August 2013
August 2013
network news Welcome to the first edition of our new quarterly newsletter, Network News. It’s been a busy few months for Fendix Media and there are lots of new and exciting developments we want to share with you. Inside this issue you can read about the work we have been doing to grow our network, which has almost doubled in size since the start of the year. You can also read case studies from our network partners at Birmingham City Council and University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust about how they are already benefiting from being part of our unique network. Many of our network partners might not realise the work that goes on behind the scenes to ensure we get relevant and appropriate advertising onto your intranets and websites. Our special feature on page 7 gives you an insight into how our sales team work with some of the biggest ad agencies in the UK to get you the very best campaigns. You can also read about the events and meetings we have recently attended in Scotland, Northern Ireland and in Wales to raise greater awareness about Fendix Media right across the UK.
network news
One of the topics we would like to hear your views on is cookies. With the current guidelines relating to cookies being slightly opaque we often receive questions from our network partners about the benefits and how they work. Fendix Media’s Head of IT, William Renfrew, answers some of these frequently asked questions on page 8 and looks forward to talking to you about a wide range of IT related subjects in future editions. And finally, you can read about Fendix Media’s fascinating journey of how we have evolved to become the UK’s biggest digital advertising network for the public sector.
inside
this issue:
P3 CASE STUDY:
University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust
P4 NEW PARTNERS: Andy Dixon, Director and Co-founder
Our Network is Growing
P7 SPECIAL FEATURE:
Life in the Fast Lane
Simon Feeney, Director and Co-founder
We hope that you find this newsletter interesting and informative and we would love to hear what you would like to read about over the coming months. You can email us at newsletter@fendixmedia.co.uk with your news and views.
P8 I.T. HOT TOPIC:
Cookies - why they shouldn’t leave a bad taste ☎
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August 2013
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Fendix Media – Our Journey Fendix Media was formed in April 2009 by co-founders Andy Dixon and Simon Feeney who met several years ago whilst working together on a local government publication. They identified the need for a professional company to help the public sector realise revenues through advertising. Simon Andrews, Head of Knowledge at University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust became their first client. Andy explained: “We started by placing local advertisements in Leicester’s printed staff publications and we discussed with Simon Andrews the possibility of advertising on their intranets and public facing websites too. This had never been done before in the NHS but Simon saw the potential and was willing to give it a try. “We started off with banner advertising and we got local advertisers to support this, but we quickly found that whilst
What we do Fendix Media specialises in creating sustainable revenue streams for public sector organisations through placing relevant and appropriate advertising on their intranets and public facing websites.
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the bigger advertisers had a real appetite for advertising on public sector websites they wanted to run regional or national campaigns. We met with some big London agencies to get more feedback on our concept and were told an individual NHS Trust on its own was not enough to attract the big blue chip companies, but if we had a network of organisations it would be a very different story. “Over the next few months we worked hard to raise awareness about what we do and the benefits of having a public sector network. We had to overcome a lot of barriers as there were no clear guidelines for trusts about advertising. There were a lot of pre-conceived ideas and misconceptions from the people we talked to about what they thought the public sector could and couldn’t do in terms of advertising.� Andy added: “We had to prove to people that the advertisements wouldn’t interfere with the content on their websites, we could sell the advertising space, and we
...We had to overcome a lot of barriers as there were no clear guidelines for trusts about advertising...
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would only place appropriate and relevant adverts that they were able to approve in advance. It took a few brave comms people and Trusts to say ‘yes let’s give it a try’ and once we had built up to around 10 organisations in the network, others really started to take notice. “In this difficult financial climate public sector organisations have to look at new ways of being more efficient without impacting on services. By generating income through advertising it enables them to reinvest in services for their local communities. We now have a large number of Trusts and local authorities across England and Scotland who have joined our network and it’s growing every day. We have a bright and healthy future ahead and the more public sector organisations in the network the more we all benefit as we are able to attract more advertisers with bigger budgets to spend.�
Meet the network team
The Fendix team work with the UK’s biggest ad agencies to place high profile brands and campaigns on NHS and local government websites.
We have a highly experienced network development team who are dedicated to growing the network and work with existing partners to maximise the benefits for them. For more information you can contact:
It’s free to join the network and the Fendix team do all of the hard work for you. We find you the most relevant ad campaigns, you approve them, we place them on your website, and you earn extra revenue to spend as you wish.
Head of Network Development
Jim Campbell
Mike Platt
Network Development Manager
☎ 01636 614072 ☎ 01636 614020 đ&#x;“Š jim.campbell@fendixmedia.co.uk đ&#x;“Š mike.plattl@fendixmedia.co.uk
Claire Allen
Network Account Manager
☎ 01636 614075 đ&#x;“Š claire.allen@fendixmedia.co.uk
There are a number of other benefits of joining the network. We give you free access to live behavioural data about your users so we can make your websites work better for you. Look out in edition two of Network News for a special feature on the use of data and how it can help increase website traffic.
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Jim Campbell
Mike Platt
Claire Allen
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August 2013
Case Study: University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust University Hospitals of Leicester was the first NHS trust to join the Fendix Media network back in 2010. With the public sector being put under increasing pressure to make cost improvement savings, Simon Andrews, the Trust’s Knowledge Manager, said generating income through digital advertising seemed the perfect solution. He said: “Our communications team has a relatively small non-pay budget so when we have to make cost improvements year on year it gets more and more difficult. We had to start thinking creatively not only about how we could reduce costs, but how we could bring in extra income too.
Simon Andrews
types of adverts that were placed and if it helped to bring in extra income for us, then great.�
The Leicester Trust stayed with Fendix Media for a year before deciding to use a newspaper group who advised them they could bring in more income ...By bringing in extra through advertising. income through However, Leicester advertising it has meant quickly realised that that we have been able to the new company didn’t have the big ad buy new video cameras agency contacts nor and software which is did they realise the something that we might technology involved.
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have otherwise had to put on hold...
“When I first met Simon Feeney and he explained to me how the Fendix network would work it didn’t seem like it would take too much effort on our part. I liked the fact we had full control over the
“We went with the other company for 12 months but we soon realised it wasn’t working and the revenues were not meeting our expectations,� said Simon.
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“We were back in touch with Fendix in 2012. By then we had both learnt a lot - alone a trust has its limitations as to
what it can achieve, but connected to a network of other trusts, coupled with big ad agency contacts it has real value. “As a communications department it is important we have the right tools and upto-date technology to enable us to do our jobs. By bringing in extra income through advertising it has meant that we have been able to buy new video cameras and software which is something that we might have otherwise had to put on hold. “We remain committed to the Fendix Media network and we look forward to more trusts joining as the more partners in the network the more we will all benefit.�
The University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust website
network news
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Our Network is growing Since the start of the year the Fendix Media network has almost doubled in size as more and more public sector organisations are realising the benefits of becoming a network partner, raising muchneeded extra income for their local communities. The NHS network has grown Jim Campbell considerably over recent months, expanding into Scotland, with independent health boards NHS Lothian and NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde - the two biggest health boards in Europe joining the network. A number of councils have also joined and in May 2013 we welcomed our newest council partner, Birmingham City Council - the biggest local authority in Europe. This followed a successful tender which was open to competition from across the EU. Jim Campbell, Head of Network Development, said: “We have seen huge developments within the last six months and we know there is a really exciting time ahead. The number of network ...We have partners has grown by 90 per cent seen huge between January and July 2013 developments and we have a further 35 trusts and councils in the process of joining within the last us. six months and
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we know there is a really exciting time ahead...
“The bigger the network the more everyone benefits. Everytime a new network partner comes on board the number of page impressions we can offer to advertisers grows, which is more attractive to them. This leads to bigger and better ad campaigns for our network partners, so it is a win-win situation.
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“We know that the public sector continues to face financial challenges so this is a simple and effective way for the NHS and ...The bigger councils to bring in extra income the network the to benefit their local hospitals and more everyone communities.�
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benefits...
Jim added: “We are looking forward to keeping our network partners up-to-date about all of our latest developments through this newsletter and through our social media pages.� For more information about joining the Fendix Media network call Jim Campbell, on 01636 614072 or email jim.campbell@fendixmedia.co.uk
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Welcome on Board! Welcome to the following new network partners who have joined us between April and July 2013:
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August 2013
Raising awareness across the UK In Northern Ireland‌
Margaret Mullholland and Andy Dixon outside Stormont Castle
It was a privilege to meet with government and health officials in Northern Ireland earlier this month. We were invited to Stormont Castle in Northern Ireland for a meeting with Chris McNabb, Deputy Director of the Executive Information Service; Lorna Armstrong, Head of NI Direct; Kim Martin, Head of the Government Advertising Unit and Margaret Mullholland, Head of Communications at the Northern Trust. Andy Dixon, co-founder of Fendix Media, said. “The Health and Social Care organisations in Northern Ireland are all keen to work with us, but as the concept of advertising on public sector websites in Northern Ireland has not been considered before it is likely that legislative guidelines will need to be put in place to enable the Fendix model to operate. “We were invited to Stormont Castle alongside representatives from the HSE of Northern Ireland to explain the Fendix model to them and how public sector organisations can benefit. The presentation was well received and we look forward to working closely with our colleagues in Northern Ireland over the coming months.�
In Scotland‌ We were delighted to attend the Scottish NHS Communicating for Quality Conference in June where we co-presented a session on how to maximise use of budgets in these challenging economic times. Fendix Media was invited by Ally McLaws, Director of Communications for NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, to present at the event which was attended by more than 100 healthcare communication professionals from across Scotland.
Ally McLaws leading the session
The session, called ‘Communications on a tight budget’, looked at how public sector organisations can use their own communication channels and creative skills to find funding streams. One such solution which was presented to the delegates was how to use their existing intranets and websites to generate extra income through advertising by joining the Fendix Media network. NHS Greater Glasgow and Cylde and NHS Lothian were the first two Scottish health boards to join. Ally McLaws, Director of Communications for NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, said: “We all have to think smarter and harder to find new ways of bringing in income to ensure we are able to provide the best services possible. We invited Fendix Media to our conference to share with our communication colleagues how the network works and how we can all benefit from generating extra income through placing high quality advertising on our staff intranets and public facing websites.� Following the conference Head of Network Development, Jim Campbell, and Network Development Manager, Mike Platt, have met with six further health boards in Scotland and we look forward to welcoming them to the network shortly.
network news
and in Wales‌ Andy Dixon and Simon Feeney, co-founders of Fendix Media recently met with Gwyn Thomas, Chief Information Officer for the Welsh Government, to discuss how health boards in Wales could benefit from the Fendix Media network. Andy Dixon, co-founder of Fendix Media, said: “The communication leads from all of the Welsh health boards have collectively agreed they would like to join the network but they need approval from the Welsh government to be able to do so. As the Welsh NHS operates differently to the rest of Britain it is important that we understand the legislative changes that may need to be made in order to proceed. We are now in a good place to move this forward and hopefully it won’t be too long before we can welcome our Welsh colleagues aboard.â€?
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Case Study: Birmingham City Council Birmingham City Council is the biggest local authority in Europe and receives more than 2 million visitors to its public website every month. The city council joined the Fendix Media network in April 2013, following a successful tendering process. Mark Gardner, Birmingham City Council’s Corporate Web and Self Service Officer, said: “Given the current economic climate there was a need for us to look across the board to see how we could generate extra revenue. As advertising is something totally new to us we decided to tender for companies to apply to supply advertising on both our intranet and public facing website. “We appointed Fendix Media as they were very public sector focused and had a good understanding of the issues we faced. They were able to reassure us and answer all of the questions we had, in particular around how we control the types of advertisements we allow on our sites. When there is a new campaign being considered we not only get to see who the advertiser is, we also get to see the full creative and give our approval before it is placed.� Mark said one of the criteria they put in place was that within the advertising
options they had to be able to support the local business community. He said: “It’s important to us as a local council that we are able to support our local business community and allow them to advertise and promote their services on our website. Fendix have developed a media bar which is placed at the bottom of our webpage which enables us to have different content which rotates. We are able to promote our own services, such as how to pay your council tax, as well as links to how to advertise and local events.
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Mark added: “We have just come to the end of our first quarter with Fendix and we have met our income expectations. They have done an awful lot of work to maximise our opportunities and have consistently been in touch with us updating us on how our campaigns are performing. “We will be reinvesting the extra revenue we generate in new technology and
...We will be reinvesting the extra revenue we generate in new technology and software...
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software. We hope to introduce a new website and content management system and this extra income will allow us to develop this further. “It has been a long process to get to where we are today but Fendix have been really helpful and supportive and we look forward to seeing how things progress over the coming months.�
How it all Ads up Our dedicated sales team work with some of the UK’s biggest advertising agencies to secure relevant and appropriate campaigns across the Fendix network. These are just some of the big brands and high-profile campaigns that have run on various sites across the network over the past few months. We look forward to repeating some of these campaigns as well as introducing some new ones during the next quarter.
Birmingham City Council website
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August 2013
Special Feature: Life in the Fast Lane... “It’s a fast-paced rapidly evolving industry which means no two days are ever the same. It’s busy - it’s challenging - but it’s extremely rewarding,� that’s how John-Paul Danon sums up his job as Head of Sales at Fendix Media. “It’s a great job, particularly because we have such a great product to sell.� “One minute I can be racing to London for a meeting with some of the biggest ad agencies in the UK about potential new campaigns and then it’ll be a quick dash to the other side of the capital to pitch to a new client. “A large part of my role is spent sourcing media planners working on campaigns which will suit our NHS and council partners and will perform well across the network,� explained John-Paul. “I introduce them to Fendix Media and work with them to build a business case for investing their media spend with us.
awareness amongst the top 50 media buying agencies whilst maintaining existing client relationships. Most weeks will involve me spending at least three days in meetings with agencies and any one day can be filled with up to six meetings. All of the people I meet are extremely busy people who have many other media owners all tugging at their sleeves wanting to meet with them. It’s therefore really important that every communication is tailored, structured and clear so that the unique benefits of the Fendix network are clearly explained and we leave a lasting impression.�
“We have to balance generating new
When speaking to existing clients, John-
John-Paul Danon
Paul explains how each ad campaign is carefully monitored so they can optimise the campaign to maximise return on investment for the advertiser and build a case for repeat bookings. He said: “Lois, our Agency Account Manager, is an ad optimisation expert. She constantly monitors page impressions and click through rates and then allocates more weight to high performing sites. What works well in one part of the country might not work so well in another. It’s about making sure our network partners get the best ad campaigns for their target audience and the advertisers get the most out of their campaigns.�
A week in the life of John-Paul... Monday – It’s a day in the office. In the morning we have our weekly sales team meeting to set objectives for the week, collate feedback and intelligence from the market and then prioritise and co-ordinate our efforts. The afternoon is spent on the phone getting more sales meetings in the diary for the coming weeks. Tuesday – Early train into London for 8am meeting with one of our ad partners Pubmatic, then it’s off to Mediacom for two meetings pitching to planners on the EON B2B and Nuffield Health accounts. A quick walk two doors down the road to meet Xaxis, the digital trading arm for WPP, to update them on two trials we have been running. Our contact on the Nicotinell account at Starcom has set up a meeting with their digital team to pitch for October smoking cessation activity after lunch. I have an hour to make use of free wifi in Costa to refine the presentation with Lois. Wednesday – Follow up to yesterday’s meetings first thing then off to Universal McCann Birmingham to talk about Birmingham.gov.uk and pitch campaigns for Wiltshire Farm foods, Willowbrook and Physio World.
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...A large part of my role is spent sourcing media planners working on campaigns which will suit our NHS and council partners and will perform well across the network...
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Thursday – Back to London today for a meeting with MEC. The recent campaign for Souvenaid performed well and we want to re-book in September to coincide with Alzheimer’s awareness month. MEC also look after Nicorette so manage to meet the planner and make them aware of our network for smoking cessation activity in Q4 2013. Over to OMD for a meeting with Vodafone’s planning team looking at planning for public sector campaigns. Last meeting of the day is with UM to talk about Microsoft and Marie Curie. Friday - More follow ups in the morning on the train down to London followed by a round table discussion at The Royal Horseguards Hotel with senior digital experts from across the public sector about maximising the potential within their digital estates. Late afternoon it’s a conference call with Simon Feeney and Lois to catch up on the week and plan for next week.
network news
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I.T. Hot Topic: Cookies - why they shouldn’t leave a bad taste cookies) exist only while you are actively browsing a specific website to collect diagnostic information for the web developers. When you close the browser these cookies are deleted.
We regularly receive questions from our network partners about the use of cookies. In this first of a series of articles covering IT hot topics, William Renfrew, Fendix Media’s Head of IT, explains what cookies are, what they do, and how they can benefit both web developers and users. “We often receive enquiries from users who are concerned about personal privacy issues related to cookies,� said William. “But this is generally more from a lack of understanding of what cookies are than any real threat. Cookies can be used to enhance a web site visitor’s experience to a particular website as the web server can determine what their preferences are and better deliver website content based on those preferences. “A cookie is basically a small file that is created by your internet browser when you visit a website and is stored on your computer. It includes two pieces of information: a site name and a unique user ID. A cookie does not contain any personal information about you.� So how do they work? “When you visit a site for the first time, a cookie is downloaded onto your PC, explained William. “It will keep track of your interactions on that website, how long
you stayed on and what you did while you were there. This information is helpful to web developers to optimise and maintain their website.
William Renfrew
“From the users point of view when you return to that particular website the cookie remembers the pages you have visited and your preferences so that the website can provide relevant content to you to save you time.� Here are some of the most common questions we are asked: Should I be concerned about cookies on my computer? No. Cookies store no personal information from you, only generic information about your interactions with the website the cookie belongs to. Do cookies stay on my computer forever? Short term cookies (or session
Long term cookies are the ones responsible for remembering your preferences and settings if you visit that website again.
Can I delete my cookies? Yes. You can do so from the tools or settings menu. Most internet browsers provide a checkbox for deleting cookies in the same area where you’ll find the option to clear your browsing history. We would love to know what you think about cookies or any other IT issues. Please email your comments or questions to William at support@fendixmedia.co.uk and we’ll feature them in a future newsletter. Fendix Media fully complies with the current regulations on cookies. All websites that use cookies will have a policy or statement outlining how they are used.
Coming up in the next edition of Network News • Case Studies: Birmingham Children’s Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and NHS Lothian – how their organisations are benefiting from being part of the Fendix network
• We speak to Mike Moran, Commercial Director, of Arena (part of the Havas Group) - one of the world’s leading global and commercial and marketing groups
• The future is digital – why the major advertisers are moving their spend from print to digital
• A week in the life of Mike Platt, Fendix Media’s Network Develoment Manager
• Meet our new Head of Communications who will be joining us in the Autumn
• Plus much, much more.
We want your feedback We would love to hear what you think of our newsletter. If you have any comments or questions about any of our articles in this first edition or you would like to suggest ideas for future content you can email newsletter@fendixmedia.co.uk or call us on 01636 614020.
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