Yesterday was one of the most exciting days for the folks who work in television, The Emmys.  There were some big winners like the “Mad Men” folks and of cours some disappointments like in every award show.

This week, we looked into more details on how TV stations handle the websites for their star shows. The challenge for most of these websites is to  build a unique site within the TV stations main site.

Here are some of our favorite examples:

1-Mad Men:

Mad Men became an instant classic since its debut about four years ago. The show is about the folks in advertising  in the 1960s. Mad Men was a term coined in the late 1950’s to describe the advertising executives of Madison Avenue. The website is very interactive and fun. It lets the audience to get more involved. They have an iPhone application and a fun game that allows people to turn themselves into an animated version of their favorite Mad Men character.

2-Dexter

Dexter is a TV show on Showtime about a forensics scientist by day, and a serial murderer by night. What sets him apart is that he’s a serial murderer of OTHER serial murderers. So he’s the good  guy of the story. Based on the book series by Jeff Lindsey. Very strange, but well-written. The website is one of the most unique TV show websites.

3- The Simpsons

A highly influential, animated television sitcom. First aired in late 1989; originated as a recurring animated skit on the Tracey Ullman show, created by Matt Groening. The website is as fun as the show. Very colorful and entertaining. The site has a Trivia link for dedicated viewers.

4-True Blood

HBO series written by Alan ball – based on the sookie stack house / southern vampire series by Charlaine Harris. With all the recent interest in vampires (thanks to the Twilight series) this show was able to be an instant success. The website is dark (just like the  show) and mostly focused on introducing new characters.

5-Sponge Bob, Square Pants

A cartoon character on Nickelodeon. He is a yellow, square-shaped, friendly sponge who works at the Krusty Krab. He lives in a pineapple under the sea. This a great example how Networks handle the websites for younger audience. The website is full of games and other interactive functions.

You’ve seen our list of top five TV show websites.  Now we want to know yours.  Please comment with your top five.

It’s Monday morning, and we’re all drinking coffee getting ready for another productive week at OTW.  This got us wondering about what the best coffee websites are out there.  After some digging, here are the finalists, chosen by our designers.  What are your favorite coffee websites?  We want to know!

The Scene.

Advertising agency meets with client. Client is looking to build customer base, brand awareness and sales. Client is tired of traditional marketing programs. Client has heard of new “tactics” such as social media. Client has heard about successes for some companies that have adapted social media. Client is slightly interested in learning more about social media options. Agency is excited to share new social media opportunities with client. Agency is armed with success stories and strategies. Agency mentions “Facebook” and “Twitter.” Client’s eyes start to glaze over. Client doesn’t think they are “ready for this.” Client is not sure their customers use social media yet. The conversation comes to an end.

Clients … WAKE UP! If Facebook was a country, it would be the fourth largest in the world. Twitter is the fastest growing form of social media out there. Your customers ARE engaging in some type of social media. It is you who is lagging behind.

Facebook may not bring in thousands of leads right away and Twitter may take time to show a return for you, but you need to face the facts. There is no “one hit wonder” out there. Today’s marketing success stories are about companies that take a good look at their goals and their target audience to find mediums that will touch these folks.

“We tell our clients all the time, it’s the way you put the puzzle together that makes all the difference,” said Cindy Hale, president of OTW Advertising.  “There are many ways to tackle a social media program and the individual elements all work synergistically to create a cohesive and strong one.”

To truly connect with customers and position your brand as an industry leader via social media, Hale said a company must strike a healthy balance of posting interesting and relevant content and promoting the product or service.

“Don’t just blast out there,” she said.  “Think about what your messaging strategy should be and make a plan. Mix up the promotional messaging with real information that is of interest to your fans. We all get tired of seeing the ‘sale on today’ or ‘get to our bootcamp class.’ What we don’t tire of is real information that is helpful and interesting to us. When you mix this in with the ‘salesy’ type info, then it is well received.”

Social media users adopters are growing daily and frequently engage with their favorite brands. Active social media users (folks who are active on at least one social media network) say they interact with company’s social media networks in various ways, including:

47% say they have posted a comment on a company’s Facebook page.
41% have read company blogs.
32% have posted a comment about a company or product on their own Facebook page.
17% have sent brand-related tweets on Twitter.
(SOURCE: Invoke Solutions, July 2010)

The time is now to get in the game with social media. Take stock of your goals and sit down with a social media expert and let the games begin. If you would like to discuss how to enhance the social media platform for your brand, give us a call.