experience matters

Lindsay Renwick | Critical Mass Toronto

Flickr announced a new suite of features last week, including a larger photo display size, navigation upgrades and a slightly altered look and feel. In the immediate aftermath of the announcement, user reaction was  fairly predictable. Some jumped to the beta version weeks ago by clicking the jaunty “Take me to the future!” invitation and never looked back.  Some users avoided the change until the last minute and then seemed both shocked and upset once there was no turning back.

Looking at comments on message boards and on Twitter, it’s fair to say that this upgrade has been a success for Flickr, with encouraging comments outweighing the negativity. User experience experts worldwide must be applauding the fact that one of the world’s largest photo hosting sites has finally added a simple “< previous | next >” link adjacent to the image display, a feature that was conspicuously (and obnoxiously) absent from the previous version. The site is now considerably lighter too – according to CNET, Flickr will double upload speeds.

So why are people getting riled up and how should Flickr respond? Read More

Diane Heun – Critical Mass Chicago

There are two words that can instill fear in most people associated with new business efforts or existing client reviews:

1) Procurement

2) eSourcing

And, typically these go hand-in-hand.  An organization’s procurement department puts out a request for information (RFI) or request for proposal (RFP) through an electronic sourcing system such as Ariba or SAP.  It’s a scenario that’s becoming more and more common and as a member of the Critical Mass New Business team for over eight years, I’ve certainly participated in my fair share.

Should Procurement just stick to buying pens? Read More

Mo Goltz | Critical Mass Chicago

I recently had the opportunity to attend a seminar with the Insight & Planning team to learn about creating authentic personas. The seminar’s focus was around creating personas that are more like real people rather than the flat, somewhat contrived versions that’s aren’t entirely uncommon. Byron Stewart, an actor and co-owner of Dramatic Diversity showed us how we can use techniques from the world of theater to create personas.

This may sound strange, but he had some excellent points that hit a nerve with professionals who have been seeing a troubling trend amidst persona design. Many of us are aware of the theoretical value behind personas, but let me take a minute to illustrate how a robust, well-defined persona can make scenarios come alive.

Let’s take a well-known character from the annals of American Pop culture… Homer Simpson. Imagine him walking from the Quickie Mart to Moe’s Tavern in the town of Springfield. Now imagine him using whatever design you’re working on now. No, seriously, stop reading for a second and imagine it.

— Insert your daydream sequence —

The point of this little exercise is that since Homer’s character has been so well developed we can actually see him in our mind’s eye with a strong sense of his perspective on the world. Complete with imperfections and personality quirks that you’ve likely observed in various situations throughout the years, it isn’t so difficult to imagine what he might do using your design. Dare I say it could even be fun and helpful?
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Celia Jones | Critical Mass Chicago

If you’re in the working world, you’ve probably sat through a 401(k) benefits meeting and heard the spiel:

“Saving for retirement is really important. And if you just set aside a little bit per day, you won’t even feel the contributions coming out of your paycheck. For example: think about how many times you go for that morning coffee at Starbucks. Now do the math. $5 per day x 7 days a week x 52 weeks in a year…”

When it’s framed like that, it’s hard to argue that a daily Starbucks fix can add up to a pretty hefty dent in your bank account. Yet interestingly, roughly a week ago, Starbucks became the first brand to surpass the 10-million-fan mark.

From a Luxury Brand to a Listening Brand

In these tight, recessionary times, with unemployment rampant and people everywhere feeling the financial pinch, Starbucks, once an icon of edible luxury, has emerged as a winner, warming consumers’ hearts like a peppermint latte on cold winter day.

It wasn’t too long ago that Starbucks was dubbed a brand in crisis with eroding sales, rampant store closings and plummeting stock prices. But now, in August of 2010, they are firmly on the rebound and own boasting rights as part an elite group: the 10 million fan club, which includes such social media superstars as Lady Gaga and President Obama. So how did they do it?

Continue to Starbucks’ 6 Tips to Inspire Action with Social Media.

Ben Truyman | Critical Mass Chicago

In this post, I’d like to outline a handful of techniques and technologies we as creators for the web can employ today. Although some of these methods are only available in more modern browsers, I hope to explain how we can still maintain support and offer alternative solutions for older browsers.

A Bit of History

Back in 1997, I had just began dipping my feet into web development — more specifically HTML. Later that year, a new version of the HTML specification was to be released, known as “HTML 4.0”. Three U.S. Presidents, a dot-com bust and a housing bubble later we find ourselves still writing the same old HTML, now “HTML 4.01”. CSS shared a very similar story. Technicalities aside, my point is simply this: HTML and CSS have not seen a new major release of their specifications in several years.

The Future Is Now

You may have heard that there are two new kids on the block: HTML5 and CSS3. Although both of these specifications haven’t been finalized, modern browsers are beginning to implement features of HTML5 and CSS3. Of course, older browsers don’t have most of these features, but that’s okay.

Think about this for a moment: we’re still supporting and trying to create “pixel perfect” designs for Internet Explorer 6, a browser shipped with Microsoft’s nine year old operating system Windows XP. Let me say that again, we’re still designing websites that are meant to look exactly the same in modern browsers like Mozilla Firefox and Google Chrome but also a browser that is almost a decade old. Sad, but true.

Here’s where I propose we ditch that old idea and start using something I call “pixel imperfect” designs by using a well known strategy called Progressive Enhancement. Essentially, one design does not fit all browsers anymore. We need to accept the fact that browsers ARE different and they each offer their users different capabilities. We’ll need to start creating variants of our designs to show the potential experience in both modern and legacy browsers. What’s great about using Progressive Enhancement is that we can design our solutions in a way that less capable browsers still receive a great experience because we’re simply “layering” on new features that more capable browsers will utilize when they’re supported.

Implementations

Font Embedding

Arguably one of the most (if not THE most) important additions to CSS3 is the official support for embedding fonts. No longer are we stuck with having to cut images or use Flash when we want to use fonts not considered “web-safe”. We can use whatever fonts we want as long as the seller of the font permits web embedding. Several font providers like Typekit and FontShop are already providing solutions for embedding fonts on the web.

No more opening up Photoshop to do minor copy tweaks, or re-cut all of a site’s images containing copy when we want to translate it to another language, or using slow Flash solutions unsupported by most mobile platforms.

The best part about CSS3 font embedding: it’s supported in virtually all browsers used today! That includes Internet Explorer 4+, Firefox 3.5+, Opera 10+, Safari 3.1+, and Chrome 4+.

What Else? Do I see Drag ‘n Drop?! Read On

Johnny Schroepfer | Critical Mass Chicago

Mobile and emerging technology have historically had more hype than actual adoption or implementation within marketing campaigns; but with the proliferation of mobile devices and digitization, the mobile channel is slowly becoming a necessity rather than a novelty. In this post, I wanted to address key developmental areas of mobile and their impact on customer experience and engagement.

Traditional & Mobile Integration in Marketing

From an integrative marketing standpoint, the mobile device can be seen as an extension of the brand experience; it’s what connects the end user with the brand messaging. Mobile is often an overlooked or undervalued channel of communication but in reality, it’s one of the most personal forms of communication in this digital world. When campaigns are successfully crafted and executed, the channel that connects the end user with the message has the power to change both brand perception and consumer behavior. With that said I believe we will continue to see more brands create mobile campaigns or initiatives that complement traditional marketing channels while allocating a significant amount of their advertising budget towards mobile and emerging technologies.

Advertising

The recent launch of the Apple iAd platform will only further prove my point that there will continue to be a major marketing shift and emphasis on mobile within integrated marketing campaigns. The iAd platform allows developers to create beautiful and rich advertising executions that are less disruptive and reach the consumer at the intersection of emotion and interactivity. In addition to this innovative approach, the developers will retain 60% of revenues which have already shown signs of success. Obviously, these signs of success are due more to novelty rather than active engagement and interest, but the iAd platform is definitely a step in the right direction for advertisers.

Payment

Mobile commerce is another key area of significant growth that is driving adoption and new users. With more brands integrating traditional and mobile campaigns, allowing consumers to easily pay for various products and services on-the-go will benefit both parties. Apples iTunes payment system is a great example of quick, convenient one-click purchasing. During the D8 conference, eBay CEO, John Donahoe, discussed the adoption of the mobile device as a way to pay for goods and services. Donahoe explained that the mobile delivered $600M last year and will deliver $1.5B to $2.0B in revenue to eBay this year.

More about Mobile Payments & Location Based Services

Alyssa Rosengarden | Critical Mass Chicago

Do you remember when Facebook was a college-only network? You could only join the website if you had a valid university email and you knew, no matter what, the only people that would be able to find you would be college buddies. As a measly high school-er at the time, I was very disappointed that I would not be able to join too. But lo and behold, right when I became a high school senior, the flood gates opened and everyone was able to join Facebook. And in an instant, everything changed.

All social networking sites have come miles from where they started. Even Foursquare, which is relatively new to the game, has changed dramatically since it first went live. Location based services are now all the rage, while “liking” something has become a universally understood verb. But now what? What is next for these communication beasts?  These sites create ‘citizen journalists’ out of all of us and people are taking this responsibility in all different directions. In fact, many people have accepted the role of breaking news on sites like Twitter and Facebook, which opens up a whole new can of worms.

Citizen journalism through social media sites has become a recently accepted trend. People Tweet about political elections and World Cup winners even before news outlets have a chance to process the facts. So when it comes to being citizen journalists (as we all have) and that little issue of freedom of speech, should there be a line drawn when it comes to breaking news?

Take for example, General Stanley McChrystal. Most of you probably followed the story about how the General made inappropriate remarks to a Rolling Stone reporter during an interview. Afterwards, you probably found out that he stepped down from his position and was replaced by General David Petraeus. But you probably also found this entire story out before the issue of Rolling Stone took the stand. The story was buzzing around the Internet, and particularly social networking sites, before anyone could contain it. Yes, everyone was going to find out eventually. But is it really our responsibility to break news as big (and possibly sensitive) as this? According to Twitter and our very own government, yes it is.

What do you think? Is this going overboard or Constitutional rights? Alyssa’s opinion here.

Emily Bontje | Critical Mass Calgary

A whole new crop of interns has invaded CM, across the Calgary, Toronto, and Chicago offices recently. There are currently 28 of us, in every department, ranging from high schoolers to twenty-something career changers.

The wily bunch of CM interns from our Calgary office.

Around this time of year, this is common in the ad industry, with most agencies offering an internship program to share practical examples of the lessons learned in university classrooms. Since I have now been a CM intern for over 6 months (time flies!) I started a list of tips to help new interns get the most out of their summer internship adventures. (A hint: They all revolve around learning as much as you can and having the right attitude!)

Here is my top ten list to help interns succeed:

1. Learn about the company. Whenever I had down time, I spent a lot of time checking out CM Work and creative reels to learn about some of the projects that happened long before my time. I particularly loved the work we did for Gucci and Budweiser; it really reinforced for me what a cool company this is! As well, learning about how the entire company works, rather than just your particular role can really help verify what you do and do not want to do when you’re finally ready for the full-time position.
2. Learn about the industry. If you have time in your first few weeks, browse the agency Library to see what the rest of the marketing world is thinking about. Read industry books and blogs from the likes of David Ogilvy, Howard Gossage, and Luke Sullivan to increase your knowledge and get your wheels spinning.
3. Learn about your client. Scour the website. Watch out for their advertising. Learn about their products. Listen when friends and family talk about their experiences with that brand. This immersion will help you become a brand advocate who is more passionate about what you do.
4. Learn as much as possible about your position. Understand where you fit in the project process. Ask your team for suggestions on useful tools and resources to do your job efficiently. One particularly helpful suggestion I can give is to re-read your job description after a month to see how it compares to what you’ve been doing, and if there are areas you haven’t yet gotten into where you can offer to help. Observe everything, keep your ears open and ask for feedback.
5. Start making friends. Not just at the company, but network with the vendors and partner agencies you work with. And make sure you have at least one solid relationship in every department. This will really help you when you need to figure out how a program works or what file type you need. When people know you they are also more likely to respond to your urgent emails for help. Being so outgoing may not be easy for everyone, but it’s amazing who you can meet in the lunchroom, at a group yoga class or at social outings…networking is not only for people outside your company!

You’re halfway to internship success! Keep Reading…

Lindsay Lewis | Critical Mass Chicago

The electro-bass voided, the rock and roll of the high-tide faded, the scene of holiday boaters and people dancing on boats for the sake of a three day weekend blurred into a distant background and suddenly my ears fell numb to all but the words “Finding these vulnerabilities, you can train a monkey to do it… But at the same time, hacking is about the path of least resistance. There’s no need to overly complicate things if a simple sequel injection can work.”

Those chilling words, spoken by Patrick Stoey, a key contributor to the Biggest Cyber Crime in History, were recanted in the June 10th issue of Rolling Stone. Albert Gonzalez, commonly hailed the “Capone” of Cyber Crime, enlisted Stoey and dozens of other hackers to execute some of the most sophisticated hacking heists of all time- targeting hundreds of high-profile companies like TJ Maxx, Barnes & Noble, and 7-11. The most pervasive of them all pirated the credit card numbers of over 130 million Heartland Payment Systems customers.

I put the magazine down for a minute to digest what I’d just read. As sympathetic for the victims as I naturally wanted to feel, my rationale classified both parties as naive. If a monkey had the brains to make off with hundreds of millions of credit cards and check out with millions in cash from a series of hacks that impacted an unquantifiable number of people, then “farming” money from 400 App Store Users seems like no-brainer to me.

Catching both stories simultaneously put a lens on the state of my own information security, pin-pointing it’s gaping holes and flimsy insulation and the more I sought to isolate my vulnerabilities, the more of myself the lens began to reveal. In a World boasting ease of access, we can quickly and efficiently maneuver into, out of, and between windows. So easily in fact, that we’ve begun treating them like the ones on our homes, leaving them open for a cool draft of cyber crime to circulate within and swiftly cash out. As the evolution of Web 2.0 has begun shaping the way we work, it has blindsidedly begun to shape the way we are.

Our everyday social behavior on Web 2.0 and mobile applications, can tell us a lot about our vulnerability to cyber crime because web applications and related technologies accounted for 82% of all security vulnerabilities on the web last year, according to a report released by Cenzic, a leader in web application security. More sobering than that, are the vulnerabilities themselves- Cyber Criminals not only capture our private data but our behavior as well. The top ten vulnerabilities on the web today fit seamlessly into the little things we do online everyday, living on the profiles of those we “add as a friend” but vaguely know at all, yet we trust to share our play-by-plays with and trust the info they share too. They patiently wade in the background of sidebar widgets on websites we trust enough to visit everyday. They hang out behind the buttons we so love… I mean “Like.” They dress themselves up as character limit-friendly little links and do all of the things we do on the websites we visit most

Using a scenario we commonly run into on Facebook as an example, the Flow Chart below demonstrates the ease of access a hacker has to execute the top ten types of attack mechanisms on the web today in one fell swoop.

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Jeana Anderson | Critical Mass Chicago

The social media marketer’s dream came true over at Old Spice over the past two days. The brand’s latest campaign by Wieden + Kennedy was translated into real-time, branded video responses to social media fans and followers. If you weren’t watching along in awe with me, or if you ignored all social media in general, you may have missed it. If that’s the case, here’s a recap:

The campaign developed originally for TV is over-the-top masculine, peppered with hyperbole stated as hilarious science. When combined with the nearly perfect casting of the ruggedly attractive Isaiah Mustafa, who is every woman’s kryptonite and every man’s idol, viral sharing of these videos was imminent. A phrase from one of the earliest ads exemplifies the tone of the entire campaign: “Did you know that women prefer Old Spice for their men one bajillion times more than lady-scented body washes?”

Riding the horse of popularity associated with the ironic campaign, Mustafa holed up in what appeared to be a bathroom, setting out to thank influencers (read: celebrities and bloggers with a large following) including Ellen Degeneres, Perez Hilton, and The Chicago Blackhawks. He also answered questions from fans–all in the exaggerated tone of the original campaign. Memorable moments from the two day real-time YouTube video onslaught included the spokesperson pausing to facilitate a fan’s proposal to his girlfriend, shooting down an offer for coffee from @Starbucks and putting to rest rumors that he was masking the voice of a nerd. In slightly over 24 hours since the marriage proposal video was posted on YouTube, it has been viewed 269,203 times and counting.

Each video in the series reeks of manly, unabashed confidence, and based on a search of Social Mention, we are eating it up: the brand is mentioned in social media every 39 seconds.

Aside from its novelty, uniqueness and incredibly sharable nature, there were some strong points to this real-time-video-production-marathon that made it even more extraordinary (and more viral) than the original. Or as the Old Spice Man may put it, virally viral videos that were viraler than the viral originals.

But what makes it extraordinary? Read More