders/">MediaTel</a><br /></p>HMDG NEWShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00417934371301016096noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3241258274389824867.post-57040262773223162302010-10-07T09:37:00.007+01:002010-10-07T09:55:37.865+01:00'We're just like Gavin and Stacey': Actress Joanna Page on her long-distance marriageBy Jane Gordon<br /><br />Bubbly blonde actress Joanna Page talks (and talks and talks) to Jane Gordon about being mistaken for her Gavin & Stacey alter-ego, falling for her heart-throb husband, <span style="font-weight: bold;">and a teasing new TV ad</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-MJeFpp5GhvgmsrGytTV5PAbfeHB-xGSH2xq4n9Y0T3tpBot_YjyVu_ov4mnq9CZncOftAzwefgkWXA-bENiDGd69Ynf5InH6kBkGZFmS4Dsjggg34d-uwgwCru3tP6FJq446ypKwkgY/s1600/Joanna+Page.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 330px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-MJeFpp5GhvgmsrGytTV5PAbfeHB-xGSH2xq4n9Y0T3tpBot_YjyVu_ov4mnq9CZncOftAzwefgkWXA-bENiDGd69Ynf5InH6kBkGZFmS4Dsjggg34d-uwgwCru3tP6FJq446ypKwkgY/s400/Joanna+Page.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5525223884324911506" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />It’s difficult t<span style="font-family:georgia;">o work out who came first – the actress Joanna Page or the character Stacey Shipman (née West) that she p</span>layed so successfully through three series of Gavin & Stacey. Listening to Joanna talking at breakneck speed in her lilting Swansea brogue – about everything from her dog Daisy’s indigestion to her childhood love of boiled egg and soldiers – is rather like tuning in to a lost episode of the series that turned her from a serious actress (she has worked with the RSC and the National Theatre) into a comedy star and a Welsh national treasure.<br /><br />‘I never thought the time would come when it would be cool to be Welsh. When I was at Rada I learned to do Irish, Scottish and English accents, but nobody ever wanted to hear Welsh and I am so proud to be in the show that made it happen. I love it, I love my accent and I love being part of the new Welsh mafia. There’s Ruth Jones, Rob Brydon, Charlotte Church, Katherine Jenkins and Matthew Rhys who was at Rada with me and is now a huge star in the States. Oh my God, it’s amazing!’ she says.<br /><br />Joanna punctuates almost everything she says with ‘Oh my God!’ Or ‘It’s amazing’ (and sometimes both) in a way that should be irritating but somehow isn’t. The 32-year-old actress is so enthusiastic that she can even inject sparkle into childhood recollections of visits to the Swansea branch of Superdrug (we meet to talk about her new role as the ‘face’ of the high-street retailer in a major advertising campaign). Much more intelligent than Stacey, she was urged by her Mumbles comprehensive to apply for Oxbridge but was determined to go to drama school. If she does resent the fact that she has become synonymous in the public consciousness with her TV character (who also said ‘Oh my God’ and ‘It’s amazing’ a lot), she’s not saying. Instead she emphasises the positive effect it has had on her life.<br /><br />‘People really do think I am Stacey. Someone said to me the other day that they were watching Love Actually on TV and they hadn’t realised “Stacey” was in it. I said, “No, Stacey isn’t in it, I am in it.” But I don’t mind because people loved the show,’ she says with a good-natured grin.<br /><br />It isn’t the first time that Joanna’s real personality has been confused with that of a role she played on TV. Her husband, the actor James Thornton (heart-throb farmer John Barton in Emmerdale), 34, fell in love with her at a screening of the 1999 TV dramatisation of David Copperfield, in which they both appeared but never actually worked together. ‘He fell in love with my character Dora, and he thought that I would be this very posh person with a very, very English accent who would think that he was a bit of rough,’ she says, laughing at the idea.<br /><br />For her part, it was watching him – as Ham Peggotty – pull the young David Copperfield (played by a ten-year-old Daniel Radcliffe) on to his shoulders that prompted her to say to her mum, ‘I want that man to be the father of my children.’ But the couple didn’t actually meet until Joanna’s actress friend Maxine Peake called her to say that she was working at the National Theatre with someone who said he was in love with her.<br /><br />‘By that time I had also seen James in Playing the Field, in which he was this moody, arrogant football coach who rode a motorbike and wore leathers and I thought, “Oh my God, he is so sexy.” When we met I was terrified that he wouldn’t like the real me because I wasn’t Dora. The first thing he said to me was, “You look different.” He told me later he honestly thought I was going to be in a pink ballgown. But once we got over that we just didn’t stop talking.’<br /><br />Joanna talks so fluently and so fast (she says it’s to cover up for her shyness) that it is difficult to imagine how James (whom she describes as ‘Northern and brooding and very much like Heathcliff’) ever manages to get a word in edgeways. ‘When we are out I talk and talk and talk, and people always think that he is very quiet, but when we go home and I can relax I don’t need to talk and he starts up. Do you know what we argue about? The fact that he interrupts me, talks over me and doesn’t let me get a word in edgeways in the house,’ she says.<br /><br />An only child, Joanna was encouraged to act at the age of seven by her parents (her father is a mechanic and her mother works in financial services) to overcome her shyness, and she believes that the success of her relationship with James – they married in December 2003 – is down to the fact that they come from close ‘ordinary’ families (his in Yorkshire, hers in Swansea) and share the same work ethic, values and opinions. Ambitious and careful with money, the couple have built up an impressive property portfolio of buy-to-let flats in Wales, Yorkshire, Bulgaria and even Brazil, to give them financial security against any downturn in their careers. Their main base is a house in East Dulwich, South London, which they share with her ‘surrogate baby’, Daisy the jack russell. And their latest purchase is a small flat in Leeds that will be a home from home for James when he is filming Emmerdale.<br /><br />‘It’s a long-distance relationship now – a bit like Gavin & Stacey when they first met. James is up there all week, then he will come home on Friday and go back on Sunday. But we are both busy and it works because it’s always fresh. I am always excited when he comes home.’<br /><br />She laughs when I suggest that they could become a power couple – a British Brangelina perhaps – insisting that their lives are so ‘cosy’ and dull that the only shots the paparazzi would get of them would be, ‘Oh my God! Us sitting on the sofa eating a takeaway and watching a DVD.’<br /><br />They are clearly supportive of each other’s careers. Since James joined Emmerdale he’s acquired a growing female fanbase (she says as many people now stop him for pictures and autographs as stop her), but despite spending so much time apart they have complete trust in one another.<br /><br />Earlier this year James was knocked down in an accident near their home, which left him with a broken leg and a head injury. ‘He crossed the road – it was night time – and a car came from nowhere and he went right over the bonnet, breaking his leg and smashing his head. He was still conscious and the first thing he did was call me on his mobile and I rushed down – there was blood everywhere but I was surprisingly very calm. I went with him in the back of the ambulance and it was all rather surreal – he wanted me to take pictures. They were sewing him up – as an actor he was worried that scarring might affect his work – and I was filming him on my phone. It was like an episode of Casualty,’ she says.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwccTrQu0O5SIfuxRgeXWISE01yHGodxdEyvNMv4MuWANcXkVHNZHKD4e6xBZR7q4VbwW2DBrGRrhlL2RblnDcf6F5Vvceoj669FJz0bRqqwjE_taOGIFwgf2s9lifEUsVnjfkL5mBTTE/s1600/article-1315922-0B2A4A49000005DC-678_233x358.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 233px; height: 358px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwccTrQu0O5SIfuxRgeXWISE01yHGodxdEyvNMv4MuWANcXkVHNZHKD4e6xBZR7q4VbwW2DBrGRrhlL2RblnDcf6F5Vvceoj669FJz0bRqqwjE_taOGIFwgf2s9lifEUsVnjfkL5mBTTE/s400/article-1315922-0B2A4A49000005DC-678_233x358.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5525224188936893410" border="0" /></a>Tiny – she is just 5ft 1in – and impossibly pretty, with perfect skin and naturally blonde hair, Joanna looks closer to 22 than 32 (she says that a taxi driver who picked her up from home the other day asked if James was her dad). Dressed today in a Whistles frock (since she turned 30, Whistles and Reiss have taken over from Topshop as her favourites), she admits a particular weakness for handbags. ‘I don’t smoke, I only ever have the odd glass of wine, I don’t go clubbing. The only vice I have is shopping. I bought this Marc Jacobs – a real splurge – a couple of days ago,’ she says, lovingly showing off her new purchase.<br /><br />She counts the entire cast of Gavin & Stacey as friends and is particularly close to Ruth Jones (who texts her during the interview) and Alison Steadman. (She is fond of ‘the boys’, James Corden and Mathew Horne, but rarely sees them.) There will, she thinks, be the occasional Gavin & Stacey special but no fourth series.<br /><br />‘A job like that comes once in a lifetime – brilliant scripts and brilliant people to work with. When they said “That’s a wrap” on the last show<br />I went back to my hotel and sobbed for two hours,’ she says wistfully. ‘Later I saw Ruth and both our faces were swollen from crying so much. Oh my God! We looked like frogs.’<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Joanna’s role in the new Superdrug advertising campaign, promoting the company’s beauty and grooming products, has the potential to be as popular and long-running as Gavin & Stacey. Joanna and Ben Heathcote play a couple newly in love, in an on-screen relationship that is planned to develop in rather the way of Jane and Adam in the BT ads or the 80s Gold Blend campaign.</span> There are other roles too – presenting Sky’s My Pet Shame, a stint in panto in Milton Keynes this Christmas (Dick Whittington, with Luke Perry as King Rat) and a part in a forthcoming episode of ITV’s Marple called The Blue Geranium.<br /><br />‘Oh my God! I am obsessed by Agatha Christie – my favourite film as a child was Death on the Nile. Being Welsh and growing up in a working-class household, it looked so English with all the costumes, it was so foreign to me: that was my idea of acting when I was growing up. When they said, “Will you be in the Miss Marple story?”, I said, “Oh my God! Of course!” I even had to find a body – although I was so overexcited when it came to the scene that instead of screaming I couldn’t stop laughing,’ she says.<br /><br />There is, she insists, no particular dream role, but she can do a convincing American accent and is as open to film parts as she is to challenges in the theatre and – perhaps – more TV presenting and voiceover work. A couple of years ago Rob Brydon – devoted father of four and a stalwart member of the Welsh mafia – told her to get on and have a baby, but there are no immediate plans for a family.<br /><br />‘Eventually I would like to have babies. There is no perfect time and I don’t like planning anything – whatever happens, happens. I have been very lucky in my career and I am sure I could fit a family round my work. James and I have this idea that in a couple of years we will sell all our properties and buy a big house in the country and then have loads of animals – dogs, sheep, pigs. And – oh my God! – maybe a baby.’<br /><br />See the full article at the <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/you/article-1315922/Joanna-Page-How-keeping-long-distance-love-alive.html">Daily Mail</a>HMDG NEWShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00417934371301016096noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3241258274389824867.post-11185196968218506582010-10-01T10:23:00.000+01:002010-10-13T10:33:25.364+01:00Superdrug makes TV comeback with a new ad<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqaUIocaxikuhtdymBAtzvzq56gPsnu3Hr_3BehHGQjF2hilH1cJhulY17_Lft52TL8XKN4Y_Pl5CtTFSopbdLMNco5iFDO0gJAR2YVjYC98yDeELAM9o8B8S7RP3TY7AfqptztwRbkns/s1600/jpage160.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 179px; height: 179px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqaUIocaxikuhtdymBAtzvzq56gPsnu3Hr_3BehHGQjF2hilH1cJhulY17_Lft52TL8XKN4Y_Pl5CtTFSopbdLMNco5iFDO0gJAR2YVjYC98yDeELAM9o8B8S7RP3TY7AfqptztwRbkns/s320/jpage160.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5527461027161692594" border="0" /></a>Superdrug has unveiled its first new television advertisement in a decade with a spot starring Gavin and Stacey actress Joanna Page. <p>The first ad airs tonight (1 October) during the Coronation Street break, and has been created by <span class="caps">HMDG</span>, who won the account following a competitive pitch earlier this year.</p> <p>The campaign will run across TV, in-store and radio during the autumn winter trading period. Media planning and buying was by Zenith Optimedia.</p> <p>John Messum, <span class="caps">HMDG</span> creative director, says: “Superdrug is changing and we’re very excited to be the ones asking people to take another look.”</p> <p>Dan Jarvis, Superdrug head of marketing, adds: “Our aim is to be the best in everyday accessible beauty and the new campaign has been created to encourage the country to come into our stores.”</p> <p>Elsewhere, Superdrug will be launching cosmetic and gift ranges under the Accessorize and Glee brands and a celebrity nail range from Andrea Fulerton later this year.</p> <p>This story first appeared on Pitch, Centaur’s subscription-based online interactive marketplace for agencies and clients to share news, opinion and debate.</p><p>See the full article on <a href="http://www.marketingweek.co.uk/disciplines/advertising/news/superdrug-makes-tv-comeback-with-a-new-ad/3018884.article">Media Week</a><br /></p>HMDG NEWShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00417934371301016096noreply@blogger.com0