Last month there was a splash in the agency world when the Boston-based agency Modernista launched its new Web site. But this wasn't your typical agency Web site. Modernista's new site looks like this:

What? That's right—Modernista's homepage looks like a Wikipedia entry. Your eye is guided to the red area at the top where you read:

"Do not be alarmed. You are viewing Modernista through the eyes of the Web. The menu on the left is our homepage. Everything behind it is beyond our control."

I applaud the bold statement Modernista is making with this approach. By structuring their site in such a creative, extreme way, the agency is illustrating not only that they "get" social media, but that it’s the right choice for anyone looking for an interactive, dynamic, cutting-edge ad agency.

Modernista and Hammock share a similar philosophy that embraces social media, and while Modernista exploits the medium a little more radically, their site and ours have a lot in common. We both post examples of our work on an easy to update, easy to view Flickr account. They post their digital work on del.icio.us, a social media bookmarking site; Hammock.com’s Industry News is fed from our del.icio.us account, too. Like Hammock.com, Modernista also utilizes the features of YouTube and Google Maps.

At Hammock, we believe that social media should become an integral part of corporate and association communications today. Like Modernista, we often demonstrate ways a site can take advantage of the benefits of online communities, such as Facebook, del.icio.us, YouTube and Twitter. We invest our time and energy into learning and utilizing these platforms because we're convinced the old static Web site model is not only a thing of the past, but will prevent organizations from accomplishing their communications goals. To engage with your members or clients, you must utilize these new tools to connect with your audience online.

Starbucks recently sent an RFP to their media partners with a "call for innovation." Bon Appetit‘s well-executed response can be seen in its May issue. Readers flip to the masthead page to find the business team’s names and positions listed on a Starbucks-like chalkboard. After the headline, "What do you like best with your Starbucks coffee at home?" six members of Bon Appetit‘s staff share their favorite Starbucks pairings.

With print advertising revenues down and magazines fighting for their share of limited budgets, maybe it’s not that surprising that Bon Appetit opened up its masthead to advertising. Still, though I admit it's a clever promotion, my sense is that it crosses a line. This isn't simply advertising—by putting the “promotion” in a format that readers count on to be straight service editorial (just the facts), the page has been transformed into a Bon Appetit endorsement. Perhaps in this increasingly competitive marketplace for magazine advertising this is how "innovation" will be defined, but I'd like to think that there are better, less ethically murky ways to incorporate advertising "innovation" without requiring or encouraging members of a magazine’s staff to become advocates or spokesmen for an advertiser's product.

Update: Mediaweek reports that the Bon Appetit Starbucks masthead treatment was a one-time deal.

In a recent issue of the e-mail newsletter Online Spin, Max Kalehoff provided the following thoughtful description of the role your company Web site must play in today's digital marketplace.

Web Site As Brand Hub. For most businesses, the Web must become your brand hub. The Web site is the anchor for a range of critical actions in the consideration and purchase funnel. It is where search engines discover brands and where they direct prospects. It is the currency of pass-along when others wish to refer or recommend you. It is where the most engaged prospects learn about your brand, or fail to learn what they need to know in order to engage further. It is often a critical repository for collecting names, demographic information, purchase intentions and behaviors. It is a listening mechanism and interaction platform when customers do wish to engage. For many businesses, it’s where transactions actually take place, and services are rendered. It increasingly is where people turn when things go wrong, and the place where problems are corrected, or not. It is where companies have the choice to engage intimately with customers, or instill a cold, faceless façade. As the marketplace increasingly goes digital, the Web site should play a central role in leading a company’s key customer performance metrics to drive overall marketing strategy.

At Hammock, we agree that Web sites play a powerful role in building stronger relationships, but your site must be optimized for this type of interaction in order for it to be successful. We recommend the adoption and integration of social media tools such as blogs, photo or video sharing applications, and wikis to help initiate this engagement and conversation with your audience.

Want to get started but aren't sure what to do first? Contact us. We'll provide an assessment of your site and make recommendations for what changes are needed to transform your site into a destination online, fully optimized for this Web 2.0 world.

I'll be out of the office Thursday, April 17 and Friday, April 18. I will have limited access to email, so if you need to reach me, please call (615-479-0429).

It's not surprising with ad pages down that magazines are pulling out all the stops for advertisers in an attempt to gain more pages and boost revenues. Earlier this month Starbucks played with Bon Appetit's masthead and now Men's Health has entered the game. If you are a reader of Men's Health, make sure your cell phone is handy when reading its July/August issue.

Every one of the issue’s ads will be camera-phone readable, thanks to an image recognition technology from SnapTell. When readers snap a photo of an ad they'll receive instant promotions—from ringtones to coupons to wallpaper. The set-up is especially attractive for advertisers because of its integrated call to action and defined measurement. With advertisers chasing engagement metrics, it's clear why the platform appeals to them.