Occasionally, we like to toot our own horn, and this month we have the pleasure of announcing that Launch’s very own president, Elizabeth Lester, is receiving the 2010 Women in Business Achievement Award from Inside Business. For the past eight years, Inside Business has been recognizing women in Hampton Roads for their business acumen. It’s an effort to honor their achievements and encourage other women to trust in their abilities, strengthen their self-confidence and actively participate in the economic growth of the community. The award ceremony will be held on December 13th and a special report will be included in Inside Business that week.
I recently ran into this article introducing the newest creative partnership with hip-hop mogul Jay-Z and Bing maps and decided to check out the ingenious campaign myself. Developed by Droga5 New York, this multiplatform campaign sets fan across the nation on a virtual scavenger hunt through major cities in the US in order to find pages from Jay-Z’s upcoming memoir Decoded. The site integrates Facebook Connect to access your data and build you a user profile. Clues are featured in locations where the actual content of the pages took place and published on a wide variety of places - outdoor, bus stops, pools, etc. Although the hunt takes place in the “real world,” fans can play along using the Bing Maps interface to search through the city streets to find the clues.
As a huge Jay-Z fan, this idea came across brilliant to me and completely brand congruent with what the Jay-Z brand stands for and who he is. He’s an innovator, a music mogul and a genius in his own right. Not only does it push the limits of traditional marketing, it integrates new technology to bring a never-before-seen completely user-generated site that takes the whole idea of virtual maps to a new level. The start of the game is somewhat cumbersome; as you have to download Microsoft® Silverlight along with Bing 3D and it can run slow depending on your connection. Overall though, once you start, you can dive right into the clues and finding a page of the book. It did take me awhile to figure out what to do after you crack the first two clues, but after that it’s completely user-friendly. I found the aerial view to be easier than the street view and the actual questions to be somewhat tricky (depending on your knowledge of his lyrics). The nice feature is having the Bing search engine right on every page for you to search through.
Try it out for yourself and give us your comments!
On the heels of a very productive summer for Launch came the whirlwind of an equally busy fall. A great amount of time was spent preparing for the launch of two websites, and we are very proud to present them.
When Launch took on real estate development group The Breeden Company’s site redesign, it had not been changed since it was originally built in 1997. Not only was the design the same, but the functionality was outdated as well. The most visited pages on the old site were the apartment pages, but they were rarely updated and the formatting was often inconsistent. The old site also did not match the brand’s core values or personality.
We redesigned the site to offer more engaging content, extensive property profiles and image gallery rotators. The new site was both traditional and professional, and completely in line with the current brand perception of The Breeden Company. Lastly, the site also offers a comprehensive Content Management System that allows for different user levels, content/image editing and dynamic searching.
Check out the full site at http://www.thebreedencompany.com/
The Breeden Company
Before
After
Similar to The Breeden Company, LTD Hospitality Group had an old website that did not match the recent rebranding and modern approach they were trying to take. The old website was done in-house and managed with a database of hotels, but it was very difficult to use. Launch created a fresh design for LTD that represented their brand and new direction. The new site can be easily managed with the Drupal Content Management System and has a comprehensive “Careers” page.
LTD Hospitality Group
Before
After
Check out the full site at http://ltdhospitality.com/
Taking a spin on popular reality TV shows we’ve launched The Roosevelt Hotels first ‘Meeting Planner Star’ contest. Our goal is to create awareness in the meetings industry for the Roosevelt and to have some fun while doing so.
To house the contest Meridian Group and Launch created an engaging and user-friendly microsite. To enter, contestants fill out a quick profile and then go through steps to plan a mock meeting. They will choose from a variety of options (how about Dr. Ruth as your speaker or Street Vendors for your lunch meeting?) or enter their own all while staying under budget. Once their meeting is crafted the next step is to get votes. Contestants will share their meeting through social outlets including Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn to gain the most votes. Once the contest is complete we will pull the top 10 meetings and the executives at The Roosevelt will choose the first ‘Meeting Planner Star.’
The best part? The winner truly gets the ‘star treatment’ in NYC. Grand prize includes a weekend stay in the presidential suite at the hotel, limo ride to and from the airport, a meeting room named after the winner for 1 year and much more!
Show off your planning skills and enter today.
We are excited to finally launch one of our favorite websites that reaches the front doorsteps of all Americans. Yes, sites that stand for something tend to get us more excited that others.
The roots of small businesses support the foundations of your local community - so now more than ever, it’s important to buy local! IndependentWeStand.org is a movement that elevates this awareness as well as provides resources and search-friendly collection of businesses in your area.
Tell your friends, neighbors and favorite store owners about it.
Take a Stand Now. Stand Up and Join Us!
The summer has been a project marathon for the Launch team, so taking some time to just walk a few miles in the 2010 AHA Heart Walk was very relaxing. Despite the rain, we pulled out our tennis shoes, spouses, children (including the furry ones) to help raise money in this year’s Heart Walk. Thanks to all of our sponsors!
About the American Heart Association
At the American Heart Association, we know that cardiovascular diseases including stroke impact far more people than just those who suffer from these diseases. As the No. 1 killer in the U.S. and even the world, cardiovascular diseases impact millions of families, friends and loved ones. Embracing a healthier life is one of the best gifts we can give to ourselves and those we love. We want to help you and millions of others make these lifestyle shifts become the “new normal.” We are partnering with you, to build a healthier, stronger legacy one heart at a time.
For more information, visit:
http://www.heart.org
Triple R Ranch and the T.D. Edwards Foundation are the two non-profits Launch will be working with to provide creative services during the 24-hour blitz in which Launch Interactive provides marketing and creative services on a pro-bono basis. “Everyone on the Launch team is really excited to hold our first CreatAthon event.
“We are looking forward to stretching our creative wingspans while drinking coffee all night,” says Launch Creative Director Mel Williams.
Over the past 11 years, CreatAthon has provided services for over 1.100 non-profit organizations totaling an estimated value of work at $11 million dollars.
The only way I’ve been able to deal with the guilt of abandoning my sketchbook so many years ago is to immerse myself in the work of other illustrators. I have certain affection for pencil heroes, and I just recently discovered that an old classmate is still drawing and making a living at it. In all of my schooling, I was always surrounded by a ton of talent but I’ve found that not many are still honing their gifts. Mike Schley - always known as the best pencil in life drawing class - is still at it. And in a recent Facebook reconnection, it seems he’s been working in the gaming scifi-geekdom world that I still hold dear to my heart even long after being gone from the game company Decipher.
His body of work is rich with characters, stories and detail. But it’s not just his ability to scribe these shapes and lines on paper, but more his ability to understand a story from concept to visualization that amazes me.
Here’s the intro to his exploration Journal/Blog entitled “Strange Shores”:
“As an introduction, I think it would be useful to explain the purpose of this journal and why I feel the need to add to the endless stream of content pouring from your screen. First and foremost, these notes will serve to document what I am convinced is an aspect of our world that is as undeniable as the sky above us or the earth beneath our feet. Though they may seem to stretch the limits of imagination, whether you believe my stories or not carries less weight than the possibility that in reading them you might find yourself transported to a place where the division between what is real and what is imagined is a bit less clear. There are places in this world where the modern skeptical mind cannot travel without risking it’s hold on what it knows to be true. It is the exploration of these realms to which this journal is dedicated, so grab your hat, we are headed for Strange Shores.”
I’m going on a “Sagmeister” and relocating to Mike’s imagination for a few years…with my sketchbook.
After all of these years, I’m still amazed by Mike’s work but more about his ability to endure an unstable industry for the love of what he does. That to me is the magic compass.
View Mike’s work:
http://mikeschley.com/
If anyone’s ever studied the history of sculpture, chances are you’ve seen the works of Elizabeth Catlett. Her name was passed over in a project meeting and my memory immediately flashed the “Mother & Child”. Catlett is best known for her politically charged expressionistic sculptures and prints. But to me, her large sculptures serve as metaphors for the struggles and stories that she has experienced throughout her lifetime.
I spent some time digging deeper into her life and her works. From dressmaking, painting, printmaking and sculpture, Catlett has spent a lifetime embracing every medium with such strength of inner voice that it’s hard not to be humbled by her work and her convictions. She is truly one the foremost African American woman artists of her generation.
Launch had the honor of creating a small sitelet to support her show at The Chrysler Museum. At age 95, the videos in her chronology show her gray hair and a sometimes fading voice, but she’s still just as dedicated to her life’s work – her family and her art.
View the site:
www.elizabethcatlett.net
Visit her work at the Chrysler Museum of Art:
www.chrysler.org
“I am black, a woman, a sculptor, and a printmaker. I am also married, the mother of three sons, and the grandmother of seven little girls and a boy. I was born in the United States and have lived in Mexico since 1946. I believe that all these states of being have influenced my work and made it what you see today. I am inspired by black people and Mexican people, my two peoples. My art speaks for both my peoples.” - Elizabeth Catlett
