Harris: What distinguishes Imageworks Interactive from other shops? What types of brands do you see as an ideal fit for your services?
Borde: The large-scale digital marketing and production support we bring to a studio as big as Sony Pictures is also what distinguishes us from many competitors. We are able to do everything for the studio, from digital brand management to online market research, web design to mobile product development, hosting to CRM, promotions to email marketing, video production to software engineering. We are able to work with groups that many times have different objectives and we manage everyone toward a common goal. This work is especially apparent on SonyPictures.com and its international counterpart, SonyPictures.net.
Imageworks Interactive understands and respects the importance of brand on a global level. One of the key elements is to maintain the heart of the brand with its core audience while capitalizing on the ubiquity of the internet and mobile phones to connect with new audiences.
Another one of our core strengths is to successfully define and manage new brands like Sony Pictures Animation's "Open Season" and "Surf's Up" and extending them to the digital space. For "Open Season," we not only designed a state-of-the art immersive website experience for our film marketing clients, but we also created standalone activities and games for various worldwide partners, built a strong presence on social networks and launched several online and mobile promotional programs.
Harris: How does this deal affect Sony's relationships with the agencies it currently uses in its marketing campaigns?
Borde: It really doesn't. Imageworks Interactive will continue to work with outside interactive agencies and web firms on various campaigns. There is plenty of work for everyone.
Harris: Does Imageworks Interactive have any plans to leverage Sony's user-generated site, Crackle? If so, what might that look like?
Borde: Imageworks Interactive has been involved with several user-generated content programs with Crackle, and we will continue to explore opportunities to leverage this relationship on a project by project basis.
Harris: What, personally, do you see as a top priority for developing entertainment brand campaigns, given the explosion of entertainment, marketing and technology options that have come available in the last year or two?
Borde: Know your audience and be entertaining and relevant to that audience, no matter what platform they are using, be it websites, mobile devices, video players, RSS feeds or whatever new platform lies just around the corner.
Harris: If you could improve on one Sony Pictures marketing campaign using Imageworks Interactive's new resources and capabilities, what would it be?
Borde: Our resources and capabilities are constantly improving but they are not new. We have been servicing the various Sony Pictures marketing groups since the early days of the web. Looking back, what was hard to accomplish back then (even in the early 2000s!) may be commonplace today. The web is constantly evolving and with that evolution comes the opportunity to continually push the boundaries and raise the bar creatively for ourselves on every projects.
Harris: When can we expect to see the first fruits of your labors as a full-service agency?
Borde: You will continue to see the fruits of our labors daily on SonyPictures.com. As far as outside clients are concerned, Afterworld.tv was one of the first sites launched since the creation of Imageworks Interactive. We look forward to keeping you posted on future work.
Jodi Harris is managing editor at iMedia Connection. Read full bio.