Our support didn’t end there. On the day of the Mutt Strut xiik launched the Web site for the 2011 Indianapolis Poster Pooch Contest, a contest that will determine which Indianapolis-area dog will be the face of next year’s Mutt Strut.  Dogs are voted on by their human companions, who can log onto the site to vote for their favorites. The winning dog will be decided by having the most votes when the site closes at midnight on Friday, July 9.

Indianapolis-area residents can submit photos of their adorable pooch that can be voted on by the public. To register your pooch, you must make a minimum $5 donation and each vote is a $1 donation. Be prepared to enlist your friends and family to vote for your dog – the current leader has more than 300 votes. Have no fear, though, because voting is still open for several more weeks so there is plenty of time to get a rousing campaign for your pooch going. You can even use the site to solicit support from your friends and family by sending emails encouraging them to vote for your pooch.

And if you don’t have a pooch, surely you know someone who does, or you enjoy looking at photos of cute pooches. Log on today and find your favorite – you’ll be helping provide a second chance to the animals at the Humane Society of Indianapolis who dream of one day being a poster pooch (or kitty!).

Whether you want to show off your pooch, or see others’ favorite pets, we hope you join us in supporting this great cause.

So, how does a company like xiik relate to an athlete like Shaun White?

Like him, there are some mad skillz here at xiik. Maybe not quite his snowboarding skills, but we’re pretty savvy when it comes to marketing. We have years of marketing experience, boat loads of creativity and the ability to execute those ideas through web, video and print. Every day we challenge ourselves and our clients to pull out the “big guns” and craft up a product that will be mind-blowing. If Shaun White needed an interactive website, video, marketing materials or anything else to sustain his brand, he could come to us and let us “put down tricks” in the form of interactive marketing.

If our team took a vacation to go take snowboarding lessons from Shuan White himself, I’m pretty sure none of us would be doubting what the pro instructed us to do. We would let the professional do his job because he has mastered his craft! Sure we can give our suggestions where we see fit, but at the end of the day we respect his gold medals. The same can be said for our company. We love getting input from our clients and should always be a part of the creative process, but our expertise helps us guide our clients down path safely and effectively. We might not be competing in Vancouver this winter, but for everyone here at xiik, a client’s success is our gold medal.

Read more about White’s accomplishments here. Read more about xiik’s here.

Everyone has heard of Netflix in some way or another by now. The ads are everywhere and the service has rapidly become a household staple for many.  I finally took the plunge myself and purchased a membership. Like me, most people used to drive to Blockbuster only to find that the movie they wanted to rent wasn’t in stock or was being rented by someone else. This obviously wasn’t cutting it for the “fast lane” society that, at the time, we were becoming. So a couple of dudes from California thought up and pitched a service that would allow customers to rent movies from a website on a pay-per-rental basis, and it eventually evolved into the flat monthly rate service it is today. So, how did this all come to be?

Since their launch, Netflix has encountered several other start-ups trying to sell the same service, but nobody has been able to do it as well as them. Wal-Mart and even Amazon (in Germany and the UK) have tried to release similar online services through their companies to their already loyal customers, but they eventually fizzled out. Wal-Mart now even has a cross-promotional agreement with Netflix! A partnership like that is huge — consider how pervasive Wal-Mart is and the comparatively tinier size that is and always will be Netflix. No offense to Netflix, we can’t all be Wal-Mart.

Now to my favorite part: the website. Netflix’s usability is amazing – from recommending movies it thinks you would like, to letting you stream many of the popular movies straight onto your computer or X-Box 360, PS3 and soon, the Wii. As a new customer, it only took me a couple minutes to get used to the site and how it all worked. That is incredibly important to keep in mind when designing the functionality of your websites. You could have a beautiful design, but if the layout is jumbled or confusing, it will not keep the user engaged and you’ve just lost a visitor or potential customer.

Another thing I love about the Netflix site is the way everything is interconnected. As I’m browsing through the legions of movies in the Netflix database, I have the option of adding them to my DVD Queue or Instant Queue. The way the site is connected through your personal profile is by the rating system and movie recommendations. As you rate more and more movies, Netflix gets smarter and better at guessing what movies you would like. Just an FYI, my queue is already big enough to last me months!

Netflix is also changing the business plans of other similar companies. More and more Blockbusters are closing their doors and driving to the movie rental store on a Friday night may soon be obsolete. We’ve also seen other businesses pick up on the practices of Netflix. Gamefly is one example of this. They have a similar site as Netflix for video game rental. Most hardcore gamers hate leaving the couch, so having their next game delivered right to their front door changes everything. Genius!  Red Box is a bit different, but nevertheless changing the way we rent movies. You can find these in places like McDonalds or neighborhood grocery stores. Red Box is, quite literally, a red box that has several new release movies in stock. Just slide your credit card, choose your movie and the box pops out your DVD. Consider it a vending machine for movies. Movies are only one dollar per night, so you won’t have to worry about late fees.

The changing movie rental industry is easy to use, personalized and fun, which for me equals addictive. Entertainment is a booming business integral to our lives and culture, so there will always be new and classic films to watch and great services allowing you to do so. People will always be searching for the perfect movie for their next date or, for aspiring filmmakers like myself, research and inspiration for professional endeavors. Whatever the need, Netflix has really started a revolution in entertainment, putting practically any film and TV series at the tips of our fingers. Go check it out and consider the free 14 day trial. After all, it’s FREE! Do you already have a Netflix account? What are your thoughts on the service?

As the holiday season rolls around, lately we’ve been noticing some significant changes to websites that aim to spruce up marketing (no pun intended?) and maybe catch the attention of a few more customers. This comes as no surprise, though. Just as countless stores of all types redecorate their display windows for the holidays, the same concept applies for most websites, too. And it makes perfect sense! Why not, right? In this digital age, it becomes easier and easier for us to make purchases online within the comfort of our home. “Look ma, no waiting in lines!”

Most of the time, shopping online is your safest route because you can find discounted items simply because of the e-commerce system: These products don’t need to be shipped to individual retailers, but instead can be sold straight from the manufacturer; hence, cheaper costs for them and less of a hole burned in your wallet. I just love saving money while in my jammies.

Enough small talk, though: let’s get to some solid examples, shall we? Whether a company has completely revamped their site with a whole new theme or is just adding small flourishes here and there that add some holiday cheer, the act of change and keeping your branding fresh is a great way to engage new audiences or break expectations with repeat customers. All of this serves to keep viewers on your site for just a little longer. One site in particular stood out to me and actually inspired this post: WordPress. Yeah, not much of an obvious change at first, but if you stay on the page for an extra few seconds, you will see snow start to fall past your screen. To me, this is simple yet brilliant — an example of bringing a real world element with an emotional resonance into the digital sphere. And of course, after I looked into it, you can even make your blog snow if you have a WordPress account just by clicking a couple buttons.

Some other sites worth noting are Just Pop In, Target, Overstock.com, and even Ebay. As you can see, they didn’t require much at all to change the look and feel of these sites from their everyday standard to winter wonderlands. Consider branding yourself for the holiday season: add a new banner to your page header, throw some ribbon around that logo, or even add your own holiday gift browsing widget like Walmart created! Some efforts may be more trackable than others, but there’s no doubt that if done right, it’ll make everyone feel pretty good.

Have you stumbled across any good sites that are trying to jingle some bells or let it snow? Did they warm your heart like cocoa or leave you saying Bah humbug? Leave the link(s) in our comments section. We’d love to see them!

It’s because they aren’t doing anything to promote their website! It’s like having a phone, but not giving out the number.

There is a difference between a website and a web presence, and there are several things you can do to ensure that your site gains standing on the Internet. First off, you must have a plan for marketing once you have launched your site and be ready to bombard the users online with your brand and message. If there isn’t a well-formed plan, it will not be as effective. Here’s a basic checklist that can help you harness the capabilities of the web:

- Become active on Social Media websites, but be smart about this.
- Add the URL to business cards, postcards, holiday cards, etc.
- Write periodic newsletters to keep your site’s information current and provide additional value for your visitors.
- Send permission-based emails to your contact list and include a link back to your site.
- Fine tune your Search Engine Optimization (SEO).
- Keep an eye on your traffic. Google analytics is a great, free resource for this.
- If your company has vehicles, decal them tastefully with your logo and URL.
- Throw a sweepstakes to promote your new launch.
- Place effectively targeted ads on other sites that your target audience is frequenting.
- Become involved in online discussion forums on sites that your target audience is frequenting.
- Audit all existing site content and update regularly to stay relevant.
- When you think you’re finished, don’t stop! This is an ongoing process.

It is easy to get lost in the tangled mess of websites that are out there these days. You have to become familiar with the successful websites with whom you are competing, but you also can’t completely disregard all of the amateur sites that flood the world wide web. Just be mindful that hundreds of thousands of other companies are attempting the exact same thing you are — trying to create an online presence — and it’s those things that you do uniquely that will set you apart. So, build it, promote it, get feedback, tweak it, fine tune it — and they will come.

Green integrated marketing offers new avenues for sustainability, efficiency and cost savings on a macro level. Cut down on energy-wasting and pollution-generating products like newspapers, magazines, brochures, business cards, flyers or even coupons and think more along the lines of internet-based marketing and advertising. This is not to say you can’t ever use those media, but rather to remind you that there are plenty of other possibilities out there to integrate into your marketing strategies. Heck, here at xiik we still use business cards and do quite a bit of print design and advertising, but the majority of our work is centered around interactive marketing, which tracks important data and offers more measurable results. The difference lies in how intelligently you proportion each marketing tactic. Use all media — but focus your use of natural resources to the most targeted audience possible. The result is a more finely tuned strategy, a more effective use of budget, and a quantifiable improvement in your company’s sustainability efforts.

So what are some ways to cut back on costs and efficiently run your business? There are plenty, but I’d like to highlight one that breaks into creativity I thought I’d never see — and it’s so simple! A firm from the Netherlands called SPRANQ developed the Ecofont, an eco-friendly font! Choosing this font when printing uses 20% less ink because the design employs the genius idea of cutting tiny holes out of each letter — thus reducing the printable area of each letter and also your ink costs. At the same time, there is no loss in readability since the letter outlines remain intact! Did I mention it’s free to download?!

Like the Ecofont, there are plenty of resources and creative techniques you can integrate into your current marketing and business processes. Turn a mailing campaign into an email blast or email your memos instead of printing them. Turn your standard brochure into an interactive online experience with video, slideshows, games, or other participatory activities — you’ll better engage your clients and reduce printing costs. Or send a well-designed print piece to a select audience and include a call-to-action in it that drives them to your website. At the pace the internet and online marketing is going, paper materials will continue to decline. Take the Amazon Kindle for instance — an electronic device that consumes a very low amount of energy to power downloadable books that you read right off the screen. The screen’s luminance has been designed to reduce usual eye strain and mimic paper. Apple is working on a similar tablet concept, rumored to be released in early 2010. So, join the bandwagon and start leveraging technology to cut back and be more efficient. Save mother earth. All the cool kids are doing it!

So, why the fascination with the Super Nintendo? The answer is actually pretty simple: Nostalgia. It replaces hi-res graphics and online multi-player combat by simply bringing me back to a different time. Of course, it usually feels good to time travel — and it’s also interesting to note what experiences still resonate with you today. What was it about the Super Nintendo games that I liked so much? Simplicity. From the story lines, levels, to the big bad bosses, there was always a definitive thought process behind each element and why it was included in the game. At that time, this was the very best technology had to offer. Take today into consideration — big difference in challenges and gameplay — still, the older games kept kids’ eyes stuck to the TV and fingers glued to the controller for hours. We are seeing a shift back to simplicity, though. Take the Nintendo Wii, for example, with most of its games having low detail as far as graphics, but really strong usability.

The gaming market has changed dramatically in the short time since the 1990s. Then, all that gamers had to look forward to was one magazine — Nintendo Power — that announced new releases and offered game reviews. Now, if you’re a gamer, you can’t go anywhere without hearing both children and adults talking about how they slaughtered PwnKing2000 in Halo 3 the past night or how much they loathe the little kiddies online who are so much better than them. Similarly in marketing, our culture has seen an explosion in the number of ways we digest advertising content. Just think about how limited the internet was in the mid-90s. That really wasn’t all that long ago.

The gaming industry — its interactive nature, brand storytelling, and allure for the latest digital technologies — is maneuvering itself into many aspects of our culture, not least of which is marketing. Online banner ads that a few years ago were at most a glorified hyperlink now act as interactive widgets with games to attract your participation. And some of today’s advanced videogames leave a lot of potential for companies to advertise within the reality of the game itself. I remember playing NASCAR Kart Racing a while ago and zooming past billboards with real advertisements that you would pass by driving your car on the highway. Not long from now we’ll be feeling the punches from Street Fighter and experiencing a shock when getting shot in Call of Duty. In a video game demo I tried this year in the Emerging Technology section at SIGGRAPH, I was actually able to feel the sensation of getting stabbed from a video game this past year. It didn’t actually hurt me, but still — what a trip! Now, most marketers out there probably don’t want to make you experience the sensation of bodily harm, but they certainly would love to take a digital experience and make it more visceral. Can you say Smell-o-vision?

No matter what technology brings in the future, though, you have to remember that with websites, film, or really anything creative, the end product must have qualities of usability, strong story, aesthetics and an overall experience that is fun and engaging. A flashy icon or a photo-realistic Tiger Woods cannot make up for a poor concept and interactivity. Not saying that Tiger Woods Golf isn’t awesome or anything…

Since Picasso’s death, many people have attributed those words to him. But why would an outstanding artist say something like this? Because it’s true! There have actually been quite a few articles written on the above saying and why borrowing ideas is important for all aspects of art and design — us xiik geeks included.

Since there’s much truth to this saying, I’d like to turn this into a sort of case study between our much beloved Apple Inc. and a trendy music accessory company named Behringer. Both are well respected companies that specialize in very different niches. If we compare their websites, we see a striking resemblance between the two. Go ahead and click on those links above — I’ll wait.

Woah! Almost too close for comfort, right?

Yes, way too close. In fact, Behringer has taken Picasso’s quote and abused it. Obviously, Apple had their website design live on the “interwebs” first and has firmly established that sort of look and feel with their company’s brand over a period of time. It is very likely that Behringer looked online and searched many sources of inspiration based on what they thought was cool and hip. What better site to turn to than Apple? That process continued and the end product — their current website — was launched regardless of how uncannily similar it looks to Apple’s.

To be honest, I’m finding it hard to remain nice here because I believe there is a plagiarism line that must not be crossed, where a design can copy the inspiration for reference, but never the final product. In this case, Behringer has done just that! For the record, this happens all the time. The creative world can be a bloodbath sometimes. We tend to keep that quiet, though.

There are many ways to ethically “steal” from outside sources, but the main thing to take away is this: Make it your own. A concept like this may be hard to grasp from a business perspective and rightfully so: often, a business owner simply wants what works, period. The concept is, however, more or less accepted by the creative world, just as long as the design makes an obvious departure from the original. In the end, it’s just not right to claim someone else’s work as your own. I mean, we’re going back to preschool life lessons now. I believe Behringer would have to sit in the corner and miss nap time for this one.

You’re a designer or programmer without an Accounts Team.

And the decision to operate without one is not limited to the one-man band we call freelancers. Established firms are just as guilty of these familiar nightmares:  “The sales guy told us six weeks; it’s been six months and he rarely calls back.”  “It’s not at all what we wanted; we don’t feel like there was anyone advocating for our needs.”  “Her designs are pretty good, but man — she seemed bothered every time we called…”

If you’ve ever worked with a creative services firm without an accounts team, you know that they generally put client management into the hands of the project doers. The worst-case (and most frequent) scenario is to be given to the salesperson who drew up your contract. Most often s/he will want to pass you off to the creative department because his/her job is finding new business, not project management. So now you’re talking to a designer familiar with how your product should look, but possibly not in ownership of the overall campaign strategy.  Therefore, when you requests changes, the designer may not know if those changes will weaken that strategy or if the change will adversely affect other considerations like programming, printing costs, timeline, etc. Additionally, the designer is often working on several projects at once and would like to avoid slowing down the delivery all of his/her projects in favor of your phone call.  Next! You get passed to a new team member in this unfortunate game of hot potato, maybe a programmer with half of the puzzle. The most frustrating aspect comes once the project is finished and you have no idea who to contact.  New enhancements, revisions or updates may even be made by a completely different person again.  Being the hot potato is not a formula for good service.

Account Managers and Coordinators are important because they provide a communication center between the client and the firm. If you want a good process, you need a communicator. Someone who can respond quickly, anticipate your needs, and ensure that you know what’s going on at every stage. A good designer is focused on your design; a good account manager is focused on you. It makes a world of difference to have someone familiar with the ins and outs of the development process, so s/he can advocate for the changes you want, while balancing that with best design practices.  Who’s going to speak for you at that internal meeting? Your Account Manager.

Another point: too many people think that the marketing strategy is done after the initial project is complete. Successful companies, however, know that marketing tools like websites must evolve over time as a company gains better understanding of its audience. In that regard, an Account Manager is your marketing partner. Visualize having someone going through the development alongside you, always considering your perspective and gaining valuable information about your working style and your company’s path. When it comes time for that next project, whether that’s four weeks or four months, why start from scratch? Your Account Manager will already be equipped to pick up where you left off and help you make strategic marketing decisions.

For instance, at the most reputable advertising agencies and creative services firms like xiik, Account Managers and Coordinators work closely with clients throughout ideation, development, delivery, and are available after the project is complete. They keep clients up-to-date as to key project milestones, walk them through design decisions, present research, solve concerns, and help clients evolve their marketing strategy over time. When you need to ask a question, the designer has not put down the pen. Account Managers identify a solution that can then be efficiently executed by the designer. They also ensure that the designer receives all site assets and approvals from the client on time. This high level of attention serves to predict potential red flags and help the client through unpredictable roadblocks, which in turn serves to keep projects on-time, on-budget and, most importantly, on-strategy.

Ultimately, it’s about breaking down the process and assigning aspects of it to those who do it best: a system of checks and balances that results in a better product, more personalized service, and a low-stress experience for all parties. That means you get to focus more energy on your own products and services, rather than chasing down an unruly vendor.

Christopher Maikish is an Account Manager in xiik’s Los Angeles office.

There are a few disagreements that I’ve still got.  First, in addition to the iPhone not displaying Flash, other popular phones including Windows Mobile Devices and Palm also will not display properly either.  Second, while iPhone controls only 1.1% of the total market share for ALL cellular devices, depending on who you ask, it controls 16-30% of the market for SmartPhones, meaning that as many as 1 in 3 of the phones built for browsing can’t see your Flash-based website.  

Nike.com is a great site.  You could not have accomplished the same WOW factor in HTML.  However, Endless.com is also an amazing e-commerce shoe site.  My personal opinion is that Endless is easier to use.  The navigation is immediate, the interface is familiar and the back button takes me back one page, rather than back to the beginning.

I’d also say that if you’re going to use Flash, use it!  Why can I zoom in on the details of the shoe on Endless, a non-Flash site, and not on Nike?  As I said in the previous posting, use Flash to add value, not just for kicks.  It’s definitely slower to load and usually less intuitive than HTML counterparts, so make sure that you are adding value other than just  ”pretty”. 

Before finishing with Nike, I’d also say that this site would fall more into the Portfolio category that I mentioned was still okay for Flash sites.  It is, afterall, a portfolio of their shoes, in the same way that we produced several all-flash art/exhibit portfolios for the Indiana State Museum.  Notice that when you go to Nike’s Corporate Site (also an awesome site), you can do a quick run-through without finding a stitch of Flash.

It’s a disagreement between several developers and the conversation will likely go on.  From our viewpoint, Flash is becoming more popular, but as an element, rather than the entire site.  I don’t see a day soon when we’ll see a significant percentage of corporate sites moving to all-Flash.  However, we’ll keep our ears and eyes out and if that’s what their users demand, we xiik geeks will be among the first agencies to change course and lead our clients that way.  I think that the overall lesson is “know thy audience.”

Thank you again, Mark, for sparking such an interesting discussion!