Tag: client news

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Our favorite time of the year – Fall – is here! Why do we love the Fall season so much? In San Francisco (where our summers are famously cold), Fall has the best weather. Don’t believe us? Just check out this shot we took of the Palace of Fine Arts last week.

DSCN1403

Fall is also the busiest time of the year for us and our clients, and we like to stay active. Here are some other things we’re excited about this Fall:

-Union Square SF’s Fall Fashion Fest

Screen Shot 2014-09-23 at 11.34.42 AM

As far as we’re concerned, Fall Fashion Fest is the best time to go shopping (forget the holidays – too crowded). The best weather and some amazing deals will be front and center on October 9 in the shopping mecca of SF – Union Square. Plus, there’ll be food, drinks, music, entertainment and everyone going gaga over the glorious weather (oh yeah, we’re just gonna keep rubbing that in everyone’s faces, especially when all we hear year-round is “oh, don’t you just hate the fog?”).

–Threshold Interactive hires Julie Gordon as new Creative Director

Julie Gordon has a really awesome resumé! She’s worked on every major brand that we admire and has changed their respective markets (Apple, Netflix, Pixar) and now she’s joining our beloved client Threshold Interactive. As a female-owned business, we love seeing more women in creative roles. Even though the numbers are increasing (even the 2% Conference upgraded to the 3% Conference, heh) there still aren’t enough. Threshold not only has Julie, but Steffany Carey as their creative directors: two brilliant creatives who just happen to be women.

-The Top of Broadway Community Benefit District‘s upcoming new website

Photo by Rick Marr
Photo by Rick Marr

We’ve been working with the Top of Broadway Community Benefit District for a few months and have been deeply impressed by the dedication of their board members, business and community leaders. From Naked Lunch to Tommaso’s to the Beat Museum to Monroe Lounge, these entrepreneurs are not only working hard to make their businesses the best that they can be, they’re also giving back to their community. They even kicked things off by participating in Bold Italic’s North Beach microhood. With the addition of new restaurants Little Szechuan, Elaine’s and nearby Doc Ricketts, the Broadway district in North Beach is thriving. We can’t wait to show it all off on the new website.

–Apple’s October 16 iPad event

Screen Shot 2014-10-08 at 12.56.57 PM

We’re still playing with our iPad 2’s and we’ve been waiting (and waiting) for the major upgrades and enhancements. Hopefully the October 16 event unveils the extras we’ve been waiting for so that maybe my mom can enjoy my old iPad 2.

-New season of “The Walking Dead”

Screen Shot 2014-10-08 at 1.07.39 PM

Braaaaaaains!

 

Union Square SF’s Fall Fashion Fest – Oct. 9

Although we’re not the most fashionable people (OK, we dress TERRIBLY but who doesn’t want to wear a t-shirt and flip flops every day), Union Square is celebrating San Francisco’s stylish scene with its second Fall Fashion Fest on October 9. Expect tons of great discounts, promotions, trunk shows, pop-ups, food, entertainment and extremely attractive people in Union Square.

In addition to the nonstop shopping, this year will see an afterparty at Hawthorn, benefitting GLIDE Memorial.

Grab your Louboutins and meet us there! We’ll leave the flip flops at home.

RSVP for the FREE event

Screen Shot 2014-09-23 at 11.34.42 AM Screen Shot 2014-09-23 at 11.34.50 AM

Watch “Something Wicked” in L.A. With Us

Hey Los Angelenos! Put down those bon-bons and shut off your Netflix. We’re inviting you to come watch the upcoming thriller “Something Wicked” with us on September 12.

The movie is opening in Los Angeles and Las Vegas, NV in more than 50 locations, from Chino to San Bernardino to Irvine and everywhere in between.

While notable for being the late, great Brittany Murphy’s final film, the indie flick features up-and-coming actors Shantel VanSanten (CW’s “The Messengers,” FOX’s “Gang Related,” “One Tree Hill”), Julian Morris (Amazon’s “Hand of God,” ABC Family’s “Pretty Little Liars,” “24”) and John Robinson (“Big Sur,” “Lords of Dogtown”).

We’ll be hosting screenings in Burbank and Pasadena on the 12th and hope you can join us!

Cool Things Our Cool Clients Are Doing

We’re lucky to work with clients that we’re passionate about. Everyone should be so lucky to believe in what they do every day, and it makes pitching busy reporters a lot easier when you’re excited about what you’re telling them (and you don’t have to call anything a “bespoke app”).

Here are some neat things a few of our clients have been up to:

Threshold Interactive‘s John Montgomery has been on a tear, discussing why his job is so f**king awesome on the Effies blog, ruminating innovations in video with Visible Measures at SXSW, celebrating Threshold’s milestone ten-year anniversary and prepping for his panel on “Building Audience, Building Buzz” at Digital Hollywood on May 5 (go see him speak if you’re in L.A.).

Transition Entertainment and William “Billy” Butler signed a first-look, multi-platform deal with Film Roman (aka the rad people who help bring you “The Simpsons”). His brilliant live stage show in L.A., “The Chuck Rivers Show,” was selected for the second year in a row to be in The Groundlings’ Anniversary Show on May 8. Get tickets while you still can.

San Francisco non-profit Kearny Street Workshop hosted their second successful “Dumpling Wars” fundraiser. Oakland Local was on the scene and wrote an event recap so good, it made us hungry for dumplings again.

Arizona startup Mobi Pizza launched their online ordering service to enable pizza shops of all sizes (not just those big chains with their cardboard pizzas) to provide online ordering for their customers. They’re helping the Davids compete against the Goliaths.

And finally, our beloved Kihon Games launched their brilliant CCG/tactical strategy game “Conquest of Champions” on early access Steam. See you on the battlefield!

Threshold Interactive Finalists For Two Shorty Awards

Screen Shot 2014-03-13 at 1.47.41 PM

Congratulations to Threshold Interactive on being named finalists for not one, but two (!) Shorty Industry Awards! The Shorty Awards honor the best in social media so we’re stoked to see Threshold recognized for their brilliant “You Got What I Eat” Hot Pockets video and as Best Agency of the Year.

Good luck, Threshold! You’re winners in our book.

Read the news on AdWeek

#Does #This #Hurt #Your #Eyeballs?

Screen Shot 2014-01-28 at 3.04.32 PM

Remember when # was just a functional symbol for number? Those days are long gone and now that hashtags have entered the public lexicon in ways you never imagined, or frankly wanted, hashtags have become so overused that even Jimmy Fallon’s making fun of it.

Hashtags were meant to organize, categorize and better find and follow conversations. Now they’re cluttered, abused and irritating. Everyone has that friend who fills up their Facebook feed with meaningless hashtags that no one could possibly comprehend.

Threshold Interactive has heard your cries and have the answer: Hash Snag. The new app* is here to end the hashtag epidemic (with tongue firmly in cheek).

Next time, think twice before you bust out that #yolo tag and #HashSnag that up.

*Sense of humor required before using

Check out the articles on Threshold’s Hash Snag app on Digiday and Technorati

 

Inside The Mind Of ‘ZombieEye’

Kihon Games‘ Creative Director Dan Kopycienski (@ZombieEyeDK) takes Gamasutra readers on an insightful journey into creating an independent online game. The man did it before with “PoxNora,” which was so good, Sony Online Entertainment threw some dollars at it. Itching to get back into the collectible card game arena, Kopycienski has been hard at work on his version of PoxNora 2.0, “Conquest of Champions” (a game you can join in beta right now). Read all about it on Gamasutra.

Screen Shot 2013-12-17 at 4.15.09 PM
Scorn Blackheart commands you to play “Conquest of Champions”

If You Love “Magic: The Gathering”…

“POXNORA” CREATORS COMBINE COLLECTIBLE CARDS WITH TACTICAL STRATEGY IN NEW CROSS-PLATFORM GAME “CONQUEST OF CHAMPIONS”

Multi-Platform Game From CCG Veterans Now Available In Beta For Mac, PC Gamers

December 10, 2013 — Tucson, AZ — Kihon Games (kihongames.com) are going back to their roots with their new online collectible card/tabletop tactical strategy game, “Conquest of Champions,” now in beta.

Players with a Mac or PC can join the beta of “Conquest of Champions” by backing the crowdfunding campaign at https://www.conquestofchampions.com/funding/. “Conquest” was created by veteran game developers who have a passion for the collectible card game (CCG) genre, having worked together on the popular CCG “PoxNora” when Sony Online Entertainment acquired it.

“Conquest of Champions” combines deck building, crafting and card leveling with the best of competitive turn-based tactical strategy. Players must strategically build their deck and defeat their opponent by summoning fully animated creatures, casting devastating spells and launching weapons in battlegrounds reminiscent of tabletop miniature warfare. Players can alternate turns in real-time matches or leisurely in the asynchronous mode.

“We learned many things developing ‘PoxNora.’ Now as the Kihon team, we’re eager to incorporate those lessons into this new experience. We’ve created a game that will entertain our dedicated, enthusiastic fanbase,” said Dan Kopycienski, Creative Director, Kihon Games. “We listened to what collectible card and tactical strategy gamers want and we’re excited to deliver the best of both to them with ‘Conquest of Champions.'”

The beta currently features several multiplayer head-to-head modes as well as single player campaigns. The free-to-play game will be expanded to iOS and Android to be one of the first truly cross-platform CCG and tactical strategy mashups. Future expansions are already in development and will include additional campaigns, new cards, expansion content, tournaments and guilds. “Conquest” will launch with 3 Factions, 6 Heroes, a multitude of map layouts and more than 130 cards to collect and customize.

Previously, Kihon made their company debut in 2011 with an iOS game based on the smash YouTube video “Baby Monkey (Going Backwards on a Pig).” Kihon followed “Baby Monkey” with “SketchPhrase” and “Dojo Danger,” all available on the iTunes Store.

 

 

Livin’ Outside the Box With Drift Innovation

When it comes to wearable POV cameras, GoPro has dominated the category with a force that even Apple would be envious of. Thanks to GoPro, the popularity of these types of cameras have only increased, opening the marketplace to (better) alternatives. Enter Drift Innovation.

In 2009, Drift had the right idea – that there needed to be more options for consumers, and the cameras needed to be intuitive. Drift wanted to simplify action cameras and make them as easy to use as a regular ole point-and-shoot. They wanted to make it so easy for someone to just buy an action camera that they could start shooting right out of the box and not have to figure out what does what or buy additional accessories. Drift released their first camera that year, and in 2012, released their flagship camera, the HD Ghost.

The HD Ghost was an immediate success and Drift began to be uttered in the same sentence as GoPro. Utilizing R&D from both their sponsored athletes and HD Ghost users, Drift set out to enhance the HD Ghost with the new Ghost-S.

Screen Shot 2013-12-04 at 2.00.18 PM

The Ghost-S is Drift’s most powerful – yet easiest to use – camera to date. With impressive specs that rival GoPro, the Ghost-S also features the longest battery life on the market (3.5 hours), the ability to shoot 1080p @60fps  and accessories that most other companies sell as add-ons. It’s the perfect combination of power with simplicity.

The Ghost-S is available now at driftinnovation.com and at retail outlets worldwide.

Check out the awesome teaser video from Drift and read the early reviews from Engadget, Men’s Journal, CNET and CultOfMac.

Threshold Interactive Lights Up Hot Pockets’ Viral Videos

 

Kate Upton, Snoop Dogg and Larry King walk into a bar together…

The unlikely trio aren’t the setup to a bad joke. They’re the stars of Hot Pockets’ latest mind-exploding Internet video. Parodying Biz Markie’s “Just a Friend (You’ve Got What I Need)” to “You’ve Got What I Eat,” the trippy video, created by Threshold Interactive, will make you wonder if you’re hallucinating or just plain hungry.

Every media outlet from USA Today to US magazine are feeding the frenzy. Even BuzzFeed has trotted out their listicle on it (proof that the video has really made it). Hot Pockets, and Threshold, are used to this kind of attention. Their first Snoop Dogg collaboration was last year’s “Pocket Like It’s Hot,” one of the top 12 most watched brand ads on YouTube.

Their latest mind melter cranks it all the way past 11, leaving you with just enough brain cells to wonder what the next video will be like. In the meantime, fire up that Hot Pocket for us.