Description Mid-code Crisis http://www.aquaonline.com/aqua-blog.aspx Fri, 18 November 2011 00:00:00 Fri, 18 November 2011 00:00:00 Dale Ferreira http://www.aquaonline.com/aqua-blog.aspx/aqua-blog/blog/2011/november/are-you-reddy-for-love.aspx Verushen Reddy joined Aqua in 2008, and in his time here, he has held the positions of data analyst, campaign manager and now head of analytics. Verushen has also laid claim to being the king of the foosball table, but this is fairly debatable. Changes In his time at Aqua, Verushen has seen some significant changes, from an average sized agency to a large entity that is data driven and intelligent as opposed to the production focused agency he first joined. He has also seen changes in staff, and although saddened to see some of his friends and mentors move on, it's been exciting, having to interact with the new recruits. As he says it, "Aqua has an amazing stock of inventors!" Data I asked Verushen about his day-to-day dealings here at Aqua, and as he calmly explains it, they collect data, every second of every day, then it's processing that and collating and analysing the data to produce reports and, more importantly, those key campaign insights. Google Analytics and Omniture Site Catalyst have become my browser homepages, and I am involved in the planning, implementation and roll-out of these measurement tools, on the never ending search for the slightest increase in ROI or conversion rate.  SEO is definitely a daily job; if they aren't doing SEO audits on client websites and quoting on monthly maintenance, Verushen and his team are monitoring valuable keywords, vetting incoming links, tweaking content and working on reducing page load times. Verushen is also very involved in training and developing skills across the whole of Aqua, and this month, everyone at Aqua is getting a dose of SEO 101. Campaign management Verushen also explains that campaign management is a large part of his team's role, together with deployment of email campaigns, SMS communication and measuring viral campaigns. He proudly tells me that his team has deployed an Aqua record breaking 17 million emails on behalf of clients this year alone! Memories I asked Verushen about some of his happier moments here, and it was without a doubt all the staff parties (and that the Aquanauts know how to party), but that is all he has to say about that. He goes on to talk about some of the lighter moments the agency has had and was a little enigmatic about moments that involve R. Kelly at Aqua's Got Talent, a staff members desk getting completely treated with tin foil and the disappearance of a social media community manager. Even he refused to divulge further information.   http://www.aquaonline.com/aqua-blog.aspx/aqua-blog/blog/2011/november/are-you-reddy-for-love.aspx http://www.aquaonline.com/aqua-blog.aspx/aqua-blog/blog/2011/november/are-you-reddy-for-love.aspx Fri, 18 November 2011 00:00:00 David Alves http://www.aquaonline.com/aqua-blog.aspx/aqua-blog/blog/2011/november/dane's-discipline.aspx When you get the time to sit with designers here at Aqua, you use that opportunity. After chatting with Dane Bowen for a couple of minutes, I found his thoughts to be insightful, and they gave me a better understanding of his role and design in general.  He gave me an inside look at his process…  Understand the Elements , collating one's graphic elements together informs your design process. Once a designer has outlined the intended outcome for the design, the overall look and feel will naturally evolve from it. Designers always try to take the user on a journey into a world they're creating by picking out the elements that create it, from the cityscapes to the terrain the buildings grew from.  Keeping these elements in mind, one can create a poster design, showcasing this world. Iconography and typography might be added to highlight the overarching message a designer wants to portray. From a web project point of view, one might think this is a waste of time, but it's a great frame of reference when putting together a website or application. One needs to incorporate that same look and feel across the platform when designing. Colour is a big part of any design, especially on the web: each colour, and combination of colours, has a meaning behind it that affects the human psyche. For example, orange showcases enthusiasm, cheerfulness, affordability, stimulation and creativity, and is highly accepted among a younger demographic. Taking all of this into consideration when deciding on colours, especially when picking out one for the call to action areas, some colours may entice people to click and navigate through the site more than others.   User Experience , possibly the number 1 rule for design is; one tries to lead users down a path but still give them the freedom to browse. Allowing banners on a site to compete with one another and distract users from the content at hand will just aggravate users and give them an exit first approach. The Technology.  While creating a user journey or page layouts, one needs to constantly search the web for reference on what can or cannot be done. The last thing you want to have happen is to create an incredible site that will eventually get watered down due to the incapability of technology.  Danes Mantra: Think with your head in the clouds but still keep your feet on the ground. K.I.S.S.  Be simple, be social: don't make them think. Engage them! So in Conclusion… What's The Big Idea?  Uncovering what is entrenched behind a design ethos is the only way to represent the true meaning behind a design. We always ask, "What's the big idea?" There is a saying about two heads, and when approaching any project, this cliché has never rung more true. Brain storms are not just scenes from Mad Men; they're people testing ideas and collaborating to create the greater path for a specific project. After chatting to Dane, I now know that design is more than just pixels, and have now been invited into a world where people research for inspiration; it's reading and working towards a commonality between the designer and his audience. Over the last decade, there has been a drastic change around design, especially within digital platforms. Web and interactive design is not just about the pretty picture or slapping a couple of graphics together and then figuring out where the content can squeeze in.  Sure, it looks cool, but no one is looking to decipher your hieroglyphics. People enjoy a systematic approach, and Dane has that approach! *Dane Bowen is a junior Art Director at Aqua and has a hairstyle that competes with even the fiercest of porcupines. He also plays golf and enjoys long walks on the beach.   http://www.aquaonline.com/aqua-blog.aspx/aqua-blog/blog/2011/november/dane's-discipline.aspx http://www.aquaonline.com/aqua-blog.aspx/aqua-blog/blog/2011/november/dane's-discipline.aspx Sat, 19 November 2011 15:43:00 Sheena Gates http://www.aquaonline.com/aqua-blog.aspx/aqua-blog/blog/2011/november/ant-solomon,-technology-man.aspx Ant Solomon is one of Aqua's longest standing employees, going on 13 years now, and I was excited to chat to him about his recent promotion to chief technology officer. Ant is a dynamic man, and whether you spent two minutes or two hours talking technology to him, it's immediately obvious how passionate he is on his discipline. Running an army Ant runs one of the bigger teams at Aqua: sitting at 14 team members reporting to him, it's not hard to imagine that when it comes to Ant's brand new role, the pressure is on. Luckily for Aqua, pressure isn't something Ant shies away from. Having started at Aqua in 1999 as a junior developer, he was bumped up to developer with tech lead following and, not long after, tech & development manager. In September this year, Ant received some very good and some slightly sad news. Zsolt Votin had decided to spend a while abroad with his family and therefore passed on an opportunity to his protégé, the prestigious position of chief technology officer. Big shoes to fill In my interview with Ant, he states that although Zsolt has left very big shoes to fill, he's going to tackle his new role with both hands and all his might. Having a great team behind him, he's confident that together they can achieve his outlaid goals and take Aqua to new and even better heights. I asked Ant what his goals were, and he listed an impressive number of tasks ahead: Enhance strategy and develop frameworks to include mobile Utilise HTML5 in rich application development, due to the changing landscape of Flash, for fuller solution campaigns Focus on social media-an opportunity to integrate development and applications into strategic and creative campaigns It's a revolution Ant has watched Aqua revolutionise itself from what started out as a very tech-based team into a conceptual and creative staff complement, which was what led Aqua into the new realm of digital agencies. Having learnt from that, Ant sees Aqua as a strategically focused agency that encompasses social media, creative development and design through the art of technology. He's embraced the 'less big idea, more client value' theory, and is taking that with him along for the ride. Congratulations on your promotion, Ant, we're behind you all the way!   http://www.aquaonline.com/aqua-blog.aspx/aqua-blog/blog/2011/november/ant-solomon,-technology-man.aspx http://www.aquaonline.com/aqua-blog.aspx/aqua-blog/blog/2011/november/ant-solomon,-technology-man.aspx Mon, 21 November 2011 12:51:00 Sheena Gates http://www.aquaonline.com/aqua-blog.aspx/aqua-blog/blog/2011/november/be-like-water.aspx Aqua's new corporate identity had to be a well thought out process; it needed time and unrivalled concentration. It needed Aqua's brains trust. It needed the two rams of creativity and business bashing ideas like skulls until the impressive idea was born. We all knew that this couldn't have happened at the office, or in Johannesburg for that matter, so off to Magaliesberg we went. Isolation in collaboration was a half-truth; we wanted to be far away and in touch with anything but the hustle and bustle of the city, buzzing phones and the ding of incoming emails. Collaborating in luxury Robyn Nahman, Wunderman's creative director, pretty much summed it up when asked about the weekend, "It was pretty hard work and very intense, but when so wrapped in luxury, having every desire (well, almost) catered to… hard work is easy." And picturesque, I might add. The five-star accommodations, spa baths, beautiful gardens and silence made for the perfect location to get to the crunch of where we wanted our new look Aqua and its strategy to go. We rekindled our reason for working at Aqua in the first place, by finding creative ways to express creative people. I like the Zen of that circle According to Dane Bowen, Aldo Pullela and Adam Brandt (the creatives behind the new look), getting to the meat of CI, the idea and the process, the thought behind the design had to be immense. Adam makes it simple to understand: To create the new approach, we needed to achieve a simplification of everything. To evolve our CI to encompass the new ethos, we wanted to indulge water and 'Zen-ify' the art direction. As it happens, the guys and I feel that we now own the full stop, as we search for the point in everything. Challenges Adam claims the biggest challenge was getting all the Aqua brains on the same page. Dane, our creative politician, describes the biggest challenge as creating a new look that had appeal straight from the corporate client right through to the mo-hawked student looking to get that internship. The new look promises to produce thoughts and opinions from a whole host of people, or at least we hope so… let us know your thoughts in the comments section below. http://www.aquaonline.com/aqua-blog.aspx/aqua-blog/blog/2011/november/be-like-water.aspx http://www.aquaonline.com/aqua-blog.aspx/aqua-blog/blog/2011/november/be-like-water.aspx Tue, 22 November 2011 12:10:00 Sheena Gates http://www.aquaonline.com/aqua-blog.aspx/aqua-blog/blog/2011/november/the-big-reveal-(part-1).aspx It's almost inexplicable how at Aqua the excitement has been building since the red meeting room mysteriously plastered itself with blackout paper and colleagues started disappearing for days, coming out looking weary but confident. As talent at Aqua flew in and out of the elusive red meeting room, everyone knew something was up, and they understood it was big. After a few weeks, everyone noticed when Dane (art director) and Marc (HTML developer) arrived at work one day wearing the exact same clothes.  Aquanauts knew that this had gone on long enough and demanded to know what all the mystery was about. Experiencing the throwing of tantrums and offers of ridiculous bribes to those in the know, we thanked the gods for timing when a mysterious SMS was sent out to all employees with only the cryptic short script text adding to our anticipation: Evolution has strtd. D-day is coming. 2mrrw u R in the spotlight! Luk u'r best. U'll find out the rest. Instrctns will be dlvrd 2 u'r desk. Creepy txt language aside, it was on. With anticipation and suspicion, Aquanauts began arriving at work on Thursday morning to stickers stuck to every surface possible with Aqua-isms and motivational lines. Shortly thereafter, the infamous Miss Cathy Specific arrived, airline kit and all, with her trolley of cookies, drinks and liquor. Within minutes, she had the individual departments clapping hands, shouting war-cries and laughing uncontrollably. One by one we were called into what used to be the orange meeting room, now transformed into a temporary photo studio, where mug shots were taken of every staff member. A makeup artist was on standby, the assistant photographer offering shots of 'Dutch courage' for those who were camera shy, and a line was formed comprising many curious and intrigued bodies. The vibe was pulsing; productivity came to a standstill.  D-day was less than 48 hours away; countdown timers displayed on every LCD screen across the agency, and although many still didn't know exactly what was going down, every single one of us was excited.  To be continued... http://www.aquaonline.com/aqua-blog.aspx/aqua-blog/blog/2011/november/the-big-reveal-(part-1).aspx http://www.aquaonline.com/aqua-blog.aspx/aqua-blog/blog/2011/november/the-big-reveal-(part-1).aspx Thu, 24 November 2011 11:45:00 Tumi Malatsi http://www.aquaonline.com/aqua-blog.aspx/aqua-blog/blog/2011/november/on-merging.aspx It turns out Jonathan Stonier has a lot more going than your average CS guy. Before the Wunderman and Aqua merger, Jono worked at Wunderman for seven years and rated Aqua as one of the best digital agencies in the country. Some research and a digital company audit later, he discovered that Aqua was rated as number one, which led to Wunderman merging with Aqua. Meeting expectations On asking Jono what he expected from Aqua, he says, "a highly energetic, noisy, fast paced and creative environment".  He's happy to report that he got all that, and a lot more. As a bonus, he says that although the merger has met his expectations, it came with less responsibility (meaning time with family and friends) and more bosses (meaning time with family and friends). Now that Jono's a lot more settled in his role, we wanted to know how he's found digital compared to direct marketing. His answer was, "They are both exceptional channels, but the message to the customer is still key." And it's that exact persona that's helped define the role he plays within the agency-hectic, pressured, stressful, inspired and constantly delivering. In Jonathan's words, "It makes a challenging environment really rewarding when you get creative concepts cracking." Forming a new culture Aside from being the resident ginger, all round nice guy and a client service manager not to be reckoned with, Jonathan and his team have brought an entirely new element to the Aqua culture. For starters, there is no longer a division. As aquanauts, we've had enough time to get to know each other, and not long after the Wunderman team moved in did new groups start emerging. From the breaks on the balcony to the canteen cliques, it seems like there was never a division to begin with. There's a new dynamic in studio. With the art directors singing poetry to the social media team, the creative directors arguing and throwing paper at each other, traffic managers bartering for resources and the client service managers secretively forming their own support groups on how to deal with the crazy creatives, life at Aqua is good. At the heart of our new look, values and culture, and where it all began, was Jonathan and the rest of the Wunderman team joining the family. It's the Aqua difference. http://www.aquaonline.com/aqua-blog.aspx/aqua-blog/blog/2011/november/on-merging.aspx http://www.aquaonline.com/aqua-blog.aspx/aqua-blog/blog/2011/november/on-merging.aspx Thu, 24 November 2011 22:55:00