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Digital Intelligence November 2011

Wed, 30 Nov 2011 10:00:00 +0000

We're set for another record-breaking Christmas for ecommerce (14% sales growth in the UK alone), and data behind the headlines confirms major shifts in the way people shop. After many years of hype, mobile finally looks set to contribute a significant portion of sales. The growth of pods, pads, apps and iTunes helped Apple become the second biggest online retailer in the UK and in the scramble for festive shoppers' cash, eBay opened its first high street shop. 20th Century Fox started selling DVDs via QR codes on posters, and Google's strengthened its mobile wallet service as it makes the 2012 play for owning the online transaction space.

This month's news was dominated by Google. Latest expansion plans include focusing on Chrome, cloud music and social networking. With 50% of smartphones now powered by Android, the growth will help Google capture the elusive 'single sign-on'. The internet giant also offered a rare peek into how it ranks search results - with big implications for anyone planning 2012 SEO strategies. Meanwhile Microsoft, AOL and Yahoo finally managed to agree an advertising alliance; as they square up to Facebook, Apple and Google.

In social media there's new research about the phrases that boost Twitter clicks (and don't) and why people do (or don't) follow brands on social media - plus the 5 firms that control 65% of all global ad spend: can you guess who they are before reading further?
Read November 2011

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Digital Intelligence October 2011

Thu, 27 Oct 2011 13:00:01 +0000

This month’s research roundup gives more proof about the speed of mobile growth and rising social use. Worldwide mobile access is outpacing fixed-line internet access, and as India's new $40 tablet shows, the economic barriers to technology are tumbling. Global ad revenues from social media are exploding, set to surpass $5bn this year, and doubling to $10bn in 2013. In the UK, web adspend overtook TV - forcing many media agencies to rethink the weight of online vs TV in the mix for FMCG brands.

Below you’ll find how Google ramped up its analytics and encrypted user's searches by default and how Facebook beefed up its conversation management reporting, helping demystify that elusive return on social media investment. Microsoft finalised its own big social media play by securing the Skype acquisition, while Yahoo’s recovery looks unclear – lacking the budgets to acquire.

This month’s loss of Steve Jobs touched us all and united the digital industry. As chief architect of ground-breakers like Mac, iPod, iPhone and iPad, Jobs had a knack for knowing what consumers wanted, before they did. He leaves a huge void not just in Apple, but in digital innovation.

Read October 2011

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Digital Intelligence September 2011

Fri, 30 Sep 2011 10:00:38 +0000

Is Facebook destined to become the next AOL? This month saw the social network transform into a media hub, realising Zuckerberg's strategy of positioning Facebook as an "Internet within the Internet". The move has worked for games, providing huge ad revenues and rich demographic data yields, but will users be happy to watch Netflix films, stream Spotify playlists and read eBooks within Facebook's site? Or is it too similar to AOL's doomed "walled garden" strategy of the early noughties?

This month saw Google take the revamped Google+ public, buying Groupon rival Daily Deal and unveiling its potentially revolutionary Wallet service in the US. Meanwhile, Twitter's new analytics tool could help marketers shed light on the dark art of social media ROI, and the relationship between retweets and revenue on the micro-blogging site.

September also provided some prime examples of how not to get ahead in digital media. Yahoo fired fiery boss Bartz over the phone, leaving the former dotcom darling looking for a buyer. RIM saw its profits collapse as Blackberry lost its grip on the mobile market, and newly bought MySpace has been forced to postpone its grand launch. Award for worst CRM of the month goes to Netflix, which fumbled a re-branding and re-pricing strategy that outraged customers and forced a humble YouTube apology from the CEO, which you can view in all its wince-inducing glory below.

On the research side, we've got some telling stats on mobile broadband this month. 1 in 10 of eBay's customers now buy via mobiles, while the UN found that over 10% world population now has mobile broadband. Food for thought for anyone doubting the potential of mobile...

Read September 2011

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Is Yahoo looking for the answers in all the wrong places?

Thu, 08 Sep 2011 16:53:53 +0000

As Yahoo ousts another CEO, it’s clear that problem is with the portal and not the person…

UK Parliament uses online gaming to build citizenship

Thu, 08 Sep 2011 13:11:17 +0000

It’s a smart use of digital from an increasingly cutting edge team: UK Parliament’s latest online game invites young people to put themselves in the Prime Ministerial hot-seat and find out if they have what it takes to run the country. Danny Meadows-Klue reckons it’s a perfect example of right media channel, right content, driven from the right communications objectives. Here’s why…

Digital Intelligence August 2011

Thu, 01 Sep 2011 10:00:19 +0000

Who says August's the quiet month for news? Here in the UK, riots revealed the worst and best of social media: large-scale looting was organised at least in part via secure Blackberry Messenger, while large-scale clean-ups were enabled through Twitter hashtags. Watching criminals exploit the privacy of BBM was as depressing as the relief felt from watching the publicly spirited clean-up. All a strong reminder that social activism through social media and messenger tools will be a permanent feature of society from now on whether in Libya or London.

Digital media battle lines continue to shift, as Google became a fully-fledged mobile maker after the Motorola acquisition, and a fully-fledged TV platform with the UK announcement of Google TV. Facebook got serious about location, dropping 'Places' for a universal location tagging system, adding mobile messaging in its bid to stifle Twitter and FourSquare, and ramping up its privacy along the way.

On a sad note, Apple lost its 'rock star nerd', as Steve Jobs stepped away from the helm. Jobs is a true digital revolutionary who pioneered game-changers like the iPod, iPhone and iPad - a real icon of our times who has materially affected all of us. While Apple's strategy looks confident to continue, we're still unconvinced by the shock moves at heavyweight tech firm Hewlett-Packard to ditch mobiles, tablets and PCs to become a standalone software maker.

Also in this month's edition, some eye-opening stats we think you'll enjoy: Amazon accounts for 1 in 5 of all web visits, the UK's Daily Mail became the second most read news site in the world. Which paper came first? You'll have to read on...

Read August 2011

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Digital Intelligence July 2011

Mon, 01 Aug 2011 10:01:11 +0000

With online sales now 10% of retail here in the UK and 1.5m jobs linked to this within a few years, July has been a month of ecommerce innovation. Contrast that to over 10 years back, when we started the Digital Intelligence newswire, and online retail was barely 0.1% of retail spend. This month the whole retail supply chain is innovating fast.

Online retailer Tescos is piloting Wi-Fi access in-store that could unlock a cheaper and easier blended ecommerce with the product acting as a trigger to website downloads without consumers paying for mobile data. And also shows they’re CIO is clearly not frightened about price comparison.

Google debuted ‘AdWords Express’ and shook up small business marketing – yep, they made the simple even simpler and in doing so make a strong pitch to go client-direct rather than through agencies.

The digital strategies of the retail giant Asos (for marketing), Groupon (for auto sales), Google (for product dev) and Facebook (online gaming revenues and sales partnerships) also caught our attention.

Read July 2011

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Digital Intelligence June 2011

Fri, 01 Jul 2011 10:00:01 +0000

Has Google finally got social right? Early signs from our research indicate that the more nuanced approach of Google+ more to social might finally give Facebook something to worry about, after the failures of Buzz and Wave. Our trackers show Google now attracts 1 billion visitors a month- the audience is there if the product is good enough. And if Facebook needs any reminding that the mighty can fall, this month saw News Corp offload former social media king MySpace for a pittance.

As opportunities for digital marketers grow, so do the legal pitfalls. This month saw ICANN approve '.anything domains'. We're split on whether this helps brands or leaves them exposed to squatters - but without a clear online brand strategy it will be an uncomfortable year for marketing directors. Meanwhile the new EU cookie law, which effectively makes most UK websites illegal without an opt-in for tracking, has been deferred for a year. Are your strategies in place?

Headlines below, full stories at the end of the click, and if you'd like a deep dive briefing on a key theme then let us know what you'd like researched by setting your choices here: http://www.digitalstrategyconsulting.com/updatemydetails.

Read June 2011

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Internet use in Italy

Mon, 20 Jun 2011 14:28:59 +0000

The thing you first notice is the scale of mobile use. When it comes to the internet in Italy, mobile is the key platform, and as mobiles get smarter and connections get faster, internet access in Italy is undergoing a step-change from the web to mobile. Online use in Italy gives a window into mobile social networking that other markets will adopt and as Danny Meadows-Klue discovers in Milan, Italians are hungry for even more time on Facebook.

Pandora Media’s IPO: Pricing too high?

Mon, 20 Jun 2011 14:15:58 +0000

Internet radio network Pandora helped define social music online. Using the Amazon model of ‘people who like this also like this’, Pandora build a global audience franchise. But while Shazam stole the crowds in clubs, and iTunes captured the downloads markets, Danny Meadows-Klue argues that Pandora’s growth lacks the scalability of a smart internet business model. That’s why $16 a share feels like investors are paying over the odds…

Digital networked society: New cookies law reminds direct marketers to understand and respect data trails

Mon, 06 Jun 2011 14:05:27 +0000

Twenty years ago direct marketing focussed on postal mail and print adverts. As direct response TV grew, another channel was added within the framework of the discipline. The direct marketing skillset grew into a core discipline in digital marketing, and as new laws on privacy and the use of cookies arrive in the UK, Danny Meadows-Klue reflects that direct marketers need to be going further than the new legal framework if they’re to maintain the trust of their consumers.

Internet use in Mexico – strong growth, broadening market, but massive untapped potential

Tue, 31 May 2011 15:08:04 +0000

The rise of internet use in marketing is happening much faster in Mexico. From the pavement cafes of Polanco to the glass box skyscrapers of Santa Fe, in Mexico City Danny Meadows-Klue finds a growing internet economy and ambitious marketers readily using online tools from search to mobile and keen to exploit everything social media has to offer in Mexico.

Digital Intelligence May 2011

Tue, 31 May 2011 11:48:23 +0000

Social media strategies are back at the top of the news agenda, with continued explosive growth among Facebook, Twitter and YouTube reminding every company it needs to evolve its strategy to keep place with the what the platforms offer.

Facebook's facial recognition software sent European privacy advocates leaping for their email. Watch this play out through the summer and remember it was only a year ago that Zuckerberg landed the message that 'privacy is no longer a social norm'.

Read May 2011

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China internet use – a snapshot of online audiences

Mon, 23 May 2011 13:38:25 +0000

The energy of the Chinese internet industry is as loud and ceaseless as the building work in Shanghai’s skyscraper forest. China’s internet market is vast, and growing. More than 470m people are online in China, accounting for around 35% of the country’s 1.3billion citizens. In the net bars and offices of Shanghai, Danny Meadows-Klue discovers a hunger to use the web that spans from business to education. The urban landscape in China is changing fast, but the digital landscape many times faster. Most Western firms have no idea what’s coming…

How the web changed Singapore politics overnight – election of a ‘1st world parliament’

Fri, 13 May 2011 16:36:42 +0000

Singapore’s general election proves to be the most democratic in 40 years as the PAP ruling party’s share of vote tumbles to 60%, with opposition members joining to parliament in the big regional wards for the first time. In Singapore, Danny Meadows-Klue finds out how Twitter, Facebook and independent online media have changed voter expectations and the political mandate forever.