Web Apps – 5 Ways to Convert and Keep Your Fans by Kevin Dwinnell

Do you feel safe downloading a program from the Internet? Do you give more thought to visiting a web site or installing a piece of software? It’s questions like these that create challenges for web applications. If you’re offering a software download, you’re already operating at a disadvantage in the mind of the consumer — whether it’s conscious or not.

It’s an act of trust when a consumer downloads and installs your product. You’ve been invited into their life. That invitation is a powerful opportunity to connect with that user over a potentially long period of time. Don’t blow it. Here are some of the things we do and have learned to encourage adoption of our interactive browser themes.

1. Full Frontal Disclosure

In the connected world, it doesn’t pay to try to hide information. You will be found out. Just ask John Edwards. That’s why we put our disclosures upfront and prior to install. We include a default search engine with our product. Even though users can change it any time they like, we tell them up front that it’s coming.

It’s the proper protocol for software distribution on the web. Your user can then make an informed decision about everything they are receiving. It won’t protect you from negative comments, there are always dissenters. At least you’ve been open and can avoid greater negative fallout.

2. If You Love It, Let It Go

The best move we made was to change our product and allow consumers to switch between any theme they want. In the web 1.0 world, you got your hooks into the consumer and you didn’t let go. That doesn’t cut it anymore. Your fans are going to go wherever they want, whenever they want. If you’re doing right by them, they’ll be back.

Our themes help create return visits to our client site, and it’s powerful. Having messaging capability in the browser means you can reach them whenever they’re online. So, making it easy for your fans to change the theme and step away from a client’s experience can be a hard thing for clients to favor. It’s shown to be the right thing.

Our sports teams have a steady core of users that stay with the theme throughout the year. There’s also a large number that return each pre-season or join as the season rolls along. Recognizing your fans may have other interests and welcoming them back each season makes for a much stronger relationship. Giving the ability to switch between themes means you keep a foot in the door instead of creating a complete uninstall scenario.

3. Ain’t No Mountain High Enough

We all wish we could remove the barriers to entry. We try to minimize them by making the call to action clearly visible to the user, reduce clutter on the page, sell the sizzle and so on. Showing the graphics included in our themes is a big boost for us.

With Firefox at roughly 25% of the browser market, offering a Firefox-only theme would generally be perceived as a huge barrier to entry. Fortunately, the visual strength of our product and the affinity to the brands we work with has greatly reduced this obstacle. We’ve had clients double their Firefox penetration – outpacing Firefox’s own overall market share. We’ve also had clients get 30% of their total audience using their custom theme. Quite astounding numbers.

4. You Don’t Have to Shout

Our browser themes are an affinity marketing tool. We build them to help brands connect to their fans. And let’s face it, brands and the companies behind them are out to make money. If you’re sending stuff out into the market, it’s eventually got to make you some money or you’re out of luck.

As much as our product offers new sponsor and ad inventory, and there’s a persistent communication channel available to them, I think it’s great that the product owners tread lightly in this area. This is not the place for the hard sell. To coin the phrase of social media, this is for joining the conversation – you’ve got to be a part of the dialogue. Ongoing, timely and useful information will make the long-term connection where the marketing appeals are accepted. We’ve seen this respect around communication rewarded with an average of 10% click through to commerce offers from within our themes.

5. We Interrupt This Program

As mentioned above, timely and useful information is vital. The power of putting a message up front and visible to the user has resulted in phenomenal return visits to our partner sites. Most sites have feeds that are great tools to reach your fans when they’re not on your site. The question is “Are you offering enticing news?”

There are two items to consider. One, a killer headline gets attention. The Huffington Post is a master at this. You can also look to leaders in your industry to find out how they write to engage their readers. Two, inside information is a powerful way to build a relationship. Relationships get tighter when you share personal information about yourself. This can apply to businesses as well. You can get a good feel of this if you look at how Toyota mishandled their PR crisis. Take a page from the Tylenol scare years ago – open and immediate information sharing goes a long way to shoring up your consumer’s trust.

These are some of the things that are working for us, and why. What would you add to the list?

Posted in Commentary | Tags: brand thunder, browser theme, Browsers, Clients, firefox, Huffington Post, New Media, web app, Web search engine | No Comments »

In the Daytona 500 Spirit – 2 Great Firefox Themes for Racing Fans by Kevin Dwinnell

You probably saw our release this week for the Daytona International Speedway Firefox browser theme. We’ve also just released a revision to the NASCAR Nationwide browser theme that is pretty hot. Either one will get you in the racing spirit. Enjoy!

Posted in Commentary, News | Tags: AutoRacing, brand thuner, browser theme, DanicaPatrick, Daytona International Speedway, firefox, Motorsports, NASCAR, NASCAR Nationwide, NationwideSeries | No Comments »

Brand Thunder and the Daytona International Speedway Move Web Browser Themes into the Fast Lane by Brand Thunder

COLUMBUS, OH – February 9, 2010 — Brand Thunder LLC (http://www.brandthunder.com), the custom browser specialists, announced today the launch of the interactive browser theme for the Daytona International Speedway. Racing fans can get a browser theme that keeps them attuned to three of the hottest events at the preeminent race track, the Daytona International Speedway. The theme changes automatically in the browser after each event providing a unique look for the Daytona 500, the Coke Zero 400 Powered By Coca-Cola and the Daytona 200 motorcycle classic. The theme can be downloaded for free at http://www.daytonainternationalspeedway.com/Fan-Info/Custom-Daytona-Web-Browser.aspx.

In addition to three unique looks, the interactive browser theme also features breaking news in the news ticker and sidebar newsreader, plus easy navigation to the Daytona International Speedway Web site including tickets for all events. The browser theme will also connect users to the Daytona International Speedway’s fan pages on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

“With each event, Daytona International Speedway transforms to a completely different experience,” said Robin Braig, President of the Daytona International Speedway. “With Brand Thunder’s help, we’re delivering that same concept to the web browsers of race fans.”

“The events at the Daytona International Speedway are such a big draw,” said Patrick Murphy, founder and CEO of Brand Thunder. “This theme is a great way to keep the connection to the fans when they’re not at the track and keeping the racing spirit with them whenever they’re online.”

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, Universal Music and Bing Search. 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, browser theme, Daytona 500, Daytona International Speedway, Facebook, firefox, Major League Soccer, Sport | No Comments »

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 »

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 »

Brand Thunder Launches Beta in Preparation to Storm Microsoft’s Internet Explorer Browser Experience by Brand Thunder

COLUMBUS, OH — September 29, 2009– Brand Thunder LLC (http://www.brandthunder.com), the custom browser specialists, announced today beta group availability to test the most visually immersive add-on available for Microsoft’s Internet Explorer browser. Fans of the NHL’s Vancouver Canucks (http://canucks.nhl.com/club/page.htm?id=48312) or Washington Capitals (http://capitals.nhl.com/browser) can request access to private beta groups and their opportunity to experience Brand Thunder’s Boom! beyond Firefox.

Brand Thunder creates persistent connections between major brands and their online consumers via the Internet browser. Each browser Boom! delivers a visual takeover of the browser, an integrated toolbar for content and functionality, plus the multimedia sidebar for videos, photos and more. Previously, the Boom! was only available to users of the Firefox browser. With the addition of Internet Explorer, 90% of the browser market will have access to a more custom and personalized Internet experience.

“The customization capabilities we’re adding to Microsoft’s Internet Explorer are a pretty big step forward for the users of the IE browser,” said Patrick Murphy, founder and CEO of Brand Thunder. “And it’s a huge win for our clients who want it as simple as possible to give their fans a stunning web browser.”

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
614-304-1316

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Posted in News, Press Releases | Tags: brand thunder, Branded Browser, browser boom, custom browser, firefox, Internet Explorer, Microsoft, Mozilla Firefox, Vancouver Canucks, Washington Capitals, Web browser | No Comments »

Brand Thunder Ignores Economic Downturn by Tripling Business in Nine Months by Brand Thunder

COLUMBUS, OH — September 16, 2009 — Brand Thunder LLC (http://www.brandthunder.com), the custom browser specialists, announced today it has three times the number of clients and custom browser Booms! available to end users compared to December 2008. The visual intensity combined with useful content and functional integration into the browser have proven popular with both clients and end users of the Brand Thunder Booms!.

At the end of 2008, 18 signed clients and 31 browser add-ons resulted in over 500,000 downloads of its browser customizations. In middle of September 2009, the client list has grown to over 60 partners and 83 Booms! in the market with dozens more Booms! in the build process for release in the coming weeks. Downloads are approaching 1.5 million.

The browser customization is delivered through a small download called a Boom! and wraps the user’s web browser in a graphically-rich experience with integrated content and functionality that best serves a brand’s audience. Clients can include videos, streaming music, breaking news, Twitter feeds plus buttons that link to their most popular pages on their sites. The browser becomes a valuable connection between brand and its community and delivers continuous invitations back to the site of the sponsoring brand.

The client list taking advantage of the browser add-on continues to grow and now includes brands in the U.S., Canada and U.K. such as House of Blues, Major League Soccer, teams from the NBA and NFL, newspaper publishers, radio stations, TV affiliates, webcomics and more. This is in addition to companies like Geffen Records, Universal Music Group, Huffington Post, NASCAR Nationwide Series, NHL teams among others.

Additional milestones attesting to Brand Thunder’s growth include increasing strategic channel partners from 7 to 11 and spanning six countries on three continents. Despite a seasonal nature to a majority of product and clients, the active user rate has more than doubled during the first nine months of 2009.

“Our Washington Capitals browser has been a great success,” said Sean Parker, Director of New Media, Washington Capitals. “Over the last two years we have seen a significant increase in our Firefox visitor traffic. I am sure part of this increase is due to our branded browser. Brand thunder has done a great job of integrating Capitals news feeds, Caps365 and customized buttons into the theme, which reinforces our brand to our fans and drives traffic to our site. I am looking forward to seeing the new enhancements Brand Thunder will be adding to our browser for this upcoming season.”

“We help people customize their online experience and make that experience easy, better and more personal,” said Patrick Murphy, founder and CEO of Brand Thunder. “The result has been a growing and excited fan base, which makes it easier to bring on an amazing list of clients.”

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.

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

###

Posted in News, Press Releases | Tags: Branded Browser, brandthunder, browser boom, custom browser, firefox, Major League Soccer, Washington Capitals, Web browser | No Comments »

Brand Thunder Does Some Good Work with Mozilla by Kevin Dwinnell

Brand Thunder is a proud member of the Mozilla community, so you can imagine the honor we felt when they asked us to do work for them.

In its support of the UKs CyberMentors program, Mozilla had Brand Thunder deliver an Add-on featuring a custom theme and an integrated toolbar allowing users quick access to the key content and tools that are core to the CyberMentors program. You can see the work here.

Our branded Firefox experiences are designed to drive interaction and engagement between an organization and its end user. Compelling design plus useful content and functionality can go a long way to achieving that, and it’s something people will adopt in droves. We saw this early in our history when we launched the Washington Capitals and helped double the Firefox usage on their site. You can see the attractiveness to both the organization and the end user.

Now, consider for a moment, CyberMentors is a Beatbullying project. Its goal is to give victims of bullying (or bullies wishing to stop) a place to go and get help from people their own age. CyberMentors is young people helping and supporting each other online. With that kind of role, don’t you want to do everything you can to help? We did too.

We’re grateful to Mozilla for the vote of confidence in our work and for letting us play a part in such a meaningful program.

Posted in Commentary, News | Tags: beatbullying, brand thunder, cybermentors, firefox, Mozilla, Washington Capitals | 3 Comments »

Word About Canvas is Getting Out, Visualize the Browser You Want by Kevin Dwinnell

Almost two weeks ago, we launched “Canvas” Brand Thunder’s latest browser Boom! – a tool that gives you a totally personal look to your browser when you add any photo or image to it. It’s a completely unique experience when it comes to browsers.

Yet like every other “brilliant” idea on the web, now comes the hard part of telling the world. Fortunately, we’re starting to make in roads there as well. Last week, the product got picked up by a couple nice sites:

StartupMeme, a technology blog, gave Canvas a thorough review at this link.

Examiner.com’s Internet and Technology Examiner gave it a try and posted his thoughts here.

Tech Ravings, a blog from a pretty talented 15-year old, raved about it here.

It’s good to see we’re hitting all demographics.

You can find out more at our Canvas page or at the Mozilla Add-ons site (where its also gaining a following and good reviews!).

And thanks for helping us spread the word.

Posted in Commentary, News | Tags: brand thunder, Brand Thunder Boom, Branded Browser, Browsers, custom browser, firefox, Mozilla Add-ons | 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 »