Designing mobile marketing solutions for our clients is an integral part of our business plan. If you’re reading this blog, I’m probably not telling you anything you don’t already know. We are a mobile society and carry our mobile devices with us everywhere. If we leave the house without them, we turn back and get them — the thought of getting through a day without connectivity in the palm of our hands is untenable.

A billion people accessed the mobile Internet worldwide in 2009 and Gartner forecasts call for expect usage to double within five years as mobile overtakes the PC as the most popular way to get on the Web. Additionally, according to MarketingProfs’ mobile devices are the most personal method of reaching people and messages are more likely to be read on the small screen than they are on the big.

According to an Outsell study, consumers who have a smartphone spent an average of more than 25% of their waking hours interacting with their device. That same research shows that by 2014, more than half of web browsing will be done from mobile devices.

Despite this clear trend, 56% of marketers are currently doing no mobile or browser advertising. With devices such as the iPad, Android and iPhone becoming capturing increasingly more marketshare, marketers could be missing out on big rewards.

Mobile advertising is still in its early days but this space represents huge opportunities for marketers across B2B, B2C, E-commerce and non-profit organizations. Gartner predicts that by the end of 2010, 1.2 billion people will carry handsets capable of rich, mobile commerce and that that will be the preferential way of reaching consumers.
This is exactly why my company is designing for the mobile space. It’s not going away — and according to the stats above, helping clients develop mobile marketing solutions should be a growing business segment for T2+Back Alley Films.

Mobile and location-based experiences are on savvy marketers’ minds these days, as they are great at helping create buzz and compelling consumers to do something. Jimmy Choo’s Foursquare scavenger hunt during London’s fashion week is a great example of a location-based initiative that not only created a ton of buzz, but also drove sales as women ran all over London in search of the current “it” shoe.

We worked with the folks at PRNewswire to create a scavenger hunt experience based on QR codes for use at the PRSA annual conference held in Washington, DC this past week. This created not only excitement for conference attendees, but also doubled as an experience (and a competition) that served to make the event even more memorable. Additionally, it created a lot of buzz for the PRNewswire brand and, ultimately, got a lot of PR and marketing pros thinking about how they could use experience design in innovative ways for their clients.

Want to know more about how companies can use strategic media placements and a variety of new and emerging channels to engage their audiences? Join us for a FREE webinar sponsored by PRNewswire this Wednesday, October 20th, at 12 PM Central.

The panel will be moderated by Michael Pranikoff, PRNewswire’s Director of Emerging Media, and he’ll be joined by T2+Back Alley Films’ Interactive Experience Designer, Garrett Fuselier and the very smart Amy Webb of Webb Media Group.

For more information and to register, click here.

After 16 years, this was an emotional decision for Michael — and will have an emotional impact on all of us at T2. Professionally, it is the right time for Michael to take on his next career challenge — and, over the past few months, Michael has helped us develop a deep bench strength in the Motion Design team, unlike any other time in T2 history (see the 8 New Faces blog post for more deets). Chris Waner just came on as Lead Designer — teaming with Cody Beltram as Lead CGI. Garrett Fuselier leads the group in Interactive and Experiential Design, assisted by another newcomer, Cassie King. Claudia Chagui is growing into a huge force on both sides — Design and Animation — while Darton Simons continues to excel in Motion Graphics and 2-1/2D. We enticed the talented Jennifer Paine to move from Chicago and join us as our Lead Smoke Artist — and Nick Balda assists her as a Jr. Smoke Artist. And the glue holding this amazing creative team together is Paul Schneider, our new Motion Design/Interactive Producer, fresh from New Wave in Los Angeles.

So, it isn’t entirely accidental that we have added all these new faces and much broader design talent inside the T2 + Back Alley Films group over the past year. We’ve realized that the key to success in business these days is accepting that change is inevitable – and being adept at change not only makes all of us stronger, but makes what we can deliver for our clients more powerful. And so, our recent beefing up of the bench is fortuitous indeed, but not at all accidental.

Thanks to Michael for 16 years — and for building one of the best design collectives in the business before he moved on. Time will tell whether or not Michael will like the “big corporate machine” and we can’t wait to sneak over and see what he does with his cubicle (haha) but, one thing is for sure, we’ll miss him a lot. Thankfully, he’ll be nearby and we can grab coffee and beers on a regular basis! Not to mention that we’re excited about the idea of getting to work with him again soon on some really big Hallmark jobs!

All of us at T2 + Back Alley will miss him — but we wish him the very best in this new endeavor.

***Check out Michael’s blog post for his own perspective on his upcoming move to Hallmark.

One thing that’s not a surprise is a sequel to the award winning “T2 Massacre” one year later. Dubbed “Haunting in the Crossroads,” this one will happen during Kansas City’s traditional First Friday in the Crossroads event in October – and will have a distinct Twilight Zone feel. Not to give everything away, but we can tell you that this “experience” will be super cool and something to put on your “don’t miss” list.

We’re also working with Berry Plastics on an augmented reality piece. They make the plastic cups for lots of fast food chains. When you log into the url and activate the AR marker on your cup, you’ll get a personalized musical experience. Each cup will be different, having a variety of music genres and ways to customize, create, and share your song creation through your interaction and manipulation. We’ll share more on this exciting augmented reality project soon.

Experimentation and creative play is always a part of The Lab and we are working with Arduino Technology, testing all sorts of sensors like touch, breath, velocity, brightness, and temperature. With this super accessible technology we are measuring the real world, which can create the bridge, further connecting the digital world with the real world through various “experiences.” Stay tuned for more details on both of these projects.

– Michael Ong

Everything has its time. Sixteen years definitely flew by fast and, when you really love your job, it becomes part of you. T2 is definitely part of my DNA. As I’m looking back at this juncture, my heart is filled with gratitude. I am who I am today in large part because of Teri Rogers and T2. I owe it to everyone whose paths I’ve crossed while at T2 — mentors, co-workers, friends and clients. I’ve learned and grown, been challenged and encouraged, as well as recognized and rewarded. I have loved every moment of it! And rest assured, making the decision to leave T2 was one of the most difficult decisions I have ever had to make. However, it was one of those rare occasions
when all the stars lined up, and I knew it was time for me to take that next step.

It’s been great working quietly behind the scenes to beef up the team at T2 with a wide variety of talented people and I’m confident the team we’ve assembled will continue to add fresh thinking, a collaborative mentality and forward-thinking design to the solutions T2 brings to its clients.

I know I’m going to miss everyone at T2. They are my family. But the nice thing about family is that you can work in different places and still continue to be very close. I¹m looking forward to that. I am going to miss the incomparable amazing workplace that can never be replaced and saying “goodbye” is hard. It is easier for me to say this: Thank you. Thank you. Thank you for the life experience you’ve given me.

Michael Ong

Gasland was directed by Josh Fox and it was the Winner of the Special Jury Prize – Best US Documentary Feature at Sundance in 2010 and it also screened recently at Cannes. Fracking is not only happening all across rural areas in America, it’s spreading to Europe and Africa, too.  Property owners are tempted by very lucrative offers from big energy companies and, given today’s economy, it’s not surprising that some opt to take the money and run.

I think this is a huge deal – and I agree with Josh that this is a situation that deserves a big spotlight aimed right at it – and this documentary definitely does that. If the trailer intrigued you at all, and you want to do more, visit the Gasland website. Request a screening in your city. Make a donation. If we all just did a little, we could make a huge impact.

And that, my friends, is why I LOVE documentaries. I love watching them. I love making them. I love their inherent power to make a difference.

Diesel stores in Spain are on it. They have introduced Diesel Cam, an interactive installation that is really on the cutting edge when it comes to integrating social media into the retail experience. The installation allows shoppers to try on clothes, then log onto Facebook by using Facebook Connect, post (and edit) pictures of themselves, and then ask their friends’ advice, show different choices and bring their friends into their buying decisions and/or their buying experience.

With some 400 million active Facebook users, savvy brands are finding clever ways like this to advertise and promote themselves. Add to that the fact that 50% of active users are on Facebook every day and the average user has 130 friends and you see the potential. Creating integrated experiences for today’s consumers and making an ordinary experience – like shopping – an extraordinary experience, just makes sense.

What kind of innovative integrated experiences do you know of that brands are using today? We would love to hear about them!

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.

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.

2010 MOTION DESIGN REEL from T2 + Back Alley Films on Vimeo.

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.

Music credit: Prodigy – The Way it is