Turn to page 60 in the March/April 2009 Applied Arts Magazine: Eye on Interactive edition, and you'll find a short feature on Mindblossom staring back at you. Spread out over five wonderfully glossy pages are an article by Chris Daniels, recent project shots, and quotes from our COO and our VP, Creative Director. We're very excited and appreciative to be featured by Applied Arts; with all our recent growth and portfolio of great clients, there's a lot we want to share.

So head down to your favourite magazine seller, grab your steaming beverage of choice, pull up your most comfy chair and spend a moment with this month's Applied Arts Magazine. But be warned: we've got many more great projects up our sleeve, so you'll have to keep your ears open to find out what we're up to next.

Just last September we launched the Crystal Head Vodka site for Dan Aykroyd's newest alcoholic endeavour. Released on the heels of the latest Indiana Jones movie, Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, and amidst the controversy about whether or not there will ever be a Ghostbusters 3 movie, the site was a hit.

Crystal Head Vodka officially reached viral status when a user posted, "Dan Aykroyd has lost his f***ing mind," on Reddit.com. 301 comments were made almost immediately as viewers discussed the video, Dan Aykroyd, the vodka, and everything in between.

And it doesn't end there. Since then, besides being picked up by sites such as BoingBoing, Paste Magazine online, and NYMag, "the PC guy" of Mac vs PC fame posted a YouTube video with his initial tasting notes.

His comments include, "Remarkably smooth, very light with a glycerine-like finish... and a distinct nose of the paranormal".

As of the date this article was written, Crystal Head Vodka Tasting has been viewed 29, 580 on YouTube, while the video from the site, titled simply Crystal Head Vodka, has been viewed 7, 611 times.

We'll cheers to that!

With sights set on industry leadership through innovation and integration, Isobar is pleased to announce the expansion of Ammo Marketing into Canada. Ammo, headquartered in San Francisco, has been the original influencer marketing agency since its inception in 1999.

"As consumer culture morphs into one of conversation and contribution, the importance of word of mouth increases. Today, word of mouth recommendation is the number one factor influencing purchases in every single consumer category, and since 78% of those recommendations happen face-to-face, marketers have to engage in those conversations offline as well as online," says Ammo President, Julian Aldridge.

The addition of Ammo to Isobar Canada compliments the network's existing Interactive and Search marketing services, Mindblossom and iProspect. In Toronto, Ammo will be supervised by Daren Trousdell, COO of Isobar Canada. Ammo's vision and global strategy will continue to be directed by Ammo President Julian Aldridge.

Search Engine Marketing firm iProspect® joined the Canadian interactive marketing space by announcing today its intention to participate in the Search Engine Strategies 2008 Conference & Expo in Toronto, from June 17 to 18, at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. Known as the Original® Search Engine Marketing Firm, iProspect pioneered the industry standards for search expertise, service excellence, and thought leadership.

Frederick Marckini, iProspect founder and Chief Global Search Officer, Isobar, will be presenting the conference’s first keynote address, on Tuesday, June 17. According to Justin Jung, Director, Practice Lead – Search & Web Analytics, at iProspect Canada, "this presents a unique opportunity for conference attendees to learn the principals of search engine marketing and optimization, from the person who was so instrumental in founding the practice and bringing its principals to market."

Mindblossom today announced that it has launched Snap by lavalife, the website that supports the mobile engagement program that allows participants to contribute to a collaborative interactive photo album for the chance to win prizes and interact with others

Snap by lavalife is a mobile community micro site that prompts user engagement and interaction through photo assignment questions, themed to reflect Lavalife’s brand values and personality. According to Robert Simon, Mindblossom’s VP Creative & Technology, the challenge given to them by lavalife was to create a unique experience that would allow perspective lavalife clients to experience and interact with the brand without being obliged to register for its services. "What’s great about this experience is that it allows users to build communities and share their images, creating relationships of all kinds," said Simon. "It’s both a powerful social networking tool and a convenient way of pointing to lavalife’s complete product suite."

To promote the launch of the website, Mindblossom relied on mobile, web, and out of home advertising.

Aegis Media Canada announced today that it is acquiring Mindblossom, a leading digital marketing agency in Toronto. Mindblossom will become part of Aegis Media Canada’s Isobar, the world’s largest digital marketing network.
Mindblossom specializes in digital marketing strategy, website design and development, search engine marketing, eCRM and interactive media planning and buying. Mindblossom will continue to be managed by COO Daren Trousdell, who reports to Jaques Dorion, CEO of Aegis Media Canada.
"We are delighted to welcome Daren and his team to our family" said Dorion. "The Mindblossom acquisition represents our commitment to create the agency of the future in Canada. This move broadens our service offering and increases our footprint significantly in this fast growing market".
"We were very impressed by Mindblossom’s creativity and digital marketing capabilities," said Isobar CEO Nigel Morris. "Isobar is solely focused on building the best digital marketing network in the world. Mindblossom has built an outstanding business and is a strategic addition to both Isobar globally, and to Aegis Media Canada."
"Our team has admired Aegis Media and its Isobar network of agencies and we are thrilled to become a part of their network. We believe it greatly expands our resources, growth opportunities and service offering," said Trousdell.