Bryan Landaburu (aka Reno Bryan, Willie Vega, and Fuze) | Dont call me a blogger

Sweeter deal - iPod Touch Giveaway @ RTYPN Summit

To sweeten the deal, and to encourage attendance at our incredibly interesting booth at this year's Reno Tahoe Young Professionals Leadership Summit, we decided to give one lucky young professional, their choice of:

• the New Apple iPod Touch [more info]
  or
• a month of beer
  or
• 2hrs of our undivided attention

Thats a little something for everyone [we think]. All that for dropping your business card in our crystal chalice. Who says you cant have something for nothing. Join us wont you?!

WBV

Reno Tahoe Young Professional Leadership Summit 2007 - Join Us

Please join us this Friday for the Reno Tahoe Young Professionals Network Leadership Summit 2007.  The event is expected to have over 500 of the areas young professionals in attendance and engaged in an interactive series of breakout sessions, exhibits, and events, including the first annual 20 under 40 Awards (co sponsored by the Reno Gazette Journal).

At the summit, Fuze will be exhibiting as a founding sponsor (fun freebies will be available to all), and I will be speaking as part of a panel in their "Grow" breakout session:

Professional Development and Entrepreneurship

Guest Speakers: Hal Lenox, President, AT&T Nevada; Jean Venneman, Senior Vice President of Product Development, IGT; Bryan Landaburu, Founder/President of Fuze; Claude Sapp, Founder of Infinifuel Biodiesel

What resources exist for young professionals in Greater Reno-Tahoe? Whether growing your career or your entrepreneurial business, this session will provide practical information from those who have been through it.

There is still time to sign up, so jump on over to the event site for more information or click here to register for the event online.

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More information and articles:

• blog.renotahoeypn.com/2007/09/18/20-under-40-awards-nominees-announced/
• news.rgj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2007709260420
• news.rgj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2007709250305
• www.nnbw.biz/ArticleRead.aspx?storyID=9618

Fuze Client Featured: CLP

We were just told that one of our clients CLP Resources (sites:  clp.com & clptravelers.com) had their websites featured in the Internet Marketing Report this month.

• Here be a link to the IMR article

The complimentary article explained some of the basics of what we did with the sites, but I felt many of the under the hood elements were not captured, so my feedback to the author is shown below here.  It may or may not make it to approved comments on the authors blog, but my dribble is just too damn genius not share with the 7 fans of the FuzeBlog.

Written in response to the IMR article - by yours truly 9/21/2207

Thanks for the article.  You pegged a couple points we try to enforce to our clients.  We were the strategists, designers, developers, and optimizers so to speak for the CLP family of companies. A few additional features worth pointing out on the CLP sites:

1) the goals for these sites are to attract and qualify as many candidates nationwide as possible. Once qualified, these candidates need to be routed immediately to CLP's national network of offices for recruitment effort. This process is fully automated end-to-end.

2) user audiences are clearly identified and their needs met at the site in order of priority.  At present, they want candidates to apply - so i defy anyone to miss the call to apply on the sites.

3) page and site structure are all 100% dynamic and controlled by the client and us - which makes page changes simple and indexing almost immediate.  All pages on the site are easy to find and have proper editorial style markup (H1, H2, Content).

4) client drives traffic through all sorts of media, so we harness and funnel this traffic through clean, clear, optimized landing pages that help pay off their traditional media, outdoor, direct mail, with a web element that we can track the landing and conversion on.

5) site is fully wrapped in analytics that let us constantly evaluate and fine tune the marketing efforts.

CLP is a company that believes in doing things right. They put the needs of their customers and the potential employees they recruit at the forefront of everything they do.  Your experience is consistent whether you meet CLP face-to-face, ear-to-ear, or screen-to-screen. This is just the beginning for what we are planning for their web presence.

Just a few notes from the source. We all appreciate your writeup on the current sites.

We always like good press.  Thanks IMR.  Ever forward...

WBV

Please Stand and Celebrate Talk Like A Pirate Day

It's September 19th, so in honor, please join FUZE as we stand an' observance o' National Talk Like a Pirate Day. One o' th' wee holidays we observe here at th' camp. Here be a couple sites fer ye t' peruse an' appreciate sea dog lore.

• Learn - talklikeapirate.com
• Read - SWAG

See ou' out at sea...Ya lily livered scurvy cur!

WBV
Head Pirate

Email Creative for Know-it-alls [like me]

I feel [very occasional] guilt from time to time that this blog is all about rants and opinion and not enough about what we do as a business.  So, here is a post that dispels said myth.

As I was clearing out my ridiculous inbox I came across a few bullets in a note from Responsys that I thought would be great to pass along to our email marketing clients, and now here as well.  The article discussed some of the most valuable things to think about when crafting messages.  Often conversations focus on how an email will look best if designed this way versus that way. The biggest lesson we as professionals need to embrace is that with email we must learn to design for the worst case, not the best case. Otherwise, it is a simple case of resistance to the facts — facts that have been validated time and time again through comprehensive testing across the industry. I have boiled down a few bullets from the article and added my own input below for consideration.

Several critical points your creative team must keep in mind when designing E-Mails:

• Best practices are best practices for a reason. If Outlook 2007 does not render background images, then why risk the integrity of the design and message by including them just because one email client will? Unless it will work in 99.9% of environments, it is not a best practice and should generally be avoided.
• Print is not the same as email. How the recipient will interact with it and read it will be very different. Emails are rarely viewed in their entirety. You have to be able to tell your story within consolidated chunks that are clear, easily scanned, and actionable. Emails are read top to bottom and left to right. Placing the headline at the bottom of the email is not going to work as the email recipient is not likely to be motivated to scroll down. You have only a few seconds to grab their attention — don't waste it making them search for the primary points and call to action.
• The way you would code a web page is not the same way you code an email. You must adjust your design to accommodate: no background images, no Flash, no forms, no Java script, no CSS, no image maps... the list goes on and on. The technology for a web page may be 2007, but the email has to be 1997.
• An email is never the destination. It serves as a stepping stone to motivate email recipients to take an action to a web page. If the email is not designed with this in mind, then the point of sending an email is being missed (and money is being wasted). Who cares what the open rates and click-through rates are if they are not converting! Clicks don't pay salaries.
• All email messages should have a relevant web landing page.  You cant say everything in the body of an email - and your home page is not a "landing page".  Landing someone on your home page after they agree to take the click action in an email is purposely putting a seek-and-find mission in front of them.  Now they have to remember how they got there, and what they were responding to.  Landing page creative should be an extension of the email campaign - but different than a traditional web page on your site.  In all cases, the goal is: get to the point, present the offer, tell me take it or leave it, dons.  Don't waste anyone's time.  Readers all appreciate that (watch for more articles on landing pages to come).

It is easy for us all to forget these simple steps when we craft and push our messages so hopefully these tips help you in your strategy and delivery.  Remember, if your messages have no point, or the recipient cannot read your email, whether because the primary content is hidden below the fold or because it is coded in a way that will not render correctly, they are not likely to take an action now, and are even less likely the next time around.

Hope you found this helpful.  I will try to post these sort of things more often.

WBV

Red Bull Air Races | The Most Exciting Thing I've Seen [in a while]

Its not often that I am BLOWN away by something. Not often I say, holy crap, I cant turn away.  This is amazing, Not often that I am immediately drawn into something with full commitment of attention (short of my son playing hammer-time on my flat screen).  Well Red Bull has come up with a new sport that is all these things and more.  If you watch this, and aren't immediately interested, then you have no soul.

The Red Bull Air Race World Series is a global event that pits the worlds top pilots against each other as they maneuver their planes through a course of pylons and gates at 250MPH - 10' off the deck (over water).  It's insanely dangerous and amazing.  They are coming to San Diego in a week or so.  Watch it live or on the TV box.

If you want to catch a glimpse of the experience, Odopod has created about the coolest bit of web technology ever to support this propaganda.  Hop over to Red Bull Co-Pilot and take a ride. When you get to the site click RACE and take off.

For some local flavor, we have a monster air race event known as "The National Championship Air Races" here in Reno (this weekend I might add).  After the first 2 days, there have been 3 crashes (one a mid air collision) and 2 deaths.  Catch this sport while there are still participants.

WBV

Jobs they never told you about

Magician - Blaine,angel, etc...get more women than anyone
trainer
barista/bartender
DJ
Life coach

Marketing that makes perfect sense - nice job Zappos.com

 

On my way through the astonishingly short line at security in Reno Tahoe INTERnational airport, I barely had time to notice the latest inanimate object to get a logo slapped on it.

Zappos.com has ad's in the bottom of every little bucket we have to cram our dirty shoes, laptops, keys, and belts into as they glide through the x-ray scanner. On the ads they came up with clever slogans about needing a new laptop case, or new shoes. Appropriately displaying a reminder to upgrade something, at a time we are most interested in thinking about it. Great ads, great placement, good 'ol Nevada company doin' big things.

I also heard through the rumor mill that ad revenues from this campaign are going to sponsor a new, more efficient type of checkpoint system that reduces passenger wait times at security checkpoints.

Nice job Zappos...if my vegas trip goes well...daddy'll need a new pair of shoes...

WBV

(another Treo post - sorry for the typos)

Funny comic strip - spreading propaganda

Funny little grassroots comic idea from the goodly folks at Where's My Jetpack.  Take royalty-free clip art and make it into a comic strip.  Genius I think.  Also, sums up most conversations at tradeshows, conferences, and pancake breakfasts I have attended recently:

Have a good weekend.  I plan to!

WBV

Maddox + iPhone = Tears of laughter

Topic o' conversation: iPhone. There are two of these $500+ gadgets here in the office and their owners are very enthusiastic about what they are.  I personally think, while visually cool, the iPhone is nothing more than an advertising campaign you can hold in your hand. I won't buy one because you:

• can't cut-n-paste - WTF?
• can't take video - obvious
• can't manage Outlook Tasks or Notes - Microsoft hatred remains steadfast
• can't change browsers - Safari sucks on the mac, pc, and now the iPhone too
• can't delete e-mail - try removing 20 'viagra' emails without opening each one 
• can't install ANYTHING - narrowing the likelihood of much 3rd party development

While I have ranted and raved about mobile phones in the past**, in this case I really don't want to throw my name in the hat with all the 1 million other 'self-proclaimed-know-it-alls' who have reviewed the iPhone. I find most of these reviews about as ridiculous as someone trying to explain why a shoe smells. That said, my friend Maddox is up to his usual brilliance in this fantastically humorous[vulgar] 'review' of Apple's beloved iPhone.

Take a trip on over to The Best Page In The Universe and see what he has to say.
WARNING: Usual warning applies. When clicking this link you will find vulgar college humor. So, if you don't enjoy/appreciate said humor, then click this link instead:  Google Google Sponsors Lunar X PRIZE
(Google - you've got more money than sense mate).

Anyway, it's probably just past the threshold of good taste, but when I read it, I laughed so hard that I was able to skip my nightly ab-ripper exercises...thanks Maddox.

WBV

**Other useless mobile phone rants from yours truly...

• http://fuze.typepad.com/fuzeblog/2006/11/blackjack_is_a_.html
• http://fuze.typepad.com/fuzeblog/2006/12/treo.html
• http://fuze.typepad.com/fuzeblog/2006/12/verizon_chocola.html
  -followed by-
• http://fuze.typepad.com/fuzeblog/2006/12/good_news_choco.html

Have it your way [as long as it's OUR way]

This week I came across one of the most knee-slappin' funny examples of...

• explanation of service
• we reserve the right to...
• cars can be painted any color, so long as it's black...
• etc.

...that I have seen in a long time.  I was dining here in Reno at Sushi Moto (a relatively new addition to the abundance of all-you-can-eat sushi joints here in town).  The place is nice, food is good, service is good, prices are fair, and overall I give the place a B.  That said, I noticed on this visit that they have implemented some new "RULES OF THE SUSHI BAR" that I simply had to share with my 10's of readers.

I call this the "Management Bill Of Rights" and you will need to click the image and zoom in. Otherwise, it's a bit like an eye test (my trusty Treo ain't the best photo taker).  It's legible and you will get the idea.

I think my favorite line in this piece is the line where they indicate the "no special orders".  I am sure its a pain in the ass to field requests like:  one time, while I was on a business trip in Tulsa, the chef had this roll called a Blowfish and it had...hmmm...salmon, tobasco sauce, sausage, breadcrumbs, and rocky mountain oysters...can you make me one of those? I know that must piss them off, but is it smart to develop a list of your favorite "undesirable customer actions" and warn people that if they break the rules you will bounce them faster than the Soup Nazi?

Here at Fuze, we are pretty strict with our clients too but I am not sure if such a tact would keep our client retention quite as high as it is right now.  I think what Sushi Moto is trying to say is, this job would be great if it weren't for the f---ing customers!

Don't rule the place out based on this, it's a good restaurant.  I just found this funny.

Konichiwa!

WBV

What's happenin' & where in the world...

Ahhh me-n-the airlines are getting cozy again as I embark on another quarter of travels.  We have been racing this year to grow and keep up and it has just been a whirlwind.  Things are running real stable at the mother ship.  Here's some press-ie style news from the Fuze camp:

New Hires

• Calder Chism - Creative Director
• David Bobzien - User Experience Director
• Anna Satterfield - Agency Coordinator

Promotions

• Dan Waugh - promoted to Sr. Designer

New Client Wins

• Boyd Gaming Las Vegas, NV (nationwide) - Corporate website and interactive agency of record
• Lennar Homes - Reno, NV - Marketing strategy
• The Entrust Group - Oakland, CA (nationwide) - Interactive agency of record
• Spartan Staffing - Tampa, FL (nationwide) - Interactive agency of record

---

Of course there is much more going on that my fingers don't have the energy to type so hang tight for that.  Lookin' forward I am officially booked through April 2008 for travel.  Here are some of the notable trips, engagements, etc. as the Fuze Road Show comes to a town near you:

• September 7-9th - WAR! Giants v. Dodgers - San Francisco, CA
• September 24-27th - ASIS International (client show) & Client meetings - Las Vegas, NV
• September 28th - Reno Tahoe Young Professionals Summit - Speaking - Grand Sierra Resort, Reno, NV
• October 7th - Social [freakin'] Distortion Show - Rose Ballroom - Nugget Resort Casino, Sparks, NV
• October 10th - Sparks Business Forum (exhibiting) - Nugget Resort Casino, Sparks, NV
• October 11th - Web 2.0: Why It’s Important to YOU (speaking) - Advertising Association of Northern Nevada  (A2N2) - Harrah's - Reno, NV
• October 11-12th - going under the Laser - Lasik surgery - out for a few days
• October 18th-19th - Influx Ideas Conference - San Francisco, CA
• October 31st-November 2nd - SEMA Show + Client meetings - Las Vegas, NV
• November 6th-10th - Future of Web Design Conference - New York, NY
• November 22nd-December 2nd - VACATION (undisclosed remote location with ample rum cocktails, but, no access to any technology)
• December 10th-14th - Florida tour (Miami/Tampa) - client meetings
• January 24th-27th - San Francisco Supercross - AT&T Park, San Francisco, CA
• March 17th-21st - Search Engine Strategies 2008 - New York, NY
• April 14-18th - Ad:Tech 2008 - (speaking/exhibiting) - San Francisco, CA

Well then, that'll about do it.   I am certain that  we will have several additional dates get added to this tour with pending trips to Florida and a Euro-trip forth coming.   I'll update like usual, whenever I feel like it.

Goals for the voyage: Plunder. Meet new people. Learn valuable new skills.

Up, up, and awayyyyyy...

WBV