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September 15th, 2010
by Michael Ong
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Gratitude

There aren’t enough words
to express my gratitude
in such short Haiku

– 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

June 17th, 2010
by Teri Rogers
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Diesel Cam Brings The Dressing Room to Facebook

Diesel Cam Brings the Dressing Room to Facebook

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!

June 16th, 2010
by Teri Rogers
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Our Business Mantra: Turn And Face The Strange

Changes Bowie

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.