As a thank you for being an Adwords customer, Google just sent out an awesome thank you video using technologies beyond the normal comprehension of most humans. I mean, we’ve heard of variable printing on direct mail and such, but variable video? Well done, Google… Well done indeed. To see why we’re so amazed with this, be sure to check out the video.

We really can’t wait to see what they come up with next. Here’s to many more years of using Google products to make life, and work, better.

You may think that once we have agreed upon a contract, your work as the client is done. But, staying in-tune throughout the entire process is important to your project’s success. Often times we find that clients may become unresponsive to or unaware of a project’s progression. This causes the project to be delayed, giving us no other option but to redirect our time and energy towards other things.

We’d like to put it this way: We care about your project as much as you care.

We want to create work that is thoughtful, efficient in time and cost, and that satisfies your goals. But, we need your help to make it happen. Below is a list of ten ways that you can stay alert and engaged in the process with us:

10 Ways to Show You Care:

1.  Always give ample time when submitting projects.

Quality work takes time. We want to give your project our utmost attention, but we can only do this if you provide us with enough time to evaluate, create, refine and produce.

2.  Know what your goals are.

The more you know about what you are looking to accomplish, the better opportunity we have to design something that fits your needs. We want to hear about your vision, understand your target audience, and benefit from any prior research you have done before we begin working on your project.

3.  Provide as much information as possible.

The best way to avoid wasting time and money is to provide us with all the information you have about a project up front. Come to us with a solid idea of your budget, technical specifications and time constraints so that we can make sure our process moves forward smoothly.

4.  Never expect something for nothing.

We love coming up with creative solutions – and we’re good at it. But, it’s also how we pay our bills. Expecting us to show you our visual concepts or brainstorm strategy with you before you decide to pay for these services is asking us to work for free. Unfortunately, this compromises the quality of our work, as we cannot spend an appropriate amount of time to thoughtfully develop a project that is out of contract. Not to mention, working for free diminishes the value of our work and the contributions we make toward your business objectives.

5.  Separate your personal preferences from that which is best for your business.

We all have different ideas about what we think looks best. But, when it comes to designing visual content for your business, we believe it is best to leave creative decisions to an experienced designer. Our designers make decisions about how something should look based on the qualities of your brand identity and the intended function of the material being created.

6.  Communicate effectively.

In order for your project to move forward in a timely manner, you must respond quickly and constructively to all types of communication. Never assume that we know what you are thinking. You must keep us in the loop every step of the way. Ask questions if you are unsure of something.

7.  Realize that nothing we do is “cut and paste”.

We know that it may seem like a “quick fix”, but most of the time, even small changes require a significant amount of our time and attention. We don’t believe in slapping things together around here. If you ask us to do something, we’re going to take the time to do it right. We ask that you acknowledge this practice and plan accordingly.

8.  Proof-read and provide valuable feedback.

We do our best to deliver a product that is detailed, accurate and fits the needs outlined in your project goals. If we have missed something, we depend on you to let us know. When you are presented with a proof for creative work, take the time to look it over thoroughly and get back to us with well-directed feedback.

9.  Understand the rights you have to our work.

When you engage in a contract with us, we will explain what types of files and permissions you are entitled to with regard to that specific project. Be aware of what entitlements are included with your project so that there is no confusion later about what we are willing to provide.

10.  Pay your invoices on time.

Nothing shows your mutual respect more than paying on time for a project delivered on time. We know that there are times when you may not be able to meet this expectation. Letting us know ahead of time if you are unable to make a payment on time shows us that you care about our relationship.

Did you find these tips useful? Or have you experienced similar situations and would like to add to the conversation? We would love to hear your thoughts!

After MCM threw out a Tarantino like taunt video for the upcoming match, we had no choice but to hold a press smack conference and let the team speak their minds.

Our rebuttal: The Smack Conference…

Feel like witnessing the carnage? All our welcome to come cheer on, make fun of, laugh at, and laugh with the Splinter Creative and MCM crews.

What: Agency Throwdown

Who: Splinter Creative vs. Maggiore Consulting & Marketing

Where: Tempe Village Lanes

When: Wednesday, June 23, 2010 @ 7pm

Why: More like why not? A little healthy competition between Arizona agencies never hurt anyone. See you there!

On the new Dos Gringos website design, you’ll find it’s easier than ever to find exactly what you’re looking for. Trying to find directions to the closest Dos Gringos location? Curious if they’re pouring your favorite drink specials this evening? In the mood for some late night grub? Want to scope out the menu with your co-workers before lunch? Or perhaps you need to setup a party for Larry’s 30th birthday after work on Friday? All this and more can be accessed with just a couple clicks and a few minutes of your time.

Complete with a super easy, “my Grandmother could do it” content management system, Dos Gringos can now access their site and update it from any computer, anywhere. This permits both the marketing personnel as well as the owners to make changes to specials, the menus, photos, and more, all with a simple internet connection. A huge asset indeed for such a fast-paced company.

The biggest hurdle with this project was determining the best way to organize the content. While every Dos Gringos has a happy hour, serves food, and pours tasty beverages, every location doesn’t offer the exact same specials at the exact same times. After doing some research and beating up a few layouts in house, we determined it would be most effective to post an all-inclusive specials page, along with some location specific tidbits that went into more detail… And judging by the analytics over the first couple weeks, it seems patrons are now easily navigating through the site to find the content they want.

All in all, we were able to have some fun with the design and content, and it was a pleasure bringing the new site to life. The hardest part was fighting off the day-dreams of being on the patio at Dos, munching some nachos, and sipping on some coronas. Damn distractions, no wonder it took an extra week to complete

Let us know your thoughts on the design and navigation in the comments below. We’re always open for a good rogering.

Incase you aren’t privvy, we’ve been working our magic on the programs and signage dating back to Ignite Phoenix 3. (Woah. Seriously? Ignite 7 is really on the way?) It’s been a blast to help the brand grow, and even more fun to have creative leeway with the printed pieces. Having free reign isn’t something to take for granted, and for this we’ll be eternally grateful. Check out our most recent program pictured here ==>

Being that we were so (in)kind with our donations, we had the privilege of putting together a 30 second video to be shown at the beginning of the night. After toiling with several ideas for a number of days, we decided it was time to put together a sample of our work that highlighted a handful of favorite projects. If you missed Ignite Phoenix 6, you can check it out here (make sure to turn up your volume).

Now it’s time to get back to work and start dreaming about the next big idea for Ignite Phoenix 7. More good things to come from Splinter Creative… Stay tuned

This year, Twestival is aiming to highlight eight areas which are preventing some of our poorest youth around the world from going to school and getting the education they need and deserve. Events hosted on the same night around the world will be selecting a specific area to donate to, and Phoenix has put its best foot forward to aid in the building of schools to help those less fortunate.

As part of our sponsorship, we whipped up a couple new snazzy t-shirt designs that Brand X will be printing and delivering to the event. Big thanks to Charles for setting up the online shopping cart so attendees can “pimp” out their shirts with a custom Twitter handle.

Along with the shirt designs, we’ll also be hooking up some signage for the event to show the sponsors some love, and a large and in charge step and repeat banner to capture the moment for attendees.

Twestival is a 100% volunteer organized event, and wouldn’t be possible without great folks like Chris Lee, Wesley Novak, Heather Lee, Jenny Carnie and many more. Everyone has really chipped in once again to help with the logistics of the event as well as raising donations. We’re slowly inching our way towards the goal of $7,500, and hope to beat out Twestival San Francisco after the night of the event. It’s going to be a close one, so all the help we can get is greatly appreciated!

I mean, could you think of a better way to use social media for social good? I sure can’t

While many look at this time of year as an opportunity to receive gifts, the folks here at Splinter Creative felt the need to dish out some goodies to our lovely clients and colleagues… And we couldn’t think of a better way to spread some of that holiday cheer, than with a gift set from Cruz Tequila. (See more pics of the Cruz Tequila gift sets here.)

In their first year of holiday promotions, the Cruz Crew put together quite the little gift set complete with a bottle of their new line, Cruz Silver, and some fancy margarita glasses as a nice accent. Needless to say, our colleagues were thrilled, and propositioned us to crack these bad boys open a few times during deliveries (we refrained of course as advocates of safe driving ).

In addition to dishing out some gifts this holiday season, the Splinter Creative team participated in the Holiday #buzzcation Bowling Tournament with a cause, benefiting the Crisis Nursery of Phoenix. The turnout was awesome as teams of news channel, public relations and advertising peeps filled nearly the entire bowling alley. Big props go out to @vettieroe for organizing this great event, and to team “Split Happens” (that’s us) for taking down the trophy. We’ll make sure to take good care of it until next year… To view more pictures from the event, check out HMA’s fan page here.

From our office to yours, Happy Holidays and we look forward to working/socializing with you in 2010!

If you need to get a hold of us over the next few days, please email info@splintercreative.com — We should have our phone system back up and running by Wednesday, December 2nd at the latest.

If you’ve visited our key players page, you know that I rocked one mean tuxedo during my childhood days.  What can I say, I was a born lady killer.  While many of you have gotten a kick out of our childhood portraits (as you should), humor was only a small factor in why we chose to display ourselves in such a manner.  In our minds, it was important to show current and potential clients our youthful imaginations, and demonstrate that while we’ve grown up, we still like to think big and achieve things others only dream about.  I mean, that’s what being a kid is all about, right?

Albeit the childhood pictures are great (thanks everyone for your feedback) we felt it was time for a mini photo shoot.  Sure, we’ll need a serious corporate head shot for this, that or the other thing, but most importantly, we needed to have some sharp looking avatars for our social networking accounts (I’ve almost got everyone at the office on the facebook, twitter and linkedin bandwagons woot!)  So we got with our creative director, Steve Clark, and asked him to dig up some lighting and other goodies from his old photog days.

It turned out to be a super rad time Tuesday morning at the office.  Not only did we have a blast putting everyone on the spot to come up with an “O” face (or in my case, the People’s eyebrow) we were able to capture more of the personality that is Splinter Creative.  So while the childhood portraits aren’t coming down anytime soon, we figured it was time to supplement them with some current day goodness.  After all, a picture can tell you an awful lot about someone…

To see all the pics, check out our facebook fan page here.

Looking to get whisked away on a Friday night? Lucky for you, the Active 20-30 Club of Phoenix has just the ticket to start your weekend in style. They’ve hooked up with the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Arizona, and are set to host quite the little shindig this evening.

Friday, May 8^th will mark the 1^st Annual Phoenix Suitcase Party, and it’s going down at the Deer Valley Airport in north Phoenix. Beginning at 6:30pm, party-goers will eagerly await their chance to board a private jet and enjoy a fun-filled, luxurious weekend in Sonoma Valley.

How does it work you ask? Attendees will bring a packed suitcase, strut their way down the red carpet, and enjoy an evening of drinks, dancing and live entertainment while awaiting their chance to hit the big raffle. At around 9pm, a private jet will arrive at the Atlantic Aviation luxury hangar, and one lucky winner and a guest will be immediately swept away for an amazing weekend.

Sounds pretty killer, no? I’d never heard of this type of party before, and as a sponsor for the event, I’m pretty fired up to see how everything goes down. Plus, all proceeds from the raffle and silent auction go to the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Arizona as well as the Children in Need Foundation. I don’t know about you, but anytime I can support a good cause and have a good time doing it, I chalk it up as a victory in my book.

For complete details on the event, check out the Active 20-30 Club website by clicking here… And make sure to drop us a comment if you’ll be heading that way!