I agree that Skittles (or rather Mars, Inc. - the parent company) was brave in the experiment. I commend them for taking the chance to throw in the social media "love", but the implementation of it was horrendous. As some people may have questioned, why is there a need to input your birthday? Is this an adult site? So the first thing you want to get it market research? That turns people off.
But I think that the implementation with Twitter, YouTube, and Flickr are really great and it all seems to tie in with that floating navigation item...but one thing that irks me is that it's always there. It blocks a small portion of the screen and it's impossible to move or hide. It becomes irritating after a while.
I think this "new" Skittles website was a "rush job" and hope that someone in the agency is thinking more about proper integration and creative appeal.
dalelarson
· 10 months ago
Ken:
I seriously doubt that market research was an issue at all in asking for age. I've had to deal with the lawyers many times when doing promotions. Minors are a concern they always have, both for appropriateness of content and for COPPA issues (if any data kept). So this single question is probably the thing that made the lawyers comfortable enough (if still kicking and screaming) allowing display of content that Skittles has no control of whatsoever. They were right to expect that some of it wouldn't be suitable for children.
Isn't it great that Skittles gets all this free consulting to tell them what their implementation should look like?
By just throwing it up quickly and iterating on it based on feedback. Finding out in the trenches what works and what doesn't. No more endless discussions of what's safe and what might go wrong. Doing things Silicon Valley startup style. Just the advice many have been giving brands for years.
Jay
· 10 months ago
Dale, it is cool but Agency.com's reboot of Skittles.com is almost a pure copy of the same site UI by Modernista last year:
What do you think of the Logic + Emotion post I commented on in Update 2?
More sites will start having a list of social media links on the home page and side bar and maybe clients/brands will finally get more comforable giving up control now that the precedent has been set.
Sam
· 10 months ago
Got here via your post on L&E. Just wanted to say I thin you're dead on, this is a new path for functional microsites. Why maintain directions on your site when you can link to google maps, why post reviews when you can link to Yelp? The only thing a small business owner really needs on their site is unique content aka menu, maybe staff bio (though this could be a facebook link as well), product shots/descriptions, services, etc.
Amanda
· 7 months ago
Its a good idea..Because to make some thing popular or to announce it to all twtter is good idea.. mortgage loan point
All Comments
But I think that the implementation with Twitter, YouTube, and Flickr are really great and it all seems to tie in with that floating navigation item...but one thing that irks me is that it's always there. It blocks a small portion of the screen and it's impossible to move or hide. It becomes irritating after a while.
I think this "new" Skittles website was a "rush job" and hope that someone in the agency is thinking more about proper integration and creative appeal.
I seriously doubt that market research was an issue at all in asking for age. I've had to deal with the lawyers many times when doing promotions. Minors are a concern they always have, both for appropriateness of content and for COPPA issues (if any data kept). So this single question is probably the thing that made the lawyers comfortable enough (if still kicking and screaming) allowing display of content that Skittles has no control of whatsoever. They were right to expect that some of it wouldn't be suitable for children.
Isn't it great that Skittles gets all this free consulting to tell them what their implementation should look like?
By just throwing it up quickly and iterating on it based on feedback. Finding out in the trenches what works and what doesn't. No more endless discussions of what's safe and what might go wrong. Doing things Silicon Valley startup style. Just the advice many have been giving brands for years.
http://konigi.com/design/modernista
Does it matter?
Yeah, Laughing Squid mentioned Modernista their Skittles/Twitter post last night. Sounds like they deserve credit for the idea (if that matters to anyone).
What do you think of the Logic + Emotion post I commented on in Update 2?
More sites will start having a list of social media links on the home page and side bar and maybe clients/brands will finally get more comforable giving up control now that the precedent has been set.
mortgage loan point