Archive for January, 2008
« Previous EntriesAll Washed Up
Wednesday, January 30th, 2008
We received a report from the field this morning from RP’s Discovery Trip. The cable follows:
Yesterday I managed to drop my cell phone into a creek. Was checking out the attached….called the Jefferson Pools because Thom Jeff visited here (from his home in Monticello) to “take the waters”. They are hot mineral springs that come out of the ground. The place was closed so I was checking out the mineral spring outside. Went to put my hand in the creek to see how hot the water was and my phone slid out of my coat pocket… totally submerged in the creek. My phone actually wound up “taking the waters.” It’s sort of working on and off now.
Topics: Fandango | 1 Comment »
Greetings From Craigsville, VA
Tuesday, January 29th, 2008
While on a Discovery trip in the Old Dominion I came across this curiously-named town nestled in the Shenandoah Valley.
Topics: Sweat & Tears | No Comments »
Online Fitness
Sunday, January 27th, 2008Recently launched new sites for Eco Fitness Gym and Blue Turtle Yoga. While both are driven by a similar philosophy (and the same ownership) they feature different vibes due to their particular focus and clientele. As such we used a common structure but then dressed them up accordingly. Included are suggested iTunes Playlists to help motivate members with their New Year’s fitness resolutions.
Topics: Sweat & Tears | 2 Comments »
Massive New Site Launch for Charleston Regional Development Alliance
Wednesday, January 23rd, 2008We just put the finishing touches on a massive relaunch for the Charleston Regional Development Alliance (CRDA).
A public/private organization responsible for marketing the region as a place to do business, CRDA plays a key role in attracting the right type of companies (like Google) to Charleston.
The site relaunch incorporated several key initiatives:
- Brand the region under the Charleston Inspired theme
- Make it as easy as possible for site selectors or site selection consultants (a key target audience) to find and utilize the appropriate data to make business decisions about whether to relocate or expand their business to the Charleston region
- Showcase Charleston as not just a place for business, but a vibrant, forward thinking community
- Organize the massive amounts of data in a way that’s easy to find, fun to look at, and easy to update
Before we dig into the fun details, the project wouldn’t have happened without the hard work of the following people:
- Gil Shuler Graphic Design (creation of the Charleston Inspired branding)
- Amy Reed at Helium Inc (initial concepting and creative direction)
- Deirdre Zahl (creative production and interface design)
- CA (Flash developer and master of the many flash elements throughout the site)
- BD (Application developer and main programmer who’s responsible for the amazing applications and code that runs the site)
- Jenn Simpson and the CRDA (for being a great project manager on the client side and making quick decisions, organizing massive copy updates, and keeping things running smoothly)
- Brennan Wesley Photography (for helping to showcase the beauty of this region throughout the site)
Now for the fun stuff. Here’s are some highlights of some of our favorite elements throughout the site.
Home Page
Stories
There are four custom-made “stories” that highlight images from the Charleston region. these statements speak to the key reasons businesses and talent should live and work here.
Topics: Fandango, Sweat & Tears, charleston sc web design | 6 Comments »
Lock It Down
Tuesday, January 22nd, 2008Was digging around in the archives here at BI-HQ and found this gem from 2004. The news tape may be dusty, and the faces young and fresh, but the tips from RY are timeless.
Topics: Marketing & Advertising | 1 Comment »
The Great White North
Sunday, January 20th, 2008Warmest wishes from BC…
Topics: Athletic Pursuit, Fandango | 1 Comment »
No Seinfeld For You!
Thursday, January 17th, 2008Apparently everyone knows the NY Football Giants quarterback Eli Manning’s favorite show is Seinfeld.
So, for this weekend’s trip to Green Bay, the city decided to deprive him of this luxury by pulling the episode off the air.
Here’s a quote from the news release.
“That’s exactly when Eli will be relaxing in his downtown Appleton hotel room getting ready for Sunday’s game,” WLUK says in a news release.
“Why give comfort to the enemy?” asked WLUK vice president and GM Zollar. “Green Bay Packers fans do not want any of the New York Giants to get a good night’s sleep and FOX 11 will do its part.”
The local Fox affiliate asked local citizens to vote on its replacement programming. One of the options?
An Emmit Smith infomercial.
Topics: Fandango, Marketing & Advertising | 1 Comment »
Giant Flip Book
Wednesday, January 16th, 2008
I saw the coolest ad earlier last week on the train from Paddington Station to Heathrow. While on the underground part of the journey (and not expecting to see any sort of outside advertising) we passed a series of images of a flower. Using the motion of the train, it created a flip book style effect of the flower blooming ending with “morning stretch”. The ad is part of Westin’s $30 million ad campaign. The campaign deliberately avoids standard imagery of hotel rooms and amenities and instead focuses on the experience; the feeling of renewal / rejuvenation you’ll get from your stay. It’s really well done and a great example of how to make an otherwise static, flat ad interactive.Take a look.
Topics: Marketing & Advertising | 2 Comments »
Living at IKEA
Saturday, January 12th, 2008
Kudos to IKEA for this publicity stunt. For those of you who frequent IKEA stores you may have pondered what life would be like living in one of rooms they set up in store. Maybe not IN the store, but in the style of one of those rooms. But comedian Mark Malkoff asked IKEA if he could live in a room in a store for a week (while his real apartment was being fumigated). They said yes and for the past week he’s called the Paramus, NJ store home. A comfortable living space, if you’re ok with customers walking through your bedroom all day, fake appliances, using the store’s public restrooms, fluorescent lights 21 hours a day, and eating meatballs for breakfast in the store cafe while other customers stare at you in your bathrobe.
Great effort by IKEA…and Mark. More at his website.
Topics: Fandango, Marketing & Advertising | 1 Comment »
Charleston in the Spotlight
Friday, January 11th, 2008
Rode to a meeting near the College of Charleston today and got caught up in the all hoopla of Barrack Obama’s visit and speech at the college. Fun to see the spectacle of it all…the energetic crowd, campaign graphics, news trucks, reporters and staffers running around. While the buzz is all about the presidential race, you couldn’t help but feel that Charleston came out a big winner. With all eyes on the city, the weather was perfect (75 and blue skies) and the setting over the top (backdrop of Randolph Hall with the crowd standing under the live oaks and Spanish moss). Hard to script it much better for our city. Certainly more inviting than the frozen tundra of Iowa and snow drifts in New Hampshire.
Topics: Fandango | 4 Comments »