NEW MEDIA: Briefs

Breathe, the free internet access provider, is spending around

pounds 250,000 on revamping its site and has signed new content deals

with PA New Media and Carlton Online. The company, previously part of

Martin Dawes Telecommunications, first launched its free internet access

in December last year. The service has several third-party partners

including Toys ’R’ Us and the Carphone Warehouse. The address is

www.timetobreathe.net.

Castrol has unveiled a new site providing information for motorists and

car enthusiasts about its motor oil. The site includes information on

buying cars, insurance, maintenance and selecting the lubricant most

suited to your engine. It also features traffic information and route

planners, and an A to Z of car manufacturers’ sites. The address is

www.castrol.co.uk.

Bertelsmann Music Group has signed up online ad delivery company

DoubleClick to manage online ad sales for its newly-launched

BMG-Backstage music news site. The global deal includes representation

in Europe, the US and the Asia-Pacific Rim. The site was created as a

direct marketing tool to inform fans of the latest musical releases. BMG

says the site receives around 4000 visitors per day.

Railtrack is launching a new cricket section on its site, designed to

provide information to visitors looking at travelling to matches for

this month’s World Cup. The new section links to the existing Lords.org

site.

It enables visitors to search a cricket database by team or venue, look

up fixtures, and find the nearest station and timetable information. The

site was designed and built by web house Clarity, and can be found at

www.railtrack.co.uk/cricket.

The Radio Advertising Bureau has boosted its web presence by adding a

section to help advertisers and agencies plan radio campaigns more

accurately.

The site includes maps of the total survey area of each commercial radio

station and the broadcast areas used in Rajar figures. The site can be

found at www.rab.co.uk.

I-level, an online media planning and buying outfit, has made its first

major appointment, recruiting Ed Ling, previously of BMP Interaction, as

an account director. Ling began his career at MediaVest, before moving

to become a new media planner at BMPI on accounts for Gillette,

Vauxhall, Best Foods and Pepsi.

City Index, the online betting company, has launched a new site called

Blue Square, offering fixed odds bets on a range of areas including

sports and financial markets. The company is looking to expand the

offering to digital interactive TV and claims to be in talks with

British Interactive Broadcasting’s Open service. The site can be found

at www.bluesq.com.

UpMyStreet.com, a local information web site, has signed its second

commercial deal with online insurance service, Screentrade. The site,

www.upmystreet.com, will now feature a ’click through’ facility to

Screentrade’s home insurance section.

The tie-up follows a recent deal with Virgin One accounts. Financial

details were not disclosed.

Parlophone record label is to revamp its online branding with the launch

of a new lifestyle site - lookon.net - later this year. The new site

will based on a webzine approach, with a mixture of music and non-music

news.

Features will include an audio and video clips section, a chat forum, as

well as information on Parlophone artists. Design agency Sonicon has

been appointed to develop the new site. Parlophone’s existing site is

available at www.parlophone.co.uk.

TDI, the outdoor advertising firm, has launched a site to provide

up-to-date information and details of news and special offers. The site

includes examples of recent bus and underground poster campaigns, as

well as previews of work in development. The site was designed in-house

and can be viewed at www.tdimedia.com.

Teleconomy Group, a research and consultancy company, has launched a

project with Lancaster University’s Centre for the Study of

Environmental Change to examine consumers’ expectations and use of web

sites. It aims to establish what customers expect from companies online

and the design criteria required for launching a site. Preliminary

findings are expected in September, and can be found at

www.teleconomy.com.

This article was first published on Marketing