We're extremely proud to announce the launch of the newly redesigned ea.com. The new site is minimal, clean and focused, allowing EA's huge library of game content to truly shine.

Each game has a customizable and scalable page template within the unified EA platform. These templates accommodate a wide variety of content needs specific to each title, allowing game pages to feel unique to the game's core attributes. All the must know info on game titles have a home on these pages and includes as many stories, videos, pics, trailers and news items as each game has to offer.

We are thrilled to have worked with the talented people at EA on the new site and look forward to continuing our work together on all things EA.

Check it out and let us know what you think »

Last year at this time, I wrote a post entitled If you want a Job at Odopod, go to RIT.

A year later, I’m just back from my third trip to the Rochester Institute of Technology for Creativity: Careers in Motion and everything I wrote in that post still stands.

I was attending and speaking at the event. It’s a forum for students in RIT’s new media program to meet prospective employers and get feedback on their portfolios. Although it’s not billed as such, for almost everyone attending it’s a recruiting event.

The reality is that it’s a feeding frenzy.

From my perspective, it’s fascinating. Imagine a gymnasium full of representatives from the best new media companies in the world, as well as some big ad agencies and PR firms — all sitting at identical folding tables, all feverish to recruit RIT’s latest group of new media graduates. Many of these companies were making offers on the spot. Some even arrived a day early to meet with, and try to scoop the top students.

That’s because RIT is producing the best new media talent in the world.

As I described in last year’s post, the students graduate with a focus either on design or development. The program is designed to have them work both independently as well as in teams, very much as they will when they come to Odopod.

As a result, almost all the students are remarkably well rounded — many of them with abilities in both design and development. I can also tell you from past hires that the rigor and intensity of the program teaches them the value of hard work and independent initiative.

They emerge from RIT with the skills to do exceptionally well in a challenging and fast-paced company like Odopod.

My only lament is that there aren’t more of them graduating, either from RIT or other schools in the US. We need more RIT graduates and more schools producing graduates of their caliber.

Thanks to a recent AdAge survey on the origins of the more unique agency names, we're finally revealing the untold story of how we came to be called, Odopod.

"When we started Odopod we wanted to create a company with the ideas and resources to execute big and the metabolism and culture to behave small," said Founder and Creative Director Tim Barber. So when it came to naming the company we combined two pieces that got at this big/small idea.

And Pod [because] at the same time we liked that we were a compact team that grew ideas, like a pod -- the compact, protective enclosure of a seed. For the record, Steve Jobs stole our thunder a year later when the iPod launched."

So there you have it.

Maybe you live really close to Santana Row in San Jose. Maybe you live very far away from Santana Row in San Jose. Either way, you can now experience the Tesla Retail Store Kiosks right from your desktop.

Launched on Teslamotors.com today, the Design Studio allows site visitors to customize and configure Tesla Roadster models to buy or fantasize about buying. You can trick-out all the bits you'd expect - paint colors, accents, interior options, wheels, hood, entertainment - and check out how much your customizations will cost, all in this cross-device friendly, HTML5 interface. That means it looks just as sexy on your iPad as it does on your desktop.

From the Tesla press team:

“The Design Studio’s goal is to personalize the Tesla experience,” said George Blankenship, Tesla’s VP of Sales and Ownership Experience. “It’s the most advanced configurator any automaker has come up with, letting you choose exactly what you want, look at it from every angle, and see it in the wild.”

Tesla’s Design Studio is consistent with the company’s new retail strategy that launched with the Santana Row showroom. Reinventing the car-buying experience, this strategy focuses on digital interactivity and educating prospective customers about Tesla’s advanced electric powertrain technology and vehicle engineering.

Check it out and let us know what you think.

The launch of the new Tesla store at Santana Row in San Jose includes three gorgeous touch screen experiences designed and developed by Odopod with Tesla Motors. The experiences immerse visitors in Tesla owners’ stories, vehicle innovations, and enable them to configure their own Roadster for purchase or sharing with friends.

As Tesla's digital agency of record, Odopod designed the experiences to fit within Tesla’s unique retail strategy, one that rethinks the entire approach to selling cars. Odopod and Tesla continue to collaborate to produce digital experiences that augment the purchasing process and make for a remarkable experience.

An excerpt from Tesla Motors press release:

Today Tesla Motors reinvents the car buying process with the grand opening of its store in the popular Santana Row retail district of San Jose, California.

...The Tesla Design Studio will also debut on Teslamotors.com. Built using HTML5, the Tesla configurator provides an intuitive interface for users to design their Roadster from a computer, smart phone or iPad.

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We're thrilled to have worked with such an amazing group of people at Tesla to bring the innovative retail experience to life.

For more information visit these links:
Teslamotors.com
Press Release
Exclusive Tour Of Tesla's Showroom With Apple's Retail Guru

We're extremely pleased to announce that The California Academy of Sciences Field Guide to Golden Gate Park iPhone app has been nominated in the 15th Annual Webby Awards!

The app is a location-aware navigation tool that guides users to all of the amazing features, wildlife and hidden gems the park has to offer. Full of adventure walks, hikes, wildlife guides and park history, the app has something for everyone. You can even add your own species sightings to the map! Pick it up in the App Store and discover Golden Gate Park for yourself.

We'd love to get your support for the app, so vote for us in the Webby's People's Voice Awards. We're nominated under Mobile & Apps > Education & Reference.

We're also honored to announce that Sony Internet TV with Google TV, Sony PIIQ and Sony HDTV with 3D have all been named Official Honorees in the Consumer Electronics Category. Special congrats to all of our clients and partners at Sony Electronics.

Thanks for the love!

Love it, thanks FWA.

The SF Business Times recently paid a visit to our offices for an in-depth look at the state of Odopod, our history and the future. Check out the excerpt below...

The San Francisco Business Times
March 11, 2011
Odopod Gets Bounce off Digital Work
By Bridget Riley

Ad firm's bigger footprint comes from new focus

Odopod Inc. couldn’t have picked a worse time to open a business in 2001’s bust, or to expand into a new specialty in 2008’s uncertainty. But the digital agency’s three founders also couldn’t have picked a better field to flourish in the worst of business climates.

That investment of several hundred thousand dollars in 2008 into digital strategy cinched Odopod’s place among competitors worldwide. Recent clients won on this new global scale include International Watch Co. in Switzerland. The company bounced back after just one down year from the recession in 2009, and grew more than 30 percent from 2008.

Read more: Odopod gets bounce off digital work | San Francisco Business Times »

Recently, the teams at Odopod gathered together for a presentation on Mobile from our Director of Technology, David Bliss and Senior Developer, Lucas Shuman. They shared some interesting insights and statistics about the growing Android market.

"Android has overtaken Symbian as the most popular smartphone operating system worldwide and that there is a three way tie in the U.S. between Blackberry, iOS and Android. What's more, indications are that Android's market share will continue to grow in 2011."

In their Flash for Mobile presentation, David and Lucas help us, our clients and our industry better understand what this all means.

Check out their presentation here »

We love you so much we made you a website. Enjoy the Valentine's Day fun and contribute your own special greetings at i-love-you-this-much.com.