January saw a great start for the digital marketing, media and retail sectors.

Consumer spending was even greater at Christmas than most e-retailers had forecast with a leap of around 50%, online advertising looks set to overtake television spend in the near future as budgets are pulled from classic channels, and the switch to digital marketing is accelerating in Germany and across Central and Eastern Europe younger digital markets.

Our first international projects of the year confirmed the enthusiasm of marketers in New York to boost their integrated strategies with more online activities, and next month we are back in Sweden and Eastern Europe to see if the same trends are strong in those markets.

For details of new digital training and strategy programmes in your country e-mail me back, and in the meanwhile we all hope you enjoy this edition of Digital Intelligence. If you'd like to give a colleague access this year, then simply e-mail us back and copy them in, and we'll do the rest.


Danny Meadows-Klue
Founder and Chief Executive
Digital Strategy Consulting

Source: GroupM
GroupM: http://www.groupm.com

Source: GroupM
GroupM: http://www.groupm.com

Radio facing 2% fall in revenues in US
Radio advertising could fall up to 2% this year as the local advertising sector slows, writes Mediaweek. Revenues could drop below $20bn for the first time since 2002 as the industry faces its eighth year of slow-to-no-growth. Radio is said to be facing its worst crisis since the 1950s when it struggled through recession, the Korean War and the advent of television.
From Mediaweek: http://www.mediaweek.com, 31/12/2007
Netscape: http://www.strategyeye.com

Print publishing sector: ad revenues sliding for another decade
Another depressing report for the print publishing industry as the latest WARC figures point to an acceleration in the contraction of the newspaper ad industry. The World Advertising Research Centre - the group behind the official Advertising Association stats for the UK market - sees newspaper advertising shrink by more than £1.6bn between now and 2019 (a move from £6.7bn to £5.096bn over 12 years). That contraction is in spite of bullish growth in the overall ad market, although with the concentration being on digital channels. With the profitability of the print sector already under extraordinary pressure, this will wound investor confidence even further. Our take: among the firms without strong digital strategies, watch out for the spiral of cost cutting, weaker products, lower engagement, and even weaker drivers for advertisers; among those with the master plan the big question remains - does the collapse of print revenue get properly offset by the growth of digital channels.
WARC: http://www.warc.com, 21/01/2008

European telcos head for new markets
Broadband connections in Central and Eastern Europe rose 44% during 2007 and three of Europe's five biggest telcos are moving in to take advantage. Research from Screen Digest shows that France Telecom, Deutsche Telekom and Spain's Telefonica all now have stakes in the region. Broadband penetration across France, Germany, Spain, Italy and the UK reached 44% at the end of 2007. In comparison penetration in Central and Eastern Europe stood at only 13%. Russia has fewer than 7% of homes connected to broadband services.
Latin America is another growth market and consumer broadband access is expected to reach 30% of homes in the next five years. Connections grew 41% during 2007 compared to 23% across the "Big Five" West European countries. Telefonica is the leading European operator working in Latin America with stakes in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Peru and Colombia.
Screen Digest: http://www.screendigest.com, 22/01/2008

Source: Screen Digest
Screen Digest: http://www.screendigest.com

Telegraph to launch seven new online programmes
The Telegraph website is planning to launch seven new online TV-style programmes covering subjects such as food and drink, culture, technology, finance, motoring, fashion and travel, writes The Guardian. The new line-up includes "Right On" a weekly politics talk show featuring Ann Widdecombe and described as "politically right, not politically correct".
From The Guardian: http://www.guardian.co.uk, 14/01/2008
Telegraph TV: http://www.telegraph.co.uk

T-Mobile gives free Wi-Fi to customers
Subscribers to T-Mobile's Web 'n' Walk 3G service are going to be offered free Wi-Fi access writes Netimperative. Users will be given free use of T-Mobile's network of 1200 UK Wi-Fi HotSpots (39,000 worldwide). Web 'n' Walk costs £12.50 per month in addition to any Flext price plan.
From Netimperative: http://www.netimperative.com, 10/01/2008
T-Mobile: http://www.t-mobile.co.uk

Sony brings Skype to PSP
Sony has confirmed that it is adding Skype VoIP functionality to its PlayStation Portable (PSP) gaming device, writes Telecoms.com. Sony are releasing a firmware update at the end of January for the PSP-2000 series which will allow users to make VoIP calls when they are connected to a wireless network. Sony are also releasing a range of additional peripherals such as microphones to take advantage of the new features.
From Telecoms.com: http://www.telecoms.com, 07/01/2008
Sony: http://www.sony.co.uk

Netscape to be shelved
AOL is to discontinue its Netscape browser from the 1st of February, writes StrategyEye. The firm is to encourage users to switch to Firefox. Before the launch of Microsoft's Internet Explorer Netscape had over 90% of the browser market but has now been reduced to only 0.6%. Internet Explorer currently has 77% with Firefox on 16%.
From StrategyEye: http://www.strategyeye.com, 02/01/2008
Netscape: http://browser.netscape.com

UK web users get older
New data from Nielsen Online has found that British web users are getting older, writes StrategyEye. In October 2007 the average age was 37.9, up from 35.7 at the same time the year before. During the same period the proportion of under 25s online fell from 29% to 25%. In contrast the number of over 55s using the internet in the UK grew 22% during the 12-month period to 19%. Neilsen Online's Alex Burmaster commented: "New online offerings and technology are usually targeted at the young, but it's possible brands could be missing a trick if they continue down this path in the future."
From StrategyEye: http://www.strategyeye.com, 31/12/2007
Nielsen Online: http://www.nielsen-online.com

Blogging for news
The rise of blogs to the heights of official news sources was confirmed this month when a survey by Brodeur and MarketWire reported by Marketing Pilgrim showed 75% of journalists using blogs as a place for story ideas and research. 30% of journalists surveyed said they had their own blog and 21% said they spent over an hour a day on blogs. Big implications for PR agencies and brands everywhere.
From Marketing Pilgrim: http://www.marketingpilgrim.com, 14/01/2008
Brodeur: http://www.brodeur.com
New Media Journalist Survey (PDF): http://takingtheblogosphereseriously.com
Digital Insight Report for newcomers to blogging

Source: Screen Digest
Brodeur: http://www.brodeur.com

Web makes perfect match for online dating in the UK
Staggering to reflect on, but half of the UK's single population are now logging-on to dating sites. That's the latest finding from web dating specialists Parship who reckon almost eight million Brits tried online dating last year, an increase of around 50% on 2005. The gender balance is pretty even (52 per cent of men vs 48 per cent of women use online dating). Parship's UK and Ireland director Tony Blin Stoyle sees higher rates among older people: "UK singles, particularly those aged 30 to 40, recognise that as they get older and their social networks become smaller, they need to maximise their opportunities in order to meet a partner. if you rely on traditional routes and wait for a chance encounter with someone special, you could end up waiting a very long time."
Parship: http://www.parship.co.uk, 21/01/2008

Digital music sales double
Music retailers are reporting a sudden leap in sales of online music here in the UK, and a 100% growth in sales in the week after Christmas (based on year on year comparisons) - reports The Financial Times. This is more than just lots of iTune downloads and iPhone Christmas presents: the music sector is heading towards another crossing point where digital sales will replace physical CDs, probably in the UK and Scandinavia first, but then in the US and Western Europe.
From The Financial Times: http://www.ft.com, 03/01/2008

Radiohead profit from In Rainbows experiment
Radiohead have made more money from digital sales of In Rainbows than from all their other EMI albums combined, writes StrategyEye. The band's contract with EMI included no provision for digital rights, leaving them with nothing from official online sales of their music. Rumours of 1.2m digital sales of In Rainbows have been rejected by the band, though official figures are yet to be released. A CD version of the album went straight to number one when it was released at the start of January.
From StrategyEye: http://www.strategyeye.com, 02/01/2008
Radiohead: http://www.radiohead.com

• 1 in 10 mobile users is highly interested in mobile marketing with 3 in 10 showing moderate interest.
• Half of all Italian and Spanish mobile users are at least moderately interested in mobile marketing.
• 2-way text messaging is the most important functionality across all age groups. 7 in 10 consumers have used text messaging with Italy and Spain the most experienced markets.
• 15% of all consumers have experienced mobile marketing.
• Interactive voting, advertising and product or service information are the most common forms of mobile marketing.
• Users are most attracted to mobile coupons, special sales and alerts about accounts and purchases.

Mobile Marketing Association press release: http://mmaglobal.com, 15/01/2007

Source: Hitwise
Hitwise: http://www.hitwise.co.uk

Source: Hitwise
Hitwise: http://www.hitwise.co.uk

Source: Hitwise
Hitwise: http://www.hitwise.co.uk

Source: Nielsen/NetRatings Home/Work Panel monthly statistics
Nielsen Online: http://www.nielsen-online.com

Monthly top ten UK parent companies for December 2007

Source: Nielsen/NetRatings Home/Work Panel monthly statistics
Nielsen Online: http://www.nielsen-online.com

Top 10 popular websites in the UK, December 2007

This list features the most popular websites based on UK Internet usage for December 2007, ranked by market share of visits across all Hitwise industries.
Source: Hitwise Datacentre, December 2007, based on market share of visits
Hitwise: http://www.hitwise.co.uk/datacenter

Top 10 Search Terms in 10 Categories, December 2007

The terms which were searched for most often on the web in December 2007.

Source: Hitwise
Hitwise: http://www.hitwise.co.uk