Jan
23
DigitalOttawa in the News
January 23, 2008
Back a number of years ago a few young tech entrepreneurs formed a group called DigitalOttawa. The idea was to facilitate online and offline communications and collaboration between Ottawa’s creative industry that includes writers, developers, designers, photographers, actors, editors, etc. The initiative featured a monthly networking event and an interactive web tool that featured discussion boards, a job board and news postings.
Fast forward a few years and the group is using Facebook to interact and make connections. The Ottawa Business Journal recently spoke to fellow DigitalOttawa founder, Marquis Cote about the DigitalOttawa community and about using the social networking tool in general – as well as future plans for DigitalOttawa.
Tags: Brand Experience Stuff, Business Stuff, Community Stuff, Design Stuff, Marketing Stuff
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Jan
12
Customer Panel: for Customers by Customers
January 12, 2008
I am a huge Disney fan. I enjoy their movies and parks – but must confess, being the geek that I am, what I really appreciate is Disney’s user experience strategies that extend through the Imagineers, marketing department and online team. I think that there is a lot that can be learned from Disney and applied to brand experience design and product development in other industries.
I think there is a lot of potential for Disney’s new initiative. Understanding that travelers now use the internet to plan their vacations, Disney has recently created an online user panel that will offer advice and answer questions from other people planning a visit to Walt Disney World.
This new resource, the first-ever Walt Disney World Moms Panel, http://www.disneyworldmoms.com/, is an online forum led by real parents who are veteran WDW visitors. These WDW-savvy parents can make your entire planning process easier, more affordable and more fun as they offer advice on such topics as budget options, best places to eat, traveling in large groups and you can search topics based on the type of experience you are looking for (traveling with young children, teens, children with disabilities, etc).
The participants were chosen after an intensive review of 10,000 applications that asked for Disney tips and tricks, as well as a personal interview among the final applicants. Disney then picked the 12 most knowledgeable, park-savvy parents to lead its first-ever online Moms Panel.
This type of interaction between users can be facilitated through discussion boards, blogs, help centre software or a more formal forum as Disney has chosen. The point being, that customer interaction of this type can be very beneficial. When planning our first Disney trip, we found advice on a number of private discussion forums and blogs not owned or operated by Disney that saved us hundreds of dollars. As a result, we had a great, fulfilling experience at the park.
In the tech world, numerous support communities have been operating since the early days of usenet, so the idea isn’t entirely new. However, this is one of the first formal groups I have seen of this kind, and there is potential for this idea. By approving the panel, you are somewhat assuring users accurate, meaningful communications. The obvious downside might be a perception that these are employees and not real customers and that their information might be filtered through the corporation, so as with blogs, guidelines should be created and followed through the process that facilitates open, productive communications.
There needs to be a big leap of faith to institute a program such as this, but as long as the legwork is done at the outset, there is a lot of potential to support and build brand experience for your customers and prospects.
More story information here: Canadian Business Online
Tags: Brand Experience Stuff, Business Stuff, Customer Service Stuff, Experience Design Stuff, Marketing Stuff
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Jan
8
Funniest Commercial Ever!
January 8, 2008
My kids have taken to the, “Nice try Nogoalov,” expression and use it when playing mini sticks.
Tags: Advertising Stuff, Brand Experience Stuff, Funny Stuff, Marketing Stuff, Sports Stuff
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