When I read that Volkwagen’s “The Fun Theory” and Nike Livestrong’s “Chalkbot” experiential design work won the 2010 Cannes Festival Grand Prix, I was ecstatic. We’re all aware that advertising is changing. But, it’s quite amazing to see that experiential design is elevating, and has gained acceptance as a communication device.
The Fun Theory is a competition itself where people can upload ideas designed to make mundane tasks interesting. Take the winning submission for example:
And the Nike Chalkbot was a machine that would imprint hopeful messages along the Tour De France– submitted through texting, Twitter and a website. The Chalkbot received some 23,000 messages to be chalked on the roads of France, so it was truly a viral experiential phenomenon.
Not unlike most businesses, ours has undergone many changes over the course of the past several years. And our strategy has guided it at times and tried to keep up with those changes the rest of the time. This post was inspired by David Bowie a veritable master of change. Listen to the song while you read this post and you’ll see why I was inspired.
Take Two used to be known mostly in the Kansas City market for our post-production work. In order to keep up with a changing industry, we created Back Alley Films to do original film production and motion graphics design. We then created our Integrated Experience Lab to focus on emerging digital and multi-platform work: things like augmented reality, interactive design and experiential design. We’re now known as T2 + Back Alley Films and, while our client base still includes Kansas City based companies, it has expanded to include clients all over the world.
Change has been a great opportunity for us to reinvigorate our business, reinvigorate our staff and completely reexamine our business model. As a result, it has literally changed the way we do everything.
These days, from the very first moments of working with a new or prospective client, the people that we bring to the table is an eclectic group — and a strategically formed one. No longer do we rely on our new business development team — or our producers — to do all the work, instead, we bring the talent to the table. We combine the strategic and the creative thinkers – for a new age of strategic/creative thinking. That means our team, our creatives, our brand experts, our interactive and experiential design teams, our mobile technology team and our social media strategists are part of just about every project or idea, from its earliest inception.
The reality of our business – and any business, really – is that change IS the reality. And in this case, we’re finding that change is making us better at what what we do. It’s creative services — but it’s broader than what it used to be. I bet it’s happening everywhere. What about you? How are you changing the scope of the way you do business? Our generation will be defined by this. Let’s talk about it — and learn from each other.
As the founder of a business that thrives on creativity and design and innovation, I’m surrounded by a team of artists and really talented people who are adept at technology in a way that regularly astonishes me.
So when I read today about the launch of Google TV slated for this fall, I knew the whole design and interactive team would be buzzing. Of course, I’m sure they knew it was coming long before I did, but that’s nothing new. As someone who regularly sits with laptop at hand looking for episodes of some show that I missed and grumbling because I’m hampered by the small screen and lack of quality, I’m psyched at the prospect of the merging of TV and the web.
And then professionally, as a creative services company, charged with delivering multi-platform design solutions that make sense to my clients on a daily basis, I’m more than just psyched. The web was made for TV. The idea of having the bottomless pit of perpetually regenerating content that is the Internet easily accessible for consumers, combined with a platform of delivery that allows the high quality viewing experience that is TV is really a marketer’s dream. And it’s definitely a designer’s dream.
I’m smiling thinking about all those amazing brains that I’m surrounded by, who are all over the iPad and mobile devices and a myriad of others that they probably haven’t told me about yet, and fine-tuning their design skills to adapt to these platforms. In the design world, multi-platform design is where it’s at and my team is as good as it gets – and they love a challenge. And I know that adding the Google TV experience to the mix is yet another challenge. Combining the power of the web with the visual experience that is TV is a whole new experience – for both designers and consumers. It’s innovation personified. And it’s great to have a career and own a business that allows me to be in the middle of it all.
What about you? Excited about Google TV? I’d love to know what you think its impact might be.
We do an annual business brainstorm session each year. It’s always fun and always inspiring. And, in light of how much our industry in changing, it was particularly fun to explore new possibilities. We got off on a tangent about how technology was and is impacting various segments of society. One of those – the retail sector – was of particular interest to us – based on what we do and what we want to do going forward. If you are an avid shopper like me, or even if you’re not, there’s no question that technology can and does make the shopping experience more interactive for customers. And, when you can make an experience more interactive, that means it’s more interesting and, hopefully, that translates to more effective from a sales standpoint.
IBM has long been on the cutting edge of technology and when Garrett Fuselier, one of our talented experience designers, showed me this piece on smart billboards in retail environments, this was enforced more than ever before.
It’s exciting to be in a business that is breaking new ground on a daily basis when it comes to technology and how it impacts society, buying decisions, user experiences and the like.
What do you think? What’s your business doing to keep up with the ever-changing, ever-evolving world of technology? And, more importantly, are you doing enough? Would love to know your thoughts and opinions on this subject, so do tell ….
It’s that time of year again. Time to take the best of motion design work that we’ve done during the course of the past year and smash it all together and create a demo reel.
All of us at T2 are very proud of the work on this reel and, hopefully, it will inspire you as it does us. Next up, stay tuned for the Visual Effects reel.
This reel was a combination of great stuff that we were fortunate enough to work on during the course of the last year. It included work for Integrated Marketing Summit, Kansas City Area Development Council; VML/Wunderman for Microsoft; Giant Bob; Bernstein Rein for Time Warner; VML for Copia; KCADC for Animal Health Corridor; Reflector Agency for MGM; Trozzolo Advertising for “Don’t Be Jim” PSA; KCADC for “This American Dream”; Mueller Bressler Brown for Children’s Hospitals of Illinois; Skar Advertising for TDAmeritrade; Back Alley Films; Mueller Bressler Brown for Illinois Neurological Institute; Kansas City Art Institute; Mueller Bressler Brown for OSF St. Francis, Athletix Nation, Jump Co Advertising for Talledegah Richmond International Raceway, Kansas Speedway and Miami Homestead Racing; Relativity Media for Rogue Pictures. We appreciate the opportunity to involved with all of these incredible projects and it is our honor to share them with you.
T2 + Back Alley Films is a visual design and storytelling company. For more information, please visit our sites at t2.tv and backalleyfilms.com or call 800-471-6554.
