As the 2006 competition draws to a close, I
look back on the outstanding entry field in
awe. Simply put, I am blown away at the level
of work that is out there and how designers
and developers continue to reinvent new ways
to use technology to achieve their marketing
and communication goals. As a tribute, we conducted
interviews to share more information about the
winning individual or firm responsible for creating
the best of category entries in the 2006 competition.
AGENCY.COM
WINNERS INTERVIEW
Q. Give us a background of Agency.com
We are a true full-service interactive agency
that is as strategic as it is creative, with
a passion for interactive so intense that it
could be classified as a digital obsession.
It’s a passion that not only shows when
you talk to anyone on Agency.com’s staff,
it’s clearly apparent in the company’s
work. Our full line of services put us where
global brands like 3M, British Airways, BT,
eBay, HP, T-Mobile and Visa want us to be. Our
mission is to create big ideas and powerful
brand experiences that help clients and their
customers navigate an increasingly interactive
world.
Marketing today is all about the customer.
Why? Because that customer is in control of
their digital device of choice – hence
they control the relationship brands have with
them. It’s about being there for the customer
when they need you to be, not when you want
to be.
Our services aren’t about being creative
just for the sake of it, then slipping in offers
when no one is looking. Customers – especially
those online – reject those messages as
intrusive annoyances.
Our interactive marketing offering is a careful
mix of innovative thinking, forward-looking
strategy, wild creative and cutting-edge technology.
This mix becomes the glue that holds the customers’
brand experiences together across all channels.
Q. What is your approach to developing interactive
media solutions?
Our approach is simple: seamless integration
of strategy, technology and creativity. Period.
Q. Why?
Because teams that are strategically-positioned,
technically-sound and wildly creative can develop
solutions that inspire the audience, generate
customers and build brands.
Q. What was the creative inspiration for the
Shark Week Banners?
The ocean. And late-night pizza – it’s
hard to be creative on an empty stomach.
Q. What technologies were involved with making
the Shark Week Banners?
We used a groundbreaking combination of technologies
including QuickTime video, CSS, Java Script,
XML, Flash and proprietary applications.
Q. What were the biggest challenges to making
the Shark Week Banners and how did you overcome
them?
Our biggest challenge was being able to deliver
enough engaging units to cover the size of the
media buy and the frequency with which the units
were shown. The interactive channel was our
only marketing vehicle to promote Shark Week,
so the sheer volume of deliverables we had to
create was staggering.
We overcame this challenge by carefully balancing
creativity and process distribution –
we leveraged assets and time efficiently across
multiple deliverables. Oh, and we ate a lot
of pizza.
Q. Did the Shark Week Banners achieve their
goals?
Did the banners reach their goals? Absolutely!
Shark week achieved the highest rating ever
in its 18-year run from the key demo market
(males ages 18 to 49). And, based on the results
from the ad impact study, the online campaign
produced a significant lift in awareness, program
associations and the likelihood of watching
the Discovery Channel again. Among key segments,
the campaign performed best in the 15 leading
markets, and among Discovery Channel’s
“light watchers”.
Q. Where do you / your team turn for creative
inspiration?
We turn to each other.
Q. What trends do you see in interactive media
production today?
Innovation in design and technology is alive
and well at Agency.com. Users have been trained
to expect more and technology adoption is higher
than it’s ever been. In the last year
iPods have grown to hold 200% more songs, Tivo
knows 200% more about your interests (and you’re
no longer scared by “intelligent personalization”.)
You’ve become more accustomed to “pageless”
site design, you access your email everywhere
and you can’t live without your Treo (unless
you’ve brought your PSP). This means we
provide more intuition, more speed, more customer
service and more access to our clients’
products and services – whenever they
want, wherever they are.
People measure the value of the Internet by
what it empowers them to do. Our teams build
that value. As an idea company, we are constantly
looking for better ways to conceptualize, execute
and deploy digital solutions. As marketing technologists,
this means our eyes are on these important interactive
media production areas:
· Mash ups. Open-source computing is
changing they way we concept and “mash”
together daily content.
· The Web Interface. This is no longer
– mobility is just the beginning. We now
access the Web on everything from refrigerators
to airplane seats, and our favorite sites are
behaving more and more as helpful applications.
Built well, these applications deliver immediate
proof behind a brand’s promise that is
as good as, if not better than, any positive
customer service experience.
· Experiences, experiences, experiences.
Marketing is now a dialogue vehicle –
not a push vehicle. We have been evolving (and
will continue to evolve) our delivery platform
and conceptual approach to deliver experiences.
Q. What are some of your favorite websites?
Zombo.com
Q. What projects are you working on now?
We have a lot of different projects going on.
But the main thing is that we’re re-defining
online marketing, one lucky client at a time.
