Ulanguzi Creative Strategies Launches Directory Anywhere for Growing City
RALEIGH, N.C. (March, 25 2008) As a member-supported private company, DowntownRaleigh.com was originally started to bridge the gap between the marketing needs of businesses in this developing city and the people who wanted to know more about its activities, nightlife and culture. Launching an information-rich website, offering an email newsletter about upcoming events, printing and distributing free map guides of restaurants and shopping, and sponsoring and supporting a wide range of social and cultural activities have made DowntownRaleigh.com the de-facto source of everything to see and do and experience in this thriving urban center.
But when Kenneth Penkowski, Executive Creative Director at DowntownRaleigh.com's design agency Ulanguzi Creative Strategies, started using his newly acquired iPhone, a light bulb went on. "I relied on DowntownRaleigh.com at home and at work for directory and event information. I found myself using the website on my iPhone whenever I was out. Then it hit me. Why not make DowntownRaleigh.com as easy to use on an iPhone as the standard applications that come with it?"
And the idea was born. Penkowski immediately began sketching out what would become the interface guidelines for an easy-to-use mobile version of DowntownRaleigh.com. "I won't say where I was when the idea struck, but you probably know that most people get their brilliant ideas while in the bathroom."
Ulanguzi, which is headquartered in Downtown Raleigh, is no stranger to ignoring the traditional boundaries between client, product developer, creative agency and technology partner. "For better or for worse, we tend to find clients with exciting challenges, not just ones with large ad budgets," states Managing Partner Dylan Bost. "We enjoy finding ourselves entrenched in their visions and inspirations and take their opportunities for growth as our own. And this was one of those fantastic opportunities that we just could not ignore."
Penkowski took the idea to the rest of the agency's strategy and technology teams, convincing them that Ulanguzi should take this on as a skunkworks project.
"Downtown Raleigh is a member-supported resource," reminds Penkowski. "I knew that if we waited until there was a budget for this project, we would miss a great opportunity. At the same time, because they are member- supported, not ad-supported, I knew the project could take off."
"His passion made the idea easy to agree with," remarked Bost. "But the idea itself made such perfect sense, everyone knew we had to do this."
Even with Ulanguzi's investment of time and resources, it would be DowntownRaleigh.com that would need to take this project to their members and on to the mobile world. "When Ulanguzi demonstrated their first prototype, we immediately recognized how this would be a benefit to our members as well as those visiting, living and working in Downtown Raleigh," stated Julie Johnson, Director of Operations at Live Work Play, LLC, the company that owns and manages the website.
So DowntownRaleigh.com shifted resources and ramped up a major awareness campaign to let diners, shoppers and businesspeople alike know that a mobile version was now available to enhance what they were already getting from the DowntownRaleigh.com website.
From the initial idea to the launch only a few weeks later, this project was not about a subset of what already existed online. "The mobile version is all about presenting what is appropriate to the user's circumstance in a style that is clear and easy-to-use," remarks Penkowski. "In that way, it complements the website, just like the email newsletter and printed map guides."
Now launched, the project has enjoyed a great deal of initial success. DowntownRaleigh.com has seen traffic grow and members have seen solid results from the initiative. A small but growing population of iPhone users now have all of Downtown Raleigh literally at their fingertips, but Ulanguzi sees an even larger opportunity to take the next step.
"We are looking at ways to open up this idea to more and more people on diverse hardware and networks," states Ulanguzi Development Director Matt Redding. "The iPhone and iPod Touch was a successful and necessary first evolution, but we are already looking at future enhancements and platforms."
About Ulanguzi
Swahili for "spirit of revolutionary success," Ulanguzi is the approach that is applied to solving an organization's marketing, communications, advertising and design challenges. Ulanguzi Creative Strategies employs clear-thinking, strategic planning and on-target creative solutions to propel companies confidently through the battle zones that face businesses every day. To contact Ulanguzi, call 919.899.3835 or visit www.ulanguzi.com.
About Live Work Play, LLC
Live Work Play, LLC is a privately owned and managed company founded to promote Downtown Raleigh as a residential, business and entertainment destination. Live Work Play, LLC sponsors and participates in community events; prints and distributes guides to Downtown Raleigh; produces advertisement; and operates a directory and event-driven website, www.DowntownRaleigh.com, on behalf of member businesses and residents. Businesses join DowntownRaleigh.com as a way to support and foster a more vibrant urban community and to reach a larger advertising audience. For more information, visit www.DowntownRaleigh.com.
Media Contact:
Dylan Bost
www.ulanguzi.com
Ulanguzi Creative Strategies
919 899 3755
Raleigh, NC
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Aug. 29, 2010 - (By: Gary Tomlinson) "Learning from the school of hard knocks can be very informing, but often the tuition is too high! We should learn from other people's experiences." The purpose of this column is to share great business wisdom from the experiences of authors like Jim Collins, Michael Gerber, Gary Harpst, Michael LeBoeuf, Ron Willingham, Randy Pennington and others. Because when you combine great business education with your own business experiences the outcome you'll receive is far greater than the sum of its parts.