Vikki Chowney

Vikki Chowney is head of community at creative communications agency TMW. She's a former journalist, most recently as news editor for Econsultancy.

Prior to that she was content editor for the JaguarFuture.com project, created by Jaguar to tell the stories behind the C-X16 concept car.

From 2009 - 2011 Vikki was editor of Reputation Online, a sister title to new media age at Centaur Media that presented both editorial and user-generated coverage of the digital PR landscape. During her time there she penned a weekly column for NMA on the same topic.

She helped to co-found The Really Mobile Project, contributing to the site regularly during its early life - and penned a monthly column for Communicate magazine throughout 2011.

She was part of the founding team of writers for BitchBuzz.com, an independent women’s lifestyle network with readers spread across the US & UK.

A G20Voice blogger for Oxfam at the London and Pittsburgh Summits in 2009, her work has featured in The Guardian, Mobile Industry Review, within Marketing Week and many others.

Vikki has also provided freelance consultancy to the likes of Vodafone, O2, Talk Talk and Big Yellow Self Storage.

In a previous life Vikki worked in PR, specialising in digital and social media for clients including Acceleration, ZYB, Skype and Vodafone.

Bell Pottinger; the most surprising thing is that they fell for it

In what could either be the worst case of getting caught out sharing secrets with people you haven’t known long enough to trust, or of schoolboy-level boasting (which will probably be what it’s positioned as), Bell Pottinger is in some serious deep water.

The front page of today’s Independent shows executives from the lobbying and PR agency telling agents from the Bureau of Investigative Journalism (posing as members of the fake Azimov Group, with interests in the Uzbekistan Government), about its access to the heart of British politics.

by Vikki Chowney 06 December 2011 11:27am 4 comments

Starbucks sees 26m transactions made via mobile

Starbucks has announced that since launching the Starbucks Card Mobile app for iPhone, Android and BlackBerry in January of this year, these apps have been responsible for 26m purchases.

Mobile payments were originally available in 6,800 Starbucks locations in the US, as well as 1,000 Target shops, but this has climbed to 10,000 by adding Safeway Starbucks and some stores in Canada.

by Vikki Chowney 06 December 2011 10:17am 2 comments

Ad network RadiumOne launches social sharing platform Po.st

RadiumOne, the digital ad network that allows advertisers to target 'social consumers' in real-time across the web and while mobile, has launched a new sharing platform called Po.st.

Po.st allows publishers to see what, how, and with whom people are sharing, enabling them to tailor content or marketing to attract new readers or viewers.

by Vikki Chowney 05 December 2011 15:51pm 0 comments

Clarks launches first transactional mobile site

Clarks has become the latest in a run of retailers to launch a transactional mobile strategy, announcing today that it has created its first ever m-commerce site.

With the company's full product range available to buy, people can shop directly from their mobile or locate their nearest store.

by Vikki Chowney 05 December 2011 11:08am 0 comments

PlayStation turns to immersive imaging to promote Video Store

To promote the PlayStation Store’s ‘Video Store’ service, the company has released three short films that show how a living room can be transformed into an environment that reflects the movie being watched.

Combining real-time tracking, projection mapping and augmented reality, creative agency Studio Output has created what it calls a “a supercharged experience” using immersive imaging and the PlayStation Move controller.

by Vikki Chowney 05 December 2011 09:46am 0 comments

Dune to rollout catwalk-style videos with Adobe Scene7

Dune is planning to rollout catwalk-style videos across its entire footwear range online. This follows a trial that saw this produce a ‘huge’ increase in conversation rates.

Working with Adobe’s Scene7 rich media product, the shoes and accessories retailer began testing product videos on selected lines when it launched a new website in May this year – which now sees over half a million visitors each month.

by Vikki Chowney 02 December 2011 12:21pm 0 comments

Groupon to be investigated by Office of Fair Trading

Groupon is to be investigated by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) after the company was found to have breached UK advertising regulations 48 times in less than a year.

The company has been referred to the OFT by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), the first business since Ryanair got into hot water back during 2008’s price war with easyJet.

Most recently, the ASA banned a promotion for cosmetic surgery, stating that it "pressured" consumers into making potentially life-changing decisions in just a few hours.

by Vikki Chowney 02 December 2011 10:53am 2 comments

Trusted Faces ties up with Post Office to verify identity online

Online security company Trusted Faces has linked face-to-face recognition at any UK Post Office to its Online Passport service, enabling people to instantly prove their identity and appearance online.

Verify has operated an offline system in conjunction with the Post Office for several years that is used to verify identity for criminal record, solicitors or employment checks; carrying out around 180,000 reviews so far.

by Vikki Chowney 23 November 2011 12:12pm 0 comments

47% of Britons have reviewed a product online

New research reveals that almost half of Britons (47%) have reviewed a product online, compared to just 33% in the US.

According to the survey from recommendation agency Lexis and digital outfit Beyond, nearly half (43%) of those based in the UK go on to purchase products after engaging with brands online - but less than a third of Americans (31%) do the same.

by Vikki Chowney 23 November 2011 10:25am 3 comments

Jaeger uses mobile to make international ordering possible

High street retailer Jaeger has launched a transactional mobile site that will make it possible for international orders to be taken for the very first time.

Built by DesignUK, the optimised site is part of Jaeger’s goal to develop a seamless multichannel strategy - and has been tested against all of the major manufacturers' devices.

by Vikki Chowney 22 November 2011 14:51pm 0 comments