space150

Open Branding Contest Marks Digital Firm’s 10^th Anniversary; Gig Won by “Rival” Designer

Minneapolis, Min., April 6, 2010 – If crowd sourcing is about open collaboration regardless of boundaries, then space150, the digital communications agency headquartered in Minneapolis, gets that more than anyone. To mark the tenth anniversary of the firm, space150 just completed crowd sourcing the firm’s 25^th identity redesign – a gig that went to a “rival” designer at Minneapolis’ The Thorburn Group.

“A lot of agencies would get really uptight about something like this,” says Billy Jurewicz, founder and CEO, space150. “You typically don’t let other people mess around with your brand, but we like to think and do things differently at space150 and besides we’ve never been tied to be just one thing forever. We reinvent ourselves every 150 days and with this being the 25^th incarnation of the firm’s image we wanted to throw open the creativity door and invite in outsiders.”

Space150 redesigns its entire look every 150 days as a way to stay fresh and pay tribute to the constantly changing digital space. The assignment to recreate everything from the agency’s logo and business cards to the look of the website, interior styling of the firm’s 22,000 square foot office space and even, to a degree, the philosophy of the agency’s service offerings to clients was won by 28 year old Evan Nagan of Minneapolis-based The Thorburn Group. It’s the first time the design process has ever been crowd sourced.

Following an astronomy-based theme, Nagan’s winning design positions space150 as its own constellation of inter-connected stars against an infinite black backdrop. It’s a visual that works well on print but even more so online, where the agency’s new website will feature a star for every staffer at space150. In-house developers at space150 took this idea one step further and built in technology that allows site visitors to instantly see real time data orbiting around each of these stars. This includes an employee’s recent tweets, snapshots of blog postings and also how each staffer relates to other employees in the firm.

“The website in particular is a visual representation of how this firm works,” adds Jurewicz. “We’re entirely open and loosely structured so that the work for clients and the challenges it poses direct which resources, team members and creative elements are brought together to find the best solutions.”

Version 25 launches today and was celebrated internally at space150’s official version launch party. There have been 24 other identity designs in the firm’s 10-year history. For further information, design samples  or other needs contact steve@ghost-pr.com.

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About space150 (www.space150.com)

Founded ten years ago this year by digital visionary Billy Jurewicz, space150 continues to stay at the forefront of every major and nuanced change in the digital communications space. From the early days of designing stellar, design-led websites for clients to today’s fully integrated blend of creative art and in-house technological product development, space150 now works closely with category leaders in everything from fashion and retail to global finance. The firm employs 110 staff across all creative, account-management, design and development functions and has offices in New York, Minneapolis and Los Angeles.

MINNEAPOLIS – December 14th, 2009 – space150, the digital marketing agency of record for American Dairy Queen Corporation (ADQ), developed and launched a new mobile version of the Dairy Queen website, along with a “DQ® Restaurant Finder” application for Apple’s iPhone and iPod touch devices.

The user experience on both mobile platforms was intentionally simplified as compared to the full DQ website. Finding a Dairy Queen store is at the core of both the iPhone app and the mobile site experience. The mobile website also has simplified menu and nutritional information, and the iPhone app uses GPS to find the closest store based on the user’s location.

Bringing the store locator to the front of the mobile experience was a decision based mostly on the actions of previous mobile users. Mobile traffic to the site has more than tripled from last year, and the store locator page had more visits than any other page on the site – including the home page.

“We’re thrilled to see the growth in traffic from mobile users,” said Michael Keller, DQ’s Chief Marketing Officer. “Our mobile users have different objectives than desktop users, and we wanted to make sure we make it easy to give them what they want.”

“A lot of mobile developers have a ‘kitchen sink’ problem,” said space150 President Marcus Fisher. “They try to squeeze everything into their mobile applications just because they can. We kept it simple, and gave the mobile users what they needed: a way to find their local DQ restaurant.”

About space150

space150 is a digital agency based in Minneapolis, with offices in New York and Los Angeles. Founded in March 2000, space150 builds digital relationships for many top brands, including American Express, Dairy Queen, Imation Corp., Starz Entertainment and others. Please visit space150.com for information.

About ADQ:

American Dairy Queen Corporation, which is headquartered in Minneapolis, Minn., develops, licenses and services a system of more than 5,700 Dairy Queen® stores in the United States, Canada and other foreign countries. IDQ is part of the Berkshire Hathaway family, a company owned by Warren Buffett, the legendary investor and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway. For more information, visit DairyQueen.com.

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LOS ANGELES – Digital agency space150 designed and launched two new, exclusive holiday candles for J. Crew retail. The hand-poured candles, FIREWOOD and CURRANT, retail for $28 and are available at the top 50 J. Crew stores as well as through their print catalog.

J. Crew worked hand-in-hand with space150 to develop these products. The black cube packaging mirrors design elements of J. Crew’s print catalog and website. The candles feature custom-made home fragrances—each one carefully designed to create a subtle yet inviting atmosphere and housed in a keepsake glass container. The hand-poured candles are made from clean-burning soy wax with an environmentally friendly, lead-free wick, and have a remarkable 60-plus hours of burn time.

space150 is better known for their work in the digital space. The agency has developed web, mobile, and social media marketing campaigns for several fortune 500 companies, including Dairy Queen and American Express. J. Crew’s candles are one of several recent projects for which the agency has taken their digital smarts offline.

“We’re excited to extend a digital marketing platform into physical products,” said Billy Jurewicz, CEO of space150. “Our philosophy is to integrate marketing platforms beyond a website or a catalog. Extending the J. Crew brand into a simple physical product such as a candle is a great step for space150 and J. Crew.”

About space150:
space150 is a digital agency based in Minneapolis, with offices in New York and Los Angeles. Founded in March 2000, space150 builds digital relationships for many top brands, including American Express, Dairy Queen, Imation Corp., Starz Entertainment, and others. Please visit space150.com for more information.

You may have recently heard some news about malicious ads appearing on publishers websites, sold by agents posing as ad buyers on behalf of legitimate brands. We wanted to take a minute to explain what’s going on with this situation, and to inform our clients and publishing partners about how we purchase media at space150.

What happened?

In case you haven’t heard, agents posing as legitimate media buying agencies were able to purchase online display advertising through ad networks and place malicious ads on publisher sites. The ads initially served as advertising for legitimate brands, but then spawned a window with a virus warning that then offered antivirus software to fix the problem. Needless to say, the antivirus software offered would be relatively ineffective in combating most viruses.

How did this happen?

With a standard banner campaign, there are several “hand-offs” that occur between the brand, the agency, and publishing partners prior to ads landing on consumers’ computer screens.

Agencies typically utilize a third-party ad serving partner (space150 partners with companies like DoubleClick & PointRoll). Publishers and networks usually perform a round of testing to ensure the ad tags are serving properly and as designed. In this case, it appears that rounds of testing did not detect that this was, in fact, a malicious ad.

The agents were also able to procure contracts for these ads outside typical processes. Many agencies will use a third-party management system for insertion orders and RFPs (space150 utilizes MediaVisor), adding an additional layer of control for agencies and publishers alike. These tools also aid in the standardization of contracts as well as the agency/publisher communication flow.

How do we stop this?

space150 is committed to ensuring the security of our clients’ brands, and we want to disclose our ad-serving process and relationships so that publishers and ad-networks can raise a red flag if they receive any insertion orders that don’t meet our specific guidelines. Our strategy is as follows:

-All of our space150’s banner ads are trafficked through trusted third-party ad serving partners such as DoubleClick & PointRoll.

-All of our insertion orders are generated using MediaVisor. If our relationships with these parties change at some point, we’ll contact our media partners and also post the update to space150.com.

If publishers or ad networks receive insertion orders from space150 that are not generated in MediaVisor and/or ad tags not trafficked through DoubleClick or PointRoll, please contact Nicole Newville immediately at: 612-460-2815.

MINNEAPOLIS and NEW YORK, October 12, 2009 – space150, an independent digital creative agency based in Minneapolis with offices in New York and Los Angeles, is proud to announce that Donna Robinson has rejoined the agency as Director of Account Services. Donna Robinson brings more than a decade-long track record of account service excellence to space150’s growing account team. Robinson’s primary day-to-day duties will be to oversee client management within the agency.

“Donna embodies the meaning of great client service,” said Billy Jurewicz, CEO of space150. “She’s very patient, very calming, and brings a great perspective back to space150. Donna is like family – clients trust her because she always delivers on what she says.”

“I’m really looking forward to being a part of the creative process again at space150,” said Robinson, “I missed working in a unique environment like the one we have here more than I thought I would while working as an independent consultant.”

Prior to exploring the world of independent consulting, Robinson spent 2 years as Account Director at space150 helping to evolve the company from digital underdog to industry icon by attracting clients such as Ameriprise, American Express, The Discovery Channel, and Andersen Windows.

In the past, Robinson has worked on blue-chip clients such as United Health Group (Ingenix), US Bancorp, Wells Fargo, GMAC Financial, St. Jude Medical, and Smucker Brands such as Pillsbury, Hungry Jack, and Multifoods Foodservice.

About space150

space150 is a digital agency based in Minneapolis, with offices in New York and Los Angeles. Founded in March 2000, space150 builds digital relationships for many top brands, including American Express, Dairy Queen, Imation Corp., Starz Entertainment and others. Please visit space150.com for more information.

Contacts

Nicole Newville

Director of Modern Media

Nicole.Newville@space150.com

612-332-6458

BROOKLYN, NY – A crowd of over 100 people gathered at Galapagos Art Space in Brooklyn, NY three weeks ago for Digital DUMBO #8 – a gathering of New York’s finest digital minds – for an evening of cocktails and lively discussion on the future of marketing and advertising. The evening was sponsored by space150, a modern creative agency that believes in the power of ideas to make life better, and concluded with a presentation by space150’s CEO and Founder, Billy Jurewicz and Head of Strategy, Paul Isakson. Their talk took a fun look at what space150 has seen in the past 150 days, what they see coming in the next 150 days and what that all means for the future of the industry.

Mr. Jurewicz opened the presentation with a brief background on space150 and introduced Isakson who then talked about the past 150 days. Paul pointed out that space150 believes that the future of marketing is not about saying and doing things to people, but instead doing things with and for them. He then cruised through ten current examples of just how brands are doing this today.

Next up in the presentation, Isakson introduced a short video that contained thoughts from the Digital DUMBO community on what they’ve seen in the past 150 days and what they expect for the next 150. The show was then taken over by Jurewicz who elaborated on these next 150 days with a nice mix of humor and reality. Of particular interest and delight to the crowd were the endless possibilities becoming available through the evolution of true cloud computing and the speculated next release of Mac OSX – the Maine Coon Edition.

The evening wound down with people then milling about discussing what they had seen and getting to know more of their digital industry peers.

Digital DUMBO #9 “Hope and Change in Your Email Inbox” is September 24th from 6:30-8:30PM at the Underwater Lounge at Water Street Restaurant.

Photos: http://drop.io/digitaldumbo8pix

150 Days Presentation: http://www.slideshare.net/space150/150-days-past-present-future

MINNEAPOLIS – September 1st, 2009 – space150, a digital marketing agency has launched an interactive campaign for International Dairy Queen. The campaign, titled “Meet the Goodies” personifies the special ingredients found in September’s Blizzard of the Month – the OREO Cookie Jar Blizzard Treat. The four main ingredients: OREO cookie pieces, Cookie Dough, Fudge, and DQ’s iconic Soft Serve are brought to life as 3-D animated characters in a multi-faceted digital campaign.

“There is an irresistible draw to these characters that will strike an emotional chord with Dairy Queen’s consumers of all ages.” said Tim Hawley, VP Marketing, at Dairy Queen. “By leveraging two iconic brands – Dairy Queen and OREO – and building characters as appealing as the flavors themselves, we’re driving awareness of the OREO Cookie Jar Blizzard and spreading smiles..”

“We are thrilled to have OREO cookies as part of the Goodies line-up for this promotion ", states Nate Hedtke, Category Director at Kraft Foodservice. "As America’s favorite cookie, OREO continues to delight consumers of all ages and provides a distinctive and appealing dimension to the OREO Cookie Jar Blizzard.”

The “Meet the Goodies” digital campaign will run in September, 2009. Users will interact with the characters by visiting http://goodies.blizzardfanclub.com/, where they can customize e-cards that can be sent to friends and family. Other character engagements include an interactive display campaign – extending the characters’ reach well beyond the onsite environment.

About space150

space150 is a digital agency based in Minneapolis, with offices in New York and Los Angeles. Founded in March 2000, space150 builds digital relationships for many top brands, including American Express, Dairy Queen, Imation Corp., Starz Entertainment and others. Please visit space150.com for information.

About IDQ

International Dairy Queen (IDQ), headquartered in Minneapolis, Minn., develops licenses and services a system of more than 5,600 Dairy Queen® stores in the United States, Canada and other foreign countries, offering world famous dairy desserts, hamburgers, hot dogs and beverages. IDQ is part of the Berkshire Hathaway family, a company run by Warren Buffett, the legendary investor and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. Following the successful roll out of the DQ Grill & Chill® concept, the Dairy Queen system’s quick-service food concept that features an expanded menu and newly designed restaurant interiors, IDQ began testing the DQ® Orange Julius® concept in August 2005. DQ Orange Julius locations blend a sleek, new look with the feel of a traditional ice cream treat shop and offers a treat menu that includes traditional DQ favorites as well as the Orange Julius line of premium fruit smoothies and fruit drinks. Please visit DQ.com for information.

OREO is a registered trademark of Kraft Foods.

MINNEAPOLIS – International Dairy Queen system’s 2009 Miracle Treat Day campaign saw a significant lift in site traffic that was directly attributed to social media’s increased role. The full day event, which raises money for local Children’s Miracle Network hospitals, saw a 50 percent increase in online site traffic over 2008. Facebook and Twitter were the highest traffic sources not DQ-owned.

The campaign integrated social elements into the traditional media campaign. The information was made “shareable” by including calls to action to spread the word on Facebook and Twitter. Social media has become a significant part of the Dairy Queen system’s overall digital strategy in 2009. The brand has actively engaged its consumer base using Facebook,Twitter, a DQ Corporate blog, and a blog for the Blizzard Fan Club.

“Dairy Queen’s fans and followers showed their support overwhelmingly by spreading the message,” said Nicole Newville, space150 New Media Director. “This year people didn’t just hear about Miracle Treat Day from our TV, radio, web and other advertising efforts, they heard about it from their friends’ and families’ Facebook updates, tweets, and blogposts.”

Dairy Queen has been a proud national sponsor of Children’s Miracle Network (CMN) since 1984. During the past 25 years, Dairy Queen operators throughout the United States and Canada have raised more than $77 million for CMN.

About IDQ

International Dairy Queen (IDQ), headquartered in Minneapolis, Minn., develops licenses and services a system of more than 5,600 Dairy Queen® stores in the United States, Canada and other foreign countries, offering world famous dairy desserts, hamburgers, hot dogs and beverages. IDQ is part of the Berkshire Hathaway family, a company run by Warren Buffett, the legendary investor and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. Following the successful roll out of the DQ Grill & Chill® concept, the Dairy Queen system’s quick-service food concept that features an expanded menu and newly designed restaurant interiors, IDQ began testing the DQ® Orange Julius® concept in August 2005. DQ Orange Julius locations blend a sleek, new look with the feel of a traditional ice cream treat shop and offers a treat menu that includes traditional DQ favorites as well as the Orange Julius line of premium fruit smoothies and fruit drinks. Please visit DQ.com for information.

About space150

space150 is a digital agency based in Minneapolis, with offices in New York and Los Angeles. Founded in March 2000, space150 builds digital relationships for many top brands, including American Express, Dairy Queen, Imation Corp., Starz Entertainment and others. Please visit space150.com for information.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACTS:

Marcus Fischer

space150

President

612-460-2805

marcus.fischer@space150.com

Troy Linck

space150

Account Director

612-460-7088

troy.linck@space150.com

Mary Rawlings-Taylor

IMATION

Director, Corporate Communications

651-704-6796

mjrawlings-taylor@imation.com

SPACE150 NAMED DIGITAL AGENCY OF RECORD FOR

IMATION, MEMOREX AND XTREMEMAC BRANDS

Relationship fuels Imation’s digital marketing strategy

MINNEAPOLIS – April 30, 2009 – space150 today announced that it has been named digital agency of record for Imation’s (NYSE: IMN) Imation, Memorex and XtremeMac brands. In addition to supporting the ongoing redevelopment of imation.com, the space150 relationship will continue to advance Imation’s digital, multiple-brand strategy through Web site enrichment and deployment work, analytics and reporting, online promotional support and social media efforts.

“The Web plays such an integral part in creating and sustaining consumer engagement and telling our unique brand story,” says Jeff Meredith, general manager, Imation global consumer brands. “We value space150’s technical and creative expertise and understanding of our brand philosophy. We are confident they will help us expand and improve our existing Web marketing efforts.”

“We are thrilled to have the opportunity to work with such powerful brands as Imation, Memorex and XtremeMac,” says Marcus Fischer, space150 president. “space150 is uniquely positioned, both with global experience and cutting-edge in-house expertise, to handle the full scope of Imation’s digital marketing initiatives. We look forward to strategically extending the company’s multiple brand connection to consumers.”

About Imation Corp.

Imation is a leading global developer and marketer of branded products that enable people to capture, save and enjoy digital information. Imation’s world-class portfolio of digital storage products, audio and video electronic and accessories reaches customers through a powerful global distribution network. The company’s global brand portfolio, in addition to the Imation brand, includes the Memorex brand, one of the most widely recognized names in the consumer electronics industry, famous for the slogan, “Is it live or is it Memorex?” and the XtremeMac brand. Imation is also the exclusive licensee of the TDK Life on Record brand, one of the world’s leading recording media brands.

Imation, the Imation logo, Memorex, the Memorex logo, ‘Is it live or is it Memorex?’ and XtremeMac are trademarks of Imation Corp. and its subsidiaries. The TDK Life on Record logo is a trademark of TDK Corporation.

About space150

space150 is a digital agency based in Minneapolis, with offices in New York and Los Angeles. Founded in March 2000, space150 builds digital relationships for many top brands, including American Express, Dairy Queen, Imation Corp., Starz Entertainment and others. Please visit space150.com for information.

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MINNEAPOLIS and NEW YORK, March 9 – Our staff continues to grow at space150 with three new hires in the Modern Media department, plus an account supervisor.

space150’s Modern Media department hires include both organic and paid search specialists.

Craig Key is space150’s newest Associate Site Optimization Specialist, responsible for the organic growth of our clients’ online brand presence. Craig’s diverse background includes a stint at 5 Alarm Music & Rescue Records, as well as creating and editing rockworms.com, a “music blog for music bloggers—about music.”

Matt O’Laughlin will work closely with our clients to manage paid media initiatives as a Search Media Planner. Matt has worked with Second Act, LLC, Campbell Mithun, and Fallon Minneapolis before joining space150 earlier this year.

Colin Murphy was also hired as a Search Media Planner in paid media, working on similar initiatives. Colin came to space150 from Olson.

“We are truly excited to have these three minds at space150. They will be an excellent addition to not only the Media team, but the entire agency,” said John Grudnowski, VP Modern Media.

In our New York office, Jenna Carpenter re-joins space150 as Account Supervisor for our work with American Express. Though Jenna previously worked here at space150, she was most recently at BBDO.

“We are very excited to have Jenna back at space150. She has always been a great asset and is a wonderful re-addition to the team,” said Troy Linck, Director of Account Services.

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About space150

space150 (www.space150.com) guides forward-thinking brands through complex digital evolution to ensure emotional connection and prosperity. It is a hybrid of a modern agency and a software company that commits to its clients needs through big ideas blended with great technology, finding innovative creative inspiration from new and emerging technologies. Founded in 2000, space150 embraces the philosophy of evolution by upgrading every part of their identity, from the website to business cards, every 150 days. Headquartered in Minneapolis with offices in New York and Los Angeles, space150 is able to service clients such as American Express, Discovery Communications, International Dairy Queen, Starz Entertainment, General Mills and United Health Care.

MINNEAPOLIS, January 8th — space150 has been asked to participate in the Microsoft PhizzPop Design Challenge, taking place over the next week in Minneapolis. Competing on behalf of space150 will be Andrew Christensen, Creative Tech; Shawn Kardell, Information Architect; and Adam Puncochar, Senior Designer.

The competition, beginning in November 2008, is based on six regional events taking place in New York, Chicago, Minneapolis, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Miami, with winners of those events then moving on to a final showdown at SXSW in March of this year. For the Minneapolis contest, Microsoft has partnered with MIMA (Minnesota Interactive Marketing Association) to bring this design challenge to the top creative agencies in town.

Teams of two to three people from six different agencies are being given three days of training on Microsoft’s Live Services and Microsoft Surface. Then, at the end of the last day of training, the teams will be given a secret design challenge. The teams will then have until Wednesday of the following week to develop their solutions to the problem using Microsoft’s technology. Final ideas will be presented at a formal event in downtown Minneapolis.

While being fast-paced and intense, PhizzPop allows some of the nation’s best design teams to get a good grasp of the Microsoft technology as well as gain exposure within the city and the country. Previous competitions have included secret challenges such as designing an interface for an in-classroom learning system for kindergarten through grade 12 students and their teaching professionals, and determining how and what mechanisms are used to engage and create interest in the bid for the 2016 Olympics with Chicago’s youth (ages 13-18).

For more information on the Microsoft PhizzPop Design Challenge, or to request tickets to the final presentation event, visit PhizzPop.com.

MINNEAPOLIS and NEW YORK, December 5 – space150, an independent digital creative agency based in Minneapolis with offices in New York and Los Angeles today has announced the engagement of Mike Fetrow as VP Creative Director for the agency.

Fetrow believes in digital evolution just as much as space150 practices it. His duties at space150 will include furthering powerful creative ideas to help educate clients about this current marketing revolution and then show them how they can be a part of it.

“We are excited to have Mike on board,” said William Jurewicz, CEO of space150. “His extensive experience building clients brands through powerful creative ideas – and his track record of proven results caused by those ideas – will further raise the level and effectiveness of the creative product that is produced at space 150.”

“There has never been a marketing world filled with more opportunity than the one that exists today,” said Fetrow, “I am excited to leverage the cutting-edge creative and digital expertise at space150 to build great brand experiences for our clients and their consumers suited for today’s new marketing landscape.

Previously at Colle+McVoy, Fetrow spent 4 years as Executive Creative Director helping evolve the company from a 75-year-old business-to-business, agricultural-focused agency into a highly publicized and award-winning creative agency. He did this by attracting and working with clients such as Aveda, ESPN and Johnson & Johnson. Fetrow has been credited for his creative efforts by winning awards in competitions like The One Show, Cannes, Effie’s, Clios, The Emmys and others.

Before leading the creative group at Colle+McVoy Fetrow worked with agencies Carmichael Lynch, Saatchi & Saatchi and Fallon McElligott and was also a founder of the Minneapolis shop, One and All.

In a digital age, a brand’s success is based on the relationship it creates through its experience, engagement and conversations. In keeping with the mission of reinventing itself, space150 launches version 21 which is a direct reflection of this.

The site was built to be 3 things: simple, conversational and collaborative. “These were easy tasks to accomplish because we have the culture, knowledge, tools and teams to do it” said Jarrod Riddle, Associate Creative Director at space150 and the lead on the re-build.

Some of the new features visitors will see are restructured and completely integrated news and events, redefined case studies which give a new look into the work and an overview of our methodology, created to be an easy translation of the space150 process. And by using its proprietary content management system (spaceCMS) making changes is easier to most aspects of the site (right down to Flash content). It also offers a predictive tag-based search feature and a new in-depth gallery media player.

“We needed a relevant way to talk with our audience and have a relationship with them” said William Jurewicz CEO and Creative Director for the agency. “so the site, inspired from the newly developed thinkfree.ly blog, has the voice, tone and open lay out to make it current.”

Take a look around, refresh the site and see it differently, check out the projects and start a conversation, and most importantly, let yourself thinkfree.ly.

July 18th marked another milestone and rebirth for space150 – Version 21 – a new opportunity to reinvent our identity and bare our digital soul.

With the launch of Version 21, we are setting our course toward the ideal of a perfect digital world, where ideas aren’t limited – where we all thinkfree.ly. It is our mantra, our maxim, and our methodology.

While we’re still as future-focused, evolution-loving, and digital-centric as previous versions, the new version of space150 focuses on the human connections we make and encourage others to make.

We’ve stripped away the all-too-common baggage and buzzwords to focus on the essence of our work: we create human experiences through digital ideas, to reach out and connect curious people with curious people.

This new version is shaping up to be another exciting and innovative phase for us, with the addition of Marcus Fischer as VP of Account Planning, expanded Mobile Marketing offerings(space150 mobile division), and new client partnerships.

Also, on August 11, we hosted 200 guests and a lineup of leading mobile executives, including Chuck Levine as the keynote speaker, at the first DEEPSPACE Mobile Marketing Workshop.

It doesn’t stop there. Our new blog, thinkfree.ly, will launch soon, featuring our insights and perspectives on the industry. We also have more workshops on the horizon. We’re looking forward to increased connections, sharing information, and collaborating in the construction of the perfect digital world.

Here’s to another 150 days, and more opportunities to thinkfree.ly.

Minneapolis, MN – July 30, 2008 – On August 11, space150 will debut the first installment of their DEEPSPACE Workshop Series. This one in Mobile Marketing. The premiere lineup will feature mobile executives from industry leaders, including Ad Infuse, Millennial Media, Nokia, Yahoo!, and Platform-A.

The workshop’s keynote speaker will be Chuck Levine, the former President and CMO of Sprint PCS, and current Chairman of Openwave and Sierra Wireless. The agenda will also feature presenters from space150 and Weather.com Mobile, who will explore a wide range of mobile topics and initiatives, from emerging technologies to consumer anecdotes.

With a yearly compound growth rate over 26%, mobile spending is projected to grow to $2.2 billion by 2012. However, this rapid expansion has also been stagnated by a number of factors. As a fully interactive workshop, DEEPSPACE is intended to help participants better understand these challenges, and how mobile marketing can grow beyond them.

DEEPSPACE will take place from 1:00-5:30pm on Monday, August 11, followed by a happy hour from 5:30-7:00pm. The entire event will be held at the Fine Line Music Cafe in downtown Minneapolis. Submit an RSVP and view further details on the workshop at the DEEPSPACE site.

Marcus Fischer to oversee the creative agency’s connection with consumers.

MINNEAPOLIS and NEW YORK, July 29 — space150, an independent digital creative agency based in Minneapolis with offices in New York and Los Angeles, today announced the appointment of Marcus Fischer to the position of vice president of account planning. Having worked in account planning for over a decade, Fischer will lead space150’s department as it continues to emphasize the bind between brands and the public. His responsibilities will range from the development of key brand strategies leveraging the company’s consumer expertise to the formulation of new quantitative and qualitative market analysis.

“As an agency, space150 has always stressed the importance of a brand’s evolution,” said William Jurewicz, CEO and creative director of space150. “By hiring Marcus, space150 has continued its own evolution. Marcus’s impressive agency background and proven results with blue chip clients will, without question, enhance our ability to influence people’s brand attitudes and perceptions.”

Fischer joins space150 from Carmichael Lynch, where he spent four years as the group planning director. Working with clients like Porsche and Subaru, Fischer was responsible for analyzing internal data, studying relevant social trends and then extrapolating that information into strategies that delivered meaningful messages to consumers. Prior agency experience includes three years at Fallon as a member of the account planning team for BMW and Starbucks.

“The ongoing shift to digital media has created an innovation rich landscape where the fundamental concepts behind building a brand remain constant,” said Fischer. “It is imperative to recognize that consumers deserve an experience from a brand, not just a transaction message geared to a single sale. I’m looking forward to helping space150 build the relationship between brand and consumer.”

In addition to his account planning experience, Fischer will also bring finely honed entrepreneurial instincts to space150. Between his time at Fallon and Carmichael Lynch, Fischer was the founding partner of One for All, an ad agency that he guided to $15m in billings in just three years with project work and retainers from a client list that included Best Buy and Target.

Where They Really Want To Go

by Steve Smith, Tuesday, July 22, 2008

BRANDS ARE ALL ABOUT consistency, reliability, familiarity. But at the same time, their strategies have to change with media, technology and circumstances. The Minneapolis-based agency space150 is famous for embracing the concept of change by reinventing its own identity every 150 days—new Web site, business cards, the whole nine yards. Something like this approach also holds true in its mobile strategy, which launched into a new division last month. I touched base recently with its vice president of modern media, John Grudnowski, to discuss how a company that works with brands like American Express, Discovery, and Dairy Queen plans to leverage mobile both within the agency and for the brands. As we discuss here, by getting close and personal with the user, mobile media could teach us a lot about how to execute strategy across all the platforms.

Mobile Insider: Do you really reinvent yourself every 150 days?

Grudnowski: We do, actually. We have been doing it for eight years now and we are on our 20th version. It’s really about overcommitment to evolution and showing ourselves that you do need to embrace the fact that technology moves and shakes—and if you don’t embrace it yourself, you are going to fall behind. It takes the form of almost everything physical that you see and feel at the company. All of our business cards, the signs on the doors, the letterhead, our Post-It notes. It depends on the version. For version 16 we had a Scotch label.

MI: Is mobile going to have a prominent place in the next iteration?

Grudnowski: It is. It really has had a role in most of our media planning and plan strategy for the last three years. But as adoption is increasing and as clients considered mobile as a viable option, not just something we were bringing up in a meeting, we do need to place more emphasis on that. I founded the media group about six years ago and we had dedicated media individuals from day one. In mobile we are taking time from each department lead and allowing those individuals to add input into our mobile discipline. So we do not have one full-time individual on it because it really is a part of strategy or account management. Applications development we have been doing for mobile for a couple of years, and on the media side of course. We feel that is the best way to do it at this point.

MI: In terms of the design philosophy of mobile, what is the unique space150 imprint on the discipline?

Grudnowski: The user experience on each is somewhat unique. So we develop most of our sites unique to that interface and through detection technology to determine what type of browser and display you are on. So we have an iPhone version, Blackberry, WAP. It’s really essentially our philosophy to take the utility of mobile and to simplify the site experience on that device so it is something more specific to that need.

MI: What kind of mobile work are you doing for clients? Are you flying ad campaigns or developing mobile presence?

Grudnowski: Dairy Queen is a good example. We are not actually doing ad campaigns with them. We’re walking them through investments in mobile advertising, not just location-based information, but also through the way to develop sites. We use a method of progressive enhancement we call FAUST that layers CSS, HTML, Javascript and Flash to provide a customized and simplified experience based on what type of browser you have. On the iPhone, for example, DairyQueen.com you can navigate just as you would on Firefox or IE. We also are doing some application development for some clients.

MI: Must all brands be mobile now? Is a mobile presence of some kind as necessary to a brand strategy as the Web?

Grudnowski: I would say yes to that. It is very similar to search years ago where individuals were questioning whether they needed to buy their brands on Google and Yahoo. I feel that right now the absolute value hasn’t yet been seen like search. But you need to start thinking that way, and brands need to start thinking that way, because those extension points are so vital to everyday communication to their customers…. From an advertising standpoint, though, I don’t think all campaigns need to involve mobile for paid advertising. It is the development of the site itself and if possible using mobile advertising in an effective way to learn how it is impacting the business.

MI: Are we finally upon that proverbial “year of mobile”?

Grudnowski: I am optimistic that it’s coming. I feel if you just say that any one year is the year, it is short-sighted. We need to think about it and let it define itself. There are a lot of questions that need to be answered right now across mobile components of campaign development. You just need to be there to get through it so when you come out the other side you have a really great understanding of where to go.

MI: From an agency perspective, what are those chief hurdles?

Grudnowski: On our end it is client awareness. So in understanding from CMOs and VPs of marketing as well on the technology side too, what impact it can have at the investment level that they are willing to get. It’s not going to compete from an ROI standpoint with some other forms of online media, and it’s not a really great standalone at this point. It needs to be part of something larger, a component, to really show a lot of great value. That is a large barrier from what we are seeing right now. The acceptance of testing it needs to come a little bit further.

MI: Does mobile have the potential to teach us how we conduct business elsewhere, to change the way we think and operate on all the other platforms?

Grudnowski: I think it has a lot of impact on how individuals react within social media within widgets within any form of quick hit messaging. I think that the idea of mobile and the access you have to that individual is a very personal device so you need to create something very personal for that individual. So the engagement rates there will show that if you create that kind of connection through other touch points, whether it be a widget or application in social media. I think we will learn a lot from that customization piece from mobile and extend it.

MI: It may be the device that teaches us the personalization game we have been talking about but not doing on other platforms.

Grudnowski: I think so. A lot of investment needs to take place. That is one reason why a lot is not happening. It takes a lot investment to get that personal with an individual. But I think we can learn in using mobile… [to] take an aspect of your content on a site or action you want on that site and simplify it down into those core actions of what you want [consumers] to do. At Dairy Queen people want to know what the location is. That is what they want. How do we learn from that and use that same type of thought when doing information architecture on the Web site itself? We are getting things directly in front of individuals where we know the actions will take place and allow them a quicker experience to where they really want to go.

Minneapolis, MN – July 21, 2008 – No one knew that team space would be so stacked for the Annual Olympic Special at space150, but they ended up winning the majority of the events last Friday. Kickball, handstand, and hula hoop were just a few of the competitions that they dominated. The beautiful day wasn’t completely lost by team 150, however. The reigning champions pulled through in the water balloon toss and would have won the tug-o-war if the rope hadn’t snapped. All in all, a successful day, followed by a version 21 Happy Hour at space150/MSP.

Ad Age sought out space150’s VP Modern Media, John Grudnowski, for insight into Google’s new Ad Planner tool. A participant in the tool’s closed beta test, Grudnowski shared his evaluation of the tool, and how he expects it to affect the media buying landscape.

Ad Planner gives media planners highly detailed information about the kinds of people who visit targeted sites. “It’s a good opportunity for advertisers to get information on smaller sites that the panel tools don’t pick up,” states Grudnowski, who goes on to say that the tool is best used as an extension, and not a replacement, of existing tools.

Full Article

How Buyers Plan to Use Google’s Media-Planning Tool

Ad Planner Provides Data for Sites Too Small to Be Tracked by Nielsen, ComScore

By Abbey Klaassen

Published: June 24, 2008

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) — The biggest boon for advertisers in Google’s new media-planning tool: insight into the Long Tail sites that don’t currently show up in Nielsen or ComScore’s panel-based web measurement and planning services.

That’s according to a media planner who beta-tested Ad Planner, a Google tool that was revealed today at an Advertising Research Foundation conference in New York.

Goes deeper

“It’s a good opportunity for advertisers to get information on smaller sites that the panel tools don’t pick up,” said John Grudnowski, VP-modern media at Space150, a Minneapolis-based digital-ad agency. Previously, if he wanted to buy an ad on Google’s content network by targeting specific sites, he’d get some information on the smaller properties, but now the information goes much deeper.

“Could this be something to replace other tools?” he asked. “I don’t see this right now. It’s new, and we want to look at it as an extension and really use it for the small sites.”

The search giant has commenced a closed beta-test of the tool, which lets media planners enter gender, age and income details of the audience they’re trying to reach, plus sites associated with that target audience. Google returns a list of sites that reach those kinds of people, allowing planners to sort by unique visitors and composition. The tool is related to Google Trends for Websites, a free public tool released last week that shows site popularity, rank across geographies and related sites and searches.

Fuel to the fire

The Google introduction adds fuel to an argument that panel-based measurement may not be enough to determine the audience of smaller, long tail sites. ComScore and Nielsen Online use panel data to figure out who the people visiting websites are. But critics say that as online media continue to fragment, panels simply cannot be considered reliable for measuring small and medium-size sites. Another web measurement startup used for media planning purposes, Quantcast, also uses panel data but, like Google, adds other means of cookie-based measurement.

“It’s interesting from a conceptual and theoretical standpoint [because] Google has such a phenomenally massive data set,” said Chris Wallace, VP-media at iCrossing, a New York-based digital agency. He notes that Google has been collecting user-behavior data and being very guarded about what they’re using that data for.

Google is giving out very few details around how it comes up with the audience information, explaining in a blog post that “data is estimated and aggregated over a variety of sources” and warned it may not match existing web traffic data sources.

ComScore killer?

What are those sources? Google said they include aggregated search data, opt-in anonymous Google Analytics data, opt-in external panel data and other third-party market research. The panel data and third-party data help provide the demographic picture of the audience, which is only available in the U.S. Google said the aggregated data doesn’t contain information that could personally identify any user.

So is it a ComScore killer? No, said Mr. Wallace. “For ad agencies that are really thinking through the media buying and planning process, using multiple data sources to build and evaluate media plans is wise,” he said. “This is an additional layer to help build the media plan.”

For one thing, ComScore and Nielsen are progressing though an audit of their systems by the Media Ratings Council. Quantcast just entered an agreement to have its panel audited; Google has not yet indicated whether it will go through an MRC audit. Such audits are meant to help advertisers feel comfortable with how the data is collected.

Agencies will still pay

And while the media have positioned the Google tool as an alternative to ComScore or Nielsen, it’s also likely most major advertisers and media agencies will still pay to use the big panel-based measurement companies, just as many marketers already opt to use paid tools such as Omniture or Coremetrics for analytics rather than substitute Google’s free tool. That’s because marketers rely on tools that measure and weight the entire market evenly.

It’s easy to see how a consumer who regularly uses Yahoo or Microsoft search could be less likely to register in Google’s measurement scheme, perhaps overweighting the actions of heavy Google users. When asked about this, Google said it doesn’t expect it to be an issue and said that potential overweighting is one of the reasons it is using multiple data sources.

Quantcast’s say

Quantcast, which a few weeks ago introduced its own free media-planning tool, believes Google’s entry into the market does not put publishers and marketers in control of their audiences and data the way its own tool does.

“Of course, Google controls an extensive data platform — and the market must ask the question if this new product is simply intended to help Google sell inventory and a broader set of controlled services,” Konrad Feldman, CEO of Quantcast, said in a statement.

Jason Sack, Lead Information Architect at space150, joined Marc Jensen as a speaker and panel member at Flashbelt over the three-day conference from June 9th – 11th. Jason’s discussion, which took place on June 9th, talked about the Touchpoints of User Experience Design. He was also part of a panel discussion on June 10th.

You can view his June 9th presentation below:

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These slides describe methods and principles that help keep a project faithful to its intended audience and purpose. Jason uses case studies and examples to show how to establish a UX approach along with the three key phases of the design process, looking at how user experience design can unite a project from strategy to structure to interaction.