Ad Guy Video - Christmas Party

This Ad Guy Video is probably one of the most hilarious and accurate sketches or in this case, videos - on what some people in Advertising get up to at their Christmas Parties. Sure, it's a little subjective, but from what i've seen and heard at these occasions, it just might be spot on in some cases! The Ad Guy Christmas Party video was created by Pro Pacific as thier e-card this year.

On Toyota's Mind Website

I just checked out a new microsite from Toyota, called On Toyota's Mind. My first feelings (apart from the amazing graphics) were WOW, that's exacly the same style as "The Creative Mind" microsite from Adobe.

Sure, Toyota have spent a bucket load more cash on this site than Adobe, and dam it looks great with that semi-realistic render, but essentially it's exactly the same as Adobe's Creative Mind site, only with different content! Right? I guess this runs back into the age old concept that nothing is new anymore, and creative agencies just "base" new campaigns on artwork that is already out there.

While that statement may not be true, as I'm sure not everything humanly possible to create has been created, more and more we see new advertising campaigns and more recently new websites that have a striking resemblance to others, even as high profile as Adobe and Toyota.

As you can see, even more so once you get into these sites and explore each of the minds, you'll notice the trend of clickable objects, funky characters and intuitive navigation. This goes right across the board for both websites. So my question is where does a creative agency cross the line and steal an idea, rather then expand on a style?

None the less, this new microsite from Toyota in which users get to explore the offerings from Toyota in a visual world is top notch. From Swedish agency SWE and growing interactive agency North Kingdom is a fantastic compilation of flash animation, 3D renderings and design. Not to mention featuring some very cool features from Toyota's Cars. Check it out here.

New Blogger Goes Live

Well the new version of Google's Blogger Blogging tool was released from beta today. With it's host of new features, templates and more... So go on, check it out and if your stuck in thefirst version of blogger, upgrade now. (it's stable!)

BCF Fishing Classic Game

Last friday we launched BCF's first flash game called BCF Fishing Classic. It's been produced specifically to give a little something back to the 60,000+ members of Club BCF. The basics of the game are; catch as many fish as possible while avoiding the junk, seagull and standing still. The faster you catch fish and the more they weigh in at, gives you longer playing time.

Once you make a big catch, it's now time to dish out the bragging rights - by clicking the Challenge your friends button you can send out the challenge (with your score) to 4 mates at a time. This really became the viral aspect of the campaign, in which our goal is to not only give back to the loyal members, but to also attract new customers.

The vision here is to have current customers or regular users of the website challenge friends who have not yet experienced BCF, by bringing them to the website through the hook of a cool little flash game which then gives BCF the opportunity to establish thier credentials, range, experience and branding. Obviously we are searching for a % of these people to become customers, and dare I say with the success of these stores we would be looking at a high conversion rate here.

Oh, almost forgot the game stats. 15,000 unique players in the first 5 days! What's your best score? I had a best catch of 55kg - so far!

I must say, this was a great project to work on, we (especially me) got right into the fishing spirit and the entire advertising agency dropped production levels by at least 20% around testing time ;)

Flash SEO - how to optimize your flash website

As flash becomes so important to user experience and interactivity you shouldn't have to sacrifice design, animation or interactivity for search engine rankings and traffic. It's now possible to use SEO on your flash website - best of all it's quick and easy.

I just read a post on Search Engine Forums about Flash SEO. It's a question being asked more and more as flash becomes the biggest thing since sliced bread and it's been evolving for the last 5 years (at least).

Firstly, I'll have a quick rant about SEO's who always declare you must make 2 versions of a website if you're building completely in flash. One HTML - One Flash. Personally I think it's rubbish, some suggest using Javascript to implement flash (bad luck if they have JS turned off) and call in content from databases. In an age where rich media is taking over, development time is longer and more complex - corporates can't afford to build 2 sites and stay modern in design and interactivity. (Yes, HTML/CSS 2 is amazing, but we are not talking about there here!)

Flash, combined with broadband is now at such a prolific stage in it's life that it's completely mainstream, all the biggest sites use it, and use it almost exclusively. Take Nike.com for example. Don't have flash? Bad luck, download the latest player it will tell you!

So as the world adopts such a rich media application, the latest SEO questions are becoming increasingly about Flash SEO. Is Flash SEO it possible? How do I do Optimise Flash for Search Engines? Do I Provide a HTML site also? Can Google take content from my SWF? Out of My database? Can search engines see the text in my flash (swf) files?

This is a simple question that requires a long and complex answer - I won't pretend to know everything about Flash SEO, heck, I'll post that question to Matt Cutts! But what I will do is give you another opinion based on what I've seen, experienced and heard!

One of the key points I think we should start with is that, YES google among other search engines can read your SWF files. It can follow links, pull out URL's, explore your content .etc So don't stress! (although it's far from best practice if Flash SEO is key to your business)

Although it's believed that search engines can only read the embedded flash file. I believe that to be true. (we will ask matt cutts none the less) In saying that, most professionally designed Flash websites these days use things link "container" swf's. These usually pre-load and position the flash site in the browser. Additionally this is becoming a simple trick to stop most people stealing flash code/swf's. This container flash file has no content, it just calls in other flash files. Hence, search engines can't read those external flash files that are buried away.

Which now brings a Flash SEO to question the best way in which to get the search engines the content from their flash websites, use container files to position websites, while still protecting their files from people looking to steal code/animation. So the new standard is born, professional sites with lots of content should be moving all the content out of flash (also speeds the website up) into XML files or external databases.

This gives google much easier access to the content you want to serve up!
Deconcept gives a pretty good overview of how to serve up flash content to the engines, but again, that uses the concept of using 2 versions of your website. Or at least drains your time by using JavaScript complete the task.
If you notice, that latest version of flash professional automatically publishes a div with id="flashcontent" and automatically publishes all the included flash content, in text to that div. It publishes your flash content & URL's with ease.

This, combined with the increasing ability for search engines to parse your SWF files, means that a serious flash development team doesn't need to create 2 versions of a website. That "flashcontent" div gives you the ability to place what ever textural content, images and links in there you like - you can do this automatically from flash, XML or a database.

DerekA makes a good post in reply to Deconcept here. But seriously, it's the fastest, easiest and most search engine friendly way there is to do Flash SEO - that I know of anyway - have your say, post a comment :D

To Matt Cutts, if you're reading this, everyone would love your opinion ;)
So just rounding this off, YES, there is a way to SEO your Flash Website. It's simple, it's quick and above all, the modern technique cuts out the labour of a that old 2 site version trend that I'm predicting will die off in the next 2 years - completely.

The technique: If your not an advanced programmer, let flash automatically publish all the content of your site into the id="flashcontent" div, Flash 8 automatically publishes all links found embedded in the SWF.

If you're more advanced and you store all your data as XML or in a database, write a quick script that will automatically publish all the flash content into that div. Make sure your script publishes with the correct H1, H2 tags .etc - which it should do easily because your a professional flash designer or developer and Ofcourse you control all the text and content styles in your flash site from external an CSS file! (note. if your not doing that, you should be!)

Hope this helped a few of you, or at least weighed up the other side of the argument. In today's competitive market, you can't afford to waste your time or money developing and maintaining 2 websites. Besides, it's the new "rich media" age - It's where everything is going and the search engines are continuing to advance their algorithm to parse flash websites at a rate of knots.

Don't get left behind. It's OK do develop your new or existing websites in flash to keep up with modern rich media applications, design trends and interactivity to wow your customers or visitors. AND still being able to effectively SEO your flash website and be found in the major search engines!

Good Luck & Stay tuned for more info on this topic. Right here.

New BCF Photography

Just thought I'd post a link to the photography I shot for BCF. It's featuring as fullsize wallpaper downloads for both MAC and PC. I love those new MAC ads by the way :D. PC's are still better!

I shot those, and many many more while on holiday on the great barrier reef, Queensland, Australia. Some may also be from the gold coast. I seem to do more and more freelance photography these days, including shoots for the interactive work at IdeaWorks. I'll post a gallery of my shots as soon as I can. So stay tuned!

Looking for an Interactive Job?

Hey all, I'll keep this section simple. At IdeaWorks (Yes, we are still re-designing the website!) From time to time (2007 will become more & more frequent) we may be looking for people who are a cut above the rest. People prepared to put in the hard yards, people who above all have a real passion for the web, for design, for the interactive industry. I'm talking about the people who spend their free time playing around in flash to learn the latest techniques. People who read all the latest online trends, news and technology. People who are perfectionists. So if this sounds like you, your mate, or your sisters aunty - get them to post a quick comment, a portfolio or resume link and a contact number :) This is the first place ill look (plus send contacts to) for new candidates in the areas of;

• Web Designers
• Flash Designers
• Flash Programmers
• Interactive Producers
• Search Engine Strategists & Optimisation
• Search Engine Marketers
• Interactive Account Managers

Motorola: Improve Your Karma

Well it's just that time of year isn't it? Christmas fast approaching and all those "New Year Resolutions" just around the corner, in that light - Motorola have jumped in to help everyone in the new year. The Impove Your Karma website by Motorola seeks to help you know your Karma levels, I guess that isn't a bad thing, right?

So, Sven Goodsson bursts onto the site. Built to subtley promote the new RAZR phone, while also helping the RED charity, Improve Your Karma even intergrates with MySpace. (Neat huh?)
So with the help of Sven you can get your Karma score, balance yourself or just browse the website and attempt to find things like the "Motorola: Improve Your Karma" hidden codes. The Secret codes help you to get Sven Goodsson doing funny skits, like a Richard Simmons impression!

New Lynx Website: Lynx Blow

In a another great interactive campaign for Lynx, this time for the UK, we see Dare Digital introduce a new style of interactivity with it's Lynx women! Using a pretty funky flash audio application where visitors can use their microphone or gaming headsets to "Blow" warm air on the Lynx lady that for some reason is wearing next to nothing, out doors in the snow!
(Ofcourse the guys won't complain)

Visitors are taken through the steps of setting up their audio equipment, before attempting to "Blow" off the the thin garment our Lynx lady is wearing! The warmer you get her, the closer her clothes are to coming off. Can you actually get them off? Well, you'll just have to check out the website.

Elf Yourself from OfficeMax

So you have probably already heard about it, recieved it in your email or saw a link on some random website for it? It's here - Elf Yourself. This is the viral campaign to launch the OfficeMax holiday season connection with it's customers. It's the Flash microsite that lets you upload a photo of anyone you like, attatch their head to an elf before watching them dance to Christmas tunes! There is probably 2 things you didn't know, one being why in the world would anyone shop for Christmas gifts at an office supply store and the other being the 20 microsites that are part of this campaign!
Tucked away at the bottom of the page is the OfficeMax logo, rolling over launches an interactive menu with links to all your microsites. Each microsite features a simple yet endlessly entertaining mini-game or interactive experience, from arm-wrestling the reindeers' to choreographing the big fellas' dance moves with North Pole Dancing.
OfficeMax enlisted no less than 8 Interactive agencies, 3 production companies and an editorial company. Plus thier major advertising agency, Toy. This campaign was designed to replace the lame e-cards repeated season after season. So these microsites needed to be fun, interactive, addictive and appeal to people looking to send their friends and loved ones a little bit of Chrsitmas Cheer!
My only question is - will this actually help sell more Christmas gifts from OfficeMax? Probably not directly, but what it will do (as a good viral or interactive campaign should do) is to have the OfficeMax name and branding burnt in the back of your mind hopeing to take advantage of you as you rush around this christmas, driving past an OfficeMax store only to realise - oh wait, they have christmas stuff this year, I played their funny Christmas games and I think they even have an MP3 player for $99! ;) Campaign Justified.

BCF: Boating Camping Fishing

Recently we launched a new website for BCF. A new company from the Australian Super Cheap Auto Group, BCF - Boating Camping Fishing is it's new powerhouse company. Launching with 2 stores in Queensland 12 months ago, BCF now has over 26 stores nation wide!
This website is pretty unique, in that it harnesses a host of features; weather forecasts & swell information for your favourite fishing spot. We even have an entire directory of Australia's fish, allowing you to view, research & learn about the fish you want to catch, we even tell you the best bait & location to catch the fish your looking for!
In the members only section you will find downloadable wallpapers with amazing photography, shot by me! Look out for a few fancy features we are looking at developing - like intergrating Google Maps to create a visual of the best fishing spots in town & maps to get there. If your wondering why this website is special it's because BCF stocks the largest range of Boating, Camping and Fishing gear in Australia - something like 15,000 luers and over 5000 fishing rods (for example!)
On another pretty exciting note for BCF, we have created an interactive online store that incorporates hundres of thousands of products into the latest version of Adobe Flex. It's completly fluid and features a whole host of drag and drop options, comparisons and a amazing product selecter!

This site was designed and developed in a fantastic partnership between us at IdeaWorks and WDG Alfresco. So if your a keen fisherman, boating enthusiast or camper - I seriously suggest you check them out.

Aden Hepburn: About Me

It's time I introduced my self. I'm the Interactive Producer at IdeaWorks, Sydney, Australia. I design, create, strategise, produce and manage major interactive campaigns for our high profile clients across Australia.

Just to give you a background on our agency, IdeaWorks is one of Australia's leading advertising agencies. We work on some of the biggest brands in the country with a focus on retail. From BigW, McDonalds, Optus and BWS right through to clients like Volkswagen, Landcom, Westfield, Woolworths and Ripcurl.

My role is to manage all interactive work that comes through the agency.
This covers things like, new websites, online strategies, flash games, interactive banner campaigns, email campaigns, animation, search engine optimisation, search engine marketing, seeding, blogging, micro sites, promo websites and implementing content management systems - just to name a few!

I also develop the online strategies, ideas and designs for our new and existing clients.
If you would like to get in contact with me, my direct line is +61 2 9909 4645 or you can leave a comment below.

Yahoo to Re-Structure

Big news? Let's try huge news. Yahoo has released a press statement explaining how they will organise the company into 3 sections - Audience, Advertiser/Publisher, and Technology.

Yahoo seem to be looking for a new way to compete with Google.
By splitting into 3 major sections, Yahoo will hope to re-focus it's core business and promiss to build a more customer focused business that can push forward with new, more robust technology. They also want to try and dig into what Yahoo calls their "deep audience" to create a new advertising network.

So if Yahoo re-structure and re-build from the ground up, will they have a more technologically advanced and strategic business that can drag back a percentage of the global search monopolly that Google is?

Probably not.

Does Google PageRank Matter?

PageRank is perhaps one of the hottest topics in the SEO industry. I get asked the question on a weekly basis and to tell you the truth, my answer probably sways either side of the fence from time to time. I won't weigh into the debate offically right now, i'll just leave you with some food for thought!
Some SEO professionals and enthuisiests will probably tell you that the infamous green Google PR bar makes or breaks your search engine results, and they will even bet their house on it. While on the other hand, you will have equally as many people telling you it won't influence on the success of your website.

There are a whole bunch of factors that can burn your PR, from duplicate content and incorrect keyword density right through to inbound links (or lack of) and the download times of your page. Even code:content ratio plays an important part.

I'll post my take on PR next week. But for now, what's your opinnion?

Video: Matt Cutts at PubCon 2006

Matt Cutts - on the latest trends and future of search marketing and optimisation.

Google Analytics

If you're not already using Google Analytics as a standard reporting suite for your website or your clients', more importantly. Why not? It's FREE! I've found the Analytics software so advanced and indepth that it's now one of the first things I set up before launching a website.
With such a multitude of reporting options, from GEO Mapping right through to setting up Funnels (the process of tracking a users steps around a website to a desired page or goal - eg. sales conversion or sign up). Google also provides all your standard stats like bouce rates, top content, time spent, hits, visits .etc

Google Anayltics was designed to be an extension to it's Adwords clients. It still is (although anyone can have it tracking their website). Users get the best results from Analytics by running an Adwords campain in conjunction, Google then tracks clicks, keywords, conversion rates & ROI to spit out some amazing data.

Wow, right? That's only just the beginning, the Analytics team have gone so far as to allowing you to tag all your other SEM campaigns from say, Yahoo. Plus tagging your interactive campaigns (like web banners), Google Analytics then tracks all your clicks and traffic, grabs it all together and then brings it into it's Analytics Reporting, so you can see your entire marketing campaign stats on a single page!! So stop messing about. Sign up for free with your Google Webmasters account.

Yahoo Releases New SEM Platform

At this year’s Las Vegas PubCon, Yahoo! unveiled its new “Panama” search marketing platform. Project Panama will become Yahoo's mainstay sponsored search product. Panama promises advertisers a much more relevant and strategic use of their ads.
WebProNews had a quick chat with Mona Elesseily at PubCon on what's new in Panama. Check it out here on my videos and interviews page.

But will it be a positive step for yahoo Search marketers?The Yahoo Search Marketing blog gives me mixed feelings, from my point of view they are trying to simulate Google by removing the "Top 5 Max Bids," "Position" and "Your Cost" columns from the current account interface. This means your now flying in the dark - just the way Google is harvesting it's money trees. So basically you're now bidding more because you can no longer see the top bid prices.

For Yahoo, this means Search Engine Marketers will now probably over bid to ensure they are higher than their competitors, meaning more revenue increases more often!

Now, you'll see two new columns on the Sponsored Search Manage Bids page: 1. Estimated Average Position. This column provides an estimate of the average position in which your ad may be displayed on the results page, based on your max bid and the bids of other advertisers.
2. Bid Range for Top Positions. This column displays the bids for the positions at the top of the search results page for each of your keywords.

Video: Mona Elesseily

Mona Elesseily - On the new Yahoo SEM platform called Panama.