Latest Articles

Alexander McCall-Smith Engages Web 2.0

The Daily Telegraph is in the middle of a 20-week serialisation of an online book created by author Alexander McCall-Smith, his first such project. New Media Knowledge caught up with the organisers to discuss ‘Corduroy Mansions’.

more

Business Brief: Video Advertising Looks to Future

Google has announced it will incentivise advertisers on its video properties as well as launching research programmes into how Web users consume Internet video material. New Media Knowledge spoke to a number of industry players to gauge their views on where the video advertising market is going.

more

‘Virtual Home’ for Ex-Pats in London Established

A social network aimed at providing information for ex-pats living in London has been established. New Media Knowledge met the site’s co-founder to find out more.

more

• Rough Guide to: Social Media and the Law
• Record Visits for UK Blog Sites
• Clearing Congestion
• Rough Guide to: Pay-Per-Click Advertising
• Opinion: What Happens to Newspapers?
• LinkedIn Adds Business Applications
• What Happens to Newspapers?

Related Articles

• Business Brief: Video Advertising Looks to Future

  Google has announced it will incentivise advertisers on its video properties as well as launching research programmes into how Web users consume Internet video material. New Media Knowledge spoke to a number of industry players to gauge their views on where the video advertising market is going. more

• Record Visits for UK Blog Sites

  Nearly half of the UK’s online population visited at least one blog during August, according to a survey. Yet one recent report said blogging’s day has passed, so what’s the true reflection? New Media Knowledge spoke to three prominent bloggers for their take. more

• Rough Guide to: Pay-Per-Click Advertising

  Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising on the Web has been one of the major growth sectors in marketing. Last year, Internet search engine Google overtook ITV for monies received from advertising and nearly $2 billion was spent on PPC globally. New Media Knowledge spoke to a PPC consultant to gauge what companies looking at the technology should consider. more

• Opinion: What Happens to Newspapers?

  The University of Westminster's Geoffrey Davies responds to issues raised at the recent NMK panel event on the subject. more

• What Happens to Newspapers?

  With print circulations down and online advertising revenues not matching up to what has been lost in print formats, can the UK's newspapers weather the coming storm? Leading industry figures met at NMK's event on October 28, 2008 to debate the best way forward. Event chaired by Nico MacDonald. more

Another Digital Divide

According to a feature in Marketing Week, the rise of online media is set to completely upstage traditional advertising - old news in some respects, but the changes to the structure of the industry that will accompany this change remain very uncertain.

According to a feature in Marketing Week, the rise of online media is set to completely upstage traditional advertising - old news in some respects, but the changes to the structure of the industry that will accompany this change remain very uncertain.

This ten-year old struggle has come to notice once more thanks to the appointment of digital specialists Albion ahead of traditional agencies Mother and WCRS.

On the one hand, this might spell the beginning of a victory for digital agencies. Analyst Bob Willott says that:

On a ten year view, digital agencies will be at the centre of the work and this will feed out into other types of skill sets. Digital will be in the driving seat.

However, rumours of the death of large agencies may be somewhat over-stated. Established ‘full service’ agencies are hiring up digital people and setting up semi-independent digital offshoots to create the appearance of specialism with the perceived advantages of belonging to a much larger group:

Just last week, Virgin Atlantic moved its £2m digital advertising into the Y&R online arm Saint@RKCR/Y&R out of incumbent Glue. RKCR chief executive James Murphy says digital agencies are hamstrung by a lack of management depth in strategy and account handling. This is why the agency set up Saint rather than buying a digital shop. The digital specialists’ lack of planning capability is a weak point that holds them back from winning above-the-line accounts, he says.

The article suggests that well-established, multinational agencies will evolve to survive, quoting Tim Lindsay, the outgoing chair of Publicis, who says that:

they will buy up digital specialists and metamorphose into the types of businesses their clients require. “In three years, there won’t be specialist digital agencies, they will be subsumed by the mainstream agencies,” he says. But the multinationals will need to consolidate the different elements of their offers - such as TV commercials, direct marketing and digital - into one profit centre and in one location.

There are other issues on the horizon, though. There’s a recruitment crisis in the IT sector, as well as the advertising and PR world, and it’s going to be particularly acute when it comes to recruiting senior digital experts to manage departments and companies in sectors that have only existed for a relatively short time.