The Company That You Keep by Kevin Dwinnell

You’re only as good as the company that you keep, as the saying goes, and today we’re taking steps at being better. We announced some great additions to our advisory board. If you haven’t already, I encourage you to read the press release here.

Three highly regarded people have agreed to join our advisory board and they bring depth to our team. Bob Christopher recently with UGOBE, John Dixon recently with AOL and Mark Harris from Microsoft have extensive experience in the product, business lines and market in which Brand Thunder operates.

Our success is increasing the challenges and decisions we face. We know we’re not always going to make the right moves, but we certainly want to put the odds in our favor. We’re looking to our advisory board for the objective overview that will help us do that.

So, while we may only be as good as the company that we keep, we’re hoping they help us keep a good company.

Posted in Commentary, News | Tags: AOL, Bob Christopher, brand thunder, John Dixon, Mark Harris, Microsoft, UGOBE | No Comments »

Brand Thunder Expands Advisory Board with Industry and Entrepreneurial Vets from AOL, Microsoft and UGOBE by Brand Thunder

COLUMBUS, OH — October 29, 2009 — Brand Thunder LLC (http://www.brandthunder.com), the custom browser specialists, announced today the addition of three new members to its Advisory Board. The board now includes Bob Christopher, former CEO of UGOBE, John Dixon, former VP at AOL, and Mark Harris, Technology Strategist for Microsoft. The members were chosen for their demonstrated success in consumer technology and business building.

“Our business is at the point of growing exponentially,” said Patrick Murphy, founder and CEO of Brand Thunder. “As we look to scale the business, we needed the wealth of knowledge and resources these gentlemen bring. We think their contribution will be invaluable to Brand Thunder’s business as they each bring a expertise in areas critical to our ongoing success.”

Bob Christopher brings leadership and operational experience in building successful technology companies with international focus. Bob recently served as CEO of UGOBE where he raised $24 million to launch the first consumer lifestyle robot company. Bob’s experience includes President of the investment forum InnerCircle 1,and Chief Strategist and President for Nikotel, a worldwide VoIP company.

John Dixon offers incredible depth of knowledge about online businesses and management. He recently served as Vice President of Business Development & Strategic Alliances at AOL and was instrumental in developing partnerships across industries including PC Manufacturers, sports, search providers and content creators. John’s experience includes marketing and brand management for H. J. Heinz Company.

Mark Harris, a 14-year veteran with Microsoft, brings a discipline for technology serving its consumer. Mark led the releases for Windows XP SP2 and Windows Server 2003 R2. He currently works with large healthcare accounts in central and northeast Ohio as a Technology Strategist.

Brand Thunder’s browser Booms! wrap the user’s web browser in a graphically-rich experience with integrated content and functionality from their favorite sports team, entertainment brand, publication or Internet site. The browser becomes a valuable connection between brand and its community delivering continuous engagement and increased loyalty.

About Brand Thunder:
Formed in April 2007, Brand Thunder creates custom-browser experiences for major brands. Brands enjoy a more persistent connection to their Internet consumer through the custom browser Boom!, which increases website visits and revenue. Through a software installation, end users change the look and feel of their Internet browser into an immersive experience from their favorite sports team, entertainment franchise or Internet site. The custom browser Booms! feature official logos, colors, content and functionality, but can also extend capabilities including video, music players or other Internet widgets. Current business partners and clients include the Huffington Post, Major League Soccer, NASCAR, NBA, NCAA, NFL, NHL, Universal Music and Yahoo!. Samples found at http://brandthunder.com/gallery/.

Contact:
Patrick Murphy, CEO
Brand Thunder, LLC
614-408-8202
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Posted in News, Press Releases | Tags: AOL, brand thunder, browser boom, custom browser, H. J. Heinz Company, Microsoft, Web browser, Windows Server 2003, Windows XP | No Comments »

Deja Vu – First Again with Capitals Hockey, This Time in UK by Kevin Dwinnell

Hockey teams seem to be the innovators in the interactive marketing space, especially if the team’s name is the Capitals. At least, that’s been our experience to date.

One of Brand Thunder’s first clients was the National Hockey League’s Washington Capitals. Now, we’re first again with the Capitals. This time it’s the Elite Ice Hockey League’s Edinburgh Capitals in Scotland. It’s the first entry we’ve had into the sports marketing arena within the UK. You can read the details here or see the product here.

The sports industry has been the most aggressive in adopting our product. That seems natural as they’re businesses are dependent on the ongoing and strong relationship with their existing fan base. They are not solely focused on the trial or new user that so many marketers pursue. Reaching and appealing to new audiences is important, but it’s never at the expense of that vital core.

We’re thrilled to count the Capitals and their fans among our users. Again.

Posted in Commentary, News | Tags: brand thunder, Branded Browser, browser boom, custom browser, edinburgh capitals, eihl, elite ice hockey, Ice hockey, National Hockey League, Scotland, Washington Capitals | No Comments »

COED Magazine and College Candy Bring College Life to Brand Thunder’s Browser Booms! by Brand Thunder

COLUMBUS, OH (PRWEB) October 15, 2009 — Brand Thunder LLC (http://www.brandthunder.com), the custom browser specialists, announced today the launch of two browser Booms! designed to bring the campus life to the Internet browser. COED Media Group’s COED Magazine and College Candy both offer irreverent and vital information for daily college life but from different sets of eyes – his and hers. Starting today, fans of the sites can personalize their Internet browser with the vibrancy of each site at http://coedmagazine.com/browser/ or http://collegecandy.com/browser/.

From distinctive looks to the latest videos and Tweets in the sidebars, each Boom! packs a lot into a redefined browser experience. The built-in feed reader will keep users up-to-speed on the latest news and features appearing on the sites. Plus, the toolbar buttons get users back to the most popular areas of COEDMagazine.com and CollegeCandy.com fast.

“COED Media Group captures the fun of the college lifestyle and puts it into our websites everyday,” said Robert Bardunias, President of CMG LLC. “Now, we’ve taken the best and hottest and put it into Brand Thunder Booms! so our fans enjoy it regardless of the site they are on.”

“COED Magazine and College Candy are ideal sites to offer a custom browser experience,” said Patrick Murphy, founder and CEO of Brand Thunder. “The content is highly visual and headlines are enticing, so they integrate well into the browser and also act as an irresistible invitation to click back to the sites.”

Brand Thunder’s browser Booms! are free, lightweight active customizations that can include themes, toolbars, sidebars and other content or functionality. Users can switch real-time between any installed Booms!.

About Brand Thunder:
Formed in April 2007, Brand Thunder creates custom-browser experiences. Brands enjoy a more persistent connection to their Internet consumer through the custom browser Boom!, which increases website visits and revenue. Through a software installation, end users change the look and feel of their Internet browser into an immersive experience from their favorite sports team, entertainment franchise or Internet site. The custom browser Booms! feature official logos, colors, content and functionality, but can also extend capabilities including video, music players or other Internet widgets. Current business partners and clients include the Huffington Post, Major League Soccer, NASCAR, NBA, NCAA, NFL, NHL, Universal Music and Yahoo!. Samples found at http://brandthunder.com/gallery/.

Contact:
Patrick Murphy, CEO
Brand Thunder, LLC
614-408-8202

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Posted in News, Press Releases | Tags: brandthunder, browser boom, CMG LLC, CO-ED Magazine, COED Media Group, coedmagazine.com, collegecandy.com, custom browser | No Comments »

Google’s Chrome Positioning for Growth by Kevin Dwinnell

Today, Laurie Sullivan over at MediaPost’s Online Media Daily discusses how Google is educating the world about Chrome. It’s a small step in a much bigger effort.

Whatbrowser.org is a simple site defining the most important application on the computer. It generously makes the major browsers available from the site, and has links to tests that I’m not sure really further the knowledge of browsers.

This is all nice, but the rest of the story is the overall push that Chrome is making to gain market share. Google is proceeding in a systematic way as hey are also buying the default placement on PC-OEM machines and offering customization via themes.

Switching is a fairly high barrier, so the default placement on the PC-OEMs will provide a big lift for Chrome. Customization has proven to be another tool that overcomes satisfaction with the norm. We’ve seen Firefox penetration double on our partner sites after they’ve launched a branded browser Boom!. That’s despite the requirement of going off to Mozilla to download Firefox first.

Given these steps, is Brand Thunder releasing a Chrome Boom!? Not yet. For a small company, efforts have to be focused. That focus has been on refining the custom browser experience on Firefox and extending the product to Microsoft’s Internet Explorer (see our IE beta story here). The market share of Chrome doesn’t warrant our full attention.

Does this put Chrome on the product road map? You bet. Google is taking the necessary steps to ensure Chrome has a meaningful presence, and that has ensured companies like ours are moving from interest to action.

Posted in News | Tags: brand thunder, Branded Browser, browser boom, custom browser, firefox, Google, Google Chrome, Internet Explorer, MediaPost, Microsoft, Mozilla Firefox | No Comments »