June 2009

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 | By Justin Pearse

The long-awaited Digital Britain report was bound to be one of the biggest stories of the month. While the mainstream media focused on proposals to top-slice the BBC licence fee and a ‘broadband tax’ on people’s phone bills, behind the headlines Lord Carter showed he understood digital content isn’t all about piracy.

Recognising the role of micropayments in on-demand TV content, Digital Britain recommended the formation of a single independent billing provider. And in a small victory for the producer’s trade body Pact, Carter recognised the need to free up intellectual property held under crown copyright, by charging Nesta to pilot a new IP framework.

The other big story was the results of this year’s new media age Effectiveness Awards. What was striking was the role social media played in the majority of winning entries. Brands including Bacardi, Cadbury, Nike and Compare the Market are taking social media beyond a box-ticking approach.

And this will only increase. In the same week as our awards, at the Cannes Lions Advertising Festival Jonathan Mildenhall, VP of global advertising strategy and creative excellence at The Coca-Cola Company, said the company plans to increase its social media output after admitting Coke is playing catch-up with user-generated content.

As big brands up their commitment to digital marketing, they’re anxious to put this in the context of all their media planning, using a single online planning currency of audience measurement. So the news this month that the IPA would integrate data from the IAB-led UKOM project into its Touchpoints 3 initiative on launch next year was welcome. Back in 2005, the IAB was telling the industry an online planning curency was two years off. Might 2010 be the year it finally becomes reality?

Meanwhile this year looks like being when e-books break through. We reported that Penguin plans to enable iPhone users in the UK to download its entire digital catalogue. Will mobile prove to be more important to this market than e-readers? Place your bets.