Media and communications group, WPP, has announced that its wholly-owned operating company, Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide, has agreed to acquire 28.4% of PRAP Japan, one of the largest international public relations firms in Japan. The company is Based in Tokyo and with offices in Beijing and Shanghai; its clients include Axa Life Insurance, British Airways,… Continue reading WPP Takes Stake In Japanese Public Relations Firm

The fastest growing advertising medium of last year was not the internet, or indeed any of the traditional offline media, but rather ambient media, according to the latest report on the industry by outdoor contractor Concord. The term ‘ambient advertising’ essentially covers a range of new marketing techniques that have been developed in recent years,… Continue reading Ambient Advertising Outgrows All Other Media, Says Concord

Record numbers of people were exposed to outdoor roadside advertising in 2001, with audiences rising 2.6% year on year and the number of impacts up by 150 million per week to over six billion, according to a report from outdoor contractor JCDecaux. The Poster Track Study shows that the average level of prompted awareness for… Continue reading Outdoor Roadside Achieves Record Audiences In 2001, According To JCDecaux

The number of text messages sent in the UK last year almost doubled compared to 2000, according to the latest figures from the Mobile Data Association (MDA). December’s 1.3 billion total means that during the course of 2001, some 12.2 billion chargeable person to person text messages were sent, compared to 1.1 billion in 1999… Continue reading UK Text Message Total For 2001 Exceeds 12 Billion

According to Multimedia Messaging in Europe: Let the Fun Begin, a new report from the Yankee Group, multimedia messaging will be worth $44 billion by 2006. Combining voice and text-based person to person messages, new services will boost mobile revenues across Europe. “MMS is a radically new messaging technology that will take non-voice mobile communications… Continue reading European Multimedia Messaging Will Generate $44 billion By 2006, says The Yankee Group

Poor returns from walled-garden interactive television (iTV) are disappointing the UK’s finance firms that have used the platform to deliver their services to consumers, according to Big Banks Dominate iDTV – a new report from Forrester Research. The report forecasts that the number of iTV users will grow from the current 11 million adults to… Continue reading iTV Users To Reach 21 Million By 2004, But Users Not Ready For TV Banking, Says Forrester

GWR this morning released a trading update in order to keep investors informed of the company’s progress in these ‘uncertain and volatile’ times for the UK radio advertising market. In September, the group announced that profits had fallen by over 70% in the six months to 30 September 2001 (see GWR Profits Drop 70% On… Continue reading Trading Updates Offer Little Hope To Radio Industry

GWR this morning stated that it anticipates that revenues for the UK market in January will be around 6% down, year on year but declines to predict any further ahead than that saying “The radio advertising market continues to be volatile making it difficult to forecast revenues even in the short term”. In the 3… Continue reading Trading Statements Reveal Little Optimism For UK Radio Market This Year

Forrester Research has downgraded its European online retail spending forecasts in the light of European Commission cuts to consumption growth. Forrester now expects online retail to drive €147.5 billion in sales in 2006, compared to the previous forecast of €151.9 billion. However, the figure for 2002 has been revised upward slightly from €32.5 billion to… Continue reading Forrester Downgrades European Net Retail Forecasts

According to GPRS Roaming: Technical Options And Strategic Implications, a new report published by Analysys, General Packet Radio Services (GPRS) subscriber numbers in western Europe will approach 6 million by the end of 2002. However, this is unlikely unless GPRS roaming becomes possible within the next six months. “While very little GPRS data revenue will… Continue reading Roaming Will Drive GPRS Take Up, Says Analysys