CollegeHumor Introduces New Browser Theme from Brand Thunder by Brand Thunder

COLUMBUS, OH — January 28, 2010 — Brand Thunder LLC (http://www.brandthunder.com) and CollegeHumor (http://www.collegehumor.com) announce the launch of an interactive browser theme fully capable of infusing Firefox browsers with a sense of humor. Fans of CollegeHumor can find the free download at http://www.brandthunder.com/collegehumor.

Through a small browser add-on, users’ web browser skin will get a complete CollegeHumor makeover including links to the most popular sections of the website and a multimedia sidebar.

“CollegeHumor is already an incredibly addictive site,” said Patrick Murphy, founder and CEO of Brand Thunder. “By creating this kind of visibility in the browser, we think this could lead to a whole new 12-step program.”

Brand Thunder’s browser Booms! are lightweight active customizations that can include themes, toolbars, sidebars and other content or functionality. With a Boom!, users can switch real-time between any of the browser looks they created without restarting their browser.

About Brand Thunder:
Formed in April 2007, Brand Thunder creates extreme makeovers for the Internet browser. Brands enjoy a persistent connection to their Internet consumer driving more website visits and increased revenue. Through a software installation, end users change the drab Internet browser into an immersive experience from their favorite sports team, entertainment franchise or Internet site. The interactive browser themes feature official logos, colors, content and functionality, and can also extend capabilities including video, music players or other Internet widgets. Current business partners and clients include Bing, The Daily Beast, Huffington Post, Major League Soccer, NASCAR, NBA, NCAA, NFL, NHL and Universal Music. Samples found at http://brandthunder.com/gallery/.

About CollegeHumor:
CollegeHumor.com was founded in a dorm room in 1999 as an online depository for all of the content that floats around collegiate computer networks. The site has since grown into a daily updated source of original web content and now boasts a loyal following of 10 million unique users per month and more than 30 million monthly video views. With major blue chip companies such as Ford, Universal Pictures and Procter & Gamble advertising on the site, the release of Penguin Books’ The CollegeHumor Guide to College and Faking It…How to Seem Like a Better Person Without Actually Improving Yourself, and a movie with Paramount in the works, CollegeHumor has quickly emerged as an icon of online humor. CollegeHumor is an operating business of IAC (NASDAQ: IACI).

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

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Posted in News, Press Releases | Tags: brandthunder, browser theme, Browsers, college humor, collegehumor, firefox | No Comments »

Brand Thunder and The Daily Beast Launch First-Ever Web Browser Theme with a Dynamically Updating Photo in the Design by Brand Thunder

COLUMBUS, OH – January 26, 2010 — Brand Thunder LLC (http://www.brandthunder.com), the custom browser specialists, in conjunction with The Daily Beast announce the release of an Internet browser theme tailored specifically to the avid newsreader. It is the first theme to update with The Daily Beast’s photo exclusives, plus the story headline can be revealed on mouse over or the user can click to read the full story. The browser theme also integrates content and functionality directly from The Daily Beast including a news ticker of breaking news and links to important site categories. It can be downloaded at http://www.thedailybeast.com/browser-theme.

Users will enjoy a multimedia sidebar that keeps them connected to the hottest news via a special view of the Cheat Sheet, Buzz Board, Blogs & Stories and Video sections of The Daily Beast. With the sidebar, users can surf the web while keeping a detailed view of breaking news open in the browser.

“Delivering relevant news into the browser is a great way to keep our community attuned to what’s happening now,” said Byran Keefer, Director of Product for The Daily Beast. “The Brand Thunder Boom! feature set allowed us to move beyond simple text and into something that’s as visually compelling as it is functional.”

“The Daily Beast forced a unique twist in our product, which is the same approach they take on their web site,” said Patrick Murphy, founder and CEO of Brand Thunder. “Pulling a new image into the browser theme each day is a great high-level feature for their fan base and just plain cool.”

Brand Thunder’s browser Boom! technology provides an extreme makeover of the Internet 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 Boom!.

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 and Universal Music. 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: brand thunder, brandthunder, browser theme, Daily Beast, Interactive marketing | No Comments »

9 High-Growth Companies Showcased at SIIA Information Industry Summit by Kevin Dwinnell

The SIIA Information Industry Summit has a reputation as the digital information industry’s flagship conference. It’s an annual Summit of industry leaders for providing strategic guidance to senior business leaders representing publishers, content technology companies, bankers, analysts, bloggers and press. This year Brand Thunder is fortunate enough to join.

Brand Thunder was invited along with eight other early-stage businesses that offer content or content technology products and are poised for growth. During SIIA Previews sessions held throughout the Information Industry Summit, CEOs from each of the companies will highlight the innovations that have made them successful.

The list below gives a quick overview of each of the selected companies and is copied from the Summit’s website, found here.

Boardroom Insiders uses public source data to build deep and insightful profiles of senior executives at major companies nationwide. A feed monitoring system enables continuous updating of profiles, ensuring they reflect the most current news about companies and executives.

Brand Thunder offers an easy-to-install browser add-on, through which users transform their web-browser into an immersive experience. These custom-browser experiences feature themes with content, official logos, colors, images and style, plus functionality that extend browser’s capabilities.

DeepDyve is the largest online rental service for scientific, technical and medical research with over 30 million articles from thousands of authoritative journals. For as little as $0.99, users can rent and read the full-text of countless articles from DeepDyve’s vast collection of prestigious content.

HaraBara is building HaraBara GreenBase (TM), an essential information resource with a comprehensive, in-depth way to access actionable information related to green, sustainable, environmentally-oriented products, company actions, technology, research, engineering and government developments.

HearPlanet turns your cell phone into a multimedia guide to the world. The platform enables aggregation and creation of media and delivers it to mobile phones. HearPlanet focuses on audio content, making it the perfect solution for driving, sightseeing, museum going or any time you want information without distraction or slowing down.

NetProspex has built a database of crowd-sourced business contacts, overlaid with a central authority technology system to determine and maintain quality. Manual tele-verification makes NetProspex’s B2B contact database the most accurate resource for user-generated contact information.

ORLive is the leading destination for medical and surgical video. The company provides over 100 medical device manufacturers and hospitals the opportunity to engage with their customers, enhance, and extend their brand via a trusted and reliable branded communications channel.

Parse.ly is a service and a platform for personalized content recommendations. Users tell Parse.ly what they care about, and our system matches their interest profile against thousands of online news and blog articles.

Snac Inc. is a mobile software and services company that has developed and deployed into Beta a mobile widget service that helps companies connect more frequently, quickly and effectively with their mobile consumers.

Posted in News | Tags: brand thunder, browser theme, content providers, iia10, siia, Web browser | No Comments »

SuperDraft 2010 and MLS Browser Themes by Kevin Dwinnell

A lot of attention will be on Philadelphia today for Major League Soccer’s draft day. You can find much of the action at the MLS site. Events like this bring fans together with hope and anticipation for the coming season.

And in the midst of the hype, I’m going to make a shameless plug for browser themes Brand Thunder created for each of the MLS teams. We’ve had great success with our product across sports leagues, and fortunate enough to engage the MLS at the league level so each of their teams benefited.

If you’re a fan, go to Brand Thunder’s Gallery and click on Sports, scroll down to Soccer and choose your favorite team. You’ll be treated to world-class designs and the best of the team’s content right in the browser. And that offers you style and substance in addition to a completely new browser experience.

Enjoy the theme, the day and good luck to all the teams and players.

Posted in Commentary | Tags: brand thunder, browser boom, browser theme, custom browser, Major League Soccer, soccer | No Comments »

Florida Panthers Launch Fan-Focused Browser Theme with Brand Thunder by Brand Thunder

COLUMBUS, OH – January 12, 2010 – Brand Thunder LLC (http://www.brandthunder.com) and the Florida Panthers (http://www.floridapanthers.com) announced today the launch of an interactive browser theme designed to keep fans in touch with the team. Panther fans can find the free download at http://panthers.nhl.com/club/page.htm?id=59831.

Through a small browser add-on, the user’s web browser will get a complete makeover that includes a Florida Panthers theme, links to the most popular sections of the team site, a news ticker for breaking headlines and a multimedia sidebar full of team videos and its Twitter feed.

“We continue to look for new and innovative ways to stay connected with our fans,” said Michael Yormark, President & COO of the Florida Panthers. “This browser theme with its integrated news, video and Twitter offers both style and substance to the online experience of every Panthers fan.”

“The Florida Panthers have great online content for their fans,” said Patrick Murphy, founder and CEO of Brand Thunder. “That great content is delivered as it happens within the browser making it a powerful community tool.”

Brand Thunder’s browser Booms! are lightweight active customizations that can include themes, toolbars, sidebars and other content or functionality. With a Boom!, users can switch real-time between any of the browser looks they created without restarting their browser.

About Brand Thunder:
Formed in April 2007, Brand Thunder creates extreme makeovers for the Internet browser. Brands enjoy a persistent connection to their Internet consumer, 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 interactive browser themes 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 Bing, The Daily Beast, Huffington Post, Major League Soccer, NASCAR, NBA, NCAA, NFL, NHL and Universal Music. Samples found at http://brandthunder.com/gallery/.

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

###

Posted in News, Press Releases | Tags: brandthunder, browser theme, Florida Panthers, nhl, Web browser | No Comments »

Trust – The Unwritten Agreement Between Brand and Consumer by Kevin Dwinnell

Trust is a powerful tool in the business arsenal. It’s the enabler to the value exchange that a business seeks with its consumer. With trust, businesses can weather some pretty bad situations. Without it, you’re in a very bad situation. Fortunately, we live in an optimistic society and most companies are given a fair chance to prove themselves.

The Internet has leveraged this trust with its beta releases. It’s a way to test a product in the production environment prior to being production ready. There’s an inherent trust for a user to try a beta product that by its beta name admits will have issues. The expectation is that those issues will not be serious to the user. Because of that trust, the user gets a first look at something new and cool, and the company gets to see its product perform in a real-world environment. That’s the value exchange that trust enabled.

Advertising works not because consumers love it, but because the value exchange of free content for viewing ads is apparent. If the message becomes too much about the advertising, the consumer moves on to a different choice. I’ve canceled magazine subscriptions when I couldn’t find the table of content for the sheer number of ads. Digital is even less forgiving.

You’ll find this mantra in social media guidance. You can’t just sell. It’s boring, offensive and you’ll wind up social all by yourself. If you’re interesting and relevant, people will want to hear what you say and hang around more. You’ve earned their trust.

So, how do you earn and maintain trust?

Be True to Your Word

Wal-Mart offers Always. Low Prices. You can always go into a Wal-Mart and get a very good price. Not always the lowest, but consistently in that vacinity so most consumers are forgiving if they’re not.

Admit When Your Wrong

Facebook continues to test the boundaries of their privacy policy. They’ve made some missteps and retracted the changes – keeping the trust of their consumers. The fact that they continue to stumble in this area, based on consumer reactions, will show the strength of that trust overtime.

Be Open and Honest

If you’re open with your customers, that’s an easy way to gain trust and respect – even if you can’t meet their needs.

These are pretty standard things for any relationship. But that’s what builds trust is that ongoing relationship. So, each touchpoint between you and the consumer is an opportunity to build on that trust. The more trust you have, the better the position for the rest of your business.

Posted in Commentary | Tags: advertising, business, Consumer, online marketing, web apps | No Comments »