Archive for June, 2009

How to twitter better…

Monday, June 29th, 2009

Hootsuite owl
How did we ever live without twitter? 140 characters answering the simple question: what are you doing? Who ever thought it would grow up so fast and cause so much trouble. But as we all know, twittering too much and too often is dangerous, and a little compulsive.

We all need to twitter responsibly. Say the wrong thing to the wrong audience at the wrong time, and you can really come unstuck – Habitat is a great recent example of how not to use the hash tag.

So you want to get your habit under control? Fear not, there are plenty of tools out there that can help.

This is a short review of 4 of the tools we have been using to twitter our lives away.

twitter
twitter.com
The original, the place where it all started. Thanks to Biz Stone and his friends the wonderful invention of micro-blogging was born. The main website has all the things you need, including trending topics (or was it #tendingtropics) all in one place. You can easily control your account and privacy settings, block followers, search for topics that interest you and happily watch the world go by, or at least the main time line anyway. Get back to the source, and rediscover what twitter is all about.

twhirl
www.twhirl.org
Billed as “the social media client”, twhirl and its big brother seesmic take twitter to your desktop. It’s a desktop application built on the Adobe Air platform (think standalone applications built using Flash). It can handle multiple twitter accounts, each one having its own small window. This neatly separates home from work, but can get a little cluttered. Twhirl also supports URL shortening and can post images using TwitPic. We use it, but have so many applications already, this is one activity we are happy to keep online.

Tweetdeck
www.tweetdeck.com
This is like twhirl on steroids. It’s another Adobe Air desktop application, but this time, it attempts to bring all your twitter accounts under one roof. You can neatly separate out tweets, dm’s, replies etc, and the interface is very customisable. We like the ambition, but find it just too confusing. Tweetdeck is still in beta (it may have some bugs) but heh, what’s there to lose? It supports direct image posting, local trending and also has a full backup (twitter doesn’t do that) We mark it very promising, and it’s also available for the iPhone – as every self-respecting web 2.0 application should be.

Hootsuite
www.hootsuite.com
Now this is a late entrant, and a very good one at that. It’s a web-based service, can handle multiple twitter accounts, and wonderfully, supports scheduling. No more time wasting in the office, you can line all your tweets up for the day/week/month and they will be sent on time – very handy. It supports URL shortening, and crucially, any URL’s it shortens are trackable (for click-throughs) so you can see how popular your tweets have been – analytics for twitter – nice. It also has a little owl for a logo, which is kind of cute.

Please add your twitter tips and favourite apps – let us know how you’re using twitter, or if you’re not, and why.
One thing is certain, twitter isn’t standing still, so watch this space.

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Posted by Jason in social media | Add a response

Press Release: New digital project for East Sussex County Council won by Kent agency

Wednesday, June 17th, 2009

A Kent marketing communications agency has been chosen to produce a new online history timeline for East Sussex County Council.

Remedy Creative, based in Tunbridge Wells, will design and develop the interactive Time Tunnel project, which will explore the rich history of the region and key events from the Neolithic period to the present day.

East Sussex County Council commissioned the online project following a highly successful exhibition at the 2008 South of England Show, which illustrated key points in the region’s history.

It is hoped the comprehensive online resource will help local residents and school children easily access a wealth of historical data, archive material and images.

Featuring a navigable timeline that will allow users to quickly browse historical facts and information for each century or time period, the Time Tunnel will also include a fascinating selection of local images and photographs.

East Sussex County Council’s web services manager Rachel Smith said: “The original Time Tunnel display proved so successful with visitors that we were inspired to develop the idea for our website.

“We wanted to bring a wealth of historical research and archive information held in the county to a wider audience, so the idea of an online incarnation was born.

“The interactive timeline will be a simple, easy-to-use tool that will enable residents to learn all about the county’s history and discover how the past has shaped the area we live in today.”

Jason Hunt, senior designer at Remedy Creative said: “We are delighted to have been asked to develop this project.

“The timeline is a complex project both in terms of design and technical detail, with a lot of data to manage and turn into a simple, user-friendly resource that can be accessed by everyone.

“The end result will be a fantastic point-of-reference, where users can quickly discover important facts and information on the county’s abundant history.”

Remedy Creative has previously worked with East Sussex County Council to re-brand and re-design their intranet portal, and help develop the design of their website – www.eastsussex.gov.uk

For further information on Remedy Creative, contact Lisa Casson on 0845 108 1251 or visit www.remedycreative.com

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Notes to editor:

Images and interviews are available on request.
For press enquiries, contact: Hannah Alland

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Posted by Hannah in online, press release, remedy | Add a response

What would you do with 6000 Post-It Notes?

Friday, June 12th, 2009

Well I’m betting you wouldn’t necessarily think of this.
This wonderful piece of stop-frame animation from Jay Tseng and Bang-yao Liu is a brilliant example of dedication in action. Animation can be so disarming if used well, and can be used to convey concepts in a way that other methods often can’t.

Let us know what you think, and if you have seen (or used) any great examples of this intricate art-form, be sure to let us know.

To see more of the same, make sure you have a look at the Flip Animation Festival, running this November in Wolverhampton: http://www.flipfestival.co.uk/

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Posted by Jason in viral | Add a response

Advertising doesn’t work!

Monday, June 1st, 2009

We hear it a lot – “We tried advertising and it was a waste of money”.
If this is your experience, then read on.

When PR agency, Practical Media Services, asked us to pitch for the Sunshine Kids’ advertising, they had already helped to raise their clients’ profile high enough to secure distribution through Mothercare and Halfords. Having achieved this, they knew they needed to up their creative game to be able to compete in the parenting and automotive press.

Sunshine Kids makes a range of in-car children’s products, such as booster seats, seat liners and bottle warmers.
Our brief was to produce a campaign that clearly demonstrated product benefits and increased brand recognition.

Sunshine Kids Cuddle Soft

Effective advertising doesn’t just rely on the agency, it needs a brave client too. The chosen route used distinctive ‘Janet and John/Ladybird book’ style illustrations to add warmth to the brand. This visual approach is so radically different to anything that competing brands like Maxi-Cosi and Britax were doing, that it took a leap of faith from Sunshine Kids.

The campaign broke in April 2009, and by the end of the month, sales were already significantly up on April 2008, so something’s obviously working. Now, it’s not like we can guarantee the same results for every campaign we produce, but with a bit of tender loving creativity, advertising really can work. Of course, the flip-side is that badly conceived, poorly executed advertising often doesn’t!

To see more of our Sunshine Kids work, click here

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Posted by Jonathan in advertising, remedy | Add a response