Brand Thunder Introduces New Advertising Sponsor Placements within the Browser Chrome by Brand Thunder

COLUMBUS, OH – September 4, 2009 – Brand Thunder LLC (http://www.brandthunder.com), the custom browser specialists, announced today the availability of clickable sponsored placements within the browser chrome of its custom browser Booms!. These sponsored placements are visually integrated within the browser theme, remain regardless of the website being visited, and fully take advantage of the hours users spend online.

The sponsorship program was designed to simplify implementation for Brand Thunder clients. It leverages Brand Thunder’s ad server allowing for a full range of tracking and reporting, plus providing easy updates for sponsorship graphics. The browser chrome placement assures high-visibility and engagement due to its proximity to the web address bar and browser search box.

“Our clients have expressed a need to provide new and exciting opportunities to their corporate sponsors,” said Patrick Murphy, founder and CEO of Brand Thunder. “These new sponsor placements will allow us to meet that need in a manner that integrates seamlessly and stylistically with the rest of the Boom! and keeps the overall user experience intact.”

A Boom!, a free, lightweight, active customization, is unlike other browser-based tools with its visual immersion, integrated content and added functionality. It has proven to be a popular way for fans to personalize their web experience with their favorite sports team, music star, newspaper, news site and more. 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
614-304-1316

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Posted in News, Press Releases | Tags: boom, brand thunder, Branded Browser, brandthunder, Browsers, custom browser, Online advertising, online sponsorship, sponsorship | No Comments »

Brand Thunder and “Full Speed 2 a Cure” Create a Custom Browser Designed to Improve Awareness and Early Detection of Breast Cancer by Brand Thunder

COLUMBUS, OH — August 28, 2009 — Brand Thunder LLC (http://www.brandthunder.com), the custom browser specialists, announced today an agreement with racecar driver Emerson Newton-John’s “Full Speed 2 a Cure” motorsport cancer awareness campaign (http://www.fullspeed2acure.com) to deliver a custom browser Boom!. The launch of the Boom! coincides with a special auction for a keepsake Gladiator GarageWorks Workbench signed by all 33 drivers from the 2009 Indianapolis 500 and in order of their pole position. All proceeds from the auction benefit “Cure Breast Cancer” (http://www.curebreastcancer.org )

Users of the Boom! can participate in the auction and provide other support through the multimedia sidebar. Other features of the Boom! include an audio greeting from Olivia Newton-John, asking woman to perform monthly self-breast exams, plus links to the sites of ONJ, renowned breast cancer surgeon Dr. Ernie Bodai, Larry Foyt and more. Brand Thunder’s browser customizations provide a more persistent connection to users whenever they are connected to the Internet, regardless of the web page they are viewing, making them an ideal component for the “Full Speed 2 a Cure” campaign.

“I’m not aware of anyone who doesn’t have a personal story about cancer and its affect on their lives,” said Patrick Murphy, founder and CEO of Brand Thunder. “Knowing that some of our product features can contribute in a meaningful way to people’s lives is wonderful.”

“Thanks to Brand Thunder for their hard work on what we all believe will be an informative and enjoyable way for people to learn about our campaign, our partners, and the importance of early detection,” said Emerson Newton-John, founder and principle of “Full Speed 2 a Cure.”

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!, or change from a full Boom! view to a small Boom! (toolbar only).

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
614-304-1316

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Posted in News, Press Releases | Tags: boom, brand thunder, brandthunder, Breast cancer, Cancer, custom browser, Emerson Newton-John, Health, Olivia Newton-John | No Comments »

Helping Brands Leverage Social Media by Kevin Dwinnell

Ben Elowitz made a compelling argument for brands connecting with its fans in his Online Media Daily commentary. He details examples of how brands have created sites that engage their user base and create a dynamic exchange. It’s by serving these fans that the majority of brands will see their success in social media.

I’m thrilled to see this kind of discussion because Brand Thunder plays an enabling role in this scenario. When you have an engaged community with a steady flow of news, information and discussion – the best thing you can do is keep that community aware of the activity going on. Fortunately, there are a number of methods and tools that help brands maintain that connection. I’m biased as I think we have one of the better ones.

When you have the connection to your end user in the browser, it’s a persistent connection within the primary vehicle for interacting online. The results of mixing a tool like a customized browser with the exciting news and events on a brand’s community site can be staggering. We’ve seen an 8x improvement in visits by users of our product over the average visitor to our client’s site. Most of the products that contribute to these gains can be implemented with a low level of effort by the brand.

There is a promised land for brands in the social media world. There is an engaged audience that a brand can appeal to and create the desired connection. When you think of these sites and the destination they can become, don’t overlook the vehicles that will help deliver that audience on a frequent basis.

Posted in News | Tags: Ben Elowitz, boom, brand thunder, Branded Browser, custom browser, Social media, Social network service | No Comments »

Brand Thunder at Soccerex London Forum by Kevin Dwinnell

Brand Thunder will be at the Soccerex London Forum on Wednesday. Boyd Butler, KAM Sports International, will be representing us. Contact us if you want to meet with Boyd.

This is an advantage of working with channel partners that are experts in their markets. By having a partner in the UK, and one that is a specialist football agency, it was an easy call to send a representative. We also have data to support the decision based on the response to the Kansas City Wizards Boom! and our Euro Football custom browser.

Brand Thunder is still a start up and we try to be frugal. Being frugal doesn’t mean don’t spend, it just means spend wisely. This feels worth it.

Thinking about a post last week discussing how our business development team is working on developing new verticals for our product. These take time, but we’re also the most experienced selling our product – so we take on the majority of that work. Once a channel opens up, we leverage our partners to grow it. With some demonstrated success, having an expert in the football field seems like the natural person to attend this forum.

Posted in Commentary | Tags: Association football, boom, brand thunder, Branded Browser, custom browser, Kansas City Wizards, soccer, soccerex | No Comments »

The Point – Keep Your Business Multi-Faceted by Kevin Dwinnell

Brand Thunder has entered a new market with the release of a BOOM for St. Louis’s 105.7 The Point (see it here). It’s our first radio station and we’re excited to tap into a new category. In so many things, if you’re one dimensional, you’re vulnerable and this is a consideration for our business.

As a start up, we’re trying to make sure we’re not too dependent on one technology, one client or one industry. We have a primary product in our BOOMS (our branded browsers), so we’re staying diversified in areas where we have control like our sales channel, operating systems or distribution channels.

A radio station also has singular dependency on its broadcast signal, but the Internet can change that. With the Internet, a station can maintain a longer connection with its core audience plus reach a new audience from the Web at large.

To reach that wider audience, Brand Thunder helps its clients with promotion on their site, but then works to deliver distribution on relevant sites like download sites, online communities or fan sites. The intent is to provide greater adoption by not limiting promotion to a single site, and this will benefit us both.

The product itself should have mass appeal. It’s an aggressively styled browser with live streams of the KPNT broadcast, industry news and more. This BOOM will rock the Alternative music fan. And the St. Louis fan will enjoy concert listings and other local news. KPNT was prepared to serve more than a single audience when they designed this.

It’s a struggle to plan and re-plan your business tactics. So if you’ve thought through how to keep your business multi-faceted, then take a minute to download this BOOM, click the Listen Live button, turn it up, sit back and experience Everything Alternative.

Posted in Commentary | Tags: Alternative, boom, Branded Browser, custom browser, KPNT, Radio, Radio broadcasting | 1 Comment »