Back in Februrary we won some ADDY's at this year's AAF Greenville Addy Awards....and then we got busy and forgot to tell you about it.
So file this under the "Better Late Than Never" category as we congratulate the following clients on letting us do award winning work for them!
Philips Consumer Lifestyle
Silver Addy Award, Mobile Apps Category
For the Aspiring New Year's Resolution KeeperGive your favorite over-achiever something to help make their New Year's Resolution a whole lot easier. The Philips ActionFit line of sports headphones are made with sweat-proof and washable materials so even the ickiest of workouts won't ruin their great sound. And with a wide range of features from Bluetooth to in-line microphone, you're sure to find the perfect pair. www.philips.com/headphones
Then pair those fancy headphones with the ActionFit iPhone app so they can monitor, track and share their workouts (and make you feel lazy in the process). ActionFit app is available here on the iTunes store.
For the Little Lady on Your ListA favorite among the Shiloh and Suri set, Penelope Peapod dolls are a timeless classic that stay trendy even after jeggings become SO last season. The Penelope Peapod doll comes with her own little basket that goes from playtime bassinet to perfect little purse quicker than you can say "Fairy Princess". With ten patterns to choose from, the Penelope Peapod doll is the perfect accessory for your little fashionista. www.penelopepeapod.com
What do you get the serious athlete who has everything under the sun related to fitness? Simple...the gift of proper rehydration. Developed by a Charleston ER Doctor, BANa drink is like an IV in a bottle, offering quick rehydration after a long workout. Pick up a case and meet them at the finish line with a donut in hand and you'll be sure to win them over. BANa is also a great choice for those more socially- than physically-active peeps on your list who are sporting hangovers more than running shorts. www.banadrink.com
FACT: Beer tastes better when you can open the bottle with one hand. Lucky for you, there's Kebo, the one-handed bottle opener. Fresh from the inventor's workshop, this unique gift is perfect to bring to a party or to stick in a stocking. Kebo, created by Charleston architect Rush Dixon, was inspired by a vintage 1930's opener and perfected through months of experimentation (and more than a few 6 packs). This beautifully designed stainless steel bar tool comes in a retro-styled tin designed by Rush and your favorite elves at SLANT. $24.99 www.rush3studio.com
Giving the gift of food without breaking the bank can go one of two ways: 1) bake a loaf of something or 2) hand out a Subway gift card. Either way, you're going to get some fake smiles and a generic "uh..thanks."
Avoid the awkwardness with a gift certificate to one of Charleston's little-known dining secrets: 24 North Market. Tucked away inside the Art Institute, 24 North Market (who's logo was designed by SLANT's very own Connor Lock, a graduate from the Art Institute) is the culinary school's dining room. For only $11, diners can enjoy a fabulous 3-course meal, complete with a delightful signature beverage (of the non-adult variety). A 24 North gift certificate is a great (and affordable) choice for a co-worker who is new to the area. And, hey, you could always sweet talk them to invite you along. www.facebook.com/24NorthMarket
This is the best kind of gift - it's of the FREE variety. Do you have a loved one who suffers from chronic Dead Battery Anxiety (DBA)? You know the kind - the otherwise wonderful person who you've seen crawling on the floor of a bar to look for an outlet? Then this app is for them - BatterySense by Philips Consumer Lifestyle (and designed by SLANT) is a free app that recommends what settings to adjust to achieve more battery life while on the go. http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/batterysense-by-philips-consumer/id426068946?mt=8
Booming announcer's voice: The BatterySense by Philips Consumer Lifestyle app is live in the Apple app store! Now you can be in control of your iPhone, iPod or iPad's power destiny... estiny...estiny.
OK, for real. It's totally gratifying to see this labor of love finally come to life so the rest of you can download it for free. (Please, let us know what you think!)
How did all this get started? SLANT worked with Philips Consumer Lifestyle to concept an app that would be relevant to their mobile power products. So we got to work and the result was BatterySense.
Our goal when designing Battery Sense was to reveal the most pertinent information right away and leave all the other details hidden until you need them. And since it will live on a sexy touchscreen device, we organized the interface with big, giant buttons and gorgeous graphics. That makes it easy to use and fun to look at.
But wait, there's more!
The real genius of BatterySense lies within the "What If" feature. Just slide your finger up the interactive battery meter to tell BatterySense how much more time you need for say, Internet Use, and voila... BatterySense will make some recommendations on what battery-hogging iOS settings you can turn off to help you get there.
And if you get a little greedy over how much extra time you need your battery to last? Well, Philips has some power products to help you with that power boost. (We don't want anyone running around with Dead Battery Anxiety now, do we?)
So after concepting, defining the app's feature, designing the interface, programming with our rockstar development partner Relium, and testing (and testing, and testing), BatterySense is approved and in the App store. Now go download it and cure yourself of Dead Battery Anxiety!
SLANT loves working on a great campaign (cough, DBA, cough). Recognition for it is just icing on the cake!
Today, veteran New York Times advertising columnist Stuart Elliott covered our collaboration with Philips Electronics on the "Dead Battery Anxiety" campaign in his weekly "Campaign Spotlight" feature.
Mr. Elliott interviewed Kit Hughes, Shannon Doyle and Nico Riggio of the Philips Consumer Lifestyle division, and our own Christopher Cecil of SLANT to paint a picture of the collaboration, the campaign's reception to date and its expansion goals for 2011.
Thanks, Mr. Elliott! Enjoy, SLANTfans.
Yeah, we made up a word. Heck, we made up a whole disease!
We're stoked to announce the launch of the Dead Battery Anxiety (DBA) campaign. Why? Is it because we produced the campaign? Well yeah, that. But now mobile phone users can finally stop living in fear of dead phone batteries.
Launching today, DeadBatteryAnxiety.com is a wealth of education, diagnosis and “treatment options” for those who don’t have time to plug in and charge their phones when they’re on the go. 
Brochures, in addition to interactive and broadcast media, support the DBA campaign.
We collaborated with Philips Consumer Lifestyle to create the mock affliction microsite, or “mockrosite” as we’re calling it (see what we did there?) and its hi-larious content to support the Philips ChargeOn line of portable chargers. The products, designed for iPod/iPhone and other mobile phones, are available for sale via the website and at Wal-Mart stores, nationwide.
“Philips has a history of trying innovative things with product launch promotion and we knew we had a unique opportunity to have fun with the ChargeOn line in particular,” said Kit Hughes, Art Director at Philips Consumer Lifestyle.
“Everyone gets how aggravating it is to lose mobile power at an inconvenient time - so we tapped into the comical side of dead battery worst-case-scenarios throughout the messaging and campaign elements,” said Christopher Cecil, SLANT’s Founder and Creative Director. “Creating the videos was a blast because they are such extreme examples of DBA, but they’re still really relatable.”
In addition to the Philips team, we worked with Tout Talent and Fox Commercial Media to cast and shoot the videos around the Charleston area and then produced the final edits in house. Catch four of the videos live on the DBA website now and stay tuned for more to roll out over the next few weeks.
So don't miss a thing - Like DBA on Facebook, follow @DeadPhonesSuck on Twitter and enter the DBA sweepstakes to win a new Honda CR-V or a ton of Philips products. The campaign is also being supported by national interactive media, social media, and 60-second radio spots with related contests and events in Oklahoma City, Tampa, Dallas/Fort Worth, and St. Louis.
On-set for "She Hit Tha Flo" sketch
At the studio with the Fashionista
Setting up the alley shot
New Cyber Monday DBA Video
To celebrate Cyber Monday, the Dead Battery Anxiety campaign releases the Fashionista video. Hope your phone battery holds out while you're shopping, unlike hers. What a meltdown - check it out.
New in the DBA Video Library
From left to right - Lauren, Will, Christopher and Megan (OK, not really. This is on-set for a shoot we did for Philips Electronics, N.A.)
Haven't heard enough about us over the summer? We understand. Let's catch up, shall we?
So...Christopher got locked up for MDA, Will found his inner marketer, Lauren furthered her clinical research on imperial brews, Megan channelled some aggression through a pair of skates & a mean elbow, and SLANT interns Duncan & Connor survived (relatively) unharmed. (A screenplay for Duncan's iPhone saga is currently in the works).
When Will first joined SLANT, Christopher promised him "fame & fortune". He's still waiting on the fortune but enjoyed several moments in the spotlight this Summer. Via a brilliant social media campaign, he was voted as one of the AMA's top 5 Charleston marketers of the year. The Charleston chapter of Architecture for Humanities asked Will to emcee their "20on20" version of Pecha Kucha that featured 7 presentations by some of the area's most talented architects & designers. Sadly, all of this extracurricular work derailed Will's audition plans for "Dancing With the Stars".
In the area of "real work", SLANT is preparing to launch a marketing campaign for Philips Electronics, N.A. that involved, among other things, creating a series of videos shot here in Charleston. You'll hear more about this in the next few weeks.... stay tuned!
Our continued SEO/SEM work on behalf of Dolphin Architects & Builders earned SLANT an American Marketing Association Spark award in the Firecracker category.
We're also in the throes of product branding and development with Rush3 Product Design Studio - one of those fun, creative, inspiring projects that makes it fun to come to work - and drink beer during meetings.
And, at the end of the summer we can now consider ourselves experts in catastrophic subterranean shelters, art deco styles of the 1930s, the simple elegance of the black and white ad, and the enigmatic nature of Canadian business models. Well, we're still kinda stumped on that last one, but the point is that we've learned a lot.
So yeah - despite this miserable "economic climate", SLANT is staying busy and we are looking forward to an even more exciting and productive year-end! We'll keep you posted.
If you have an iPod or iPhone, there's a good chance you've seen or even own an accessory made by Digital Lifestyle Outfitters (DLO). We've been working with DLO since 2005 to make sure their brand stays fresh and consistent online.
In our latest effort, we've been working closely with their creative and marketing team to reskin the 4 year old website to match their latest product packaging designs. We launched the site Monday morning just as the new packaging was made available to customers at Best Buy stores, nationwide.
Check out the new look at www.dlo.com (and be sure to check out DLO's new packaging and products at your local Best Buy!)
SLANT's handywork in the realm of Graphical User Interface (GUI or "goo-eee", as fellow geeks would say) is being met with pretty impressive critiques. DLO's HomeDock HD was released to the public back in November and SLANT was responsible for designing and developing the unit's Graphical User Interface.
SLANT was asked to completely overhaul the system's GUI to make it dazzle when connected to HD televisions and to make it more user friendly in general. After about 4 months of designing, tweaking, and documentation writing, the final designs were baked into production units and on the shelves at Best Buy nationwide as of October.
Reviews are coming in from notable tech blogs and review sites complimenting "the nicest-looking on-TV menu system yet attempted by a third-party developer for the iPod." (as quoted from iLounge.com)
Lots of people don't know that User Interface/Experience design is something SLANT has been known for since it's inception back in 2002. Starting with interactive CD-ROMS (remember those?) and award winning flash websites that focus on unique user interface and navigation designs.
