One of the more interesting developments since the launch of Topspin is the way several direct-to-fan marketing agencies have emerged using our platform as their technical foundation.

Our friends at Wicksteed Works is one such example, having built a business around fully utilizing the Topspin platform, and developing a great community of partners who work hard to make sure that their clients receive the best services.

Take the stunning work they’ve put into the new pre-order page for English electropop songstress Little Boots’ upcoming album Nocturnes. It’s a textbook example of a collaborative approach for direct-to-fan campaigns. 

In this case REEA (a development company)  and The New Black (a graphic design company) teamed up with WW to construct a page for the album’s release. The New Black was the architect behind the page, WW built and managed the offers on the page, and REEA strung it all together and turned the lights on. 

The result is pretty cool. It all starts with the strong foundation of the Little Boots’ cover art concept. 

The campaign then consists of three mirror pages that directs visitors from different regions to their local currency, using geo-detection technology: Pounds Sterling for the UK, US Dollars for North America, and the Euro for Europe and the rest of the world.

Each page has four customizable offers, based around two physical album formats. Fans can choose from limited signed digipak CD or limited signed double gatefold vinyl from The Vinyl Factory, with the option to add a limited Millionhands T-shirt. And of course there’s a seamlessly integrated Email for Media widget.

Check out a full-sized screen-grab of the campaign offer page, or this live campaign. 

(P.S. We have just learned that  Ionut at REEA is now a father! Congrats to him and his family!)

Little Boots
Wicksteed Works
The New Black
REEA

By Nic Chang (@nic_hsc)

Our partners at Wicksteed Works worked closely with Quintessentially Weddings to deliver a next-level wedding guide to aspiring young brides. This is another great example of how Topspin’s software works for people in more ways than music, and the results are an elegant hardbound book filled with advice fit for the most important day of your life. Read about their work below!

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The Secret Quintessentially Weddings Guide brings together some of the brightest stars and stalwarts of the wedding industry alongside fresh new talent and innovative ideas. 

It began in the fall of 2011 when writer and editor Sophie McCorry Day wanted to plan her own wedding. As she hunted through the shelves of Waterstones’ bookshop and browsed through hefty industry leading tomes such as Vera Wang on Weddings, it dawned on her that there was very little in the marketplace to guide brides in a real and inspiring way.  Nothing was on offer besides the predictable meringue-and-ribbons culture, with just a few nods to the tastes and styles of a 30 year old woman. Put simply, what was out there was a bit ‘meh.’

Armed with industry knowledge and a refreshing vision, McCorry Day created an accessible, informative, and overall practical book from acknowledged experts in wedding planning. The final product boasts fantastic aesthetic appeal, beautiful coffee-table book imagery, and grown-up fairytale illustrations.

This elegant package is reflected in the Topspin powered, Wicksteed Works designed offer page that not only sells the book, but allows purchasers to download the e-book version straight from the site. Topspin’s email and social media tools are promoting audience engagement, encouraging peer sharing, and stirring online buzz, all contributing to the success of the project.

@nic_hsc & @WicksteedWorks

London-based eco-system partner Wicksteed Works recently produced a series of offer pages for Eagle Rock Entertainment, the world’s largest producer and distributor of music programming for DVD, Blu-Ray, TV and Digital Media. Each page features digital download offers powered by Topspin, and is set up to geo-detect visitors’ location and serve one of three mirror pages. Here’s a summary of each project:

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The Raconteurs - Live At Montreux 2008 Four years on, this live performance from the Raconteurs at the premier Swiss music festival is as rocking as ever. At the time the band were touring in support of their second album ‘Consolers Of The Lonely’, and their set is packed with hits including ‘Steady As She Goes’, ‘Many Shades Of Black’ and ‘Salute Your Solution’. This is the nearest one can get to a live show since band members have since taken different paths.

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Kasabian - Live! - Live At The O2: Special Edition On 15 Dec 2011, Kasabian performed at London’s O2 Arena in support of their number 1 album “Velociraptor!”, as part of a sold out arena tour across the UK and Ireland.  The setlist combines tracks from that album with classic album tracks from across their career to date.  As Kasabian’s first standalone concert release, this is a must-have for fans old and new.

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Pink Floyd - The Story Of Wish You Were Here “Wish You Were Here” is Pink Floyd’s follow-up to “Dark Side Of The Moon”, and upon release in September 1975 it went straight to number one in the UK and number 12 in the US, going on to sell 13 million copies worldwide.  This film tells the in-depth story of the album’s origins and production, interviewing many of the key players as well as new interviews with surviving band members.

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Duran Duran - A Diamond In The Mind Duran Duran have a reputation for great music, stunning visuals and iconic style, and all these were apparent at their MEN Arena, Manchester concert on 16 December 2011.  Following the release of their “All You Need Is Now” album, this concert includes new songs from that release as well as their classic hits.  The band will headline the Opening Ceremony for the London Olympics this month.

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Muddy Waters & The Rolling Stones - Live At The Checkerboard Lounge Chicago 1981 In the middle of their 1981 American tour, prior to three dates at the Rosemont Horizon, the Rolling Stones paid a visit to Muddy Waters’ club the Checkerboard Lounge in Chicago.  Having long been influenced by Chicago blues, it wasn’t long before Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Ronnie Wood and Ian Stewart joined the legendary bluesman onstage.  This unique event was captured on camera, restored with sound remixed and remastered by Bob Clearmountain.

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For a limited time only, and exclusively available via Noel Gallagher’s website, you can now order a special edition Singles Box. The Singles Box is a collector’s item, and can be purchased either complete with 5 singles – yes, five: Everybody’s On The Run (now available to preorder!) – or empty, so you can fill it with the singles you’ve already bought. Choose from CD or Vinyl box, and each comes with an exclusive numbered Polaroid. You can also purchase singles individually, to complete your collection.

The offer page reflects three major currencies, and implements geo-detection to serve the visitor with the correct page. Aside from the page mechanics, it’s a smart move by Mr. Gallagher to encourage his fans to buy any singles they may have missed.

Check it out:

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This post appears courtesy of Jessie Scoullar of Wicksteed Works!

It’s time we pulled back the curtain on the newly launched Eurovision download store produced by Jessie Scoullar of Wicksteed Works. The Eurovision Song Contest has been held annually since 1955 when it was created by the European Broadcasting Union in a bid to bring countries together with a light entertainment program. Check out the 2012 entries to the Contest, complete with custom preview players, lyrics to sing along with your favorites, and the back catalogue from 2007 through to 2011. All tracks are available for individual purchase or as whole albums, in full-figured high quality 320kbps MP3. This is one of Wicksteed Works’ most ambitious projects to date, in partnership with a world-leading brand: over 270 pages and 400 buy buttons! Eurovision has a broadcast audience reach in the hundreds of millions and there is a fantastic team at Universal Denmark. We’re looking forward to seeing who wins the Song Contest on May 26!

About Wicksteed Works: Jessie’s company emerged from the simmering crucible of the experience and know-how distilled from two years on Topspin’s Creative Services team, compounded with broad music industry experience in artist management, live event production, touring and merchandising, on top of a background in licensing, commercial law, student radio and journalism. To inquire about their services, send a message to: hello@wicksteedworks.com or follow them on Twitter.

Topspin features: Custom HTML Store; Wordpress Plugin; Linkbuilder

Produced by: Wicksteed Works

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