It's been awhile...whoops.

Since I haven't posted anything recently...

Here's just a few sites that I thought were kind of cool.

Contrast – this site is super simple and I just personally liked it. Nothing too special.

Ed Peixoto – nice navigation

SeymourPowell – kind of different navigation

Marius Roosendaal's portfolio site – i like the way this guy has his little thumbs of his site layouts

Another website idea...

LJ brought this to my attention. RPA.com -- not sure I really like it cuz I don't get where I "am" in the space, but it's an interesting idea.

Here's a quick one...

Haven't really been searching around that much lately, but I did stumble onto a site that it's navigation was kinda cool.

No idea what this site is about but here's a link.

Original

...most original artist I've seen in a while.

www.kuksi.com

2009 F-150 Ads

I've seen a few new ads for the 2009 Ford F-150 on TV recently. Tonight I saw one again and it reminded me to see if I can find them on YouTube. Found 2 different ones and I thought I would share them.

This style/use of typography I have see a lot recently and thought it was nicely done. Check them out.

1. Way of Life

2. Crazy Smart

It's Friday B.

Today, I'm just posting a bunch of randomness.

We have had the idea for creating a "world" for some of our games. I think I found a pretty cool example of a different way we could do it. Check it out. This site is for the WWF Brazil, kinda weird - I know... But it's pretty sweet looking!

Next up - Cobra Creative. I stumbled onto this site and thought it was really creepy. They did an awesome job with it though. It takes forever to load, but it's worth the wait. The loader is probably the worst part. The eye follows your cursor (maybe we can use this for something?)

Alright, here's another one...

I stumbled on this agency called the Barbarian Group. They have some nice work if you want to check them out. But anyways, I thought this one had some value to us - so I decided to show it instead of some of their other pieces.

It's an installation for Wired Magazine's NextFest. It was done in 2006, but it's still pretty sweet. Take a look - NextFest Grass Wall. The purpose of the installation was to promote Saturn's hybrid cars. Scroll through the link and check out the photos.

Yum, Coke...

I probably surf the internet way too much. It's almost an unhealthy habit... but in my searches I have found a lot of interesting websites, blogs, whatever.

So, starting today - I will share some of those finds. Feel free to comment on them and keep coming back for other random posts. If anyone else finds anything awesome, post it as well!

First up - Coca-Cola Happiness Factory. Pretty fun site, there's games and videos to watch. A good time waster. Plus, it's a finalist in the 2008 MAX Awards that Adobe puts out. Take a look!

Let's see if this works...

[For Scott's Review]

Here's the video...

Fun Words. Fun WITH Words.

I just ran across this list of brainstorming tools that can open up unexpected possibilities. And, what's more, they're really cool words to try and remember. I'll be lucky if I can keep any of 'em in my head for longer than a couple days!

Antanaclasis - repeating a single word, but with a different meaning each time ("If you aren't fired with enthusiasm, you will be fired with enthusiasm.")

Paronomasia - using a word with a different sense or with a change in letter or sound ("A pun is its own reword.")

Alliteration - a series of words that begin with the same letter or that sound alike (Steak 'n Shake)

Heteronyms - words that are spelled the same but with different pronunciations ("Live in Arizona. Don't desert the desert.")

Tmesis - division of the elements of a compound word ("Fan-bloody-tastic")

Antithesis - juxtaposition of two ideas that oppose or contradict each other ("In the battle, you'll tremble.")

Assonance - like alliteration, only specifically concerning the repetition of certain vowel sounds ("It's hot and monotonous.")

It's Never "Not My Job"

I've been reminded recently of how important it is to take the initiative and make things happen.

There was this one time I was working on a project in which no one was rising up to take the lead and move it forward. At first I took the easy way out: "It's not technically my job, so I'll let someone else do it." Bad idea. I paid the consequences for NOT taking initiative. Then I (re)learned my lesson and decided to rise up and take initiative, myself. Results: project moved forward and I was thanked for going above and beyond to help get it "there."

Now there's different possible results that will come from taking initiative:

1) You move things forward successfully and reap the rewards. Could be things like praise from supervisors/teammates, feeling of satisfaction, raise, promotion, whatever.

2) You move things, but in the wrong direction, and have to pay the consequences for poor judgement. I, personally, don't think it's ever poor judgement to take initiative. But the poor judgement may be bad decisions about how, when, why, where to move things forward. So yes, they're moved...but in the wrong direction, and to the wrong place. The consequence you have to face in that situation is "course-correction" which almost always involves extra time and effort to get back on-track. Ideally, in this situation, your supervisor recognizes that you were trying valiantly but your inexperience or lack of knowledge about this project kept you from taking it in the right direction. Hopefully he/she will praise your effort, and help educate you so you make the right directional decisions next time.

So what's my conclusion? Personally, if I see something that needs to get done, I get up out of my seat and make it happen. If I don't know how to make it happen, I raise my hand and say, "Hey, I'd be willing to lead that charge cuz I see this needs to get done, but could someone please give me some guidance on how to make the best decisions along the way?"

Make it happen, baby. That's the "street" way of saying all this...

Kacha Gets Crazy

Posting to the blog? Not just commenting? Wow, the possibilities are endless...

Scion Game List:

Here's what we came up with. We'll probably end up picking one option for each category.

Overall Theme / Treatment:
We'll have a simple overhead drive that holds all of the games — each of them in their own "neighborhood" or "building — Like in Grand Theft Auto — "Liberty City." Games will unlock as they become available, earn enough points, or complete tasks / games

Product Games:
1. "Built It" — The user will learn tC's key features as they build one from the ground up. "Learn as you try" approach." Theme ideas:
— Go back in time to the tC design shop in Japan and build (Cool Magna type feel)
— Walk around through the city until you collect all of the key features for building a tC. After that, you will drive the vehicle

2. "Stand & Deliver" — Create a virtual walkaround of a vehicle to match an individual's or a crowd. Probably an urban parking lot / car show environment. Crowd applauds for good walkarounds — boos for bad or incorrect ones

Comp / Comp Games:
1. Trash Talk — Person drives up in a competitor's car and starts banging their chest (figuratively) about their vehicle while ripping on the Scion. With each claim from the driver, the user overcomes it with a WordTrack

2. Drag Race — User fuels up their tC with competitive advantages WordTracks and races it against the competition

3. Power Up — Pac Man inspired. A small tC get's chased around a game screen by large competitors. As tC consumes product advantages it grows, until it's large enough to consume the competitor

Accessories:
1. Custom Shop / Parts Counter — Customer identifies accessorizing goals and the user equips the vehicle to meet their wants / needs. The calculate the costs, the customer freaks about the price, user reconfigures to meet monthly payment requirement

Scion 101 (Selling Scion Value)
1. Cash Roll (Cab). Friends rolling around in a Scion with the user asks the user questions about Scion. Just like in Cash Cab they'll have shout outs to help them on tough questions. Win by persuading passengers that Scion is the right brand for them

2. Discover Scion. User walks around a city / dealership / warehouse and collects key elements of the Scion Brand.


So, which ones do you like most?

Scion — Game On!

Scion Mini Games — need I say more?

Two weeks ago Scion came to us with a new mission — "Bring tC top-of-mind with Scion salespeople and remind them how great of a vehicle it is." With the launch of xB and xD, the aging (yet still very cool) tC has lost a bit of its luster on the sales floor. To complicate the situation... the competition has launched exciting new vehicles while tC has remained essentially unchanged. I'm currently working on a full campaign to address the issue — feel free to drop by and take a look at the white board by my office and check it out — a key element is a full compliment of Scion mini games.

Mini Game Basics:
• 5-Minute Max Gameplay
• Fun, Fast, Over the Top Scion Attitude
• Roll out for tC first, then adapt for the full lineup
• Current Game Subjects:
— Product (Know your stuff)
— vs. Competitor #1
— vs. Competitor #2
— vs. Competitor #3
— Accessories
— Scion 101 (Refresher and for New Hires)

So, here's what I need help with:

1. What else do you think Scion tC salespeople need to know (Subject)
2. What kinds of games? Concept? Visual? Play?

Please drop your ideas here, or / and bring them to the 1PM brainstorm.

Thanks for your help.

PS. Look for this blog to get locked down soon — probably later today. So PLEASE be sure to register for this blog if you haven't already. Otherwise you'll probably get locked out. And, it's going to be a hassle for me to get you back in.

Have a great day,

Matt

Client LOVED The Themes — Thanks!

Hi Folks,
Thanks for weighing in. Welp, the Clients followed in line with your voting and selected The Legends Reborn. They also took The Dream Driveway, Dream Machines (new) and the Declaration of Dominance with them.

BTW. Our new style guide for Dodge Themes is: If Mohammed Ali wouldn't say it, it can't be a Dodge theme :).

Ram / Challenger Tour Themes

Themes are always fun AND tough. Hey could you do Kacha and I a favor and weigh in on the following theme concepts? We need to pitch the top three or four to the Chrysler client tomorrow morning. Also, if you have a new theme to throw into the mix, please do. Please comment by 3:30 ET. If you haven't participated in the Blog yet — Here's your chance!

Here goes (In no particular order):

Brains & Brawn

Don’t Look Back

Dream Driveway

More Than Power

Power to the Pavement

Out-Tough, Out-Smart

More than Muscle

The Declaration of Dominance

American Truck, American Muscle

One-Two Punch

Hang-On & Haul

Ain’t No Comeback

The Brains… The Brawn… The Brand

Shock and Awe

The Legends Reborn

Hammer Down

Old School… New Rules

Wiki Experiment

Hi Folks, 

Hey, for Scion we're experimenting on whether or not Wikis would be a good informal training tool for their retail guys. So... I set one up. Please take a look and try and make a contribution -- even if it's just a stab in the dark. I want us all to understand how they work, edit each other's posts... so we can see if there's an application for our clients.

From only dabbling a bit I KNOW there are applications for ES3. 

Here's a link that will help get you there: http://kleintastic.wikispaces.com/ES3+Wiki+Applications

Cell Casting Versus Pod Casting

I learned a bit about a new move towards m-learning (m=mobile) or "Cell Casting." Currently the technology allows us to send an audio or text-based message to phones and allow participants to respond by keying in multiple-choice responses. 

So what are you're thoughts? 

What are the possible applications and benefits for our business?

How could it be incorporated into current or future projects? 

Turning the Corner

So, we've taken a look back at the things that stick with us -- and took a stab at the whys. Now think of the business that's currently on the books: Ram, Tundra Skills, Borrego, Workshops... Think of one specific example of how to apply your own sticky experience to a piece of existing work. Ideas?

Building & Pulling the Triggers

You know it better than any — we cover a lot of ground in our training events and materials. Unfortunately it's the nature of a new vehicle launch — there's just a lot of stories to learn. In response you've probably seen us attempt to distill a brand new vehicle into Top 5 and Top 10 lists. The thought is if we emphasize and reemphasize a small group of features that our participants will leave with "something" — and the most important "something" — that they will remember when they return to the dealership. While I think we've been successful with the focused approach, I wonder if there's a better way — a way that will allow us to make more information stick and make recall easier. Well, here's a kernel of an idea that i'd like to bat around with you...

What if retention was more about triggering memories than traditional "rinse and repeat" memorization of a small number of features? You probably remember Pneumonic Devices from Psych 101. In essence, they are images, associations, word pictures, stories, activities that help us remember important information. 

Here's a borderline example of how this works from my World Civ II final 12 years ago — the Huguenots. Instead of saying over and over "the Huguenots were a French Protestant group established in the 1500's by John Calvin." I made a little picture in my head. First I looked at the word "Huguenots" — looks a bit like "Huge Nots" doesn't it? Second I thought about what I knew about the French. As a 19-year old all I could think of was that French women didn't shave their arm pits — or so I was told. So, my picture was of a french woman with huge nots in her armpits. I know, not a pretty sight. But I bet that you will never forget that the Huguenots were French. Right?

Studies show that stories and senses make great memory joggers. And, if you use them right, a learner can take home 5 to 10 times more information than with traditional methods — a Top 50 list? Maybe. 

Chime in: Think about your role in the creative process. How can you infuse triggers into what you create. Could we use things that salespeople see every day as triggers to help them remember? What could that be like?...

Ram Tour Theme...

Welp, as you probably already heard... we won the 2009 Dodge Ram Truck Launch Event. We've filled up the white board with theme ideas twice now but nothing's a unanimous winner. Got any ideas. The theme should:

• Be short and to the point

• Have lots of Ram attitude -- "Ram this!" "Bring it on!" Those types of themes aren't out of bounds

• Consider paying off that Ram is still a tough truck, but now has higher level of quality, refinement and technology...

That's all I can think of off the top of my head. Feel free to peek at the brainstorm area white board to see what we have so far. 

Click "Comment" to chime in...

What sticks with you?

Alright, time to rack your brain...

Throughout our lives people have attempted to teach us stuff — some things stick... other things don't. So, let's take a swing at compiling a list of teaching techniques that were effective on us:

First: Think of 1-3 things you were taught that really stuck with you . They could be trivial — "the state birds for all 50 states" or they could be serious "The compression-to-breath ratio when performing CPR." — Or your significant other's birthday / anniversary.  

Next: Why do you think it stuck? Was there a particular technique the teacher used? Were there sensory experiences that went along with it? Was there an emotion or urgency attached with it? Did you figure it out yourself?...

Comment Away!!!

Welcome to ZipStick!

Welcome, ZipStick is a place for ES3 Staffers to interact with, and share new ideas. Not a whole lot of rules, just one request — please participate! It doesn't have to take long — 10, 15, 20 minutes a day. I suggest taking a look as lunch approaches then again before checking out for the night. 

For me, my primary focus will be to offer up brief instructional design / technology bites for you to examine, think through, comment on, and integrate into your thought process during brainstorming and development stages. I'm expecting that these seeds will grow into great things once you add in your creative genius. 

For you, post whatever you want. Got an idea for an outside creative project you want someone's bounce on? Bring it on! Something cool happening in the community? Run into a cool technology? Tell us about it. Want feedback on a work-related design or concept you're working on? Post it. Honestly, we can make this thing whatever you want. 

The name... well, if you weren't a child in the '70's you might have to Google it. A ZipStick is a flexible plastic rip cord you insert into a toy car, truck, motorcycle, then give it a yank to launch the the vehicle across the room. Bottom line: it's a fun device that makes cars move — which is sort of what we do here. We create stuff that make cars move off dealer lots.