We recently launched a Web site for EpicQuest, a leading provider of once-in-a-lifetime, action-based travel experiences to destinations that few have ever seen or experienced. EpicQuest offers a diverse portfolio of high-intensity travel itineraries across a range of sports categories and locations, providing a backstage pass to the greatest travel experiences in the world.
EpicQuest tapped Circumerro to help tell their story through building an engaging online brand experience. Circumerro showcased the expansive portfolio of trips and athlete bios in a compelling online trip planner. “EpicQuest’s renowned athlete and guide roster and eye-catching destinations created a stable backbone for the site, allowing us to insightfully deliver and package the information,” said Noah Waterhouse, Creative Services Director at Circumerro. Additionally, Circumerro focused on providing creative services for Web video streaming, search engine optimization and social marketing.
Craig Pattee, CEO of EpicQuest said, “We are thrilled at the work Circumerro did to launch the EpicQuest site. They executed relentlessly and proved a key partner in developing the online strategy.”
Visit the new EpicQuest site and start planning your next adventure.
We’re a few months in and we’ve learned a lot. Launching a hyperlocal community site dedicated to news, entertainment and events is a big endeavor. The moving parts and pieces are numerous, but the project is relatively simple in its stripped down form. We provide the forum, bring people together and it grows organically from there.
For version 3.0, we sought to uncover content on the site that was formerly buried under unnecessarry navigation and combine some of the best features from each landing page into the homepage. Readers can now browse news, follow their favorite columnists on Page 22 and scan the weather and events all from the homepage. Individual landing pages also received major overhauls with new post formats and more interactive excerpts and summaries.
Among other things at the Web 2.0 expo last week, Twitter Search was a hot topic. The micro-blog functionality of the “social experiment” is not just for updating the world on your lunch menu or broadcasting PR messages anymore. On second thought, it is, but it’s also so much more. Twitter provides a window into real-time search like never before.
The new version of 22Local, or 2.0 as it’s referred to around the office, is live. We took on this project, well, because we saw a need for it. News and information travels quickly in a small town, but sometimes not fast enough, and you can never find everything you need in one spot. How many blog subscriptions are on your iGoogle or feed reader? 22Local is our way of answering our town’s call for a media mix that does things differently. It was created for locals, by locals. Check out some of the features:
• News posts cover breaking stories, town politics, local events, familiar faces and more.
• Page 22 provides opinions and commentary from featured local columnists.
• Our Community Calendar highlights events and entertainment around the valley.
• Weather reports compile the region’s weather sources and ski reports.
• Our Forum allows you to share and shape the news and conversations that influence Teton County.
• Classifieds let you buy, sell and trade with each other—for FREE.
In a recent blog post, Doug Mack of Adobe Scene7 provides some sage advice (in the Jan 27th post) on the importance of Web Video in eCommerce. Specifically, he refers to the use of Scene7 on the Cloudveil website to cleverly mix skiing eye candy in with soft touches on product features. The argument is that the audience is captivated by the oh-so relevant content and consequently drawn in, to A) learn more about the brand and its products or B) strengthen an already existing brand affinity that leads to more purchases down the road. Can we say “conversions”?
You are preaching to the choir, Doug, and we couldn’t agree more. We are constantly pushing the power of video, and love nothing more than helping our clients incorporate it successfully in their projects. From Web projects including Cloudveil and the Town of Taboro, to business profiles on Jackson Hole Roasters and the 4UR Fly Fishing Program, video and rich media are setting the curve. The question, are you on board or behind the times?
Circumerro Media has launched its new website with a focus on telling its story through the use of Web video and blogging. Integrating Web video throughout the site to explain services, introduce employees and highlight past projects provides the virtual insight that photos and text alone cannot deliver. Circumerro is now using its blog to capture the day-to-day events and news at the company.
“Web video is one of the most effective tools for telling your company’s story,” explained Latham Jenkins, Circumerro President. “People don’t like to read online, but rather mimic the offline behavior of TV-watching and if you provide that online, you marry the best of TV and the Web.”
The blog element of the new site addresses another quickly changing landscape in the realm of creative services: news. The site utilizes a blog format to house company news, press releases, staff info, industry musings and project updates all in one central spot. “Let’s face it, companies send out news to generate press which is an old way of building buzz around your brand,” added Jenkins. “The reality is for true engagement, you need a more constant dialogue with your audience and one that invites them to be a part of the brand experience.”
Frequent visitors are able to subscribe to RSS feeds of the blog and are encouraged to join the dialogue via comments. “Blogs provide the perfect storm of relevant content and untraditional marketing,” explained Chris Hanson, Content Manager at Circumerro. “In the age of social media, there are buzz words flying back and forth and constant changes that are enough to overwhelm any client. The goal is to interact, and blogging is where it starts.”
Programmers are a logical bunch. No need to start from scratch every time when there are proven and reliable solutions already out there, right? One of the mantras floating around the Circumerro office is: “the Internet was founded on the principle of sharing.” If you have information that’s relevant, make it known. We work smarter, not harder.
Circumerro is readying 22Local for beta launch in the very near future. We produced this quick video to explain what the new site means for Jackson Hole locals and others with a connection to our valley. Take a look at what’s to come.
If you are still searching for a New Year’s resolution, try this one on for size: dump Internet Explorer 6. Not only will you see (blogged) shouts of joy, you’ll be looking out for your own computing safety and increasing the efficiency of millions of programmers around the world. The scoop:
• IE6 was released in 2001 but fails to even properly support the CSS 1.0 standard from 1996.
• IE6 prevents the rest of the world from experiencing the full potential of new features and technology associated with up-to-date browsers
• The extra coding programmers are forced to develop for working around IE6 wastes time and potential
• IE6 is a security risk, leaving you vulnerable to viruses, trojans, phishing attacks and other unwanted headaches
There is no legitimate reason IE6 should be around anymore, yet as of December ’08, it still held roughly 20% of total browser market share. The grip is loosening, but it needs a final kick out of cyberspace. Upgrade to IE7 here, but its reviews aren’t exactly rave either. And within the year, IE8, now in beta version, should be complete and we’ll be programming for two obsolete browsers. GMail has recently stopped supporting IE6 on it’s lab features.
If you are shopping for an alternative, Mozilla Firefox, Opera, Google Chrome and Safari are all excellent browser choices, and free.
Circumerro Media recently finished work on a new website for the American Fly Fishing Trade Association (AFFTA). AFFTA’s new site is a portal to the organization’s online services for manufacturers, retailers, manufacturers’ representatives, travel companies, media producers and education and conservation organizations.
Dedicated to the sustained growth of the industry, AFFTA looked to Circumerro Media for a fresh and informative site to complement the fast-growing industry. The project stressed clear communication of the AFFTA mission, online membership conversion and the implementation of a content management system for AFFTA staff.
Working closely with AFFTA board members, Circumerro developed fluid navigation elements and compelling visuals wrapped around the core AFFTA values to drive the new site. “AFFTA’s strong industry roots and clear goals, along with excellent project dialogue, enabled this initiative to run seamlessly,” added Noah Waterhouse, Creative Services Director at Circumerro.
“We are very excited to be able to launch this new site, which we feel will be an outstanding resource for understanding all the good works of AFFTA including fly fishing education, member benefits, national lobbying efforts, and industry news,” stated Steve Sullivan, AFFTA Board Member and Membership Committee Chair.