Newspaper websites have come a long way.

There was a time when they were merely token presences, but they all now seem to be adhering to the ‘the more content the better’ motto. (see Jemima Kiss article on Mirror.co.uk revamp).

Whilst more content is always good, I think the next step for newspapers to understand that in the online world this content should be more pictorial and video led than textual.

A lot of content is good, but too much to read is bad.

I would like to see newspapers offer shorter articles rather than copying the editorial as it appears in print. Web users want to dip in and out and digest quickly.

The skills of journalists are going to be key to the success of newspapers online.

We have a generation of citizen journalists who have access to wide audiences through blogs. They know how to write for the web.

Newspapers need writers that understand the difference between writing compelling print copy and must-read online news. And as newspapers seek extra revenue through affiliate sales, these writers will have to know how to push sales whilst keeping an editorial tone too.

A great challenge for the next generation of great wannabe journos.

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There’s been much talk in meedja circles about UKTV’s rebrands for three of its main channels, UKTV Gold (GOLD), UKTV Gold+1 (Watch) and UKTV Drama (Alibi), but little mention of how the brands will work online.

All three channels quite rightfully have unique identities, although I do think UKTV should have stuck to the formula of having an overall brand feel so viewers know the channels belong to the same family.

I say that with my online marketing head on as that strategy would have allowed UKTV to offer a marketable web presence which houses content to complements the programmes, video on demand and community features.

We will have to see if UKTV plans to house the websites for the new channels on UKTV.co.uk as it presently does.

Dave, the only channel which does not use UKTV branding, is hosted on the UKTV.co.uk domain. This URL (uktv.co.uk/dave/homepage/sid/5002) shows up in Google when you search for the brand.

So although there is no UKTV branding on the Dave channel or Dave marketing material, it is expected that people have an affinity with UKTV (as that is the domain name), after all that’s what shows up on the Google page and that’s where the online brand engagement by people using search begins.

And yes, as well as the title and descriptive text, searchers DO look at the URL to when deciding whether it’s the right website to click on when looking at a search engine results page.

Unsurprisingly all UK domain names for the new channels are gone, as are the .tv equivalents. So I can only assume the websites will remain on the uktv.co.uk domain.

Once all UKTV stations are stripped of UKTV branding the public will cease to have an affinity with UKTV and thus UKTV.co.uk, which will certainly have implications for click through rates.

There’s also the possibility of confusion when advertising the URL on air? Advertising UKTV.co.uk on air does nothing to drive engagement with the individual channel brands, as they are totally divorced from the corporate name.

I know UKTV is very active with its marketing, and they have been very successful with rebranding UKTV G2 to Dave, and probably have a strategy in place for online. We’ll have to wait and see what it is.

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When I asked TechCrunch UK & Ireland’s Mike Butcher about start-up names, he made a very good point that most English language domain names have gone.

This has led to a flurry of dot coms with alternative – or misspelt – names.

Digg
Alternative for: Dig

Reevoo
Alternative for: Review

Vimeo
Alternative for: Video

Flickr
Alternative for: Flicker

Mixx
Alternative for: Mix

Can you think of any others?

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This week Emma Jones from home working website Enterprise Nation asked me “When marketing an online brand, should all marketing stay online?”.

See my response on the Enterprise Nation website.

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Editor of the TechCrunch UK & Ireland website, Mike Butcher has seen many start-ups come and go.

In this interview Mike reveals the most unforgettable start-up name he has come across and reveals which dot.com he would have conceived if he could go back in time!

Is it me or do start-ups seem to have similar names?
What can I say? Most good names have gone; at least in English. This is why you see common “misspellings”, like Digg.com.

I am also increasingly seeing more EU-based start-ups use .eu. Another favourite is .tv.

What’s the most unusual or unforgettable start-up name you have come across?
iliketotallyloveit.com - German startup.

What would you say makes one start-up more successful than others operating in the same space? Is it the technology, branding, marketing strategy or a mixture?
It completely depends on circumstance. If you have no unique intellectual property - like an amazing new technology - then your only other USP is speed to market share.

Which start-ups have amazed you with brilliant marketing techniques?
Now and again you see funny virals. But most start-ups are bad at marketing, or just not old enough to do it well.

And why should they? Marketing is for dull old businesses. Start-ups should - and usually do - compete on merit.

Are there any start-ups that you have been sorry to see go?
Yes, but usually you find out later that there was some fundamental flaw which meant they were doomed to fail.

Many were too early to market, or their founders were just out and out crap. Shit happens.

And finally, If you had the chance to go back in time, what internet brand would you have launched?
PlanetAll.com. It had many of today’s start-ups contained within its business model.

It had a big exit, but if it had been managed right it would be like Facebook, MySpace and Google wrapped into one today.

--
Read more about Web 2.0 and mobile start-ups at TechCrunch UK & Ireland

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Today was the Drapers online fashion conference at the Radisson Edwardian hotel in Mayfair.

The conference theatre was taken over by independent fashion stores interested in getting online, established online retailers and the big players.

As an online marketer having worked on fashion websites, one of the most surprising comments I heard was from Nick Robertson of ASOS who said “nobody searches for ‘black frilly dress’ [in Google]”.

According to Nick people search for stores (such as his own) and brand names (such as UGGs), but not for the actual item they want (such as black frilly dress). I couldn’t disagree more.

I believe that whilst many want inspiration (which is why they search for stores) and some are driven by brand (they search UGGs), an increasing amount knows exactly what they want and they do search Google for things like black frilly dress.

It’s been my experience that the latter is more likely to convert. And I know that view is also shared with others in online retail – (I wasn’t the only one in disbelief at the comment!).

Perhaps because of ASOS’s scale, the rules that apply to most online fashion stores don’t apply to them. Perhaps, perhaps, perhaps.

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Read my article ‘Five online fashion stores for Mary Portas’s shopping tribes’ on Drapers.

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If you’ve not yet seen the Amy Winehouse video, where she appears to have turned one of the world’s most innocent songs into a race filled chant, click here.

Below is the Google search results for her name on the day the video first appeared on the News of the World website.

The only mention of the controversial video is within the News Results at the top of the page.

I’ll be monitoring this to see if any of the main listings are taken over by the hundereds of websites and blogs that will no doubt be commenting on it.

It will be interesting to see if this story has more of a viral effect than Amy caught smoking crack on film.

What will cause more online conversation, racism or drugs?

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Author of 12 books and an expert on everything to do with branding, Jonathan Gabay is one of the most respected names in the world of marketing.

When he’s not writing influential books Jonathan travels the world spreading his knowledge on marketing, branding and communications.

This week I spoke to Jonathan about the re-launching of our favourite chocolate brands, how internet only players can compete with established names online and managing online reputation.

What do you think of Mars, Nestle and Cadbury’s bringing back old confectionery brands such as Marathon, Wispa and Opal Fruits?
The ancient Greeks had a term:  νόστος = nostos = returning home, and άλγος = algos = pain/longing .

The power of nostalgia in branding is one never to be underestimated.  However, FMCG companies have to be careful of the time between relaunching brands.  You can’t reintroduce a chocolate bar for nostalgia’s sake if it was only off the market for a question of a few years.

Snickers is renaming to Marathon for a limited period. Do you think there is a risk of confusing a generation of young people not familiar with Marathon, or is the logo and branding on the packet stronger than the name?
The trouble with reverting to an old brand name and then going back to a new one is that it shows a lack of confidence in a brand:  My opinion? Stay in for the long race not just a quick Marathon.

Cadbury’s brought back Wispa in response to several online petitions. What do you think is the primary motivation for people to join Facebook groups such as ‘Bring Back Wispa’?
Fun, nostalgia and sense of the consumer having a say in a much-loved brand.

An online petition has brought a brand back but do you think the internet generation will ever create a FMCG product? Will we see online petitions like ‘the campaign for Banana flavour KitKat’?
A brand leader is like a conductor of an orchestra.  If he (or she) totally dismisses out of hand what the audience wants, they could end up conducting nothing more than a one-man Penny Flute.

YouTube is one of my favourite internet brands. The word ‘tube’, which itself has connotations to traditional TV sets, is appropriately enclosed in an TV shaped box, ‘You’ adds a sense of personalisation, and the tagline ‘broadcast yourself’ says it all in two words. What’s your favourite internet only brand and why?
Google.  It is useful, distinctive and even has the accolade of being a verb in the Oxford dictionary. I also like Leonbaileygreen.com.  Fun, informative and sharp why thank you!.

What can internet only brands do to compete with online offerings from established bricks and mortar competitors?
The question should be reversed.  Give it ten years and most of the high street will be on the Wi-Fi street.

Do you think big brands are actively doing enough to achieve positive first page results on Google for their brand names?
I hope so - I teach a lot of them how to achieve that aim!

With universal search Google now shows news results alongside some brand name searches, making online reputation management more important than ever. Is reading a bad news story on a brand, when you’ve searched for it, more damaging than coming across the bad news story in a newspaper, or is it the same?
Someone famously said that “all publicity is good publicity” That’s not necessarily true, especially on the web.  Brands receiving bad PR could always be consoled by the PR men saying “today’s news is tomorrow’s fish and chip wrapping paper.” Pieces on the web linger much longer and because people read in short bursts on the web, they sometimes see the bad news headlines and just take it as read, rather than delve to find out more of the real truth behind the story.

And finally, what do you think is the next big trend in the world of branding?
More personalization and more permission based intrusion. That includes everything from the world of technology with customizable computers and interactive video ads on the go, to FMCG chocolate bars that come in banana flavours.

See more about Jonathan Gabay on the Brand Forensics website.

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Read my article ‘How Asda’s George clothing will succeed online’ on Drapers.

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Britain’s Got Talent may have beat I’d Do Anything in the Saturday night ratings battle, but which of the show’s star is being talked about most online?

I’ve analysed the online mentions of Jodie Prenger and George Sampson to see which of the two has the highest online profile.

Google Search Results
Jodie Prenger – 25,200
George Sampson – 73,000
WINNER: George Sampson

Google News
Jodie Prenger – 225
George Sampson – 274
WINNER: George Sampson

DigitalSpy forum threads
Jodie Prenger – 39
George Sampson – 105
WINNER: George Sampson

Blog mentions
Jodie Prenger – 215
George Sampson – 1,333
WINNER: George Sampson

Not only did he win the ratings battle but George Sampson is more famous than Jodie Prenger.

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If you search for something positive [smiling] you get positive results.

If you search for the negative [crime] you get negative results.

If you search for something that you consider to be positive [dunkin donuts], you realise that other people might consider it to be negative.

If you search for something that you consider to be negative, but you’re only presented with the positive, you’re either wrong or seeing the results of good reputation management (search results manipulation).

If at first the world doesn’t understand your request [paris], you make changes to the way you request what you want [paris hilton].

If after your search [paris hilton] you’re presented with related search options [one night in paris] you might – though unlikely – learn something new about what you were searching for.

Search exposes brands and people more than ever. Effort should be put into encouraging positive dialogue about brands, rather than silencing the negative – concentrate on that and you’ll only get more of it.

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Read my article ‘the online fashion trust factor’ on Drapers.

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Coleen McLoughlin, fiancée of Wayne Rooney, is one of many footballers wives and girlfriends who shot to fame because of their partner’s status on the pitch. She’s estimated to be worth £5m in her own right, thanks to her high profile and clever brand building.

Coleen’s brand has taken the fashion, style and beauty route. Last year she earned millions being the face of Asda’s clothing range, writing a weekly column in Closer magazine, presenting her own TV show and launching a perfume.

By involving herself in numerous fashion and beauty based projects, and avoiding the usual ‘lads mag and falling out of nightclubs’ routine, Coleen has managed to become a style icon; unusually respected in the fashion industry.

But how does Coleen’s website help to communicate her brand message which is essentially ‘a normal girl who’s become an expert on fashion, style and beauty’?

Unfortunately, Brand Coleen, worth an estimated £5m, doesn’t have an online presence.

This is one brand that isn’t using the internet to communicate its message.

Here are three reasons why Coleen McLoughlin needs a website…

1. Brand Extension
Last year Coleen signed a 10 year beauty deal with Robertet, through whom she launched her first perfume. Coleen could use a website to capture data on her brand followers, to help shape the decision of the most sensible next launch.

2. Trust
Coleen is competing with many celebrities in a competitive beauty market. We often hear the line “I chose the bottle and scent myself” from many celebs to which most people are cynical of. Coleen can use a series of ‘behind the scenes’ articles and videos to demonstrate the work she puts into her products.

3. New Markets
If Coleen decides to introduce her brand to foreign markets, where she isn’t as well known, people will be ‘Blind Googling’ (searching Google for someone they don’t know) her. If she creates her own website she can tell her brand story, if not, blogs, forums and newspaper websites will come up in the search results tell their version for her.

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This year’s Eurovision song contest has caused much controversy after Western European nations were again left out in the cold. X-Factor star Andy Abraham represented the UK and came last, whilst Russia triumphed with their star Dima Bilan.

Dima may have won the contest, but is he more talked about on the internet than our Andy Abraham? I’ve analysed both Eurovision stars to see which of them is most talked about online.

Search results in Yahoo!
Andy Abraham – 687,000
Dima Bilan – 4,000,000
WINNER: Dima Bilan

Stories on Google News
Andy Abraham – 340
Dima Bilan – 446
WINNER: Dima Bilan

YouTube videos
Andy Abraham - 188
Dima Bilan – 2,990
WINNER: Dima Bilan

MySpace friends
Andy Abraham – 2,724
Dima Bilan - 710
WINNER: Andy Abraham

Mentions on blogs
Andy Abraham – 3,964
Dima Bilan – 144,363
WINNER: Dima Bilan

So Dima Bilan is more famous online than Andy Abraham. Of course there is political voting going on but it looks as if Dima has built up a Europe wide online fan base.

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