The super soaraway Sun has a super soaraway web site. Not only does The Sun Online (www.thesun.co.uk) provide a new channel for established and new readers to experience and communicate with the tabloid, it also acts as a major revenue stream, with its fantasy football game, for example, contributing more than £1 million to its parent company last year. The site's SMS services are another key revenue stream. More than a million messages were sent out for Big Brother 3, and there are regular subscription-based services such as football scores, horoscopes and racing tips. Visitors to the site can also pay to play exclusive games, access diet information or enter competitions by text.
Since its redesign in September 2001, The Sun Online has seen costs halve, revenues double and readership jump 113 per cent. The site currently has more than 1.82 million unique visitors each month, and page impressions topped 40 million in October 2002, according to tracking company Red Sheriff, making it the third-busiest of all UK printed publication sites. Visitors can access regularly updated breaking news, web chats and video streaming, but it's not all one-way. An increasing number of Sun readers are choosing digital channels with which to interact, whether by playing bingo or registering for the fantasy football game - 45 per cent of all teams register online.
The judges were impressed by this strategy of driving readers online and web site visitors to the paper, which allows The Sun to use its web presence as a marketing and loyalty tool.
CRITERIA
Online extensions of existing media properties, new online media brands from established media owners and properties created specifically for the internet by new companies were all eligible for this category. The judges were looking in particular for evidence of commercial success.
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