Week commencing 5th May 2008
 TV and online combination shows promise. People who
have seen ads on TV and online are significantly more likely to
buy a product than those who have seen ads on just one of those
media, according to research from Thinkbox and the Internet Advertising
Bureau. Quantitative research tested 3,000 people and six campaigns
from automotive, FMCG and finance brands that used a combination
of TV and online rich-media ads. The aggregate score across all
six campaigns was that the proportion of people stating they were
likely to buy or use a brand in future was 40% for those who had
seen ads in just one medium. The proportion for those who had seen
ads in both media was 61%, giving the combination an uplift of just
over half over TV only/online only. Source: Brand Republic
ITV is raising the price of TV ad slots in the Champions
League final by up to 50%, making it one of the most lucrative breaks
in the broadcaster's history. A 30-second ad in this month's final,
which will be contested by two English teams for the first time,
will cost about £200,000, according to agency estimates. This
is almost four times the cost of a premium ad during some of ITV's
highest-rating shows, including Coronation Street. Motoring, alcohol,
finance and FMCG brands are expected to take most of the slots,
with advertisers including Ford and Cadbury already signed up to
ITV. Gary Digby, ITV's customer relations director, said most of
the slots sold immediately once the finalists, Manchester United
and Chelsea, were known. Sky, which will also carry the final, has
confirmed that Audi, Ford, Nike, Samsung and Pepsi will run ads
during the match. The final, which takes place on 21 May, is expected
to record the biggest audience of 2008, with about 15m fans likely
to tune in. Source: Brand Republic
 IPC
Media's NME won the consumer media
brand of the year award. The judges were impressed with NME's approach
to brand development, "setting the template for how a modern
magazine brand can extend its reach and influence in a variety of
ways and across a variety of mediums". Source: Guardian unlimited
Two wealthy financiers have bought a controlling stake in Prospect
magazine, the intellectual monthly founded and edited by former
Financial Times journalist David Goodhart. George Robinson, a director
of London-based hedge fund Sloane Robinson Investment Management,
and Peter Hall, of boutique fund manager Hunter Hall, have each
acquired 26% of the title after Derek Coombs, the magazine's chairman
and largest shareholder, sold his 40% stake. Coombs, a Birmingham-born
businessman and former Conservative MP who once tried to buy the
New Statesman, helped to launch Prospect in 1995 when he pumped
£350,000 into the venture. Coombs turned 70 last year and
it is thought he is looking to to scale back some of his business
interests. The remaining 12% stake in Prospect was bought by Robinson
from another shareholder, DJ Serrell-Watts, shortly before Coombs
sold his stake. Source: Media Week
 BBC
Radio has powered to its biggest-ever lead over its commercial
rivals with record audiences for BBC Radio 1's Chris Moyles and
BBC Radio 2's Terry Wogan. The BBC's lead over commercial radio
in terms of audience share was 15.7% in the first three months of
this year, according to official Rajar figures published today,
eclipsing the previous biggest advantage of 13.9% set in the first
quarter of 2007. BBC Radio 2 had a record weekly reach of 13.63
million, fuelled by an audience of 8.1 million listeners for Wake
Up To Wogan, a new high for the veteran DJ. Lesley Douglas's station
also had a record share of the audience of 16.5%, up from 15.7%
in the previous quarter and 15.8% year on year. BBC Radio 1's audience
of 11.07 million was the first time since 2001 it has broken through
the 11 million barrier, up 370,000 on the previous quarter and 520,000
year on year. Source: Media Guardian
The audience for GCap Media's flagship London station Capital
95.8 has fallen behind dance station Kiss for the first time,
with Magic 105.4 holding on to the top spot for a record fifth quarter
in a row. And there were huge losses for Capital's sister station
Xfm 104.9, which has lost nearly 40% of its audience in the space
of 12 months. Capital had an average weekly audience of 1.56 million
listeners in the first three months of this year, according to official
Rajar listening figures published today. Kiss had 1.58 million listeners,
the first time it has had a bigger audience than Capital, although
its audience share of 4.3% is behind the GCap Media station's 4.6%.
Capital added listeners on the previous quarter - up from 1.52 million,
but was down from 1.62 million a year ago. Kiss was up 150,000 on
the previous quarter - 1.43 million - and more than 200,000 year
on year. Bauer's Magic continued its tussle with Global Radio's
Heart for the title of No 1 commercial station in London. The Bauer
station had 1.92 million listeners, down from 1.97 million in the
previous quarter but up from 1.81 million in the first quarter of
2007. Heart had 1.85 million listeners, marginally up on the previous
quarter but up 150,000 from 1.7 million in the same period last
year. Source: Media Guardian
 Streetbroadcast,
the lamp-post advertising firm, has created a one-week national
ad sales package aimed at advertisers on a tight budget. Outdoor
is typically sold in two-week cycles and Streetbroadcast claims
it is the only contractor to offer a one-week package. The new package,
Cover Plus, covers 500 six-sheet panels at shopping parks and malls
across the UK. Streetbroadcast says retail parks are the fastest
growing regular shopping locations in the UK, with 84% of shoppers
driving up to 40 minutes to get to a retail park. According to Streetbroadcast,
a single Cover Plus campaign reaches 27% of the UK population. Source:
Media Week
US media conglomerate CBS Corporation has expanded its presence
in the global outdoor market by acquiring South American company
International Outdoor Advertising Group (IOA) for $110m. IOA has
more than 17,000 advertising sites in Argentina, Brazil, Chile and
Uruguay, claiming to reach more than two-thirds of the continent's
population. CBS Outdoor, owned by CBS Corporation, operates throughout
the UK, providing ads for clients in locations including the London
Underground, Buses, National Rail and Docklands Light Railway. Source:
Media Week
 AOL has taken another step in its bid to become a portal
destination, by creating AOL Radio through a deal with social music
site Last.fm. AOL is focusing increasingly on ad sales and moving
away from the internet access business, following the sale of several
of its ISP businesses around the world. The Time Warner-owned firm
has run radio in the past, based on in-house technology, but has
opted for a partnership with Last.fm to bring a youthful audience
to its site. Users of AOL Radio will be able to listen to artistes,
create custom radio stations and listen to recommended stations
without having to sign up. Source : Media week
Microsoft is to sell TV shows, including popular US series,
on its digital media player Zune, and is launching a range of new
features in a bid to complete with Apple's iTunes service. From
today, Microsoft will sell more than 800 episodes of TV shows such
as Paramount Comedy Central's South Park and Sci-Fi Channel's Battlestar
Galactica for $1.99 (£1) each, which customers can play on
their Zune or computer. In a small victory over Apple, the Zune
Marketplace will also carry NBC Universal shows, including The Office
and Heroes. NBC Universal has pulled its shows from iTunes over
Apple's unwillingness to set different prices for TV shows. Source
: Media week
Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer has revealed that
the company will announce in "short order" which of three
paths it plans to choose in its bid to acquire Yahoo. According
to reports, Microsoft is leaning toward going hostile in its pursuit
of Yahoo. In a meeting with employees yesterday, Ballmer said the
options include completing a negotiated deal with Yahoo, pursuing
a hostile takeover, or walking away. Microsoft first approached
Yahoo with a $44.6bn (£22.5m) takeover proposal in January,
but has met stiff resistance from the company. Yahoo has unveiled
a string of initiatives aimed at convincing shareholders of the
merit of resisting Microsoft ownership. Three weeks ago, Ballmer
gave Yahoo an ultimatum to accept the bid by 27 April, but with
that deadline now passed, it now has to decide whether to walk away
from the bid. Ballmer had threatened to start a proxy fight to oust
Yahoo's directors if the deadline was not met. Source : Media week
 The top ten films at the UK box office:
1. Forgetting Sarah Marshall
2. The Eye
3. 21
4. Fools Gold
5. In Bruges
6. Son of Rambow
7. Deception
8. Street Kings
9. The Spiderwick Chronicles
10. Happy Go Lucky
Source: www.timeout.com
Edited by Raluca Efford |
