Bigmouthmedia's Fiona Robertson gets call up to the a4uexpo advisory board

Tue, 16 Aug 2011 12:23:20 GMT

Global digital media company bigmouthmedia has announced that its head of performance marketing, Fiona Robertson, has been appointed to the advisory board for the Europe's largest affiliate and performance marketing conference, a4uexpo.

Fiona is only one of two agency representatives on the board and the position will see her take an active role in helping the fifth annual event, which will take place in London on 18-19 October, build on its own success to deliver a highly useful, interesting and relevant speaker programme on new technology trends, research and the continual smarter management of affiliate marketing to thousands of delegates. In particular, Fiona will be using her own and bigmouthmedia's extensive experience in affiliate marketing to establish various conference tracks, connect with and recruit premier affiliate speakers to the event and host expert panel sessions.

On the appointment Fiona said: "Affiliate marketing continues to provide advertisers with a rich and lucrative opportunity. The a4u expo is an essential forum for this area of digital marketing not least because it tackles the big issues and opportunities that go hand in hand with the industry. It's a fantastic role for me and bigmouthmedia and I'm looking forward to drawing on my own first-hand knowledge to help push the expo remit in to new areas."

During the event bigmouthmedia will unveil the results of its own independent affiliate survey, which interrogates technology trends and issues in the affiliate space in a yearly basis. The 2010 survey results can be downloaded from www.bigmouthmedia.com/downloads/files/Bigmouthmedia_Affiliate-Survey-2010.pdf.

- ENDS -

There are many things that make LBi unique, but if the company had to choose one it would be its ability to bring together diverse teams of experts to suit any brief. The company calls this blending, and it's the reason why all types of organisations - from famous global businesses to disruptive start-ups - choose LBi to help make their brands desirable wherever, whenever and however people choose to engage with them.

Bigmouthmedia appoints Mike Mason as director of product portfolio

Wed, 08 Jun 2011 11:55:25 GMT

Bigmouthmedia, global digital media company, has announced the appointment of Mike Mason as director of product portfolio. Underlining the company's commitment to high quality client service, Mike's role will see him take operational responsibility for delivering a programme of best practice and continuous improvement to services across the entire bigmouthmedia client roster.

Mike will also take ownership of the day-to-day running of a broad range of services including search engine optimization, PPC, performance marketing, usability and reporting & analytics for bigmouthmedia's mid-tier clients.

Mike has worked in the technology, mobile and telecoms sectors for over 20 years in operational and sales and marketing roles, including sales and marketing director at the post sales service provider Regenersis and a 10 year stint as a non-executive director for Codestuff. Mike has also led teams that designed and delivered successful services for some of the world's leading technology and communications brands, including Telefonica, Panasonic, Deutsche Post (DHL), Vodafone, Sony and Apple.

Phil Gripton, MD at bigmouthmedia said: "bigmouthmedia is a mature company with a global footprint and delivering consistent, high quality campaigns to all of our clients is the central value of our business. Moreover our clients should, and do, expect this whether they are a start-up or a blue-chip brand. Mike's breadth of experience will be a significant asset to the bigmouthmedia senior team and his proven track record in generating operational quality for some of the world's most recognisable technology firms will be critical to us in the coming months. His appointment represents our clear commitment to best practice and client-centred service delivery. I'm very much looking forward to Mike's contribution to the business."

About LBi and bigmouthmedia:
LBi is a global marketing and technology agency, expert at blending strategic, creative, media and technical expertise to build business value. It helps companies of all shapes and sizes decide what's next for their business - and then it takes them there. Along with the media arm bigmouthmedia, LBi defines and executes transformational digital strategies for clients including BT, Coca-Cola E.ON, Lloyds TSB, Play.com, SAB Miller, Skype, Standard Life and British Airways. Across its 24 offices in 16 countries, there are more than 1,800 digital specialists collaborating with brands to enrich people's lives via service design, branded content, mobile, CRM and social media. LBi also sets the pace in digital display, search, affiliate marketing, usability and web analytics. There are many things that make LBi unique, but the main one is LBi's ability to bring together diverse teams of experts to suit any brief. LBi call this blending, and it's the reason why all types of organisations – from famous global businesses to disruptive start-ups – choose LBi to help make their brands desirable wherever, whenever and however people choose to engage with them.

LBi and bigmouthmedia release Innovation in Retail white paper

Mon, 23 May 2011 14:03:05 GMT

Global digital marketing and technology agency LBi and its media arm bigmouthmedia today released a joint white paper on digital innovation in the retail sector.

The document analyses how the touchable web and the trends towards a multi-device, multi-channel future are fast becoming an opportunity for retail brands to engage and reward consumers with deep and positive retail and marketing experiences. At the same time, it looks into the blurring edges of the online and offline environments and the opportunities presented by consumers expecting to interact with brands and make purchase decisions spontaneously, wherever they are, whenever they want.

The white paper, authored by digital experts across both LBi and its media arm bigmouthmedia, draws in knowledge of these wider technology trends and explains their impact and how they can be harnessed to develop brand and retail loyalty. Areas under the microscope include new technology in retail, mobile retailing, integrated marketing, display technologies, CRM and social customer service, affiliate marketing, multi-channel user experiences and creative social media.

Phil Gripton, MD of LBi and bigmouthmedia, said: “The document covers what we see as areas with major growth potential in the retail sector. We believe that these new trends will provide savvy retailers with new avenues to expand their businesses, and we have the high calibre experts to help them unleash the opportunities that come their way.”

The white paper can be downloaded from http://www.bigmouthmedia.com/signup/.

About bigmouthmedia:
Bigmouthmedia is a digital marketing company developing truly integrated digital advertising campaigns across a blend of digital platforms with ROI at the core. Setting the pace in search engine marketing, affiliate marketing, display, social media, usability and analytics, bigmouthmedia has been delivering tangible online business growth solutions on a client-focussed, local, European and global level across 56 countries in over 30 languages since 1997.

In August 2010 bigmouthmedia merged with LBi to create Europe's largest marketing and technology agency. The new LBi/bigmouthmedia agency combines LBi's best in class digital media, marketing, communications, design, branding and technology services with bigmouthmedia's leading search engine marketing product portfolio and digital media expertise.

Bigmouthmedia's 2011 Travel Report reveals social media spending to overtake direct email marketing

Tue, 14 Dec 2010 14:46:05 GMT

Bigmouthmedia's 2011 Travel Report has revealed that the sector's enthusiasm for digital marketing is set to continue in the face of extremely challenging trading conditions.

While the travel sector has continued to be amongst the worst affected by events in 2010, the standout statistics from the bigmouthmedia Travel Report 2011 indicate that enthusiasm for the nascent social media and mobile channels is set to continue unabated, with social strategies taking a larger share of budgets than direct email marketing for the first time. Meanwhile smart phone enabled enthusiasm for mobile grows, with 28% planning invest in apps development and 22% looking to build mobile sites over the course of the next year.

"The industry has been forced to cope with a rich variety of challenges ranging from exploding volcanoes to a stuttering economy over the past year, but our research shows that across the travel sector, these setbacks only appear to have increased companies' enthusiasm for digital marketing in general and the social media in particular. With the need for budget transparency and accountability becoming ever more important, the measurable nature of digital is fast making it the dominant channel," said Anneli Ritari, Senior Travel Strategist at bigmouthmedia.

According to the report, which surveyed 78 leading travel professionals from bigmouthmedia's client base, parent group LBi and the readership of Tnooz, digital’s share of the overall marketing budget looks set to continue to grow - from 56% in 2010 to 60% in 2011 - with some 85% of companies planning to increase their spend in the months ahead. While the majority intend to do so by means of a direct investment, some 33% will transfer the funds across from traditional channels.

As might be expected Online Travel Agents (OTAs) and comparison search engines have the largest budget share devoted to online marketing at 90%, while airlines and hotel companies have the lowest proportion allocated to online spend, with around 30% in 2010. However, this figure is set to increase to 33% for airlines and 38% for hotels in 2011.

An explanation of these trends may be found in the fact that satisfaction with ROI is increasing, and that many businesses are indicating that much effort will go into improving their measurement in 2011. Some 58% of those polled said that they intended to introduce attribution modelling to calculate ROI for their online marketing spend in the year ahead.

Ritari added: "Although the travel business' adoption of digital marketing techniques continues to improve, the industry can still learn from the example set by other sectors. Examples of great video virals or social media campaigns from the travel sector are few and far between - perhaps because as an industry we tend to be too focused on ROI - and as a general rule tend to lack the creative flair that has seen companies in entertainment and retail reap rich rewards."

About bigmouthmedia:
A dedicated digital marketing specialist since 1997, bigmouthmedia is one of the world’s leading digital marketing agencies, with a team of over 200 staff located across a raft of international offices. Bigmouthmedia offers a full range of services including search engine optimisation (SEO), PPC, affiliate marketing, display advertising and social media. Bigmouthmedia also provides up to date daily digital marketing news to ensure clients are fully informed and aware of all industry developments.

In August 2010 bigmouthmedia merged with LBi to create Europe’s largest marketing and technology agency, combining LBi’s best in class digital media, marketing, communications, design, branding and technology services with bigmouthmedia’s leading search engine marketing product portfolio.

Bigmouthmedia launches Online Travel Survey 2011

Wed, 10 Nov 2010 16:16:38 GMT

Bigmouthmedia has launched its annual survey into the travel industry and the sector's approach to digital marketing.

Now in its third year of publication, the bigmouthmedia Online Travel Report 2011 will examine some of the big issues facing the sector, kicking off with a survey designed to unveil companies' attitudes to the year ahead. Posing questions on a range of issues from future spending plans to the big challenges perceived to be awaiting the industry, the research will cast fresh light on a business that remains one of the most vibrant and exciting online verticals.

"This is the third year running that we have compiled the Online Travel Report, and its status as the only credible annual survey of the state of online marketing activities in the travel vertical has already seen it become an industry favourite. There can be little doubt that the travel industry now truly appreciates the power and reach of digital marketing, but with last year's results indicating that many players were struggling to develop effective strategies for emerging channels such as social media, it will be interesting to see how far they have evolved over the past 12 months." said Anneli Ritari, senior travel strategist at bigmouthmedia.

This year's survey poses a series of questions ranging from how companies intend to spilt their marketing budgets over the course of 2011 to the biggest challenges respondents feel will face the travel, tourism and hospitality industry in the months ahead. Those answering the question will also be asked whether the ROI on their online marketing budget developed in 2010, what campaign platforms they plan to focus upon and the key online marketing challenges they believe will arise in the near future.

Based on a sample of 150 travel professionals, last year's survey revealed that travel companies expected to move the majority of their marketing spend into online advertising in 2010, with the 50% share allocated to digital channels in 2009 predicted to rise to 57% in 2010. As the industry responded to unprecedented economic pressure, a clear majority also claimed the intention to significantly increase spending on social media.

Those wishing to participate in the bigmouthmedia Travel Survey 2011 and receive a free copy of the report may do so online.

About bigmouthmedia
Founded in 1997, bigmouthmedia is Europe's largest independent digital marketing agency. With a team of over 200 staff located across 13 offices in 10 countries on 3 continents, the company maximises exposure for major brands online through a variety of fully integrated digital marketing channels: Search engine optimisation, PPC, Online Media Planning, affiliate marketing, Social Networking, Brand Monitoring, Online PR and Web Analytics. Bigmouthmedia also provides up to date daily digital marketing news to ensure clients are fully informed and aware of all industry developments.

Bigmouthmedia identifying current key affiliate marketing issues

Wed, 29 Sep 2010 09:53:49 GMT

Bigmouthmedia is to conduct a new affiliates survey designed to identify the key issues in affiliate marketing in the current climate.

The digital marketing agency has commissioned the research in a bid to establish firm information about the latest developments and emerging challenges that matter to the sector. Affiliates responding to the survey will be asked for their opinions on a series of issues ranging from networks and tracking technologies to the use of creatives and advertising exchanges.

"Are affiliates most successful when they concentrate on just one niche? Is commission attribution modelling a major threat to the industry? There are many questions hanging over the affiliates industry and we want to know which issues matter most to them," said Fiona Robertson, head of Affiliates and Performance at bigmouthmedia.

"Our Affiliate partners are extremely important to us. We believe it's important to know what makes their businesses work, to understand what they think of the digital industry as a whole, and that identifying affiliate opinions on the key issues currently facing the industry is an essential step towards creating greater clarity in the sector."

The questions include: are affiliates better digital marketers than many of the merchants they work with? Are there too many affiliate networks in the UK? Do networks in the UK have a problem with low quality or fraudulent traffic and does Google want to become the world's largest affiliate?

The new bigmouthmedia affiliate marketing survey, which closes on October 6th 2010, is open to any affiliate that wishes to participate and receive a free copy of the final research in return, and one lucky winner will also get an additional a prize. Responses from networks, agencies and merchants are not being sought.

Bigmouthmedia calls for new rules governing sale of financial products online

Fri, 17 Sep 2010 16:09:05 GMT

Bigmouthmedia has published a white paper calling for the Financial Services Authority to introduce specific guidelines governing the sale of financial products and services online.

While almost a quarter of all UK-based marketing spend is now online, there are still no specific guidelines for how financial marketers should engage in online marketing. Bigmouthmedia's white paper demonstrates growing cause for concern amongst marketers that while the internet has created a unique set of conditions; the FSA has yet to provide specific guidelines for marketers using the channel.

"It is time for the Financial Services Authority (FSA) to address one of the most neglected issues of its time and produce a set of guidelines designed to help financial services market their services both ethically and effectively. At a point when restoring the industry's position in the public esteem remains of critical importance, getting the message right online will be a significant step forward," said Chris Cathcart, Senior Finance Strategist at bigmouthmedia.

"The internet was in its infancy when the organisation founded to regulate the finance sector first opened its doors, but in little more than a decade it has revolutionised the way that consumers interact with the commercial world. We believe that a specific set of rules developed to specifically address the unique conditions surrounding online trade could bring an end to a lot of existing confusion."

Digital advertising formats make compliance with the standards set out for traditional media extremely difficult, and in a culture where companies selling financial products must be extremely vigilant against falling foul of legislation, marketers find their ability to engage with the burgeoning marketplace restricted. The problem, however, does not stop there.

As a recent bigmouthmedia survey revealed, consumers are less than content with the way financial services are sold to them online. They demonstrate widespread mistrust of the claims made of a raft of available products and a clear preference for terms and conditions written in plain English they can understand.

“Bigmouthmedia's paper on the regulation of online financial distribution makes some very interesting observations on the distinction between online and offline financial promotion, and the need for greater flexibility in the online world to build up the picture for the consumer, rather than trying to deliver all the jargon and protection information in the single advert view. It highlights the need for 'Online' consumers to be afforded the same degree of protection as 'offline' but that the delivery needs to be different. At Money Dashboard we will strongly support any regulatory initiatives that champion 'online' financial consumers getting to a more intuitive and simplified view of product information to assist them with financial decisions,” said Gavin Littlejohn, CEO of Money Dashboard.

About bigmouthmedia
Founded in 1997, bigmouthmedia is Europe's largest independent digital marketing agency. With a team of over 200 staff located across 13 offices in 10 countries on 3 continents, the company maximises exposure for major brands online through a variety of fully integrated digital marketing channels: Search engine optimisation, PPC, Online Media Planning, affiliate marketing, Social Networking, Brand Monitoring, Online PR and Web Analytics. Bigmouthmedia also provides up to date daily affiliate marketing fully into the overall bigmouthmedia offering, spotting key areas for growth and ensuring that affiliate strategies fit seamlessly within the clients' business models.

"We are delighted for Fiona to be joining the bigmouthmedia team", said Robin Richmond, head of Digital at bigmouthmedia. "Her experience building performance-led strategies will be of massive benefit to our clients affiliate marketing campaigns. We are also seeing a definite uptake on our affiliates and performance services offering by new and existing clients as part of more comprehensive cross-digital marketing packages. Companies are becoming more aware of the synergies and added value that a single supplier can bring on board, and the recent growth of bigmouthmedia's affiliates and cross-digital teams is a reflection of this new market trend".

About bigmouthmedia:
A dedicated digital marketing specialist since 1997, bigmouthmedia is one of the world's leading digital marketing agencies, with a team of over 200 staff located across a raft of international offices. Bigmouthmedia offers a full range of services including search engine optimisation, PPC, affiliate marketing, display advertising and social media.

A recipient of numerous awards, the agency has a strong track record of running digital media solutions across the board and its global footprint and experience makes it the ideal partner for international and multilingual digital marketing campaigns. The agency is responsible for the digital marketing strategies of many of the globe's best known brands, including British Airways, Tesco, Mexx, BT, Cisco, Hotels.com, Europcar, Radisson, Fujitsu, Belron, Chip and SAS, across 64 countries in over 30 languages.

Bigmouthmedia recently merged with LBi to create Europe's largest marketing and technology agency, combining LBi's best in class digital media, marketing, communications, design, branding and technology services with bigmouthmedia's leading search engine marketing product portfolio. Bigmouthmedia also provides up to date daily digital marketing news.

Bigmouthmedia reports Google changes will make advertising attractive for comparison sites

Wed, 04 Aug 2010 16:53:41 GMT

Bigmouthmedia reports that Google's latest changes to its trademark policy will make pay-per-click advertising more attractive for comparison sites.

The press conference announcement means that from September 14th 2010 the UK will now follow Google's existing US AdWords policy, which allows any advertiser to use trademarked keywords within their advert text in some cases. Using trademarked terms in advertising copy will remain outlawed in mainland Europe, but following the rule change keywords will no longer be protected from others bidding on them.

"Aggregators will now have the ability to use brand names in their adverts. This is likely to improve their click-through rates and quality score, and will therefore make it more attractive for such operations to bid on brand terms," said Lyndsay Menzies, Chief Operations Officer at bigmouthmedia.

"In the UK the news may have a large impact on brand bids in industries such as finance, travel and electronics. While advertisers in mainland Europe will be unable to put trademarked terms in the advertising copy of their campaigns, the changes are still likely to have a big impact on brand budgets."

Bigmouthmedia believes that Google's decision to allow anyone to bid for trademarked keywords across Europe is widely predicted to lead to price rises in the markets affected. When this happened in the UK - where the policy change was first rolled out in 2008 - bidding on some brand terms increased by as much as 500% in the short term. The hike was relatively short lived mainly due to British brands' unwillingness to get involved in bidding wars, although this may not be the case in other European countries and brand bidding may break out in earnest.

Bupa appoints bigmouthmedia to search marketing account

Wed, 28 Jul 2010 17:06:57 GMT

Leading international healthcare provider, Bupa, has selected bigmouthmedia, Europe's largest and most experienced digital marketing agency, to lead its search marketing strategy.

The new deal will see bigmouthmedia take on a major search engine optimisation programme which will involve Bupa's key UK websites. The project, which will be the company's most extensive digital marketing campaign so far to date, and is designed to deliver significant growth to the international healthcare provider over the next three years.

"We're delighted to be working with a brand of Bupa's quality. Having worked side-by-side to create an ambitious search marketing strategy, we're now looking forward to getting our teeth into what promises to be a particularly exciting project,” said Scott Boocock, major account director at bigmouthmedia.

David Lengen, head of digital communications at Bupa added, "Search is an essential element of Bupa's strategy to becoming recognised as a global healthcare leader. Bigmouthmedia will help us to position the brand from being purely about health insurance into the broader health and wellbeing sphere, where so much of Bupa's expertise lies.”

With its team of over 200 online professionals and experts across the fields of SEO, PPC, social media marketing, affiliate marketing, display advertising, online pr and copywriting along with an existing client base which includes many major household brand names, bigmouthmedia is ideally positioned to take on and help drive this exciting project to increase Bupa's online presence to become a global leader in healthcare and wellbeing.

About Bupa
Bupa's purpose is to help people lead longer, healthier, happier lives.

A leading international healthcare provider, Bupa offers personal and company health insurance, run care homes for older people and hospitals, and provide workplace health services, health assessments and chronic disease management services, including health coaching, and home healthcare.

With no shareholders, Bupa invests its profits to provide more and better healthcare. It is committed to making quality, patient-centred, affordable healthcare more accessible in the areas of wellness, chronic disease management and ageing.

Employing over 50,000 people, Bupa has operations around the world, principally in the UK, Australia, Spain, New Zealand and the USA, as well as Hong Kong, Thailand, Saudi Arabia, India, China and across Latin America.

About bigmouthmedia
Founded in 1997, bigmouthmedia is Europe's largest and most experienced digital marketing agency and was rated the UK's #1 Search agency for SEO and PPC in the 2010 NMA Marketing Services Guide.

Bigmouthmedia's 200+ online marketing experts across 10 international offices maximise online brand exposure for its clients by means of integrated digital strategies incorporating search engine optimisation, PPC, social media marketing, affiliate marketing, display advertising, online PR and copywriting.

Bigmouthmedia's multilingual digital solutions deliver outstanding ROI for over 300 world leading brands including British Airways, Tesco, Fujitsu, BT, Kuoni, Barclaycard and Europcar. Bigmouthmedia also provides up to date daily digital marketing news.

Press contact: bigmoutmedia Ltd UK
Iain Bruce
Media Strategist
bigmouthmedia
51 Timberbush
Edinburgh
EH6 6QH
Tel: 07929 466 152
@bigmouthmedia

Bigmouthmedia develops virtual cinema for Paramount Germany

Fri, 02 Jul 2010 10:59:45 GMT

Bigmouthmedia, Europe's largest digital marketing agency, has developed a virtual cinema for Paramount in Germany.

Launched this week, Twittkinos promises to break new ground in the way cinemas reach out to and communicate with their customers. The new movie site enables Paramount to provide interested film fans on Facebook and Twitter exclusive insights into the latest trailers, movie premieres and other events from the star-studded world of the silver screen.

Campaigning under the slogan "we'll bring cinema home," Paramount is opening up a new era in the way it uses Social Media to interact with movie lovers. Unique in its field, Twittkino is completely integrated with Facebook and Twitter, where fan's posts are published in real time.

Using their Facebook or Twitter accounts film fans may visit www.TwittKino.de to register and see the latest exclusive trailers - often even before they are released to the market - live streaming of movie premieres and a host of further features dedicated to the world of movies. One particularly popular feature will allow members to post questions prior to major premieres that will be answered on the red carpet by stars and celebrities. A selection of further activities including competitions is also planned.

"A visit to the Twittkino is designed to help people get even more enjoyment out of movies by offering a taste of Paramount's upcoming films and events. At Twittkino visitors can do all the things they might do in the real cinema: Invite friends, talk about movies, buy popcorn and ice cream or look forward to new trailer. This is a very exciting project. We are confident that it is in tune with the spirit of the times and will be very well received amongst moviegoers," said Sandra Funck, Senior Marketing Manager Paramount.

The campaign will be promoted via classic display advertising as well as on Twitter and Facebook.

About bigmouthmedia
Founded in 1997, bigmouthmedia is Europe's largest digital marketing agency. With a team of over 200 staff located across 13 offices in 10 countries on 3 continents, the company maximises exposure for major brands online through a variety of fully integrated digital marketing channels: search engine optimisation, PPC, online media planning, affiliate marketing, social networking, brand monitoring, online PR and web analytics. Bigmouthmedia also provides up to date daily digital marketing news to ensure clients are fully informed and aware of all industry developments.

Bigmouthmedia wins Best Search Agency award at Spanish Ecomm Awards 2010

Mon, 19 Apr 2010 16:52:37 GMT

Bigmouthmedia has been named Best Search Agency at Spain's most prestigious e-commerce awards.

Europe's largest independent digital marketing agency was unveiled as the winner of the Best Search Agency category during a packed ceremony at the exclusive Shoko club in Barcelona. The EComm Award, which is widely recognised as one of the most important prizes available to the Spanish online retail industry, was presented in recognition of the company's innovative and successful approach.

"We're both delighted and honoured to have won this award. We were up against some very strong competition and the fact that the judges selected bigmouthmedia as the top Spanish search agency for both serves to underline the commitment, hard work and talent our Madrid team puts into serving our clients," said Manuel Jurado, Managing Director of bigmouthmedia Spain.

The awards, backed by the Spanish online retail publication Ecommretail, were established to recognise the companies contributing to the enhancement of the online marketing and ecommerce sectors with a blend of innovation and excellence.

Bigmouthmedia opened its new Madrid office in January 2009. Led by two of Spain’s best-known search professionals, the office offers bigmouthmedia’s full range of SEO, PPC and digital marketing services to the Spanish market.

"Despite having only opened its doors just over a year ago, bigmouthmedia's Madrid office has already made a major impact upon the Spanish market. They have worked hard to earn an excellent local reputation in digital marketing in a remarkably short time, and I am delighted that their efforts have been recognised," said Lyndsay Menzies, bigmouthmedia Group Chief Operations Officer.

“Bigmouthmedia brought something new to the Spanish industry. We offer a full range of digital marketing services, and with offices across the UK, US and the major European territories, we have the kind of international expertise that is vital to running a truly effective online campaign, ” said Jurado.

About bigmouthmedia
Founded in 1997, bigmouthmedia is Europe's largest independent digital marketing agency. With a team of over 200 staff located across 13 offices in 10 countries on 3 continents, the company maximises exposure for major brands online through a variety of fully integrated digital marketing channels: search engine optimisation, PPC, Online Media Planning, affiliate marketing, Social Networking, Brand Monitoring, Online PR and Web Analytics. Bigmouthmedia also provides up to date daily digital marketing news to ensure clients are fully informed and aware of all industry developments.

Bigmouthmedia warns online retailers set to face raft of new challenges

Fri, 12 Mar 2010 10:56:52 GMT

Bigmouthmedia is to warn online retailers that they must prepare to meet the challenge of the most competitive market conditions the sector has ever faced.

Bigmouthmedia senior retail strategist Finlay Clark will tell an invited audience of senior executives at the 2nd Annual bigmouthmedia Retail Summit this month that UK retailers are set to face fresh challenges as ecommerce consumer habits keep evolving rapidly. According to Clark, retailers face multiple opportunities and challenges posed by a shifting approach to the market, a raft of new technological developments and the entry of new players from overseas will have a major impact upon the sector in the coming months.

"With increased competition coming from various angles, retailers are about to face some of the biggest challenges in their history. Big overseas competitors are coming to the UK knowing consumers are sophisticated online shoppers, and the likes of Best Buy will be aiming to make its mark on an increasingly competitive consumer electronics market in 2010. Similarly, in fashion we have seen a shift with the likes of Ebay become clothes shopping destinations in their own right, whilst Amazon has allowed big high street brands to retail on their own platform," said Clark.

"Nowadays independent fashion designers are launching exclusive collections on Ebay - far removed from the second hand and grey market sales that they made their name on - and in many ways they’re now a direct competitor to the retailers themselves."

Clark will be joined by a panel of industry-leading online retail experts speaking on a range of themes including current consumer trends, cross channel shopping habits, the shape of UK internet advertising and the impact of social technologies upon web retailing.

Taking the podium at the Bigmouthmedia Retail Summit will be Benjamin Ensor, VP research director at Forrester Research, Google Retail Industry Leader Peter Fitzgerald and Tony Stockil, CEO of Javelin Group. Hitwise research director Robin Goad and Enders Analysis Founder Claire Enders will also join Clark on the rostrum.

In a presentation designed to identify the 10 key events set to hit Ecommerce over the course of the next two years, Clark will also highlight the challenge presented by the growth of online applications. Although a relatively new phenomenon, he predicts that retailers will be forced to place increasing focus upon keeping up with rapidly developing new marketing technologies.

"Some of the best content in the future will be delivered through applications like those found in Apple's iPhone Apps Store. Retailers are only beginning to get to grips with the value of applications at the moment, and ensuring that theirs stands out and can be found easily by consumers will be a crucial challenge over the next few years," said Clark.

"We'll also see a lot more made of mobile marketing, which is only just beginning to make an impact upon retail, and expect there to be much greater correlation with the way retailers are able to market to consumers based on location-aware technology. Operators like Debenhams are already experimenting with such systems, but we are likely to see rapid developments in the field over the next 24 months."

The bigmouthmedia Retail Summit takes place in London on March 25th and is a free event aimed at senior marketing and ecommerce executives. Places are limited, but those wishing to attend can register at http://www.bigmouthmedia.com/signup for an invitation.

About bigmouthmedia
Founded in 1997, bigmouthmedia is Europe's largest independent digital marketing agency. With a team of over 200 staff located across 13 offices in

Habitat launches affiliate marketing programme with Bigmouthmedia and Digital Window

Mon, 08 Mar 2010 15:07:34 GMT

Bigmouthmedia has been announced as having been chosen by Habitat, the international household furnishings retailer, to manage the launch of its exclusive new affiliate marketing programme in conjunction with Digital Window.

In January 2009, Habitat began creating a fully transactional website to penetrate the online shopping market which launched in November 2009. Managed by bigmouthmedia, the multi-award winning digital marketing agency, the Habitat affiliate campaign will reap the benefits of launching on both Affiliate Window and Buy.at platforms simultaneously which will offer access to the programme to a variety of preferred partners.

Andrew Girdwood, Head of Strategy at bigmouthmedia, commented: “This is a truly exciting campaign to be involved in. Not only are we working with one of the most iconic brands in UK retailing, but the involvement of both Digital Window and bigmouthmedia will see two of the digital world’s leading companies working in close partnership. We expect that dynamic to deliver some truly fantastic results.”

Denise Fender, Head of Ecommerce & Digital Marketing at Habitat, added: “Habitat is really excited to be launching their affiliate program with bigmouthmedia and Digital Window. Not only will the new program help showcase the quality and range of Habitat’s online collection, but it will also help raise brand awareness and encourage footfall to our local stores. We picked bigmouthmedia to help manage our affiliate marketing based on their experience and ability to integrate the campaign with our wider digital efforts.”

Bigmouthmedia praises online retailing success stories

Fri, 29 Jan 2010 15:42:29 GMT

Bigmouthmedia has praised the winners of the 2010 Drapers Etail Awards for continuing to make a success of online retail despite challenging trading conditions.

Senior Retail Strategist Finlay Clark, who sat on the panel of online retailing experts judging the nominations, commended all 59 of the shortlisted candidates for making this year's selection process particularly challenging. Highlighting the high standard of entries for the 2010 awards, which celebrate success and innovation in online fashion retailing, he praised the winners of each category for proving that even in difficult economic circumstances, a well-run etailing operation can reap dividends.

"Even in the face of the worst recession to hit the industry for generations, the fashion retail sector has continued to develop, innovate and drive profits through its online retailing operations. The downturn has had the same impact upon the industry as it has every other sector, but the fashion business has demonstrated that focusing on the sales channels which provide the best and most measurable returns will still deliver competitive advantage," he said.

The winners of each of this year's 10 categories were unveiled at a stylish ceremony and party at the Bloomsbury Ballroom, one of London's most prestigious venues. While stressing the extremely high standard of entries for the 2010 Awards, Clark singled out Best Multichannel Retailer winners Schuh and M and M Direct - which came out on top of the Best Pure-play Etailer category.

"Schuh, who won the Best Multichannel Retailer category for the second year running, showed real commitment to the online space, and their ability to integrate in-store stock availability with the products offered on their site was impressive. M and M Direct also stood out because of a fantastic set of results and the phenomenal year-on-year growth they've enjoyed," added Clark.

As Bigmouthmedia’s online shopping specialist, Clark provides retail clients with a clear grasp of the digital marketing issues facing their sector, identifying where the new and future opportunities lie in this highly competitive market. Appearing at the Drapers/Retail Week sponsored E-commerce Summit, he is scheduled to provide attendees an insight into the latest developments in the field with his presentation Catching your Customer: Natural versus Paid Search in online retailing.

About bigmouthmedia
Founded in 1997, bigmouthmedia is Europe's largest independent digital marketing agency. With a team of over 200 staff located across 13 offices in 10 countries on 3 continents, the company maximises exposure for major brands online through a variety of fully integrated digital marketing channels: Search Engine Optimisation, PPC, Online Media Planning, affiliate marketing, Social Networking, Brand Monitoring, Online PR and Web Analytics. Bigmouthmedia also provides up to date daily digital marketing news to ensure clients are fully informed and aware of all industry developments.

Bigmouthmedia looks towards a pivotal 2010 for digital marketing

Thu, 17 Dec 2009 11:06:04 GMT

Bigmouthmedia predicts that 2010 will be a pivotal year for the digital marketing industry, with mobile and social media playing a significant role in a series of developments set to sweep through the sector.

Bigmouthmedia analysts believe that an evolving search landscape, the continued rise of social media and advances in mobile technology will combine to make the next year one of the most eventful in the sector's history. With these and other factors blurring the boundaries between PR, marketing and customer care, the company also predicts that the shape of the search business itself will begin to change.

"Digital marketing has always been a dynamic industry, but the introduction of real time search, the continued convergence of devices and the apparently unstoppable rise of social media have all come together at the same time, and we expect this to have a major impact upon the search landscape in 2010," said Andrew Girdwood, bigmouthmedia's Head of Search.

"The industry has matured, and already we are seeing some of the more prehistoric SEO business models out there beginning to fail. Major clients increasingly require partners with international scale, and as the downwards pressure on costs continues, small-scale agencies are going to struggle to cope in what is likely to become an environment dominated by a handful of major players."

Bigmouthmedia's sector-by-sector predictions for the year ahead indicate that the digital marketing business could be facing one of the most challenging years in its history.

Retailers are expected to continue investing in social media strategies designed to monetise direct marketing channels like Twitter and Facebook while simultaneously expanding their mobile marketing activities.

In the travel business, operators seeking to offset a fall in revenues caused by the global recession will increasingly look online. Some 57% of travel marketing budgets will be spent online in 2010, while the majority of companies are also predicted to increase spend on Social Media & Online PR and Search engine optimisation as they attempt to come to terms with this evolving channel.

In the world of finance, the advent of the widely predicted new supermarket banking services look set to dominate the sector's year. A scramble has already begun, meanwhile, to win over the significant increase in consumers expected to return online and begin shopping for services again in 2010.

"The search marketing business has weathered the economic downturn better than most, but there is no room for complacency. For every one of the opportunities these new developments bring there are technical and logistical challenges to be overcome," said Girdwood.

2010: The Year Ahead in Digital Marketing is available for download from bigmouthmedia

About bigmouthmedia
Founded in 1997, bigmouthmedia is Europe's largest independent digital marketing agency. With a team of over 200 staff located across 13 offices in 10 countries on 3 continents, the company maximises exposure for major brands online through a variety of fully integrated digital marketing channels: Search engine optimisation (SEO), PPC, Online Media Planning, affiliate marketing, Social Networking, Brand Monitoring, Online PR and Web Analytics. Bigmouthmedia also provides up to date daily digital marketing news to ensure clients are fully informed and aware of all industry developments.

Bigmouthmedia Travel Report reveals leap in online spending

Tue, 01 Dec 2009 15:01:56 GMT

Bigmouthmedia's 2010 Travel Report has revealed that travel companies are set to move the majority of their marketing spend into online advertising in 2010.

Compiled from an extensive survey of bigmouthmedia's travel clients and users of tnooz.com, the in-depth bigmouthmedia 2010 Travel Report reveals that companies intend to increase the proportion of their marketing budgets being spent online, with the 50% share allocated to digital channels in 2009 set to rise to 57% in 2010. As the industry responds to unprecedented economic pressure, a clear majority also intend to significantly increase spending on social media over the next year.

"There can be little doubt that the travel industry now truly appreciates the power and reach of digital marketing, with the proportional spend rocketing upwards from only 38% in 2008. However, with a clear majority of firms indicating that they see engaging with social media as a major challenge, it seems that many in the industry are struggling to develop effective strategies for these emerging channels," said Anneli Ritari, Senior Travel Strategist at bigmouthmedia.

While only 7% of online marketing spend was devoted to social media in 2010, 60% of the travel companies responding said they would be increasing their social media and search engine optimisation budgets next year. Interestingly, however, almost half said that they saw engaging with social media as one of the biggest challenges facing the industry in 2010.

According to the survey, the biggest online marketing opportunity awaiting travel companies in the year ahead is the savings and benefits to be had from driving synergies between the full range of online channels. Perhaps as a result of this, players in key sub-verticals such as travel comparison sites, holiday rental specialists and online agencies now anticipate spending more than 80% of their total marketing budgets online.

While paid search retained the highest portion of online budgets with an average of 37% in 2009, followed by search engine optimisation at 18% and display at 17%, indications for the next year suggest that this pattern is set to change. While overall PPC spend is likely to grow, some 60% said they would either maintain or decrease pay-per-click spending over the next 12 months, instead focusing their efforts on a blend of SEO of Online PR.

"While many of the travel companies surveyed said that the economic climate was the greatest challenge facing the industry, today's difficult financial circumstances have played a major part in driving change. Digital marketing's transparency and measurable ROI makes it an extremely attractive option to companies that need to ensure every penny of their spend is both justifiable and worthwhile," said Ritari.

Bigmouthmedia's 200+ online marketing experts across 12 international offices maximise online brand exposure for our clients by means of integrated digital strategies incorporating SEO, PPC, Social Media Marketing, Affiliate Marketing, Display Advertising, Online PR and Copywriting.

Bigmouthmedia's multilingual digital solutions deliver outstanding ROI for over 300 world leading brands including British Airways, Tesco, ebay, Sky, Cisco, BT, Comic Relief, Barclaycard and Europcar.

Bigmouthmedia also provides up to date daily digital marketing news.

Bigmouthmedia and Netsociety sign strategic partnership

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 09:26:12 GMT

Bigmouthmedia has announced that it has formed a partnership with the Dutch search marketing agency Netsociety.

In a move that extends Europe's biggest independent digital marketing agency's reach into the Benelux region, bigmouthmedia and Netsociety have reached an agreement that will see the companies collaborate on a range of projects for international clients. Already working together on several key campaigns, the arrangement effectively extends both firms' geographical footprint at a stroke.

"We're delighted to have formed such a close working relationship with Netsociety. The two companies are very closely matched in terms of ethos, approach to market and customer base, so after working together on a number of extremely successful ventures in the past, forming a partnership made sound business sense," said Lyndsay Menzies, Group Chief Operations Officer at bigmouthmedia.

"While Netsociety's regional expertise will afford bigmouthmedia's clients improved access to the Dutch and Belgian markets, our extensive global operations will allow our partners to provide their existing clients with an expanded international offering."

Netsociety's view of the cooperation is similar. Managing Director Maurice Pothof said: "We have found an appropriate partner in bigmouthmedia. During the initial discussions we quickly discovered how similar bigmouthmedia's DNA was to Netsociety's, and realized that a strategic partnership would create opportunities for our current and potential Dutch clients with international ambitions.”

"We deliberately do not aspire to the European expansion of our company but unlike our competitors, continuously deepen our focus on our home market in the Benelux region. Our cooperation with BMM makes Netsociety one of the few search engine marketing agencies in the Netherlands that has full European coverage," he continued.

The newly formed partnership, which will see Netsociety offer clients in Holland and Belgium the extended range of digital marketing services available from bigmouthmedia's operations in 10 countries, is already off to a flying start. Having previously co-operated on several client campaigns, the duo were recently selected to run the paid search strategy of leading Dutch travel agency transavia.com across seven markets, while other campaigns where both companies work together include Hotels.com, TW steel and Spil Games.

Ends

About Netsociety:
Founded in 2007, Netsociety is one of the leading Search Engine Marketing Agencies in the Benelux. Netsociety combines result driven online marketing expertise with the in-house development of new technologies. Netsociety has offices in Amsterdam and Brussels, the company's clients include Thomas Cook, ING, Dixons, Bookit / Weekendjeweg.nl, Brunel, Santander and UPC.

About bigmouthmedia:
Founded in 1997, bigmouthmedia is Europe's largest and most experienced digital marketing agency and was rated the UK's #1 Search agency for Search Engine Optimisation and PPC in the 2009 NMA Marketing Services Guide.

Bigmouthmedia also provides up to date daily

Bigmouthmedia appoints Mark Bole as Group CEO

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 14:14:33 GMT

Bigmouthmedia has announced the appointment of former Nokia Vice President Mark Bole as Group Chief Executive Officer.

Bole joins Europe's largest independent digital marketing agency with a wealth of high-level experience in the technology sector. An accomplished senior executive with a track record of running successful pan-global operations, he will take over the day-to-day management of bigmouthmedia's offices in Europe and the US as the company embarks upon the next stage of its development.

"I am delighted to be joining bigmouthmedia at such a pivotal moment in its development. It has a fantastic brand, a gilt-edged client list and is uniquely positioned to gain competitive advantage in an exploding sector, so I'm very much looking forward to being part of the next stage in the company's growth," said Bole.

Bole has 20 years experience working with dynamic, fast growth companies. He spent 12 years at Nokia in a variety of roles across the mobile giant's European and Far Eastern operations before ultimately rising to the position of Vice President. After leaving the company in 2001 he served as President and COO of the telecommunications software company Incomit prior to its acquisition by BEA systems in 2005 and most recently was Chief Executive Officer of mobile social media services provider ShoZu.

"The search for a new Group CEO has been intensive, and I believe that in Mark Bole we have picked a winner. He has held roles at a very senior level with several technology heavyweights, and has coal-face experience of running complex multi-territory European organisations as well as mergers, acquisitions and the challenges these events can throw up. He is supremely well qualified for the position" said Steve Leach, Executive Chairman at bigmouthmedia.

The announcement will see Leach - who founded bigmouthmedia from an Edinburgh basement in 1997 and turned it into a multinational company operating in ten countries and 30 languages - transition to an executive chairman position directing group strategy.

"My initial vision was to make bigmouthmedia the biggest brand in search and I think we've done pretty well on that front, but now this agency is ready for a new, even greater future. While my time as CEO has been both enjoyable and demanding, I believe the company will benefit from a fresh perspective, and am taking on a new role to allow that to happen," said Leach.

About bigmouthmedia
Founded in 1997, bigmouthmedia is Europe's largest and most experienced digital marketing agency and was rated the UK's #1 Search agency for search engine optimisation and PPC in the 2009 NMA Marketing Services Guide.

Bigmouthmedia's 200+ online marketing experts across 12 international offices maximise online brand exposure for its clients by means of integrated digital strategies incorporating SEO, PPC, Social Media Marketing, Affiliate Marketing, Display Advertising, Online PR and Copywriting.

Bigmouthmedia also provides up to date daily digital marketing news

Bigmouthmedia responds to European attack on digital marketing

Wed, 10 Jun 2009 17:30:16 GMT

Bigmouthmedia has warned that a proposed European legal move to regulate the use of cookies could have a profound negative impact upon the some of the world's biggest businesses.

In a move that threatens affiliate marketing, bid management and web analytics, proposed amendments to the 2002 European Communities Directive on Privacy and Electronic Communications would mean that in future, websites would only be able to place cookies on visitors' computers if they give their express consent.

"This is a proposal that would strike at the very heart of what the digital economy is all about. The ability to measure, track and improve the site experience for visitors is key to the success of e-commerce, and given the potentially damaging effect this could have on a multi-billion pound business channel, suggests legislators don't quite appreciate the havoc they could cause," said Andrew Girdwood, Head of Search at bigmouthmedia.

"This isn't really a privacy issue. More often than not, cookies only contain data to measure the success of keywords or affiliates. We support attempts to raise awareness of privacy issues and provide internet users with more control but believe these functions would be better provided by the browser than the website. This would give users even greater flexibility and more consistency."

Many areas of the digital marketing business could be seriously affected if the proposed legislative changes come into effect, with big names from Amazon to Google likely to be hit. Services dependent on using user data to track sales such as affiliate marketing would suffer significantly, while pay-per-click advertising services would be forced to ask permission to place a cookie every time a user attempted to follow a link.

If the amendments go through, commercial web sites may be forced to run multi million pound search campaigns without having a detailed understanding of how well the strategy is performing. Most modern forms of web analytics, meanwhile, would also be threatened by the European proposal.

The experience of visiting commercial websites could also be badly affected. Sites may be forced to display a pop-up message - commonly associated with invasive advertising - in order to seek the visitor's permission before any tracking could be used. Over all, the loss in transactions combined with the cost of implementation would stretch to many millions of Euros in lost revenue each month for online retailers, travel and finance sites.

Full details of the proposed legislative change and its possible ramifications are available through bigmouthmedia's digital news service.

About bigmouthmedia
Founded in 1997, bigmouthmedia is Europe's largest and most experienced digital marketing agency and was rated the UK’s #1 Search agency for SEO and PPC in the 2009 NMA Marketing Services Guide.

Bigmouthmedia’s 200+ online marketing experts across 12 international offices maximise online brand exposure by means of integrated digital strategies incorporating SEO, PPC, Social Media Marketing, Affiliate Marketing, Display Advertising, Online PR and Copywriting.

Bigmouthmedia’s multilingual digital solutions deliver outstanding ROI for over 300 world leading brands including British Airways, Tesco, Sky, Cisco, BT, Comic Relief, Barclaycard and Europcar.