[wire] stone Kicks-Off Second Annual Care2Share Holiday Drive

BOISE, Idaho, November 30, 2011 – [wire] stone, an integrated digital marketing agency, today announced the launch of its second annual Care2Share holiday drive to help local families in need this holiday season. Care2Share uses social media to crowdsource donations in an effort to make the holidays brighter for Boise community members living in poverty. This year, the program is doubling its efforts and adopting 20 families in the Boise area.
“Recognizing the influence of social media in mobilizing communities toward action, we developed Care2Share to put this powerful technology to work for the greater good,” said Tony Schlangen, chief operations officer at [wire] stone. “The support has been tremendous, so we expanded the program in hopes of making an even greater impact on the Boise community. In the future, we plan to broaden Care2Share nationally and go beyond seasonal giving.”
Founded in 2010, by Schlangen and Brie Bolopue from [wire] stone’s Boise office, Care2Share partners with local non-profit organizations to meet community needs through social media-driven crowdsourcing campaigns. Last year, the program adopted 10 families for Christmas to collect items such as coats, shoes, clothes and food. Using Twitter and Facebook, [wire] stone was able to galvanize enough support to not only provide these items, but also toys, books and other extras to help improve the quality of living for these families.
In addition, Care2Share organized a Wrap Party where the donated goods were assembled and gift wrapped for giving—in 2010, about 40 people showed for this event. This year’s Wrap Party will be held at The Linen Building on Dec. 13 from 5:30-7:30 p.m. with live music and [wire] stone expects several hundred social media friends to attend to help wrap nearly 800 presents.
The Care2Share program can be accessed via Twitter (@Care2ShareBoise), Facebook or blog (care2share.posterous.com).
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About [wire] stone
[wire] stone is a mid-size leader in integrated digital and experiential marketing solutions. Founded in 2000, [wire] stone serves some of the world’s largest and most recognizable brands, including Motorola, FTD, Microsoft, Boeing, ConAgra, HP, Nike and Intel. Through its 175 employees in seven U.S. offices and one European office, [wire] stone is committed to delivering excellence in key practice areas that include digital strategy, channel enablement, social engagement and emerging experiences. For more information visit www.wirestone.com.

[wire] stone to Speak at Seattle Interactive Conference

SAN FRANCISCO – [wire] stone, an integrated digital marketing agency, today announced that David Kelley, principal user experience architect at [wire] stone, will be speaking at the first annual Seattle Interactive Conference (SIC), a two-day event celebrating the convergence of online technology, creativity and emerging trends. Kelley’s talk, titled, “The Metro Design Aesthetic for Windows 8 and the New Gesture Language,” will address how the new design elements in Windows 8 will encourage the development of gesture-based, interactive applications for mobile devices.
Featured on Thursday, November 3, from 10:15-11 a.m., this session will discuss the design advantages of the Metro language, the use of touch and gesture in interaction design and how to incorporate and implement new gesture types in application development. It will also cover how experiences in the Windows 8 Metro environment can be integrated into tablet devices.
“Windows 8 is a refreshing change to Microsoft’s mobile platform,” said Kelley. “The new focus on user experience design, especially for the slate form factor, will spark the creation of more compelling applications and fuel the emerging slate wars.”
SIC is being held November 2-3, 2011 at the Washington State Convention Center in Downtown Seattle. This inaugural conference promises to bring together entrepreneurs, developers and online business professionals from throughout the U.S. and beyond for a powerful combination of in-depth presentations, networking opportunities and uniquely Seattle social events. Attendees will have the rare opportunity to explore disruptive technologies and business models with visionary thinkers and peers in areas ranging from online commerce and social media to gaming, interactive advertising and entertainment.
Kelley has been building immersive customer experiences on- and offline for more than 10 years. In addition to his role at [wire] stone, he publishes the Hacking Silverlight blog and serves as a leader for {Interact} Seattle, Seattle's designer developer interaction group, and vNext.org, an international non-profit focused on developer technologies. Kelley has also earned Microsoft’s Most Valuable Professional (MVP) distinction for three consecutive years for his exceptional contributions to the Silverlight/WPF and Phone 7 technical communities.
At [wire] stone, Kelley is focused on developing new retail engagement experiences, such as digital pricetags and XAML-based kiosks, and contributing to the agency’s Seattle-based Experience Center. This first Experience Center is both a lab and showcase for solutions that use emerging technologies to create deeply immersive brand experiences. Leveraging its expertise in rich user experience technologies like HTML5, multi-touch, gigapixel imaging and deep zoom, [wire] stone uses the Experience Center to explore the ideation and development of solutions that incorporate gesture or motion-based interfaces, 3D modeling and holographic projection, next-generation retail engagement and advanced data visualization.
About [wire] stone
[wire] stone is a mid-size leader in integrated digital and experiential marketing solutions. Founded in 2000, [wire] stone serves some of the world’s largest and most recognizable brands, including Motorola, FTD, Microsoft, Boeing, ConAgra, HP, Nike and Intel. Through its 175 employees in seven U.S. offices and one European office, [wire] stone is committed to delivering excellence in key practice areas that include digital strategy, channel enablement, social engagement and emerging experiences. For more information visit www.wirestone.com.

Boeing Introduces Gigapixel Next-Generation 737 Created by [wire] stone

SAN FRANCISCO, August 2, 2011 – [wire] stone, an integrated digital marketing agency, today announced a groundbreaking implementation of its emerging experiences with Boeing 737 Explained: a virtual Boeing 737 airplane. [wire] stone harnessed the latest digital technology from Microsoft® to develop a realistic, high-resolution photographic representation of a Boeing 737 based on thousands of images stitched together to create a single, interactive presentation. This immersive experience delivers a rich, compelling way for customers to view and understand the airplane without needing to stand next to one. “If we look at all the approaches that we use to communicate about the 737, most of them are very analytical, enabling us to talk about the financial operating costs, maintenance costs and other attributes,” said Diana Klug, Director of Marketing for Boeing Commercial Airplanes. “We wanted to take the marketing for the 737 to the next level, and the set of tools that we had did not allow us to convey the full range of new features and improvements that we’ve made to the product.”Looking for fresh ways to market the best-selling airplane in aviation history, Boeing tasked [wire] stone with developing an industry-first experience that could highlight detailed design features of the 737 as well as demonstrate the airplane in venues not physically possible with the actual product. From ideation to implementation, [wire] stone leveraged its creative, design and technical talent to create a marketing experience unlike any other. “Boeing 737 Explained is a great example of how [wire] stone is willing to push the envelope in pioneering innovative marketing solutions for our clients,” said Jon Baker, [wire] stone executive director of technology. “[wire] stone not only originated the virtual airplane concept, but we tested and proved it by applying technology from Microsoft in novel ways to create an immersive marketing experience that can be accessed across many form factors, both in- and out-of-browser.”A [wire] stone crew shot images of a United Airlines Boeing 737-900ER from every possible angle with high-resolution digital cameras that were placed on robotic camera mounts, providing stability and exact placement for the cameras and precise sequencing of the resulting images. More than 20,000 frames were captured, and the image files were combined to create a seamless, 17-gigapixel image of the airplane with life-like detail. The project was so extraordinary that it has been submitted to Guinness World Records as the “largest compound photograph of a single object.”To bring Boeing 737 Explained to life, [wire] stone developed the technology underpinnings to drive a rich user experience leveraging the Microsoft software portfolio. Silverlight® Deep Zoom provides rapid zooming in and out of the presentation as well as a 360-degree navigation of the airplane. With Deep Zoom, users can move around the airplane, viewing components as varied as individual rivets, safety details on landing gear and the interiors of jet engine rotors. In addition, Boeing provided annotations on many of the plane’s components to augment the images. In the first known commercial use of Kinect™ in a line-of-business scenario, [wire] stone integrated the gesture-based technology for use in trade shows and other venues that can support massive displays where Boeing 737 Explained can be viewed in real-world dimensions. Users stand a few feet back from a life-size image of a Boeing 737 plane and use Kinect to quickly move around and explore the aircraft. In addition, the solution runs on Windows® 7 and takes advantage of Windows Touch, where sales representatives and customers can use touch gestures to demonstrate different parts of the plane on large and small screens. [wire] stone is hosting the project for Boeing using the Windows Azure® platform. The cloud-based solution provides the performance, scalability and possibility of delivering the presentation to different types of devices—creating new methods of bringing the airplane’s features to customers using a variety of platforms, including PCs, touch devices and even smartphones.The emerging experiences practice at [wire] stone strives to create deeply immersive brand experiences by leveraging the agency’s expertise in rich user experience technologies such as HTML5, multi-touch, gigapixel imaging, Deep Zoom, Kinect and Silverlight. [wire] stone recently opened its first Experience Center in Seattle to explore the ideation and development of solutions that incorporate gesture or motion-based interfaces, 3D modeling and holographic projection, next-generation retail engagement and advanced data visualization. # # #About [wire] stone[wire] stone is a mid-size leader in integrated digital and experiential marketing solutions. Founded in 2000, [wire] stone serves some of the world’s largest and most recognizable brands, including Motorola, FTD, Microsoft, Boeing, ConAgra, HP, Nike and Intel. Through its 175 employees in six U.S. offices and one European office, [wire] stone is committed to delivering excellence in key practice areas that include digital strategy, channel enablement, social engagement and emerging experiences. For more information visit www.wirestone.com. Microsoft, Kinect, Silverlight, Windows 7 and Windows Azure are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries.

Allrecipes Releases Windows Phone 7 Mobile Application Developed by [wire] stone

SAN FRANCISCO and SEATTLE, July 5, 2011 – Allrecipes, a Reader's Digest Association (RDA) brand and the world's #1 food site, and [wire] stone, an integrated digital marketing agency, today unveiled Allrecipes® Dinner SpinnerTM, a mobile application that offers a unique, interactive cooking resource on Windows® Phone 7. The new application provides intuitive access to Allrecipes’ complete database of recipes and includes new features on the Windows Phone platform for an enhanced user experience. “The Product team at Allrecipes, together with [wire] stone, was able to quickly deliver a full-featured and unique version of the award-winning Dinner Spinner mobile application to serve the growing audience of Windows Phone users,” said Scott Scazafavo, vice president of product management at Allrecipes.com. “Allrecipes has a high bar for consumer satisfaction, and we were very impressed with [wire] stone’s design aptitude, technical expertise and responsiveness in working with our internal teams.” Taking full advantage of the Metro design language for Windows Phone, Allrecipes worked with [wire] stone to design, develop and release the Allrecipes mobile application on an aggressive timeline. The application includes top features and consumer favorites such as the Dinner Spinner recipe randomization feature as well as new capabilities exclusive to the Windows Phone platform: Exclusive Features to Windows Phone 7• Recipe of the Day: A new recipe is highlighted every day on the Live Tile page and within the application.• Disable Screen Lock: An option to disable screen lock while viewing a recipe allows uninterrupted viewing of a recipe while preparing a meal. Top Allrecipes Dinner Spinner Features• Spinner: Select a main ingredient, dish type and cook time then shake the phone to activate the Dinner Spinner’s slot machine style action for surprise dish ideas.• Search: Search by ingredient or dish name and add dietary filters (vegetarian, vegan, non-dairy, gluten-free, low carbs, low fat and more).• Recipes: Recipes include a photo, nutrition information, ratings and reviews.• Social Media Sharing Integration: Share recipes with social networks via Facebook and Twitter integration.“The Allrecipes Dinner Spinner mobile application demonstrates [wire] stone’s deep understanding of the Metro design language and Windows Phone technology,” said Fabio Matsui, technology director of emerging experiences at [wire] stone. “Within a very fast development cycle, we designed this application from the ground up to optimize the Allrecipes user experience on the Windows Phone platform.”Metro is the name of the new design language created for the Windows Phone interface. The Metro language has enabled a unique and immersive experience for users of Windows Phone and revitalized third party applications. The standards that have been developed for Metro provide a baseline for designers and developers to create successful gesture-driven Windows Phone experiences for small devices. # # #About [wire] stone[wire] stone is a mid-size leader in integrated digital and experiential marketing solutions. Founded in 2000, [wire] stone serves some of the world’s largest and most recognizable brands, including Motorola, FTD, Microsoft, Boeing, ConAgra, HP, Nike and Intel. Through its 175 employees in six U.S. offices and one European office, [wire] stone is committed to delivering excellence in key practice areas that include digital strategy, channel enablement, social engagement and emerging experiences. For more information visit www.wirestone.com. About AllrecipesAllrecipes, the world's largest food site, receives 535 million annual visits from home cooks who discover and share food experiences through recipes, reviews, photos, profiles, and blog posts. For 14 years, the Seattle-based site has served as a dynamic, indispensable resource for cooks of all skill levels seeking trusted recipes, entertaining ideas, everyday and holiday meal solutions and practical cooking tips. Allrecipes has 16 international sites around the world providing insights into the kitchens and cooking passions of home cooks everywhere. Allrecipes is part of Lifestyle Communities @ RDA, a division of The Reader's Digest Association, Inc. For additional information regarding Allrecipes, please visit www.allrecipes.com.About Reader's Digest AssociationRDA is a global media and direct marketing company that connects more than 130 million consumers around the world with products and services from trusted brands. With offices in 43 countries, the company reaches customers in 79 countries, publishes 91 magazines, including 50 editions of Reader's Digest, the world's largest-circulation magazine, operates 78 branded websites and sells 40 million books, music and video products across the world each year. Further information about the company can be found at www.rda.com.Windows is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries.“Allrecipes.com,” and “Allrecipes,” are trademarks of Allrecipes and may not be copied, imitated or used, in whole or in part, without the prior written permission of Allrecipes.

Acme Brick and [wire] stone Collaborate to Create Groundbreaking Visualization Experiences at New Patina Stores

SAN FRANCISCO and FORT WORTH, Texas, June 9, 2011 – Berkshire Hathaway’s Acme Brick, the largest U.S. owned brick company, and [wire] stone, an integrated digital marketing agency, today unveiled innovative, new visualization experiences for Acme’s new Patina Floor Design Stores. To realize its vision of bringing high-end home design directly to the consumer, Acme partnered with [wire] stone to create three unique, technology-driven, in-store experiences that will revolutionize the way customers shop for flooring. “With the opening of Patina, Acme is embracing a new market and creating a retail environment that is a first in the industry,” said Judy Hunter, Chief Financial Officer, Acme Brick. “One of our goals with Patina was to empower consumers by utilizing modern technology to create advanced visualization tools that take the guesswork out of a design project—allowing customers to confidently select a new surface for their home.” Before Patina, Acme focused primarily on selling building materials such as brick and tile to construction companies, however, with the downturn of the housing market, it sought new areas for growth. Acme decided to establish a direct relationship with the consumer, building a concept around its tile products and expanding its offerings to include other materials, such as hardwood and carpet, for a full-service floor, counter and wall covering store. Patina stores have access to 12,000 SKUs available in a central warehouse and another 20,000 SKUs from suppliers. To meet the challenge of showcasing this vast selection without overwhelming the consumer or requiring an extremely large showroom, [wire] stone and Acme designed state-of-the-art, digital experiences that augment the physical showroom to help customers find the right products and envision the installed appearance of those products. The showroom incorporates high-resolution, touch-screen displays, driven by software experiences created by [wire] stone, and featured in three visualization centers: • The World of Patina touch-screen experience enables customers to find products, learn more about their characteristics, locate them in the store, and view hundreds of room scenes for inspiration. • The Floor Creator table provides customers with a 6 by 3 foot area to select and view their tile pattern, color, layout and grout color—it is even able to display the natural tile variation across a large surface area and within a room scene. • A separate kitchen vignette contains a built-in, 65-inch, high-resolution display with an interactive Backsplash Gallery that allows customers to visualize more than 50 different backsplash designs and inspirational design boards. Customers control the experience using a separate touch display. This virtual showroom supports Patina’s customer service, arming its sales associates with powerful tools to guide customers through the broad array of options, help them identify preferences and facilitate a purchase. In addition, customers can save selections, allowing them to give the purchase additional consideration and resume the buying process where they left off. “[wire] stone provides a unique combination of strategic, creative and technical talent to craft engaging digital experiences for the retail environment,” said Greg Rattenborg, [wire] stone executive director of emerging experiences. “In our emerging experiences practice, we are exploring new ways of moving digital experiences into everyday life. Together with Acme, we were able to apply the latest interactive technologies to help customers visualize and validate their design selections. The tools enhance customer interactions and differentiate Patina from other stores of its kind.” The emerging experiences practice at [wire] stone strives to create deeply immersive brand experiences by leveraging the agency’s expertise in rich user experience technologies such as HTML5, multi-touch, gigapixel imaging, deep zoom and Microsoft® KinectTM and Silverlight®. [wire] stone recently announced the opening of its first Experience Center in Seattle to explore the ideation and development of solutions that incorporate gesture or motion-based interfaces, 3D modeling and holographic projection, next-generation retail engagement and advanced data visualization. # # # About Acme Acme, the largest U.S. owned brick company, celebrated its 120th birthday on April 17, 2011. Acme is a member of the Berkshire Hathaway family of companies headed by famed investor Warren Buffett. About [wire] stone [wire] stone is a mid-size leader in integrated digital and experiential marketing solutions. Founded in 2000, [wire] stone serves some of the world’s largest and most recognizable brands, including Motorola, FTD, Microsoft, Boeing, ConAgra, HP, Nike and Intel. Through its 175 employees in six U.S. offices and one European office, [wire] stone is committed to delivering excellence in key practice areas that include digital strategy, channel enablement, social engagement and emerging experiences. For more information visit www.wirestone.com. Microsoft, Kinect and Silverlight are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries.

[wire] stone Wins Four Creativity International Media & Interactive Awards

SAN FRANCISCO, May 31, 2011 – [wire] stone, an integrated digital marketing agency, won four prestigious Creativity International Awards, including one gold, two silvers and one honorable mention. Client campaigns for the Jordan Brand and Health & Disability Advocates took top honors in this industry awards event. “It is exciting to be recognized for the strategic and innovative work we do in helping brands connect with their customers in new and engaging ways,” said Dan Lynch, [wire] stone president and CEO. “We are very proud of the winning [wire] stone teams for their outstanding performance and tireless dedication to creating magic for our clients.”[wire] stone, with its clients, won the following Creativity International 2011 Media & Interactive Awards:• Gold Award, Jordan Brand Social Mosaic Website In 2010, [wire] stone developed and launched a platform that combined thousands of fan photos submitted by people who share one commonality: a love for the Jordan brand. The web-based, social mosaic is a unique showcase of fan loyalty. It also allowed fans to participate virtually in the brand’s 25th anniversary celebration. View the website at www.jumpman23mosaic.com.• Silver Award, Jordan Brand History Wall To celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Jordan brand and the launch of the AJ 2010 shoe at the NBA All-Star Weekend, [wire] stone created a touch-enabled brand history wall to feature awe-inspiring footage, photography and stories highlighting each year of the brand’s history. • Silver Award, Jordan Brand Social Mosaic Experience The online social mosaic became a prominent event-based experience at the Jordan Brand 25th Anniversary celebration at the 23/25 Space in Dallas during the 2010 NBA All-Star Weekend. Visitors were able to explore the mosaic from a touch screen kiosk or enjoy the experience as it was projected on a 16’ x 9’ wall.• Honorable Mention, Health & Disability Advocates Consumer Website[wire] stone developed the Think Beyond the Label campaign to shed light on the labels people assign to one another in a working environment. It flips the script on labeling people then challenges employers to Think Beyond the Label and hire individuals with disabilities. View the website at www.thinkbeyondthelabel.com.Established in 1970, Creativity International Awards is one of the longest running independent international advertising and graphic design competitions in the world. An annual print, web, advertising and media design competition, the judges choose the best from all over the world to be reproduced in the 400-page Creativity Awards Annual Book distributed worldwide by HarperCollins. For more information about the awards and to see a complete list of this year's winners visit www.creativityawards.com.

[wire] stone Social Media Strategist Luke Quanstrom to Speak on Business Marketing Association Panel About Social Media Measurement

San Francisco, CA, May 9, 2011 – [wire] stone, LLC, an integrated digital marketing agency, today announced that senior social strategist Luke Quanstrom is scheduled to speak at an upcoming Business Marketing Association (BMA) event in Chicago. The May 18th event titled “Creating the Blueprint to Bring Social Media into Your Organization” is the final installment in an ongoing workshop-style series that leads participants through the maze of planning, executing and measuring social media in their marketing mix. “How to effectively use social media is one of the biggest challenges facing business marketers today and I’d like to thank the BMA for tackling this important topic for their membership,” said Quanstrom. “I look forward to sharing the best practices I’ve learned from working on social strategies for great companies including ConAgra, Northwestern Memorial Hospital, FTD, A.C. Moore, and Health and Disability Advocates.” This BMA panel is designed to help answer some of the top questions business marketers have today about how to plan and measure their social media efforts. Quanstrom will help facilitate the discussion along with several other prominent panelists. Luke Quanstrom was invited to participate in this panel because of his deep expertise in social media strategy and execution. In his role at [wire] stone, he leverages this innate understanding of consumer use patterns and comprehensive understanding of social media properties, capabilities and innovative applications to deliver social solutions that help brands connect and engage their consumers in entirely new ways.

[wire] stone Continues National Expansion with New Seattle Office and Experience Center

Chicago, IL, April 4, 2011 – [wire] stone, LLC, an integrated digital marketing agency, today announced the opening of a new Seattle office to serve its growing base of clients in the Northwest. The Seattle office will also house the company’s first Experience Center, a lab and showcase for immersive brand experiences that leverages advanced technology and user experience innovations. The new office will be led by Jon Baker as Managing Director and Executive Director of Technology.The Seattle office will serve [wire] stone’s strong base of existing key clients in the Northwest, including Nike, Microsoft and Boeing, as well as a growing list of new clients and partners in the area. Local staff has been expanded to include key disciplines like business development, strategy and planning, and user experience design and development. “Our new Seattle office will help advance the company in two critical ways, “ said Dan Lynch, President of [wire] stone. “First, it will allow us to better partner with both established and emerging companies in the area, and second, it gives us access to the cutting edge technology and talent pool that will drive next generation brand and business experiences for our customers.”More than 50% of the new office space will be dedicated to [wire] stone’s first Experience Center, which will showcase solutions that use emerging technologies to create deeply immersive brand experiences. Leveraging [wire] stone’s expertise in rich user experience technologies like HTML5, multi-touch, gigapixel imaging and deep zoom, the company will use the Experience Center to explore the ideation and development of solutions that incorporate gesture or motion-based interfaces, 3D modeling and holographic projection, next-generation retail engagement, and advanced data visualization. Construction on the Experience Center begins immediately and is expected to be complete by June 2011.“Our new Seattle office will be a cornerstone of our emerging experiences practice area and will be a think tank and driver for our new client implementations,” said Jon Baker, Managing Director for Seattle and Executive Director of Technology for [wire] stone. “For example, the current work we are doing with Xbox Kinect is bringing gesture-based experiences from gaming interfaces into the marketing world, something that will have a significant impact on both brands and their business.” Baker added, “We look forward to contributing to the growing field of emerging experiences and being part of an extremely close knit community of marketing professionals in Seattle.”