“Brand Thunder browser themes have always attracted global attention,” said Patrick Murphy, founder and CEO of Brand Thunder. “The breadth of appeal is easy to see with the visual nature of the theme, and the drag-and-drop ease of use makes allows anyone to create their own.”

BT:Engage allows users to select images from the library of graphics offered by Brand Thunder, or upload their own pictures and graphics to create the theme backgrounds. Adding buttons is as simple as typing a title and a URL. News feeds are added by copying a URL for an existing RSS feed, or using the included RSS feed generator. The combination of visual and interactive components lends itself to increased brand awareness and engagement between publisher and fan base.

Brand Thunder is the leading choice in official browser themes with more than 200 world-class brands and thousands of web publishers. Brand Thunder’s interactive themes provide an extreme makeover of the Internet browser.  They are free, lightweight active customizations that can include themes, toolbars, sidebars and other content or functionality.

About Brand Thunder:

Brand Thunder is the world leader in browser themes and custom interactive browser themes for Firefox, Internet Explorer, and Chrome. Brand Thunder formed in April 2007 to leverage the power of customization within the web browser and offer companies a compelling, patent-pending solution for creating a more persistent presence with their Internet consumer. Brand Thunder has branded the browser and extended its functionality for some of the most recognizable brands in sports, music and the Internet including: Bob Marley, CBSSports.com College Network, CollegeHumor, The Huffington Post, IGN, MLB.com, NASCAR, NBA, NFL, SONY Music, Universal Music, WeatherBug and many more. Create, find or have us build your browser theme at http://brandthunder.com.

Contact:  
Patrick Murphy, CEO
Brand Thunder, LLC
614-304-1316

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Perform a search for “Download Themes” and you’ll find a host of offerings for personalizing your digital experiences.

Sites like Customize.org offers a central destination for Themes, Skins, Wallpapers and Icons. Zedge.net offers themes for your mobile phone. You’ll find options for Windows 7 themes, XP themes and WordPress themes. What’s conspicuous by its absence is the option to find browser theme downloads. Especially with the meteoric rise of the Google Chrome browser and its emphasis on enhancements via its Chrome Webstore.

That’s why a few months back, Brand Thunder updated its browser theme gallery.

We wanted to create the leading destination to download themes for Chrome, Firefox or Internet Explorer. If you haven’t been, please give it a visit. You’ll find official themes from some of the world’s most recognized sports teams, artists, entertainers and more. Plus, an eclectic mix you get when you open up to user generated content.

Here are a few of the highlights you’ll discover.

Chrome Themes

The fastest growing browser also offers some of the hottest themes to download. There are all free, and be sure to search for Brand Thunder so you can much of what themes for Chrome you can download.

Kelly Clarkson Chrome Theme

The first Idol who has really lived up to the word, image and expectations. Now see what Kelly Clarkson brings to a Chrome browser theme.

Kelly Clarkson Chrome Theme

St. Patrick’s Day Chrome Theme

You may decide to bring some of the luck of the Irish to your Internet with this St. Patrick’s Day theme.

St. Patrick's Day Chrome Theme

Phoenix Suns Chrome Theme

If sports are more your game, you can choose from a range of professional sports teams to college athletics. Brand Thunder builds the official themes for NBA, NFL, MLS teams and many more.

NBA Phoenix Suns Chrome Theme

Firefox Themes

Firefox is where Brand Thunder got its start building browser themes and where you’ll find some of the themes that really show off the interaction of our interactive browser themes.

Weather Theme

The only browser theme that changes with the weather. Powered by WeatherBug, this theme changes based on your current local weather conditions, offers a 3-day forecast in the theme and much more.

Weather Firefox 9 Theme

Bob Marley Theme

The global appeal and timeless message of Bob Marley is represented in this browser theme. It offers a theme switcher so you can easily cycle through the different looks whenever you want a change of look.

Bob Marley Firefox Theme

Neon Lights Theme

The Neon Lights theme offers a colorful but simple theme with a subtle glowing to the lights that make this a continually popular theme to download.

Neon Lights Firefox Theme

Internet Explorer Themes

Internet Explorer remains the world’s most popular browser, but was left without much of the add-on sizzle Chrome and Firefox offered – until Brand Thunder gave it some browser theme attention. Now many of our themes have IE skins as well.

Euro Football Theme

The world’s football theme is a great way to enhance IE.

Euro Football IE Theme

Chivas USA Theme

Even if you like your football with helmets and pads, you can still get Major League Soccer themes through Brand Thunder’s Gallery.

MLS Chivas USA IE Theme

University of Kentucky Theme

You’ll also find themes you can download for many of the elite teams in NCAA Men’s Basketball. These themes are from the school’s athletics departments, so if your a fan of NCAA Women’s Basketball or other sports – you’re covered.

Kentucky IE Theme

UGC Themes

And since we offer a tool to build your own themes, we also give you a chance to share your themes with the world.

Kuomintang Theme

Taiwanese political parties have found their voice with browser themes.

Kuomintang Theme

Hello Kitty Bubbles

The Hello Kitty contingency will find much to like in the User-Submitted theme section.

Hello Kitty Theme

Age II Conquerors

Gamers and game community members are also taking their clans, fighting units and parties into browser themes.

Age of Empires II Conqueroros Theme

There’s much to enjoy when you download themes so get started now!

Related articles

• Brand Thunder Acquires BrowserNation Clients, Expands Global Reach of Chrome, Firefox and Internet Explorer Themes (brandthunder.com)
• New Theme Gallery Features User Submitted Themes (brandthunder.com)

Here’s an overview of toolbars, browser themes and what each can do for your web site, business or community.

One point I’d emphasize, these products are not mutually exclusive. It’s never a question of which one to implement, but what each brins when you offer them to your audience.

Conduit.com Community Toolbars

Conduit.com is the leader in the community toolbar space, and they have an amazing product. In a matter of minutes, anyone can register at their site, upload a logo and start building a custom community toolbar that they can share with their online community. Additionally, the web publisher can choose from a host of web apps and tools to make the toolbar serve the wider needs of their audience.

The toolbar gives the web publisher a toehold into the online experience of the user by placing a small piece of branding, some icons and feeds for your site. Then it strives for retention (continued use) of the toolbar by adding icons to other products like email, Facebook, YouTube videos, MochiGames or whatever that publisher feels is best for their user.

It’s a proven strategy of rolling the attraction of brand affinity with personalization that gives the user the elements of the Internet they use on a daily basis. Conduit offers thousands of ways to personalize the toolbar experience. The web publisher defines the default experience for their community, but the user can adjust the toolbar to their own liking over time.

Browser Themes

Brand Thunder, long the leader in the interactive browser theme space, offers similar capability with its BT:Engage DIY browser theme creator. In a matter of minutes, a web publisher can build a unique browser theme full of visuals and interactive content.

Where the Conduit community toolbar goes wide, the Brand Thunder browser themes go deep. The brand and theme provide a visual immersion complemented by integrated content and functionality. It’s a rich experience between the web publisher and their online community. A suite of personalization features have been added like Facebook and Weatherbug, but not to the full extent offered by Conduit.

Core Value Proposition of Toolbars and Browser Themes

The basic promise of both the toolbar and the browser theme is a persistent connection to your online user, which has huge value. Think about the expense that goes into building and maintaining a web site, then add in cost of getting people there. Then consider that while people spend hours online, they spend seconds on a web page. And, unless you’re Facebook, you’re not likely getting a large percentage of that time.

With persistent placement in the browser, you capture awareness and interaction the entire time your user is online. That drives up exposure, engagement and return visits. Without that exposure, at best you’re one stop among many. At worst, you’re an afterthought.

Affinity Marketing – Visual Identity

Both toolbars and browser themes fall under the concept of affinity marketing tools. Visual identity plays a large role with affinity groups and both toolbar and theme play to that connection to varying degrees. Also, each of your users will have a level of comfort as to what they like.

You can put a toolbar on your computer, and like a bumper sticker, you eventually look past it. It’s present but doesn’t always capture your attention. If you trick out your car, you’re not going to miss it. I can no longer find the traffic increase data point for toolbars, but if my memory is correct, the contribution difference is similar to the difference in visual impact of these two images. And while I don’t have any data to compare, my gut tells me the toolbar has the edge in terms of lifespan of usage. I’ve seen the dips when our sports teams lose.

vs.

Pros & Cons – Shared

There are pros and cons to both approaches, and there are those shared by both.

Pros

• Free and easy to set up.
• Free tools for promoting and sharing.
• Increase site visits, commerce and engagement.
• Great for mainstream and passionate audiences.

Cons

• Web development community tends to avoid products like these. If that’s your audience, may not be the best fit.
• Require ongoing promotion to grow audience – like most products.

Pros & Cons of Toolbars

Pros

• Toolbar apps for every conceivable use.
• Revenue sharing.
• Available for four major browsers: Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer, Safari

Cons

• Limited visual presence.
• Added to bottom of browser chrome.

Pros & Cons of Browser Themes

Pros

• Entire browser chrome part of experience .
• New ad inventory including sponsorships within the browser chrome and sidebar ad inventory.
• Available for three major browsers: Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer.

Cons

•  Apps limited to most popular.
• DIY product has limited feature set in its early stage of release.

Related articles

• Browser Toolbars & the Added Power of Branded Themes (brandthunder.com)
• BT:Engage How To: Make Money Online with Your Browser Theme (brandthunder.com)
• 4 Ways to Unlock the Traffic Driving Power of the Web Browser (kissmetrics.com)

Instantly create and share a “wallpaper for the Internet” that is part Persona, part toolbar and all engagement for small and medium businesses (SMB), associations, communities, clubs, families and friends

COLUMBUS, OH – July 27, 2011 – Brand Thunder LLC (http://www.brandthunder.com), Brand Thunder, the world leaders in browser themes and custom interactive browser themes for Firefox, Chrome & Internet Explorer, announced today the launch of the first do-it-yourself browser theme creator that allows anyone to easily design, build and share interactive browser themes for the leading Internet browsers. In less than three minutes, a community manager can have a browser theme that includes a logo, multiple background images, toolbar buttons and news feeds can be shared via an automatically created download page. Overview Video: Build and Share Your Browser Theme at Brand Thunder

Bloggers, sports teams, musicians and fan sites are already using the product to reach their online audiences. Designed as a community tool for online publishers, it’s so easy to use and simple to update the images and buttons used in the browser theme, Brand Thunder expects individuals will also use BT:Engage to create their own themes that can be shared with families and friends.

Selecting images from the library of graphics offered by Brand Thunder, or uploading your own pictures and graphics creates the theme imagery. Adding buttons is as simple as typing a title and a URL. News feeds are added by copying a URL for an existing RSS feed, or using the included RSS feed generator. The combination of visual and interactive components lends itself to increased brand awareness and engagement between publisher and fan base.

“We consistently see our themes drive 8 to 12 times more visits than a normal visitor to our client web sites,” said Patrick Murphy, CEO and Founder of Brand Thunder. “It’s a free tool, with huge engagement potential, benefitting businesses and web sites of all sizes – perfect for the current economic environment.”

The BT:Engage platform is a showcase of JavaScript and HTML5 requiring one of the latest browsers, Firefox 3.6+, Google Chrome or IE9. The browser themes created, however, are for use on Firefox 3.0+ and IE7+. Behind the user experience are Lithium PHP framework and Mongodb to allow flexibility and scalability needed for a product of this type. In its current state, BT:Engage is an end-to-end solution with a basic feature set. Following the agile software development movement, new features and improvements will roll out continuously.

About Brand Thunder:

Brand Thunder is the world leader in browser theme and custom interactive browser themes for Firefox, Internet Explorer, and Chrome. Brand Thunder formed in April 2007 to leverage the power of customization within the web browser and offer companies a compelling, patent-pending solution for creating a more persistent presence with their Internet consumer. Brand Thunder has branded the browser and extended its functionality for some of the most recognizable brands in sports, music and the Internet including: Bob Marley, CBSSports.com College Network, CollegeHumor, The Huffington Post, IGN, Mercedes, NASCAR, NBA, NFL, Universal Music, WeatherBug and many more. Create, find or have us build your browser theme at http://brandthunder.com.

Contact:
Patrick Murphy, CEO
Brand Thunder, LLC
614-304-1316

###

At BrandThunder.com, we love creating uniquebrowser themesfor Firefox, IE, and Chrome, and we hope you have been enjoying them as much as we have. We’re going to have a little fun each week and would love for you to join us.

Each Thursday, browser theme enthusiasts will be provided a new theme to try out on their browser. In exchange, we will provide a $25 Amazon gift card to one random browser theme fan who downloads the specified theme and shares it on Facebook or Twitter. It’s as easy as that. Download & Share!

Each Thursday, we will announce the theme of the week on our blog athttp://brandthunder.com/blog/with details on where to download it.

How to Enter “Theme Thursdays” from Brand Thunder:

• Visit ourBlogto Find the Featured Theme
• Download the Theme
• Share on Facebook and/or Twitter using our Share button after the download.
• One person will be randomly selected to win a $25 Amazon Gift Card and Brand Thunder will notify within 3 days.
• Remember:Users MUST share in order to be eligible

Good luck and we hope to see you every Thursday for Theme Thursdays at BrandThunder.com!

You’ll find this contest discussed, along with a lot of other fun stuff, at these fine sites:

• http://www.winprizesonline.com/contests
• http://www.sweepsadvantage.com/ – Free Giveaways and Contests
• http://www.online-sweepstakes.com/
• http://www.contesthound.com/
• http://www.contestbee.com
• CashNet Sweepstakes
• ContestGirl.com

At this time of giving thanks, Brand Thunder has much to celebrate.

• A vibrant and supportive community in central Ohio with organizations like TechColumbus and TechLifeOhio.
• A great channel partners like Adevia Software and Mackey Marketing, to name a few.
• Supportive business partners like Bing.
• An amazing client list that still includes those premiere brands that took a chance on us when we were just starting out like the Washington Capitals and NASCAR Nationwide Series to those who are joining now like CBSSports.com College Network and the Buffalo Bills.
• A pipeline of partners and prospects that promise a great upcoming year.

And reflecting over the past year shows the huge strides we’ve made from both a business and technology standpoint.  Thanks to an outstanding team.

• First dynamically updating browser theme with The Daily Beast news browser theme.  The featured exclusive story photo automatically appeared within the browser theme when the web site updated the content and prompting users to return 10 times more frequently than their average user.
  
• First browser theme to include an automatic theme switch after a time-based event.  Daytona International Speedway browser theme included a change of theme after one of its four prominent races, a countdown ticker to the next race start and alerts to ticket availability for its races.
• Most dynamic theme available in the market. Weather browser theme powered by WeatherBug changes to reflect the users current weather conditions.  The users location is set either through the browser’s geo-location feature or user data.  The theme also features up to a three-day forecast in the browser. 
• First Internet Explorer themes to premiere on Microsoft’s IE Add-ons Gallery.  Subsequently, Microsoft secured approval to feature a dozen of Brand Thunder’s themes in IE8 Optimized Browsers showcasing the theme capabilities that had previously not existed for IE.
  
• Personas Interactive Firefox extension launched as a new Firefox theme platform that the industry experts at TechCrunch declared “Personas Interactive… Leapfrogged Mozilla.“ 
• Brand Thunder’s progress and promise in the technology space qualified it for $1 million from the Ohio Innovation Loan Fund, a program to help groundbreaking small companies grow and create jobs that remain in Ohio.
  

We’ve still got a lot to do, but reflecting on the accomplishments manages to show the progress that gets made over time even if it’s sometimes missed in the moment.

I’m going to double dip here and talk about the same thing we issued a press release on this week — the Brand Thunder Weather Theme. I’m doing so because I think the technology behind it and the experience in front of it are simply amazing.

Almost the entire background changes with the weather. This theme creates a new level of opportunity for our partners and users. Think of the implications if you’re in the business of “new.” Whether it’s fashion or celebrity, photo journalism or visual content, the ability to change the theme with the visual elements that keep it fresh and your audience in tune is pretty cool.

It also opens the opportunity to create new themes where the visuals update based on a timed sequence — something like a life-stage theme. It could be as simple as theme of Seasons, so last week’s vernal equinox would have welcomed in the Spring theme automatically. Or maybe an expectant parent theme tracking the changes in the unborn child. The communication channel created with these interactive themes are not left to the content feeds, they are inspired with the visual connection as well.

The Weather theme is a showcase of the functionality and what browser themes can become. We’re modifying your browser experience based on the local weather conditions. Your location is determined by entering your location or by letting the Firefox browser use its location services to determine your location.

For the weather content, we leveraged the WeatherBug API, which gave us a great resource for more weather information than you can imagine. With the API, we had a good foundation to work with for a rich sidebar featuring live weather conditions, radar weather maps and more. Plus, we had all the standard elements needed: current temperature and at-glance-forecast.

A portfolio of stylized weather conditions were designed for the browser theme backgrounds and they meld seamlessly with the forecast icons from WeatherBug. The theme also allows you to set the number of forecast days you want to see. It’s beautiful, interactive and useful on so many levels.

This is the next step in what a browser theme can be and I invite you to try it out at http://brandthunder.com/weather.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Weather Boom by Brand Thunder (kaply.com)

COLUMBUS (March 23, 2010) — Brand Thunder LLC (http://www.brandthunder.com), the browser customization specialists, announced today the launch of its Weather theme for the Firefox Browser. The Weather theme is an advance in browser theme capabilities featuring a background that dynamically changes based on the user’s current weather conditions. The Weather theme also features the full range of weather information from WeatherBug, the leading provider of consumer and professional weather services and operator of the largest weather observing network. The theme can be downloaded for free at http://brandthunder.com/weather.

To experience this break-through browser theme, an end-user downloads an easy-to-install browser add-on. The add-on enhances the functionality of their Firefox browser to include the dynamic theme plus forecasts, temperature, maps and more. It also includes a multimedia sidebar enabling users the ability to monitor live weather conditions while they surf the web.

“We continue to push the boundary of what can be delivered within the browser experience,” says founder Patrick Murphy. “Brand Thunder’s goals are to make the browser more personal, fun and functional. WeatherBug has extensive hooks into their content and a supportive team that enabled us to create a showcase of what a browser theme can be.”

“Brand Thunder has taken toolbars to the next level, utilizing the entire browser chrome to display valuable dynamic content” said Alan George, Director of Business Development for WeatherBug. “We are excited about the development of WeatherBug “Boom!” offered through Brand Thunder. It makes WeatherBug information even more accessible and very interactive for users.”

Brand Thunder’s interactive themes provide an extreme makeover of the Internet browser. They are free, lightweight active customizations that can include themes, toolbars, sidebars and other content or functionality. Users can switch real-time between any installed Brand Thunder themes.

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/.

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

###

Brand Thunder reworks the visual style of a browser theme to match the colors, logos and imagery of its partners while also adding content and functionality to the browser. Brand Thunder now includes WeatherBug content as part of its capabilities portfolio enabling clients to better tune their customized browsers to the needs of their end users. Through the WeatherBug API, Brand Thunder can integrate weather into virtually any location on the browser; ensure the appearance works within the unique design of each browser; and provide one-click access to the full extent of WeatherBug content on WeatherBug.com.

“We’re pleased to have a premier brand, like WeatherBug, as our partner,” said Patrick Murphy, founder and CEO of Brand Thunder. “Weather impacts so many daily decisions, from simply deciding what to wear, to whether to act on the browser alert about recently released tickets to the next Major League Soccer game. I’m glad this is now available as an option for our users and clients.”

“Brand Thunder provides a great affinity product for both its users and clients. The inclusion of weather is a logical extension of its value proposition and we’re proud to bring our live local weather to the platform,” said Alan George, Director of Business Development for WeatherBug.

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), all without restarting the 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
614-304-1316

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