It was a fun and relaxed presentation, and we found the Capital Factory participants to be full of courage, energy and good ideas. These folks are hungry and ready to make a difference.

Here’s the presentation for your review:

Please check out The Capital Factory start ups – you’ll soon be hearing more from these folks:

Cubit Planning
Sparefoot
Hourville
PetsMD

Hal Measley, the Founder and President, had a smart idea for an in-browser audio class (the previous version relied on CPU-based players). Our initial assignment was to re-design and incorporate the new player. But we had some additional ideas we thought NLF would like.

For instance, we created a new product page design that uses best-in-class eCommerce tactics for easy purchase and sharing. We also refined the checkout process to make it more seamless. You’ll note a refined brand presence, too.

Our new design focuses on benefits first and includes an incredible amount of keywords for effective SEO.

The previous design worked hard but appeared dated.

We’d like to give special thanks to our everyday client contacts, Marcia Sholl and Sue Odenburg, for making the wesbite a true collaboration.

Around 240,000 people will benefit from the most recent Annual Appeal from World Bicycle Relief. If you don’t know them, WBR is a smart and well-run non-profit that provides sustainable transportation to help people go farther, carry more and cut their travel time considerably.

You can see our full case study here.

A lot of hard work and strategy went into this endeavor – a true team effort between Stalelife and the Communications and Development groups at WBR. Our approach was integrated with old and new tactics, and the results will make us stronger for years to come.

In the end, we surpassed initial goals by 25%, raised the total donation amount and nearly doubled the amount of advocates on the WBR lists. But most important, we helped the group that helps so many. And that feels good.

If you live in the live music capital of the world, you may have seen these OOH and Banner ads:

A couple people we polled wondered if the Dallas Stars were moving to the ATX – keeping the same name as the NHL team will lead to that confusion. But this is an all new AHL team – the “farm” system for the big boys.

We immediately wondered about the campaign – who are they trying to attract – the rock concert crowd?  They do mix with true hockey fans – after all, we’re fans of both.

But would it be better to appeal to the people who love hockey, first? Generate a buzz with die hard fans of the sport by showing players scoring or blocking shots? Or even have the stick blade point in the same direction for the ads? (hockey fans/players notice these things)

Either way, glad The Texas Stars are coming to town. We might have to get some corporate seats (and maybe even make an appeal to the marketing director).

Joe: “Kurt, check this out, someone dropped a wallet.”

Kurt: “No way, is there an ID?”

Sure enough, there was an ID. And money. And a gift card. Not to mention a dry cleaning receipt, a business card and a map. All of which pointed straight to Burger King.

See the wallet was a guerilla tactic for the new Reverse Pickpocket Campaign. We actually found The King’s wallet.

We laughed and looked for a camera (like the Whopper Freakout campaign), then tucked the wallet in our pockets to show the clients. It was a very apropos find.

Kudos to you, Crispin Porter + Bogusky for turning the dial a little farther. And if you were one of the 5,000 wallet-finders in Chicago, be happy that you got to be part of a great experiment. Spend that cash and gift cards, so more marketers will take advantage of alternative media.

Some iPhone images:

One of our favorite partners frowarded this video to our attention. It was created by Geert Desager, a Marketing Manager with Microsoft.

All too often we only know our consumers as statistics on a spreadsheet. When, in fact, the new idealism found in pace-setting companies is all about communication.

When you think about advertising and direct marketing and even website building, every facet of your company could provoke comments and communication from your consumers. Choose to listen and adjust, and you set the pace.

This year we’ve lent our support and design prowess to the Midwest Independent Film Festival, a year long fest that runs on the first Tuesday of every month in Chicago.

Help us decide – which awards poster do you like the best?

We’ve created three concepts for the annual “Best of the Midwest Awards” and we’d like your opinion. Please read our rationale and give us your thoughts to help pick a winner.

Creative input:
Design a branded poster that exudes a “sharp, high-end, classy, for everyone” feel. Be sure to keep the film community in mind when designing.

Concept One

Dark and sleek, it plays off of the modern touches of legendary designer Saul Bass. The bright colors juxtapose the black background and pop off the page grabbing your attention. The stark white imagery shows the foundation of indie film – the old 8mm camera. While a classic Zippo top shows that these films are ‘hot’ and cutting edge.

Concept One

Concept Two

This poster an abstract heart is comprised of overlayed translucent cutouts of the states that make up the Midwest. After all, the Midwest is the heartland of our country. The clean white background harkens back to modern/minimalistic artwork form the 70’s & 80’s.

Concept Two

Concept Three

Our good friend Brian has knuckle tattoos that read ‘hold fast’ and it made us think about the dedication required for his permanent belief. Midwestern artists strongly believe the middle of the country is one of the best places to find emerging artists. So poster three showcases the strong love of the Midwest in a simple illustration accentuated with graffiti graphics.

Concept Three

So which one do you like?

What’s your favorite and why?

If you are in Chicago, check out the Midwest Independent Film Fest on the first Tuesday of every month at the Landmark Century Cinema. Amazing films and a good place to see film from artists before they get famous.

Instead it’s professionals gathering, discussing and sharing ideas and values with others who do the same thing. It’s the ultimate social tool for business folks, and we’re into it.

Stalelife is definitely going to participate, and we might even lead a make-shift session. After all, if you don’t cultivate this Good Samaritan-ism for Business 2.0, it’ll likely go away.

Topics for this ProductCamp are marketing and project management. Should be good. If you’re in Austin, we hope to see you there.

The idea du jour was that the brand far outweighed real benefits. It was always pure justice when our measurable creative was tested versus a heavy brand approach and won (a good 100% of the time, seriously).

Enter the mid-2000s and now marketers are starting to see, the WIIFM (What’s In It For Me) theory has reached epic proportion. Social networking allows customers to talk and give their opinion, just like your neighbor telling you about a great oil change joint, or the horrible service at the local greasy spoon.

There’s no place to hide these days, and there’s no way to “counter” bad news except with superior service.

Here’s an example – Son & Heir clothing, a boutique sports t-shirt shop. We recently ordered and the package contents looked like this:

The shirt arrived on time. It was exactly as ordered. AND they gave us a Dum Dum Pop and a note to say thanks:

Small things, sure. But the small things lead to much more. For instance, we’ve already told many sports-nut friends who might be interested in their sweet design offerings.

Transparency in the modern age is real. If you rely heavily on advertising to sway opinion – or your company is constantly seen in a negative light – it’s time to re-direct your funds and your attention to your customers. Make sure the user experience is something worthwhile, and you will be rewarded time and again.

After all, your customers are talking to anyone who will listen (and read), because nowadays it’s easier than ever to do.