David Moth

Facebook unveils new ad tools to European marketers at fMC London

Facebook’s Marketing Conference stopped off in London yesterday afternoon following similar events in New York and Tokyo.

The focus at fMC was very much on how brands should be using the social network to create an identity and tell stories through engaging content, with global brands such as Unilever and L’Oreal giving insights into how social fits into their marketing strategies.

Facebook VP of business and marketing partnership David Fischer introduced three new products to European marketers during an opening keynote: reach generator, offers and premium ads, but this was more of a recap of what had already been announced at fMC New York.

by David Moth 29 March 2012 10:39am 0 comments

60% of British consumers would avoid making payments using a mobile

Almost two-thirds of consumers would avoid making payments through their mobile using technologies such as NFC, according to research from VoucherCodes.co.uk.

The survey of 2,000 British adults found that 60% would avoid mobile payments altogether while 17% would be interested but would be worried about the technology working correctly.

Security concerns (36%) were the most common reason for avoiding mobile payments.

Mobile payment brands also appear to be making little headway in raising consumer awareness.

by David Moth 28 March 2012 14:19pm 3 comments

Domino's achieves £1m in mobile sales in one week

Domino’s has announced that it took over £1m in sales through its mobile platform in a single week in Q1 2012.

In total e-commerce sales accounted for 50.6% of UK sales in the 13 week period up to March 25 2012, up 44.5% year-on-year to £59.3m.

Mobile payments made up 16.4% of total online sales, a slight increase on reports last month that the pizza company took 13% of digital sales through a tablet or smartphone.

Domino’s investment in its mobile platform certainly appears to be paying off – in September we reported that it had generated £10m of sales through its iPhone app in eight months and gave its new iPad app a glowing review.

by David Moth 28 March 2012 12:32pm 5 comments

Twitter launches ad products for SMEs with Amex

Twitter has launched an advertising programme for small businesses in the US who use American Express.

Amex has begun to notify a limited number of eligible card holders that they can start using the self-serve ads and will steadily increase the number of participating SMEs over the coming weeks.

As we reported last month, Twitter started trialling its self-serve ad platform with around 100 SMEs last year and will eventually include 10,000 new advertisers in this latest rollout.

Amex is encouraging card holders to sign up by offering each buyer $100 in free advertising.

by David Moth 28 March 2012 10:45am 0 comments

Q&A: Zeebox CEO Ernesto Schmitt

In just a few months social TV app Zeebox has established itself as one of the front runners in the battle for connected TV audiences.

Despite only launching in October it attracted 250,000 users by January 2012 and sold a 10% stake in the company to BSkyB in a multi-million pound deal.

As of this month it was seeing up to 15,000 sign ups an hour thanks to a TV ad campaign.

by David Moth 28 March 2012 10:07am 0 comments

Pepsico and Arby's join trend for offering rewards for engagement

Pepsico and US sandwich chain Arby’s have become the latest examples of brands offering consumers rewards for engagement through digital channels.

It demonstrates that brands are catching on to the fact that consumers are increasingly expecting to receive ‘free stuff’ in the form of offers or discounts for brand engagement.

Arby’s has signed up to a virtual currency loyalty programme run by startup Plink which offers Facebook Credits in return for in-store purchases.

by David Moth 27 March 2012 14:00pm 2 comments

Rentokil launches new social media campaign with CGI mouse

The business of selling pest control must be tricky, as it’s either a product you need or you don’t – there’s not really any middle ground.

So the best approach for pest controllers is to promote brand awareness so when you do spot a rat in the kitchen they are the first ones you think of.

This is the approach Rentokil is adopting with its new social media campaign involving a CGI mouse called Scamper who has his own Facebook game, Twitter account and four CGI video clips.

by David Moth 27 March 2012 13:03pm 0 comments

Monetising iPad apps: Daily Telegraph case study

In the digital age newspapers have been left in limbo as they face the dilemma of what business model to pursue online.

As we reported last week, some favour monetising their free content with online ads while other have opted for subscription models or paywalls.

Publishers also have to decide how to offer their content on iPad.

Most, including the Guardian, Times and Telegraph, charge for their iPad app and this model is also advocated by Johnston Press CEO Ashley Highfield.

by David Moth 27 March 2012 12:00pm 1 comment

UK shoppers abandoned over £1bn of online transactions in 2011

An estimated £1.02bn worth of online shopping transactions were abandoned in 2011 by UK consumers, according to Experian.

One in five of these abandoned transactions were not taken elsewhere as individuals cancelled their shopping attempt altogether, resulting in £214m worth of net lost revenue for UK retailers.

The study found that 44% of UK shoppers have abandoned at least one online shopping transaction in the last year having become frustrated with the length and complexity of certain older forms of identity verification.

by David Moth 27 March 2012 10:17am 8 comments