Orlando Magic Takes on Brand Thunder in the Finals by Kevin Dwinnell

You’d think a team heading to the NBA Finals would have only one thing on their mind. That may be true of the players and coaches, but the front office is still thinking about the fans in this stellar 20th season for the Magic.

That’s why, starting today, you can download the latest Brand Thunder Boom! from the NBA’s Eastern Conference champions. It’s a special “NBA Finals” edition that’ll have fans saying “Go Magic!”

Seriously, this is one project that’s been GO from the beginning. It’s probably one of the fastest turnarounds we’ve seen from agreement to design, build and launch. Motivation can do that for you. But it’s only part of the equation. For those in the development field, you know it’s also about clear definition and deadlines met by anyone who plays a role. That’s not always easy.

Neither is playing in the NBA Finals. Two motivated teams reached the Finals, but now it’s about offense, defense and simply whether or not shots are going to fall. Or, it could just take a little Magic.

Posted in Commentary, News | Tags: brand thunder, Brand Thunder Boom, Branded Browser, custom browser, Eastern Conference, National Basketball Association, NBA, NBA Finals, orlando magic | No Comments »

Brand Thunder Hits Cool Site of the Day by Kevin Dwinnell

The word “venerable” isn’t used to describe many web sites, but it certainly fits Cool Site of the Day. They’ve been surfacing a cool site on the Web every day since August 1994, which means they’ve look at a lot of sites for a long time. That made it all the more thrilling to find out Brand Thunder was going to be featured today.

Now that we made it past the editors, we get to hear from the Cool Site audience through their ratings. I hope we fare well. It’ll be interesting to see what reaction our product gets when we’re not leading with the strength of our partners.

Usually, a fan of site like Dogster.com or of a team like the Pittsburgh Penguins will see our custom browser Booms! promoted on the community or team web site. The user only becomes acquainted with Brand Thunder after the fact. In this case, Brand Thunder is being introduced directly to the user. It’ll be interesting to see how we do on a first impression.

Posted in Commentary, News | Tags: brand thunder, Brand Thunder Boom, cool site of the day, custom browser, Dogster, Pittsburgh Penguins | No Comments »

Your Browser, Like No Other – Introducing Canvas by Kevin Dwinnell

Today, Brand Thunder announced Canvas our latest Boom! and a major step forward in Internet Browser visual style flexibility. You can read the press release here, but in a nutshell, you can make any photo, or any image on a web page, your browser theme. This is a totally new experience in the browser space.

Now the browser can be something very personal with the addition of photos of family, friends or pets. Or, you might go for extremely stylish and explore the free textures that are abundant on the web. You might even go for something more lively by adding an animated gif (like the one in this post). It’s all up to you. It’s your Canvas.

While I could drone on for a thousand words or more, it’d be better to install it yourself from our Canvas download page and see what you can do with your pictures.

Don’t miss the Tips & Tricks at the very bottom of the Tutorial (this is the page you land on after installing, or you can access it under the B/T button at the right of the browser). You’ll get a good idea of options you have as well as some fun sites to explore for images to add to Canvas. And, each visual you add is housed under a My-Pix button where you can switch between them any time you like.

One last request. It’s a beta. We’d like your help. As proud as we are of this innovation, there’s plenty of room for improvement. Once you’ve tried it, drop by our page on GetSatisfaction.com and give us your feedback. Community help and support would be greatly appreciated.

We hope you enjoy it.

Posted in Commentary, News | Tags: brand thunder, Brand Thunder Boom, Branded Browser, Browsers, custom browser, firefox, Get Satisfaction, Tips & Tricks, Web browser | 2 Comments »

Brand Thunder Unveils “Canvas” and the Ability to Add Any Photo or Image to Your Browser Theme with Just a Click by Patrick Murphy

COLUMBUS, OH (May 28, 2009) — Brand Thunder LLC (http://www.brandthunder.com), the custom browser specialists, today announced the beta release of Canvas, a major advance in Internet browser personalization. This lightweight browser enhancement puts the look and feel of the browser fully in the hands of the user by allowing any picture on their computer, or any image on a web page, to be set as the theme for their Internet browser. Canvas is available for download at http://brandthunder.com/Canvas and represents the easiest method to customize the browser on such a personal level.

“Brand Thunder was built on the premise of allowing users to personalize their browser experience,” said Patrick Murphy, founder and CEO of Brand Thunder. “Today, with Canvas, we radically redefine what that means. There’s no other tool that’s as easy to use and gives this amount of visual control over the user’s existing browser.”

With Canvas installed, users may instantaneously wrap the browser with images or photos found on sites like Flickr and Facebook, even animated gifs by right-clicking the image and selecting “Add to Image Canvas.” Any image added to Canvas becomes part of the “MyPix” button, the equivalent of a browser photo album where the user can switch browser themes any time they wish. Clicking the Manage button allows the user to add and remove images, or to modify the look by changing image position, background color and tiling.

“The browser theme offers one of the most visible customizations for the computer,” Murphy said. “Wallpapers and screensavers have been available for a long time, but once software is opened the wallpaper is hidden. The screensaver is primarily on when you’re not at your computer, so you don’t get to enjoy it much. We’ve put the same kind of personalization and ease of use into an application that is open for hours at a time, the browser.”

Brand Thunder’s browser Booms are free, 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. Canvas works with Brand Thunder’s other Booms! offering a custom browser experience as often as users like.

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, NHL, Universal Music and Yahoo!. Samples found at http://brandthunder.com/gallery/.

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

###

Posted in Press Releases | Tags: brand thunder, Brand Thunder Boom, Branded Browser, browser boom, custom browser, Facebook, Flickr, Huffington Post, Major League Soccer, Patrick Murphy, Yahoo | No Comments »

Brand Thunder Drawn into World of Webcomics by Kevin Dwinnell

Blind Ferret Entertainment’s Looking For Group was a fun project for us, and not just because it marks our first comic-focused Boom! (custom browser). It’s a great example of the visual styling that can take place within the browser (more on that below). The Blind Ferret team did a fantastic job with it.

If you’re not familiar with LFG, it’s an irreverent fantasy-themed webcomic. Don’t worry if you feel you’re late to the story line. With the full archive of comics available, you can get as much back-story as you need.

This Boom! is also a good example of partner-controlled graphics. Since it’s a company of artists, the request was for full control over the look and feel of the browser. We handed over the design templates, and they handed back some amazingly detailed art. This creates the perfect environment, within the Internet browser, for the LFG fan. You can (and should) see it here.

It also demonstrates another dimension of a Brand Thunder Boom! – client control. We tout our expertise in the custom browser space and are prepared to manage the entire process for you. But that doesn’t make us experts at knowing your audience, and where you want to have control – we’re prepared to work with you there as well.

Posted in Commentary, News | Tags: brand thunder, Brand Thunder Boom, branded browswer, Comics, custom browser, lfgcomic, looking for group | 1 Comment »

NHL Teams More Than Double Their Chances of Making the Playoffs by Signing with Brand Thunder by Kevin Dwinnell

It’s true. Ninety percent of the NHL teams that have signed with Brand Thunder are heading to the playoffs. Only 35% of the other teams get to make that claim. Coincidence? I think not.

I think it’s the result of the immersive experience and the positive energy that the team/fan connection creates… OK, I realize that correlation does not imply causation. The playoffs are about winning. All the teams advancing had the effort, motivation and good fortune to advance into the post season. No single thing can guarantee achieving this. The best you can do is put as many factors in your favor as possible to give yourself or your team that chance to advance.

For companies, a Boom (branded browser) is one thing you can put in the “W” column for your business. We recognize that leveraging interactive media to connect with your user or fan base is not likely to be core to your business. That’s why we manage as much of the process as possible and limit your resource commitment to delivering a few assets from your existing web page, approval of the browser mock, a promotional link and download page (for which we also deliver assets). With a low level of effort, you enjoy a high return from increased web site visits and transactions from your fans. I wonder if any of the teams entering the playoffs had wins this easy.

In any case, congratulations and good luck to the Blackhawks, Blues, Canadiens, Canucks, Capitals, Flyers, Penguins and our home team, making their first playoff appearance, the Blue Jackets. If you’d like specifics as to how meaningful a Boom can be for your business, drop us a line.

Posted in Commentary | Tags: brand thunder, Brand Thunder Boom, Branded Browser, Chicago Blackhawks, Columbus Blue Jackets, custom browser, National Hockey League, Sports, Vancouver Canucks | 1 Comment »