MySpace and Facebook Applications for Nordstrom
Zeus Jones and Sierra Bravo Build a Community of Shoppers
Sierra Bravo partnered with Minneapolis agency Zeus-Jones to create a Nordstrom-branded Facebook and MySpace application, which is installed by members of the Facebook and MySpace communities and is displayed on their member profiles.
The Facebook and MySpace applications were developed using Flash, PHP 5 and MySQL.
Excerpted from Upsize Magazine, October 2008 story, “Message for millions,” by Sarah Brouillard:
“A lot of our partners are really interested in trying to help their clients figure out how to bring their message to those millions of people who are using that space in a very intimate way,” says Mark Hurlburt, director of marketing for Sierra Bravo Corp., a Web development company in Bloomington.
Sierra Bravo has gone a step beyond a simple profile, creating a software application for Seattle-based department store Nordstrom Inc. In recent months the application has spread virally among online users, while pulling traffic to Nordstrom.com.
In collaboration with Minneapolis-based marketing company Zeus Jones, Sierra Bravo developed Nordstrom Fashion Status, a “fashion barometer” that can be easily downloaded to become a part of the public space of a user’s Facebook or MySpace profile.
Geared for a brand-name-conscious crowd, the application allows users to tell others what they’re wearing that day, and to rate their fashion “mood” (one of the options, for example, is “hot.”) The application compiles data from users across the country, so users in one glance can see what the trends are.
The application provides a link to Nordstrom’s e-commerce Web site, so users can shop for the most talked-about brands. A steadily building interest and then rapid fall-off is the typical cycle of such an online application, says Hurlburt.
Such an application can be designed for and by companies of any size, for any budget. The costs for Web development vary widely, based on the sophistication and interactivity of the desired application, he says.
“A lot of this social networking stuff is, in a lot of ways, a great force for democracy in business in that it does kind of eliminate some of the size gaps,” says Hurlburt. “Companies that don’t have big names are out there making big splashes by coming up with innovative ideas, and finding new ways to interact with their markets” online.