Becky Wilkerson, marketing week
The Institute of Cancer Research has launched a web campaign to help raise awareness of the importance of research into the disease.
The ‘One Hundred Faces' activity, which celebrates the charity's centenary this year, features 100 pictures and stories of people who have experienced or been closely touched by cancer, and their hopes for the future.
It also tells the story of advancements in cancer research, through those who have been personally affected by cancer.
The ICR's vision is to help create a world that is free from the fear of cancer as a life-threatening disease.
29 June, 2009
24 June, 2009
Generation Y: We're just not that into Twitter
Sharon Vaknin, Webware
Given that Generation Y is often pegged as narcissistic, lazy, having high expectations, craving the limelight, and other such flattering characterizations, one might expect we'd be Twittering as if it were breathing. After all, Twitter is known as a place where people expose the most minute details of their lives--missing the bus, stubbing a toe, toasting an English muffin.
But a recent survey from Pace University and the Participatory Media Network shows that only 22 percent of 18- to 24-year-olds use Twitter, while 99 percent have profiles on social networks.
This may seem surprising on the face of it, but as a member of the Millennial Generation myself, I have some theories as to why it might be true. To see why we're not into Twitter, I'll have to revisit the start of the social-networking timeline: MySpace.
We Gen Yers spent hours on MySpace customizing our profiles and making them perfect representations of us (or rather, who we wanted to be). We couldn't wait for our friends to comment a new photo: "New pic, please comment!" MySpace made many of us feel popular, or even famous. I remember posting a new profile picture and refreshing the page in anticipation of responses.
Jean Twenge, psychologist and author of "The Narcissism Epidemic: Living in the Age of Entitlement," calls this phenomenon "self-branding." People use MySpace as a portal for creating their own personal brand, Twenge says, complete with photos, custom banners, gossip, and fans (friends). One of the most successful self-branders is Tila Tequila, who tactfully used MySpace to achieve status as one of the users with the most friends on the site, and later parlayed that fame into a career as an MTV reality star.
Though we weren't international superstars, my friends and I were content on MySpace. But fast-forward a couple years to Facebook. It proved to be a difficult transition: where were all the flashing graphics, purple fonts, and exhaustive, multimedia-laden About Me sections? Why weren't the number of photo comments shown? Every user's profile looks the same, and at a glance, it seems self-branding is not easily attained.
The clean design of Facebook deemed decked-out profiles and artsy photos passe, but the site provided us with a new form of self-expression--"What are you doing?" status updates, which became the new platform for what Twenge describes as my generation's narcissistic need for attention.
What Facebook intends as a forum for sharing, Gen Yers see as a game of show-off. A quick look at my news feed and I see "Melissa" (name changed to protect the innocent) is having "one of the funnest nights of her life," and "beer and vodka make a interesting combination oww." 'Nuff said.
Brendon Nemeth, a 22-year-old San Franciscan whom I met this spring, says he updates his status to "keep family and friends informed on what's going on that's interesting in my life."
We no longer impress our friends with profiles that represent us through our creative flourishes, but rather with profiles that spell out what we're doing. (Out of fairness, our status updates don't always revolve around happenings at the local bar; plenty of us want to share our work promotions or volunteer activities, too.)
When Facebook implemented its news feed, users formed groups to oppose the feature. Now our status updates are lost in a flood of information, including quiz results, wall posts (not our own), and links. An update is posted, two minutes pass, and it's nowhere to be seen. Some of us even resort to reposting our updates just so they grab the attention they deserve.
On her blog, Twenge suggests that the kids of Gen Y aren't interested in their community, they are interested in themselves: "Younger generations are more individualistic and are higher in self-esteem and narcissism. There have been no changes in 'communal' traits."
I'd have to agree. We do anticipate seeing our friends' activities, but what we really look forward to is what they think of our activities--we want to be "cyberstalked," preferably in the form of replies to our self-published content. Nemeth says that "there are times when I update my status to induce a reaction." Reactions are what drive us to add photos, update our status, and write on our friends' walls.
So where does Twitter fit in?
Twitter's microblogging platform is what many Gen Y's may describe as "like Facebook, but just the status update." What is the point of that? We like to consolidate, so Nemeth explains that he doesn't "want to join another community, just tell people what (he's) doing." We have everything we need on Facebook.
Based on Twenge's theory, a good explanation of my generation's lag in joining the Twitter mania is that there isn't an obvious way to achieve a self-brand on Twitter.
Participating on Twitter requires a fan base that knows why you are unique, special, and deserve attention. Fan base aside, the Web site's interface paves a short path for cyberstalking--there is nothing to find past a user's status.
For example, Sally went to a great party last weekend, but where are the photos? Who went with her? These features, which Gen Y's value so much, are missing.
As much as I like to know what my friends are doing, updates on Twitter happen so fast there really isn't time to react. More importantly, my friends don't have time to react to my activities.
Largely as a result of the digital communication tools on which we were raised, a big part of my generation wants to know what the cyberworld thinks of us, and we want its inhabitants to pay attention to us. How can they do this if they're following 300 other people?
For the Millennials to make the move, Twitter will have to find a way to integrate the self-branding features MySpace gave birth to and Facebook nurtured. Even if they're packaged in 140 characters or less.
Given that Generation Y is often pegged as narcissistic, lazy, having high expectations, craving the limelight, and other such flattering characterizations, one might expect we'd be Twittering as if it were breathing. After all, Twitter is known as a place where people expose the most minute details of their lives--missing the bus, stubbing a toe, toasting an English muffin.
But a recent survey from Pace University and the Participatory Media Network shows that only 22 percent of 18- to 24-year-olds use Twitter, while 99 percent have profiles on social networks.
This may seem surprising on the face of it, but as a member of the Millennial Generation myself, I have some theories as to why it might be true. To see why we're not into Twitter, I'll have to revisit the start of the social-networking timeline: MySpace.
We Gen Yers spent hours on MySpace customizing our profiles and making them perfect representations of us (or rather, who we wanted to be). We couldn't wait for our friends to comment a new photo: "New pic, please comment!" MySpace made many of us feel popular, or even famous. I remember posting a new profile picture and refreshing the page in anticipation of responses.
Jean Twenge, psychologist and author of "The Narcissism Epidemic: Living in the Age of Entitlement," calls this phenomenon "self-branding." People use MySpace as a portal for creating their own personal brand, Twenge says, complete with photos, custom banners, gossip, and fans (friends). One of the most successful self-branders is Tila Tequila, who tactfully used MySpace to achieve status as one of the users with the most friends on the site, and later parlayed that fame into a career as an MTV reality star.
Though we weren't international superstars, my friends and I were content on MySpace. But fast-forward a couple years to Facebook. It proved to be a difficult transition: where were all the flashing graphics, purple fonts, and exhaustive, multimedia-laden About Me sections? Why weren't the number of photo comments shown? Every user's profile looks the same, and at a glance, it seems self-branding is not easily attained.
The clean design of Facebook deemed decked-out profiles and artsy photos passe, but the site provided us with a new form of self-expression--"What are you doing?" status updates, which became the new platform for what Twenge describes as my generation's narcissistic need for attention.
What Facebook intends as a forum for sharing, Gen Yers see as a game of show-off. A quick look at my news feed and I see "Melissa" (name changed to protect the innocent) is having "one of the funnest nights of her life," and "beer and vodka make a interesting combination oww." 'Nuff said.
Brendon Nemeth, a 22-year-old San Franciscan whom I met this spring, says he updates his status to "keep family and friends informed on what's going on that's interesting in my life."
We no longer impress our friends with profiles that represent us through our creative flourishes, but rather with profiles that spell out what we're doing. (Out of fairness, our status updates don't always revolve around happenings at the local bar; plenty of us want to share our work promotions or volunteer activities, too.)
When Facebook implemented its news feed, users formed groups to oppose the feature. Now our status updates are lost in a flood of information, including quiz results, wall posts (not our own), and links. An update is posted, two minutes pass, and it's nowhere to be seen. Some of us even resort to reposting our updates just so they grab the attention they deserve.
On her blog, Twenge suggests that the kids of Gen Y aren't interested in their community, they are interested in themselves: "Younger generations are more individualistic and are higher in self-esteem and narcissism. There have been no changes in 'communal' traits."
I'd have to agree. We do anticipate seeing our friends' activities, but what we really look forward to is what they think of our activities--we want to be "cyberstalked," preferably in the form of replies to our self-published content. Nemeth says that "there are times when I update my status to induce a reaction." Reactions are what drive us to add photos, update our status, and write on our friends' walls.
So where does Twitter fit in?
Twitter's microblogging platform is what many Gen Y's may describe as "like Facebook, but just the status update." What is the point of that? We like to consolidate, so Nemeth explains that he doesn't "want to join another community, just tell people what (he's) doing." We have everything we need on Facebook.
Based on Twenge's theory, a good explanation of my generation's lag in joining the Twitter mania is that there isn't an obvious way to achieve a self-brand on Twitter.
Participating on Twitter requires a fan base that knows why you are unique, special, and deserve attention. Fan base aside, the Web site's interface paves a short path for cyberstalking--there is nothing to find past a user's status.
For example, Sally went to a great party last weekend, but where are the photos? Who went with her? These features, which Gen Y's value so much, are missing.
As much as I like to know what my friends are doing, updates on Twitter happen so fast there really isn't time to react. More importantly, my friends don't have time to react to my activities.
Largely as a result of the digital communication tools on which we were raised, a big part of my generation wants to know what the cyberworld thinks of us, and we want its inhabitants to pay attention to us. How can they do this if they're following 300 other people?
For the Millennials to make the move, Twitter will have to find a way to integrate the self-branding features MySpace gave birth to and Facebook nurtured. Even if they're packaged in 140 characters or less.
23 June, 2009
Allowing supporters to choose
Sue Fidler, Sue Fidler Ltd
For many years those of us who work with, for or as fundraisers have mumbled on about donor choice, while Comms have added the ubiquitous "we would like to contact you" opt in tick box and forgotten about it.
Now with the diversity of new media and the newer sibling social media our supporters are finally pushing us into putting our stories where they are, rather than the historical expectation that they will come to us. With the MySpace/Facebook/Bebo/linked-in networks, flickr and YouTube, twitter as well as blogs, RSS, web, email and SMS we all need a presence in a wide diversity of online spaces.
It is no longer enough to have a website and expect supporters to come. We need to proactively pull our audiences to the site with content that has a value to them. We must also pitch our features and core values in the wider network as that is where our new supporters are now living.
The challenge of course is both to be in all the right places so supporters can join us and to create enough content to keep it fresh and interesting. For smaller charities with a non-existent web team and over-busy Marketing and Comms staff the challenge is increased.
The best option is to design a marketing strategy for each channel, as we have learnt to do for direct marketing, phone, billboards and other offline channels. As we learn about the audience of each network we will learn to tailor the stories for that channel by the normal socio-demographic profiles.
Until we have a history to learn from we can still make educated guesses about the age and type of users by looking at the content of the most popular areas of the various sites. Just by knowing Bebo has a very young play profile while Linked-in has a professional middle aged user group we can start to apply the lessons we have learnt offline to our online supporters.
Alternatively we can produce a small number of stories and put them in all of the online spaces, adding them to our sites or blogs, offering an RSS feed and sending out both bulk emails and Facebook style updates to everyone who has joined our groups.
The later allows a smaller charity with limited resources to repurpose each piece of content simply by creating a precis to use in the shorter mediums. The downside is that people who have signed up to multiple channels, such as an email newsletter and a Facebook group, may get the story twice. Some of them might even opt out of one or other channel.
But then isnt that the whole point of choice - allowing people to chose which medium they want to engage with.
For many years those of us who work with, for or as fundraisers have mumbled on about donor choice, while Comms have added the ubiquitous "we would like to contact you" opt in tick box and forgotten about it.
Now with the diversity of new media and the newer sibling social media our supporters are finally pushing us into putting our stories where they are, rather than the historical expectation that they will come to us. With the MySpace/Facebook/Bebo/linked-in networks, flickr and YouTube, twitter as well as blogs, RSS, web, email and SMS we all need a presence in a wide diversity of online spaces.
It is no longer enough to have a website and expect supporters to come. We need to proactively pull our audiences to the site with content that has a value to them. We must also pitch our features and core values in the wider network as that is where our new supporters are now living.
The challenge of course is both to be in all the right places so supporters can join us and to create enough content to keep it fresh and interesting. For smaller charities with a non-existent web team and over-busy Marketing and Comms staff the challenge is increased.
The best option is to design a marketing strategy for each channel, as we have learnt to do for direct marketing, phone, billboards and other offline channels. As we learn about the audience of each network we will learn to tailor the stories for that channel by the normal socio-demographic profiles.
Until we have a history to learn from we can still make educated guesses about the age and type of users by looking at the content of the most popular areas of the various sites. Just by knowing Bebo has a very young play profile while Linked-in has a professional middle aged user group we can start to apply the lessons we have learnt offline to our online supporters.
Alternatively we can produce a small number of stories and put them in all of the online spaces, adding them to our sites or blogs, offering an RSS feed and sending out both bulk emails and Facebook style updates to everyone who has joined our groups.
The later allows a smaller charity with limited resources to repurpose each piece of content simply by creating a precis to use in the shorter mediums. The downside is that people who have signed up to multiple channels, such as an email newsletter and a Facebook group, may get the story twice. Some of them might even opt out of one or other channel.
But then isnt that the whole point of choice - allowing people to chose which medium they want to engage with.
22 June, 2009
Email marketing set to 'balloon' over next five years
Dan Leahul, revolutionmagazine.com
Spam filters be warned, new research predicts the amount email marketing is due to explode over the next five years, estimated that the average email inbox will receive more than 9,000 marketing messages annually by 2014.
Forrester research is predicting email spend to "balloon" to $2bn (£1.2bn) by 2014, a nearly 11% compound annual growth rate.
Falling CPMs, a high return on investment, and growing consumer use of social email accounts will fuel the use of email by direct marketing professionals, the company said in its annual Email Marketing Forecast.
David Daniels, Forrester analyst, said: "By 2014 direct marketers will waste $144m on emails that never reach their primary target. Successful direct marketing pros will alter their tactics to overcome inbox clutter and increase relevancy."
The study also found that retention email - email that recipients have "blessed" with their permission - will continue to replace paper communications and will make up the largest share of marketing messages.
Retention emails will account for more than one-third of all marketing messages in consumers' inboxes by 2014, representing increased competition for marketers.
While the bulk of the market will continue to deploy email marketing on a self-service basis, the growing complexity associated with data integration and new tactics to increase relevancy will drive healthy grow in use of email service providers, research found.
Spending on ad-sponsored newsletters will also double over the next five years as traditional print publishers face falling circulation and ad revenue.
Daniels said: "The use of email in social networks will be one of the biggest challenges for direct marketers. Over the next five years, marketers must bridge the gap between social and traditional inboxes with social sharing tools."
Spam filters be warned, new research predicts the amount email marketing is due to explode over the next five years, estimated that the average email inbox will receive more than 9,000 marketing messages annually by 2014.
Forrester research is predicting email spend to "balloon" to $2bn (£1.2bn) by 2014, a nearly 11% compound annual growth rate.
Falling CPMs, a high return on investment, and growing consumer use of social email accounts will fuel the use of email by direct marketing professionals, the company said in its annual Email Marketing Forecast.
David Daniels, Forrester analyst, said: "By 2014 direct marketers will waste $144m on emails that never reach their primary target. Successful direct marketing pros will alter their tactics to overcome inbox clutter and increase relevancy."
The study also found that retention email - email that recipients have "blessed" with their permission - will continue to replace paper communications and will make up the largest share of marketing messages.
Retention emails will account for more than one-third of all marketing messages in consumers' inboxes by 2014, representing increased competition for marketers.
While the bulk of the market will continue to deploy email marketing on a self-service basis, the growing complexity associated with data integration and new tactics to increase relevancy will drive healthy grow in use of email service providers, research found.
Spending on ad-sponsored newsletters will also double over the next five years as traditional print publishers face falling circulation and ad revenue.
Daniels said: "The use of email in social networks will be one of the biggest challenges for direct marketers. Over the next five years, marketers must bridge the gap between social and traditional inboxes with social sharing tools."
19 June, 2009
NCVO and the OTS launch Funding Central
The NCVO and the Office for the Third Sector (OTS) has launched Funding Central, www.fundingcentral.org.uk, the new free website for information about national, local and regional government funding, national, local or regional charitable funding, and EU funding.
Funding Central is for the whole voluntary and community sector, including social enterprises, and have relevant and up to date information on all funding opportunities aimed at helping voluntary and community organisations easily identify relevant funding streams at the touch of a button.
The site which goes beyond merely providing information will continue to grow and aims to build the capacity of organisations to successfully identify and apply for funding – whether in the form or a grant, grant in aid, contract or other financial opportunity.
Ben Kernighan, Deputy CEO at NCVO, said: “We are delighted to be hosting Funding Central. At this crucial time, Funding Central will be an invaluable website for organisations looking for up to date funding opportunities as well as offering advice and support.”
Angela Smith, minister for the Third Sector, said:
“Funding Central will make it so much easier for third sector organisations to find and apply for the funding they need to make a difference.
"The advice and information that Funding Central provides will help save charities, voluntary groups and social enterprises time and money spent searching for funding opportunities. I hope it will also open up opportunities to more organisations, particularly smaller ones, that might have been deterred from seeking government support in the past because of the information wasn’t so readily available.”
Funding Central is for the whole voluntary and community sector, including social enterprises, and have relevant and up to date information on all funding opportunities aimed at helping voluntary and community organisations easily identify relevant funding streams at the touch of a button.
The site which goes beyond merely providing information will continue to grow and aims to build the capacity of organisations to successfully identify and apply for funding – whether in the form or a grant, grant in aid, contract or other financial opportunity.
Ben Kernighan, Deputy CEO at NCVO, said: “We are delighted to be hosting Funding Central. At this crucial time, Funding Central will be an invaluable website for organisations looking for up to date funding opportunities as well as offering advice and support.”
Angela Smith, minister for the Third Sector, said:
“Funding Central will make it so much easier for third sector organisations to find and apply for the funding they need to make a difference.
"The advice and information that Funding Central provides will help save charities, voluntary groups and social enterprises time and money spent searching for funding opportunities. I hope it will also open up opportunities to more organisations, particularly smaller ones, that might have been deterred from seeking government support in the past because of the information wasn’t so readily available.”
Cancer Research UK partners with Spotify for virtual festival
by Becky Wilkerson, marketingmagazine.co.uk
LONDON - Cancer Research UK has tied with Spotify to create a virtual music event, intended to boost awareness of the music site as well as raise money for the charity.
The Invisible Festival will take place on Saturday 8 August and will provide music and visuals. Its website www.invisiblefestival.com will be expanded over coming weeks to include content such as confirmed artists, wrist bands, communal food and drink ideas and decorations.
As part of the festival, there will be virtual tents hosting bands; in each tent there will be a chance for festival-goers to donate to the organisers' favourite charity, Cancer Research UK, by way of thanks for the music.
The cancer charity will also have a branded tent, which will have its own play-list as well as links to Cancer Research UK health information and events. It will also provide further opportunities for festival-goers to donate.
The festival will be promoted across social networks including Twitter, MySpace and Facebook.
LONDON - Cancer Research UK has tied with Spotify to create a virtual music event, intended to boost awareness of the music site as well as raise money for the charity.
The Invisible Festival will take place on Saturday 8 August and will provide music and visuals. Its website www.invisiblefestival.com will be expanded over coming weeks to include content such as confirmed artists, wrist bands, communal food and drink ideas and decorations.
As part of the festival, there will be virtual tents hosting bands; in each tent there will be a chance for festival-goers to donate to the organisers' favourite charity, Cancer Research UK, by way of thanks for the music.
The cancer charity will also have a branded tent, which will have its own play-list as well as links to Cancer Research UK health information and events. It will also provide further opportunities for festival-goers to donate.
The festival will be promoted across social networks including Twitter, MySpace and Facebook.
17 June, 2009
Brown: Internet as integral as gas and water
By Camille Alarcon
Prime Minister Gordon Brown has reaffirmed the Government’s pledge that every home and business will have access to broadband ahead of the unveiling of the Digital Britain report yesterday (May 16).
In a newspaper column Brown focused on the need to provide high-speed internet access to every part of the country, which he says has become as “indispensable as electricity, gas and water”.
The Government’s goal is to ensure everyone in the UK will have broadband access by 2012 and at a speed fast enough to be able to watch live TV.
Sacha Deshmukh, head of corporate communications at marketing communications group Engine, says however that the report will only prove that the Govnerment is “falling woefully behind the pace of media change”.
Brown has also pointed to the need to sustain public service content such as commercial regional news.
As part of this, it is largely expected that the report, authored by the outgoing Minster for Communications Lord Carter, could see the BBC forced to share part of the TV licence fee with commercial broadcasters.
In the Times newspaper column, Brown also says it will need to “help Channel 4 to secure its future”, but did not go as far as revealing if the report would recommend a tie-up with BBC Worldwide, as has been previously speculated.
In May, Channel 4 chief executive, Andy Duncan, said that discussions with BBC Worldwide were “going well” and that he remained “confident” of a positive outcome.
The broadcaster has already said that it would look to slice around £60m from its programming budget in the next year to offset falling revenues.
In other recommendations expected to be outlined in the report, it will take a hard line on online piracy, calling on internet service providers (ISPs) and the content industry to penalise people who illegally copy and share music and films over the internet.
Lord Carter is expected to create an “enforcement agency” which would make ISPs send out warning letters to repeat offenders who could then be penalised by having their connection speeds reduced.
Prime Minister Gordon Brown has reaffirmed the Government’s pledge that every home and business will have access to broadband ahead of the unveiling of the Digital Britain report yesterday (May 16).
In a newspaper column Brown focused on the need to provide high-speed internet access to every part of the country, which he says has become as “indispensable as electricity, gas and water”.
The Government’s goal is to ensure everyone in the UK will have broadband access by 2012 and at a speed fast enough to be able to watch live TV.
Sacha Deshmukh, head of corporate communications at marketing communications group Engine, says however that the report will only prove that the Govnerment is “falling woefully behind the pace of media change”.
Brown has also pointed to the need to sustain public service content such as commercial regional news.
As part of this, it is largely expected that the report, authored by the outgoing Minster for Communications Lord Carter, could see the BBC forced to share part of the TV licence fee with commercial broadcasters.
In the Times newspaper column, Brown also says it will need to “help Channel 4 to secure its future”, but did not go as far as revealing if the report would recommend a tie-up with BBC Worldwide, as has been previously speculated.
In May, Channel 4 chief executive, Andy Duncan, said that discussions with BBC Worldwide were “going well” and that he remained “confident” of a positive outcome.
The broadcaster has already said that it would look to slice around £60m from its programming budget in the next year to offset falling revenues.
In other recommendations expected to be outlined in the report, it will take a hard line on online piracy, calling on internet service providers (ISPs) and the content industry to penalise people who illegally copy and share music and films over the internet.
Lord Carter is expected to create an “enforcement agency” which would make ISPs send out warning letters to repeat offenders who could then be penalised by having their connection speeds reduced.
Oxfam signs up Joseph Sivell for new head of digital comms role
Oxfam has appointed a digital PR specialist as part of a plan to transform the way it uses online communications.
Joseph Sivell will join the charity on 22 June in the new role of head of digital communications. He will manage a team of 16 and will work closely with the media and campaigns team to overhaul the way the charity presents itself through the web.
Sivell joins from The Field Unit, a consultancy he founded in 2007 that specialises in e-learning for museums. Previously, he spent nine years as creative new media manager at the British Museum where he created the museum’s digital content displays, showed exhibits online and created e-learning opportunities for specialist audiences.
He joins Oxfam as the charity places a heavier focus on the use of digital across the charity. Oxfam has increased its investment in this area and has taken on new consultancies including Magic Lantern to get advice on its strategy. It is also looking at ways of using digital’s ‘transformational power’ to help people on the ground - by setting up early disaster warning systems and creating ways of educating communities online.
Sivell will work with the BBC on upcoming projects to show villages affected by climate change online. He will also manage a series of digital music events and he will also be involved in Oxfam’s mission to mobilise two million people online in the run up to December’s climate change conference in Copenhagen.
Oxfam’s head of media Sam Barrett said: ‘We are reshaping our strategy because we want to retain our cutting edge position in the charity sector. A whole generation of people are online and it is where the media is moving. We still need to do offline comms because some of our key audiences of politicians and donors are there, but everyone is in transition and we want to make sure that we are not left behind.’
Sivell will report to Oxfam's acting director of corporate communications Kristen Schnepp.
She said: ‘Oxfam's goal is to become the leading charity in the digital environment and Joseph will play a critical role in working to make this happen.’
Joseph Sivell will join the charity on 22 June in the new role of head of digital communications. He will manage a team of 16 and will work closely with the media and campaigns team to overhaul the way the charity presents itself through the web.
Sivell joins from The Field Unit, a consultancy he founded in 2007 that specialises in e-learning for museums. Previously, he spent nine years as creative new media manager at the British Museum where he created the museum’s digital content displays, showed exhibits online and created e-learning opportunities for specialist audiences.
He joins Oxfam as the charity places a heavier focus on the use of digital across the charity. Oxfam has increased its investment in this area and has taken on new consultancies including Magic Lantern to get advice on its strategy. It is also looking at ways of using digital’s ‘transformational power’ to help people on the ground - by setting up early disaster warning systems and creating ways of educating communities online.
Sivell will work with the BBC on upcoming projects to show villages affected by climate change online. He will also manage a series of digital music events and he will also be involved in Oxfam’s mission to mobilise two million people online in the run up to December’s climate change conference in Copenhagen.
Oxfam’s head of media Sam Barrett said: ‘We are reshaping our strategy because we want to retain our cutting edge position in the charity sector. A whole generation of people are online and it is where the media is moving. We still need to do offline comms because some of our key audiences of politicians and donors are there, but everyone is in transition and we want to make sure that we are not left behind.’
Sivell will report to Oxfam's acting director of corporate communications Kristen Schnepp.
She said: ‘Oxfam's goal is to become the leading charity in the digital environment and Joseph will play a critical role in working to make this happen.’
15 June, 2009
Martha Lane Fox joins government in digital champion role
by Jacquie Bowser, Brand Republic
The government has reportedly appointed Lastminute.com co-founder Martha Lane Fox as its digital inclusion champion to boost the use of technology across the UK.
The appointment has not yet been officially confirmed but according to a number of reports, Lane Fox has accepted the position and was introduced to a small audience of senior civil servants, representatives from the UK Digital Task Force and charities Age Concern and Help The Aged at a meeting in central London on Monday.
She will be tasked with driving digital inclusion issues into the public eye and will work with all sections of society to identify evidence of emerging issues.
The aim is to get the 17m people in the UK who do not have access to the internet, online
The reports of Lane Fox taking the role coincide with news out today about communications minister Lord Carter's planned return to the private sector after the publication of his Digital Britain report in July.
Seen as a digital pioneer, Lane Fox co-founded travel website Lastminute.com with Brent Hoberman in 1998. She stepped down as managing director in 2003 but remains a non-executive director at the company.
In 2004, she sold 2m of her Lastminute.com shares for £4.6m.
Lane Fox also set up private karaoke company Lucky Voice in 2005, and is a board member of Channel 4 and non-executive director of Marks & Spencer.
The government has reportedly appointed Lastminute.com co-founder Martha Lane Fox as its digital inclusion champion to boost the use of technology across the UK.
The appointment has not yet been officially confirmed but according to a number of reports, Lane Fox has accepted the position and was introduced to a small audience of senior civil servants, representatives from the UK Digital Task Force and charities Age Concern and Help The Aged at a meeting in central London on Monday.
She will be tasked with driving digital inclusion issues into the public eye and will work with all sections of society to identify evidence of emerging issues.
The aim is to get the 17m people in the UK who do not have access to the internet, online
The reports of Lane Fox taking the role coincide with news out today about communications minister Lord Carter's planned return to the private sector after the publication of his Digital Britain report in July.
Seen as a digital pioneer, Lane Fox co-founded travel website Lastminute.com with Brent Hoberman in 1998. She stepped down as managing director in 2003 but remains a non-executive director at the company.
In 2004, she sold 2m of her Lastminute.com shares for £4.6m.
Lane Fox also set up private karaoke company Lucky Voice in 2005, and is a board member of Channel 4 and non-executive director of Marks & Spencer.
11 June, 2009
Scope film highlights challenges disabled people face in London
Becky Wilkerson, marketingmagazine.co.uk
Scope has created an online film to highlight the barriers disabled people face in accessing London locations.
The film short, which has been produced by Enable, is part of the charity's Time to Get Equal Week this week. It will be posted on YouTube, Facebook and MySpace and Twitter to encourage people to sign up to its pledge to raise awareness about the importance of access for disabled people.
It documents a lunchtime blitz in which disabled volunteers visited a host of London destinations, such as parks, shops, restaurants and Tube stations to check how accessible they were.
Locations that proved out of bounds or offering poor service to disabled people will be ‘tagged' to highlight the problem. Similarly, good practice was rewarded with a tag.
Scope aims to ensure that disabled people realise their full civil liberties and human rights.
Scope has created an online film to highlight the barriers disabled people face in accessing London locations.
The film short, which has been produced by Enable, is part of the charity's Time to Get Equal Week this week. It will be posted on YouTube, Facebook and MySpace and Twitter to encourage people to sign up to its pledge to raise awareness about the importance of access for disabled people.
It documents a lunchtime blitz in which disabled volunteers visited a host of London destinations, such as parks, shops, restaurants and Tube stations to check how accessible they were.
Locations that proved out of bounds or offering poor service to disabled people will be ‘tagged' to highlight the problem. Similarly, good practice was rewarded with a tag.
Scope aims to ensure that disabled people realise their full civil liberties and human rights.
08 June, 2009
Direct mail among least cost-effective fundraising techniques
New research on the most cost-effective forms of fundraising shows that newspaper advertising and direct mail are ranked last.
The latest research, commissioned by clothes collection company Clothes Aid and carried out by rating website Intelligent Giving, shows that fundraising from major donors and trusts are most cost-effective methods. Intelligent Giving’s lead researcher Sarah Hedley said: “Some of the fundraising methods that seem to be the most popular are not the ones that get the best returns. That is especially the case with direct mail. Compared to some of the others it has comparatively low returns per pound of investment.”
She added: “The real winners that come out are major donors and trust fundraising.”
Outgoing director of Intelligent Giving, Adam Rothwell, told PF: “We based the survey on something Adrian Sargeant did in 1999 and it is really interesting that our results are similar to his.
“This is the second time in ten years that this message has come across – really common direct marketing methods of fundraising yield significantly lower returns.”
Although the survey was commissioned by Clothes Aid, Intelligent Giving’s Hedley said it is difficult for her to draw any conclusions about the practice from the results because the sample of charities carrying out door-to-door clothes collections was so small – just three out of 40 respondents.
Michael Lomotey, of Clothes Aid, said: “Charities are well informed and very experienced when it comes to fundraising but there is a lack of research on the effectiveness of different methods of fundraising. We wanted our partners to be able to compare what we do with other methods and help inform themselves of the benefits.
“Even though there was only a small number of respondents, the findings support our belief and experience that clothing collections offer a very reasonable method of fundraising which factually is risk-free and requires no financial investment from the charity. The research can also be used by local authority licensing officers to better understand the range of fundraising methods and their effectiveness.”
The latest research, commissioned by clothes collection company Clothes Aid and carried out by rating website Intelligent Giving, shows that fundraising from major donors and trusts are most cost-effective methods. Intelligent Giving’s lead researcher Sarah Hedley said: “Some of the fundraising methods that seem to be the most popular are not the ones that get the best returns. That is especially the case with direct mail. Compared to some of the others it has comparatively low returns per pound of investment.”She added: “The real winners that come out are major donors and trust fundraising.”
Outgoing director of Intelligent Giving, Adam Rothwell, told PF: “We based the survey on something Adrian Sargeant did in 1999 and it is really interesting that our results are similar to his.
“This is the second time in ten years that this message has come across – really common direct marketing methods of fundraising yield significantly lower returns.”
Although the survey was commissioned by Clothes Aid, Intelligent Giving’s Hedley said it is difficult for her to draw any conclusions about the practice from the results because the sample of charities carrying out door-to-door clothes collections was so small – just three out of 40 respondents.
Michael Lomotey, of Clothes Aid, said: “Charities are well informed and very experienced when it comes to fundraising but there is a lack of research on the effectiveness of different methods of fundraising. We wanted our partners to be able to compare what we do with other methods and help inform themselves of the benefits.
“Even though there was only a small number of respondents, the findings support our belief and experience that clothing collections offer a very reasonable method of fundraising which factually is risk-free and requires no financial investment from the charity. The research can also be used by local authority licensing officers to better understand the range of fundraising methods and their effectiveness.”
02 June, 2009
Brands get help building a following on Facebook
by Elizabeth Clifford-Marsh, revolutionmagazine.com
Facebook is expected to begin allowing users and brands to create vanity URLs, which will make it easier for their pages to be navigated to directly by other users.
The URLs, which are expected to be launched later this week, will point to a user's profile page, or a brand's fan page.
The changes will mean a user's profile URL will not longer be listed as a number (eg www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=arandomnumber), but will be a name or term of their choice (eg www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=joebloggs).
Trademark laws will protect brand names to a certain extent, although generic trademarked terms may be able to be used by competitors or member of the public.
Although some brands have been able to access vanity URLs since March, widespread changes will make it easier for brands to direct the public to Facebook fan pages in offline ad campaigns.
Facebook has also made changes to its fan pages which allow brands to target content by location.
The ‘Your Area' tab on a brand's page gives the user information on products, promotions or stores specific to their country.
Adidas Originals has begun using the feature to promote its latest campaign, House Parties in each country as well as local promotions.
Facebook is expected to begin allowing users and brands to create vanity URLs, which will make it easier for their pages to be navigated to directly by other users.
The URLs, which are expected to be launched later this week, will point to a user's profile page, or a brand's fan page.
The changes will mean a user's profile URL will not longer be listed as a number (eg www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=arandomnumber), but will be a name or term of their choice (eg www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=joebloggs).
Trademark laws will protect brand names to a certain extent, although generic trademarked terms may be able to be used by competitors or member of the public.
Although some brands have been able to access vanity URLs since March, widespread changes will make it easier for brands to direct the public to Facebook fan pages in offline ad campaigns.
Facebook has also made changes to its fan pages which allow brands to target content by location.
The ‘Your Area' tab on a brand's page gives the user information on products, promotions or stores specific to their country.
Adidas Originals has begun using the feature to promote its latest campaign, House Parties in each country as well as local promotions.
Amnesty targets journalists on Twitter
Mathew Little, Third Sector Online
Move coincides with media awards
Amnesty International UK has created a channel on social networking website Twitter http://twitter.com/ specifically aimed at journalists.
The "@NewsFromAmnesty" channel is being launched to coincide with its annual media awards on Tuesday.Winners of the awards will be "tweeted" live from the ceremony.
Amnesty already has 4,500 followers on Twitter but says it is introducing the Twitter channel in response to media demand for "real time" news from the micro-blogging network.
Mike Blakemore, media director at Amnesty International UK, said: "We've been excited by the growth of human rights activism in social media communications and we know that journalists are also keen to get Amnesty's communications delivered via networks like Twitter."
Sending updates via ‘NewsfromAmnesty' won't mean a drop-off in accuracy and impartiality, it just means our news will get out even faster."
Move coincides with media awards
Amnesty International UK has created a channel on social networking website Twitter http://twitter.com/ specifically aimed at journalists.
The "@NewsFromAmnesty" channel is being launched to coincide with its annual media awards on Tuesday.Winners of the awards will be "tweeted" live from the ceremony.
Amnesty already has 4,500 followers on Twitter but says it is introducing the Twitter channel in response to media demand for "real time" news from the micro-blogging network.
Mike Blakemore, media director at Amnesty International UK, said: "We've been excited by the growth of human rights activism in social media communications and we know that journalists are also keen to get Amnesty's communications delivered via networks like Twitter."
Sending updates via ‘NewsfromAmnesty' won't mean a drop-off in accuracy and impartiality, it just means our news will get out even faster."
01 June, 2009
Facebook biggest online ad publisher during April
Colin Marrs, campaignlive.co.uk
Facebook was the top online display ad publisher in the UK during April, according to research released today.
The new ComScore metrics for the month show Facebook had 12.5 billion ad views during the month, a 21.6 per cent market share.
Microsoft sites ranked second with 3.8 billion ad views (a 6.5 per cent share), while eBay came third with 2.9 billion ad views (4.9 per cent).
Mobile phone operators took the top two slots in the largest advertiser category, with O2 taking 1.9 per cent of the total market, and T-Mobile taking 1.3 per cent.
Facebook was the top online display ad publisher in the UK during April, according to research released today.
The new ComScore metrics for the month show Facebook had 12.5 billion ad views during the month, a 21.6 per cent market share.
Microsoft sites ranked second with 3.8 billion ad views (a 6.5 per cent share), while eBay came third with 2.9 billion ad views (4.9 per cent).
Mobile phone operators took the top two slots in the largest advertiser category, with O2 taking 1.9 per cent of the total market, and T-Mobile taking 1.3 per cent.
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