Interactive examples

The Watch Avenue site serves as an interactive inspiration

Former colleague Seth Gitner recently sent me a link to “The Watch Avenue,” a Flash-based advertising site for watches.

Although I have no interest in buying a watch, this site enveloped me as I explored around this 3D avenue – listening to digital tour guides, selecting from interactive menus and learning from my curiosity along the way. Users can “walk” in and out of 16 stores along the avenue, with completely different content and options behind each door.

Now, you might be asking yourself why I choose to highlight an advertising interactive to a blog tailored mainly to online journalists. Well, I truly believe that journalists can get some of their best ideas from those outside of the field, whether they are developers for movies, advertising giants, or restaurants. (By the way, if you have the time, make sure to check out those three links because they are all seriously amazing.)

If you haven’t already, add The FWA to your list of websites to check on a regular basis for inspiration. “The Favourite Website Awards” highlights an innovative website every day. If you are crunched on time, just make sure to check out the Site of the Month (SOTM) and Site of the Year (SOTY) winners. You will not be disappointed.

Why I enjoyed the Watch Avenue site so much is because I personally know how taxing it is to build an immersive 3D experience. Seth Gitner also implemented the virtual tour guide effect on his innovative ad for an editor position that ran several years ago. Therefore, this site was a “wow” effect for the both of us.

All of these sites have one thing in common: they are informative and utilized to tell a story. So why not take our innovation to the next level by incorporating some of these phenomenal ideas by web production companies around the world? If I just spent 10 minutes on a watch site exploring all of the shops, I have a good feeling that, if done correctly, this type of interactivity can have a positive and invaluable effect on our future journalism packages.

Other posts that might interest you:

• 50 sitios multimedia favoritos del 2009
• Got Milk? uses interactivity and games in successful advertising campaign
• Roanoke.com launches a virtual museum for the opening of the Taubman Museum of Art

© 15 April 2009 Innovative Interactivity (II).