avantgarde // press

Site Outage

2008-03-26T12:58:37Z

Due to a run of power outages over the last few weeks, the Avantgarde website has been down more than up. I found the configuration problems that were causing the Internet connectivity problems, so the site should be back up and running for good.

LightPole Launches Its Beta Site

2007-10-10T21:53:59Z

LightPole has just launched their new location aware Mobile Discovery publishing system and consumer focused mobile application. Avantgarde worked with LightPole to develop their phone user interface and consumer/publisher website design.

The LightPole service makes publishing geo-contextual content as easy as blogging. Through LightPole, publishers can reach mobile users, leveraging the publishing tools already in place. No advanced programming or heavy IT investments are required. Distribution can be supported by ads, subscriptions, transactions, or other models. Mobile phone users can select channels of geo-contextual content, post comments and annotations, and record their own Points of Interest.

The LightPole service already supports hundreds of models of mobile phones, including Blackberry, Motorola, Nokia, and most phones from leading carries such as AT&T, Sprint/Nextel and T-Mobile as well as the Blackberry on Verizon. LightPole continues to add support for new phones all the time.

Consumers can download the LightPole mobile browser from LightPole's content partners' sites: MappyHour (a community driven site of over 43,000 Happy Hour spots around the world) or HotSpotr (a community driven site with over 6000 entries showing which cafes have free WiFi ) or sign up for the private beta at www.lightpole.net.

LightPole also published a Yelp! mobile channel which allows users to search and view Yelp! reviews with the LightPole mobile browser. You can get Yelp! on your mobile phone by entering in your mobile phone number below:

Ten things 2007 - a class with Michael Shanks about design

2007-07-10T05:42:32Z

Just ran into this interesting review of the design aspects of the Timbuk2 retails store written for a design class out of Stanford.

"When I first embarked on my research for this project I was looking a for a few specific things. I was trying to discover what were the human factors behind design. How was the object culturally appropriate? What does it say about the user and what does it reveal about their status? What I began to see was how a company chooses to market themselves. How they companies position themselves in the market. It seemed to be a complex formula about perceived value, price points, and target market. I thought to myself that the world of merchandise was a sterile formula applied universally to a baseless market, that was successful for a handful of well financed companies. However, In the midst of my research I found a company that was above that influence. A creatively unique brand, with a story and product to match. That company is Timbuk2."

- Check out Ten things 2007 for a full read.

Buzz on the Web: Influencing the Influencers

2007-06-02T06:33:07Z

Dan Greenfield, Vice President of Corporate Communications at EarthLink, contacted us a couple of weeks ago about the idea of influencing the influencers. He was interested in finding out about what Avantgarde thought about the effect of influencer marketing on the adoption of products and services and what was important in the process.

Our take, "Throwing tons of money at all the influentials in the world won’t work if the product itself doesn’t meet a genuine unmet need. The brand experience has to be a reflection of the personal creativity of the user in order for a product to translate from a small circle to mass consumption."

How to manage email to prevent productivity-sapping overload

2007-06-02T06:06:32Z

In a new book, Mark Hurst argues that Americans are chronically overloaded with bits -- the building blocks digital information. Hurst, a principal in the consulting firm Creative Good, says we're buried by e-mail, blogs, digital photos, and podcasts. In the book Bit Literacy, Hurst provides a roadmap for better managing digital information. Hurst enlisted the help of Avantgarde to get the word out about the book. We developed a target list of influencers who could help spread the word about this common sense approach to managing information overload. Hear the pod cast RealAudio - MP3 - iTunes and read more book on the Bit Literacy website.

Best Non-Profit Online Ad 2007

2007-04-09T07:23:06Z

As the Creative Director for the Asia Foundation, Kristin Colombano has won the Internet Advertising Competition award for Best Non-Profit Online Ad. Since 1997, the Web Marketing Association's annual WebAward Competition has been helping interactive professionals promote themselves, their companies, and their best work to the outside world.

Hollywood's All Ears

2007-03-20T11:00:00Z

Forbes.com, March 20, 2007 Some manufacturers turn to outside marketing firms to get their phones in stars' hands. Palm (nasdaq: PALM - news - people ), for instance, hired Avantgarde, a San Francisco-based marketing company, to outfit stars like Matthew Broderick, Mario Batali and Peter Gabriel, among others, with its line of Treo smartphones. Others go in-house: Motorola runs its own invitation-only showroom in West Hollywood, designed solely for A-listers. Read Article

Avantgarde Refreshes Its Look

2007-03-07T16:00:00Z

After a few years of just maintaining the Avantgarde web site, we have finally refreshed the site to more accurately reflect our evolving business, the changing times and our varied cultural and business interests.

What will you find?

The new Avantgarde website is actually three websites in one:

1. First you will find the corporate information site. This area has all of Avantgarde’s updated information, a new portfolio area, and a collection of new clients and updated case studies. These case studies include 4 new stories about our work with Palm, the Timbuk2 store and Timbuk2 TED Bag and Zone Labs.

2. Next you will see the first of two blogs. The Press blog contains all of Avantgarde’s company and client announcements, press clippings, press releases and client quotes. This area will be updated regularly with new press, client announcements, site updates and portfolio additions.

3. Finally you will find the Avantgarde Journal. This area contains musing about our personal interests in music, fashion, food and design as well as any other areas that we might fancy.

Let us know what you think.

I would love to hear what you think about our new look and content. When you get some time, send me an email to marcus@avantgarde.com, or just put up a blog comment on one of our entries.

Keep in touch and get our updates.

If you want to keep on top of what’s new with Avantgarde and see what we are doing, you can either subscribe to our site RSS feed or sign up for our email list. The first fifty people to sign up for the email feed will get a copy of our recently released limited edition double CD: Avantgarde // Swayzak Presents Serieculture.

What Timbuk2 Has to Say

2007-02-25T07:20:09Z

"Avantgarde played an essential role in assisting Timbuk2 with the implementation of the Cradle To Cradle bag for TED2006. They pulled together key relationships, assisted with the creative development, and managed the execution. The Avantgarde team is passionate, creative and organized - just what we needed for this successful project."

- Mark Dwight, CEO, Timbuk2

What Palm Has to Say

2007-02-25T07:16:13Z

"Avantgarde has the rare combination of a strong technical foundation together with the ability to develop strong influencer relationships that allow them to craft innovative marketing programs. Avantgarde played a significant role in Treo's success by initiating a number of creative programs that developed hundreds of valuable long-term relationships with cultural thought leaders and influential personalities in business, entertainment and academia."

– Allen Bush, Director of Carrier Marketing, Palm and Director of Worldwide Communications Handspring

What Zone Labs Has to Say

2007-02-25T07:08:12Z

"In the Time To Live on the Network program, Avantgarde was able to take its strong understanding of the technical security risks of personal computing and develop a demonstrative program that showed the critical need for a personal firewall. By enlisting the help of Kevin Mitnick as an expert security analyst and successfully pitching USA TODAY to cover the project, Avantgarde was not only able to show the real time for a personal computer to survive on the network but also to build a credible story and communicate it to Zone Labs' key demographic."

- Te Smith, Director of Marketing Communications, Zone Labs

The mating dance of the 'techno-sexual'

2006-12-04T12:00:00Z

CNET News.com, December 4, 2006 Yet gadgets don't have to get in the way of love. Marcus Colombano, a managing partner at a San Francisco tech consulting firm, is also a self-described gadget hound. He's set up his home media center so he can control his music streaming with a Palm TX. On a recent trip to Napa Valley, he watched the Italy-U.S. soccer game on his Treo 700w by streaming the video from a Slingbox at home--which streams media to any number of devices via the Internet. (For the record, he was in the passenger seat.) Read Article

avantgarde releases swayzak cd

2006-11-02T00:38:25Z

This year Avantgarde celebrates its 15th year with a collection of CDs produced by some of its favorite artists. Swayzak presents Serieculture, the first in this series, is a two CD set including a collection of unreleased and super rare Swayzak tracks matched with a live vinyl mix crafted by Roger 23 at his studio in Saarbrücken.]]> special thanks to:

David Brown and Swayzak whose sounds fill our day and I mean everyday. Roger 23 for his blood sweat and tears making a beautiful live mix filled with rare tracks from two continents. Jennifer Massett, !K7 Records, for her guidance and introductions. All of the labels and artists that have let us use their tracks.

about swayzak

Swayzak was born 1996 in London, England. James Taylor and David “Broon” Brown, friends and former work colleagues, have made music together since 1993. Brown, born Glasgow, Scotland 1966, and Taylor, born London, England 1967, started their own label out of lack of interest from other labels! A true union of British culture, Swayzak recordings… Their first release was in 1997 Bueno/Fukumachi, was well received and the follow up Speedboat/Low Res Skyline was deemed a classic by many Trainspotters! They then went on to record Snowboarding in Argentina a long playing deep and minimal house must have. Since then Swayzak have never looked back and still enjoy making music as an alternative to working. Having released five artist albums, two DJ compilations and several other projects, Swayzak never shy away from making music, but often take a laid back approach hence their new album Route de la Slack, a double CD of remixes and rarities which came out March 20th, 2006 on !K7 Records. While Taylor - runs the 240 Volts abel and records his own material under name “Darkfarmer” and James Taylor. Brown plays most weekends with percussionist Francesco Brini as Swayzak and DJ Roger 23 as Swayzak Soundsystem. He is also running Voltmusik label and planning a new venture with Roger 23!

about serieculture

Originally based on the Human League’s “being boiled” lyric stating “stop your sericulture”. Taken from a Swayzak live recording in Luxembourg 2001, and then edited by Roger 23, the result was released Serieculture 1-4 on Swayzak imprint Voltmusik in 2005. The misspelled word formed an idea. Brun and Roger “23” Reuter met in Saarbrücken, Germany in 1998, where Roger co-owns the Hardwax record store. Strutting around town, Brun and his Swayzak partner, James, came across the store as it closed but promised to return the next day to explore new music. On their return Roger introduced them to some fine, and strange music. Likewise he had never heard of Swayzak, and hence became one of their biggest supporters. They have remained friends and collaborators ever since. Initially they began as Swayzak Soundsysytem, playing Fabric’s room three for up to 8 hours at a time. The Soundsystem idea was a way of DJing together, but felt they need a different identity to match the music they played, minimal house to bizarre 80’s obscura together with Detroit techno, electro, and heavy dub. They are never shy to throw in an old Italo classic or of course the Human League. The Serieculture DJ’s are different from many. Discerning with their taste in music, it is a back to back, ping pong DJ set, each record a challenge to the other! Designed to lay pressure on the dance floor and reminiscent of old Jamaican sound systems, chaos can be the order! Roger 23 releases through Swayzak’s 240 Volts, Voltmusik and Germany’s Playhouse Records. Brun, one half of Swayzak releases thru !K7 Records, and runs the label Voltmusik. They have just released their first studio collaboration Old Man Sorrow on Voltmusik (vmk006). Regulars at Fabric, London, Pressure, Glasgow, Watergate, Berlin, and Babylon, Istanbul, they also played cities and festivals from Antwerp, Amsterdam, Bari, Copenhagen, Frankfurt, Funchal, Ghent, Lausanne, and Vicenza, to name but a few.

cd1 swayzak

01 // Big Eck 02 // Heat Inside 03 // Straight Outta Ginza 04 // Layer 5 05 // Sunblind 06 // Mike Schmike 07 // Subway Travel (Zone 1-4)

CD2 Swayzak Soundsystem w/Serieculture

PART 1 01 // Even Tuell - Pretty Bonita (St. Raiders Mix) - Out To Lunch Records 02 // Arovane - Leev - FWD/Eevo Lute Muzique 03 // Petetok - Hand (Todd Sines Mix) - Kodaira Tracks 04 // Jesse Saunders - Funk You Up (Beats) - Trax Records 05 // Napi Hedz (Featuring Sachin Chitnis) - Raga Paramananda - Psychostasia Recordings 06 // DJ Jus-Ed - I'm From Connecticut… Bridgeport… Man - Underground Quality 07 // Joseph - Love Never Fails (Gods Grace Mix) - Next Dimension Music 08 // Sensory Productions - Deep Introspection - Luxury Service Records 09 // Virgo - Go Wild Rhythm Trax - Casablanca Trax Inc. 10 // Blackman - Beat That Bitch With A Bat - Casablanca Trax Inc PART 2 11 // Swayzak - Another Way (Darkfarmer Original Mix) - Westbury Music Ltd 12 // Zweikarakter - My Refresh -Playtracks 13 // Bruno Pronsato - The River - Hello Repeat 14 // Shockt - Slo-Mo - Yeah 15 // Schubert - ~[S2]~ - Statik Entertainment 16 // D-Man - Hydro 1 - Source Records 17 // Sebo K. - Too Hot - Mobilee Records 18 // Mathew Jonson - Re-Wire - Itiswhatitis Recordings PART 3 19 // V.a. - Trash I Love - Gone Records 20 // Africans With Mainframes - Save The Robots - Mathematics Recordings 21 // J.T.C. - My Muddy Melody - Mathematics Recordings ©2006 Avantgarde

Timbuk2 Store

2006-05-10T08:00:00Z

Cool Hunting, May 10, 2006 As a testament to their continued commitment to their home-base in San Francisco (all their bags are manufactured at their own factory) there's an ongoing rotation of artist customized canvas bags, often from local street art stars. The space was conceived by Avantgarde, designed by William Duff, Architects and includes fabrications by Linden (the dudes who's workshop is behind the Blue Bottle Coffee kiosk). All locals. Read article

Custom Canvas: It's all in the bag for Timbuk2

2006-05-07T08:00:00Z

San Francisco Chronicle, May 7, 2006 Last month, the company opened a store on Hayes Street, where for $100 to $250, patrons can customize a shoulder bag with anything from old jeans to printed fabrics designed by local artist Thorina Rose. Creative, urban types can design one-of-a-kind messenger-style or laptop bags using a collection of Davina Melange wools and other durable upholstery fabrics from the Manhattan company Maharam, known for its elaborate textiles. The store offers funky color and pattern combinations not available on the company's Web site or at the sporting retailers that carry Timbuk2's regular product line, which sells for $50-$100. Read Article