If your brand isn’t new to using Facebook as a marketing tool, then you’re definitely not new to how the social networking giant has changed its guidelines and algorithms for both brand and personal Pages over the years. And since the introduction of the company’s latest algorithm change last year, you’ve probably noticed a sharp … Continued
Recently, Columbus Business First shared the secrets behind our new business model. But to our existing clients, it’s no secret that we are consistently offering innovative ways to help sports teams, musical artists, schools and media websites effectively engage with their fans online. Brand Thunder products and services can successfully give your audience a truly immersive … Continued
Themed new tab pages deepen fan engagement and time on site COLUMBUS, OH – January 6, 2014 Brand Thunder LLC (http://www.brandthunder.com), the browser theme specialist, created a new tab home page that delivers more than 100 million annual impressions to its users and for its 350+ brand partners. The pages include an intense visual graphic … Continued
Streamline Technologies Joins List of Browser Theme Partners COLUMBUS, OH – July 11, 2013 Brand Thunder LLC (http://www.brandthunder.com), the browser theme specialist, that has delivered millions of downloads and reaches hundreds of thousands users each month now has relationships with hundreds of top brands across college athletics, sports and entertainment. The signing of Streamline Technologies … Continued
COLUMBUS, OH – January 28, 2013 – Brand Thunder LLC (http://www.brandthunder.com), the browser theme specialists and provider of more “Official” browser themes than any other company in the world, announced today its year-long celebration of official giveaways. Brand Thunder is offering at least one giveaway a month for the next 12 months to members of … Continued
If you installed an extension that you didn’t get from Google’s Chrome Web Store, it’s getting turned off when Google releases Chrome 25. Unlike most software that prompts you for an update, Google updates silently – so one day your browser will stop working the way you expect it. Here’s what you need to know … Continued
Google Chrome is updating its product again, silently. but it’s making a lot of noise in the browser community. Here are the steps you need to take to protect your favorite browser theme. And if you want a reminder about this when Chrome 25 launches, tell us how to reach you on this page: http://brandthunder.com/chrome25/ … Continued
Two members of the Brand Thunder community are enjoying their Nexus 7 from Google this holiday season. It was easy to win. (ALERT: Make sure you read to the end of the post to see what’s in store for you to win next year!)
The Judges Have Spoken The finalists of Brand Thunder’s Pop Culture Theme Contest have emerged. After many hours of debate and many libations… I mean, much deliberation we finally got some responses that were vaguely intelligible and could use. Below you’ll find the three semi-finalist themes that our mystery judges decided on as worthy contenders … Continued
COLUMBUS, OH – October 24, 2012 – Brand Thunder LLC (http://www.brandthunder.com), the browser theme specialists, took first place and $5,000 in prize money for the Elevator Pitch Olympics during the recent Great Lakes Venture Fair held in downtown Cleveland. Nine companies pitched their businesses to a panel of investor/judges for about as long as it … Continued
COLUMBUS (August 21, 2012) — Brand Thunder LLC (http://www.brandthunder.com), the browser customization specialists, and SIDEARM Sports (http://sidearmsports.com), a leading provider of web sites for athletics programs, announced an agreement to provide interactive browser themes for Chrome, Firefox and Internet Explorer to more than 600 colleges, universities and conferences. Alumni, students and sports fans can enjoy … Continued
The debate continues over whether it’s better to have a closed system for distributing apps or a more open one. You see it a lot in comparing Apple’s App Store to Google’s Android Marketplace. Apple reviews and approves every app before launch. You’re ensured a certain level of product quality, integrity and safety because of … Continued
COLUMBUS (July 17, 2012) — Brand Thunder LLC (http://www.brandthunder.com), the browser theme specialists, announced the official launch of its add-on themes for Google’s Chrome Internet browser. Brand Thunder brings its interactive browser themes to Google Chrome users through its browser theme gallery (http://gallery.brandthunder.com) and its network of partners. Unlike a standard theme, Brand Thunder blends … Continued
Movie Stars and Movie Star Themes Brand Thunder broke technical ground when it released its dynamically updating Movie Premiere browser theme that included movie posters, reviews and ticket sales all from leading site – Fandango. It’s still a fun and useful theme, great for any movie buff or those just along for the summer blockbuster … Continued
The Christmas Holiday themes are rolling in for Brand Thunder’s Best Holiday Browser Theme of 2011 Contest. It’s one of the easiest ways to win an iPad 2. Just design your browser theme with the world’s only DIY browser theme creator for Firefox and IE. Here are examples of early entries. You still have plenty … Continued
Here’s the best way to decorate your computer for the holidays. Brand Thunder gives you several ways to get ready for the Christmas Holidays whenever you’re at your computer and online with our Chrome, Firefox and Explorer Christmas Themes. You can grab one of our popular pre-made themes (with a trick to brighten your desktop … Continued
Win an iPad 2 in less than 5 minutes You can win an iPad in less than 5 minutes. Sound easy? It is. There is no purchase necessary to enter or win. Just create your own Christmas or holiday browser theme using BT:Engage and share it with us – you’ll be entered to win. It … Continued
Coupon websites are a big business online with millions of customers looking for the biggest coupons for products and services they use regularly. It seems almost every website out there has a “promo code” or “coupon” available for their offers. It makes sense, as the competition for new business is at an all-time high both … Continued
Brand Thunder often finds itself lumped into the category of toolbar. It’s not a comparison I necessarily agree with, but anything that’s a recurring perception is worth a look. Here’s an overview of toolbars, browser themes and what each can do for your web site, business or community.
A browser theme is more than a pretty picture, or it should be. That’s why we call ours “interactive browser themes” and we’ve seen browser themes deliver 6 – 12x more clicks than the average visits to our partner sites. You get this return traffic by utilizing the content you’ve already created for your web … Continued
We’re all in sales. Whether you’re Coca-Cola or the GateWay College Gecko soccer teams, you’ve got an audience you’re trying to reach and some action you’re trying to inspire. These two groups may be miles apart in terms of scale, but they’re both actively engaged with their communities online. Coke has it’s MyCokeRewards.com and the … Continued
Browser themes are great engagement tools and a strong reason they’re popular with online communities. Keeping in touch and driving up visits to your site deepens your relationship with your community. Plus, advertisers love an engaged audience, so you’re already doing yourself and your profitability a favor. There’s even more opportunity and it’s easy to … Continued
I talk a lot about using BT:Engage for helping sites and communities deepen their engagement with their online audience. It’s also extremely easy (and fun!) to create browser themes for your own use and pleasure. In the following post and accompanying video tutorial, I’m going to show you how to spin a browser theme that … Continued
You’ve got to share to win. If no one knows about your browser theme, no one’s going to use it. But, we’ve not given you a lot of tools to work with – what should you do? I’ll offer a few thoughts and ideas about that. And, just so you know, when I write these … Continued
The most frequent comment we hear from users new to browser design is “it doesn’t look like it did in the preview” and that’s because 60% of the time it doesn’t. This post will explain why and what to do about it. Key Definitions I’ll admit, we’ve got a long way to go in terms … Continued
Today, we’re announcing Brand Thunder’s free browser theme creator, BT:Engage. Besides some amazing technology that makes it easy for anyone to create their own interactive browser theme, there are also some compelling reasons if you have your own site or online community. Here are three recent reports that drive this point home. 1. Your message … Continued
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 … Continued
Sometimes a blank canvas isn’t inspiring enough. The first question of “where do I start?” is just too broad. I’m going to present a series of concepts showing how BT:Engage creates browser themes for fans of web sites, while helping sites achieve the goals they need to be successful like increased visits and clicks to … Continued
There are several ways that you can customize the look of your browser when you’re using Mozilla Firefox to browse the web. There are different levels of personalization, which include both Firefox Personas and Firefox Themes. The changes that you’d like to make to the look of your browser will determine which type of adjustment … Continued
Backgrounds are tricky and the video doesn’t go into all the options and considerations you need to take. I’ll address more of these considerations in future videos, but for now – some of the key things you need to know to get the most out of your background images in your browser theme are
Marketing Sherpa gave an in-depth look at how the Ohio State University and Fathead used an interactive browser theme to engage OSU fans and offer them a special chance to win an OSU Fathead. 99.6% clicked when promo button was added to browser theme Active users of browser theme grew 52.7% month-over-month Compelling data for … Continued
One of the primary differences between a toolbar and the browser theme is the heavy graphics of the browser theme. This visual prominence is a big plus, but also has its share of negatives. You can overcome users tiring of the theme by keeping it updated with occasional updates and refreshes. These changes will automatically … Continued
Internet Explorer is one of the oldest web browsers that is still widely used today. Because it’s been around for over a decade and continues to hold a large share of the market, you can see why it has its loyal fan base. Microsoft has also made it easy to enjoy Internet Explorer by integrating … Continued
If you’re part of the BT:Engage private beta, you’re seeing the MVP (minimum viable product) of browser theme creation. If you’re not, what you’ve missed is the first steps in automating browser theme creation by allowing anyone to quickly build their own themes for Firefox and Internet Explorer by adding layered background images, logos and … Continued
Bring the magic of a Starry Night Sky to your browser along with a chance to win a $25 Amazon Gift Card with our Starry Night Browser theme!
Brand loyalty is fierce among browser users. Everyone seems to have found their favorite browser and uses them consistently, but a few people have become real fans. Some people have found that the time spent on their browser is not enough and they need to show their love for their favorite browser on their desktop … Continued
BT:Engage, Brand Thunder’s new browser theme creation platform, is in private beta after long time being a dream. (You can skip ahead and watch this two minute video showing how to build a browser theme and engage an audience.) Brand Thunder is the leader in interactive browser themes. We earned this place by painstakingly building … Continued
The Endeavor has returned, but you don’t have to stop getting your space fix! This week’s Theme Thursday browser and your chance to win $25 Amazon Gift Card is our NASA Browser theme! One lucky person who downloads the NASA theme and “Likes” from our post on Facebook or downloads and shares on Twitter will … Continued
We need help. Browser themes have never been more popular and we’re staffing to keep up with demand. We have immediate need for a Web Programmer Analyst. People in the central Ohio region will have an advantage, but we have a very dispersed team – so if you’re the right fit, there’s no geographic barrier. … Continued
Avast ye scurvy dogs! Weigh anchor and set course for a chance to win a $25 Amazon Gift Card with our Pirate Browser theme! One lucky person who downloads the Pirate theme and “Likes” from our post on Facebook or downloads and shares on Twitter will win! Firefox users check out the theme at http://pages.brandthunder.com/piratepersona@brandthunder.com/download/ff … Continued
You may have seen our “Brand Thunder Theme Manager” in one of the Brand Thunder Internet Explorer themes that you downloaded. This exciting technology makes it possible for us to provide you and thousands of our other IE browser theme fans with innovative and beautiful new themes for your browser. It’s one of two parts … Continued
This week’s browser theme, that will result in a quick $25 Amazon Gift Card for one lucky person who posts to Facebook or Twitter , is our tribute to the Armed Forces – the Memorial Day browser theme. Firefox users will find the theme at http://pages.brandthunder.com/memorialdaypersona@brandthunder.com/download/ff. Sorry IE and Chrome users, we’ll get you into … Continued
Each month, Brand Thunder releases a number of new Firefox themes and skins for fans of the popular Mozilla web browser. With each new release, we are responding to the demands of our fans and the types of themes they would like to see. It’s an exciting endeavor and certainly rewarding to create new themes … Continued
Brand Thunder is completely changing the way that you and I experience the Internet. With savvy technology and groundbreaking ideas, Brand Thunder is customizing the user experience like never before. Both users and businesses alike are flocking to this technology and the offerings of the Brand Thunder team. There are a couple of different things … Continued
This week’s browser theme, that will result in a quick $25 Amazon Gift Card for one lucky winner, is our tribute to the boys of summer – the Baseball browser theme. Firefox and Internet Explorer users will find the theme at http://pages.brandthunder.com/baseball/download. Sorry Chrome users, we’ll get you into the fun soon. REMEMBER! You’ve got … Continued
COLUMBUS, OH – April 1, 2011 – Brand Thunder LLC (http://www.brandthunder.com), the custom browser specialists, announced today the launch of the world’s first 3D browser theme. Available for Firefox, the 3D browser theme, dubbed 3DBT, will literally reach out and grab users and drag them into an interactive media world unlike anything currently in existence. … Continued
It’s that time of year. The Big Dance. March Madness. The NCAA Tournament. The Lost Weekends. The fun is about to start. With the team selection complete and everyone working on their brackets, here are a few options to feed the excitement. You can keep up with the tournament, start to finish, with Brand Thunder’s … Continued
The Brand Thunder gallery for browser themes, ThunderThemes.com, has some stylish new looks for your browser. These selections are for Firefox only, so if you’re on IE and want your own – get over to our Facebook page and let us hear from you! It’s only a game. Or is it? Keep asking yourself when … Continued
COLUMBUS, OH – February 22, 2011 – Brand Thunder LLC (http://www.brandthunder.com), the custom browser specialists, announced today the launch of the official interactive browser theme for Major League Gaming (MLG), the world’s largest professional video game league and provider of cross platform online videogame competition. Available for Firefox and Internet Explorer, the MLG browser theme … Continued
For the second year in a row, About.Com is putting Brand Thunder in the spotlight with a nomination for one of 2011’s Best Browser Themes. Our highly popular Bob Marley browser theme captured the attention of About.Com and has been selected as a finalist in the 2011 About.com Reader’s Choice awards. Voting is open between … Continued
Image by brandthunder via Flickr Valentine’s is another holiday just waiting for things to go wrong. There’s a lot of hype and expectation, maybe even more than the holiday season we just went through. You see Thanksgiving and Christmas are big family days, so there’s friendly fire and collateral damage all around you. You’re not … Continued
This is the time of year for goal setting and resolutions. That’s a lot of work to do all that planning. Now, you don’t have to cast your fate to the wind, but you can look to the stars for guidance. And Brand Thunder’s NEW Horoscopes browser theme delivers it on a daily basis. This … Continued
Image by brandthunder via Flickr Sometimes the best answers are the most obvious. When you’re sitting around wondering, “what could be better than a Christmas browser theme?” and the simple brilliance of it hits you… “TWO Christmas browser themes.” It’s like finding an amp that goes to 11. One might suggest since we have both … Continued
Image via CrunchBase 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 … Continued
Not one to shy away from a current trend, Brand Thunder has momentarily left the fast-pace Internet world to introduce a browser theme that moves to its own plodding rhythm. The Zombie browser theme will appeal to those fans of the mindless, hungry heaps of rotting flesh. If you can’t get enough of Zombieland, The … Continued
Image by brandthunder via Flickr It’s been a good week or so for discussing the merits and capabilities of the browser theme. From the development side, the Mozilla community is exploring adding new standard functionality in the browser that Brand Thunder showcased in its Personas Interactive extension. Mozilla is considering giving users the ability to … Continued
Image via Wikipedia Football is here, and the college games kick off this week. Putting your favorite school in your browser is a great way to show your support. And thanks to the agreement Brand Thunder announced last week with CBSSports.com College Network, your choice of schools just got a lot more robust. Here are … Continued
COLUMBUS (August 25, 2010) — Brand Thunder LLC (http://www.brandthunder.com), the browser customization specialists, and CBSSports.com College Network, a leading provider of web sites for college athletics programs, announced an agreement to bring interactive browser themes for Firefox and Internet Explorer to approximately 60 colleges, universities and conferences. Alumni, students and sports fans alike can now … Continued
I had the opportunity to speak with Owen McGab Enaohwo at Hire Your Virtual Assistant to discuss how to create an online community and how small businesses can get started using “community” to help their business. You can see the full interview and an outline of the discussion at hireyourvirtualassistant.com/blog. I don’t want to repeat … Continued
Image via Wikipedia The top trending Twitter term, as I write this, is “meteor shower tonight.” It’s a wonderful event to enjoy on a summer’s evening, and the timing this year is perfect for those of us on in the Eastern time zone. A great memory from several years back was having a pre-dawn jog … Continued
Image via CrunchBase COLUMBUS (July 22, 2010) — Brand Thunder LLC (http://www.brandthunder.com), the browser customization specialists, announced its first entry into the video game market with the launch of the IGN interactive browser themes for Firefox and Internet Explorer. IGN, the premiere online media outlet for videogame reviews, news, trailers and videos, will provide content … Continued
Reposted from Mike’s Musings So you may wonder why we called it Personas Interactive. If you were go to the Brand Thunder Gallery, you would see what we specialize in – creating customized browser experiences for different sports teams, websites, musicians and more. These browser experiences have evolved over the years in their design, their … Continued
Reposted from Mike’s Musings In explaining exactly what a Persona was in my last post, I mentioned that a Persona contains two images – a header and a footer. I also indicated that these images are very large – 3000 pixels wide. You may wonder why that is. Personas is designed to do one thing; … Continued
Image via Wikipedia If you’re a startup or a small business, celebrate your own independence along with that of the U.S.A.’s. If it helps, do like me and run Brand Thunder’s Independence Day browser theme to help get you in the spirit. I’ve had a diverse career with a range of companies from big to … Continued
Image by brandthunder via Flickr COLUMBUS (June 21, 2010) — Brand Thunder LLC (http://www.brandthunder.com), the browser customization specialists, announced its first entry into the Indian market with the launch of the Sanjeev Kapoor interactive browser theme for Firefox. The best of Chef Kapoor’s vast library Indian cuisine knowledge is now rolled into a free download … Continued
Image by Lucas_B via Flickr The kick off of the World Cup got me thinking about the marketing opportunity for companies trying to reach a multi-national audience with their product, and my own global expectations for Brand Thunder’s interactive browser themes when we were starting out. For companies that can afford it, the mega sporting … Continued
Image via CrunchBase COLUMBUS (June 9, 2010) — Brand Thunder LLC (http://www.brandthunder.com), the browser customization specialists, announced the launch of its add-on themes for Windows Internet Explorer on the Internet Explorer Add-ons Gallery. Some of these themes have been featured on the Internet Explorer Add-ons Gallery homepage at http://ieaddons.com. Brand Thunder, is rapidly bringing its … Continued
COLUMBUS (May 3, 2010) — Brand Thunder LLC (http://www.brandthunder.com), the browser customization specialists, announced today its series of design forward themes that offer strong visuals with a selection of interactive links to popular websites plus a multimedia sidebar featuring a video player of headline news stories. More than 50 designs that range from abstract art … Continued
COLUMBUS (April 26, 2010) — Brand Thunder LLC (http://www.brandthunder.com), the browser customization specialists, announced today its browser themes for major league baseball. With the beginning of the baseball season underway, fans of the sport can enhance both Firefox and Internet Explorer with the feel of the ballpark. The free downloads are available from Brand Thunder … Continued
Image via Wikipedia Last week I was directed to a blog post about the power of having fans of your brand. Teddy Anderson, the author, and I had just met and he mentioned the post and that he’d referenced Brand Thunder in it. How could I not read it? Some valid points are made about … Continued
COLUMBUS (April 14, 2010) — Brand Thunder LLC (http://www.brandthunder.com), the browser customization specialists, announced today its relationship with The Hockey News to extend comprehensive coverage of the world of hockey to the Firefox and Internet Explorer browsers. The Hockey News browser themes will keep hockey fans connected to sporting news regardless of where they are … Continued
Between Firefox Personas and Google Chrome’s Themes, browser themes are getting a lot of attention this year. Brand Thunder is pleased to be at the front with such distinguished company. While each of us helps you move beyond the dull gray of the standard Internet browser and personalize your browser with enticing visuals, Brand Thunder … Continued
Image via CrunchBase The ability to capture the voice of your consumer today is quite abundant and that’s a fantastic thing. Like at most businesses, Brand Thunder continuously looks at how it can improve its product. We’re thankful for the various channels available that allow our users to voice their own thoughts on where we … Continued
Image via CrunchBase 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 … Continued
Nothing like getting recognized by the readers of one of the biggest tech networks on the Web. For the first time, About.com‘s Computing Channel ran a coordinated Reader’s Choice Award program in early 2010. During January, thousands of nominations were submitted by readers in a wide variety of categories including Best Browser Theme. Based on … Continued
Image via Wikipedia 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 … Continued
Image via CrunchBase COLUMBUS (February 16, 2010) — Brand Thunder LLC (http://www.brandthunder.com), the browser customization specialists, announced today its relationship with Microsoft Corp.’s Bing to integrate their web search into all Brand Thunder interactive browser themes. Interactive browser themes are like an extreme makeover for the web browser. With an easy-to-install browser add-on, end users … Continued
The growth chart is text book. Brand Thunder’s doubling its size in half the time. It took us 18 months to reach the 500,000 download mark. Nine months later, we reached the million download mark. Four and a half months after that, we’re over two million downloads. Nice momentum. Distribution It’s easy to see the … Continued
Image via Wikipedia 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 … Continued
Image via CrunchBase PCWorld recently issued a story, by James A. Martin, on cloud computing and what small businesses should keep in mind when they think about this path. We provided a little insight for that article. Since we gathered our thoughts on the subject, I thought I’d offer Brand Thunder’s own thoughts and experience … Continued
Image via Wikipedia Tonight, Brand Thunder shares the stage with a great community of entrepreneurs, start ups, technologists, thought leaders and more. The best part is they are all our part of the local technology scene in central Ohio. Our friends at Toobla have re-envisioned the way we share and collect our information on the … Continued
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 … Continued
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 … Continued
Image via Wikipedia 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 … Continued
Brand Thunder’s heading to New York at the end of January to participate in a forum for leaders in the digital content industry. During the Software & Information Industry Association’s Information Summit nine start ups will be given the stage to present their capabilities. We earned our slot through a Vator.tv competition. Vator (short for … Continued
We’re excited to be attending Add-on-Con again this year, and we’re adding panel participation to our itinerary. Patrick Murphy will be participating in the Business Marketing track discussion “Using your Add-On to help publishers, OEMs, carriers, and others create value.” You’ll find other members of the team attending as well. It’s a conference focused on … Continued
Close to a year ago Brand Thunder launched its first holiday experience for the browser. For a business focused on the personalization of the Internet browser, it would have been an unfortunate oversight. Christmas kicked off what’s been a full year of capturing the major holidays in our Booms! and they’ve been exceptionally popular. If … Continued
You’re only as good as the company that you keep, as the saying goes, and today we’re taking steps at being better. We announced some great additions to our advisory board. If you haven’t already, I encourage you to read the press release here. Three highly regarded people have agreed to join our advisory board … Continued
COLUMBUS, OH — October 29, 2009 — Brand Thunder LLC (http://www.brandthunder.com), the custom browser specialists, announced today the addition of three new members to its Advisory Board. The board now includes Bob Christopher, former CEO of UGOBE, John Dixon, former VP at AOL, and Mark Harris, Technology Strategist for Microsoft. The members were chosen for … Continued
Hockey teams seem to be the innovators in the interactive marketing space, especially if the team’s name is the Capitals. At least, that’s been our experience to date. One of Brand Thunder’s first clients was the National Hockey League’s Washington Capitals. Now, we’re first again with the Capitals. This time it’s the Elite Ice Hockey … Continued
Image via Wikipedia 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 … Continued
You always want to avoid single points of failure. A variation on this theme was raised on “This Week in Startups,” a live show and podcast where serial entrepreneur Jason Calacanis brings on accomplished guests to discuss and help startups. (I’m referencing Episode 15 with Roelof Botha.) A caller was seeking advice since his Facebook … Continued
Image via Wikipedia 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 … Continued
Cover of Roxanne Marketing can be a lot like the singles bar — the 15 and 30-second shot, the photo shoot for the magazine spread, the flash banner. It’s all the equivalent of “the look,” “the line” or, in my case, the spilled drink. It’s about attention getting and breaking through the clutter. Despite the … Continued
Image via CrunchBase We talk a lot about the power of a browser in staying connected to your consumer and fan base. It should come as no surprise that a company able to define the standard of using social media to support its members would gravitate toward offering a Brand Thunder Boom! to its users … Continued
Image via CrunchBase A lot of time and money is spent on developing a company website. Even more is spent attracting users to that site. Yet, we find a surprising number of sites that missed the critical questions of “Is my content accessible and is it distributable?” Make it Accessible There are too many options … Continued
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 … Continued
MediaPost’s Online Spin had another interesting article yesterday titled “The Three Rs Of Engagement” by Cory Treffiletti. Cory discusses how there is no standard for defining engagement because engagement depends on the objectives of the marketer. But he proposes three unifying themes necessary to define engagement — and they are Recency, Resonance and Relevance. I … Continued
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 … Continued
Last week, Kendall Allen discussed remaining innovative with marketing in tough economic times. See her post “Relationships And The Progressive Digital Mix” on MediaPost’s Online Spin. Andrew Chen, who supplies supporting analysis with most of his posts, covered part one of his thoughts on “How desktop apps beat websites at building large active userbases” in … Continued
COLUMBUS, OH — August 20, 2009 — Brand Thunder LLC (http://www.brandthunder.com), the custom browser specialists, announced today an agreement to include WeatherBug content within its branded browser experiences. 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 … Continued
Image via CrunchBase Brand Thunder received some nice coverage over at Folio Magazine yesterday. The story focused on our latest release for the Columbus Dispatch and some technical benefits we added behind the scenes to make the product more useful to Dispatch readers and ultimately The Dispatch itself. I encourage you to read the Folio … Continued
Image via Wikipedia COLUMBUS, OH — August 19, 2009 — Brand Thunder LLC (http://www.brandthunder.com), the custom browser specialists, announced today the availability of the Columbus Dispatch Boom!. The first product of its kind to serve the audience of a daily newspaper, this browser add-on is designed to strengthen relationships and enhance loyalty between The Columbus … Continued
I wish I could offer all the advice you need in this one post. Fortunately, the “How to” portion is only a click away. Copyblogger has a great series titled “How to Write Magnetic Headlines” and it’s worth your time to study. If you’re really feeling time pressed, then check out Stuart Brown’s “How to … Continued
Image via CrunchBase COLUMBUS, OH (PRWEB) August 13, 2009– Brand Thunder LLC (http://www.brandthunder.com), the custom browser specialists, announced today an agreement to distribute Come2Play games within its custom browser experiences. Brand Thunder’s browser customizations provide marketers with a more persistent connection to their customer whenever they are connected to the Internet and regardless of the … Continued
Mind Your Bizness is an online radio & TV show focusing on “EduTaining” content for entrepreneurs and microbusinesses. Host Danielle Hampson interviews Patrick Murphy on using Grass Roots Marketing to Reach Top-Tier Clients. Interview runs August 11, 2009 only. Listen here: http://www.mindyourbizness.com/
Brand Thunder prides itself on the immersive visual experience our browser Booms! deliver – but sometimes less is more. For those times, Brand Thunder built a Small Boom! (toolbar only) view of our Booms!. It’s as simple as clicking on the B/T button in the toolbar and choosing the Small Boom! option. That’s it. The … Continued
Image via CrunchBase If you’re like us, you like to keep up with companies, news and opinions across the web. And, we’re probably like you in that we offer different ways of communicating what’s going on and what we deem as relevant. To help you sift through the delivery vehicles, I’m providing an overview of … Continued
Image via CrunchBase 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 … Continued
Image via Wikipedia Customer Loyalty: How to Earn It is a commentary over at MediaPost. Guy Maser gives some simple and straightforward ideas to help you better serve your existing customer. The fundamentals often aren’t that complex. His suggestions are geared for a certain type of business, but his premise is applicable anywhere – do … Continued
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 … Continued
Image via Wikipedia Congratulations to the Mozilla community on the launch of Firefox 3.5 today. It’s an outstanding product that can be found at www.getfirefox.com. If you’re using one of Brand Thunder’s newer browser Booms!, you’re most likely enjoying a seamless transition. If you’re using one of our older browser customizations or an older Boom!, … Continued
Image via Wikipedia “Not invented here” has long held a negative connotation. I’ve been involved in my share of corporate development efforts that ignore marketplace solutions and pursue an internal one only to see the project stagger and fall. I’ve also used it as an excuse for obstacles encountered when dealing with other companies. In … Continued
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 … Continued
Image via Wikipedia 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 … Continued
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 … Continued
Image via Wikipedia 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 … Continued
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 … Continued
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 … Continued
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 … Continued
Image via CrunchBase For a young company, early success can define you as much as it can ensure your immediate survival. The question is whether staying with that success is good, in the long run, for the company. Brand Thunder has been fortunate selling its custom branded browsers early on to major teams in major … Continued
A conference session at the upcoming Soccerex London Forum is titled “Fans – Interacting with footballs’ number one stakeholder.” Since this topic hits directly in the market Brand Thunder serves with it Booms (branded browsers), I thought we should offer our take. Also, Brand Thunder will have a representative, Boyd Butler, at the Forum. If … Continued
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 … Continued
Fantasy Phenoms has partnered with Brand Thunder to launch the first Boom (branded browser) to serve the fantasy sports market. And “serve” is what Fantasy Phenoms does. Where Fantasy Phenoms separates itself is that it’s not the game, it’s about being better at the game. The experts and sports addicts of Fantasy Phenoms deliver to … Continued
Image via Wikipedia My career experience is diverse, with a great deal of expertise in Internet marketing, commerce and product development. Branded browsers were a natural fit to my skill set. Nothing like joining a start up for the sudden exposure to the breadth of what is unknown or needs to be relearned. Fortunately, the … Continued
Image via Wikipedia The Cleveland Cavaliers are the first NBA team to launch with a Brand Thunder Boom (branded browser) and they’re doing it with their fans in mind. The Boom has two views: one focused on the team and Cavs.com, the other focused on CavFanatic.com – the official social network of the Cavs. And … Continued
Image via Wikipedia Skittles made a daring move a couple weeks back and illustrated beautifully why, despite a strong willingness, brands can’t open themselves up from a social web standpoint. Brands are built on trust, and consumers and fans have an expectation of how that brand will treat them. It’s no different than personal relationships. … Continued
South by Southwest 2009 starts next week. A lot of people will see a lot of cool things. The question afterward will be “what is actionable?” If you’re going there to see what next cool thing will help your business, take a quick read of an article at Online Media Daily featuring Google’s Analytics Evangelist, … Continued
Image via CrunchBase Do you know the event calendar that impacts your business? If not, it’s worth a good look because it can have a material impact on your business, and there are tools that can help. Sadly, Brand Thunder is not going to the Oscars. Is an entertainment-award Boom (branded browser) in our future? … Continued
If you want to clarify your message, tell it to someone and have them repeat it back to you. Hold that image, then think about email. It’s hard enough to convey a concept and have it understood when you’re looking at someone and have the full communication arsenal at hand (body language, intonation, rephrasing). When … Continued
Like any start up, we need to be cash conscious but sometimes separating the “wants” from the “needs” is not easy. We really want to be at SXSW. But in terms of it reaching the audience who buys our service (the brand marketer needing a branded browser), we don’t know if it’s the right show … Continued
We just went through a period of disagreement here at Brand Thunder – the classic and clashing viewpoints of the suits and the geeks. I think it ended well, but if this is my last post due to a malicious crashing of my computer, I’ll reconsider. When your business is evolving this rapidly and timeframes … Continued
COLUMBUS OH (January 27, 2009) — Brand Thunder LLC, the branded browser specialists, announced today its investment from the Ohio TechAngels and other ‘sidecar’ angel investors to further its work in bringing immersive experiences to the Internet browser. Brand Thunder reworks the visual style of the browser to match the colors and logos of leading … Continued
In my years of being in a customer focused business I have learned a very important phrase and philosophy: eat your own dog food. Most of what I have to say this week is stepping back to the basics. But that’s where successful business processes have to begin so these points can never be over … Continued
For starters, I love basketball. It is hard to swallow the end of the college football season, but its good to know that college basketball is always right there to catch my fall. Although that sounds like random gab, you’ll get the picture when you’ve finished reading this blog. Business development and basketball, how could … Continued