UEFA boosts profits with bigger online presence

Jonathan Bowers, June 26th 2008, 2:10PM

European football governing body UEFA will no doubt be delighted with the quality of the on-pitch spectacle at this year’s tournament. However, Platini and co’s greatest delight will probably be reserved for their online profits.

According to the BBC , overall profits for Euro 2008 are about 35% higher than for Euro 2004, due in part to a major increase in ecommerce, and with a full week of the tournament still to go UEFA had reported 1 billion hits on its Euro 2008 website, far exceeding the total number of visits to its official site four years ago.

These impressive figures reflect the fact that European football’s governing body has now fully realised the commercial power of the internet. While in the past a website was seen as a secondary thought to pay lip-service to the online medium by an industry focused on broadcast revenue, now UEFA has cottoned on to the fact that a good website can deliver financially.

Take a look at the Euro 2008 home page , the commercial opportunities are everywhere. A sponsor’s banner adorns the top of the page in prime view. There are additional, dynamic adverts on the page and features are also sponsored (i.e. ‘Castrol Stats’) to add a further opportunity for companies to get their advertising in.

Then there is UEFA’s own revenue driving content. Naturally there is an online store, but the most interesting addition this time around is the Pay-per-view facility. This is a real departure for UEFA as it looks to take advantage of the modern broadband age. With this service visitors can pay to watch live games or replays streamed through the official website.

The live streaming in particular is interesting because it shows just how powerful the internet has become as UEFA is willing to irritate its traditional broadcast partners to pursue online revenues.

The internet has evolved past eye-catching novelty, past a begrudging support role, even past an established complimentary commercial endeavour. The internet is now a powerful sales tool in its own right, surpassing traditional mediums in many ways. UEFA has now appreciated this and it is reaping the rewards by maximising the considerable commercial potential of its Euro 2008 website.

Tags: internet, marketing, media
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Is the BBC website good value for money

Jonathan Bowers, June 11th 2008, 9:52AM

Here’s a thought – As the BBC website is available to the world and therefore can be read by non-licence fee payers, should it be funded by the license fee?

This is a pretty contentious point. With the validity of the licence fee as a whole already a hot issue, the idea of Jonny foreigner getting a service for free because we are already paying for it is likely to make some blow a gasket. Furthermore, the fact that new revelations have shown that the BBC overspent £36m on its website in the year to March 2008 certainly doesn’t make the sell any easier.

But should licence fee payers be unhappy? Or should we see the BBC website as an asset for putting UK plc in the global shop window and therefore great value for our money whatever the cost?

In reality the funding situation is not as black and white as suggested above. In fact, foreign IP addresses that bring up bbc.co.uk actually see adverts on the pages. This is because the BBC is allowed to generate revenue from foreign use of its website. So we don’t pay alone for overseas users’ benefit.

However, to be honest I wouldn’t mind if we did because the value to us in the UK is worth the expense.

First and foremost this is because the BBC website, and for that matter the BBC, is a great ambassador for the UK as a whole. Having the BBC website broadbanded into foreign homes spreads the word about UK productivity at its best. The BBC is still revered around the world as the best broadcasting network and it is therefore a shining beacon reminding the world of the fact that some things are still done best in the UK. The reflected glory can benefit us all.

Secondly, the BBC website provides a conduit to other companies in the UK. That is to say it can effectively operate as an indirect advertising medium for UK business. Consider a news story about a UK firm’s great new invention or a feature article on why the UK is becoming a hub of web hosting. Such articles that indirectly promote UK business will be read by overseas users. So the BBC can help to connect UK business to a wider customer base.

Finally, and most directly for our interests at UKFast , the spanking new BBC website shows that the UK internet industry is a world leader. It demonstrates that we as an industry are amongst the very best at designing, building, functioning, marketing and hosting the world’s fastest growing business and information medium.

But what about the overspend? Well at a total price of £110m the BBC website still only costs £5 per licence fee household and when you consider that Eastenders costs about £250,000 per episode, the BBC could easily afford its website if it cancelled the limp London soap!

So, I think to spend what is still a small portion of our licence fees on the BBC’s online presence is money very well spent.

Tags: advertising, internet, news, websites
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Online Community Messaging – the next big online marketing tool

Jonathan Bowers, May 30th 2008, 1:28PM

In their efforts to connect with potential customers online, businesses are already using online banner ads, site sponsorship and email marketing but can we predict the next big development to hit the mainstream? In my view it’s going to be online community messaging.

Why? Firstly, community messaging has the power to deliver a business’s ad direct to the audience. Secondly, using the wealth of personal data held by community sites, marketing can be targeted right down to the individual.

Thirdly, it avoids the potential problems that have developed in using email for advertising, such as spam filters and users recognising and rejecting marketing emails. And fourthly, it offers an exciting, new interface, which we could call ’partnering’ or ‘piggybacking’.

If we take Facebook as an example we can see the huge potential for online community messaging marketing.

Facebook has a number of features that offer an effective message service through activity linking. The most direct model involves creating a fan page of a brand or product and inviting members. As people join their network friends are automatically alerted to the action, which spreads the word about the brand. This marketing style generates what is known as ‘Fansumers’ and it has the added benefit that brands are not just promoted but also endorsed.

The ‘partnering’ message is Facebook’s latest initiative. If a user messages a friend with reference to a commercial entity, the business can pay to include an ad that accompanies the message. The example Facebook uses is a restaurant. A user messages a friend saying they have visited a particular restaurant and included in the massage is an ad for that very restaurant.

Online community popularity continues to go from strength to strength and it offers unique characteristics to help businesses get their message across. So a big part of the future of online marketing certainly involves online community messaging.

Tags: advertising, brand, e-commerce, facebook, internet
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Community Spirit alive and well in Manchester

Jonathan Bowers, May 14th 2008, 6:12PM

For those who don't know, Manchester is playing host to the UEFA Cup Final tonight and the city is full of Scottish and Russian fans. We're very fortunate at UKFast to have one of the best vantage points in Manchester. Today, 28 floors above the city centre it is especially advantageous. The events in Piccadilly Gardens and for that matter across the city are brilliant to watch and as I write this, a great example of community celebration at work.

Our video producer Tristan has got in amongst it to get a little footage that should give you an impression of the atmosphere out there at the moment. I've put it up on our website.

I spoke to a BBC journalist friend who has been talking to the fans today and he was struck by the good nature of the day, shaking hands with everyone he spoke to. He pointed out that the feeling you get when observing such a gathering is like no other and I agree. It might be football that has brought people together today but it is a community spirit that drives the celebration.

As businesses we should all take note of the power of community spirit. Joining people together in common purpose, working together to a shared goal are hallmarks of a successful team.

Not sure how I'm going to get home tonight - but right now, I don't really care.

Tags: communities, development
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Tesco takes moral stand against Google Awords?

Jonathan Bowers, May 9th 2008, 11:19AM

UK supermarket titan Tesco has announced that it is not bidding on rivals’ names despite the introduction of Google Adwords changes. If true what are Tesco’s motivations?

Immediate reactions have been that Tesco does not want to dance to Google’s tune and that the move is designed to keep the cost of search engine advertising down. And Tesco would not be the only company in the UK commercial sector showing defiance to the US goliath.

Or does Tesco have something else on its mind. Naturally, if it appears to take the moral high ground and does not bid on names such as Sainsbury’s or Asda, it will want them to do the same. Just maybe, the market leader’s concerns of rivals diverting its intended online customer base are the real motivation.

This falls in line with Asda’s belief. According to Brand Republic , Rick Bendel, marketing director at Asda, said: 'Tesco believes everything is for sale, except when it doesn't suit it.' This supports the view that Tesco thinks it will ultimately lose out from the adoption of Adword changes and is trying to manoeuvre to prevent it. However, Asda is not playing ball as it has not ruled out bidding on rival trademarks.

Search engine traffic diversion has become a major issue. The new rules allow companies to bid on rivals’ trademarks for the first time. While advertisers are not allowed to pass themselves off as their competitors, they can now appear quoting their own URL at the top of a search for a rival if they are the top Adwords bidders.

For example, a searcher who wants to do some online grocery shopping puts Tesco in as their search criteria. Asda has top bid on the Adword ‘Tesco’, so its advert appears top of the Google search list. This online shopper just wants groceries and is happy to click on the first link. The searcher looked for Tesco but ended up shopping with Asda. Tesco has lost out despite being the initial front runner.

It is surprising that Tesco would be that concerned about a price war on Adwords. It is the dominant supermarket in the UK and most likely to have the resources to win an Adwords price battle. However, as it operates in a convenience retail sector where customers are likely to opt for the path of least resistance, the possibility that Google’s new Adwords system will divert custom away is a serious concern.

This is also backed up by brand new research suggesting that under the new system search engine users get to their original search destination 8% less often compared to the old system.

I believe that Tesco’s true concern with Google’s new rules is not that it will have to spend more but that its competitors will now profit from piggybacking on its hard fought brand positioning.

Tags: adwords, brand, e-commerce, google, search_terms
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