Reinvention through disruption

Focus on entertainment

Still relatively small, the online community was growing in leaps and bounds. Schools were introducing new programs and hype was at a high. Many of the first online destinations were art based.

The Toronto International Film Festival had been around since the Seventies, but they needed to move into the digital domain. Since their major sponsor has always been Bell Canada, their agency of record, Cossette, was tasked with bringing TIFF to the web.

Cossette reached out to us to build the first online TIFF schedule. What today sounds simple, at the time, with screen resolutions of 800 pixels × 600 pixels being the norm, was quite the challenge.

The dynamic TIFF schedule was our first foray into the entertainment industry.

Interaction through games

The entertainment industry in Canada was (and still is) booming. Tax credits and other incentives made cities like Toronto and Vancouver central hubs for Hollywood productions. Similar incentives emerged for digital entertainment producers as well.

The ABC Family and Global Network TV series Falcon Beach was one such show that benefited from those incentives. Together with Insight Production Company, we secured a substantial budget dedicated to the digital endeavour, and created a multi–player Virtual World based on the show’s creative. All the characters from the show lived inside the Virtual World and fans could interact with them through an artificial intelligence engine we developed.

Falcon Beach once again got us nominated for a Gemini Award and exposed us to SmartFoxServer. We have maintained a close relationship with SmartFox that continues today.

The shift to mobile

The proliferation of mobile devices, combined with Cloud Computing has created an ever connected world. Industry after industry began to fall to simple, yet ingenious ways of using technology. Disruption is often perceived negatively, but in reality, it moves us forward. Traditional ways of the past can be efficiently accomplished in a fraction of the time and often a fraction of the cost. Linear –or “pipeline” business models have given way to the platform and data has become the new currency.

This new digital ecosystem opened possibilities and after working within the TV and Film industry for years, a project like BackSpin was timely. Software as a Service (SaaS) allows for compute power to be centralized in the Cloud. Clients connecting to the application interact without having to install software and businesses can deploy platforms with no IT investment. Providing access to software from any place on any device frees users from the confines of their desks.

Another SaaS that exemplifies this shift is DigThisData. Developed for the Ontario alcohol beverage industry, it focuses on Business Intelligence and Sales Cycle Management and has grown to be the leading platform in the space.

As an agency, we had always produced online software, however the SaaS model has it’s intricacies that are only exposed through trial and error.

The power of the platform

Over the last twenty years, the platform as a business model has proven to be powerful. Linear models rely on efficiency or capacity to increase the bottom line while the platform relies on the network effect. By externalizing resources and governing interactions, platforms can transform industries and outperform linear models within a few years.

As the alcohol industry faces evolutionary shifts and growing pains, platform strategies are playing an increasing role and incumbents are taking note.

Working with numerous Ontario alcohol producers and agents has been rewarding and as we continue to contribute to their evolution, focus remains on platform viability and sustainable growth.