Head New Media

Last updated
Head New Media
TypeArm of Lowes Worldwide, an Interpublic company
Industry Web design
Interactive television
Founded1997;26 years ago (1997) in the United Kingdom
FoundersFelix Velarde
Jason Michael Holland
Defunct2001 (2001)
Fate Liquidated

Head New Media was an influential [1] web design and interactive television agency set up in the UK in 1997. In 1998 it became [2] the UK digital arm of the world's fourth largest advertising group Lowe Worldwide, part of Interpublic. The agency was at one point the most awarded in Europe [3] and produced an 'in-house' website Head-Space which won awards including Cannes and in 2011 was listed by Management Today as being one of Ten Websites That Changed the World and a precursor to YouTube. [4] In 1998 the UK's first specialist interactive television creative agency Head End was set up as a wholly owned subsidiary (later acquired by Underwired [5] ).

Head New Media's clients included the BBC, Sci-Fi Channel, Unilever (for which the agency produced interactive television advertising on cable operator NTL), Tesco (one of the first interactive TV ads [6] on Flextech [7] ), General Motors, Mars Confectionery's Snickers (whose website Snickers MegaBite [8] won a variety of major global advertising awards between 1997-8) and PricewaterhouseCoopers. Its original founders were Felix Velarde and Jason Holland, previously of HyperInteractive (1994–1997) and, following Head New Media's liquidation [9] in 2001, Underwired. [10]

The agency was the subject of a BBC documentary Keeping Creative [11] an episode of The Crunch, made in 1999 by Uden Associates. The documentary is still occasionally broadcast in Europe as part of BBC Worldwide's business education strand.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Television advertisement</span> Paid commercial segment on television

A television advertisement is a span of television programming produced and paid for by an organization. It conveys a message promoting, and aiming to market, a product, service or idea. Advertisers and marketers may refer to television commercials as TVCs.

Regular television broadcasts in the United Kingdom started in 1936 as a public service which was free of advertising, which followed the first demonstration of a transmitted moving image in 1926. Currently, the United Kingdom has a collection of free-to-air, free-to-view and subscription services over a variety of distribution media, through which there are over 480 channels for consumers as well as on-demand content. There are six main channel owners who are responsible for most material viewed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cog (advertisement)</span> British television and cinema advertisement launched by Honda in 2003

"Cog" is a British television and cinema advertisement launched by Honda in 2003 to promote the seventh-generation Accord line of cars. It follows the convention of a Rube Goldberg machine, utilizing a chain of colliding parts taken from a disassembled Accord. Wieden+Kennedy developed a £6 million marketing campaign around "Cog" and its partner pieces, "Sense" and "Everyday", broadcast later in the year. The piece itself was produced on a budget of £1 million by Partizan Midi-Minuit. Antoine Bardou-Jacquet directed the seven-month production, contracting The Mill to handle post-production. The 120-second final cut of "Cog" was broadcast on British television on 6 April 2003, during a commercial break in ITV's coverage of the 2003 Brazilian Grand Prix.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">BBC America</span> American pay television network

BBC America is an American basic cable network that is jointly owned by BBC Studios and AMC Networks. The channel primarily airs sci-fi and action series and films, as well as selected programs from the BBC.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Snickers</span> Brand name chocolate bar

Snickers is a chocolate bar made by the American company Mars, Incorporated, consisting of nougat topped with caramel and peanuts that is encased in milk chocolate. The annual global sales of Snickers was over $3 billion as of 2012.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">BBC News Online</span> Website of BBC News

BBC News Online is the website of BBC News, the division of the BBC responsible for newsgathering and production. It is one of the most popular news websites, with 1.2 billion website visits in April 2021, as well as being used by 60% of the UK's internet users for news.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">BBC Online</span> Brand name and home for the BBCs online service

BBC Online, formerly known as BBCi, is the BBC's online service. It is a large network of websites including such high-profile sites as BBC News and Sport, the on-demand video and radio services branded BBC iPlayer and BBC Sounds, the children's sites CBBC and CBeebies, and learning services such as Bitesize and Own It. The BBC has had an online presence supporting its TV and radio programmes and web-only initiatives since April 1994, but did not launch officially until 28 April 1997, following government approval to fund it by TV licence fee revenue as a service in its own right. Throughout its history, the online plans of the BBC have been subject to competition and complaint from its commercial rivals, which has resulted in various public consultations and government reviews to investigate their claims that its large presence and public funding distorts the UK market.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">DDB Worldwide</span> Marketing communication network company

DDB Worldwide Communications Group LLC, known internationally as DDB, is a worldwide marketing communications network. It is owned by Omnicom Group, one of the world's largest advertising holding companies. The international advertising networks Doyle Dane Bernbach and Needham Harper merged their worldwide agency operations to become DDB Needham in 1986. At that same time the owners of Doyle Dane Bernbach, Needham Harper and BBDO merged their shareholdings to form the US listed holding company Omnicom. In 1996, DDB Needham became known as DDB Worldwide.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">TBWA Worldwide</span> American international advertising agency

TBWA Worldwide is an international advertising agency whose main headquarters are in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, United States.

BBDO is a worldwide advertising agency network, with its headquarters in New York City. The agency originated in 1891 with the George Batten Company, and in 1928, through a merger with Barton, Durstine & Osborn (BDO), the agency became Batten, Barton, Durstine & Osborn. With more than 15,000 employees at 289 offices in 81 countries, it is the largest of three global networks of agencies in the portfolio of Omnicom Group.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">More4</span> British free-to-air television channel

More4 is a British free-to-air television channel, owned by Channel Four Television Corporation. The channel launched on 5 October 2005. Its programming mainly focuses on lifestyle and documentaries, as well as foreign dramas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Julian Rignall</span>

Julian "Jaz" Rignall is a writer and editor. He has also produced content for corporate websites such as GamePro Media, publisher of GamePro magazine and GamePro.com, marketing collateral and advertising campaigns.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Agency.com</span>

Agency.com was an interactive marketing agency based in New York City with offices worldwide. The company was a part of Omnicom Group Inc. and had approximately 500 employees in eleven offices on three continents. Services included website design and development, interactive marketing, search marketing and rich media development.

The Catalan Media Corporation is the public radio and television company in Catalonia owned by Generalitat de Catalunya.

Red Bee Media International broadcasting and media services company

Red Bee Media, formerly Ericsson Broadcast and Media Services (EBMS), is an international broadcasting and media services company and the largest access provider in Europe. Red Bee has its headquarters in London, England, with branch offices in Glasgow, Cardiff, MediaCityUK in Salford and Newcastle upon Tyne, and international offices in Australia, France, Spain, Germany, Finland, the Netherlands, Sweden, France, Canada, United States and Abu Dhabi. It has 2,500 employees worldwide across eight media hubs and distributes over 2.7 million hours of programming each year worldwide. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Ericsson.

Jason Zachary Haikara is an American businessman, marketing executive, and producer.

Creative technology is a broadly interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary field combining computing, design, art and the humanities. The field of creative technology encompasses art, digital product design, digital media or an advertising and media made with a software-based, electronic and/or data-driven engine. Examples of creative technology include multi-sensory experiences made using computer graphics, video production, digital music, digital cinematography, virtual reality, augmented reality, video editing, software engineering, 3D printing, the Internet of Things, CAD/CAM and wearable technology.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stingray iConcerts</span> Television channel

Stingray iConcerts is a Canadian-based video-on-demand television channel broadcasting full-length live musical performances from various genres of music. The channel is owned by the Stingray Group.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jason Michael Holland</span>

Jason Michael Holland is an English designer, university lecturer, writer and awards judge who created the 1997 website Head-Space, which is included in Management Today's Ten Websites That Changed the World, and is an acknowledged blueprint for intranets and a precursor to YouTube. Holland is also credited with a number of other interactive firsts.

David Gray is an American filmmaker, commercial director, and former creative director at Goodby, Silverstein & Partners and BBDO. He has worked with numerous brands including Nike, Visa, American Express, Microsoft, FedEX, Time Warner, Showtime, Volkswagen, and GEICO.

References

  1. "Annual Listing of Top Design Shops" Archived 2007-01-29 at the Wayback Machine from IPPA
  2. "Campaign Report on New Media" from Management Today
  3. "IMG SRC100" Archived 2005-02-05 at the Wayback Machine from SHIFT(JAPAN), 1998
  4. "Management Today"
  5. "Underwired acquires Head End Interactive Television" from Creative Match, December 2002
  6. "Digital, Interactive and Web TV" Archived 2007-03-04 at the Wayback Machine from Managing Change, 2000
  7. "iTV Developers & Agencies" from BroadbandBananas
  8. "Snickers MegaBite" Archive of website
  9. "Feature: Head closes after ad partnership crumbles" from E-consultancy, 2001
  10. Underwired's website
  11. Keeping Creative, an episode of The Crunch, first broadcast 1999 BBC Two, 2001 MSN TV