Emakina Blog

Become an expert in cloud computing

Laurent Jadot — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 07:00:22 +0000

What defines a cloud service? What about compatibility between operating systems? If your cloud host disappears, where does your information go? What tools exist for the user to monitor and manage multiple cloud-computing accounts?

The Cloud Computing Forum will present trends and cases in Cloud Computing through various presentations. The forum will be held on February 26th at Hotel Le Meridien and you can register here.

Glamorous websites for sexy conditions

Laurent Jadot — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 06:00:59 +0000

The car show may well be behind us, but the very attractive and wanted car show conditions still are the talk of the town.
Emakina made 3 mini websites for 3 car manufacturers that all put the interesting conditions in the driver’s seat.

The Audi Belgium Salon 2010 Website :

The SKODA Salon website :

The SEAT Salon 2010 website :

The revenge of the structured Web

Laurent Jadot — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 11:39:08 +0000

Let me take you back to the middle of the nineties. At that time, there were two different, competing and radically opposed schools when it came to the future of digital networks. The first school, represented by Compuserve, defended a structured architecture of the web: Compuserve built a closed system with its own nomenclature and its own applications that were not accessible to non-subscribers. Others, including key players such as AOL and even Apple, offered access to their deceased eWorld to the first forerunners who paced the stammering network.

The second school was the school of the World Wide Web, an invention by Tim Berners-Lee and the Belgian Cailleaux. It was an anarchic, decentralised network that was open to any surfer connected to the web. I remember having a passionate discussion about it with Michel Bauwens back in 1995. I was in favour of the well-ordered Compuserve model whereas he defended the Web. The rest of the story is no mystery: Michel has won the battle. I was right too soon, which meant I was wrong at the time… Because it took many more years before Google corrected my final point of criticism to the web by making the information that could be found here and there in the chaos of the World Wide Web accessible to everyone.

Today, we witness a return of the walled gardens, of controlled content according to a set architecture: Netlog, MySpace, LinkedIn, Xing, Viadeo, Orkut, Virb, Bebo,… The best representative of this trend is no other than the social network Facebook and its 300+ millions of worldwide users. Like Compuserve, Facebook is a private club whose membership requires a subscription. Its content is divided into groups and pages, with a common navigation and standard functionalities. But the business model has changed: one no longer has to pay for access with his credit card but pays by seeing advertising messages.

This return to isolated universes is even more important as the Internet access has become more and more heterogeneous: on top of a computer with a navigating system, we see the boom of mobile phones, portable gaming devices, living room devices,… There are now many ways to access the net. It is no coincidence Facebook has developed tailored versions for the Xbox, iPhone and Android. This diversification follows the pace of the behaviour of surfers who want to connect to the Internet, anytime, anywhere. The structured content platforms can easily develop interfaces that are adapted to these terminals, which gives them a benefit compared to the de-structured web, a galaxy of numerous interfaces and disparate data.

This evolution has an interesting question for brands in store: should they put up their base in the anarchic web, migrate their presence to Facebook-like environments or should they create ex nihilo a universe with their own colours and multiply access interfaces? When you are a worldwide player, this problem probably has different terms since this type of company has the resources to deliver on all the options in order to ensure an optimal and coordinated brand experience: Web, iDTV, Xbox, PS3, Wii, DS, PSP, iPhone/iPod, iPad, Apple TV, Windows Phone, Android, Symbian,… But players in other leagues will be faced with a harder choice since they will have to choose a limited number of entry points to their brand universe. A strategic challenge for the years to come…

Brice Le Blevennec

Even voorstellen: Onze nieuwe Project Director

Gabri — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 16:43:26 +0000

Emakina.NL heeft haar team versterkt met een nieuwe collega: Arco van der Velde gaat aan de slag als Project Director. Voorheen was hij ruim 4 jaar werkzaam als project manager bij Tam Tam.

Uitdaging
In zijn nieuwe functie houdt Arco zich voornamelijk bezig met de verdere professionalisering van de projectorganisatie binnen het bureau. “Ik zet me in voor een optimalisatie van de interne structuur waardoor een verbeterde samenwerking tussen klant en projectteams kan ontstaan.” Daarnaast neemt van der Velde zitting in het MT.

Maak kennis met Arco!
Arco kijkt uit naar zijn nieuwe werkplek met uitzicht op de skyline van Rotterdam. Dat is toch wel even wat anders als je vier jaar op die grauwe A13 hebt uitgekeken. Naast zijn passie voor projectmanagement houdt onze nieuwe collega zich in zijn vrije tijd ook bezig met theologie en filosofie. Wil je Arco beter leren kennen? Stuur hem een mailtje of connect via LinkedIn.

Emakina redesigns Knauf Insulation’s website

Laurent Jadot — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 07:00:44 +0000

Knauf Insulation (manufacter of energy efficient insulation solutions) has entrusted the redesigning of its website site to Emakina.

The site just has been revamped to offer fresh contemporary graphics and new usability. Emakina also worked on the information architecture, HTML development, flash programming! And also CMS Drupal!

Digital & Mobile Media communication made easy

Laurent Jadot — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 18:29:17 +0000

The UBA (Belgian Association of Advertisers) is organizing this February 2nd, the first Digital & Mobile Media Committee meeting. Well chosen digital medias experts will share their knowledge about digital strategies and their added-value in a media plan, illustrated by some relevant integrated cases. Keynote speaker, Isabelle Driege, executive manager at Emakina/Media, will join in for the conclusion of the day event.

When: 2 February 2010 at 14:00 PM

Where: UBA – Antwerpselaan 2 – 1853 Strombeek-Bever.

Become an expert in online advertising

Laurent Jadot — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 07:00:04 +0000

What’s the return on buying keywords compared to display advertising? What’s the impact of brand advertising online? How is the advertising ecosystem going to evolve over time? Are viral campaigns truly more cost effective?

The Webvertising Forum aims to answer most of these questions. This one-day business event presents 10 interactive workshops on actual topics such as: display advertising, new formats, planning & buying , legal aspects of online advertising, crowdsourcing, digital cross-media, community marketing and many more! Lots of practical client-cases will guide you through the development of a successful online campaign.

Top keynote speaker, Isabelle Driege, executive manager at Emakina/Media, will join in and share her knowledge about Digital Cross-Media: campaign optimization by using a mix of digital channels.

When: 3 February 2010 at 9.30 AM

Where: Hotel Le Meridien Carrefour de l’Europe 3, 1000 Brussels

We rock the web

Laurent Jadot — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 09:20:14 +0000

Each year, the festival season countdown begins with the launch of the new Rock Werchter website. For the 2010 edition, Design is Dead pimped the 2009 structure with new graphics and extra features such as an extended picture gallery. Browse through a decade of festival fever, super bands and shiny happy party people and check out the latest news online. And if that doesn’t get you in the mood for RW 2010, we suggest you perform a little sundance…

Design is Dead is movin’ on up

Laurent Jadot — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 17:36:17 +0000

Design is Dead goes for bigger and better! Last week, they packed their bags and moved into its new headquarters!. It took them 1926.83 kilos of manpower to move: 124 boxes, 5 and a half aliens, 4 near-dead plants, 52 terrabytes of server capacity, 19 grey mice and much more to our new headquarters.

From now on, your trusted creative force is to be found in the Duboisstraat 50, 2060 Antwerp. You’re more than welcome to pop in for some coffee and a guided tour. For a sneak preview, click right here.

Trends-to-be for 2010 in Gael magazine

Laurent Jadot — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 17:06:53 +0000

In its January issue, Women’s magazine Gael published a trend-watching report on the biggest trends-to-be for 2010. The report focused on the shift in consumer behaviour, values and communication.

As often, the team of Emakination was consulted, resulting in a page-long interview with Amélie Sainthuile, strategic consultant at Emakina/Think.

In the interview, Amélie explains the values advertisers will have to take into account while mapping out their future campaigns: authenticity, crowd-sourcing, eco-responsibility, local consumering,… “Sharing becomes a fundamental value” explains Amélie, “the Internet becomes more and more a guide for all sorts of consumers. A clear example of this is the success of online community platforms such as Yunomi.be.”

Read full article (in French) here…