The British Interactive Media Association (BIMA) revealed the final shortlist for its prestigious annual award ceremony to be held on November 10th.  During a packed event at LBi’s headquarters on Brick Lane, Nick Jones, head of digital at the Prime Minister’s office and Cabinet Office discussed the year in digital and gave insights into the importance of the UK’s leadership in this space. James Bruce, Head of Creative EMEA at Disney online announced the 100 nominees.  The entry and nomination process drew on the insights of an expert panel of 50 judges and this year’s awards, has 26 sectors and discipline categories plus five Premium Awards.   Headline sponsors of the BIMA Awards 2011 are Dedipower with support from Microsoft, Digital Gurus, Futureheads, Greensquare, Results International, Round8, Sheridans, Pure Genie, iStock Photo and Aditi. Media partners include The Drum, Figaro, UTalk Marketing, Communicate, net magazine, C21, Mixing Digital and Chinwag – reaching over 450,000 digital professionals.

Awards Party Details
Date: November 10th
Venue: 77a Charterhouse Street, Farringdon, London EC1M 3HN.
Tickets: https://www.eventelephant.com/bimaawards2011
URL: http://www.bimaawards.com/awards-party.php
Organiser: BIMA

Nearly one in seven of all search queries are now conducted via mobile, compared to just one in 15 in 2010, according to the Q3 Mobile Report from Latitude Digital Marketing. The report also reveals that smartphones are now responsible for 7 per cent of all paid clicks, with 3 per cent of all paid clicks coming from tablets. The arbitrage opportunities from mobile search continue in many sectors, with Q3 Mobile CPCs (cost-per-click rates) averaging out at 23 per cent cheaper than desktop, while tablet CPCs were 13 per cent cheaper than desktop.

The findings come with Q4 poised to see a record number of transactions for mobile retailers. Growth in consumer confidence, combined with a growing user base suggests that this Christmas will smash mCommerce records for prepared retailers. The continuing increase in tablet visits appears to be driven by Apple’s iPad products, with tablet visits reaching a plateau at the start of the year, and then sustained growth following the March iPad2 release.

Oct 24, 2011- UtalkMarketing

One in three young adults will use their mobile phone to purchase Christmas gifts for friends and family this year. UTalkMarketing, the global hub for marketing knowledge, teamed up with online survey platform Toluna to survey 1300 UK consumers and found that a staggering 32% of 18 to 34 year olds plan to use their mobile device to purchase gifts in the run up to the festive season.

  The result is a strong indication that an increasing number of young shoppers are using their mobile device to make purchases. Older age groups too are making an increasing number of purchases via their mobile - 14% of those aged between 35 and 54, and 9% of over 55’s also plan to make Christmas purchases this year using their device. Apple’s iPhone users are the most likely to make a Christmas purchase via their device– 42% of those that say they will make a Christmas purchase via mobile will do using their iPhone. Some 31% of those that say they will make a Christmas purchase via their mobile will use their Blackberry and a further 27% will do so via an Android device. 

But retailers will need to have a mobile app in place if they want a slice of the now lucrative mobile shopper market. An overwhelming 88% of mobile shoppers will only make a purchase this Christmas if their retailer of choice has ‘an app for that’. Only 12% of mobile shoppers will make a purchase directly from a retailer’s mobile-optimised website. “The results of this survey are a clear indication that retailers cannot ignore the mobile-commerce wave.

They need to adapt to and embrace the changing ways consumers now shop”, says Melanie McKinney, UTalkMarketing’s publisher.  “The fact that a third of young adults are planning to buy their Christmas gifts via their mobile device is proof that the year of mobile-commerce is finally upon us. The fact that most mobile shoppers will do so directly via a retailer’s app is also strong proof that brands wishing to contend in the mobile-commerce arena must do more than simply provide a mobile optimised website”. The main concern of those that won’t use their mobile device to make purchases this Christmas is the issue of privacy – 26% of those that said they would not use their mobile device to make purchases said it is because they have privacy concerns related to entering banking details into their device. “This is clearly an issue that consumers are concerned about, and these findings highlight a need for mobile retailers to reassure people that shopping via their device is secure and make sure it actually is!” says McKinney. 

UTalkMarketing’s findings fit the suggestion that an increasing number of consumers are shunning crowded high streets to shop via online at Christmas – a YouGov survey released earlier this week suggests that 84% of consumers will buy at least one gift online this year with a third saying they will buy all of their gifts online.  Our survey platform has been kindly provided by Toluna QuickSurveys: Create a free online survey or poll.

In a strategy to preserve diversity in the search market and heading off rival moves from Microsoft. Reports emerging from the US have claimed that Google is considering providing financing for a third-party bidder for Yahoo, which is currently undergoing a “strategic review”, citing sources close to the developments.  However, backing a third-party bid for Yahoo, which is also being eyed by its “search alliance partner” Microsoft, could indirectly safeguard Google’s position in the search market.

Groupon Inc has sued two former sales manager who held confidential information before they quit the daily deal company to join Google Inc's

Groupon seeks a court order to prevent the former employees from disclosing confidential information to Google, which would continue to "irreparably" harm it.

Last year, Groupon rejected a $6 billion buyout offer from Google. Groupon plans to raise as much as $540 million in an initial public offering. It aims to sell 30 million shares, or less than 5 percent of the company, at between $16 and $18 each, according to a regulatory filing on October 21.

Many Retail brands including Fashion Rocks, Ted Baker and Liberty are Looking signing up to 7thingsmedia affiliate marketing analysis software to improve affiliate marketing effectiveness.

  The Affiliate Manager Plus product uses data APIs to give brands more granular and real-time analysis and reporting on affiliate activity.

The launch of the product has been designed to help brands make sense of the wealth of data available in a more automated way

The Sports broadcaster ESPN has reported a rapid growth in mobile, video, TV and online platforms during the first 6 month of 2011.    

The US sports broadcaster, said record growth in its UK online audience has made it the fourth-largest “digital sports destination”.

Between June and August, an average of 2.5m UK fans visited ESPN’s sites every month – helping it become the fourth-largest provider of digital sports behind the BBC, Sky and Yahoo, according to data from ComScore cited by ESPN.