Take Control of Your Website

There are many reasons why corporate and artist sites should not carry advertising. But the most obvious one is that outside ads change the conversation. In one of the few places that a marketer can completely control their message; they're sharing the stage with outsiders who have a different agenda. >>Full Story

Thoughts// This interesting experiment (or cruel prank depending on your point of view) reported in the Silicon Alley Insider, is a prime example of why you shouldn't allow outside Google text ads within your site. For a period of time this week, Columbia Records website ran a targeted prank ad featured above that read: "Major Labels are Obsolete...RIP or learn and thrive". The ad was delivered to more than 6,000 site visitors and generated a click rate of 0.6% (4 clicks). Small impact but nevertheless an important lesson to all of us on the dangers of contextual advertising and networks!

~ Happy Friday! (PS: I am still wondering how we have so many Michigan folks here!)

Musings from the Internet Strategy Forum

About a week ago, I spent a pretty inspiring day at the 5th annual Internet Strategy Forum in downtown Portland. Drawing over 200 fellow digital strategists from around the country, the forum is a “professional association and peer networking group” designed to spread best practices about general digital strategy, social media strategy, personalized marketing, e-commerce, email marketing and customer metrics.

The meeting kicked off with a rousing keynote speech by Charlene Li from Forester—co-author of Groundswell—that covered the topics and themes from the book and lays out a very clear “road map” to build a social media strategy for your business. If you haven’t read the book, I’d highly recommend it. It’s a well written and absorbing book about how technology is transforming how we connect with one another and with brands. Littered with plenty of real world examples and case studies, this is good reinforcement for the "pros" and a great social media 101 for the “newbies.” Charlene urged marketers to deal with social media using a four-step process, POST:

• People: first access how your customers use social media

• Objective: Figure out what you want to accomplish with social media

• Strategy: Plan for how this engagement will foster your relationship with customers

• Technology: Pick your method of engagement LAST

Charlene also explained the Social Technographics Ladder, which explained the levels at which consumers engage with social media. The “steps” on the ladder are: Inactives (44%), Spectators (48%), Joiners (25%), Collectors (12%), Critics (25%) and Creators (18%). Not surprisingly, 15-26 year olds are the most fervent “creators” – i.e they write blogs, upload videos, rate places etc. If you’re curious how your customers stack up on the ladder, use this profile builder tool on the Groundswell website. While you can’t get granular by adding specific geographic targets or psychographic information, it gives you an insightful window into how consumers of all ages are engaging with social media.

Finally, she spoke at length (this is also available in the book) about how to use the groundswell to meet several business objectives. They are:

1. Listening (research - what does the buzz stand for, how do people perceive you, who are the influencers among your audience etc.)

2. Talking (marketing - engaging with your audience via blogs, social networks etc.)

3. Energizing (sales - getting your customers to be evangelists by giving them tools such as ratings/reviews and by participating in pre-existing communities)

4. Supporting (use it as a customer support mechanism; e.g. Dell forums)

5. Embracing: Helping your customers to work with each other to come up with ideas to improve your products or services
   

Other highlights of the day long conference included:

• David Placier of Disney.com: Spoke in broad terms about how an integrated CRM (customer relationship marketing) tool has become a fundamental tenet in Disney's efforts.
  
  Key takeaway: According to David, key characteristics in the best use of CRM are: differentiated treatment of individuals and cross-platform compatability; i.e. if you tell ESPN you only want to see text messages scores of PAC-10 teams, this preference should be reflected next time you view a personalized ESPN website.
  
  

• Mike Moran, former IBM online marketer: Gave an interesting speech comparing online marketing with the more traditional direct response measurement (DRM); he urged us to follow the highly iterative DRM process of "measure," "experiment", "test" and "monitor".
  
  Key takeaway: Measure three categories of metrics: impressions (did they see it), selections (did they click it) and conversions (did they act). The numbers aren't as important as trends; don't forget "mini" conversions (subscribing to RSS or downloading a white paper)
  
  

• Geoff Ramsey of eMarketer enchanted the audience with a dizzying presentation chock full of charts and data. If you're an eMarketer subscriber, you've most likely seen the content of this presentation in your inbox or read about them in this blog.
  
  Key takeaway: "...transparency equals trust...give the user control, make it fun and give them tools to spread the word." He specifically cited pets.com, where conversions increased 49% while average order size increased 40% after user reviews and ratings were introduced.




• Nancy Bhagat of Intel was probably one my favorite session of the day (besides Charlene). While she talked at length about how Intel has moved most of its branding efforts to the web--so much so that it's offering a 35% reimbursement for co-op partners--she spoke most passionately about about the discombobulated nature of measuring the impact of the conversations happening in social media, urging the industry to work together to come up with a more intuitive and accurate method. Hmmm...I wonder if she's been reading Troy and I wax poetically about engagement!
  
  Key takeaway: "Great brands are not the best storytellers...but...the ones with the best stories being told about them..."

Are You a Baller? Nike Tests Facebook

Nike is trying to win friends on Facebook, testing a program that aims to link basketball players with pick-up games, leagues, one another and the Swoosh. "Ballers Network" allows hoopsters on the 80-million-member social networking site to organize, find and track pick-up basketball games and leagues. Still in test mode, the application maps basketball courts, and ballplayers can use the program to post bios, invite friends and solicit reviews on their game. >>Full Story

Thoughts// After seeing so many bad examples of how brands are using social media, it was quite refreshing to read about Nike's efforts in the social media space in the Friday Oregonian. Nike's new "ballers" application allows hoop players to "find and track pick-up basketball games and leagues" that are close to them. Players can find games based on zip code/location, skill level and also solicit feedback on their game.

In explaining Nike's strategy for the space, global director of digital media Stefan Olander explains that "it's really hard to convey a brand message" on the web and that he views the web more as a place to provide a service. We couldn't agree more! Instead of building meaningless profiles or gimmicky microsites, the digital medium affords us the ability to provide experiences that are inherently valuable to consumers. For more on this topic, see our past blogs: Making Digital Meaningful, & Don't Just Blindly Follow Latest Trends.

(Author's Note: This story is not directly related to the travel industry.)

Text Messaging Makes Magazine Ads Interactive

The push to make magazine pages more interactive is building mass and, dare we say it, even real momentum as major publishers and advertisers adopt a pair of technologies centered on the cellphone.

Hearst Magazines, the most recent example, is building on a nearly two-year experiment incorporating a text-messaging...its readers will soon see many opportunities, in editorial promotions and in ads, to make purchases, request samples or enter sweepstakes just by sending brief text messages. >>Full Story

Thoughts// An interesting article about how text messaging is being incorporated into print ads; readers of magazines such as Rolling Stone, Men's Health and CosmoGirl can enjoy the immediacy and instant gratification by instantly signing up for sweeps, product samples or other offers. This is probably most meaningful for brands where the core target audience is most likely under 40 years old.

I've been impressed with how political campaigns have put this application to life in recent months; both Clinton and Obama deployed it to engage supporters by alerting them to key news events and endorsements.

All About Your 'About Us'

"About Us" is usually one of the most highly trafficked sections on a brand website. But if you looked at the brand experience in most, you wouldn't know it. Too often it's static copy ripped out of an annual report or some painful regurgitation of corporate responsibility programs. I'm not against it being static but we're seeing some brands really explore how to narrate their story in a digital age, without getting in the way of the shopping experience. >>Full Story

Thoughts// A good story from Ad Age asks why most of our 'About Us' sections are really not about us...from the consumer's point of view. It this age of digital storytelling and brand-centric everything (raise your hand if you are in the middle of a re-branding) the old, reliable 'About Us' section is simply cut and pasted together with a few paragraphs from various interdepartmental memos, mission statements and a faceless, blacked-out image of 'business workers' from Corbis (check!). As the story pleads, why are we wasting this valuable real estate with such uninspiring and non-brand building copy?

So, why is this important for a travel site.

1) Search engines find everything, so your About Us section is being indexed, bad copy and all, in Google.

2) Consumers look at these sections. While I don't have any official 3rd party studies confirming my suspicions, I will assume that a lot of users tend to skip right to the bottom of sites they are unfamiliar with. Knowing full-well that the above the fold content is marketing fluff (stop it, you know it is) and looking for the site map, about us or FAQ pages (all of which are great for SEO). For example, the site map page on arizonaguide.com...located at the very bottom...is consistently the 5th or 6th most visited page.

Another interesting quote from the article points out that 'but those sections do lay out the basics for someone comparing against competitors with two browsers open.' Ah, competition. Now we are talking.

Some examples:

(some page content was longer than others, so at the risk of making this post too long, we just clipped the first paragraph)

Michigan:
(listed as 'About Michigan')
Michigan is a state blessed with the riches of unspoiled nature: the world's longest freshwater coastline, lakes that feel like oceans, shimmering beaches, miles and miles of cherry orchards, glorious sunrises and sunsets, daytime skies of the deepest blue, nighttime skies scattered with stars.

Oklahoma:
(listed as 'About Oklahoma')
GENERAL INFORMATION
• Oklahoma's current population is 3,450,654 ( 2000, estimated).
• Oklahoma is comprised of 77 counties.
• Oklahoma covers 69,919 square miles.
• Guthrie was the first state capitol of Oklahoma.

Tennessee:
(list as 'About Tennessee)
Traveling to Tennessee makes sense. We have natural beauty, southern hospitality, serene weather, and something for everyone. And, we are within a day's drive of 65 percent of the United States population. What more could you want in a travel destination? Tennessee welcomes you to explore everything we have to offer.

Nevada:
(listed as 'About Us')
Nevada’s tourism department is responsible for promoting and marketing Nevada as a tourism and travel destination. This includes editing, publishing and distributing publications that promote the state of Nevada. A director appointed by the governor directs and supervises all tourism department operations. An 11-member commission advises the tourism department.

Minnesota:
(listed as 'About Minnesota')
There's a lot to know about Minnesota. Here you'll find plenty of facts, figures and informational tidbits about the state's history, geography and climate. Everything from the prehistoric carvings found throughout the state to the 7,326 square miles of water found within its borders. Not to mention, practical travel information like the average low and high temperature throughout the year. One thing is for sure: the more you know about Minnesota, the more you appreciate all that it offers.

As you can see, some of our counterparts are beginning to tell the 'insert state name here' story via the 'About Us' section, not to mention, start to differentiate themselves from other states in the consumers mind.

To put a very simple spin on it, consumers just want to be told why I should do X vs. Y, state A vs. state B and the 'About Us' section is a great place to start.

Of course, there are some states, Arizona included, that simply do not have an 'About Us' section on the site. Which is fine, if there was a rational decision to leave the page off the site, rather than just not being able to write more than 3 lines about yourself.

And not to be out done, after reading the article, we decided that the Travel 2.0 'About Us' section (or About Travel 2.0 as it was called) could us some help as well and provide another example for how you could start re-branding (love that word!) your 'About Us' section.

Old version:

About Travel 2.0:
The Travel 2.0: Interactive Trend Report was originally created to provide insight into the interactive marketing and travel fields for the Arizona Office of Tourism.

In an effort to broaden the scope and reach of the report, the Arizona Office of Tourism invited Travel Oregon to contribute and collaborate on the Interactive Trend Report.

This partnership will present additional views and opinions on the ever-changing interactive marketing landscape, including the latest travel trends, online (and offline) advertising campaigns, Google, user-generated content.

New version:

Why Travel 2.0:

Because...

...we know the travel industry.

...we read hundreds of blogs…usually far too late at night.

...we can’t get enough technology.

...someone had to do it.

...you need insight about social networking for a big presentation.

...we blog even while on vacation.

...your peers are reading it.

...there are too many experts who are not really experts.

...travel trends are constantly changing.

...analytics is hard.

...it's free.

Ah, I can feel the Travel 2.0 brand becoming stronger every day.

Ntsayka Ikanum: Our Story

Technologies introduced into North America during the past 500 years have certainly proved disruptive to indigenous societies and their cultures. The introduction of the horse and later the repeating rifle changed living patterns and tribal organizations significantly. Movies and television so distorted traditional values and stories that Mickey Mouse supplanted traditional Native American figures such as Hopi kachina dolls. Tribal storytelling was partially replaced by outside, for-profit storytelling. Time and again, technology has worked against the preservation of indigenous culture. Until Now. >>Full Story

Thoughts// Having worked on a number of tribal issues during my agency days in Arizona, I've always been fascinated and intrigued by the vivid storytelling and heritage of Native Americans. As tribal members increasingly become assimilated and lose their their tribal heritage, preserving tribal language, folktales and oral histories have become a common challenge for most, if not all tribes.

A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of being on a "Heritage on the Web" panel at the Oregon Heritage Commission in Eugene. I also had the distinct honor of listening to fellow panelist Lindy Trolan from the Grande Ronde Tribe's Cultural Resources Department who explained the tribe's efforts to build a "digital museum" in order to tell the tribe's story until a time that a physical museum can be built.

A moving experience brought to life through video, audio and rich photography, the virtual museum is an immaculately designed site that gives visitors the opportunity to hear and read the words and teachings of the tribe's ancestors. What was most interesting to hear was the meticulous planning that went into the site; they include: chronicling and photographing tribal artifacts all over the world including the Smithsonian in Washington DC and collections in London; capturing elders' stories on video and audio; putting together a tribal alphabet teaching program online.

This Webby honored site is most definitely an inspiration for anyone looking to bring historic preservation to life through digital storytelling.

Making Digital Meaningful

...Advertisers aren't focused on building the digital applications that people want to use; they're focused on somehow cramming marketing into them. Some kid comes up with the next YouTube, Facebook or mobile platform, and most advertisers want to figure out how to market on it. Instead of designing and developing useful applications that could give brands the opportunity to insert themselves meaningfully into our lives, we get cutesy but useless "Sprite Sips" on Facebook, ubiquitous banners in all shapes and sizes and microsites that you won't likely return to. And I'm talking about digital advertising -- never mind traditional. >>Full Story

Thoughts// A great read on a topic we've written on this blog before. While the piece is directed primarily towards agencies, it goes without saying that digital advertising today is a vastly under utilized and many of us have sadly resorted to pointless social applications (SpriteSips) or gimmicky microsites instead of providing meaningful experiences that are inherently valuable to consumers. The author's point of view was supported by a recent AdWeek article and challenges us to view digital brand experiences through the prisms of:

1. Usefulness: Instead of providing interruptions and gimmicks, give consumers applications that are meaningful to their lives and serves a purpose.

2. Utility: Give them tools that improve their lives—even if it's overly simplistic—such as Dominos' Pizza Builder.

3. Ubiquity: Don't segregate your applications to just your site; consumers are hanging out on mutiple social networks and are using multiple platforms to access content. Make your content/applications portabe across platforms and networks.

The Facebook application, iLike is a great example of a useful utility. iLike allows you to keep in touch with your favorite artists and discover new (similar) artists; in addition to adding music and video to your profile, it also tells you when your favorite artists are in town. Thanks to such an artist update, my wife and I will be spending next Sunday at a Kate Nash concert in Portland...in fact, we literally bought tickets within 24 hours of seeing the updated news feed on the show. Now that's a meaningful digital application!

Random Thoughts: “Can You Build a Website?”

If you serve in the Interactive/digital department, you’ve invariably—to the chagrin of your very talented IT team—been referred to as the “IT team” or been relegated to the role of “website designers”. Indeed “interactivity” itself is often reduced sometimes to a discussion of tools instead of a strategy.

But it’s easy to see how this misperception started.

1. Back in the “wild west” days of 1990’s the guy or gal who “got” the digital medium was also the person who set up your network and made sure that your Outlook Contacts were synched up with your “PalmPilot” or that nifty “Handspring”.




2. And yes it is also true…the skill set for interactive does include a broad swath of “geekdom” such as analytics, search strategy, UI/IA, server-side technologists, coders etc.

But least one forgets, “interactive” is also an art form. A recent Creativity article by Renny Gleeson, Digital Strategist at W+K, makes a profound argument that the interactive medium has reopened the door for “collaborative storytelling”. Shakespeare plays were meant to be “interactive” with active audience participation; ancient folklores such as the Iliad, Gilgamesh, The Odyssey were “collaborative experiences” that were passed through generations orally.

Marketing and brand communications need storytellers and their stories. We inform, educate and create cultures based on stories. We define ourselves through their telling and their interpretations. A story is realized through the act of the storytelling. Of engagement with an audience. A great story, unread isn't. The interactive medium by its nature invites people into the process—suggesting, collaborating, amplifying, advocating and diffusing. And there will always be good and bad storytellers. The best of them move us, inspire us, change us, drive social change, and sometimes—yes, sometimes—sell us something.

In advertising, when we are at our best, we build a message around a fundamental human truth, we engage the heart, and we tell compelling stories that create meaning for brands awash in a rising quagmire of white noise. And yes, we sell stuff.

As my friend Stephen Landau says, when we think about “digital brand strategy”, it’s not thinking, “let’s build a web site.” At the heart of it all, it’s about building a relationship with people. It’s about creating an emotional experience with consumers through storytelling and through their interaction with your brand via whatever tool that makes sense.

Just be sure to have the IT team on board when you're building the tool. ;)

Update: a colleague just pointed out that our friend Troy is indeed "an artist by trade". See I wasn't kidding!

Get Outta My Website...And Into My Phone!

They look like pixelated puzzles, or maybe a printing error. But the indecipherable ink squares hold the promise of a new form of mobile information delivery that could change the way we interact with the world around us.

The ink squares are a new kind of bar code that can be scanned by camera phones, giving mobile users instant access to information on the fly. The technology is in its infancy in the United States but is well-tested abroad, where it enables users to download music and videos, read restaurant reviews, and get information on a variety of products and businesses. >>Full Story

Thoughts:// A recent article in the San Francisco Chronicle describes an interesting mobile experiment taking place in the city. In one of the biggest large scale urban 2D barcode programs in the U.S., CitySearch will now be tagging more than 500 restaurants, shops and businesses with pixelated codes to enable cell phone users to interact with them. All you do is whip out your phone, scan the bar code and read reviews, watch video or access other relevant content from the Citysearch database. Based on reviews, you can keep walking down the street...or venture in for your next meal.

While these bar codes have become ubiquitous internationally (see "New Bar Codes Can Talk to Your Phone"), there are significant barriers to adoption in the U.S. For this to really work, you have to: a) own a cell phone that reads barcodes, b) download scanning software c) have mobile Internet access (the code opens reviews in a browser). The outcome of the experiment in San Francisco however, has the potential to drastically change the status quo and totally open up your content and engage consumers in dramatically different way.

Of course, it goes without saying that this is totally going to change the way Troy and I measure "engagement".

How Netflix Made Me Smile

Have you made your customers smile lately?

A few weeks ago, I told you about an e-mail snafu at Travel Oregon that resulted in us issuing a tongue-in-cheek "mea culpa" that resulted in phenomenal "love" from our consumers. This week, I was on the receiving end of such an e-mail that reinforced my love for Netflix.

Thoughts:// I was pleasantly surprised when I found this e-mail from Netflix last week. Turns out a shipping error on Monday caused a slight delay in the shipment of our next movie ("The Wind the Shakes the Barley") by two days. Granted, my wife and I are movie fanatics and we did notice the slight delay; but we shrugged it off and chalked it up to some Netflix algorithm that's gently holding back our que.

But as the e-mail mentions, it turns out it was just a "shipping system" outage. Netflix could have definitely let it slip by in the hopes that we wouldn't notice; but the fact that they not only issued a personal apology in addition to a small discount on our next bill is just astounding.

In an age when many big brands simply call a "website" or a rote "monthly e-newsletter" interactive marketing, Netflix's approach is remarkably refreshing.

The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner

Last April, Reebok kicked off its "Run easy" campaign, using print, out-of-home, TV and online to promote the shoemaker as the everyman alternative to the catering of hard-core athletes by rivals like Nike. Three months later, the traditional elements of the campaign wrapped up -- except Goruneasy.com, a community site Reebok agency Carat set up for the push. There, runners kept coming back to share routes and post messages. Nine months later, they're still coming -- even from places like Australia, where Reebok never ran ads. >>Full Story

Thoughts// Running ain't so lonely anymore...especially with a social network such as Goruneasy.com and a community of users telling you where to run anywhere in the world. This interesting story from AdWeek really proves the point that if you build something truly compelling and useful for consumers, they will keep coming back to it long after the marketing campaign and buzz is over.

The article we've linked to is really about how "promotional efforts can take on a longer shelf life" in this fractured digital environment; after checking out the site, I had no doubt about why this was so popular. While the site is a bit rough around the edges (mysterious time outs, multiple prompts to log in etc.), I was really impressed and drawn in by the rich user experience of that lends itself to a very intuitive and engaging community site experience. The site allows a user to:

1. Find a running trail/route by zip/city
2. See who's recommending the run (Yes, this needs more relevant info content - marathon runner, casual runner etc.)
3. Integration with third party API's such as iTunes, Flickr (and yes, Google Maps) that allows users to share their photos and music
   

If you're ever in Portland, come run with me in the Montavilla Neighborhood!

Digital Outlook 2008

Digital agency Avenue A Razorfish just released their 2008 Digital Outlook Report (note: this is a 164-pdf) this week. This annual report tracks consumer behavior in the digital space and includes reports on media spending, mobile web usage, social influence marketing, search, and behavioral targeting.

Thoughts// Digital technology has empowered consumers with the ability to access the content they’re interested in, at a time, place and device of their choosing. If you're in the business of building an emotional relationship with consumers in this tough environment, this report makes for an interesting read. Some of the things outlined in the report include:

• The relevancy of homepages: Search, social networking, blogs and RSS have reduced the impact of the traditional "homepage"; some major properties are reporting that 50-75% of their traffic someplace other than the "homepage". Every page is a homepage and every page on your site must offer an opportunity to make a compelling impact on consumers.
  

• Connectivity: Consumers don't see a distinction between their online and offline lives; in fact, they expect a "seamless transition" between them; thus digital technology is a life management tool not simply a utility.
  

• Social Media Fragmentation: Interviews with the "digital class" (consumers 18-34) show that they're not just using new technology, social, and communication platforms—but they’re using them voraciously to express different sides of themselves. Consumers are are leveraging digital tools to show who they are, where they fit, what they think, and what they think of others; the digital context of the site or the social network plays a critical part in
  determining which part of themselves they show.

Gucci Loves New York...

Gucci "Loves" New York, but perhaps New York does not share the sentiment? In an effort to promote the opening of its flagship store in New York, luxury brand Gucci recently launched www.GucciLovesNY.com, a site that pays homage to the city by featuring the favorite chic hangouts of the brand's CEO and creative director - including restaurants, clubs, boutiques and spas. One problem...the economic development arm for the State of New York is locked in a dispute with Gucci over use of the legendary "heart" symbol synonymous with the "I love NY" campaign. >>Full Story

Thoughts// Kudos to the marketing team at Gucci. They could have played it safe and celebrated the new Gucci flagship store by running one of those run-of-the-mill fashion campaigns we’ve become accustomed; yes, the ones with super skinny blondes enjoying the party life (not that there’s anything wrong with it).

Instead however, they chose to pay homage to the city that is the fashion capital of the country and built a whole campaign around it. Visitors to the site can view locations on a Google “mashup” map and read about why each location makes “Gucci love New York.” The site also has blogs from a group of fashion bloggers, all of whom also add their favorite New York places to go. Visitors can participate by submit their own posts, complete with a photo of themselves in front of their favorite place.

And what’s more, the company also designed 600 commemorative purses and 100% of the proceeds from the sale of these purses are slated to be given away to a charity that maintains childrens' playgrounds at Central Park (at $600 or so a pop, that adds up nicely).

The campaign also has a ton of potential to extend itself to other channels: Madonna’s “I love NY” which plays in the background would make for popular ringtones, they could leverage the photos on Flickr, perhaps add a Twitter feed to track the hippest places frequented by Gucci staff and of course some point of sale interaction with customers.

Despite all of these positives, Gucci's love for NY is unrequited. As of this writing, the legal wrangling over the use of the “heart” symbol continues; in addition, some fashionista bloggers are up in arms about the fact that none of the bloggers on the site are from NYC. Guess you can’t please them all!

Gucci…perhaps you should head West?

Design & Branding For A Presidental Campaign

STYLES make fights — or so goes the boxing cliché. In 2008, they make presidential campaigns, too. According to design experts, the candidates have left a clear blueprint of their personal style — perhaps even a window into their souls — through the Web sites they have created to raise money, recruit volunteers and generally meet-and-greet online. >>Full Story

Author's Note: Not travel related but relevant.

Thoughts// It's Super Tuesday! With almost half the country voting today in both the Democratic and Republican primaries, this NY Times article is a relevant study in how candidates (brands) extend their personalities (values) in the digital medium. Specifically, this article focuses on Barak Obama and Hillary Clinton and analyzes how their websites and other digital channels reflect their personalities.

BarackObama.com— much like the candidate—reflects a modern, elegant look that uses a soft blue palette with a lot of white space and harmonious integration between the website and other platforms such as social networking sites. Of course it goes without saying that the effective use of mobile and social networking have no doubt galvanized the outreach to young people and this effort appears to have positively impacted voter turnout.

HillaryClinton.com on the other hand takes a bit more of a traditional design approach with the tried and true red, white and blue palette, rigid boxy navigation and "cookie cutter" icons. The site also uses mobile and social networking for voter outreach.

Overall, in reviewing the sites of all five leading candidates (Clinton, Obama, McCain, Romney, Huckabee), it's remarkable that:

1. All candidates view their digital offering as a conversation - they all offer offer a mechanism for voters to interact with the sites (feedback, voting, blogging, communities) and harness the power of these site tools into action (fundraisers, events etc.).

2. Blogs are omnipresent; from campaign updates to policy news, candidates and their fans are "blogging mad". The most noteworthy blogger however appears to be the effervescent Meghan McCain who writes what appears to be authentic stories from the road.

3. All of the candidates are tapping the power of social media - from Flickr to YouTube and Eventful to Facebook, voters have multiple ways to interact, follow and "evangelize" their favorite candidate.

Happy Super Tuesday. Now go vote!

Update: Troy and I were chatting about this subject via e-mail this morning and he mentioned hearing a great story on NPR last night on the same topic; you can listen to the story here.