Detroitʼs Olympia Entertainment launches
Posted On: Feb 3, 2011
Author: carbonhouse
Olympia Entertainment has launched its newly redesigned website, creating a singular portal for all six of its world-class venues. Industry leader, carbonhouse has implemented its unique events management system in the redesign resulting in a highly improved patron experience with advanced functionality making it easier to find events and buy tickets for any of Olympia Entertainmentʼs venues.
carbonhouse is the industry leader in website creation and integration of venue- specific marketing tools. carbonhouse’s proprietary system has been created exclusively for the venue and hospitality industry and offers multiple venue administration through the use of a single platform. Their most recently redesigned site can be viewed now at www.olympiaentertainment.com.
The new design brings a change to the overall functionality of the Olympia website. It boasts full content control of pages, events, images and venues within carbonhouse’s unique events management system.
“Our charge from the beginning was to create an emotionally engaging website that would be easy to navigate for users and even easier to maintain and update for Olympiaʼs content managers” carbonhouse Partner Brandon Lucas said. “It provides the flexibility needed to easily find events and information from a desktop computer or mobile device. We understand the venue business, the promotions business and the sports business and bring all areas of our expertise into each project to make our sites an integral part of our clientʼs marketing efforts.”
“From the onset, carbonhouse had an acute understanding of the venue business. They suggested best practices to fit our objectives while simultaneously ensuring that we had ownership of the final decisions,” said Craig Turnbull, Olympia’s Senior Vice President of Marketing and Communications.
Additionally, Olympia Entertainmentʼs new design enhances user experience with multimedia features, interactive maps and highlighted event listings on the venue page. Custom event categorization, contesting and Google mapping capabilities for all of the venues encourage user interaction. “We believe patrons will be ableto better navigate the website while they simultaneously enjoy the new, energetic experience weʼve created for them,” Lucas said.
KeyArena at the Seattle Center
Posted On: Feb 1, 2010
Author: carbonhouse
We are happy to announce with Seattle Center and AEG Facilities the launch of the first ever website exclusively dedicated to KeyArena, www.KeyArena.com. The website is set with the backdrop of the Seattle city skyline and designed as a full service portal for patrons, fans and visitors.
“We had two main goals in the design of the first ever site for KeyArena: first, to interact with the viewer and improve their ticket purchasing experience; and secondly, to build a user interface that is equal parts informative and entertaining,” stated Stevi Boskovich, Marketing Manager for AEG Facilities at KeyArena.
The newly launched website, www.KeyArena.com, is on the forefront of the industry with its new intimate website design, amenities and special features:
- On the Spot Interactive Seating
- Facebook Integration allowing website visitors to add and comment on events through their Facebook Profiles
- Quick updates of upcoming events and event news
- Virtual Video Library
- Contesting System to allow website visitors to win tickets to upcoming KeyArena events
- Easy-to-use navigation and compatibility with the latest web browsers and mobile devices
“Our goal was to create a site that represents the long history that KeyArena has as the home of sports and entertainment in Seattle,” stated James Sack, President, carbonhouse, inc.
Congratulations to KeyArena on the new site!
Raising The Bar: Professional Growth in a Down Economy
Posted On: May 1, 2009
Author: carbonhouse
Fuel Up
Every industry and profession in the world has conferences. If you are in a licensed profession then chances are that you have to attend conferences, classes, and seminars to maintain your certification. For the rest of us, a conference is a vital part of staying ahead of the curve.
A conference of any kind is only has good as you make it. A well-run conference will have an agenda that is timely, informative, and on topic with current trends and advancements. If you attend these sessions then you should walk away with new ideas that can not only help your company but will help you with your career advancement. If you feel like you are in a rut, then go to a conference and re-charge your creative batteries.
Networking
Networking is always a big part of any conference. It’s not just about hanging with friends and business partners. It’s about meeting new people. It’s about sharing ideas. When you have an opportunity to talk face-to-face you will find that many of your colleagues have the same issues. You have a relaxed setting to share these issues and ideas.
You could also use a conference to pitch new business and maintain current clients. If you plan accordingly you can “kill two birds with one stone”. You can save travel expenses by getting several face-to-face meetings at one conference.
EAMC 2009 at Colorado Springs
The Event and Arena Marketing Conference is coming up June 10th thru June 13th in Colorado Springs. carbonhouse is a sponsor of the conference. We sponsor this for two reasons: 1) we want to expose and market our product to this industry. 2) We want to learn as much as possible about the industry. We need to stay as up-to-speed as you do. We need to hear from our current clients and potential clients. We take this info back to the office where we can create new products that the event and entertainment industry needs to market in the 21st Century.
We hope you will join us at this year’s conference. We plan to be part of a panel session discussing online sales & marketing. We also will host a breakout presentation on what we can do for you. If you see us at the bar, tell us you read this blog and we will buy you a drink. Cheers!
Author: James Sack
Behind the Screen: Anatomy of a carbonhouse site
Posted On: Feb 20, 2009
Author: carbonhouse
The cobbler’s kids.
It is always a tough task creating a website for your own company. We do this all the time for our clients, but as a creative shop we always want to be…well…creative. After many iterations, we decided the KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid) approach was best. Get all the good stuff out and available and keep the fluff to a minimum. Really, the problem we were facing was not the look of the site, but the delivery of content.
With that in mind and a blank slate, simplicity became the main goal in the new direction for carbonhouse.com. Building off one of our product sites, venuelements.com, we wanted to keep it uncomplicated, clean and clear, and allow the work to speak for itself. We relied on the typography to create the space, but also improve usability, by providing quick access to all the pertinent information (the good stuff). Taking the single page site concept and amping it up, we used the mootools framework to dynamically deliver the content from our greenhouse content management system and create transitions that aren’t just fluff. These transitions ensure the correct flow of the content to the user and communicate our message.
Design
- Clean, uncluttered design to communicate and focus on work and let the interaction via javascript provide the ‘bling’ or motion
- Single-page format to allow visitors quick access to pertinent information and messaging
- Object-oriented approach to home page spotlight area that showcases recent projects in a less traditional, more unexpected way
- Utilization of sIFR (Scalable Inman Flash Replacement) to present titles and headers in Helvetica Neue Light, which offers a more sophisticated look than the standardized web font palette.
Technical (all the techy goodness)
- A degradable javascript navigation for users with javascript-disabled browsers allows the site to be navigated while also providing search engine-friendly standard hrefs for our links.
- We utilize AJAX calls with the mootools framework to load page content and project details from our greenhouse CMS, thus avoiding page reload.
Accessibility Benefits
Overall, there are a lot of different ways to handle navigation. By incorporating the degradable javascript within our navigation, we have reduced the possibility of viewers not seeing the site as intended, while increasing the ability of Google and other search engines to find our links.
Author: Taylor Nall
carbonhouse supports Facebook addiction
Posted On: Feb 6, 2009
Author: carbonhouse
carbonhouse, inc., the leader in digital marketing for sports, hospitality and entertainment, is helping venue websites easily partner with the popular world of social networking by integrating Facebook Connect right to their site. Utilizing the booming world of Facebook will allow venues the ability to automatically connect their events to millions of additional fans, send venue alerts to Facebook users and see other friends who will be attending the same event. In turn providing venues with additional marketing resources to sell more tickets. James Sack, carbonhouse Partner and Creative Director, “carbonhouse has added the option of Facebook Connect for our clients and is administered within carbonhouse’s greenhouse content management system for all events. As an administrator for your site, you will not need to learn or use another interface to enable your events to be shared on Facebook. Adding an event through greenhouse will automatically populate your site, as well as your company’s Facebook page. One quick step to reach millions of users.”
Statistics published on Facebook.com show more than 150 million active users and more than 3 billion minutes are spent on Facebook each day (worldwide) with the fastest growing demographic being 30 years and older. The average user has 100 friends on the site and more than 20 million pieces of content (web links, news stories, blog posts, notes, photos, etc.) are shared each month. <http://www.facebook.com/press/info.php?statistics>
Sometimes the Client Says Exactly What You Hope They Will Say!
Posted On: Oct 8, 2008
Author: carbonhouse
The elements that carbonhouse has brought to our new site are amazing.
Meegan Ditton, Marketing Director, AT&T Center
carbonhouse recently completed the new website for the AT&T Center in San Antonio. The venue is home to the NBA’s San Antonio Spurs, WNBA’s Silver Stars and the San Antonio Rampage hockey team.
The venue is beyond pleased with the new site. When asked about the overall take on the new AT&T Center website and its features, Marketing Director Megan Ditton replied, “The new AT&T Center website it out of this world! It is so easy to use and navigate and it has all of the assets that we were missing with our old website. The look is so crisp and fresh that it gives that “wow” factor when people open the page for the first time. Its features allow us to house so much information on our site and really interact with our viewers. It allows us to do promotions, blog, post videos and so much more. We are so happy with it and we know it will make a huge difference in our marketing efforts.”
The marketing team at AT&T Center wanted to take things a step further and create something special. “They wanted to leave a lasting impression on their clientele and captivate visitors,” said Brandon Lucas, Principal at carbonhouse. “So we created the Backstage Club feature.” The Backstage Club is a private area that AT&T Center customers can sign up for that allows them to get behind-the-scenes information on their favorite shows. This club will give them special offers, set lists, and photos and videos from the shows. Not to mention that the club will drive additional traffic to the site and create repeat visits due to the unique content. “We are very happy with the way that our Backstage Club has worked out. We are getting people signed up and it will really help add to our database,” said Ditton.
The reoccurring theme for venues choosing to work with carbonhouse is the ease of utilizing the Venuelements website platform. Ditton said, “The elements that carbonhouse has brought to our new site are amazing. It is so easy to go in and modify the site and make updates. It is also efficient that changes can be made from anywhere that you have internet access including a phone. We love that the site includes Google analytics and that it does such a great job showcasing our events and the building itself. We have always been impressed with the professionalism that carbonhouse has shown us in the time that they took to make sure our site was exactly what we wanted.”
“We have not visited an arena that had so many colors and things that caught your eye. We knew we were in San Antonio once we saw the southwestern themes and the festival flags. We would have done a disservice to the arena and community if these elements were not added to the look and feel,” said James Sack, carbonhouse Principal/Creative Director. Each building and city has its own unique qualities, especially San Antonio, known for Fiesta San Antonio, of the nation’s largest festivals. carbonhouse wanted to incorporate a bit of that character into the site, and the site visit made this clear. “When they came in for a site visit, they were very careful to take pictures of specific building elements that they later incorporated into the site. They were great about listening to our needs and working with us on every element”, explained Ditton.
“We are far from finished with the site. We are looking forward to launching an interactive seating chart in the near future,” said Sack.
When asked about making a recommendation Ditton simply states, “I would definitely recommend carbonhouse to other venues.”
Visit AT&T Center website at attcenter.com.
carbonhouse Launches New Site for Citizens Business Bank Arena
Posted On: Aug 8, 2008
Author: carbonhouse
carbonhouse has designed and developed a new website for Citizens Business Bank Arena in Ontario, California.
The site is built on carbonhouse’s Venuelements system, tailored exclusively for major event-driven facilities.
Hate Your Website? Tear It Down And Start Fresh!
Posted On: Jul 8, 2008
Author: carbonhouse
We have often wanted to take a sledgehammer or stick of dynamite to prospective clients’ websites (and no doubt they did, too).
Carhartt, maker of industrial strength clothing, has a new site design. In order to see it, first you get the chance to “blow up” their old design. From the rubble, the new design emerges. Clever! And it’s viral.
It sure beats the awful old practice of putting up an “under construction” page while a new site is being built (we’ve advised against that many times). Even if your current site is less than desirable, it’s better than no presence at all. Still, it’s fun to celebrate when you do take it down and launch fresh.
Getting Better Buzz: Generating Word-of-Mouth Marketing
Posted On: Jul 3, 2008
Author: carbonhouse
“PR plus word-of-mouth equals marketing’s new power couple.”
—Andrea C. Wojnicki, Rotman School of Management
One of the leading gurus of word-of-mouth marketing, Dave Balter of marketing firm BzzAgent, is out with a new book: The Word Of Mouth Manual, Volume II. The book, which costs $45 at Amazon, can also be downloaded for free in PDF format from a bunch of other smart marketers that Balter reached out to, including Todd Deffren of PR-Squared, Guy Kawasaki of Garage Technology Ventures and Jason Fried of 37 Signals. See the whole list of resources here.
Now a note of fair warning: I am a registered BzzAgent myself, and Dave sent me a free copy of the new book (along with a previous book he wrote) for signing up to help him promote the book. That’s smart—and that is just what BzzAgent does. Also, I haven’t read the book yet but eagerly look forward to it. Because let’s face it—everyone wants to generate better word-of-mouth marketing, but few really know what it is or how to go about it.
carbonhouse was fortunate to have one of Dave’s top notch colleagues, Joe Chernov (BzzAgent VP Communications), stop by our office recently. He was in town to give a talk to an PR group on the whole subject of WOM. The following are excerpts from Joe’s talk, which no doubt are expanded upon in Dave’s book.
“PR plus word-of-mouth equals marketing’s new power couple.”—Andrea C. Wojnicki, Rotman School of Management
First, WOM often gets confused with viral marketing. The key WOM rules, Joe said, are:
- Don’t sacrifice your brand for entertainment.
- Pick the right medium.
The medium is truly a significant issue. For example, with Consumer Generated Media (CGM), consumers will do what they want with your brand, and you might not like the results. Think about homemade YouTube ads, for instance. Be careful what you ask for.
When considering “buzz marketing” reminder first that it is typically an event designed to get people talking, like the time Oprah gave away a bunch of free cars. Unfortunately, that incident backfired (no pun intended), when sales at Pontiac (the giver) tanked, and the tax man bit the receivers, some of whom couldn’t afford the “free” car. Another buzz marketing example Joe cited was Starbucks closing most of its stores recently, for an afternoon, to retrain and invigorate its baristas. It made for some good press (“we care of our customers enough to close down and lose money” message), along with some lampooning on the flip side of the coin.
Another thing to keep in mind: “buzz” does not always translate into successful WOM. Sometimes buzz just creates a blip—like the examples above, which are essentially “PR stunts.”
Shilling is an evil cousin of buzz marketing, and to be avoided at all costs. If you’re lying, tricking, hiding, cheating or misleading—you’re shilling and setting yourself up for potential disaster.
WOM, on the other hand, is about sharing honest opinions between two or more people. WOM is ALWAYS open, honest and authentic and NEVER scripted, paid for or stealthy.
According to Joe (via Media Edge stats), 76% of purchasing decisions come from WOM. Therefore, it’s critical to understand it, plan for it and implement it well.
So what are some tips to doing WOM the right way, from the BzzAgent playbook? Here are just a few nuggets that make me anxious to dive into Dave’s book for deeper insights.
- Be outlandish. An example can be an ad campaign that is a little shocking or at least thought-provoking.
- Help tell stories. People respond to messages that resonate with the “running autobiography” of their lives.
- Listen. Listen first, then respond to, your customers.
- Polarize. Embrace differing opinions and encourage debate and dialogue.
- Impose rationing. In other words, scarity can be a good thing. It drives up intrigue, interest and demand.
- Create experiences. Birds of a feather indeed flock together, so figure out how to facilitate memorable interactions.
- Use WOM as media. This is the BzzAgent model, where they have over 400,000 people willing to evangelize for their customers’ products or services—saying whatever they really think (good, bad or indifferent)—but spreading the word nonetheless.
Fireworks tip: When logos go bad
Posted On: Jun 27, 2008
Author: carbonhouse
Any creative shop, large or small, will understand what happens when you ask a client to supply a Vector or EPS logo for a project. You inevitably receive a JPEG version at 72 dpi, ripped from their website or a partner’s site. This happens too many times to count. Since most of our focus at carbonhouse is web-related, we can generally address these bitmap messes and make them work. But what happens when you need to place the logo on a dark background and the supplied logo is stuck to a white ground? There are many different hacks to achieve a workable end product—some of which are more successful than others. I wanted to share an Adobe Fireworks tip that can make it easier to work with logos on dark backgrounds.
Remember, this is an Adobe Fireworks-only tip.
Step 1
Obtain said nasty JPG logo from the web site or client. In this case we will use the Lex Mundi logo.
Step 2
Place logo on the dark background in your layout
Step 3
Turn the logo into grayscale. Either adjust Hue/Saturation under Filters or convert to grayscale (Menu> Commands > Creative> Convert to Grayscale)
Step 4
Invert the logo (Filters> Adjust Color> Invert)
Step 5
Add a color fill (Filters> Adjust Color> Color Fill) and in the Color Fill Dialog box adjust the Blending Mode to Color Dodge. Adjust levels as needed for clarity.
Step 6
Choose the background color as the ground in the logo in the Blending Mode dialog box
That’s it. Hopefully you will receive a vector logo, but this will help when in a bind.