The Power of Syndication
Written by Paul Newnes
A nice little article first published here was re-published a lot. Doesn’t mean any of our trends for 2010 will be correct, but nice anyway.
10 Hot creative agencies to watch – Last Exit is on the first page.
Written by Paul Newnes
“Above all else, getting serious about digital means getting serious about creative, whether you’re talking about a simple banner ad or a cutting-edge viral campaign. After all, big ideas move successful campaigns in any medium, and the web is no exception.
But as larger agencies struggle to redefine themselves in the lean-and-mean digital ecosystem, a grassroots army of smaller, specialty shops is raising eyebrows. Some work on assignment from larger agencies, but others have begun taking ownership of the client relationship for themselves. While this is by no means an exhaustive list, these are some of the independent agencies that made us stand up and take notice with campaigns and ideas that push web creative forward.”
Full article on iMedia Connection.
Vespa / Piaggio USA Sites: a Cut Above the Rest?
Written by Nuri Djavit
Cool Hunting just wrote a piece about the new Vespa site we recently launched which has, in turn, inspired more posts about both Vespa and Piaggio. Even though many of the motorcycle firms have recently relaunched sites, the general perception is that most are still doing a poor job of exploiting the vast array of interactive marketing opportunities and worse, not representing their brands well online. Their websites seem like after thoughts and do little to speak their audiences (beyond existing, loyal customers). Most brands have something to offer everyone, from high powered super bikes to capable commuters and, therefore, they should be doing what they can to tackle some of the key questions people have when purchasing their first bike – or perhaps returning to biking after a long break – namely the following:
- Safety: how safe is riding a bike and how safe can I make it?
- Training: where can i go to get basic through to advanced training?
- Licensing: how do I get my license and is it difficult?
- Parking: where can I park (and what can I get away with)?
- Security: what can I do to secure my bike?
- Community: where and how do I hook up with other people in my area who ride the same/similar machines, share ideas and get tips/advice?
We’ve begun the process with the Why, Where, How section on both sites as well as the Community Rides tools and this is just scratching the surface. There’s still more that can be done to build brand loyalty and community action. As a lifelong motorcycle rider myself, I believe it’s a very viable, fun and safe method of transportation and mostly this can be achieved through simple education and training. By far, I think the opportunity for many motorcycle brands is to promote the high level of design and engineering their bikes display and capping it off, the innate sexiness they exude and the attachment riders soon develop with their machines.
I would agree with Wes Stiller in Hell For Leather that very few have done anything to reflect the pride of ownership people have or will have upon making the right purchase. Hopefully, the work we’ve done for Vespa and Piaggio has gone some way to do that. We rather think it has.
Design Licks
Written by Nuri Djavit
IMA Best in Class
Written by Nuri Djavit
We’re very happy to announce that we just won Best in class for Automotive and Lifestyle categories for the wonderful VespaUSA website. We should be getting sparkling new lucite awards through the mail soon.
View the awards online here.
Design Licks
Written by Nuri Djavit
Our very own website seems to have been picked up by a few design community sites. The first is on Design Licks, though I have to say that the Australian site for “Lynx” would hold my attention a little more 
SUPERFAD – HOW’s TOP TEN
Written by Nuri Djavit
Our lovely and most talented friends over at Superfad have been rated in How Magazine’s Top Ten Sites for Designers. A wee site we did last year for them. See the screen shot below and click here to check out their site.The site’s front end is pure HTML with embedded QuickTime movies. The entire site is driven by our very own CMS (Content Management System) called ‘Self Sufficient’ and is completely searchable. The back-end tools also allow Superfad peeps to create custom selections or reels to send out to clients and prospects. A beautifully simple and extremely functional site: SUPERFAD 
Last Exit wins an award!
Written by Paul Newnes
We’ve been pretty lax about going in for awards even though we’ve done some awesome work.
The award’s for our own site and is by fcukstar.
Apparently we get a nice badge that we’ll be putting up soon.
Cheers!
