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business report · graph · lies · no · no report · statistics

As websites began to explode into popularity most people HAD to have one. They didn’t know why or what they would do with it but for heaven-sakes they needed an Internet presence. As the creation process began everyone’s first instinct was to make it cool by adding lots of pages, interesting by adding animation and important by adding links to other websites that were… well, important.

Fast forward to 2010 and all those assumptions need to be questioned. Lots of my clients still feel that this is the appropriate way to start. Unfortunately, all these things typically miss the point of their website. This tool can be so many things and it’s important to mold it to your company, not the other way around.

Even large companies often make the mistake of adding too much information. This makes it difficult to navigate, confusing and often impossible to actually find what you are looking for. Keep things simple, only add the content that is necessary to meet visitor expectations.

Animations and *gulp* Flash splash pages are yesterdays-yesterday. I specialize in Flash intro’s so it’s very difficult to see my niche get left behind. Before you scrunch your nose consider this, the very way people will interact with the Internet is evolving. The iPhone and iPad will probably be remembered as significant markers in the evolution of Web. Web 2.0 will now be Web Mobile. Apple has taken a strict stance against Flash and specifically call it out in their Terms & Conditions to prohibit it on their products. As the market share grows for these mobile surfing devices companies are being forced to remove all Flash.

That’s not the point though, the animations aren’t cool any more. Any distraction for visitors that prevents them from getting what they want should be thrown out. Of course, if those distractions generate revenue they get a different set of standards.

A common misconception about links to other sites is that it makes you look important. It’s the exact opposite actually, making the destination sites seem more important. Anyone even sort of familiar with Search Engine Optimization practices can attest that INCOMING links from popular sites is what makes you look important. Makes sense right? I can link this article to the New York Times but that doesn’t make me a hot shot. Now, if they linked to my article I’d be walking around with a strut in my step.

Last week I launched a revolutionary 1-page website for my mother. That’s right, there are no other pages. I was lucky enough to have her give me the reins and do whatever I wanted. It contains a brief summary about the kind of business she runs (elder law), directions to the office and a contact form (or telephone number) to get in touch with the firm.

Websites can be as simple as one page, like this one for Nancy Wright.

Too easy? Shouldn’t it be? The cost of development and maintenance is considerably less than complex sites and doesn’t do a whole lot for her any ways. Plus, get this, it can still grow when needed. That’s right folks, you can start off small and add. For anyone who has started a successful business from the ground up this should already be a familiar mantra.

Update your thinking to 2010 and start your company’s website with one page.

agency · Apple · best practices · clients · design · internet · iPad · iPhone · mobile · one page · Search Engine Optimization · SEO · web · web 2.0 · website

I’m not always the first person to catch on to things. So when my friend said I should be on the social-gaming bandwagon I rolled my eyes. He said “it’s all the rage right now”. Yeah, I’ve seen those annoying status doo-hickey’s pop up on Facebook. Heck, I am still not even sure what to do with that beast except for share my photos and document odd things my four year old says.

When I got news he was going to work at Playdom I decided to give social-gaming a try. According to an ad on Facebook Zynga’s “Farmville” is the most popular game out right now. That would be perfect, let’s start there! Now that I’m 4 weeks, 24 levels and more than 17 thousand “experience points” into it I think a summary should is ready.

I’m all for games and I think this is a pretty cool concept. Not only do I get to grow plants, trees and raise animals but I get to buy tractors and buildings. Oh, oh… and I get to help out my “neighbors” who are my Facebook friends that are also playing the same game. Totally get the “social-gaming” now. Just plant your seeds and come back in a few hours to harvest the crops. Great fun!

I’ve grown pumpkins, grapes and Aloe Vera plants and even created a nerd spreadsheet to help determine the best value for the amount of time I was prepared to plant things for. Seriously, check it out:

http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=tIZRzmUGnTyMQQ4SYosTRuQ&output=html

As my farm grew and my wallet got fatter I began to gain a sense of accomplishment. I was quickly rising up the ladder of farmers with a respectable level. There were a few things that stood out to me that ultimately led to me “cropping” the word “DONE” in my plots of land:

1. I was clicking an awful lot. Seriously, my plots were 18×14, which equals a lot of clicks to harvest, plot and then seed each time.
2. I wasn’t going to spend money on the tools that would make it easier. Zynga does a great job of making this tempting but I just wasn’t invested into the game enough to fall prey.
3. Some of my “neighbors” had levels so far ahead of me that I had no patience in trying to catch up. I ended up getting within 5 of my sister but that leads me to my final and most important point,
4. The rush for playing this game was clearly over. I still had 30 or so pending requests from people that had tried it and let it go. Even the people that finally added me to their “neighbor” list had given up on the game for the most part. A social game has to to have people to work. While I puttered along with a few interactions it wasn’t enough to keep me coming back for more.

My first taste of social-gaming was interesting but not enough to make me go crazy. I’ll try another Zynga game “Cafe World” and actually try a game from my friends company, Playdom, that he said is the most popular, “Social City”.

Farmville was a fun idea but ultimately lacked the staying power to keep me around.

cheat · farmville · game · playdom · review · social game · social gaming · zynga

It has been suggested that perhaps Google is only a catchy name and not much else. That’s a pretty bold statement for a company that’s got a market cap of over $230 BILLION. To take a closer look at this analysis it’s going to be required that you ignore lots of facts and focus mostly on the branding of Google.

Say you were to stumble onto the Google “Labs” page and notice that they have 31 products in the hopper and constantly being upgraded. Ignore that for now. You would have to look past the fact that ONE of those products listed is actually an entire online suite that competes directly with Microsoft’s Office. Please plug your ears to it’s pricing, which is free. A wondering eye might also have to stop itself from noticing that several cool parts of Google aren’t even listed in “Labs” like their Adsense, Analytics and recently announced Android efforts. Just pretend you never heard of a patent listing longer than Moby Dick. Now that we’re in a state of oblivion we can move on.

The name Google has become a household word (who knows why, remember we’re oblivious). Searching for something on the Internet is commonly said “to Google“. But can the name itself be a branding tool? If you were looking for a Honda you might be surprised to see a Google-branded page for used Honda’s. You can check it out here. Indeed Google is a great brand and a catchy name, even listed as the top brand by Millward Brown for 2007. GE, Microsoft and Coca Cola are all eating Google dust.

Google is a catchy name but that’s not all it is. Google makes great products, and lots of them. That’s how they created the brand. Yahoo was already the leader in Search but Google made a product better than anyone else. They continue to push the envelope and have now become the Internet standard for what companies should do on the web. Anyone who believes that Google is just a catchy name should hope to achieve such success. Try not to turn a blind eye to the reality though, Google is walking the walk and the talk is doing their mediocre best to catch up.

HookorSink.com talks about Google’s marketing a lot so it’s no surprise that this article concludes with another “Hook” rating for the “Catchy Name” company.

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The Internet is about to go through it’s next phase of evolution; networking meet mobile. According to the Wall Street Journal, Google’s long awaited secret project for it’s Google Phone will be made public today. Here’s how today will mark the transition to Web 3.0, mobile Internet.

The popularity of cell phones has exploded in the last several years, just take a look at everyone on the freeway to see how common they are. Smartphones certainly took cellular communication to the next level and Apple gave it a pretty case when it launched the iPhone. The media darling does just about the same thing a lot of other phones do but with a much cooler interface. Revolutionary, hardly. At least until the Google Phone launches.

What we know about phones is about to get turned on its head. Google believes that consumers shouldn’t have to pay for their phone. That’s not a typo, Google started their project with the intention of giving it away for free and earning money through their ace-in-the-back-pocket advertising. This new phone is based on a premise that makes Apple and Microsoft shiver at night, “Open”. It’s believed that Google will announce their new phones capabilities but not be talking about a cool zooming feature, rather the ability for 3rd party software makers to write programs until their hearts are content.

There’s no need to worry about being compatible with Microsoft Office because Google already has an online version that is free. No kidding folks, free software and free phones. It’s hard to imagine that a company would have the brass…. bank accounts to think about doing something like this but Google does. In fact, their focus on advertising has rocked the Internet as we know it and left no one behind. The theme of repetition is worth it here too, the premier Internet company will be offering free phones with free applications and completely free for 3rd party developers to join in the party.

Still not convinced? “But wait, there’s more”. Xohm, a Sprint company, is believed to be in development with Google. Of course you don’t know who Xohm is. Imagine the difference between your home computer switching from dial-up to broadband and then apply that to a mobile network. Voila, you have Xohm. It’s like this super fast, super cool mobile Internet connection. Unless you’re a nerd and follow this stuff you’d know that all the major players have been fighting for this next generation mobile Internet (AT&T, T-Mobile, etc.) and Sprint has come out on top with Xohm.

You think communication is cool now just wait until mid 2008 when Google launches a revolutionary phone (and not revolutionary like the iPhone, with it’s neato zooming capability, like seriously revolutionary) on an entirely different mobile Internet and you’ll see what the next level of the web is going to be, Web 3.0.

No award from HookorSink.com, rather a suggestion. “Hook” or get off the pot.

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It starts with a great product, or many in Google’s case. Then market the heck out of it. So what’s different about that? It’s free, absolutely free* for users. In fact, people who “buy into” using Google products aren’t even called consumers, they’re called users.

Take their SPAM fighting team for the Gmail product, for example. How do you make that an interesting topic worth sharing with users? Google created an informational video with their “Top SPAM fighting engineer” explaining what Gmail does differently to help you. If you aren’t already asleep you’ll have to check it out because it’s actually very entertaining (that’s not a typo). SPAM fighting video.

You’re probably aware of how they make their money, selling ads for other companies products. Hmmm, so they create kick-ass products, have fun marketing them in a way that leverages Web 2.0 and give it all away for free and somehow they expect to make money? Yep, $1.07 billion. For the most recent quarter. Net. All companies should be so lucky. Then again, a lot of companies can’t get past the first requirement in this equation.

“Hook” me up with Google’s marketing tactics, HookorSink.com fully approves.

*No disclosure needed, weird huh?

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Part of marketing is making something that stands out from the crowd, part of it is customer retention and part of it is establishing a brand. Combining all those items is not only challenging but often the failure of campaigns all around us. Enough of the grandeur philosophy, check out this cool Jeep Liberty commercial called “Rock Me Gently”.

As a Jeep Liberty floats through a rural highway a squirrel pops in and the driver starts an unlikely duo with Andy Kim’s “Rock Me Gently”, a hit in 1974. The wilderness meets Jeep as birds fly in and eventually a wolf climbs into the back seat. Yeah, I wouldn’t get it either by that description. So just take a look for yourself.

Jeep Liberty gets a “Hook” rating for blending the illusive trio of marketing spices. Go Hookorsink.com, it’s your birthday, go hookorsink.com it’s your birthday. (It’s not at all but repeating the domain name might help in search engines – wow that was shameless)

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Basketball icons don’t get much bigger than Tracy McGrady, Kevin Garnett and Tim Duncan. So when a high school basketball team picks their bunks and has to fight with Kevin Garnett the brotherhood of basketball sinks in. Adidas has launched a website and commercial/documentary episodes that give a glimpse into the life of a NBA basketball star.

In one series Tim Duncan takes the group out to an empty pool with two basketball hoops in it. He explains that his passion came from swimming but when a hurricane wiped out his local pool he took to basketball. Can you imagine getting bank shot lessons from Duncan? How about shooting three’s with McGrady?

A common theme is teamwork which is probably a great idea for Adidas to promote. There was a time when they sponsored the least team-minded player in basketball but Kobe’s moved on to Nike now. After watching these “episodes” the viewer gets a down-to-earth look at basketball in some of the biggest names in the NBA. Does this approachable campaign work for Adidas, absolutely. The German company posted a 62% increase in profits from 2005 to 2006, bringing in over $13.6 billion for the year.

Adidas gets a “hook” rating from HookorSink.com for hitting nothing but net on these great NBA campaigns.

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Axe has turned status quo marketing on its head and it’s latest website is a great example of that. As pointed out by our friends at Alternative Marketing 101 the website promoting the Axe sweepstakes is hilarious. By watching the videos and looking for clues users are eligible for a trip to Vegas.

Axe has made a name for themselves by promoting their fragrances in a boldly sexual way. Usually, a young man wearing Axe fragrances is attacked by a sexy woman who can’t control herself. This series revolves around a “Naughty to Nice” program to help rehabilitate those women. In a mocking, Geraldo style story, a journalist tries to get to the root of the issue that causes women to lose their control. To make sure you don’t take it too seriously the “documentary” goes over the top very quickly. The extreme is hilarious and the shameless advertising is almost as funny.

For using the Internet to promote a retail product Axe gets a “Hook” rating from HookorSink.com, THE most irresistible marketing discussion blog. Check out the microsite.

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Sheeple getting thrashed by Deviants sounds like the cutting room left overs from a terrible horror movie. Unexpectedly, it’s the theme of Toyota’s new website promoting their Scion xD. Oh, and it’s good… probably great. Attik, the agency responsible for this site, launched one of the coolest pop-up interactive websites ever back on May 14th. Don’t be cynical until you see it for yourself, check out littledeviant.com.

No doubt Toyota created the Scion lineup to appeal to younger users but they aren’t just relying on the cookie-cutter attempts. They are paving the way for future copy-cats with the help of cutting edge agencies like Attik. Give them some credit too, not many agencies could pull this off. In-house agencies all over the world are day-dreaming about the possibility of doing something crazy like intentionally throwing a Sheeple against a wall to collect his green, slimy guts.

Toyota gets a hookorsink.com “Hook” rating for having the brass ***** to even give this a shot. This is marketing worth discussing!

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