News Alert: ING DIRECT Canada names Dashboard as interactive agency of record

Dashboard, a Toronto-based interactive agency, today announced its appointment by ING DIRECT Canada as interactive agency of record. Dashboard will provide strategic and creative interactive services to ING DIRECT. Dashboard will work to support the overall business, strategy, marketing and advertising objectives.

“With a proven track record and in-depth knowledge of our industry, Dashboard, is a valuable asset and a welcome addition to our team. Dashboard brings expert resources and strategic thinking to our business,” said Mark Nicholson, Head of Online Experience, ING DIRECT Canada. “We needed a partner who knows digital inside and out and Dashboard’s expertise is evident in our daily interactions with them. We’ve already begun working together on several campaigns and the partnership is certainly meeting our expectations.”

Since its Canadian inception, ING DIRECT has been a strong player in the digital space. For over 13 years, they have operated and marketed as a direct bank. A partnership with Dashboard, will further ING DIRECT Canada’s interactive initiatives. With big news for the bank on the horizon, both teams have already begun working.

“We are thrilled to add ING DIRECT to our growing roster of excellent clients,” said Daryl Aitken, President, Dashboard. “ING DIRECT was one of the first digital marketers in Canada, essentially digital veterans, so they are ready to go to the next tier of digital presence that Dashboard delivers on time and time again. Our team is already at work doing smart and innovative work.”

Click here to see the original news release

Free-Run Wins Site Of The Day

Today Hellmann’s Run For Real Food was awarded Design Lick’s Site Of The Day. So who are Design Licks? Well they’re a creative web award website that rewards the most beautiful, creative, user-friendly, innovative and well-designed websites around the world.

Thank you Design Licks. Our Hens are too busy training, so they weren’t available for comment. But there were high-fives all around when we told them the news. Way to go Dashboard! And if you haven’t coached a hen yet, seriously, what are you waiting for?

Talking Shop with RedCanary – Interactive Leaders Q&A

I was recently asked by the people behind RedCanary to answer a few questions for part of their blog called “Shop Talk” 

A few of us talked about these subjects before I submitted my answers so it’s worth sharing our responses here.  Please check out the Red Canary blog to see how a couple of other digital agency heads felt about the same subject.

What drove you to start or join your company and what has made you successful?

I joined Dashboard as a partner about 2 ½ years ago.  I had reconnected with Barry Hillier (the founder of Dashboard) on Facebook after not seeing him for about 10 years.  Barry had started this fantastic shop and was looking for a partner to help get it to the next stage.  I was smitten from my first introduction.  Dashboard is a mosaic of the most creative, innovative, and ingenious people I’ve ever had the pleasure of working with.  I feel lucky every day to be part of this team, they’ve raised my game.

I think the main reason we’re successful is our collaboration, both with the Client and internally across the team.  We’re very integrated and push each other to drive the thinking as far as we can and most of our Clients want that kind of relationship.  We are all very serious about the quality of the user experience and getting a Wow.

Buzz words like “New Media” and “Digital” are getting old.  What would you call a bundle that includes Social Marketing, Video, and ON-line and Mobile?

I’ve resisted trying to define new channels, I don’t think that kind of terminology helps. It might even be a trap into old styles of silo media thinking.  We think more in terms of engagement.  What we know for sure is that consumers are in the driver’s seat more than ever.  They’re increasingly nomadic, choosing where and how to get their news and information, and they’re contributing to the conversation about brands.  We need to know where and how to create the most compelling experience to advance our Client’s objectives and that can easily change from one season to the next.

Our mantra is “Powerful Engagement for Powerful Consumers”.   That’s the best definition of what we do.

How do you see your company’s approach to branding evolving, and what does that mean to your clients?

Our strategic approach to brands has two imperatives.  No matter what else we’re doing, we pursue brand immersion and we pursue brand interaction.   We like to surround the consumer with the brand by making them feel part of it and we like to get them to act or respond in a meaningful way.  There is a lot more to it, but fundamentally, that’s what we’re doing for brands.

What traits do you look for in new Clients?

Our best Clients are the ones with the highest standards, and the highest regard for their consumers.  We get along great with them.

What are the challenges of managing partnerships with traditional agencies and delivering your interactive services to the client?

We have worked with a lot of agencies.  Most we love, some we don’t.  If they bring us in early, respect what we bring to the table and collaborate, we do great work and everyone has a good time.  I’m happy to say that these relationships are not hard to find.

Agencies win awards for their interactive look and feel, but clients are driven by ROI.  What KPIs matter to you?

I don’t see a discrepancy between our goals and our Clients.  What matters to us is doing great work that rewards the consumer and advances the Client’s objectives.  You can’t drive ROI by boring consumers or treating them without respect, but if you ignore the goals of the brand, you’re just being irresponsible.

What are your thoughts on the future of video and mobile (and their successes) as a branding vehicle?

Both are really means to an end.  They can be amazing tools for engagement and creating that immersive brand experience.  Both can profoundly impact the way we reach out to and recruit consumers.  The challenge in Canada is that the mobile marketplace isn’t priced or regulated to facilitate the kind of usage we see in other countries.  We’d love to see that change.

Deflate The Elephant takes home a Strategy Cause+Action Award

We’d like to take this opportunity to congratulate the Responsible Drinking team at the LCBO and our great partners at Due North Communications for the recent win in Strategy Magazines Cause+Action awards. The issue is available now, and you can check out the article online here.

From the Judges:

“They really went for a showstopper. They used a big symbol to demonstrate the point. It is very well done and makes the consumer feel better about stopping a friend from driving [drunk].”

We were very fortunate and proud to work on such a great campaign with great clients and partners. Great work everyone!

Seeing 3-D

The first 3-D movie I can remember seeing was Michael Jackson’s Captain Eo at Epcot Center. I really can’t recall if it was cool. I have distant memories of Michael and a fuzzy creature, but none of the effects. Course, after seeing Avatar, all 3-D films before have lost all meaning. Say what you will about the plot, but the picture was incredible. Even though it didn’t win an Oscar, 3-D is officially king and it’s even found a place in the rave world.

At Glastonbury, throngs of people dance in silence while 3-D images of Ghost Busters and Mr. T fly at them. Why silent? Well they’re dancing with headphones on. Can’t say I really get this. I guess it’s an immerse experience and there’s no noise complaints. I won’t properly knock it until I’ve tried it. But the 3-D projections, now that’s cool.

Often at clubs, they project lame images on digital boards surrounding the floor. Things like, girls dancing, monkeys scratching themselves, a porcelain cup shattering over and over. Artsy BS. But toss in the 3-D element and for me the experience has totally improved. With more and more 3-D popping up, we’ll have to start carrying the glasses around with us at all times. That means digital boards on street corners, at the hockey game and even in Tim Hortons can entertain us with more dimension. Image, waiting for a double-double while a flurry of Tim Bits fly past. You’d want to catch them with your mouth. Strap on a pair of headphones and you are at your very own silent rave.

To see it in action, watch this BBC clip.

They Put Their Money Where Their Mouth Is

Back in late 2009 I had a group of creatives and developers in our boardroom working on our annual digital planning deck for the Ontario Toyota Dealers Association.

As we poured through numerous ideas, different media and social media exercises our developers commented “for all of these ideas to work we need to rebuild their website”. The team went one further, “if the Dealers would agree on a new site build we could ensure a better user experience and an agile enough website to adapt with constant retail changes”.
Our client loved their existing site and their peers also frequently commented on how it was one of the industry’s best. Why would they want to spend the dollars necessary to rebuild a website when they had a strong property live and doing the job it was intended for?

Here was our “WHY” list:

• The site was 4 years old and designed for/developed completely in Flash
• Our “container” kept our on-screen working area very limited
• We felt users needed too many clicks to reach their desired content
• We could dramatically improve our SEO with better code and development practises
• We wanted to better utilize our new CMS tools and found that trying to synch new technologies to older sites posed their own new batch of problems
• On any given month our clients retail program could dramatically change from the last – we needed a site which would allow us be as agile as possible
• The site could no longer maintain our strategic digital vision for the client

Our creative & development teams took up the challenge in earnest. They put an action plan together that not only answered the “WHY’s” but created excellent wireframes, visuals and site architecture to support our case. Based on that work at the beginning of January the Dealers unanimously approved the site redesign. The presentation wasn’t just a slick song and dance to get the room raving, we moved slowly through the “WHY’s” – demonstrating how the new site could fulfill their tactical needs while growing and adapting to best practises in code and design.

We launched Phase 1 of that new site yesterday. Phase 2 is right around the corner

During the build I saw not only the internal teams at Dashboard take ownership and pride in this project but our client as well. I have seen large projects derail very quickly in the past, lose their primary focus and go off on wild tangents that leave clients and agencies frustrated. I’m proud to say we delivered Phase 1 on time and on budget but most of all I’m proud of the individuals who stepped up and delivered exactly what they set out to do.

They put their money where their mouth is.

The ad is dead. Long live viral.

In 1984 an ad changed the game. Now in 2010, an ad has once again changed the game, or rather ended it. This week, Saatchi released a viral ad proclaiming the fall of advertising. We all knew advertising’s days were numbered, well everyone except advertising agencies. This viral video told it like it is: Agencies denying the rise of interactive, excessive assing around, creative clinging to the TV ad as the end-all-and-be-all and ignoring clients when they pleaded for interactive ideas. A pretty gutsy move for an advertising agency, who I assume has embraced the digital revolution (we shall see). Aside from being a virtual slap in the face, this spot affirmed my belief in the power of viral messaging.

In California right now, viral is running the Senate election. Smear campaigns have taken on a whole new meaning, as candidates battle it out with bizarre attack ads on YouTube. A woman with a giant head, a man dressed as a demon sheep – these things are weird, and cost a fraction of a fancy spot. And they’ve got people talking.

As traditional advertising morphs into its next phase, viral spots like these wacky political ads, continue to rein supreme. It’s nothing new, but it sure is exciting for us on the digital side. To those who made the leap long before digital was cool, it’s exciting to see the shift in power and respect.

Atlantic Lottery Delivers Richer Moments Online

Congratulations to our partners at Atlantic Lottery Corporation who launched their new brand website, www.alc.ca, today!

ALC is a leading-edge gaming organization, headquartered in Moncton, New Brunswick.  They are driven by an incredibly strong, innovative interactive team, led by Bob Rybak, Michael Sandalis and Claire Seguin of the Digital Gaming Group (DiGG).

Early in 2009, ALC enlisted Dashboard’s assistance to develop a digital strategy demonstrating the revitalization of all of ALC’s online channels, including alc.ca, PlaySphere.ca and RedShores.ca, along with the enhancement of their loyalty and account management systems.   The “Digital 21” strategy will be rolled out over the next few years, along with the introduction of several new and exciting gaming platforms.

The launch of the redesigned and rebuilt alc.ca represents completion of their first major strategic milestone. Dashboard collaborated with Mike and Claire to complete the site design. HTML and back-end development was completed by New Brunswick-based T4G.

User experience was considered throughout the design and development phases, focusing on delivering key information, such as lotto jackpot alerts, winning numbers and key promotional messaging in a clear, concise, easy-to-navigate format.  Internal ALC brand teams were provided the opportunity to customize product pages with various cross-promotional banner advertisements in order to create a truly unique brand experience.

The new alc.ca showcases Atlantic Lottery’s commitment to delivering “Richer Moments” to Atlantic Canadians.  The brand messaging focuses both on the many exciting opportunities to win offered by Atlantic Lottery products and on the many ways in which Atlantic Lottery gives back to communities – with 100% of profits going back to the Atlantic Provinces.  Atlantic Lottery’s commitment to responsible gaming is also featured prominently throughout the site.

We look forward to more “Richer Moments” ahead with our terrific Atlantic Lottery partners.

Tag a Heart Update: Todd Lawson donates $1,000

Todd Lawson donates $1,000 to World Vision through Tag a Heart

A quick update that Todd Lawson reached his goal of 500 tags in his Tag a Heart for Haiti initiative. Todd contributed $500 and Dashboard matched it for a $1,000 contribution to World Vision. With the Canadian Government matching that contribution, a total of $2,000 was raised by Todd for Haiti.