AISO Launches New Rebranding Efforts Along with “Total Eco Web Server” Technology

 

 

Environmentally-Friendly Web Hosting Company Uses Water Cooling to Go Beyond PV Panels and Maximize Solar Energy

Romoland, CA – March 4, 2009 — AISO.net launches its new website and brand identity with the announcement of the “Total Eco Web Server”™, or TEWS™ as it has been nicknamed. AISO.net, the first and only 100 percent solar-powered web hosting company, launched its new brand identity, symbolizing its commitment to the environment.

“Our new logo and brand identity shows the transformation from being just solar-powered to having a complete hosting ecosystem that is environmentally friendly. This new look reflects the values that AISO.net has been known for in the business community, while also representing our new strategic direction for a complete environmentally-friendly hosting solution,” says Phil Nail, CTO of AISO.net.

AISO.net is located in Romoland, CA, a few miles south of Riverside, CA, where the annual rainfall is minimal and the sun is out over 70 percent of the year. “We have been able to power our office and servers without using the local energy grid via on-site solar power. Even cloudy days can collect the sun’s power and with the new TEWS setup we combine solar power, recycled rain water to cool the data center, air for Internet conductivity, virtualized servers, and other great eco-friendly technologies,” says Nail.

AISO.net recently added four 2,500 gallon water tanks behind the data center to harvest the annual rainfall and nightly condensation. The tanks were installed 20 days ago and they have already harvested 6,000 gallons of rainwater. AISO.net has plans for adding four more tanks which will result in over 20,000 gallons of water collected. The water collected will be used for two things: landscaping and cooling the data center. Special air units from Coolerado use this recycled rain water which acts as a cooling agent to cool the hot desert air down to a cool 67 degrees all using less than 600 watts of power.

“To stay ahead of the industry we have to act and look like rock stars,” states Nail, who always seems to have a smile and his sunglasses. “That is why we chose Thunk to help with our re-brand and strategic business development. They get it. The IT industry is not a glamorous world but we believe our way is how data should move through the Internet. It’s logical and environmental, and that thinking has helped give us exposure. We are in a sweet spot right now because our infrastructure is built on solar panels so the more energy we can get out of 120 panels the easier it will be to scale – and we plan to scale. All it takes is another 120 panels and more efficient technologies and we keep staying ahead of the demands for data.”

“Solar web hosting is not a novelty, this is serious. There is no excuse for companies to use data centers and hosting providers that have old infrastructures and antiquated models with fancy websites that brag about buying energy credits,” says James Tucker, founder of Thunk, Inc. in San Francisco. “Consumers need to be smarter than that and realize that these data centers are sucking the earth dry of resources. I discovered this working on a rebrand for a large data center company and was inspired to shift my clients, company and mission to use alternative energy for web hosting. Fossil fuel hosting companies are going to need to make radical changes – and fast. This comes at a time where change is expensive but the consumer demands companies make the change or they will go somewhere that aligns with their business philosophy.”

“I am glad people choose us because we are a solar web hosting company, but in business, it has to go beyond that. We want people to come to AISO.net because of our service, reliability, uptime, and customer service,” says Nail.

AISO.net also uses LED lighting, solar tubes, thin client computers and other unique green techniques which allow more capacity without having a large physical footprint housing hundreds of servers and cages. The dedicated servers offer high availability and are extremely scalable. All data resides on fiber drives and all data is backed up hourly. The servers utilize NetApp for the data storage and VMware to maximum server uptime. This same solution is used by 95 percent of all Fortune 500 companies.

“Companies like Discovery Channel and Indianapolis Zoo love our dedicated server solution because it gives them piece of mind knowing their data is secure,” says Nail.

 

About Thunk, Inc. - www.thunkinc.com
Thunk is an interactive team located in San Francisco that works with start-ups, agencies, marketers, and directors as a creative resource for web, application, print, video, and Flash projects. We specialize in information architecture, project management, content development, rapid prototyping, strategic lead generation campaigns, and branding.

 

About AISO.net - www.aiso.net
AISO.net has been a trusted name in environmentally friendly web hosting since 1997, providing a level of service that is unmatched in the industry. All network and server hardware is fully redundant with 24×7-automated systems monitoring to ensure the highest possible uptime. Using solar panels to power its data center and network, AISO.net is the first and only 100 percent solar-powered web hosting company. Customers as far away as Kenya, East Africa, rely on the service and reliability offered by AISO.net. For more information on Coolerado, visit Coolerado’s website at www.coolerado.com.

Filed under: Creative Direction, Environment, Positioning, Thunk News , aiso.net, green hosting, press release, solar hosting

Seduced by Generic Design

After seeing a poster for Tropicana Orange Juice, I thought it was an adbuster campaign. The ad looked so generic and so did the product hero shot that it looked like a fake ad with a fake product. So I went to the website (above) and it was their new package design. 

It was a real product with a package design that looked like a generic product. Is the seduction of clean design turning brands into unemotional products?

I have to admit, I do like the way the information is arranged on the package. It also does not disappear on the shelf with the large photo repeating along a row. 

Tropicana is also a member of the Carton Council that has a great campaign about recycling cartons:

http://www.werecyclecartons.com/

During my research of this product I also found that PepsiCo is making to reduce their carbon footprint with this product. How green is your orange juice?

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/22/business/22pepsi.html

Filed under: Creative Direction, Environment, Packaging, Positive Change

San Francisco Ferrari Store

This store had to be the weirdest experience in retail I have had since exiting the so-called haunted Winchester House into an inescapable gift shop torture chamber. The first hint this Ferrari store will be annoying is that every two minutes the loud sound of a race car will be going around your head. Yes, I am not kidding. At first I thought I was hearing things, then my wife and I started laughing then – after it did not stop – the sound was not funny anymore and testing us to leave the store.  

I am a fan of Ferrari automobiles, especially the 250 GT line and the Mondial designs. Way before the cars went all tacky and cliché.  I have friends who own Ferrari’s (or had owned one or two in the past) so this is no diss to the automobile, but a commentary on the use of an icon in automobiles, speed, and sexiness. They have replaced the logo worn on the tush with a logo you can wear anywhere you desire. The plus side is that both sexes can wear it now. 

The store could have embraced the Ferrari legacy more but it decided to be a cross between a Coach purse store for men and a tanning bed on the highest setting. The 1000 watt lighting in the store could not be any brighter and I expected the aggressive sales-dudes to both hand me a pair of Ferrari emblazoned shades and also fill up my gas tank. 

The store is way over done and in the aforementioned cliché manner. I would have loved to see a more museum quality to the store that showed why the Ferrari is more than a street legal race car for a Ferragamo wearin’, hair club member, secretary dating, divorced father with a coke dealer who sells him short. 

Sure this persona is over the top but that is the very one-dimensional approach the marketing department must have made when writing the specifications for the experience design. As mentioned, I am a fan of the automaker and this store made me embarrassed to say that. It also made me drop my search for a classic Ferrari that I have been eyeing for a few years. 

If sales do not produce the expected results, it may be easy to blame the economy but there are still fans there who would purchase a Ferrari product if they did not feel like they walked into a gimmicked-out retail experience.

Filed under: Creative Direction, Experience Design, San Francisco

Solar Powered Hosting Rebranding

Thunk was awarded the rebranding and marketing strategy account for AISO.net.  They are pioneers in the solar powered web  hosting industry and have been busy acquiring new business and making sure their current customers are satisfied.  They needed a creative firm who can take over the project and present their products in a way that complements their brand. 

If you are on a non-solar, coal-based, earth destroying web host, you may want to consider a change. Check out AISO.net here:

http://www.aiso.net/

The new site will be live in the first quarter of 2009.

Filed under: Creative Direction, Environment, Thunk News

Future Trends in Advertising

Here is a clip from Leo Burnett. A very slick presentation style with a powerful way to communicate ideas along side the talking head.

Filed under: Creative Direction, Differentiation, Positioning

Moodboards Communicate Visual Language Better Than Words

We created these moodboards a while ago but they were very effective for a campaign and product created for Comverse that we eventually named Klonies. Often moodboards combined with a creative brief will be valuable tools for teams and executives to sign-off on a direction without spending countless hours on comps that quickly get rejected.

We found that adjectives would fail communicating what the client wants because their idea of “edgy” and “sleek” would be entirely different than mine and the designer. With these moodboards we did go through several rounds of found images, stock photos, and web sites to get an idea of what the client meant by sporty and sleek. We spent about twelve (12 – 15) hours on creating the moodboards and meeting times to define the three directions.

This exercise saved hundreds of hours and accelerated the project by defining the look of the avatar and we also used these moodboards to define the directions of the application, website, language and naming. Often the client would guide us and say the avatar is almost there but needs 20% less sleek and 30% more street.

Depending on the project, moodboards are created quickly from photographs, illustrations, advertising, designs, and then either made into a collage or put in a grid with various sized boxes that show what percentage of each style is desired.

Filed under: Creative Direction , communication, design process, moodboards