This week’s comms news curated from @CisionUK.

Cover prices put people off buying newspapers – survey by @GreensladeR via Guardian

“The National Federation of Retail Newsagents (NFRN) believes it has
an “overwhelming” case for an Office of Fair Trading review of the newspaper and magazine industry.”

Streamed TV is a hit with UK viewers by@Shearmans via Brand Republic

“Television streaming services such as ITV Player are becoming more mainstream in the UK and users are more willing to pay for them, according to research from KPMG.”

Julian Assange to host own TV show by @JoshHalliday via Guardian

“The WikiLeaks founder, Julian Assange, has announced that he is to host his own TV series, interviewing “key political players, thinkers and revolutionaries” from around the world.”

Having begun life in 2006 as a series of niche articles, Footy-Boots.com is now a football apparel review site that, according to editor Alan Spurgeon, reaches four million people worldwide. Despite the growth, Alan says “Footy-Boots.com remains independent, relying upon a small team of staff and modern technology to engage with our fans.” 

With both the European Championships and the London Olympics taking place this year, 2012 will be big for sports industries, media and PR. “As a UK-based site, Footy-Boots.com will cover the Olympics comprehensively, with a strong focus on the Team GB football team; in particular, their kit, boots and squad selection. All of our writers have strong relationships with PR companies of varying size and scope. We want to receive pitches with a message rooted in football and that contain strong imagery. The site has a history of championing brands and products and introducing them to a mainstream audience.”

Reaching over 15,000 sports and sports-equipment fans via its Facebook and Twitter pages, Alan believes that the site has a strong social media presence. “2012 is set to be an incredible 12 months for the readers of Footy-Boots.com. As our social presence begins to grow, so does our influence as the internet’s leading independent resource on football boots and equipment – producing top-quality articles, reviews and videos to drive the site forward.”

Footy-Boots.com is also the originator of the Football Boot Awards. “The awards are in their 6th year and have become an industry-leading barometer of the public’s favourite football boots, having been featured in innumerable international publications. There are five categories, including Football Boot of the Year and Best Looking Football Boots of the Year.”

Any enquiries for PR on Footy-Boots.com should be directed to website manager Kyle Elliot (footballboots@footy-boots.com), who will be managing all coverage of the Olympics over the summer and beyond. For Twitter, the site prefers to only use the main Footy-Boots account @footy_boots

Editorial information on Footy-Boots.com, along with thousands of other media contacts and websites, can be found in our CisionPoint media database.

For more insight into sports, read our previous spotlight with sportinglife.com

This week’s comms news round up curated from @CisionUK.

Facebook cost per click drops in UK by@DanFareyJones via Brand Republic

“The drop followed two consecutive quarters of rising cost per click prices in the UK, and sticks out against a 1% average rise across the UK, the US, Germany, France and Canada.”

Can analytics give us a deeper understanding of digital itself? by David Clugston via @TheWallUK THE Wall

“Analytics can provide telling depth of insight into stand-alone digital performance. One example of this is digital path-to-purchase analysis.”

Marketing gloom deepens as companies cut ad spend on traditional media by @marksweney via Guardian

“Business confidence among UK marketing executives has slumped to its lowest level in three years, as wary companies cut spending on TV, press and radio advertising in favour of price discounting and the internet, according to the latest Bellwether survey.”

London Olympic press and media centre legacy shortlist revealed by @owen_g via Guardian

“An “innovation city”, a UK “fashion hub” and a sports-based offering in partnership with Loughborough University have been shortlisted to move into the cavernous media and press centres on the Olympic Park after the Games.”

BBC Sports to relaunch website in February via @thedrum The Drum

“BBC has revealed that its Sports website will relaunch next month, with the most popular sections such as the UK and overseas homepage and the football page to be updated first.”

Founded as a newspaper in 1859, sportinglife.com exists today as a  website marrying live sports content with betting information and opportunities. Editor-in-chief of 365 Media Group Graham Shaw says, “when the site was launched in 1996, it was envisaged that the main revenue stream would be from betting, and that remains the case today. However, the website itself has certainly evolved in the way it covers events, with live commentaries, blogs and chats increasingly playing a key part these days.”

Later this year the UK will host one of the world’s largest sporting events, the Olympic and Paralympic Games. sportinglife.com has a dedicated news section for The Games and is working hard to keep it updated with the latest content. Graham says that his team “works closely with a number of PRs on their Olympics content and are conducting regular interviews with athletes ahead of The Games. In the run-up to The Games we’ll obviously beef up our Olympics selection considerably to do justice to what is the biggest sporting event we’ve ever had in this country. Athlete diaries and specific features are one way of working closely with PRs during the event, and done correctly these are a great way of giving our users an extra insight into what it takes to win medals. We’re certainly keen to hear from PRs with Olympics proposals and indeed any sports-specific ideas!”

In January 2007, 365 Media Group became a wholly-owned subsidiary of BSkyB. “Being owned by Sky has only helped to improve sportinglife.com. We work closely with the editorial team on skysports.com and this means both sites have extra resource and a bigger pool of content to choose from. It makes everything under the Sky banner stronger and offers our users the best sports content in the market. One new area of strength as a result of Sky’s ownership is that it also gives sportinglife.com and the other 365 Media Group brands access to superb video that we otherwise wouldn’t have had.”

sportinglife.com places a growing importance on the use of social media. “The challenge for our team has been in generating enough time and resources to devote to it along with maintaining the exacting standards we pride ourselves in on the website. Having said that we value our users immensely and try to interact with them as much as possible, particularly on Twitter and Facebook. Often they become friends as much as customers! It’s something that when done properly gives people a better insight into what we do, gives us the chance to talk to them on a daily basis and gain insights into what we can change, improve and develop. We’ve naturally experimented over the years to grow both our user base and revenues. You need to remain mindful of offering what the users want, not necessarily everything you want!”

Making the Pitch: Tips & Advice for Pitching to editorial team at sportinglife.com:

“I like to think our relationship with PRs is good, though obviously it always could be better. Wherever possible we’re honest about what we would and wouldn’t use, and we’ll always advise to try and find a way to use content. The team would like to receive press releases that are relevant to sport, involvement of sports celebrities or products specifically involving sport. We try to reply to everything we get though that can be difficult at busy times. In terms of releases the best thing to do is keep it simple and make sure you get the best angle in early. Many people read the first paragraph, and if that doesn’t grab them they’re done. Always bear that in mind, you have to sell what you want to push straight away!”

Editorial information on sportinglife.com, along with thousands of other media contacts and websites, can be found in our CisionPoint media database.

My weekly pick of comms news curated via @CisionUK.

Why the FT and New York Times are charging so much for their print editions by @GreensladeR via Guardian

“Frédéric Filloux argues that two newspapers which charge for access to their online content have taken strategic decisions to charge much more for their printed offerings.”

The social network for writers: Jottify by@davidjmclare via davidjmclare

“I love finding new social networks for niche areas. I say niche, but each one I find has a fairly large audience. For example, Naked Wines is for wine lovers – of which there are millions around the world. It is the same for the latest network I’ve come across.”

‘Performance of social networking sites – Index from Keynote Systems for December 2011 by Robert Castley via @nmkforum New Media Knowledge

“Keynote Systems, the expert in Internet and mobile cloud monitoring, monitors the top 10 UK social networking sites on a monthly basis and analyses how these sites perform compared to their competitors.”

Google launches personal search by @gordonmacmillan via THE Wall

“Google is continuing its transformation of search as it unveils three significant additions, which aim to make search more social, more personal, and combine to form what it is calling ‘Search plus Your World’.”

What do consumers want from social? by Adam Bernstein via @wearesocial we are social

“A study from the CMO Council of 1300 consumers and 132 senior marketers revealed a profound difference between what consumers want from brands in social media, and what marketers think they want.  The study is 31 pages long and worth a read, but being the social people we are, we’ve done it for you.”

Welcome back and hope you all had a splendid holiday! Here is this week’s comms round up curated from @CisionUK.

New Facebook ad awards will recognise ‘best Facebook marketing’ via @thedrum The Drum

“Facebook has announced a new set of advertising awards in the US in a bid to build better relationships with the industry, reports Adweek.”

Mapping the social media landscape for 2011: infographic by @vikkichowney via Econsultancy

“We all know how popular (and often overhyped) social media has become over the past few years, but it’s always good to remind ourselves of its true size with the latest statistics and figures.”

Huffington Post plans to launch ten international sites by @gordonmacmillan via THE Wall

“The Huffington Post is looking to double its audience within the next two years as it seeks to form partnerships with struggling newspapers, according to a report in the FT.”

Why media businesses need to understand how shopping is going digital by @psmith via the Media Briefing

“If traditional content publishing is a cathedral, shopping is something close to being its high priest. Journalists won’t like to admit it, but as well as playing a crucial role in informing the public and campaigning on vital issues (as this week’s events have demonstrated) the media’s other key role is to tell people on what to buy.”

Brands must get ready for the connected TV world by @Jessdaviesmk via New Media Age

“Next week all eyes will be on the Las Vegas-based Consumer Electronics Show (CES) – the world’s largest consumer technology conference. This annual event helps catapult products like connected TVs into the mainstream.”

Last week’s weekly comms news round up was pushed aside by the top media, digital and Cision UK’s own top 10 of top 10 2011 stories. So… this week we share two week’s worth of comms news curated via @CisionUK.

New Twitter and what it means for journalists by WANNABE HACKS @wannabehacks

“Twitter is currently rolling out its latest take on every journalists’ favourite social media platform.”

BuzzFeed to launch Huffington Post 2 as “first real social news organisation” by @gordonmacmillan via THE Wall

“BuzzFeed the site best known for offbeat stories (“what cats want for Christmas”), gossip and viral videos has hired a star reporter from US politics site, Politico.com, with the aim of building what is being described as the “first real social news organization”.”

Pearson will sell its 50% stake in FTSE International for £450 million to concentrate on Financial Times via @thedrum The Drum

“Pearson, the publisher of the Financial Times, is to concentrate on business news and analysis by deciding to sell its 50% stake in FTSE International to the London Stock Exchange for £450 million.”

10 Ways To Save Money Using Google AdWords by @robhillyard via @returnondigital RETURN ON.DIGITAL

“Whilst the use of broad match keywords can be worthwhile in the right hands, they can be lethal to the unseasoned amateur. Be warned… Using nothing but broad match keywords will burn you.”

HuffPo UK launches celebrity and culture sections via @pressgazette PRESS GAZETTE

“Huffington Post UK has launched new culture and celebrity sections six months after the website went live.

The celebrity section is edited by Matt Bagwell, a former editor of Eleven, online editor at Smash Hits and Mykindaplace, and entertainment editor at Capital FM.”

2011 Social Sharing Trends: Facebook responsible for 52.1% of all online sharing via @litmanlive MICHAEL LITMAN

INFOGRAPHIC

Twitter stake bought by Saudi billionaire by @marksweney via Guardian

“Saudi billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal has taken a $300m stake in Twitter”.

How digital marketers can leverage the buying cycle and achieve greater results by Krishna Rao via @nmkforum New Media Knowledge

“White Paper discusses the various stages and channels utilised by the customer in the buying cycle and how businesses can garner this opportunity by optimising each stage and channel.”

Christmas day online shopping spree to hit £186.4m by @Shearmans via Marketing Magazine

“UK consumers are set to spend £186.4m online on Christmas day this year, 12% more than last year, according to predictions from retail body IMRG.”

Top-rating TV shows of 2011 via @guardian Guardian

“TV programmes with the biggest audiences by category”.

ComScore 2011: It’s a social world by @sandrine via we are social @wearesocial

“Social networking sites now reach 82% of the world’s internet users, i.e. 1.2 billion people around the world, according to ComScore’s new ‘It’s a Social World’ study.”

Sunday Times to publish free digital Christmas Day edition by @LucyTesseras via New Media Age

“News International will publish The Sunday Times on Christmas Day for the first time in its history, which will be available free on iPad and Android devices.”

Throughout the year, we’ve published a range of Top 10s for a variety of media to give you a glimpse of what’s going on, social media-wise, in our CisionPoint Media Database. Following on from Jo’s top UK media stories and Sabina’s top digital stories, here are our Top 10 Top10s of 2011, the most visited pages from our UK-hosted social media index this year.

10. Top 10 UK Whistleblowing Blogs

9. Top 10 UK Urban Lifestyle Blogs

8. Top 10 UK Music Blogs

7. Top 10 French Fashion Magazines

6. Top 10 Food & Beverage Blogs

5. Top 10 UK Wedding Blogs

4. Top 10 UK Fashion Blogs

3. Top 10 UK Interior Design Blogs

2. Top 10 UK Mummy Blogs

1. Top 10 UK Beauty Blogs

So, the blogs have it (bar one cheeky French incursion), and there’s a definite feel for all things beautiful at the top of the charts.

Meta!

The other day Miss Bowles brought you her pick of Top 10 Uk Media Stories of 2011. Today I present to you the top 10 digital ones. Enjoy!

10. The Social List

After publishing the “rich list” for over 25 years, the Sunday Times decided to ride the social media influencer wave with the launch of the Social List in May. Similar to PeerIndex, Klout, and Cision’s very own influencer score, the Social List measures your online influence according to various social media metrics. Like most things Times, it’s hard to tell what’s going on behind the firewall, but the Facebook page says 20,000 active monthly users and who am I to argue?

9. Groupon under the eye of Office of Fair Trading

Valued at $13bn dollars on its November IPO, the “online marketing sensation” that is Groupon defied a rising tide of questions about the validity of its business model for participating companies. During the second-half of 2011, Groupon faced another set of questions, after the Advertising Standards Authority referred a series of complaints to the Office of Fair Trading relating to a mere 48 contraventions of ad regulation.

8. Call of Duty: Modern Warefare 3

Activision’s Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 took just 16 days to rack up $1bn worth of sales following its November release, making the latest instalment in the classic first-person-shooter series the fastest-selling game of its kind ever. Name recognition and a devoted fanbase clearly helped, but the viral pre-marketing was just as classic, with a series of dramatic leaks – which Activision had absolutely nothing to do with – starting as early in May.

7. Dale & Co.

One of Britain’s top political bloggers Iain Dale anounced late last year that he was giving up blogging. An elaborate hoax? A tendentious stretch of the definition of blogging? Whatever, Dale returned mid-year with Dale & Co, a networked political magazine-cum-blog – or “mega-blog”, if you will – featuring of over 100 bloggers and writers.

6. The Wikileaks-Guardian feud

Yeah I know…  Bowles had this one on Wednesday but I am laying claim on it too because Wikileaks is in my area.

5. Huffington Post UK

Huffington Post UK launched in July. Arianna claimed it was the British blogosphere’s engagement in social news that drew her to these shores. A more sceptical observer might suggest other motivations: a successful three-year programme of localised sites in America; a profitable foray over the borders with HuffPo Canada; the lack of language challenges in the UK market. And coming soon: Le Huffington Post.

4. Facebook and Spotify integration

From the world-domination of AngryBirds to the recent acquisition of Gowalla development talent – peppered with perennial privacy controversy – it has, as usual, been quite a year for Facebook. But one chapter stood out – its partnership with Spotify. Since September, Spotify users have been afforded the pleasure of “frictionless sharing”, Facebook users pushed the other way the joys of old-school, interruptive advertising – and Facebook itself a business model that might just work.

3. Google+

After failing to set with world alight with Orkut and Google Buzz, Google made a rather more convincing attempt at its very own social network in June with the introduction of Google+. Since launch it has grown to 50 million users, but the size of that rather more crucial active-user base is not known. Is the early focus on corporate users a sign that all is well?  Or is it desperation?

2. Riots

Social media was both blamed and praised for its part in the UK riots in August. Rioters and looters used Twitter, Facebook and the seemingly unlikely Blackberry Messenger to orchestrate events across a number of British cities, prompting several high-profile politicians to call for a social media crackdown. Luckily they weren’t listened to, as a couple of days later social media brought more positive people together as locals arranged neigbourhood cleanups.

1. Superinjunctions

In May hell broke loose in the twittersphere as a number of UK celebrities were named and shamed for their superinjunctions, a legal ruling supposed to ensure their absence from mainstream media. One Twitter user leaked ‘true or untrue’ gagging orders and was quickly followed by tens of thousands of other tweeps, giving the tabloids licence to report the unreportable, albeit obliquely. The whole house of cards came crashing down soon after, and the legal establishment is still picking up the pieces.

In the first of an end-of-year series, Media Updates editor Jo Bowles chooses her top 10 UK media stories of 2011.

10. Liverpool Daily Post becomes a Weekly Post

After 156 years, the Liverpool Daily Post announced plans cease publication of its daily edition and move to a weekly frequency. It was the latest and highest profile development in a regional newspaper trend toward a reduced print schedules, one also followed by Exeter’s Express & Echo, Lincolnshire Echo, Scunthorpe Telegraph and Torquay Herald Express.

9. MediaCityUK, Salford Keys

Seven years after the BBC announced plans to move selected operations to Manchester, the much-anticipated relocation to MediaCityUK began in May 2011. Departments including BBC Children’s, BBC Radio 5 live and parts of Future Media & Technology moved to BBC North, as well as around 2,300 staff. The proportion of those who are happy about it remains unconfirmed.

8. Nescafe, This Morning

Ofcom’s ban on product placement was lifted in February. On 28^th February, Nescafe paid a reported £100,000 for placement of its Dolce Gusto machine on This Morning, making it the first ever item to be promoted through product placement on British television.

7. Baroness Buscombe steps down from the PCC

Baroness Buscombe stood down from her position as Chair of the Press Complaints Commission in July following strong criticism of the PCC’s approach to the year’s biggest media issue. An issue so big, every story in this Top 10 could be about it. But I’ve limited myself to just two more…

6. The Wikileaks-Guardian feud

Wikileaks published no major leaks in 2011, though Julian Assange undoubtedly had other things on his mind. One of those things was an apparent year-long feud with his former allies at the Guardian, most notably concerning the paper’s approach to the publication of certain US embassy cables, which Assange described as an act of ”gross negligence or malice”.

5. NatMags + Filipacchi = Hearst Magazines UK

On completion of the UK tranche of Hearst’s Lagardère mega-deal. NatMags united with the UK arm of French glamourpuss Hachette Filipacchi to rebrand as Hearst Magazines UK. Hearst gained rights to brands including ELLE, ELLE Decoration, Psychologies, Red and Digital Spy, and the combined business numbers 26 magazines and 22 digital properties with 16 million print readers and 20 m monthly uniques between them.

4. The Independent puts up an international paywall

Following the trail blazed by The Times and The Sunday Times’ in 2010 and the New York Times earlier this year, The Independent became the latest English-language national to attempt to charge for its content. The paper announced the launch of a paywall for non-UK readers in October – the same month as its print readership fell 24 per cent.

3. MailOnline the second-largest newspaper website EVER

When the MailOnline announced a unique visitor increase of 27 per cent to 39.6million uniques in March, it became the world’s number two English-language newspaper website, with only the mighty New York Times ahead of it. By the end of the year, the website was regularly recording nearly 80 million users every month. 80. Million. Quite a year for the “sidebar of shame” (h/t @gracedent) .

2. #Leveson

Lord Justice Leveson’s investigation into the role of the press and police in the phone-hacking scandal is the inquiry that keeps on giving. A stream of celebrities – Steve Coogan, Charlotte Church, Max Mosely, Sienna Miller, Mungo Grant – have provided glamour, but it’s the down-and-dirty details served up by the McCanns and ex-NOTW journalist Glenn Mulcaire that have made for the most compelling testimonies so far.

1. The closure of the News of the World

After a 168 years, the UK’s biggest Sunday paper became the biggest single casualty of Hackgate when News International cut its losses in one sudden, shocking announcement on 10^th July. Within moments, Charlie Brooker had tweeted the feelings of a nation: “Death Star explodes”.