Digital moves this week from Google, Groupon, The Economist and more

The Economist launches an application for iPhone and iPod, “World in Figures”, based on its print publication of the same name. It allows readers to engage with one of its most popular books in a different way and is available globally.

Steven Watson was appointed as director of digital strategy at Tequila Singapore. Watson previously worked in London and Amsterdam and has experience in SEO integrations and social media. 

Euro RSCG China announced the promotion of Alex Phung as head of digital and group creative director for 4D China. He will be responsible for growing the agency’s digital offering across the Shanghai and Beijing offices.

Online marketing company SEO Agency assigned Arnaud Belhamou as the new business development manager. Having worked at different online companies, Belhamou will be responsible for search engine optimisation and all sorts of social media marketing.

The industry-backed international forum, I-COM expanded into Asia, with former Starcom MediaVest executive director Shashank Tripathi as its vice-chairman in the region. He is anticipating a lot of work in Asia Pacific before the next Summit.

Ikon partnered with TubeMogul to make Playtime, a single solution for real-time media buying, targeting, ad serving, optimization and measurement. The partnership provides Ikon access to high quality video catalog on the web at scale.

Group buying brands in Hong Kong, including Groupon and Groupbuya dominated the search results in the first half of 2011 in Google Zeitgeist, a tool designed to provide insight into internet trends. Mobile phone operators also appeared frequently in Google searches, as well as fast-food chains, like McDonald's.

International non-profit organisation, WaterAid appointed R/GA to redefine its overall global digital strategy and redevelop its online presence. The organisation operates programmes across 26 countries in the Africa, Asia and the Pacific region to improve access to safe water in poor communities.

TVB.com teamed up with Tencent to launch TVB.com Weibo, which will help the company to build a global community. Weibo is capable of instant messaging which the old TVB blog community did not have. TVB.com weibo is the first wave of Tencent Hong Kong’s strategic partnership with TVB and there will be further collaborations.

After Apple flagged up new guidelines in February this year, requiring publishers to remove lines to their own websites from their apps, Google and Amazon, plus a few other publishers stopped in-app sales. A web-based app was launched in HTML5 last month (7 June) as a way of avoiding Apple’s 30% subscription transactions for its app.

UK-headquartered travel company Cox & Kings appointed Tribal DDB India as its digital agency, managing the social media presence of the brand. The brand is hoping to increase its investments in travel-focused segments of the digital space.

wwwins Isobar China promoted Tim Doherty to creative partner to enhance the company’s creative profile and capability in the China market. Doherty has been in the company since 2008 as creative director and has over 13 years of digital-focused experience. 

Bazarooma launched an online property portal in Indonesia, running on Java and Ajax. The website offers user interface for mobiles and provide statistics for the past and current trends. It also allows property agents and businesses to target web users who are searching on the Internet.

Subaru Australia and Isobar launched a new website and digital platform after several months of upgrading work. The new website will be divided into several key consumer-focused sections. According to Glynn Honey, managing director of Isobar Australia, the company will continue to develop for Subaru over the coming months.

Wunderman Melbourne appointed Meena Kumar as general manager with immediate effect. Kumar has over 20 years of experience in customer relationship management including, 14 years in digital marketing. 

Google, the Internet-based service and products developer, is hoping to expand its business in Indonesia by setting up an office there by the end of this year, similar to Google’s China strategy. The company is currently discussing the plan with Indonesia’s Ministry of Communication and Information.

Property Guru bought DDProperty.com and plans to invest US$2.68 million further to confirm the website’s position. The company is committing to expend and strengthen its online property business in Thailand with the website.