How does running on a treadmill at a 15 degree incline for ten minutes sound? Yeah, we thought so.

But that’s exactly what competitors of Technogym’s Uphill Challenge did at the recent Australian Health and Fitness Expo.

It was a huge success … we reckon because of the bold banners and signage designed here at Orion. Our good looking signs brought in heaps of competitors: a couple of the Bondi Surf Rescue TV personalities had a go, including Trent Maxwell, Andrew Reid & Whippet. Dani Andes won the challenge – he ran 2.10 km. He took home a Technogym treadmill for his trouble.

Do you need help coming up with interesting promo ideas? Give us a call on (02) 8824 4311.

Design an Ad is a Fairfax Media initiative that drags local school students away from computer screens and asks them to put pencil to paper.

The community-based initiative gets school kids to draw a print advertisement for a local business, therefore bringing together the community, local businesses and schools. Winning entries receive cash prizes, with over $50,000 up for grabs.

This is the first time Design an Ad has gone online in its 26 years. You can check out the website here. And here’s what the client had to say.

“The launch of the Design An Ad website is a major new initiative for Fairfax Community Newspapers.

We now have an easy one-stop access point for schools, businesses and sponsors to get involved; cutting paperwork, lifting the message and increasing engagement.

We had schools logging on and entering within hours of the Design An Ad campaign’s launch.

Apart from our own staff, much credit for the successful launch should go to our developer partners, Orion Creative who took our ideas from discussion to conclusion with a minimum of fuss and a lot of creativity.”

-       Glenis Sheldrick, Special Projects Manager at Fairfax Community Newspapers

designanad.com.au

It was recently reported that some orangutans in Miami zoo are using iPads as part of a learning program to increase communication with their trainers. As well as being a well-timed story for the recent release of the new iPad (nice work Apple), it also highlights the growing dominance of mobile computer technology on our daily lives.

You don’t have to look far to see this manifested in the everyday. Observe people on your next bus trip. Guaranteed, at least 60-90% have their head down, looking at a smart-phone or tablet screen. In the last business quarter, Apple iPads outsold all individual PC company sales during the same quarter[i]. There is also a clear consumer shift to smartphones in all countries. Behind Singapore, Australia has the highest smartphone penetration at 37% and rising.

So what’s it to you? According to a Google report, 71% of Australian smartphone users browse the internet on their mobile devices. Having your site compatible for these devices is becoming increasingly important. And with four out five Australian websites not optimised for smartphones, it has the potential to give your business an online edge against competitors.

In a nutshell: These trends are definitely not monkey business. Please chat to us if you’re interested in learning more about optimising your site for smartphones and iPads.

You can call us on (02) 8824 4311.

Seriously. We can’t keep Space Ninja away from the Chronozoom project.

He’s all “Woah, my existence is, like, so inconsequential,” and we’re all “Space Ninja. Can you help with this eDM?” Basically the Chronozoom project shows you the entire span of time in zoomable chunks. Check it out. But try to keep your love for it more casual than Space Ninja’s.

chronozoomproject.org

What happens when two fellas with the same name work together?

It was tense here in the Orion office when Sean arrived. Designer vs. writer, old hand vs. newbie, Shaun vs. Sean. And the pair said hello, shook hands and got to work on the latest Vibrance TVC for Syngenta. Since then it’s been all fist pumps and high fives with those two. The ad is scripted, casted for and scheduled for filming in a little under two weeks. You can keep an eye on your TV screens for that one. Or check it out when it’s done on our Facebook page.

Japanese scientists have almost created a computer that runs on crustacean power.

They’ve built a bunch of tunnels that function as logic gates (the basic AND, OR and NOT commands that render a computer functional) when crabs scuttle through. A bird-like shadow gets the critters moving in the right direction. The researchers found that the little biters move in a surprisingly predictable manner and theorise that it may be possible to run a computer on crab power, though they have no plans to build one right now. The entire environment was designed to be as crab-friendly as possible.

Fun fact: only Aussie soldier crabs are thought to be reliable enough for the experiment.

Check out the diagram below to see how the tunnels work.

Five years ago Sean switched from a job in a production studio to freelance writing. Among other exciting projects he has written for Rotten Tomatoes and Trespass magazine and interviewed everyone’s favourite blue man, Sam Worthington (Avatar).

Sean is super-clever and just the man for your next project. You can email him to say hello. He’s in Wednesday to Friday. sean@orioncreative.com.au

A few things Facebook admins need to know about the new Timeline feature.

If you’re using your Facebook page to its full potential you’d be right to be a little worried about Timeline. Let’s be honest, Facebook’s newest addition – as is – is not ideal for companies on the social networking site. But you can make it work for you. Here are a few ways.

1. Choose a beautiful cover photo
Select an inviting image. According to Facebook rules you can’t advertise or have a call to action, but you’ve got plenty of room to make a good impression in 815 x 351 pixels. Here are a few we like a lot.
http://www.facebook.com/toyota (pictured above)
http://www.facebook.com/livestrong
http://www.facebook.com/redbull

2. Use apps
You can highlight any unique apps in the boxes next to your photos. The little pencil that comes up on the top right hand side of the box lets you swap the order of the apps.

3. Pin posts
This is a new function that you can use to draw attention to important stories. Click the pencil in the top right of any post to pin it to the top of the page. It will spread across the entire width of your Facebook page and stay there for up to a week. A great way to draw attention to competitions or the like.

4. Be social
The number one most important and often ignored thing about social media is that it is named so for a reason. Social media is social. It hinges on interaction and conversation between you and your followers. Always respond quickly and appropriately to messages and queries and you’ll be okay.

For further advice shoot Donna an email at donna@orioncreative.com.au.

Heehee. A London agency has created the funniest of all bookmarklets. Happpy It is a tool that lets you commit the ultimate design sin on any website you like: turn it into Comic Sans.

Comic Sans is funny. Impossible to take seriously, even. So why not read The New York Times in Comic Sans? Why not Comic Sans-ify us?

“Times are hard,” says Poke London. “We decided to make a little something to perk everyone up.”

What could be better than turning the internetz into the silliest font of all time? Um, nothing. We’ll let Poke explain further.

“As the global recession wears on longer than an Oscar speech, the news is filled with misery, and the weather remains worth complaining about, we thought it was time for a little tear wiping. A little ‘there, there. It’s going to be all right.’”

Just as it’s impossible to be unhappy in a poncho, it’s impossible to be worried in Comic Sans.

Give it a go.

Our newest addition to Orion is copywriter Donna Kilby. She writes and knows SEO and is more than happy to write for you.

Donna comes from magazines and websites and has written for Weight Watchers, The Hoopla, Girlfriend Magazine, Prevention Magazine and a few others. She has managed like Facebook pages, Twitter pages, Pinterest and Google + pages for media outlets but most of all loves writing subject lines for newsletters. Really. Shoot her an email to chat about anything you’d like written or re-written. Or just to say hi. donna@orioncreative.com.au

(Don’t be sad if she doesn’t reply right away – she works Monday – Tuesday.)