The provider of affordable website hosting presents - First UK brand pages launch on Twitter

Brand pages are currently free for companies to set up and include a branded banner as well as a permanent tweet detailing a promotion or containing media at the top of the site.Asda is using the banner to advertise its "ten per cent cheaper or your money back" guarantee and has posted a YouTube clip of its latest TV ad in its permanent tweet.Meanwhile Cadbury's is using its brand page to promote its sponsorship of the Olympics by offering Twitter users the chance to win tickets to the event by clicking on its banner.The social network first launched brand pages for US companies in December 2011, with Coca-Cola and Red Bull signing up for them.In the US, brands need to commit to spending at least $25,000 on the micro-blogging site's other online advertising services, including promoted tweets and trends, before setting up their own page.On January 20th, Twitter acquired the news-aggregator service Summify with the intention of sending its users a daily roundup of the news via email on a desktop or mobile.

Source: | First UK brand pages launch on Twitter | 3 Feb 2012, 1:07 pm

The provider of affordable website hosting presents - Search, banners and videos on the rise

According to the market research firm, search advertising will continue to be the most popular form of online advertising due to the importance of search on desktop computers and mobiles.However, this channel will witness a slight decline from a 49.4 per cent of total online ad spend in 2012 to 46.9 per cent in 2016.That is because video advertising is expected to witness the most rapid growth over this period with a 7.9 per cent share of the market in 2012 compared to 15 per cent in 2016.In 2011, this form of advertising grew by 42.1 per cent and it is forecast that it will increase by another 55 per cent over the course of 2012.Meanwhile, banner ads are expected to remain prevalent in online advertising as these can be displayed on desktops and mobiles as well as alongside video ads.Online advertising in general is also predicted to be boosted by the presidential election campaign and the London 2012 Olympics.In January, the latest Bellwether Report showed that online advertising grew by 13. 9 per cent during the final quarter of 2011.

Source: | Search, banners and videos on the rise | 3 Feb 2012, 12:58 pm

The provider of affordable website hosting presents - Connected Europe

Key findings include:

1. In the EU5 (France, Germany, Italy, Spain and UK), computer usage accounted for 95.1 percent of all browser-based page views, with mobile devices accounting for a considerable 3.2 percent of all traffic. 2. Within the 4.9 percent non-computer traffic, tablets generated more than 1 in 4 non-computer page views. 3. Consumption of Mobile Media is booming. 75 percent of smartphone users in the EU5 used mobile media in October 2011, an increase of 62 percent in the past year. 4. Apple demonstrates leadership. While Nokia’s Symbian and Google’s Android currently have the highest market share amongst smartphone platforms, when combining smartphones, tablets and other devices Apple’s iOS holds the top spot, with a 30 percent share of connected devices in use. 5. Mobile retail is one of the fastest growing activities amongst smartphone users, with more than 13.6 million EU5 smartphone owners accessing a retail site in October 2011.

Source: | Connected Europe | 2 Feb 2012, 2:45 pm

The provider of affordable website hosting presents - Mobile in the Retail Store

60% of respondents have used the internet on their mobile phone whilst in a retail store and they’re most likely to use it to compare prices, look for discounts & read product reviews. 78% of mobile browsers said if a store offered free Wi-Fi they would use it and the majority would be happy for retailers to send them a promotional offers in-store via their mobile. Popularity of using discount vouchers will continue and mobile is the preferred future method of redeeming.

Source: | Mobile in the Retail Store | 2 Feb 2012, 2:41 pm

The provider of affordable website hosting presents - Broadband speeds improving in UK

The communications regulator found that the average broadband speed in the UK was 6.2Mbit/s in November/December 2010.This increased to 6.8Mbit/s in May 2011 and 7.6Mbit/s in November 2011, as consumers are moving onto higher speed packages.It was also found that 58 per cent of UK residential broadband connections had a headline or advertised speed of over 10Mbit/s compared to just 48 per cent in May 2011.However, the regulator found that four in ten households have broadband speeds of less than 10Mbit/s despite being able to get a higher speed at little or no extra cost.Ed Richards, Ofcom's chief executive, said: "It is encouraging that speeds are increasing and that consumers have a real choice of broadband service."We can look forward to further increases in UK broadband speeds over the next few years."In December 2011, BT revealed that at least 50 per cent of the British population will have access to superfast broadband by the end of 2012, as the roll-out is ahead of schedule.

Source: | Broadband speeds improving in UK | 2 Feb 2012, 1:02 pm

The provider of affordable website hosting presents - Innovation is the way to tackle digital privacy challenges

Privacy is one of the biggest public policy challenges of this digital generation.The question is a fundamental one: how do we balance consumer concerns about the collection and use of their information, while those same consumers have an insatiable appetite for digital content and services, paid for by data-driven advertising models?If that weren’t enough for industry, policymakers and regulators to tackle, we’re also faced with the challenge of implementing the revised ePrivacy Directive, a piece of EU legislation that UK Communications Minister, Ed Vaizey, described last year as a “well-meaning regulation that will be very difficult to work in practice”. It requires all organisations – big or small – to get informed consent from consumers about the use of cookies (and other technologies) to store and process information.Implemented strictly, this Directive would throw that balance out of sync. It would severely disrupt consumers’ experience of the web, and undermine online advertising. Thankfully, the UK Government has chosen a pragmatic approach, recognising that data is the ‘fuel’ of our industry’s growth. It knows that cutting it off would be short sighted and would stall the progress of our digital economy. But UK companies must still comply with the law, and the Government has been working in partnership with the industry and browser manufacturers to deliver what it calls an “ecology of solutions”.So what should businesses be doing as part of that compliance effort? And what wider lessons should we learn from this new law? There are three key things:The first is transparency. Online publishers must offer consumers clear and suitably prominent information on their sites about data collection and use. To be most useful, this needs to be contextual, such as the industry’s ‘icon’ in display ads that is now being rolled out across Europe. The icon provides users with notice of customised advertising that uses behavioural data. Advertisers, agencies and publishers should ensure that their data handler partners are fully involved in this self-regulatory programme, which has the full support of the UK Government.The second is innovation. Businesses should be adopting a ‘privacy by design’ approach to their products – empowering consumers with control tools such as preference managers and privacy dashboards, linked to transparent information, such as the advertising icon.The final thing is education. We all have a part to play in educating consumers about why data is so important to the content and services that they love; why it makes it better and more relevant; and how they are able to control its collection and use. For our part, the advertising industry will be launching a pan-European campaign to inform consumers about what the icon means, and what choices they can make in response.But I believe the broader lesson is about building trust. This law is a “wake-up call”. It is a clear signal from policymakers in Europe that the internet industry needs to show it can be trusted to police itself, using innovative tools and approaches that are fit for our fast-moving world. Securing this trust – and more importantly the trust of consumers – will ensure we have the freedom to grow our businesses for the future.

This opinion piece first appeared on New Media Age.

Source: | Innovation is the way to tackle digital privacy challenges | 2 Feb 2012, 11:16 am

The provider of affordable website hosting presents - Holiday Purchase Journey - Lastminute

A video from the IAB’s MOJO research shows us to one user’s path to purchase of a holiday, and the role digital played in the decision making. The journey was observed using GFK’s Connected Life panel, and then the respondent contacted to understand what happened offline.  

Source: | Holiday Purchase Journey - Lastminute | 1 Feb 2012, 4:16 pm

The provider of affordable website hosting presents - Video Game Purchase Journey - Skyrim & Bioshock

A video from the IAB’s MOJO research shows us to one user’s path to purchase of a video game, and the role digital played in the decision making. The journey was observed using GFK’s Connected Life panel, and then the respondent contacted to understand what happened offline.  

Source: | Video Game Purchase Journey - Skyrim & Bioshock | 1 Feb 2012, 4:13 pm