Case Studies
Virgin Media Electronic Programme Guide
The Brief:
Virgin Media required a version of their EPG (Electronic
Programme Guide) that would operate within a web browser. Usually
accessed through a television as part of their cable tv offering,
the browser version was needed as a sales tool to demonstrate the
service via electrical retail outlets.
The Solution:
Replicating an existing system proved to have both benefits and challenges. Working within a closed system allowed us to choose one browser to work with, meaning we didn't have to concern ourselves with multiple browser support.
After a rigorous research phase whereby we mapped out the existing system and got to grips with all the functional details, we decided to develop our EPG using HTML/CSS for the frontend with the backend built using a combination of .Net and Javascript. One of the biggest challenges we encountered was fullscreen video playback in the browser, without the use of Flash. This proved to be a tricky task which we eventually overcame by using a Windows Media Player plugin for Firefox. Much time was then spent testing a number of different video encoders to determine the best playback option for the HD content we were dealing with.
As we came towards the end of the development phase, then came the job of finding a suitable PC to install it on. This would usually be a simple process, but in this case the PC would have to be small enough to fit inside a V+ set top box. The answer came in the form of 'Fit PC', an incredibly small (but suitably powerful) machine that was perfect for the job at hand. Once installed, the final box couldn't be told apart from the real thing, and was then taken off to be added to an installation at the UK's first ever 'Best Buy' branch at Lakeside, Thurrock.
All in all, it was an incredibly interesting project to undertake, and something very different to what we're used to tackling. Phase 2 now awaits, with more content and extra functionality top of the bill.
Stella Artois E-Card Campaign
The Brief:
We were approached by InBev to create a strategy for their 2009
global Christmas campaign. Stella Artois wanted to build on their
Christmas heritage and connect with a million consumers
worldwide.
The Solution:
The result was a campaign called 'Send a Card, Save a Tree'. The
campaign offered consumers around the world the opportunity to send
an augmented reality Christmas e-Card.
In celebration of every e-Card sent, Stella Artois secured the
future of a tree located in the threatened Atlantic Rainforest,
with the goal of saving one million trees before Christmas Day,
representing one million e-Cards sent.
The e-Card was developed using Flartoolkit, a Flash framework, and
recreated the look and feel of the Stella Artois Christmas TV
commercial.
Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Global Website
The Brief:
Brought on board by advertising agency Partners Andrews Aldridge
for our experience within the luxury sector, Bright Spark took
Creative and Technical lead on the project.
The Solution:
With this site we really set out to capture the essence of the new
forward-thinking Rolls-Royce brand. Visually, it's very simple and
light on style, something that is at the heart of Rolls Royce's
design approach. As is said about the design of the new Ghost,
"It's natural, not styled".
The technical solution goes on to support the brand values of
'effortless and seamless' with the use of Ajax transitions
throughout, not to mention some clever behind the scenes 'hidden
technology', another key component of all Rolls-Royce models.
You can visit the site at http://www.rolls-roycemotorcars.com
TwitCal
The Brief:
Create a simple to use calendar that would allow entries
to be entered and managed via a Twitter account.
TwitCal came about as a result of Matt telling us that he didn't
much like using any of the existing calendaring applications. A
possible solution for Matt's diary dilemma was to create a calendar
powered and editable via Twitter (something Matt was altogether
happier using!)
The Solution:
One of the main objectives for the website was to enable the
calendar to work with just a Twitter Account. Whilst here were
already existing Google Calendar / Twitter mash-ups, our emphasis
was on a stand-alone app that could use Twitter as its
authentication, database and user interface.
With a nod to other Twitter apps, we kept the user interface
pretty simple so that anyone familiar with Twitter would have an
easy time using TwitCal. We wanted to make sure that everything
from tweeting an entry to browsing the calendar was as simple as
possible.
Once we'd taken a look at the Twitter Search API, we were soon
able to retrieve calendar entries via JSON calls. As expected,
international date formats proved a little tricky to handle but we
worked up some compromises that suited our American friends as well
as the rest of the world.
Authenticating users was pretty straightforward as Twitter had
just announced their support for the OAuth protocol, an open
standard enabling users to sign in to different websites using one
trusted identity. This meant we could let our users sign in to
TwitCal via Twitter. And so with a little help from some existing
OAuth libraries, we soon had an working prototype.
Although we had a few hiccups along the way with changes to
Twitter's API, the project was great fun to build and provided a
chance to combine lots of Web 2.0 frameworks and
methodologies.
You can try it out for yourselves at http://www.twitcal.com
Previous Experience
