Connecting the Dots / An Agency Blog

You would think that being a wireless network provider would instantly make you the leader in mobile web, creating a destination for your brand that’s optimized for the devices being used to access the services you’re selling.

Not so with almost every major provider of wireless services in Canada. Actually, let me correct that and be so bold as to state that as of today, November 18th, 2011, there isn’t one major mobile provider in Canada that has a version of their website optimized for a mobile device. Not one.

Futile were our attempts to discover the lone wolf beaver in the stream that could connect us with wireless relevant content and functional design on our testing iPhone. Below are some screen caps from our research along with some notes on our findings. Continue…

With over a half million apps now available for iOS devices, it’s probably a safe bet that there’s an app for pretty much everything by now. Great apps are often built on a substantial level of technology, infrastructure, intellectual property, proprietary data, or workflow. And that’s why our recent work for Ecotrust Canada’s ThisFish program was so interesting.

Accessible across Apple’s iPhone and iPod, as well as BlackBerry and Android WebKit-based browsers, the ThisFish mobile site provides app-like functionality inside of the mobile browser, helping users trace their seafood before they purchase it.

ThisFish helps consumers make informed choices about the authenticity, quality and sustainability of the seafood they eat by tracing the catch from the water to the grocery store or restaurant, including who caught it, when, where and how. The service also aims to promote the fishing industry by highlighting fisherman, processing facilities, and retailers, creating transparency in the seafood business and rewarding those who responsibly harvest and handle each catch.

If this sounds like a complex system, that’s because it is. With multiple stops along the supply chain, each group helps support ThisFish by updating data (often through the mobile site), providing the consumer with information about their seafood purchase. See how it works.

We’re excited to have helped lend a hand, to bring this amazing project to life. Having a greater sense of what we eat and whether or not it comes from a sustainable source is an incredibly valuable proposition for consumers. We’re sure the folks at Ecotrust Canada are on to something.

Be sure to visit www.thisfish.info on your mobile device and trace your next seafood purchase!

Wow, if you haven’t been following the whole iPhone leak story, you’ve really been missing out. It has everything Tom Cruise’s last good movie, Mission Impossible III, had!

Think about it. The story that’s still unfolding, even as I write this, has it all. Espionage (iPhone’s crazy security measures), romance (brand love on the part of the maniacs eating this stuff up), danger (dude might lose his job), disguises (3g disguised as 4g), and now, EXOTIC DESTINATIONS.

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If you’re a regular reader of the Engine Digital blog you’ll know that I’ve been chronicling the story of location based social broadcasting since Foursquare was released here in Vancouver last September. After spending months with the application and touting the benefits for Vancouver small businesses, stalking your friends, and mayor fights with complete strangers, I decided to enact an un-install.

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SoDA 2010 Digital Marketing Outlook – released today!

The Society of Digital Agencies released their 2010 Digital Marketing Outlook today and it’s packed full of great survey data from hundreds of executives from major global brands, traditional and digital agencies, and vendor / service providers. Some key stats and points of view that have caught my eye so far:

• 81% of brand execs expect an increase in digital projects for 2010
• “The most effective digital platforms have shifted from ‘disruptive’ to ‘productive’ by providing a service or utility…[they] fundamentally change the approach from “how we reach our customers” to ‘how we make their lives better.’” K. Blitz
• 59% of respondants say that cost-per-click, conversion, and ROI are the digital marketing metric they’re least interested in
• Most important technical skill sets to hire / contract in 2010 (in order): Flash, ActionScript, CSS, PHP, iPhone SDK – showing that the microsite is indeed still alive and kicking

Get the report after the jump…

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