Captains of Industry » Web Content

Field of Dreams and The Power of Good Web Content to Drive Visits

Jean Levasseur — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 15:54:21 +0000

Whenever we build a new website, I’m reminded of the movie Field of Dreams starring Kevin Costner, and the line, “If you build it, they will come.” For companies creating new websites, the line translates to “If you build it with good web content, they will come.” But what does “good content” mean, and how does it actually draw in visitors who will buy into your brand? Captains of Industry recently launched a new website for a clean energy company, First Wind, that in its first month increased their site traffic by 60%.

To highlight their wind energy projects nationally, we developed a Google map for First Wind’s projects page that lets viewers get top level info on a wind farm then zoom in to see it with satellite imagery. An interactive map of Maine lets viewers click on different areas to see how $50 million dollars spent in the state during wind farm development helped energize local businesses. And a new media center featured not only the latest news about the company, but also a new wind energy video launched every week. Bringing about this Field of Dreams home run for First Wind did not involve rocket science, SEO tricks or flashy imagery. It was based simply on making content based on what people really wanted to see and do in the new ballpark. Once that was in place, the crowd arrived.

D Stop Microsite

admin — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 13:30:58 +0000

Dunkin’ Donuts had always relied heavily on TV advertising to reach consumers. But with TiVo coming on strong, and more customers using broadband Internet, the folks at Dunkin’ knew they needed to add some fresh new approaches to their traditional marketing mix.

Captains created The D Stop, a micro-site that features engaging web content: short interactive comedy films and animations, video e-cards, quizzes, prizes, offers and more. The most fun part was an interactive tutorial for the language of Dunkinese, a form of sign language known only to caffeinated Dunkin Donuts lovers. The D Stop, in effect, turns the traditional ad model on its ear; instead of paying media companies to run ads on their channels, our web content turns DunkinDonuts.com into its very own channel. The entertainment has been carefully crafted to reinforce the Dunkin’ Donuts brand in subtle ways, building customer loyalty while laying the foundation for ongoing opt-in e-mail communications. D Stop email promotion click-through rates were five times higher than the industry average, and D Stop visitors stayed on the site four times longer than they did on the corporate site.

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“That’s Revolting!” microsite, starring Florence Henderson

admin — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 13:20:35 +0000

Agion, a maker of antimicrobial coatings used on cell phones, doorknobs, and other things you don’t want to touch if they’re covered with revolting germs, came to Captains to spread the word about their brand. We figured moms would want to know about Agion. So we cast America’s favorite TV mom, Florence Henderson, in “That’s Revolting!” The microsite features a series of truly revolting videos, with an interactive game that lets you try to spot the germs before anyone gets violently ill. Shot in Los Angeles on the original Brady Bunch set (not a replica, the real set that had been in storage since the 1970’s), “That’s Revolting!” helped Agion land licensing deals with larger partners to incorporate antimicrobial technology onto new products. The microsite also helped Agion get noticed in the press.

A reporter for the Wall Street Journal found “That’s Revolting!” through Google when hunting for antimicrobial products, and subsequently featured Agion in their weekend edition, delivering over 2 million impressions at no cost, and without any assistance from a PR firm. This is another example of how Captains of Industry’s web content improves search engine visibility organically. Good content is the core of a successful inbound marketing strategy.

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SolidWorks Testimonial Video

admin — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 12:30:05 +0000

Turning satisfied customers into the world’s best sales force

SolidWorks is a different kind of 3-D Mechanical Design and Software firm. They are passionate about their products and want their software to change the way their customers look at the world. That passion is reciprocated by their customers who love – LOVE – their products. Because engineers rely so heavily on peers and colleagues for product recommendations, Captains used video testimonials to transform the plethora of satisfied SolidWorks customers into the best new business sales force in the world. Whether it was an educator explaining how SolidWorks made reading classes possible in rural Africa or a Fortune 500 company crediting SolidWorks for helping them stay ahead of their competitors, the spirit of the customers became synonymous with the spirit of SolidWorks. Our powerful testimonials played an integral part in helping SolidWorks overtake their competitors to become the industry leader in solid modeling software.

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Akamai Corporate Video

admin — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 18:44:43 +0000

As the world leader in technology that speeds the delivery of web content, Akamai appreciates the value of quality video production and good storytelling. That’s why they chose to work with the Captains when they needed a video to tell Akamai’s story for the TED conference website. The video takes a complex subject – cloud computing – and makes it easy to understand. Just as important, the video clearly demonstrates Akamai’s mastery of how cloud computing, enabled by their technology, helps reduce CO2 emissions.

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Starrett Corporate Video

admin — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 18:39:35 +0000

Starrett, a 125-year-old maker of precision measuring tools, is a household name in the engineering community. What’s not as well know is their special gauge division, which makes custom devices to measure everything from jet engines to take out containers. Captains crafted a video that captured the strength of Starrett’s long history while positioning them as a sophisticated technology partner.

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“The Global Cooling Machine”, starring Florence Henderson

admin — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 18:18:56 +0000

A modern-day, bizarre twist on the Brady Bunch.

The Global Cooling machine is the first of four videos that appeared in the online video experience called “That’s Revolting!” starring Florence Henderson. The videos and the website were made for Agion, a maker of antimicrobial coatings used on cell phones and many other products. The videos are genuinely revolting – but with a purpose: to help drive home the idea that disgusting germs are everywhere but people can help protect themselves by using Agion-coated products.

The videos were shot on the original Brady Bunch set that had been in storage since the 1970’s (although we had to rearrange the set pieces for the production). It was a surreal experience, to say the least, being on this set with Florence Henderson. She told us our script was “like the Farrelly brothers on acid.” We thought the Farrelly’s already were on acid, but that’s another story.

A reporter for the Wall Street Journal found “That’s Revolting!” on the web when searching for information on antimicrobial products, and featured the microsite in their weekend edition, delivering over 2 million impressions for the Agion brand – FREE. Agion did not have a PR firm at the time. This shows – again – how good web content drives higher visibility in the search engines.

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“It Goes Without Saying” Viral Video

admin — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 16:54:40 +0000

Creating a brand language – literally.

As part of the D Stop microsite for Dunkin’ Donuts, Captains created (or discovered, depending on how you look at it) a language for Dunkin’ lovers called Dunkinese. The first video on the site, shown here, set up the premise with construction workers using the Dunkinese sign language to communicate wordlessly. The site featured a whole video tutorial on the language, complete with a quiz. People who passed the quiz received a diploma via email that they could hang in their office. Thousands of customers took the test – and passed. While Dunkin’ captured emails for their database, allowing for ongoing engagement with their customers.

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