New Project Alert: LR Event Microsite Templates

TSG recently launched a new project, and we're excited to tell everyone all about it. This project was for our client, Land Rover. The Sutter Group was tasked with providing Land Rover retailers with a platform to promote and provide details for their special events, which are a big part of the Land Rover experience. One of the key challenges is that given a limited budget, most Land Rover dealers either don't actively promote their events properly, or they do so in a way that doesn't keep to the Land Rover brand standards. Working with the Land Rover event marketing team, our solution was a series of customizable microsite templates, which are available to every Land Rover dealer across the United States.

Retailers can pick from a series of images to use as a backdrop, depending on the theme of the event; for example, a wintertime event could have a Land Rover product image on a snowy backdrop. The sites were built using Flash with XML driven content, and allow the retailers to input event specifics and descriptions and publish the sites on their using a custom event URL. The sites each include registration/RSVP capability and Google Maps integration for customers needing directions to the event. Retailers are given access to the RSVP database which can be exported to Excel as needed, so that they can accurately track which customers will be attending their event.

Pretty cool solution to a challenging problem. We hope you like!

by Garret Ohm

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National Vinyl Record Day

Today is National Vinyl Record Day....At least in San Luis Obispo. And like the vinyl record, the groundswell of support for this cause seems to be melting away. But, for those of us who got our first "45" as a teenager in the 60's, take a moment and reflect on how those little records with the big holes in the center made such a big difference. While a lot of vinyl records are gone or melting in attics, what goes 'round comes 'round (pun intended). A renewed interest in vinyl has resulted in niche markets and audiophiles arguing which is best, analog vs. digital.

Do you remember your first record or high-fidelity record player?
What were those little plastic adapters called that let you put your 45's on the spindle of your record-player?
Remember when the "flip side" just meant the B side of the record?
How many artists had hits on both sides of a 45, besides Elvis and the Beatles?

So thanks to Mr. Edison for inventing the phonograph and starting the whole thing.

And, if you still own a turntable, play one for me. Take a look at these sites for some inspiring album cover art.

http://bit.ly/b7FFik

http://bit.ly/bMON8w

http://bit.ly/9pO0hs

Speaking of art, let TSG spin some designs your way sometime soon.

by Karen Sutter

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Facebook Making Adjustments to Apps Tabs

Hi all - Just a quick note that Facebook has announced that they are changing the rules again. They're in the process of implementing two changes that may impact your pages. The first change seems pretty simple - they're eliminating the Boxes tab. If you have any content there, it will likely show up as a tab when these changes go into effect.

The other change that hits close to home for us is that they're decreasing the width of the Applications Tabs to 520 pixels. They've been threatening to do this for a while, but only now are they actually putting the new rules in place. So this means if you have, for example, the Static FBML application installed, like us (see below), you'll need to resize/reformat your image. Doh!

by Garret Ohm

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Groupon-Like Functionality for Facebook

If you're in the business of selling a product or service online in large quantities, according to Mashable there's a new Facebook application coming online that allows brands to attach Groupon-like promotions to their page. These promotions allow brands to offer a discounted product or service, but only if the amount of people that sign up for the deal hits a critical mass.

The app, Group Deals, was created by Wildfire Interactive, and allows users to set the value of the deal, define the threshold needed to activate it and link it to their e-commerce system through their own pre-defined discount codes. It also allows brands to define deal terms and conditions and customize the appearance of the page using CSS. I haven't seen it in action, but it looks amazing in theory and concept.

Apps tied in to Facebook automatically have a massive, well defined user base of 500,000,000, and the connectivity via the Facebook Open Graph allows for relatively effortless viral promotions. It's the first really legitimate shot at widespread sales via social media. There's also a really great opportunity to see some creative campaigns from major brands that are focused on promoting sales directly through these Group Buys.

Image courtesy of Mashable

by Garret Ohm

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Augmented Reality Ice Cream

As a company with a vested interest in mobile application development, we're always taking time to stay up on current technology trends in this area. One we've been following closely is the burgeoning area of augmented reality. To date, there have been a few really incredible uses of augmented reality in mobile apps, most notably augmented reality browsers such as Layar. Layar's a really cool application that uses the viewfinder from your phone's camera and your phone's GPS capabilities to show you on-screen descriptions of what's nearby.

Here's one that we just stumbled upon, and while I'm not sure I'd classify this as a mobile application nor a USEFUL deployment of augmented reality, it certainly qualifies as incredibly cool. Enjoy:

by Garret Ohm

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