WHiBlog | The official blog of WHITTMANHART Interactive.

By: adam.huse at 8:12 am

Not Invented Here Vol. 2: Fat Footers

Mar
1

Welcome to Vol.2 of Not Invented Here, a new semi-regular series on trends and innovations in interaction design (IxD).

For much of the life of the web, the footer has largely been an afterthought, usually containing only a small number of simple elements: a copyright statement, security and privacy statements, and maybe some utility links. That’s about it.

Traditional style footer on www.ford.com (as of Feb. 04, 2010)

Designers have generally given little attention to this seemingly insignificant element. And why would they? The prevailing assumption was that users don’t scroll, so let’s keep everything important at the top of the page. The footer could be an afterthought because no one would look at it anyway.

But based on some compelling research, users’ true habits have proven to the contrary – people are in fact scrolling and the myth of the fold is finally coming undone. Armed with this knowledge, the footer has been undergoing an evolution and designers are giving the lowest page element some love.

Over the last couple of years we’ve seen the rise of the Fat Footer, or as I prefer to call them, “Super Footers,” a name that’s not just less insulting, but downright impressive.

Fat footers, as their name implies, are just larger footers that make room for an increased and varied array of elements. These have come to include, among others: redundant navigation, site maps, searches, featured content, social sharing elements, and contact info and forms.

Examples of Fat Footers

Fat footer on www.comedycentral.com (as of Feb. 04, 2010)

Fat footer on www.ea.com (as of Feb. 04, 2010)

Benefits of Fat Footers

So what is the big deal?

We reached out to user experience specialist Kara McCain of Nielsen Norman Group to get her take, and this is what she had to say:

“It’s basically about predicting a user’s next need(s), keeping them moving throughout the site by helping them find the most relevant information and completing their tasks when they get down to that part of the page (rather than just slapping your copyright information and privacy policy down there and calling it a day). ”

— Kara McCain, User Experience Specialist at Nielsen Norman Group

Fat footers provide added utility and usability in a somewhat surprising place by keeping users moving through a site with two main benefits: second chances and additional considerations.

Second Chances: By providing redundant navigational links or a shallow site map, fat footers can give users a second chance to find the content they’re looking for.

A couple levels of navigation can be listed out in a fat footer without the same restrictions of vertical space that designers must adhere to in the header. This allows users a quick scan of the site without having to scroll back to the top to poke around the global navigation in a trial and error manner.

But, however useful they may be, fat footers should not be relied upon to make up for shortcomings in site architecture or navigation design.

Site navigation in the Fat footer on www.whitehouse.gov (as of Feb. 04, 2010)

Additional Considerations: The fat footer can be a great place to globally highlight featured content and additional resources (social networking, subscriptions, affiliate sites, etc…).

This can take the pressure off of more valuable page real-estate in the header or page body by either providing an alternate or redundant location for the this kind of content. For blogs, news, and e-commerce site, this can be particularly useful where users are scrolling down the page while scanning listings, reading an article, or exploring product details.

Featured content in the fat footer on www.h-d.com/darkcustom (as of Feb. 04, 2010)

Fat But Not Bloated

The footer may be getting fatter, but just like with mega-dropdowns, caution should be given so that it doesn’t also get bloated with too many unnecessary elements and links. Basic design rules of clarity and scanability still apply. Keep enough breathing room between content and provide clear headers. If users have to work too hard to figure out what’s going on in the footer, it will likely be ignored just like most standard footers.

The example below from the (otherwise fantastic) Food Network site may be getting to the point of being too cluttered. The number of links are distracting, the headers are easily lost, and the carousel of affiliate sites is poorly integrated into the design.

Fat footer on www.foodnetwork.com (as of Feb. 04, 2010)

By cutting back on some of the links and cleaning up the design with a clear visual hierarchy, it’s possible these same elements could be reworked into a more coherent and useful presentation.

Creamycss.com on the other hand, has quite a lot going on in their fat footer: recent posts, an about paragraph, a list of links, and a carousel of recommended reading, but unlike the Food Network example, these elements have clear headers, good spacing, and use a harmonious color palette.

Fat footer on http://www.creamycss.com (as of Feb. 04, 2010)

Some Parting Thoughts on Fat Footers

A well-designed fat footer is great way to provide added utility to a site without cluttering the header or body. Just be careful not to overdo it.

Beyond added utility; a fat footer can be a space for creative outlet as well. I’ll end this article with a few of the more creative ones out there.

Fat footer on www.vimeo.com (as of Feb. 04, 2010)

Fat footer on http://www.northern-classics.de (as of Feb. 04, 2010)

Fat footer on http://www.bristolarchiverecords.com (as of Feb. 04, 2010)

Fat footer on http://www.neatorama.com (as of Feb. 04, 2010)

By: alexander.ouvaroff at 12:55 pm

Power To The People

Jan
12

Today, the latest innovations in mobile, social networking, and video have really put the power to the people in ways we’re all trying to capture. There are so many options available that digital has become decentralized with endless access. In fact, the next evolution of the web, “Web 3.0” promises to fragment or decentralize digital communications even more. How to leverage that is key for brands to be successful with this medium moving forward. People are constantly on the go and can access a brand, its products and its message without having to sit in front of a computer. If they are inspired by an ad they see on a billboard, they can tap into a mobile app or visit a mobile website to learn more and even make a purchase. Most importantly, the consumers are the drivers of this space. They create, upload and share the content. They write the reviews and decide what’s meaningful. Brands now have to engage in a collaborative process online if they are to be successful.

As marketers we face an increasingly fractionalized frontier of audiences. However, with every new challenge there are tremendous opportunities to be realized. Here are some of the top digital trends we are experiencing that will only magnify in 2010.

1. Mainstream Mobile Adoption: With the launch of the Google phone (Nexus One) and the increasing penetration of the Android mobile operating system, smart phones are increasingly becoming the majority handset device. This will enable even more Internet integration with location-aware and social-aware mobile apps. This should provide a richer platform for advertisers to conduct mobile digital marketing campaigns, which has been somewhat sporadic to this point.

For AM/PM this trend will enable increasingly relevant connections between the digital world and the physical world – between the digital campaign and the actual store. Examples already in the works include a 7/11 test of a new mobile couponing and survey mobile campaign being conducted in Sweden. Also, a third party has launched a “Find a 7/11” locator app for the iPhone platform here in the US.

2. De-centralized Digital Campaigning: The US online spending universe decreased slightly during 2009 (-4.6% vs. YAG) but is expected to grow 5.5% in 2010. These numbers are based on marketers’ investments in more traditional online venues like search, display and classified (which saw the single largest decrease). What is not reflected in these numbers, and demonstrates how rapidly the online environment is evolving, are the significant investments marketers made in social media sites.

Increasingly marketers are moving away from single platform e-marketing (brand website and microsites) and including a number of e-marketing venues. Sites like YouTube, Flickr, Facebook and Twitter along with mobile phone apps now provide functionality like real-time reviews, discussions, content creation and sharing, events, promotions and the latest news. What is different is the attitude and tone required on the part of the marketer. These spaces demand transparency, energy and engagement. Consumer involvement has to be earned, not purchased. But if done right, they can result in tremendous consumer engagement.

Successful involvement in the social media space is still an unrealized opportunity for AM/PM. Other C-store retailers have begun their initial forays into social media (for example the WaWa Facebook fanpage and app) but so far none have achieved a defining success.

3. Overcoming Online Overload: Consumers are dealing with such an influx of digital marketing messages that two trends are continuing. First, consumers are becoming more discerning about which subscriptions, friends and connections they are willing to maintain with people or companies. The second trend is that marketers are under increased pressure to provide real innovation, value or novelty in order to break through the morass of digital messages. One way consumers are determining value is by relying on popularity of other digital viewers to decide if something is valuable. For example, if a story has received a high number of electronic bookmarks on sites like Digg or if an app on iTunes has a high number of positive reviews. There are simply too many pieces of content to consume.

4. Real-time Reviews: The ease at which reviews can be posted and read on sites like Yelp! and Twitter, which include pictures and maps, has meant that almost every dimension of the real world has an accompanying opinion. Recently Google has announced that it will launch a window sticker campaign that identifies popular retailers. Consumers can use their smart phone camera and a reader application to see what others have to say.

This is another demonstration of how the physical and digital worlds are starting to converge. And while campaigns like this are still relatively nascent, they will become increasingly common.

5 . Ubiquitous Wi-Fi: It seemed like the presence of local wi-fi was going to be held under the control of cellular carriers requiring pretty stiff connection fees. But the high consumer demand and appreciation for free wi-fi has led many retailers, service companies and destinations offer wi-fi as a competitive way to attract and retain customers. For example, Google recently agreed to sponsor all wi-fi on Virgin America flights during the November and December holidays. Increasingly, mobile consumers plan their trips around free hot-spots including bookstores, airports, trains, airlines and common roadside stops. An example of this implementation is The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf chain which provides digital info signage that features a code for free logins on their in-store broadband network.

6. The Great Recession Reconsideration: The digital realm, like everything else, has changed with the current economic climate. As consumers have had to decide what expenses they can keep and others they can do without, online access and the cellular phone have risen to the top of the “must have” list. Essentially these two items equate to access to the larger world. If one is to find a new place to live, another job, a mate, a cheaper car it is most likely to be found online. And as Americans have had to relocate to stay afloat, social networks have provided the tethers that keep friends and colleagues connected.

What we are seeing is an escalation of adoption in digital habits fueled by the recession’s change in priorities. As Americans eventually recover economically, these habits will be entrenched as an even greater reliance on digital access and services.

7. The Great Recession Re-investment: Marketers have also had to reconcile marketing needs with decreasing budgets and digital is still one of the few measurable marketing investments that reach a broad audience. As such it has become one of the chief survivors of the recession and continues to be a venue of choice when other options are deemed to expensive or inconclusive.

8. Video victorious: The advances in compression and bandwidth have made video increasingly the most popular and fastest growing piece of content on the web. YouTube continues to be the most popular source for consumer generated content but now the professionals have gotten involved with free viewing sites of popular TV shows on Hulu and Crackle. Also expanding is the use of video in digital advertising. Streaming, full motion interactive placements are increasing. These are more than simple TV spots compressed down but unique video creations designed for interactive engagement.

This offers AM/PM a chance to engage on a whole other level with its consumers. Especially to the degree that many AM/PM consumers are probably equipped with their own mobile video devices. Which leads us to the next trend.

9. Collaborative branding: Now that consumers have been empowered with their own platforms the broadcast and share their own self-created content, we increasingly find them involved in brand communications. This has taken on the form of consumer reviews, praise or criticism. It involves remixes or original ad creation. Wisely some brands have chosen the get ahead of the curve and become collaborators with consumers rather than ignore or disdain this type of content.

A great example is Coke, which got the entire worldwide social web involved in defining what is happiness, this years Coke brand initiative.

9. Whatever was before is not what will be

The most important element of any company’s digital marketing approach is flexibility. The degree of change in the digital world has meant that opportunities are available to the brand best positioned to realize them quickly. The best investments are in original content that can be shared and redistributed. The most effective strategy is understanding what is the secret truth that your most ardent supporters understand about your brand, product or service.

This is exactly the kind of bold thinking that led the Charmin team to develop the “Sit or Squat” mobile/social campaign that allows anyone anywhere to find a clean, public restroom (http://www.sitorsquat.com/sitorsquat/home/map).

By: Carol Setter at 12:54 pm

A Marketer’s Journey into i-Investing in People

Jan
12

For Christmas this year, I received a most unusual gift from my children. It was a single sheet of paper with a link to a microfinance site, Kiva.com. This site lends funds to individuals in developing countries and within the United States. My children had set up an account in my name to loan money to entrepreneurs throughout the world.

What fun. What responsibility…

Kiva provides loans to low-income entrepreneurs.

Being in online marketing, I am well versed in cause marketing and donate to a variety of charities and follow them online. I often read the stories of sick children, of families that have been able to afford animals or of individuals’ efforts to preserve the planet. I view my money at work through these national and international organizations. I’ve also spent some time on other microfinance lending sites, but always as an observer, never has an investor.

Perhaps that is why this experience has been so different for me. The call to action to invest has deepened my interest and shifted my perspective. I need to read each applicant’s story and determine if I’m going to invest in that individual, realizing that if I choose correctly and I’m repaid, I will be able to recycle the funds to invest in others. If I choose poorly, then I’ve reduced my ability to spread opportunity to others.

I have read and reread stories, examined photos and created lists of individuals who I think have the business savvy to produce profit. Do I prioritize the section of Africa where we have “adopted” two orphans, or a section of Asia that was hit with environmental disasters, or a village that is struggling to survive in South America?

A number of options can be used to narrow choices.

In reading the stories, the one intangible I always find myself “calculating” is whether the individuals have the heart for capitalism as well as the quest for improving their own station in life and passing it on to others. Do they have the staying power to leverage the money not as a “gift” but truly as a “loan” to springboard themselves and their community forward?

Hours I have spent on this site, separating desperate stories from those with potential to bring about change. I struggle with trying to justify supporting the arts over contributing to someone who is trying to increase food supply for a tiny village.

Choosing based upon need can be daunting.

So beyond the fascinating content of the site lies the framework of the user experience. Does it support my needs to be a viable contributor?

As a marketer, I soon found myself craving tools that would simplify my decision-making. The charm of “search and explore” led to the inconvenience of “decide and invest.” So what advice can help cause marketers better relate to their audiences? How is it possible to increase engagement and satisfaction in the microfinance arena?

1) Allow me to reliably find individuals again that are profiled. That means being able to save searches as well as save individuals’ profiles that interest me.

2) Give me tools to prioritize my list of possible entrepreneurs and allow me to comment on each so I don’t need to rethink the reasons I was attracted to a story (when I manage to find it again).

3) Provide comparison tools. Let me further group my choices by continent or save and sort by type of investment opportunity.

4) Let me see the investors with the top rates of return so I can learn from them by analyzing their choices.

5) Promote new investment by allowing me to create a profile of what I want to invest in and create alerts for opportunities that match my profile.

6) Give me more than a picture. You are sending individuals out to gather information for the featured stories. Show me video of the environment that expresses the need. Help me understand in more depth and give me the emotional back story for context.

As a novice investor, I found that it was as useful to learn about other investors as much as those they invest in. I analyzed the funds certain investors chose to determine how they built their “people portfolios.” I looked to see if these individuals accepted email contact so I could ask a question.

I really missed though not being able to identify other small investors in my local community so I could contact them and learn from them. Maybe if we knew each other, we could even pool our money together for greater resource funding.

Give me ways to connect to and learn from others.

In this stressful economic time, it’s comforting to be able to reach out and help others. I think if cause marketing sites had more tools that allowed sorting and comparing, it would make it easier for consumers to interact. And, if sites not only allowed me to give, but to gain knowledge for myself as an investor and create a social community I could become part of, the organization would make me into dedicated, life-long donor.

By: jill.skocir at 9:53 am

Some Leftover Local Celebrating for OG&E

Jan
4

A web site is never finished. You tweak, you research, you launch, you test, you re-tweak — its an ongoing process. We’re so often looking at what’s wrong and what can be better that we forget to celebrate what’s right and what’s wonderful about the sites we create.

OGE_home The Oklahoma City Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America awarded our OGE.com site (Oklahoma Gas and Electric) first place in the Electronic Media/Web Sites category. Now I know a local PRSA award is far from a Cannes Lion, but it reminded me and my team that in the days of economic stress, fewer employees with larger workloads and pressure to prove that every dollar spent online is working hard, it’s important to take a step back and celebrate the little victories.

Although in looking back, I realize the OGE site is more than a little victory. WhittmanHart had been tasked with a full-site redesign—rebranding the OGE website utilizing all areas of the agency’s areas expertise: strategy and personas, information architecture, design, development, full integration with CMS (Sharepoint), copywriting and QA. OGE_interior

OGE’s previous URL had housed all three of OGE’s business lines—OG&E, an electric company; Enogex, a natural gas pipeline business; and OERI, the marketing arm for the natural gas business—in one site. With a strategy centered around personas, the information architecture streamlined the web site content to speak to the multiple persona groups that the site needed to address. The design then brought the OGE brand position to life speaking directly to each of the various persona groups.

We then developed CMS templates to allow OGE to fully manage every area of every page in the site. With over 125 web pages across the three sites, this was a major milestone for OGE.

We’re excited about the site and thank OGE for their partnership with us on this major brand/site initiative.

By: tara.deville at 9:35 am

Government agencies weigh in on social media, but should they?

Jan
4

Near the close of 2009, two regulatory bodies, the FTC and FDA, took steps to revise existing guidelines governing advertising to consumers. The issue: the internet and social media.

As most of us know on a personal, if not professional level, social media holds inherent value as a channel through which we can quickly find information, credibly share experiences and intimately connect with others. With the growth in UGC and social conversations, individuals and advertisers alike have discovered means to monetize this content to provide additional benefits to themselves or other stakeholders. As a result, the concern over loss of information authenticity and public safety given the commercialism of social media has come in the cross hairs of the government.

In November, the FDA held hearings inviting speakers and presenters to demonstrate how drug companies use the web and other social media to promote pharmaceuticals as well as how consumers are influenced by social tools. On December 1, the FTC’s new guidelines for bloggers went into effect, requiring them to disclose any products or relationships they have with companies or advertisers.

So, why all the fuss? With more and more “sponsored” content, the question is in how credible the sources of information can truly be. There are protective rules in place to safeguard consumers and patients in the everyday sales transactions and consumption behaviors in which we all participate. The FTC works for consumers to prevent fraudulent, deceptive, and unfair business practices and to provide information to help spot, stop, and avoid them. FDA ensures that food, drugs, biological products and medical devices are safe, and honestly, accurately and informatively represented to the public.

However, the new guidelines (or lack thereof in certain circumstances) from these organizations have come under intense scrutiny and debate ranging from is the internet being unfairly targeted as a medium, or how can the government possibly police and enforce these rules, to should an advertiser be responsible for monitoring the content outside of something they created?

My recommendation: Be transparent. Disclose, disclose, disclose.

It’s the right thing to do.

Based on the responsibilities of these agencies, it is not surprising that the internet and social media become part of their guidelines. I argue that by providing guidelines, advertisers can better leverage these new tools, as opposed to feeling uncertain whether or not something is against the rules. As advertisers, we have to be knowledgeable about these rules and regulations to conduct business in a fair and legal way. To summarize the outcomes of the two recent events, I will use two words, which I endorse as best practice for all advertisers: disclosure and transparency.

Disclosure: FTC Guides Governing Endorsements, Testimonials

The revised FTC guidelines as part of the Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising specify that while decisions will be reached on a case-by-case basis, the post of a blogger who receives cash or in-kind payment to review a product is considered an endorsement. Thus, bloggers or spokespeople who make an endorsement must disclose the material connections they share with the seller of the product or service. I recommend to advertisers that proper disclosure of endorsements and sponsorship is in their best interest.

Transparency: FDA Hearings on Internet and Social Media

The hearings were successful in demonstrating the uniqueness and importance of the Internet and social media in informing and educating the public about health issues, including communicating risk and benefits of drugs.

As my colleague and I presented during the BDI Social Communications & Healthcare Conference in July, social media requires five basic tenets, of which transparency is imperative. The five basic tenets should guide companies as they being to leverage social media:

Reciprocity
Relevancy
Transparency
Authenticity
Commitment

Transparency was the primary theme at the hearings and a number of best practices were presented to the FDA to provide responsible solutions to social tactics, such as space-limited messaging or paid search ads. I am currently working with clients and partners using these best practices in an effort to be more transparent to the public. For instance, beta Google search ads are being developed on behalf of our biotech/pharma clients to be shared with DDMAC. Likewise, I advocate the one-click rule for sharing ISI and PI, as well as rich media fair balance. These guides will continue to evolve as more feedback is provided by FDA.

In closing, I argue that any online strategy initiated by an advertiser, be it CPG, retail, B2B, or healthcare, must keep consistent with seeking outcomes that are legal, substantiated, and ethically responsible, regardless of the current state of any regulatory guidance. It’s the right thing to do.

By: julianna.mardino at 1:57 pm

Behavioral Targeting Discussion: Education Should Guide Evolution

Nov
2

If you’ve been keeping up on your online advertising news this year you know there has been much debate and publicity around behavioral targeting. For those who haven’t heard, behavioral targeting is the practice used by publishers to track and identify consumers’ online interests and then serve ads deemed relevant based on browsing history. It has picked up great momentum and popularity among marketers who see it as an opportunity to increase efficiency of media placements; and likewise, publishers invest in building out behavioral networks because they can charge a premium. On the other hand, The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) wants more regulation and stronger, simpler opportunities to opt-out users from behavioral targeting. Typically, I am a fanatic about protecting my own privacy online, but in this case I’m wondering is this targeting such a bad thing?

My husband and I bought a house recently and since then I have found my feelings toward advertising grow from slight annoyance to near disgust (Gasp!). Just yesterday I walked up to my front door to find numerous multi-colored flyers and ads shoved in my door. These of course went flying and hit me in the face as I attempted to juggle the door, my bags, and the flyers, which then lead me to scramble after the papers, trip over my mums, and fall on my face. So, obviously I was angry, but not because I took a nose dive, my anger actually bubbled up as soon as I saw the flyers on the door.

Many consumers are feeling increasingly frustrated toward irrelevant ads in all media channels. But what if those ads were indeed relevant? What if those flyers on my door advertised a fabulous yoga center in the area, or a great used book store close by…would I have gotten so mad? Probably not. In fact, I think it would be very refreshing to receive a mailer that actually related to me. And I’ve noticed that Google has moved in this direction. Google offers a tool available for users to log in and control what targeting they receive based on their search history. This transparency is certainly a change from traditional channels. If only I could do that with my TV and mailbox I might actually enjoy reading advertisements!

Critics of behavioral targeting, on the other hand, claim companies are collecting too much information and are not upfront enough with the consumer. However, again, the publishers beg to differ. In the case of Yahoo, the media giant has a very robust Privacy Center (which they claim only 75,000 people per month ever visit) allowing users the ability to completely opt-out of behavioral targeting altogether. Now, in all fairness, Yahoo does claim the site is “prominently linked” but, I would argue their definition of prominence is rather loose. Despite not finding a huge link advertising the page, I was able to locate the user controls within a few minutes. The site provides a great deal of information for consumers who want to understand exactly what is going on with their information online – they even have a privacy blog.

As things stand right now, internet users have the ability to opt-out of behavioral targeting. Interestingly, most do not demand that right. People either don’t realize they have the choice, don’t care to, or simply don’t have the time to spend learning about targeting options. Some FTC members support the opt-in strategy, saying that all users should have to choose to receive targeted ads. This makes sense when you’re trying to collect sensitive data, but for ad targeting? Microsoft says that concept is just not realistic. Rather, Microsoft is a proponent for more education for consumers. The fact is if most people don’t know about behavioral targeting how can we expect them to opt-in?

I also see a need for more education around behavioral targeting. I’m all for restricting the collection of PII (personal identifiable information). However, it seems many people are not at all aware of the extent to which they can be tracked. Working in this industry allows me visibility to the technical side of how targeting works. Yet most people may not fathom how we can see what ads they click on and what they do on websites. It evokes a sense of fear in some consumers. I’d like to be able to quell this fear. What I like to explain to people about behavioral advertising is that I do not have the ability to see what Mary Smith, the person, does. What I can see is an aggregate number of data points collected over time telling me, for example, that 100 people clicked on my banner ad and signed up to my newsletter in the month of July. I have no access to PII, but rather can see that my messaging resonated more against my target of women expressing an interest in health.

Overall, I think once the consumers are educated about the technology they won’t reject it. As media agencies, if we can find a way to quickly and efficiently educate consumers on what type of information is really being collected, we can help move them past any state of fear to see what behavioral targeting really enables. I mean if you have to see ads, why wouldn’t you want them to be relevant?

Interested to hear thoughts or feedback. What % of ads do you think are relevant to you in a given day?

By: josh.beane at 1:01 pm

Sharing My 30th Birthday

Oct
28

This past Spring my best friend and I went to Argentina to celebrate my 30th birthday. From the Iguazu Falls to the foothills of the Andes in Bariloche, we explored some of the most amazing places. Things that I will never forget. You’d think that I would of taken 100’s of pictures; especially since we both had our nice Nikon and Canon digital cameras. I think we took 30 between the both of us. Instead we captured the whole experience on my FlipHD video camera. With it being the size of an iPod and holding 60 minutes of footage before offloading by USB straight to my computer—it was a no brainer. We uploaded videos each day to our Facebook pages allowing our friends to really share in the experience with us at a whole other level. I would constantly hear things like “I feel like we are there with you.” Which is not something you often hear about a photograph. Video breaks through that wall and I think it will be hard to go back. Since we were gone for a little more than three weeks we couldn’t really just “walk away” from our lives at home. But video helped us with that too. My friend would communicate daily with his girlfriend using video chat/ Skype and I was using it to give my editor notes on a project we were finishing. Now I know we could of used other methods to communicate but I think my buddy’s girlfriend thought the “I love yous,” were more impactful as she watched him say it (even if she had to deal with seeing me in the background as I sat on the couch drinking beers).

Check out the amazing Iguazu Falls:

Iguazu Falls Video

Now I rarely leave my house without my flip. But even if I don’t have it, most of the accessories I carry with me daily (phone, iPod) capture video. And I also find myself communicating more and more using video chat because hearing someone’s voice or typing just isn’t enough.

While writing this blog I realized it’s my first ever “written” blog entry ever. No wonder it took me so long. I should of just pulled out my flip.

By: WHITTMANHART Interactive at 10:13 am

Augmented Reality – First Down

Oct
22

One of the hottest trends in interactive has been Augmented Reality and marketers are scrambling to figure out how to use it without falling into the “me too” category. AR is nothing new and has been around since the early 90’s. You may not have realized it but you have been experiencing AR in a variety of ways for some time now. It might surprise you but the yellow “first down” line we see on TV watching a football game is in-fact a form of AR. The technology broke though into main stream when it became possible to produce AR experiences in Adobe Flash, providing an unmatched user base (installed on 99% of all internet-enabled desktops) as apposed to developing proprietary plug-ins.

Augmented Reality is based on image processing and the ability to process a live video feed, such as from your webcam, and detect objects within the video. In this instance it is detecting a marker, typically a black square with a white pattern inside of it. The distortion of the marker within the video image, depending on how you are holding it, creates 3D camera information that can be applied to a 3D model. Other image processing techniques such as motion detection, facial recognition, optical tracking can be combined together to create meaningful interactive experiences. Utilize GPS to provide location awareness to your functionality and now you’ve got something. CPG, retail, social and gaming can all benefit greatly from these capabilities.

Pushing the limitations of AR within Flash is a tangled web because of memory consumption and image processing. Aside from performance why and when to use AR is a larger question, technology will always get better but ideas will stand the test of time. There are some great AR examples out there. We believe the work we did for Lucas Arts on www.jointheclonewars.com is obviously a natural fit and leverages AR to drive engagement allowing for a stronger connection with the brand. I know this Star Wars fan boy was gitty with excitement as I ran to the printer. Finding the right balance between utility, brand fit, engagement, performance and entertainment is the challenge as we all move forward.

whiBlog_yodaAR

Marshall McLuhan once said “We drive into the future using only our rearview mirror” and as a side note it’s interesting to point out that most AR experiences somehow try to take an artifact from our reality and virtualizes it. For example this is a new take at a T-Shirt design fitting room. Quite a bit of AR is for novelty and that’s ok, embracing technology is part of what we do as humans, but one example of AR that really sticks out as a useful tool is the Box Simulator for the US Postal Service.

whiBlog_uspsAR

It is a very exciting time to see where this AR train goes. With increasing support and interest in creating the applications the demand for useful compelling AR experiences is going to go up.

However, it’s going to require more lustrous graphic processing, mobile availability and most importantly engaging concepts. All in due time.

By: steve.bava at 3:35 pm

Driving Retail Sales with Social Media

Oct
19

Statistics support using social in your marketing mix, but how?

Last week, I gave a presentation on “Driving In-Store Sales through Social Media” at the In-Store Marketing Expo in Chicago. After taking the crowd through our Sears Arrive Lounge and Mountain Dew DEWmocracy case studies, I was ready for questions.

I was surprised that the majority of the questions were about social media basics and how to integrate social not only into a company’s larger digital plans, but also into the greater marketing mix. So many marketers feel paralyzed by social media. They’re behind the eight ball and they don’t know how to get ahead. What’s worse, many marketers think that consumers are ahead. I argue that’s only because we as marketers and agencies are letting them get ahead.

Social media must be taken out of the context of traditional marketing campaigns and move into the context of customer relationship management. How will you keep your finger on the pulse of your consumers on an ongoing basis?

We’ve long known that digital communications allow people to immediately take action when they hear a message. The problem is most marketers are ignoring the consumer response. Now more than ever, we must pay attention to that action, and listen to the response. Yet we continue to be driven by the push mentality—pushing messages out to consumers.

For example, one of our clients saw an uptick in online sales, so they were ready to move all communications online and decrease their in-store presence. By doing Personas and truly understanding the customer’s online behavior, we found that people were actually using the store as an important information-gathering tool before making purchasing decisions. Three of the four Personas used both in-store and online tools to influence their purchase. You have to have both. If we wouldn’t have worked with our client to really get in there and understand how the consumer was using digital, we would have ignored a very important part of the purchasing decision. Marketers must appreciate that the true aspect of digital is multi-way communication. And they must learn how to capitalize on that.

For me, one of the most important benefits of social media for the marketer is knowledge gathering. Listen to what the consumer is saying, but then use that knowledge to speak to the consumer in a better, more informed way.

Immersing users in competitive game play increased brand interest

The DEWmocracy campaign we presented at the conference didn’t start as a social media campaign. Instead we were approached with a business problem—how does Mountain Dew come up with its next flavor? The process was taking too much time in R&D, and the client needed a different solution. So we looked at the Millennial target and their relationship with technology. We knew the target would want to be a part of the product development process. You couldn’t just shove a new flavor in front of them and expect them to embrace it, so we decided to build an online game and social network where consumers could actually create and then campaign for the next flavor of Mountain Dew. Users eventually aligned behind three top drink choices, formed teams and collectively worked to enhance each component of their drink candidates to make them stronger and more appealing to the public. When the game closed in January 2008, campaigning for the three finalized drink creations began. Campaigning ended in June, and Americans voted to ultimately determine the fate of the next Mountain Dew from July through August 2008. Based on our recommendation—knowing that the target audience would want to see, touch and feel the product—Mountain Dew actually sold the three contending flavors in stores. At the end of August, Voltage was declared the winner, and the new flavor hit stores that November.

The DEWmocrac voting site included assets to let users evangelize

DEWmocracy had an enormous participation rate of 1.5 million users, with numbers increasing 5-10% every few days. The average time spent per user on DEWmocracy was an astonishing 27 minutes. For reference, reaching just a mere five minutes on a brand website is an amazing feat. DEWmocracy has certainly brought forth an experience that users were interested in engaging with for extended periods of time, over the course of many weeks.

Why was it so successful? Because we listened to the target and engaged in a dialogue. We let them become part of the process. And organizationally, we didn’t pigeonhole social media in the marketing department. Instead we worked with

Top 3 user-generated flavors were sold and encouraged more social activity

R&D, marketing, packaging, merchandising and the in-store team. The entire organization embraced the campaign, and they were flexible enough to listen to what their consumers were telling them.

At the end of the day, my lesson to the conference attendees and any marketer entering or living in the social media space is that we as agencies and marketers need to use all of our resources and mediums (social included) to speak to, listen to and engage with our consumers in order to stay one step ahead of them.

I’m happy to discuss social media, in general, and also how it can drive in-store sales. I’d love to hear about the social media challenges you’re facing. Feel free to email me at: sbava@whittmanhart.com

By: Zac Rybacki at 1:41 pm

Real Economic Recovery

Oct
15

recovery.gov vs. recovery.com

So here’s an interesting scenario I suspect may be more common than I care to think. I recently read about how Onvia has had success creating a very useful site that tracks government stimulus monies as they flow from Washington to individual states to counties and communities. It’s essentially a toll for contractors and others who are looking to bid on these government projects. They’ve done a nice job of creating a clean visual interface and interaction design allowing anyone to drill into a community and see what projects are on the docket and there providing the correlating information to respond to an RFP or RFI. They’ve even enabled some nice social widgets (list) facilitating dialogue within the site. All great stuff.

At the same time our federal government has commissioned a similar site, recovery.gov. Their mission almost identical “…provide unprecedented transparency about how Recovery funds are being used…” This site also does a pretty solid job of synthesizing boat loads of data into a relatively easy to use interface.

social tool on recovery.com

I think there are at least two areas where they really differ. First, Onvia seemed to find a way to enable some dialogue. With their approach you can comment on projects and vote on projects you think are most and least worthwhile. You can also follow changes and updates to recovery.com via their Twitter account. And they employ a full set of “share” functionality via AddThis. Second, I’m pretty sure it didn’t cost Onvia anywhere near $18M to put this together.

OK, I’m not one of those people who want to privatize everything our government does, and frankly can be quite good at. Don’t want a private solution to military, school, etc. But $18M is a lot of Recovery for a website.

Here’s a suggestion. We spend a few thousand coming up with a really great piece of copy that sets the stage for the new recover.gov.

“Thanks for visiting recovery.gov. In an effort to bring the public the best access to information on how Recovery money is being spent we have partnered with Oniva who has put together a fantastic solution that accomplishes everything we want to accomplish and then some. We’ve decided to support their efforts to ensure recovery.com stay up to date for the next three years. The remaining $17.5M previously allocated to making this experience more like theirs has been redirected to other projects.

>> Click Here for Recovery.com

The lesson is one we’ve been talking to clients about for years “if it already exists, you may do better leveraging it vs. building it”.

Friday, March 12, 2010

Cowbell

Not Invented Here Vol. 2: Fat Footers

Examples of Fat Footers

Benefits of Fat Footers

Fat But Not Bloated

Some Parting Thoughts on Fat Footers

Power To The People

Some Leftover Local Celebrating for OG&E

Augmented Reality – First Down

Driving Retail Sales with Social Media

Real Economic Recovery

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