The Coolest iPad App Yet

Not long ago, we wrote a blog post about the future of publishing, based on a Sports Illustrated concept for a tablet-based magazine. Since then, the iPad has arrived, and technology-forward companies are working hard to develop applications that utilize these technologies and devices. Here's one from the folks at Wired Magazine. It's so much more than just a digital version of the print magazine. It includes embedded video, linking to the web and more. I can't wait to see this thing in real life! We really think this is going to be a game changer in magazine publishing.

What do you think? Are you ready?

by Garret Ohm

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User Experience and Corporate Decision Making

As @c2austin pointed out yesterday, Fast Company's Twitter stream recently rehashed an ongoing debate about website user experience design in large corporations and the potential havoc having too many departments involved in the design process can have. The Fast Company article, which you can read in its entirety here, describes how a peeved designer wrote an open letter to American Airlines blasting such a high-profile company for having a website that is incredibly difficult from a usability standpoint. He wrote:

If I was running a company with the distinction and history of American Airlines, I would be embarrassed--no ashamed--to have a Web site with a customer experience as terrible as the one you have now...Your Web site is abusive to your customers, it is limiting your revenue possibilities, and it is permanently destroying the brand and image of your company in the mind of every visitor.

To prove his point, he even donated some time and offered up a solution, seen here as compared to the original:

His open letter actually received a response from a member of the user experience team at American Airlines explaining that, unfortunately, it's not their lack of abilities, but rather the sheer size of the company and numerous corporate layers and that inhibit them from delivering a positive user experience.

Sad. But true. It highlights a problem that we wrestle with often when clients come to us to deliver a new interactive experience for their business: Too many cooks in the kitchen. While at times we understand the need for more than one party within a company to be responsible for making design decisions, we also feel strongly that the best designs come from a clear, singular vision. This vision, combined with a solid understanding of user wants/needs, and an interactive design team adept at creating the best possible solution will always result in a stronger end product than anything that comes from design by committee.

by Garret Ohm

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Is this the future of magazines?

I'm going to be short on the commentary and let the video I found do the talking, but could this be the future of magazine publishing?

We're torn on this. On one hand, we have a deep-seated love and respect for print as a medium. After all, it's where we started back in 1987. That said there's something about holding a tangible printed piece in your hand that the digital media just can't convey. On the other hand, we're a full-service marketing firm with a serious command of interactive media and we love exploring ways that we can use new technologies to communicate our clients' brands (and hey, who knows, maybe yours someday...).

Is it possible to be both a little sad and positively thrilled at the same time? That's where we are right now.

by Garret Ohm

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Central Penn site up in an instant (almost)

Our friends at Central Penn Health & Fitness came to us recently with a challenge: Launch a website for the newly remodeled club in a week or less. Oh, and can you develop a new visual brand identity for us while you're at it?

Our team accepted the challenge and recently launched a great temporary landing page for the 40,000 square foot Harrisburg, Pennsylvania club. The site establishes a fresh, new visual brand identity reflective of the personality of the club and includes a revamped logo that preserves some of the existing equity the brand had accumulated throughout the years. While the site is simple and will be fully developed into a robust, dynamic and information-rich site in time, this temporary landing page succinctly makes the case for Central Penn as one of the area's premiere health and aquatic centers, and invites interested visitors to sign up for a free 3-day "wellness pass" by completing a form that further qualifies prospects for Central Penn membership staff.

Visit the site HERE, and stay tuned for more great work from The Sutter Group on behalf of Central Penn Health & Fitness.

by Garret Ohm

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Crowdsourcing Vehicle Design

The current economic downturn has forced a number of the major OEM's to rethink their marketing efforts, and in some cases, the business models that define them. At the same time, there are a number of new startups that are challenging the market with innovative new thinking, processes and technologies. Still, it doesn't appear that anyone has the perfect answer.
 
Here's a new one to consider: Crowdsourcing vehicle design. Massachusetts-based startup Local Motors has a business model that is unlike anything I have ever seen in the automotive world, and I think it has the potential to change the way car design, development and yes, marketing will work in the future.
 

 
For those that aren't familiar with crowdsourcing, Wikipedia defines it as the act of taking a task traditionally performed by an employee or contractor, and outsourcing it to a group of people or community in the form of an open call. With Local Motors, users can register on the site to upload their own vehicle designs or vote on the designs of others. Once one design is chosen as a base, Local Motors develops the vehicle from top to bottom with the support of the community at large. For the physical assembly, the company invites owners out to their micro-factory (oh yeah, you get to help choose where that is as well) to help build it over the course of two weekends.
 

 
This concept has massive potential to succeed for a couple key reasons. For one, the emotional connection between car and owner is massive. Anything you've contributed to on this level is something you're bound to be proud of. That pride translates to tons of word-of-mouth about the experience that will likely bring in new customers. Additionally, and perhaps more importantly, I think this concept eliminates something that has plagued many American automakers (GM, Chrysler) lately: producing products that nobody wants to buy. Here you have a built in mechanism that pushes through only the concepts and ideas that appeal to the public, ensuring that the end product is something that leaves nothing to be desired. Marketing these vehicles should be no sweat!
 
If you haven't heard of Local Motors, you will soon. The budding company is actively involved in social media and interactive media, although their efforts to brand them are a little disjointed at this point. As a startup, I imagine their efforts have largely been focused on product development and operations, and not as much on marketing, although it should be said that they've been deploying contests and giveaways as an effort to increase the wingspan of the brand. It will be interesting to see how this company grows and if their marketing efforts gel over time. For now, follow them on Twitter, become a fan of theirs on Facebook and check out their blog.

by Garret Ohm

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