Apr 23 2013

This is exactly the question, raised by La Chapelle Saint Martin, a luxury hotel and restaurant offering its guests a premium experience, in accordance with the renowned French tradition.  Of course, no one could better answer this question than Emakina.FR, the digital-native agency, famous for its French flair.

Following its proposal, the agency was assigned with defining the digital strategy of this prestigious brand. As part of its solution, Emakina.FR developed a new website (entirely in HTML5), featuring a responsive design for multiple devices. So whether visiting the site from your desktop computer, mobile, or tablet – you will be inspired by the brand’s ‘Art of Living’ from the very first click!

But there’s more! In order to create a holistic digital ecosystem of elegance and style, the digital experience of La Chapelle Saint Martin now includes social networks, like Facebook, YouTube, and TripAdvisor. Other than appreciating the brand through its digital presence, visitors are offered some essential information and are even invited behind the scenes of Gilles Dudognon’s famous kitchen!

*Inspired by a post, written by Romain Dehaudt for the Emakina.FR blog.

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Apr 19 2013

Microsoft’s new operating system for mobile devices, Windows 8, was launched just a few months ago. But that’s exactly the kind of new challenges which stimulate our developerse! That’s why a team of Emakina’s mobile experts participated in Microsoft’s Superhackathon competition.

The Superhackathon brought hundreds of young and bright developers who worked simultaneously in four different locations across the country. Their goal was one: create the best Windows 8 app! Unfortunately, only one team can go home with the first prize. Fortunately, it was us…! First, our team won the first place in Mons. Then came the real big news: First place at the national finals went to Emakina’s Fit beast.

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Mar 11 2013

The Chancellery of Belgium’s Prime Minister invited Emakina’s experts to speak to its communication and policy officers, at an event, called ‘Media Day’.  During this original initiative, Emakina’s Director of Media Relations, Luc Malcorps hosted two workshops on digital opportunities within a cross-media strategy.  He presented real examples of institutional campaigns, executed by Emakina.EU for the European Commission, such as the European Toy Safety campaign, fight against food waste, food control and programmes for better collaboration among SME’s across EU borders.

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Mar 4 2013

Human beings have an innate need to be recognised and appreciated for their accomplishments. Certain online platforms have successfully identified this need and learned how to cater for it. Those, and only those, have a chance to change the future of human communication.

Back in the 1940s, the ‘Maslow hierarchy of needs’ revolutionised our understanding on what drives and motivates human behaviour. It stated that once we satisfy our basic physical needs, our mental aspirations are awaken, including personal ambitions, sense of achievement, and need for recognition by our surroundings. Yet, the way in which we strive for society’s respect and approval has drastically changed over the centuries.

It was much easier to gain one’s place in society at a time when families lived together for generations, working places rarely changed, and friends were for life – none of which is still the case. How do we seek the same kind of recognition at a time when family bonds are weaker, jobs and colleagues change regularly, and social lives transform as we travel, re-locate, and re-settle around the world? To make things worse, our societies have grown more competitive, thus less generous in offering recognition, and demanding that we (re)prove our skill and talent on a regular basis. Our human need for respect and recognition has thus remained, while attaining this goal has become all more difficult.

Whether you consider it good or bad news, online platforms are here to help! Whereas we have witnessed with awe the exponential growth of social media in the past years, few of us have succeeded in recognising the “magic element” that makes them so popular. We all know that communities exist as long as they serve the cumulative interests of their members (and the fall of the Berlin Wall was a good lesson for those who thought otherwise). What is less obvious is that this interest includes our need to show off and exhibit our talent, wisdom, thoughts, and insights.

In fact, social media fulfil the same need we have always had to be “recognised” by our family, friends, colleagues, and peers.  Obviously, the new type of recognition is artificial and does not require more than a simple LIKE, SHARE, FOLLOW, COMMENT or RETWEET. Interestingly enough, however, it is a cornerstone in the architecture of all social media which have witnessed significant success. Even a so-called altruistic community, such as Wikipedia, ensures its members are rewarded with “fame” for their contributions (simply click on the “View History” button of any article to see the exact contribution of each user).

This guideline was in the backs of our minds when Emakina built Yunomi, a multinational social network for women in the Benelux countries. The network has become a huge success, attracting millions of women and becoming one of the three most popular female communities across the Benelux countries. Whereas various elements contributed to the popularity of Yunomi, we saw a significant increase in traffic as soon as we introduced the ‘Kudos’, the Yunomi way to appreciate someone else’s contribution. This reaffirmed, yet again, what we at Emakina had identified with the rise of social media.

You may (rightfully) think that digital recognition is superficial and even fake. Yet, it is a key element when developing the existing and future online platforms. If you want the average person to engage, participate, share, and expose elements of her or his personal life – do not underestimate the human need for recognition. Translating artificial recognition into the next digital feature of social media is no less than art. It is the most creative artist who will lead the next developments of online communication.

Brice Le Blévennec

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Feb 25 2013

It’s been a while that Volkswagen publishes its own magazine, covering topics like lifestyle, innovation, and hot news from the automotive industry. Now it was time to give the magazine an online dimension. Emakina was called for this mission of developing, designing and maintaining a highly-visual portal of the VW Magazine. Our approach was to build on the existing print version but to add all the advantages of an online publication.

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Feb 20 2013

Forget everything (you thought) you knew about banking, blogging or blogging about banking!

We tend to associate banks with old-fashioned websites, offering (some) financial services. Conversely, blogs are supposedly for young trendy people who look for the latest innovations. We thus don’t expect many people to start their day by checking their bank’s blog… Yet one bank succeeded in challenging this assumption and created a lively online presence which is followed by thousands in the financial sector and beyond!

Bank Degroof is Belgian-based, offering investment services through its representations in 7 countries. The bank invited Emakina to build its new corporate blog in which its experts post their views and insights. Visitors are equally invited to post questions on their own topics of interest, which are then answered by the bank’s bloggers.

The blog is highly active with several posts a week, which go out to a pre-registered mailing list. Since its launch, the bank has been receiving excellent feedback from the blog’s loyal followers, who are growing by the thousands! We are now looking into integrating new features and expanding the bank’s social media presence.

Here’s your chance to follow on what’s happening in finance, and learn from those who know it best!

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Feb 11 2013

Start getting used to the following names:

Anne Marchadier became our Senior Content Manager and Social Media Strategist. She comes with over 10 years of experience in communication from organisations such as European Voice and viEUws.

Carl De Gussem is our new Strategic Planner. Having worked for over 30 years in communications, and for more than 20 years as a strategist, Carl led campaigns for companies such as Belgacom, Proximus, and Mobistar; as well as various EU institutions. Previous agencies he has worked for include Mostra, Y&R, and Publicis.

Damien Walckiers is now our Creative Director. He has over 20 years of experience as both Creative and Art Director, working for agencies like TBWA, Magnesium, Palmares, Grey, McCann Ericsson, Karamba, So Nice, and Fingerapps.

Sabrina Serra joined our production department as an Audio-Visual Producer. Having worked for RTL, Everlasting Productions, and Dragone, Sabrina has five years of experience in both video and press journalism, as well as in documentary productions.

Shabnam Agneessens also joined the production department where she serves as an associate-producer. Shabnam’s professional history includes some of the most prominent brands in the Belgian market, including Electrabel and Belgian Shell. Having worked for other communication agencies as well (e.g., IsaMedia), Shabnam reinforces our team with experience in marketing.

Truus Heremans joined our production as an Associate-Producer. She comes to us after years of experience in the UK market, working for SiteVisibility. In addition to audio-visual productions, Truus has experience in producing content for social media and optimising web searchability (SEO).

Philippe Ramos will serve as our new Motion Designer. Philippe joins us after five years of working for ABS Creative Group, where his clients included: Abbott, YSL Beauté, L’Oréal, Renault, Astra Zeneca, and Biotronik. He offers expertise in Flash, After Effects, Action Script 3 and more!

Vasilios Stefanidis is a Junior Content and Bid Manager, working on the preparation of our new bids; and creating content for our existing institutional clients. Vasilios has intimate knowledge of the European institutions, having worked in the European Council, European Parliament, and the Permanent Representation of Greece to the EU.

Judith Crispin and Sophie Blondiaux are our new Social Media Campaign managers. Judith was previously a senior social media consultant as the Social.Lab, where she communicated on behalf of major brands of all sectors. Sophie has rich experience in building web strategies from agencies like So Nice and Air. Sophie is also Cross Media Project Manager and leads the on-line promotion of films and animations.

Antoine Jovenet is now our Head of Studio at the Graphic department. Antoine’s experience ranges from ad-hoc products to conceiving broad visual identities for entire campaigns and brands. He has worked with corporate, commercial, and institutional clients; designing for print products, as well as for web and mobile applications.

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Feb 7 2013

Electrabel has always valued its interaction with the public. Using digital means, the Belgian energy company has been able to encourage a healthy, democratic and transparent public debate on various issues. That is why on its website, built by Emakina, it has incorporated an open blog on which anyone interested can post a question, remark, concern, or comment. The company’s experts then post their answers on the very same blog, inviting visitors not only to share them on social media but to evaluate the quality of the answer they supplied.

Yet, Electrabel and Emakina did not stop here. In its attempt to go green, Electrabel is building new wind farms all across Belgium. Such projects are of high public concern; the company thus seeks to consult, engage, and hear what the concerned community of each wind farm may have to say. Read the rest of this entry »

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Dec 14 2012

The extravagant pan-European production of The Spiral might be officially over; but the way in which it redefined public engagement through  multiple media is still to be studied and explored! Our latest analysis indicates the critical role of the online platform in this international success story. Developed by PKA Wanabe, a member of the Emakina Group, the platform allowed various levels of online engagement, depending on each user’s preferences.

The lowest level of participation (other than that of passive TV viewers) was that of users searching the masterpieces on our online mapping game. Many users, however, went a step further, creating their own MySpiral profile so they could take part in the game’s indoor and outdoor creative challenges. We now know that within the 36 days of the game, the map was searched almost 1.3 million times by over 140,000 users across Europe! In addition, almost 20,000 images were uploaded, some of which were even incorporated into the TV series.

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Sep 26 2012

Quelle Genève?

With this provocative question, Emakina.CH is at the heart of a new debate on the future of the city of Geneva and the region. Both have resisted to the international crisis. Now the time has come to open up to the world, fight populism and protectionism and invent a new international and positive story.

Michel Balestra,spokesperson for “Quelle Genève?” and Didier Zanone, partner of Emakina.CH present the campaign (Image: Steeve Iuncker Gomez, Tribune de Genève)

So the Business Federation of the Romandie Region, the Chamber of Commerce, Geneva Financial Center and Economie Suisse asked Emakina.CH to create a campaign to start a true interactive debate on the future of the city. Read the rest of this entry »

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Sep 10 2012

The European Ombudsman has a critical role as the point of contact of any EU citizen or entity who wishes to appeal against an EU institution. Its role, however, is not always known by those same EU citizens whom the Ombudsman is meant to serve. A new clip, produced by Emakina to be launched today, illustrates this message in a light and entertaining manner.

Due to the difficulty to communicate the role of such a complex institution, Emakina presented the Ombudsman three different concepts, each  detailed to a high degree. The winning concept (illustrated below) interprets rather literally the feeling of being “tangled” in EU bureaucracy…

As of today, the final product is being disseminated across all EU Member States, in 22 different local languages. While in the short run the distribution strategy is based mostly on social media, the product’s high quality makes it fully adaptable for television dissemination as well. Broadcasting opportunities across Europe are already being explored so don’t be surprised if you find this clip on your big screen:

Emakina.EU had the pleasure to produce the Ombudsman’s first clip of this kind. Fortunately, the feeling was mutual, as this unique client expressed great appreciation of the final clip, across all levels of its organisation. To put it in the words of the European Ombudsman’s head of communication unit, Benjamin Hagard: “…the Ombudsman himself, as well as his team, are highly satisfied with the result, and with… [Emakina’s] creativity and dynamism all along this project”.

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Aug 21 2012

PKA Wanabe, a member of the Emakina Group, was selected to set up the web platform of The Spiral, a cross-border and cross-media interactive game. You might have not heard of it yet but this is about to become the new buzz across Europe!  The Spiral is a television programme, aired simultaneously in eight European countries: Belgium, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Denmark, France, Germany, and the Netherlands. Produced by the international Brussels/ Los Angeles based Caviar Films company; the series tells the story of an art community, centred in Copenhagen, and its charismatic leader – who conspires to steal six of the most important paintings held in museums across Europe.

Yet, being a cross-media action series, The Spiral is not like any other TV programme you’ve seen before! Viewers in all participating countries are invited to compete over finding the stolen masterpieces, through a game involving both online tasks and off-line challenges. As for the group of rebellious artists, they also have an online presence, in the form of a Facebook group which follows the developments and sends out challenges and instructions. Apart Facebook, the fictitious story universe of this project includes numerous other websites.

Due to the fact that PKA Wanabe is based in Waterloo, the production was entitled to financial support from Wallimage, a public fund which supports Walloon audio-visual productions.

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Aug 14 2012

Following the two 3D animation videos we produced for the European Commission on toy safety, our new star, the CE-E Robot, has decided to create a Facebook page and interact with his fans. Thanks to the Facebook Timeline, visitors can trace CE-E’s life back to his birth.

This constitutes the first time in which Emakina builds and maintains a Facebook page for the European Commission and it is one of the few rare cases in which the Commission ever owned one. The page, which was launched today, will be updated daily by a collaboration of Emakina.EU supplying content, and Emakina/ Social managing the conversations. It will feature games and competitions; surveys; videos; and new original images of CE-E (like the one above). It will also present informative tips for parents about toy safety, ranging from conscious consumption to recommended usage and the psychological effects of toys on children’s development.

Wanna ask CE-E a question? Congratulate him on a new hit song? Or simply LIKE his page?

Visit CE-E on Facebook!

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Jun 29 2012

By Brice Le Blévennec

Ever since Marshall McLuhan coined his famous phrase, we know that “the medium is the message”. Today, this paradigm is no longer valid. The Internet has provided tools and empowered citizens, who are now in control of generating the public discourse. In this new paradigm, the impact and virality of the message depend on the value they create in the consumers’ lives. It is this value that has now become “the message”.
For advertisers, the new challenge is to support the new technology habits of their audiences, by providing communication objects – whether innovation or content – which, by their utility, or emotional richness, constitute an added value, meant to project on the brand.
In our new digital age where abundance rules, an unprecedented economic crisis has rendered the accumulation of assets as an engine of existence – totally obsolete. Brands can attempt to offer answers to the prevailing quest for sense and meaning … as long as they change their communication methods.

Take applications for tablets and mobile phones for examples: the only applications which manage to actually reach the consumer are those which offer a genuine service. Such is the case of the smartphone app, developed by Emakina for Electrabel, allowing customers to measure their energy consumption in real time and turn on/off electric sockets in their home via the Internet. The key added value: less wasted energy, pollution and lower bills.
Tomorrow’s agency is the consumer’s agency; that which intimately understands the needs and aspirations of consumers and which helps the advertiser to create the products and services that meet these expectations. ”But this is the leitmotiv of marketing since twenty years!” you might say with a smile. Of course, but things have dramatically changed with the advent of digital communication.

Up until recently, “old school” marketing was rather expensive. Conducting market research studies required considerable logistic and financial resources. Many advertisers refrained from using such tools, not because of their debatable return on investment (ROI), but rather due to the difficulty of their implementation. Today, the permanent flow of information from social networks allows us to understand the consumer and converse directly with her or him as never before. We can thus return to the essence of marketing, thanks to the power of the Net.

Moreover, in an era flooded by web and smartphones users, digital technologies prove to be an inexhaustible source of innovation. Not only do they create new consumer services, but they also provide potential new revenue sources for businesses. Have you noticed the number of food brands now offering web-based “slimming programs”? This is how they capitalise on your desire for thinness, after profiting from your cravings.

And here we encounter a fundamental difference between traditional advertising agencies, mistresses of the “claims”; and “digital native” agencies. The latter are naturally equipped to operate in this new world. Historically, web agencies have taken account of the user’s perspective, particularly given their ergonomic mission – sometimes at the expense of the client’s wishes. Who could imagine, for example, creating a website whose information architecture reflects the views of the business, rather than the needs of the user? User-bias, rather than client- bias, demonstrably increases ROI.

Classic communication approaches need to change: product, positioning, and agency briefing; campaigns designed to convey a message to a specific audience… that is all passé. Tomorrow’s agencies will have to go further upstream and examine the DNA of the product itself; see if it corresponds with the real concerns and desires of the consumer. When necessary, it’s the agency that will have to become the innovation engine.

Traditional advertising is dead? Probably not. But, next to “paid media” owned by editors and publishers, more and more often do we see brand platforms, online services, and innovative mobile applications gaining ground, seeping into the consumers’ daily lives and changing their behaviour. Is your agency ready for this new challenge? It is not (yet) too late to ask yourself this question.

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May 11 2012

The “enchanted era” is a French expression (originally, “la parenthèse enchantée”), describing a period of some twenty years between the 60s and the 80s. It started with the invention of the birth control pill. For the first time in history, women gained control of their own bodies and could actually choose if and when they would get pregnant. The effect of women’s emancipation and the resulting sexual revolution went far. They altered societal values like the nature of relationships between men and women and even of working ethics (in the context of a continuous economic boom). Later, the spread of AIDS in the 80s and the rise of unemployment, brought an end to this careless period, one which brings up nostalgic memories for those who lived through it. A similar kind of an enchanted era is about to end on the Internet.

The enchanted digital era started when the one described above came to an end. It all began in the 80s when corporate computing made its first steps, pioneered by IBM. This was also the time when Apple introduced its first microcomputer, and Microsoft presented its first personal computers. At this point in time, the Internet was only used for military applications and for scientific research.

During the 90s, computers first became a consumer good, now available to the wide public. Suddenly, the word “computer” did not only infer a gigantic mainframe machine, but there were new forms out there, such as the micro-personal computers, or simply PCs. IBM was pushed aside by Microsoft, which equipped (almost) all its computers with its newly-developed operating system, known as Windows. Yet, the software world was in need of much more significant investments than those made by a few pioneers. As for the Internet, it remained an experts-only arena, although at this point the Web already existed, with emerging products like Netscape. Even the first personal assistants, such as Newton and Palm, had already made their first appearance in the market.

The first decade of the 21^st century is the one which sees the reign of the Web. Google replaces Microsoft as the market leader (although the latter’s Internet Explorer continues to dominate the field of browsers) and the enchanted digital era begins: the Web is now based on solid foundations; on technologies which are widely accessible. A new virgin land is found; a territory with no entry barriers. The fact that (almost) anyone could create a website or launch a service created a startup frenzy, with Facebook standing out as the Web’s greatest success story. Apple comes back from its ashes, although its online services (like iTools, Dot Mac, and MobileMe) were still far from anything spectacular. Indeed, the burst of the dot-com bubble, and the 9/11 attacks that followed, slowed down the development of the Web. Yet, it was this decade which brought about an unprecedented wave of creativity, none of which would have been possible if it weren’t for the anarchic and decentralised system of the Internet.

Today’s landscape is again somewhat different. The 2010s will probably be remembered for the extensive use of mobile devices, smartphones, and of permanent Internet connection. The Net is now dictated by several giants who set the rules and impose them on all others. Google, along with its various services, remains the undisputed master of the Web. It is thus absolutely imperative to take into account the complex algorithms of this giant search engine and its way of prioritising digital information – in order to exist online and remain somewhat relevant. Facebook became a daily activity for hundreds of millions, thus having a great impact on our social interactions (like the disappearance of anonymity). Anything is now allowed… as long as you follow a few basic guidelines.

Apple did not only make a brilliant comeback; the company developed an entirely separate “ecosystem” of products which speak their own unique language to one another. It is thus impossible to put forward a new application or a podcast on the AppStore or iTunes without surrendering to the Apple hegemon. In sum, the aspiration for total freedom which prevailed during the dawn of the Internet has been replaced by a rather codified environment, one which is much more predictable. And yet, perhaps this is a necessary price for having large enterprises invest in interactive media and turn the Internet economy into a perennial one.

Of course, there will always be room for smart innovators and entrepreneurs who will introduce new products. But there is a long way to go until such new players could challenge the existing hegemony of the big ones. The latest success stories of startup companies prove exactly that. Zynga and Playfish were both entirely designed to fit the Facebook ecosystem. Angry Birds is an AppStore creature, and YouTube was very quickly caught into the world of Google. An important trend in the history of new technology is thus facing an end. Is this good news or bad news? We’ll find out soon…

*Translated from its original version in French

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