Anthology Creative Feeds By: Category: Branding

Active vs. Passive Business Sites

Wed, 07 Sep 2011 00:00:00 -0500

So you’ve got a company, and you’ve got a website. Unless you’re a web-based company you probably hope that people will find your site either by advertising or search engines directing them to your site and that the site visit will lead to business for your company. This describes the standard passive web site. It sits there and waits for someone to visit it, hoping to help in the process if it can. An active site offers something to visitors. It doesn’t stay the same all the time and is updated to encourage regular visits. It supplies information that may be helpful to visitors. These updates don’t have to be drastic or even design changes. Blogging, social media integration, photo galleries of projects that your company is involved in, or even links to stories from your industry create change and can help drive users back to your site for return visits. Updating your site (if you even have the ability) in simple ways to provide tools, information or updates to your current or potential clients is a great way to turn your web site from a passive tool in your marketing, into an active one. Having a site that is a destination as opposed to a stop-through can give your business a leg up in becoming the expert that your clients are looking for and the name that they will remember.

The Rise of the Recommendation Web

Tue, 16 Aug 2011 00:00:00 -0500

The web is an organism. It is constantly evolving. It is constantly morphing and changing its shape. It is continually adapting to current trends, new information, and progressive innovation. In it’s infantry, it was the static web. Then, it became the dynamic web and we began to interact. About ten years ago, it morphed again - this time into the social web. In this era, we have seen the rise and fall of sites like Friendster and MySpace, we have seen services like Facebook and Twitter grow from experiments into online empires. And, we started to see the first glimpses of the recommendation web with sites like Digg and Reddit. We are now fully entering into the era of the recommendation web - where virtually everything can be viewed, consumed, or purchased can also have a recommendation attached. This begins to shift how we find new information, how we search on the web, and how our decisions are influenced - decisions that we previously were forced to make alone. So, where does this take us? Facebook and Google each have launched their own “recommendation networks.” Facebook has the now-iconic “Like” button, and Google recently launched +1.These giants will begin to take a stronghold onto the recommendation web. Facebook will utilize it to connect people further and increase revenue by serving up increasingly targeted ads. Google will utilize it to organize and catalog information on the web and respond to requests accordingly. Both will leverage our existing social networks and what those people recommend to gain insight into our potential likes, dislikes, and behavior. With the recommendation web, search engine optimization (SEO) as we know it today will be flipped on its head. It will become more important for companies and products to receive recommendations online than it will be to write strategic copy containing certain buzzwords. Search results will be heavily influenced by our social recommendations, and thus, will be catered to fit each individual. It makes sense that this is the next logical step in the evolution of the web. Companies and organizations should recognize this early and adapt accordingly so they are not left behind in the new era of the web.

How Searchable are you?

Thu, 11 Aug 2011 00:00:00 -0500

Last week an attorney friend of mine asked me if we could build him his own site outside of his firm’s using his name as the website domain. He wasn’t attempting to separate himself from his colleagues, he just wanted search engines that might be looking for him, as opposed to the firm, to be able to more easily find him. My advice was that not only should he do it, but each of the other partners in the firm should do the same thing. A simple landing page with personal contact info as well as links to the company or organization main page and social media links are an easy way to make your organization as a whole more visible online and can lend a more prestigious appearance and a larger footprint in web search results. Also, individuals who may know your public faces of the company or front line employees but not the organization its self can more easily find more information quickly. These sites can be easily expanded for blogging purposes or as online destinations to send clients for specific services. The more links that feed back to your organization via web search, the better results you'll have being found online.

When Opportunity Strikes, Will You Be Prepared?

Tue, 02 Aug 2011 00:00:00 -0500

Over the last two months, millions of Americans were captivated by a sport that most of us hadn’t given a single thought to since a penalty kick 12 years ago. The US Women’s soccer team began winning their games. Winning wasn’t exactly unexpected, but how they won drew the attention of the American public unlike any women’s sport has ever done. Capped by the last minute, short-handed goal against Brazil in the Quarter Finals, America was hooked and the US Women’s soccer team became “our girls.” Twitter exploded setting a new record for tweets per second, and viewership grew exponentially for the teams next two games of the World Cup. Although the team didn’t bring home the cup, America was interested and Women’s soccer in America’s brief window of opportunity to take advantage had begun. Three days later a record crowd showed up in Rochester New York for a Women’s Professional Soccer match that was supposed to involve several of the heroes of the World Cup team. Only one problem, none of those players actually played in that game. ...Two weeks later most Americans can no longer name any of the members of that team. When the right client or company hears about your organization, are you prepared for them to find you online? Are you proud of what they will find there? Or, by the time you get ready to take advantage of the new found notoriety have they moved on to the organization that was prepared? Having a web presence that makes you easily found online and represents your company well, once found, can mean the difference in a new client or a new skeptic. Are you prepared to be found... or forgotten?

Created by Anthology: Election Countdown Widget Lands as Featured Download on Apple.com

Thu, 28 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0500

Recently, Anthology created an election countdown widget for Apple's Dashboard (OS X) to help promote a new site called Help Me Vote 08. Help Me Vote provides a leadership analysis for each of the presidential candidates, Barack Obama and John McCain - then allows you to compare your rankings with others. This morning, Apple featured the Election Countdown widget on the homepage of the widget directory. Awesome. Download the widget: http://www.apple.com/downloads/dashboard/justforfun/election2008countdown.html http://helpmevote08.com/widgetry

Top 10 Best Commercials During the 2008 Olympic Games

Mon, 25 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0500

The 2008 Olymipcs not only showcased the best athletes in the world, but also the best commercials in the world. Clearly, the marketing opportunities are huge during Olympic broadcasts and several companies stepped up to the plate. The following commercials are the best of the 2008 Olympics - they are engaging, compelling, and inspiring. 10. Coca-Cola: Bird's Nest 9. GM: I Was Made For You 8. Home Depot: Sweat 7. Visa GO WORLD Series: Michael Phelps 8 Gold Medals 6. GM: Gas Station/Chevy Volt 5. Coke: Olympics and Special Olympics 4. Visa GO WORLD Series: Kerri Strug 3. Nike: Courage (I've Got Soul) 2. Visa GO WORLD Series: Come Together 1. Visa GO WORLD Series: Derek Redmond And a Bonus... the worst commercial of the 2008 Games. McDonald's "Golden" Sandwich Commercial

Experience Branding: What We Can Learn From A Cabin in Gatlinburg

Mon, 04 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0500

Your brand is only as good as your customers experience your product or service. Negative experiences yield a negative brand. Positive experiences yield a positive brand. Additionally, your brand is affected by your advertising or marketing attempts only to the extent of whether you live up to your claims. My wife, Rachael, and I took off for a weekend getaway to Gatlinburg, Tennessee this weekend. It was a last-minute trip and fortunately, we were able to book a cabin rental. Our excitement quickly drained to disgust when we arrived. The driveway was eroded where it met the road, so we nearly ruined the car trying to accelerate quick enough to overcome the large ledge. We were then greeted by several species of bugs when we finally got inside - a insect killing spree was required. We discovered there was not even a battery in the smoke detector - which I assume is against the law in the rental business. There were holes in the walls in the bathroom. We even found writing on one of the walls. The shower knob kept falling off and the bathroom fixtures were not secured to the wall. Then, on our second day, we were infested with ants - hundreds of them - all over the kitchen. Needless to say, our experience was less than perfect. The rental website painted this cabin as a perfect getaway location. In fact, the cabin was named “Hidden Heaven.” Ironic. Because of our experience, it has affected our thoughts on not only this cabin but also the company that rented it. We will never use this company again. There is no telling how many other cabins they have that are in worse condition than a run-down motel. How your customers experience your product or service is EVERYTHING. Strive to create the best experience for your customers in any way possible. A good experience will not only bring them back for more, but they will become evangelists on your behalf.