May 18 2012

The answer is actually quite simple. According to the “Le jeu sérieux en Belgique francophone” annual conference (French for “the serious game in French-speaking Belgium”), the development of games has become more and more common in “serious” contexts, such as public-awareness campaigns, marketing a new product or service, or even for educational purposes. Every year, during the “Serious Game” event (which took place last week), prizes and awards are granted for outstanding so-called “serious” games.

The new game developed by Emakina for Electrabel has just been recognised as such, winning the Bell.Now award for the best “adver-game”. Participants of the “Serious Game” conference were asked to rank the best examples of the past year.   The Electrabel “Switch Off/ Smart Energy Game” was thus voted as the best case for marketing purposes. As suggested by the category name, the purpose of the game, developed entirely in-house by Emakina, was to promote the new Electrabel application which is part of the company’s wide-scale campaign.

The organisers might think it’s very “serious”. We still think it’s fun…!

Tweet

May 16 2012

I’m one of the 7 persons who have the honor of being invited tonight to a diner and open discussion with Vint Cerf, one of the co-founders of the Internet.

To grasp a little bit of Vint Cerf personality and sense of humor, I invite you to read these memos : The Internet is for Everyone and A view from the 21st Century.

I have asked the EmakiNation the questions they would like me to ask him. I don’t have the answers yet as the diner is for later tonight, but I think the list of questions is already an invitation to think about the future of the Internet, which is also our future.

Here are the (unedited) list of questions, some are fairly technical, some are naïve. this reflect the variety of talents gathered under our flag, ranging from designers to technical geniuses :

• Internet has democratized many things or at least enabled it. Knowledge in a larger sense and also entertainment forms like music, video,… Will it democratize democracy (in a state sense)? What i mean is do you think internet will be the future to able provide direct democracy or some other new form of democracy? What do you think about the metagovernment projects popping up?
• Which of the crowdsourcing strategies do you most believe in ?
• What is your feeling about the latest attempts to ‘restrict’ the internet SOPA, PIPA, ACTA, CISPA, … ?
• What of the technical chooses you made in the past would like to see corrected in the future?
• What were unfortunate technology changes (you feel was more a regression than an improvement in your feeling)?
• What is the most promising evolution of the internet you see today?
• How could we spread the use of internet even further to third world countries and thereby spreading knowledge?
• How are things evolving with the interplanetary backbone? (first successful test was already in 2008)
• Do you believe education should incorporate critical internet interpretation?
• In some countries like Belgium you have a minimum access to eg. water and electricity, would it not make sense to have a minimal access to the internet? Has it become that essential?
• Will the traffic remain fair or will it be prioritized based on content or origin ? Ex: a packet send from Youtube treated in higher priority by a network node than a packet sent from my personal blog.
• Evolution of social media platforms with the penetration of mobile: Is Facebook dead unless it goes full mobile?
• Est-ce qu’on peut imaginer l’internet sans l’ICANN ? Se qui veut dire se retrouver avec plusieurs internet…
• Does he think as well that “the web is dead”?! Cf. the Wired article:
  http://www.wired.com/magazine/2010/08/ff_webrip/all/1
  (e.g. I believe – or would like to believe – in the future of web apps because of their flexibility and +/- “device agnostic” philosophy, but not everyone has the same idea)
• Will Google and Facebook really disappear in 5 years?! (as an American analyst recently sayed) And who will be next “big ones”?
• As a general consideration, are the current technical evolutions supportive regarding non-industrial and emergent countries? Or will they rather reinforce the gap between those countries and the more “advanced” ones? (“advanced” is maybe not the proper word, but you know what I mean)
• Does the Internet need kind of a “world governance”? (as e.g. Jacques Attali recommends speaking about an “Etat-monde” : Cf. http://www.attali.com/livres/essais/demain-qui-gouvernera-le-monde
• Will the Internet keep its democratic & “free will” orientation? (cf. Google partially censured in China, the Pirate Bay and the Megaupload cases etc. – so both from a socio-political and socio-economical point of view)
• In our knowledge society, is the Internet market strong enough (in the long-term) to allow European countries (and their “knowledge workers”) to keep some competitive advantage on the big coming ones like India, Brazil and China? (cf. a recent discussion with a top manager at Accenture who roughly told me that “Europe is dead”, and that everyone there thinks the same way…)

Tweet

May 14 2012

But in order for Brice to win the ‘Wow Effect’ award he still needs your vote…

What is that all about? Well, the Belgian Direct Marketing Association (BDMA) runs a competition for selecting the person who had the greatest contribution to the direct marketing sector. One of the four candidates for this year’s award is Emakina’s Chief Visionary Officer, Brice Le Blévennec.

That’s all you need to know. Now go execute your democratic right and vote (for Brice)!

Tweet

Apr 24 2012

Like every year, Belgium’s school of social communication (IHECS) organises an event dedicated to presenting its students’ projects, and bringing together communication experts. This year, organisers invited Amélie Sainthuile, Digital Planner & Social Media Strategist at Emakina/ Strategy and Emakina/ Social. She will talk about public relations with new media.

The event, titled “Nuit de medias” (media night) will take place tomorrow, April 25th at 19:30, at the school’s venue, located at Rue de l’Etuve 58-60, Brussels (two steps away from the Grand Place!).

Tweet

Apr 13 2012

Who will be the last survivor in the Wild West (or rather south east…) of Brussels? We’ll know in a few months because a GOTCHA murder game will be launched next week among Emakina’s Brussels-based employees. From next week on, everybody is a potential killer!  So be vigilant…

What’s the game all about? Well, it’s rather simple. Each employee will receive the name of their target victim. “Killing” is done by spraying a tiny bit of water over her or him. Small syringes will be distributed to help us amateur killers do an elegant job. If you are able to wet your victim with NO witnesses watching, you succeeded. Your victim’s (failed) target will now become your next, and the game continues until there is only one person left. She or he will off course gain eternal fame and will forever be remembered as Emakina’s Jack the Ripper. And oh yeah, for us “material girls” out there, don’t worry! The winner will also get a nice prize to enjoy while resting on her or his laurels…

Impossible to know at this point how long the game will last or who will turn out to be the best shooter. Nothing is certain here! The only thing we know is that if you hear someone shouting “GOTCHA!”, there is one competitor less. And you can only hope it isn’t you…

Let’s play!

Tweet

Apr 3 2012

As every year, business magazine Trends-Tendances has ranked the fastest growing companies across the Belgian market. The competition is open for companies active for at least five years, presenting a positive cash-flow, and which have created at least 20 jobs since their creation.

Out of a database of the top 100,000 companies, Trends-Tendances selects the best cases in three different size categories: small, medium, and large. Emakina made the Gazelles list of medium-size companies thanks to its solid figures: 17% growth in its turnover, 153% increase in cash-flow, and 34% in its personnel. Winners were announced in Brussels in a festive event on March 28, at the Tour&Taxis venue.

Tweet

Mar 27 2012

It’s not easy, knowing that we were yet again winners of such distinguished prizes, and to have to remain silent about it… But now that the organisers of the Internet Advertising Competition (IAC) gave us their OK, we can proudly announce: we did it; Emakina won two IACs this year!

Our first prize was for the “Test-Achats 50 Avocats ” campaign, under the Best Magazine Online category. The original campaign was supported by social media activities and a viral clip on protecting consumer rights. It generated a record number of citizens engaging with the organisation, thus making it more relevant than ever before.

We also won the Outstanding Website award for Belgium Rollers’s new home page, designed by Emakina. Thanks to its original funky characters and marvelous design, the website presents to its visitors the fun urban universe in the Roller Parade spirit. All that’s left is scrolling and clicking around this dynamic website in order to learn about the event!

Tweet

Mar 21 2012

A panel of experts, specialised in developing the “perfect apps”, presented at the Mobile Forum to an audience of marketers and product managers. As eloquently put by the organisers, “mobile applications have become the holy grail of one-on-one marketing”. The event’s aim was thus to put together those behind the best practices in mobile applications. Among the presenters was Emakina’s Head of Digital Applications, Michaël Totta who spoke of ways to turn an iPad into a “lead generation machine”. His comments and insights were greatly appreciated by the audience, who was eager to learn about the great potential of this exciting new medium.

Tweet

Mar 13 2012

Patrick Acken, the renowned photographer of Pub.BE and a one-man institution of commercial advertisement, is working on his first exhibition, presenting some 70 leading figures of Belgium’s communication world. Titled, “Face2Face: A Sample of Belgian communication personalities”, the new exhibition will present extreme close-up photos in black and white of Acken’s communication “dream team”.

Emakina’s Xavier Bouillon and Brice Le Blévennec are among the lucky ones to have their photos presented to visitors of this exceptional artistic initiative. The exhibition will be displayed at Seed Factory starting this Friday, Mars 16^th and will remain open until the end of May.

Tweet

Mar 6 2012

Right at this moment, Apple employees are making final preparations for what  will probably be the launching event of the iPad3. The mysterious, yet, very-intriguing event will be held at the Yerba Buena Center in San Francisco, exactly one year after and at the same place the iPad2 was introduced to the world. According to the press invitation, tonight’s event will present the successor of the iPad2, without specifying much information about it, thus leaving a lot of room for speculation. The excitement revolving around the promised product has created quite a buzz throughout the international tech community despite, perhaps because, of its ambiguity.

Final preparations at the Yerba Buena Center in San Francisco

This is why RTL’s web-magazine, “Les Teknophiles” has decided to dedicate tonight’s show to the Apple event, inviting Brice Le Blévennec as a special guest speaker. Brice will share his vision on the way the iPad will soon replace conventional computing, only two decades after the birth of the PC. “Apple is once more writing the book” as he puts it. Further guests on the show include Frédéric Feytons of TappTic, and Bruno Kesteloot, general manager of MacLine. The show will be aired (in French) today, March 7 at 18:45 Brussels time. Click here to watch it live.

Tweet

Mar 1 2012

What is GTUG? A GTUG (Google Technology User Group) is an informal meetup open to anyone interested in Google’s developer technologies: ranging from Android and App Engine, to product APIs like YouTube.

Programme:

18:30 Welcome
19:30 Using the USB debugger with Chrome and Chrome for Android to debug a mobile webpage on device.
20:00 Open discussion on the past Android Hackathon on Feb 18-19 (GADC).
20:30 Together set up and play with a Google TV
21:00 Massive peer hands-on hack: add 1 feature into one of the apps done at the hackathon. No preparation required.
22:00 End – Information about upcoming events in March-April

If you want to attend this meetup, feel free to register here

Where? Emakina, Rue de Middelbourg 64A, 1170 Watermael-Boitsfort

When? Thursday, 8th of March, starting at 18:30

Tweet

Mar 1 2012

Data News magazine, organiser of the annual Data News Awards for Excellence, has announced its final list of candidates for this year’s awards. Every year, the magazine selects the most promising companies, products, and individuals of the ICT industry, awarding them for their outstanding contribution in one of twelve categories.  The magazine additionally recognizes one individual as the “ICT Personality of the Year”. This year’s list of nominees for the prestigious ICT Personality award includes Brice Le Blévennec, Emakina’s  President and Chief Visionary Officer.

Candidates were selected based on a series of interviews with ICT specialists, university professors, and presidents of professional associations. Le Blévennec’s nomination was justified by the fact that he is “a self-made man”. He started his career at the age of 16, and now serves as president of Emakina – “by far the largest web company in Belgium”. The company’s multi-national profile and its ambitions to become among Europe’s top five – were equally emphasised by Data News’ editorial staff.

Data News has assembled a specialized jury to select the winner in each category. The jury is made up of representatives from the academic world, business, and the magazine’s editorial team. Final winners will be announced at the Data News Awards of Excellence ceremony, to be held on April 26^th at the Tour & Taxis venue.

 Le Blévennec among some of the other candidates for the ICT Personality prize

Tweet

Jan 23 2012

Starting on February 10th, The Reference is organizing 10 events on different digital subjects. As trend watchers, innovators and opinion makers, they believe it is important to share their insights with customers. Experts of The Ref are happy to provide you with their knowledge and to discuss the best practices of all things digital. You can choose the number of events you want to participate in. Customers of The Reference, Design is Dead and Emakina get a discount of 10%. If you register for all sessions, you receive the same discount.

The series of events starts on February 10^th with “Is social media part of your business”, where you will learn to make the correct strategic decisions in the social media landscape.

On March 2^nd, David Roose will explain you everything there is to know about “Measuring Business Goals with Google Analytics”.

“Strategic SEO for Marketing Managers” will be addressed on March 16^th. You will be guided in getting SEO on-board in your organization.

One week later, the 23th of March, it’s David Roose’s turn again for a workshop “Slicing and dicing with Google Analytics”. He will tell you everything about measuring more with custom code, configuring your accounts and profiles, and lots of other things!

On the 27^th of April, it’s time for Social again: “Social Strategy through Social Listening”. Tom Muyllaert will unveil the best free and paid listening tools and he will show you what you can learn from listening to conversations.

May 4^th is all about “Hands-on SEO for Webmasters and Copywriters”. In this workshop you’ll learn step by step the best methods that will help you to find the best possible keywords.

“Professional Link Building Strategies” are talked about by Nikolaas De Geyndt and Isabel Van Ruykensvelde. They will train you in how to strategically approach your link-building. The date for this event is May 11^th.

Mobile and tablet fans can have their say on June 1^st. Thomas De Vos, our mobile expert, will show you what “Mobile and tablets can mean for your business”. iOs? Android? Windows Phone? Web Apps? HTML5? Hybrid apps? There will be no secrets left when leaving this workshop!

On June 8^th you’ll learn everything about “Conversion Optimization”. Your website might be doing well, but experts of The Ref will help you to make it even better by striving for ultimate conversion.

And last but not least: on June 15^th Bart De Latte will introduce you to “The power of Search Engine Advertising”. He will show you how to analyze and interpret your results.

You can click the links if you are interested in attending one or more events. To subscribe, just fill in the form that you can find on the website. Should you have any more questions, don’t hesitate to contact Vicky Van Daele (vvandaele@reference.be)

Tweet

Oct 19 2011

On October 10, 2001, Emakina was born.
A bright digital native who grew up fast and is – as ever – full of positive energy.

From the start, the idea was that ‘The Best Way to Invent the Future, is to Make it Happen’. See here the clip that shows how Emakina and its clients at work really form a growing digital tribe on the move.

Emakina went to Digital Marketing First to celebrate its 10 years of excitement, good times and great projects. The real heroes of course are our clients too. They offered Emakina their trust and collaboration, making project after project a winning combination with our teams.
The slideshare presentation presented at the DMF wanted to highlight that fact…

So Emakina is as a ‘moveable feast’, a train of events and ideas that have lead a small group of entrepreneurs and creative minds from a garage operation to a listed company with over 300 people, offices in Belgium, France,  the Netherlands and UK and partnerships across Europe.

Tweet

Oct 12 2011

Emakina again made a big ‘splash at the DMF this year.

Lots of colleagues and invited guests joined the lively discussions, presentations and good times, celebrating the 10th anniversary of Emakina. It was a very exciting first decade, from garage startup to listed company, with a broad, international management team, great combined knowledge and experience and lots of exciting clients and projects… smiles all around and positive vibes.

When the fair was closing down, Emakina and guests just got started up…

Lots of people, animated discussions and fun….

Denis Steisel and Brice Le Blevennec, looking forward to 10 new great years

A celebration dinner with valued clients and friends

Making new plans together

Tweet