Adobe is transitioning into HTML5 territory. A not surprising development as far as Apple has been concerned in the past few years as their iPhone and iPad take hold of the precedent for mobile browsing standards. To illustrate the supposed END of the whole Apple vs Adobe Flash story, “Adobe began building HTML5 development tools, and it charged reasonable prices and built cross platform products and the people rejoiced and Adobe’s death was spared and it lived comfortably for many days next to Apple. And Steve Jobs said thank you and Adobe said no, thank you. And they all lived happily ever after,” from the biography Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson.

ZDNet got the exclusive announcement from “Sources close to Adobe”:

“Our future work with Flash on mobile devices will be focused on enabling Flash developers to package native apps with Adobe AIR for all the major app stores. We will no longer adapt Flash Player for mobile devices to new browser, OS version or device configurations. Some of our source code licensees may opt to continue working on and releasing their own implementations. We will continue to support the current Android and PlayBook configurations with critical bug fixes and security updates.”

We’re seeing the shift to necessity coming slowly, but surely. Adobe isn’t going to drop all of their tools and run for the door just yet. They are transitioning into developing HTML5 animation applications that may help web designers (like myself) develop a product faster. Designers have been at the forefront of these advances and Adobe is not going to passively let their main customer base down.

Personally and professionally, I have a distaste for the hold Flash animation has had on web design since the late 90′s. Their clunky plugins for every desktop web browser give me the corporate-imprisonment-chills. I despise the idea of being held captive by monopoly companies and I think, Adobe in particular, would benefit from publicly moving into a standards compliant tool, not an add-on to browsers. Adobe’s AIR runtime environment has been around for a while now, but recently they have been pushing out mobile apps across various platforms:

“The Adobe® AIR® runtime enables developers to deploy standalone applications built with HTML, JavaScript, ActionScript®, Flex, Adobe Flash® Professional, and Adobe Flash Builder® across platforms and devices — including Android™, BlackBerry®, iOS devices, personal computers, and televisions.”

In layman’s terms; AIR allows professionals to create applications with different types of code. As a user, you download the AIR app on your Mac, PC, Android device, Blackberry, or iOS device and then apps run within it. This way we see Adobe moving out of that Flash web prison. They are really catering towards ease of development for professionals that already know these scripting languages.

They’ve got their HTML5 animation building tool in development and available to play around with (which I have, and I’m enjoying it) called Edge. Check it out if so inclined.

Adobe’s Official Announcement →

If you know me at all, you know that I’m a sucker for strategic marketing. Because of this, I’m constantly thinking about what it takes to be a good, solid brand in this world. But recent work that we’ve done here has required us to not only work with brands, but to help them figure out who they are and who they want to be when they grow up.

Most of the time, we as marketers are faced with creating strategy around an already existent brand; one with a set of pre-conceived notions and ideas. We aren’t able to create something from nothing. But there are those rare opportunities where we have the chance to build brands from scratch and create the perfect storm for them to enter the product realm. These kinds of challenges are exciting, yet scary. If you have the chance to make something out of nothing, what kinds of risks would you take? How much research would you do? How would you launch the product? Who do you tell, and how do you get the word out there? There are endless opportunities awaiting a brand who has yet to see the light of day.

While it’s exciting, it’s a huge responsibility. We’ve all heard the cliche that first impressions are lasting, so think of the pressure you might be under if you’ve only got one shot, one chance, to hit consumers with who you are. After that first time, it’s all repetition. And it can be a difficult thing to figure out who you are as a brand at any point in time, let alone before you hit the marketplace. That’s like saying, “When I grow up, I want to be a marine biologist,” and then actually becoming a marine biologist. It’s easier said than done.

Long term vision is what it’s all about. Picture where you want your brand to be in 1 year. 5 years. 10 years. Think long term. Cut out anything that will hinder you from getting there. Keep your focus, and don’t get distracted by your short term vision. Because in this game, it’s all about endurance, not how quickly you can win the race.

In an agency environment, communication and efficient workflow is essential for the overall success of any account. But sometimes that isn’t as easy as it sounds. When you think about the channels a project has to take from start to finish, and the amount of people that have to work on that project, communicating those details becomes quite a challenge. Ultimately there needs to be one place where everything is recorded…a chain of details, instructions, thoughts, etc.

We’re always searching for ways to streamline our work and manage accounts more efficiently. This fall we’ve found a new way to do just that. Enter Workamajig! The software program gives the ability to assign tasks to multiple people simultaneously, set schedules and timelines, record time as project tasks are completed, see at-a-glace reports showing project/client profitability and more. We can even work remotely when needed.

The beauty of a digital workflow is that it allows us to maximize our efficiency and leverage client budgets to go even farther. Gone are the days of giant budgets for traditional advertising placements. These days we’re managing online and word of mouth marketing, traditional media, non-traditional campaign elements…the list goes on. So the better we manage the time we spend, the better we manage the overall budget and the effectiveness for our clients.

See the book giveaway below!

Brand failures are happening constantly. Just look at how Netflix recently wanted to split its business into two divisions. Netflix (a company that in September made customers angry with a steep price raise) wanted to keep its movie streaming business and move its DVDs by mail business to a new company called Qwikster.

Surprisingly (NOT!) their customers were unhappy with the idea since it would complicate getting movies. They wouldn’t be able to decide if they wanted a movie to stream or have it mailed for later viewing from one account. Instead, they would need two accounts where one used to suffice. No company should ever make it more difficult for a customer to get their product. Netflix backpedaled, apologized and decided to keep their company’s offerings in one company. Only time will tell if customers decide to stay with them. Read more about it here.

The book Brand Failures by Matt Haig has 100 examples of big branding mistakes. It shows how brands are more likely to fail than succeed if they don’t keep the needs of their customers in mind. Each case study features lessons you can learn from the brand’s mistake. Some examples of brand failures covered in this book are McDonald’s failed product – the Arch Deluxe, Kodak’s failure to use the digital technology they had, and Planet Hollywood’s celebrity endorsed restaurants.

We’re giving away a copy of this book to one of our intelligent readers. Enter to win by following the instructions below. The giveaway starts today and ends next Wednesday.

We were saddened to hear the news of Steve Jobs passing today. We offer our condolences to his family and friends. His battle with cancer was well known but we were hopeful he might be able to experience a longer retirement since he stepped down from his role at Apple. We in the creative field of advertising and design feel a kinship with the innovative spirit of this man. The way he continued to bring astonishing new products to the world until today was impressive.

Many of us have had a lot of experience using Apple products. I remember when I was studying design back around ’90 at MICA that we had some of the first Apple computers. I used the original Mac to create an illustration that was printed out on a dot matrix printer. Macs were less immune to viruses back then and our whole computer lab was shut down for a month from an attack. I continue to use Apple’s products now and rely on my trusty iMac.

We were drawn to the “think different” philosophy created for Apple Computer in 1997 by the Los Angeles office of advertising agency TBWA\Chiat\Day that drove Apple’s product creation. Their products worked better for design and publication back then and continue to do so today. Here’s hoping Apple will continue in the direction that Mr. Jobs envisioned. Let’s raise a toast to a truly creative spirit.