“Corey was a superb listener, which is crucial in understanding the culture of an organization and its stakeholders in order to create a successful product. The creative brief Corey prepared reflected that careful listening and in fact was almost like a branding effort for Hastings and its new consumer effort, Help with Hard Questions.”

1. Why did you decide to hire Corey for Hasting’s Help With Hard Questions very important Web project?

Hastings had the opportunity to work with Corey four years ago on a small project about health reform called the Values Connection. We were so impressed with Corey’s creative approach to design merged with functionality, as well as their very collegial attitude—total professionals with fantastic project management skills, but nonetheless the kind of people you wished worked in your office and you got to hang out together. When we had the opportunity to embark on our fist ever consumer site, Corey was at the top of our list of design and development teams. We did due diligence and got competitive bids, but Corey’s proposal was the clear winner.

2. What are the three things Corey had to do for Hastings/Help with Hard Questions to make our work together successful?

It’s hard to narrow this down to three things, because there were many things Corey did. But I’ll try:

1) Listen. Corey was a superb listener, which is crucial in understanding the culture of an organization and its stakeholders in order to create a successful product. The creative brief Corey prepared reflected that careful listening and in fact was almost like a branding effort for Hastings and its new consumer effort, Help with Hard Questions. This listening persisted through project management and was critical for making the project move efficiently and come in on time.

2) Design. Corey used design as an integration tool that we expect to both draw users to the site and to make it easy for them to navigate. This of course was integrally connected to development, which they embraced holistically as both supporting and driving the design. Help with Hard Questions is a first in kind for bioethics, and the elegant yet accessible design is critical.

3) Partner. We felt like Corey really partnered with Hastings in ways that reflect its dedication to its work. Corey really believed in the concept of Help with Hard Questions, and provided invaluable advice that went far beyond what was required. They really seemed to enjoy the material and work, and that helped all of us on our team to keep our spirits up during a time when the Hastings team was working very hard.

3.  Did our collaboration help you and your team think differently about how to approach building the site?

Absolutely! We presented quite a complicated design challenge where users, who are only able to ask questions, are trying to build a community. Corey managed to make this idea come alive.

4.  What surprised you most about our partnership? What was the biggest challenge?

I think the most surprising thing was the enthusiasm and embrace of the concept by the Corey team–a combination of both the listening and partnering described above. Corey really felt like an in-house team that understood Hastings and believed in it and Help with Hard Questions the way we do. I think the biggest challenge was probably some technical back-end integration of registration and donor data. Fortunately, that isn’t my area!

5.  How is the work moving the needle for your particular efforts and Hastings’ overall?

It’s the very early days for this project, and as I said it is a first in kind effort to bring bioethics directly to those who are living the issues we work on. So a lot needs to be done by our communications team to get the word out. But just having the site up and running and beautiful meets the Hastings mission of sharing knowledge widely. Check back in 3 months for an update!

6.  Outside of work, what are your passions?

Fortunately, bioethics and my work in it is one of my passions! But others are that I’m a serious runner (10 marathons, including 2 Boston for you Corey vicinity folks). I also love to garden and am a poet. And I have to give a shout out to the loves of my life–my enormous nuclear and extended family. I’m the oldest of 9 siblings–we are all very close, though very different—and I also have a great husband and two amazing sons who somehow are grown up, which I can’t figure out because I still think I’m 35.

Read the press release

1. You knew COREY from the independent school world and you ventured into the critical world of community health. Why did decide to hire COREY for LCHC’s very important brand debut?

MS: From my past experience working with the firm, I knew that the COREY team had the tools and creativity to help organizations get to the core of their identity. In large-scale organizations, there are often so many different points of view but COREY helped us come to consensus in a way that made everyone feel heard and respected.

2. What are the three things Corey had to do for Lowell Community Health to make our work together successful?

(1)  Listen. (2) Listen. (3) Listen.

3. Did our collaboration help you and your team think differently about how to approach building the LCHC brand?

MS: Working with the COREY team allowed us to confirm the core elements that make us unique and set us apart from other organizations. They helped us see ourselves and feel proud of our brand.

4. What surprised you most about our partnership?

MS:  I was most surprised by how quickly our team came came to consensus, that was genuis!

5. How is the work moving the needle for your particular efforts and LCHC’s overall?

MS: The work has helped us build a sense of teamwork and shared identity. The campaign logo that COREY created has helped us stand out in the community–everyone recognizes our “Caring for Lowell” theme now. When we roll out our new visual identity later this year, we know it will be a mark that will stick!

6. Outside of work, what are your passions?

MS: My true passions are family and friends.

“For my first Valentine’s Day with my now-husband — a model train collector — I randomly purchased a book about the history of passenger locomotives. The bookstore didn’t have a vast selection of train books; I think I had a choice of three. Having known him for all of 6 weeks, I was not aware of his extensive book collection, nor of his specific interests. I was simply picking out a “train book.”

“When I presented the gift to him, as it turned out he did not have this book! And had been wanting to purchase it for himself for years. How’s that for a lucky find? Guess that’s what he thought too. He proposed a few months later.”

A Heartstorm

“One time I got a backpack full of candies. Literally hundreds of candies were packed in a backpack”.

“I like simple gestures the most. Finding a hand-written note in my lunch box made my day!”

“One of the sweetest gifts I ever received was a colorful potted “Plant” made with small construction paper hands of my child which represented the flower petals.  The pot was decorated with pink, red and white hearts and sweet sayings.  Very sweet.  I love anything with a handprint from a small child.”

“This is sappy but you asked… I once woke up to a room filled with heart confetti and chocolate kisses everywhere. It was really sweet so I didn’t mind picking hearts up for the next week”.

Icy Hearts

Clearly, I have been missing much since 2003 since I only heard about Movember this month. Movember began in 2003 by a bunch of inspired (and brilliant) Australians. Movember is an international movement to bring attention to men’s health issues, mainly prostate and other men’s cancers through individuals growing mustaches.

Here is why we find Movember brilliant:

1. It’s about men’s health and it’s not Viagra. With the dominance of other, worthy, ambitious and wonderful health awareness issues like breast cancer awareness and the color pink, you don’t find too many men’s health issues brought to our attention. Unless, of course, it is erectile dysfunction, but speaking for myself, I have heard about that issue enough for a lifetime.
2. Low barrier to entry. In contrast to many other fundraisers that require a minimum amount of funds to raise or an enormous amount of time to work out for a year or so, Movember just asks men to put away the razor for a month. You don’t have to be fit or rich or well connected, you just need to care.
3. Movember is a movement with you. It embodies every tenet of being social. Mo Bros and Mo Sistas unite to raise awareness , funds, and become part of a bigger community – all for a bigger cause. At the end of the November, there are many Movember parties around the world to focus on the cause and have fun with similar minded people. Participate and there is an immediate sense of efficacy and purpose. You know how many men are participating by running a search on Instagram #Movember.
4. Built in (and cheap) advertisement. It’s not the 70s. If you have a mustache, people will notice and ask what is going on. It is a simple and powerful way venue to tell people what you’re doing and why.
5. Grabs the imagination. Having facial hair creates a framework to promote your cause. Watch it grow. See what the mouth is saying. See how many types of mustaches in the world there can be. Be inspired. Be involved, Be WOW-ed

Hats off to you, Movember. We’re in.

Conall Ryan has worked with Corey throughout his illustrious career in publishing, awarding the Corey team with challenging interactive projects for Houghton Mifflin, McGraw Hill and Reader’s Digest.

1. How long have you been working with Corey?

Since 1994, when I took a job with Houghton Mifflin to start a digital publishing imprint.

2. We’ve been privileged to do work with you throughout your career for clients like Houghton Mifflin, McGraw-Hill, Reader’s Digest, and other enterprises. What has been your favorite project with us? Why?

I don’t have a favorite project. For me, it’s always the next one. What keeps me coming back to Corey is the individual brilliance of the players, the depth and breadth of skills sets in the company, and the consistently excellent quality of your work. Let me put it in chamber music terms. When I’m putting together a new software product, I’ve got to assemble a team to perform the Content, Design, and Engineering parts. Corey plays Design extremely well, but you also understand the other parts at a deep level. For me, software development is like chamber music in that it’s more about listening than playing. You’ve got to listen together, navigate complex passages to make them comprehensible and pleasing to an audience, and know when to breathe. Doing it extremely well requires trust and spontaneity. The kind of chamber music that reaches your heart is the result of great collaboration and camaraderie. The same is true of great design. Corey is so much more than just a design shop. It’s a collection of intellectually curious and passionately focused pros. You don’t get the serious chops that you guys have without practicing a lot of scales. But what I most admire is your ability to take on complex and largely unwritten “scores” and help turn them into something simple, elegant, and durable.

3. Given our history together, you’ve witnessed Corey’s evolution. What has most impressed you?

Corey has preserved and enhanced its core values over the last several years while also managing to become a more nimble and energetic company. You’ve broadened your services to keep up with the changes in brand management, social media, and mobility. You keep a pulse on the markets, not just your current batch of projects. I also like the international cast of characters, which keeps things fresh, flexible, and diverse. Interesting people tend to do interesting work! Corey turns people loose and lets the best ideas win.

4. What do you do for fun?

At the risk of sounding like I have too much of it, which is certainly not the case, I enjoy playing music, reading, writing, sports, spicy food, traveling, fishing, poker, dancing with my wife (she’s great; I stink), and following the exploits of our very large family. Any day that I learn something new is a fun day.

5. What is your favorite brand and why?

Apple, because it’s the brand that touches me – physically and emotionally – the most every day and empowers me with music, knowledge, memories, communication, creativity, and portability. It’s a fragile brand because it was forged with the determination and taste of Steve Jobs. Apple means designing a beautiful motherboard that no one except the geeks that rip the device apart is ever going to see, and saying no a thousand times until you ferret out the simplicity of a single yes, of never settling for less than insanely great. It’ll be interesting to see if Apple maintains those high standards now that Steve is gone. We’ll know soon if they only say no nine-hundred-and-ninety-nine times, or nine-hundred-and-ninety-eight..

6. What is your dream job?

Building a 21st century publishing company that would give voice to important new works of art and make the people who have taught me proud.

Check out pictures of a past project Corey worked on with Conall Ryan for Reader’s Digest, RDEnglish, an intensive and immersive e-learning tool.

Corey’s spin on Sprezzatura was in full play with stations conducted by:

Emily Bottis, Corey’s Director of New Media & Technology, on The Sprezzatura of Information, Infographics and Algorithms. Emily’s examples included Gapminder.org, Vizualize.me, Hunch.com, Lauren Manning’s Food Infographics, and The Global Information Industry Center’s How much information? 2009 Report on American Consumers from UCSD.

Ryan Evans, Corey’s Director of Experience Design, on The Nonchalance Is In The Details. Ryan’s examples included Schooloscope.com, us.moo.com, shakeshack.com, intonow.com, and skitch.com.

Chris Klaehn, Corey’s Director of Brand Strategy, and D.Jeong, Corey’s Associate Creative Director, on Corey, Coffee and Cars. Chris and D referenced ZipCar, OnStar and Ford Fiesta as well as Starbucks and Liga Masiva.

Finally, we’d like to give an extra nod of thanks to Communispace’s Melanie Seaborn and Erin Antonellis for participating in our event and reminding us all about the importance of the consumer voice.

It’s our world. It’s our time. It’s our experience.

Brands now must find ways to bridge space and time interaction as the digital world bleeds into the physical world. This calls for brand narrative conviction built on perserverance and shuffle. The reason for “being with” a brand is what has changed a static brand landscape into an immersive narrative experience based on authenticity and inclusivity. A great example of this is Arcade Fire’s HTML5 experiment with Google (Google Chrome required).

This sense of truth and presence has created micro-narrative or story addiction fueled by passion—the glue that holds a narrative together over time. These stories are based on presentism or “nowness”. Finding ways to engage people with the brand’s overarching narrative on the story level is the new gold. A new form of immersion and engagement.

Yes, we are physically anchored to our geographical location and yet our experience transcends these boundaries each day with technological advancement. And technology is opening our mind’s eye, imagination, and liberating our desire to dive deeper into the fray. We, along with our brand experiences have become atmospheric. Take for example the Into_Now App that allows users to check into TV shows with friends enabling conversation to bridge time and geographical conversation. This co-viewing experience has helped TV shows such as The Voice revitalize what has become a dated TV format, reality TV, and earned it a top-rated new show this season through this and other social media initiatives.

Gaming pioneered this thinking with systems like Nintendo’s Wii. Social media and mobile devices brought it into the mainstream—as we’re now seeing with Social TV. Now, it about creating non-disruptive, seamless experiences to engage fans both online and on land.

So what are brands to do? Set the agenda. Be authentic. Execute in the here-and-now. Mobilize the audience. Listen, and shift with the conversation while keeping a steady eye on the ambitions of the brand’s overall narrative and the people who engage with it. Then we will all find fulfillment in our co-presence, the value we share, and influence content together.

When discussing new technologies with clients and peers I often hear the importance of not building “technology for technology’s sake”.   I agree that this should be prevented but I prefer to think positively and speak about how we want technology to work instead of how we don’t want it to work.  In doing this, I use the word Sprezzatura.

Sprezzatura was coined by Baldassare Castiglione in The Book of the Courtier in 1528.  Castiglione coined the term to define the behavior of the perfect gentleman in the court.  But, trust me, it still applies today.

Castiglione described Sprezzatura as:

…to practice in all things a certain sprezzatura [nonchalance], so as to conceal all art and make whatever is done or said appear to be without effort and almost without any thought about it.

The best applications and interfaces are so simple they “appear to be without effort” and are able to allow users to go about their business “without any thought about it.”  Registering via my cable provider for the amazing HBO Go App?  Well, that was the antithesis of Sprezzatura.  Purchasing the latest Jonathan Franzen novel with One Click on the beach on your Kindle?  That nails it.

At Corey, we’ve spent a lot of time thinking about the essence of Sprezzatura and technology.  We have decided that a technology – an application, interactive, etc. – achieves Sprezzatura when:

- What you want is there just when you need it
- You are remembered and understood
- Your location plays a role in the information you are presented
- The technology works simply
- The technology works unobtrusively to your benefit

When working on our client projects we have injected the following principles into our process to ensure our solutions achieve Sprezzatura:

- Understand business process in detail
- Understand users’ needs and desires
- Create personalized experiences
- Take advantage of platforms people are already using such such as Facebook and Yahoo
- Code well by using the smallest routines possible, abstracting the real world, and using intelligent patterns
- Test and prototype throughout the design and development process

Our favorite examples of Sprezzatura include:
- Dropbox
- Zipcar
- Apple store upgrades to apps

Often, when we begin brainstorming a new online experience for web or mobile, the first things our clients talk about are functionality, architecture and design. Copy and voice are recognized as important aspects of the brand, but most people feel it can be slotted in later in the process, even after the site is completed. But the words we select and craft play as important a role in the function of a site as the backend code.

Take a look at the Schooloscope website. This straightforward website allows parents in England to browse schools in their neighborhood, comparing demographics, exam scores and leadership. The home page presents the value of the site in a single simple sentence: “Schooloscope tells you how your school’s doing.” Schooloscope’s school profile page integrates voice directly into the function of the site. Here, the status of the school is presented as two brief, data-rich paragraphs, giving the user the information they need and a half-dozen links to dig deeper. The site has avoided using a clunky table or a standardized list of links, instead demonstrating the importance of copy writing in the user experience through a friendly, conversational tone that clarifies data and makes it actionable.

Other examples of stellar functional web writing include the “I Want One!” button on woot.com, Banksimple‘s “Save Your Spot” plain English registration form and subtly surprising interaction messages such as “psst” and “hooray” on Flickr.

As you look more closely at these examples you see a trend. Applications that are intended for frequent use steer towards subtle injections of personality and short bits of voice-driven copy. Experiences intended for less frequent use can benefit from longer functional copy that assists user comprehension, especially when trying to draw in first-time visitors. And sites like Schooloscope and Banksimple show a new way to integrate functionality with voice, allowing users to write their own stories. Through all of these examples you see a tight integration between functionality and copy writing that necessitates the need to think about and plan for copy from the inception of your online project.

What kind of value are you placing on copywriting in your user experience design process? Are you planning your UX voice from the start of your project? Let us know!

Tip of the hat to Carl Collins. His talk at IASummit 2011 pointed out some of the examples discussed here.

Xigo, previously know as Invoice Insight, selected the team of experts at Corey to create a comprehensive rebranding strategy and tactical program to bring the Xigo brand to life. Corey’s team was tasked with helping Xigo broaden its customer base and differentiate itself in the TEM marketplace.

Corey sought to communicate Xigo’s customer-centric culture. Using straightforward language and simple graphics the new Xigo Identity, Web site, graphics, and demo video demonstrate the ease of using Xigo. In its first week Xigo Now garnered 146 registered user with 61% of those users uploading an invoice, and 9,819 unique device uploads with an average 122 device count per client.

We sat down with Tim Eckles, Xigo’s VP Marketing, to get his read on working with Corey and share how he saves money on his mobile bill.

Corey is doing much more thinking and doing with video, mobile and online narratives than the last time I worked with them. It’s no surprise you’re keeping up with the evolutions in brand communications. The Xigo video has been a real hit.

2. You gave us the terrific opportunity to launch Xigo-everything from strategy to naming and from Web to video. What insight did Corey provide to make it all happen?

T.E.: The thinking and, in particular, the outside the box thinking you guys do and the fact that you can take all the group think, from our team and from yours and distill into something meaningful is fantastic. We wanted to be clear about being innovative, about identifying ourselves as a Saas in an old space (telecom expense management), and play up ideas about ease, immediacy, and the freemium experience. Corey helped us identify how to navigate the whole Xigo experience-from offline to online. You gave us our story.

3. What was your favorite part about the project?

T.E.: For me, it’s always seeing the brand come to life in all its forms-strategically and visually.

4. Technology evolves so rapidly and audiences are fickle and fussy. Why will Xigo work?

T.E.: Xigo already had a 10 year track record operating as Invoice Insight on a state of the art SaaS platform that the company’s founders had the foresight to build and refine over the years even before SaaS and cloud were vogue business models. Because of their architecture foresight, the real innovation was that the founders came to understand was that the company had the unique capability to deliver a FREE service that has 100% of the features that most companies need to prudently manage their mobile expenses.

5. You’ve been a technology marketing veteran for over 20 years. What has been the biggest change and what has been the constant?

T.E.: The biggest changes have been the new technologies/platforms available to sales and marketing professionals around demand creation and demand management, specifically marketing automation and sales force automation along with the people and process that wraps around them.

The one constant is that marketing always comes down to some sort of list. Every company is always trying to get people to raise their hand and respond positively to a message in an effort to nurture and re-market too. The other constant is that, results matter.

6. On a personal note, how has Xigo helped you save money on your mobile bill?

T.E.: Xigo Now (the free service) has no problem giving me savings advice with a one and done (my needs don’t change) value proposition.