Hilton & Hilton Limited is, as of May 27, 2009, no longer a shareholder in MessageSpace / EOS Online Media Limited.  By unanimous resolution of the shareholders it was agreed that MessageSpace would buy out Hilton & Hilton’s minority holding.  This is the second transaction of this kind, the first share buy back was in 2008.  MessageSpace’s Managing Director Kelly Nightingale paid tribute to the original managing director

“Alex Hilton was one of the original founders and the first managing director of the firm.  It was his original idea to form an advertising network to represent political blogs.  Over the last three years we have grown from six blogs to forty blogs, branching out into video viral distribution and acting as a niche media buyer for savvy advertisers across the political spectrum.  It is a cliche in business to say of the departing that ‘he wants to be free to concentrate on other things’, in Alex’s case it really is true and he also wanted to be free of any perceived conflicts of interest.  We wish Alex well with his political career.”

Background :

EOS Online Media Limited trading as “MessageSpace” is a privately held firm established in July 2006.

The advertising network reaches a broadsheet audience of a million unique readers and delivers 25 million advertisements monthly.

The firm places advertising with some 40 website publishers focused on current affairs and politics across the political spectrum. It has revenue sharing agreements with the majority of the top-ranked political blogs in Britain.  It also has a growing specialist niche digital media buying agency business with politically savvy clients such as Microsoft, HSBC, the Cooperative Bank, Help the Aged, the Labour Party, Liberal Democratic Party and the Conservative Party.

We are proud to say that over the last three years we have paid out hundreds of thousands of pounds to bloggers, sustaining and developing new media voices.

MessageSpace is the advertising network representing Britain’s leading bloggers and selling advertising on their behalf. 2009 is our third year in business and we have compiled some statistics which we hope will answer the perennial journalist’s question – “so how much do bloggers make”?

During the fourth quarter of 2008 the numbers for bloggers represented by our advertising network broke down as follows:

• The single highest paid blogger had sales on average of £3,872 per month.
• The top 10% of bloggers had monthly sales averaging £2,861 in (Q4 ‘08) a rise of 64% from £1,741 last year (Q4 ’07).
• The middle 40% of bloggers had average monthly sales of £351.
• The remaining 50% had average monthly sales of £54.

Jag Singh, MessageSpace’s CIO says “What the numbers show is that for our leading bloggers it is now possible to be a full-time professional. For the semi-professional bloggers it provides a few thousand pounds a year, earning them the enough for a family holiday. For the rest it certainly pays their internet bills and enough to upgrade to a new lap-top annually.

“We doubled turnover last year and expect to grow this year despite the negative economic outlook. Advertising spend is shifting to digital new media and that includes non-traditional media outlets such as blogs. We offer agencies access to that fragmented audience on the scale required.”

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Background Data :

EOS Online Media Limited trading as “MessageSpace” is a privately held firm established in July 2006.

The advertising network reaches a broadsheet audience of 800,000 readers and delivers 12 million advertisements monthly.

The firm places advertising with over 30 website publishers focused on current affairs and politics across the political spectrum. It has revenue sharing agreements with the majority of the top-ranked political blogs in Britain.  It also has a growing specialist niche digital media buying agency business with clients such as Help the Aged, the Liberal Democratic Party and the Conservative Party.

Over the last two years we have paid out hundreds of thousands of pounds to bloggers sustaining and developing new media voices.

Maybe not, but Kirsty Williams become Wales’ first female party leader after winning the Welsh Liberal Democrat leadership election. She was the only candidate to use online advertising, both on LibDem websites and on general political websites using geo-targeting. Geo-targeting meant that her adverts would only be seen in Wales.

Was it decisive? Who knows. If it won her increased name recognition and an extra 176 votes then it was decisive.

Since you ask, no, for some reason it did not work.

We’re really pleased that, after a one month test campaign on the MessageSpace blog network, Microsoft will be advertising across the political blogosphere to reach “influentials” and decision makers for the next four quarters.  It is the biggest advertising campaign ever seen on British blogs and we think marks a coming of age.

Mainstream corporate advertisers are waking up to the reach and influence of the blogs.  Blogs have attained a critical mass which will inevitably be attractive to advertisers.  Higher revenues will support higher quality writing and sustain the future growth of the blogosphere.

The Sun newspaper reports that the police in Mexico City are investigating internet adverts posted by hitmen offering their services for as little as £3,000.

One post on the website, which hosts free ads for people selling home appliances and renting flats, advertises the services of an “ex-military hitman” who describes himself as “professional and discreet”.

The man promises a “job guaranteed in 10 days or less” and adds: “I have worked in Spain, only serious offers, $6,000. (£3,000)”

Another of the ads, titled “Hitman - Killer for Hire,” reads: “Problems with a certain person? Want it taken care of? Write me. I am 100 percent professional and don’t charge in advance.”

A police spokesman said authorities were taking the ads seriously, at a time when Mexican drug cartels and organised crime gangs are going ever more public with their tit-for-tat murders and leaving bodies and severed heads in streets.

As yet MessageSpace has no plans to move into this interesting market.  As yet.

We’re in the process of migrating our content from our old site, so the plumbing might not work very well. Please bear with us in the meantime.

We’ve (finally!) just completed the move from our old groovy Clerkenwell bunker to our new bigger offices in Holborn, about five hundred metres over to the other side of the Farringdon Road. More space and more light, yet still near enough to the Crown Tavern for a Friday afternoon board meeting mind you.

The MessageSpace success story continues unabated and we’re now looking to make another appointment to take our business to new heights.

Please don’t apply for this role unless you have political or public affairs experience.

The Account Executive will focus on Business Development and Sales, respectively. It’s a player/manager role, so the candidate must have a great track record in delivering and managing relationships. You will be working in a digital advertising environment. Specific experience is not necessary but a deep understanding of the political world is a must.

Responsibilities include prospecting, pitching, negotiating and closing contracts with public affairs, charity and commercial operators, as well as evangelising and closing sales deals with agencies and direct clients. Ideal candidates must be extremely proactive, entrepreneurial and work effectively within a small team environment.

• Responsibilities: Overall responsibility for identifying, closing and implementing partner relationships with ad agencies, public affairs advertisers, campaigners, charities and public sector operators.
• Prospect partner relationships with outbound efforts.
• Involve other executives to support business development efforts as necessary.

Qualifications:

• Ability to negotiate and close contracts with partners.
• A set of contacts of relevant decision-makers.
• Fantastic presentation skills and self-confidence.
• Ability to identify partnering opportunities and push through to completion.
• Good analytical skills, ROI driven.

Position based in central London.

Package commensurate with experience and will/may include stock options.

About MessageSpace
MessageSpace is the UK political world’s leading online advertising specialist, having served more than 50 million advertisements since launching in July last year and currently serving more than 8 million ads monthly. MessageSpace allows advertisers to reach their audience on the web and political online publishers to increase revenue from their sites. MessageSpace offers both advertisers and publishers the ability to target and segment advertising to their audience.

Sample MessageSpace customers include the Liberal Democratic Party, the Conservative Party, the National Union of Teachers, the Federation of Small Business, the Economist, the Spectator, Amicus, Friends of the Earth, the Co-operative Bank, Citigate plc, Norwich Union and the Hansard Society.